Getting more followers is always a good thing right?! So how you can you get more real Etsy followers? Read more about why followers matter and how to get more without paying for them.
How do buyers follow you on Etsy?
Buyers can follow you on Etsy by clicking the “Follow shop” button displayed on your shop home page on a desktop or in the Etsy app.
What happens when someone follows you on Etsy?
When a buyer follows you, they will get updates about new listings and sales from your shop. Buyers will find this in the upper right hand corner on a desktop as shown below where I've highlighted the “deals” section.
Buyers can also find the “deals” section on the orange buyer app.
App buyers will also get updates from favorited shops under the “favorites” section of the app.
Does having more followers help your Etsy shop?
Having more Etsy followers can help your Etsy shop. The more followers you have, the more people will be notified of your shop updates, sales, and new listings.
It's really important, however, that your shop followers are real people who enjoy your products and want to purchase from you in the future.
How to get more followers on Etsy?
There are a lot of ways you can get more legitimate followers on Etsy. Here are some great ideas:
Create a graphic for your listings asking buyers to favorite your shop to get future updates
Ask buyers to favorite your shop in your post-purchase message
Run an Instagram giveaway and ask followers to favorite your Etsy shop
Send an email to your list and offer an exclusive coupon to subscribers who favorite your shop
How else should I market my business?
Advertising is an important part of any small business. Besides asking people to favorite your Etsy shop, consider promoting on social media and Pinterest.
You should also start an email list to make sure your engaged potential customers can hear from you regularly regardless of what the social media algorithms are doing that week.
Should I buy followers on Etsy?
Never buy Etsy followers. You might think it will have a positive impact because you can reach a wider audience, but unfortunately, the followers will be bot accounts that give you no engagement and no sales.
This ends up actually hurting your shop in the long run because you get some traffic but no sales. That lowers your conversion rate which hurts your organic search ranking.
That creates a cycle where you get less and less traffic and sales from real buyers.
Should I participate in Follow for Follow games?
While these “games” in the Etsy forums or Etsy Facebook groups might not hurt your shop as much as buying fake traffic and followers, they are certainly a waste of time at best.
Etsy is able to tell the difference between real favorites from shoppers and fake engagement like follow-for-follow games. Please don't participate in these with other sellers.
Do I need the lowest prices to get followers?
You do not always need to compete solely on price to get customers from Etsy. Buyers on Etsy are searching for products at all different price points. Instead of lowering your price, help your audience see the value in what you're making through your photography, packaging, and customer service.
How to get more traffic on Etsy
There are much quicker ways to get traffic and sales on Etsy than by focusing on your follower count. Here are the strategies you should start with:
Search engine optimization: SEO helps you show up in search results for their 95 million + buyers. Learn more about that algorithm here.
Full product lines: Quantity is important on Etsy. Learn more about how full product lines help you saturate keywords in your shop and get found in Etsy search.
Etsy ads: Advertising on the Etsy market can be a great way to increase sales if your shop already has a good conversion rate. Click here to learn more about ads.
Conclusion
Honestly, I thought I'd seen it all when it came to Etsy scammers preying on sellers, but purchasing followers for Etsy is a new low for these scammers.
Aim to get more organic followers from customers who find you through Etsy's website and app. Don't pay for followers or try to game the system by playing games with other sellers.
