As an artisan and small business owner, you can spend hours, days even, coming up with a catalog of items and still end up with little to no sales. It can feel like a daunting, never-ending pile of prep and research to come up with a new best selling product.
Not only is there product research to do, there is also industry research to be done that will help inform your shop and your product SEO rankings. With any online marketplace, using popular search terms and keywords in your product title and description increases how often it comes up in the search bars of prospective customers. The tricky part is figuring out what the popular keywords are.
However, there is a resource that you can use that will help with your keyword research. It provides valuable insights into what is trending in the industry and you can access it right now, for free!
On Etsy, there is a section called The Seller Handbook, which has hundreds of articles, guides, and marketplace announcements to help you optimize your online sales. Within The Seller Handbook is a seasonally published article called Marketplace Insights, or the Etsy Trend Report. This report will become your secret weapon to maximize the power of your search terms and product inventory.
What Are Marketplace Insights?
The Etsy Trend Report is a seller’s guide to trending items in the industry. These articles discuss the season’s current and projected trends using research across all platforms, not just Etsy. It provides a little sneak peek into some key items and styles that are projected to be popular by using specific keyword, search-driven data.
Let’s break that down. The report pulls data from the platform (and other search engines) to see what is being searched for. It then uses that data to highlight key things that are selling well, or are projected to sell well, in certain niches and categories. Sellers can then use the report to create new trending items that will bring in more customers and sales.
How to Use the Trend Report
As a research tool, the Marketplace Insight articles can inspire you to make changes and updates to your current product catalog. When reading through the report, be sure to take note of things that you can do to help optimize your products. Don’t shy away from new ideas either! The report can ignite fresh and creative ways that you can use trending products or keywords in your shop.
Take Note of All the Highlighted Trends
The report breaks down trends into multiple categories making it easy to figure out what is popular in certain niches. Rather than just skipping over the categories you don’t sell in, use it to your advantage to track the trends and see what is selling in other categories. Highlight each trend and use that to get those creative juices flowing for fresh, new ideas. Oftentimes, you will find a running theme throughout the various niches and categories.
For example, if bright, colorful hues are selling in a clothing category and you are a fine jewelry maker, incorporate those color schemes into your next line of jewelry. Think of these trends as a one-size-fits-all; use the trends to your advantage no matter what type of item you’re selling.
Gather Insights to Expand Your Product Catalog
With the shared insights, use the report to widen your catalog of products and expand your customer base. Note items that are selling in other categories and see if you can incorporate similar items into your shop.
Say that you sell custom hand embroidered tote bags and you see that wall art is a trending, top-searched item. Try to see how you can expand your catalog to include something that falls into that trend, like hanging embroidered wall art.
Etsy often reports on trending aesthetics, designs, and patterns. Think the recent upsurge in cottagecore themed items or the throwback to retro design elements, all with a modern, unique twist. Noting these trend elements is important.
If bold and bright retro-style t-shirts are selling, you could also use that retro trend on mugs, paintings, custom gifts, or whatever you may be selling. By using the trend report in this way, you are sure to create new items that fit your customer base and fall right into that trending search result.
Trending Your Shop Style
There are also ways that you can use the report to help revamp your shop style or brand. Staying true to your brand aesthetic is always important, but incorporating some of the trending aesthetics can help keep your marketing fresh and stylish.
Update your photos with on-trend styling or seasonal accents. Optimize and refresh your shop logo or banner to include trending keywords. And switch up what items you are promoting or featuring in your shop.
How to Find Etsy’s Marketplace Insights
You might be thinking, but what if I am not on the Etsy platform? How can I use or access the trend report to help grow my business and product catalog?
And the answer is the same! You can still use and access the Seller Handbook even if you are not an Etsy seller. You don’t need an Etsy account to access the handbook either. The Seller Handbook is available to anyone and can be found with a simple Google search. It is a great resource for sellers, no matter where you are selling.
Even if you are not on Etsy and are selling within other marketplaces, you can still use these trends to help boost sales by having trendy items in your shop. Search trends are trends for a reason; shoppers are searching for them no matter the platform. So, why not use the trend report to help inform your research when creating new products to boost your business?
Use Industry Trends to Grow Your Business
The Etsy Trend Report is an invaluable resource for any small business looking to grow its product catalog with up-to-date and trending topics. Not only does it highlight specific items within some of the biggest niches, but it also provides insights into certain design aesthetics, patterns, and specific styles that are popular and on the rise. It is something any seller can tap into to help build and grow their business.
Using this report, you can build a catalog of new items that are on trend with what is currently popular and what is projected to sell. Focus on what is trending in your niche but also use cross-category research to expand your current catalog of products. No matter what you sell or where you sell your items, following and staying ahead of the trends will help put your shop in the spotlight!
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