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Etsy offers multiple ways for you to entice shoppers to purchase from your shop. You can create coupons and sales that shoppers can see before they even enter your shop, and you can make other coupons that are available after they’ve “window-shopped” your products but are not yet committed to buy.
Recently, I set up a couple of coupon campaigns with my Etsy shops. One campaign sends out coupons anytime shoppers abandon their carts. And the other sends coupons to anyone who favorites an item in one of my shops.
Both of these campaigns were super easy to set up, and they have the potential to turn more of my shops’ visitors into customers.
In addition to these two campaigns, you can run sales on all or some of your Etsy items and you can create coupons that come with a custom URL, which you can send out to anyone.
Below, I walk you through the process of setting up all of these Etsy special offers, starting with the ‘Abandoned cart’ and ‘Recently favorited’ campaigns.
Then, I provide you with copy-and-paste scripts that you can use with your email list (if you have one – it’s totally fine if you don’t) and with your social media followers. There’s also a script you can add to your Etsy Shop Announcement page.
The process of running special offers on Etsy is already pretty easy and straightforward but I wanted to make it even simpler for you.
That said, let’s get started…
How to set up Abandoned cart and Recently favorited campaigns
To set up these two campaigns…
- Go to your Etsy Shop Manager
- Click Marketing
- Select Sales and coupons
You’ll arrive at the following screen:
To create your targeted campaigns, click where it says Set up campaign next to Abandoned cart and Recently favorited.
Choose either Abandoned cart shoppers or Recently favorited shoppers (I set up campaigns for both – just rinse and repeat this process for whichever option you don’t choose initially).
Then, select the type of coupon you want to create:
- Percent off
- Fixed amount off
- Free standard shipping
I chose to do a percent off for my campaigns. It’d be interesting, though, to split-test the three different offers you can create.
If you choose either Percent off or Fixed amount off, you’ll then need to specify how much you want the discount to be (e.g. 20%, $10). And if you choose free standard shipping, you have the option to select Domestic only.
Next, you need to specify what you want your coupon code to be. For example, for an Abandoned cart campaign, you might make your code DONTLEAVE or MISSYOU. And for your Recently favorited campaign, you could make your code something like FAVORITE or OURTREAT.
When you’re done, click the Review and confirm button.
If everything looks good, click Launch campaign, and you’re done!
You can then return to the Sales and coupon section of your Shop Manager and manage your campaigns.
As you can see, you’ll get a link that you can copy into your emails or social media posts. You’ll be able to assess how your campaigns are performing. And if you want, you can choose to stop sending the offer, or you can deactivate the coupon permanently.
Creating other special offers on Etsy
‘Abandoned cart’ and ‘Recently favorited’ aren’t the only special offers you can create on Etsy. You can also run a sale and create coupons to share with anyone.
Just click the + New special offer button in the Sales and coupons section of your Shop Manager (you’ll find it under Marketing). Then, choose the type of offer you want to create.
Run a sale
If you select this option, this is what you’ll see:
First, you need to choose what you want to offer shoppers:
- Percentage off – You need to choose the percentage amount from the drop-down (ranging from 10% to 70%).
- Free standard shipping – You can also select the box that makes your offer for domestic orders only.
Next, you have to decide whether there has to be a minimum order to qualify for the special offer. Etsy makes the following recommendation:
If your goal is to get shoppers to spend more than normal, consider setting a minimum that’s 20%-50% higher than your average order value (AOV). Calculate your AOV by dividing your total revenue by your total orders.
Then, you must set a duration for your sale by including a start and end date. (Note: Sales can run up to thirty days.) Etsy also offers a list of key shopping dates that are good times to run your sales.
If you have any special terms or conditions for your sale, there’s a place for you to specify them.
And lastly, you need to give your sale a name (shoppers won’t see this).
When you’re done, click Continue.
On the next page, you’ll see this:
From the Add multiple listings drop-down, you can select whole listings of categories or you can search for a single listing to put on sale. (Note: If you choose to add an entire listing category, such as “mugs,” you’ll be able to go through and remove any individual listings you don’t want to include.)
When you’re ready, choose Review and confirm.
If everything looks good, click the Confirm and create discount button.
Create a coupon
You follow a very similar process when creating a coupon code:
Again, you need to choose what you want to offer shoppers:
- Free standard shipping – You can select Domestic only.
- Percentage off – This time, you fill in whatever amount you want.
- Fixed amount off – Write in the dollar amount you want to discount.
Next, decide if you want there to be a minimum order to qualify for the offer.
If you want, you can check the box that says, “Yes, automatically email this coupon to buyers 24 hours after you’ve marked an order as complete.” This makes the coupon also serve as a “thank you” for all purchases, enticing a buyer to become a repeat customer.
Then, set the duration for your coupon’s availability (you can also make it so there is no end date) and create your code. Etsy says the following:
Shoppers can enter this code for the discount, but you also get a custom URL to share so they don’t have to. Each code must be unique, and use only letters and numbers.
When you’re done, hit the Review and confirm button. Then, on the next page, click Confirm and create discount.
Here’s what to say to promote your special offers
With your Abandoned cart and Recently favorited campaigns, Etsy sends the emails with the coupon codes for you. But if you want to further promote these campaigns along with any other sales or coupons you create, you have a couple of options. And I’ve created copy-and-paste scripts to make the process super simple.
Invite people to join an offsite mailing list
While you certainly don’t need an email list to be successful at the Low Hanging System, if you do happen to have one or if you’re interested in creating one, an active list is a great way to gain customers and build relationships with your Etsy fans.
On your Etsy shop pages, during the ordering process, or even on your listings, you can ask your Etsy visitors to subscribe to your email list. Then, you can email your fans to share your coupon codes and sales.
And as a way of enticing people to subscribe to your list, you can tell them they’ll receive a coupon code after they opt in, which they can use on their first purchase as your way of saying thank you for subscribing.
Here’s what you can say to get people to opt in:
Want a coupon for [e.g. 20% off, $10 off] your first purchase?
Subscribe to my list! Here’s the opt-in link: [insert link]
Here’s what you can say after people opt in:
Hey [first name],
Thanks for subscribing!
As a thank you, I’d like to give you this coupon code for [e.g. 20% off, $10 off] your first purchase at my Etsy shop, [shop name + a link to your shop].
The code is…
[coupon code]
The next time you’re shopping on Etsy, just copy and paste the code into the space provided as you’re checking out.
I hope to see you around my shop again soon: [shop link]
Thanks again!
Best,
[your name]
NOTE: Just make sure subscribers do need to opt in and that they have a way to opt out later if they so choose. Do NOT just add all your Etsy customers to your mailing list, as this goes against Etsy’s terms.
Share your special offers via social media
When you create a coupon code or run a sale on Etsy, you’re given a link. You can then use that link to promote your special deals on your social media platforms.
Here’s a script for what you might say in your social media posts:
Our #Etsy #sale is happening now! Use coupon code [coupon code name] to get [e.g. 15% off, $10 off] your [e.g. next purchase, purchase of $30 or more]. Shop our unique selection of [e.g. mugs, pillowcases] and save here: [Etsy coupon link]
Want to get [e.g. 15% off, $10 off] your [e.g. next purchase, purchase of $30 or more]?
Our Etsy sale is happening now! Shop our unique selection of [e.g. mugs, pillowcases] here: [Etsy coupon link].
Coupon code [coupon code name] will automatically be applied at checkout.
Don’t wait to save big! Sale ends [end date].
Save big on our collection of unique [e.g. mugs, pillowcases] here: [Etsy coupon link].
Coupon code [coupon code name] gets you [e.g. 15% off, $10 off] your [e.g. next purchase, purchase of $30 or more].
(Savings are automatically applied at checkout when you click the link above.)
But hurry! The sale won’t last forever!
#Etsy #flashsale #promo #[e.g. mugs] #[e.g. pillowcases] #onlineshopping #gift
Save [e.g. 15%, $10] now!
Our Etsy sale is on! Click through to save on your [e.g. next purchase, purchase of $30 or more]: [Etsy coupon link]. Coupon code [coupon code name] will automatically be applied at checkout.
Mention special deals on your shop announcement page
Another way you can spread the word about your special deals is to mention them on your Etsy shop announcement page.
Here’s what you could say:
The sale is on! [Shop name] is currently running a special. Save [e.g. 15% off, $10 off] your [e.g. next purchase, purchase of $30 or more] with coupon code [coupon code name]. Click here: [Etsy coupon link]. (The discount will automatically be applied at checkout.) Sale ends [end date]. Thanks for visiting!
Using Etsy’s Conversations
I reached out to Etsy’s support team to verify whether this was okay to do, and this is the response I got:
*Please note: Some sellers may be inclined to use Etsy’s Conversations to reach out to past buyers with a special offer, however, Conversations were primarily designed to handle transaction arrangements.
If there are a few previous buyers in particular that you’d like to offer a discount to via Conversations, you’re welcome to do so, but please know in the future that many members may interpret your message as spam. We would ask that you do not send these types of promotional messages through Etsy’s Conversations system.
Additionally, keep in mind that our policies state that members on Etsy are not allowed to send unsolicited advertisements or promotions, requests for donations, or “spam” to one another via Etsy Conversations.
More information about this can be found in our Terms of Use here: https://www.etsy.com/legal/
terms
You can read Etsy’s policies regarding Conversations here: https://www.etsy.com/legal/buyers/#conversations
So proceed with caution when using Etsy’s Conversations and definitely don’t make a habit of using this channel to promote your coupons and other special deals.
I hope you found this information useful! If you decide to run a sale or coupon campaign for your Etsy shop, leave a comment below and let me know how it goes! Also, if you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and followers.
