I like to pick an objective to focus on every month, because it helps me stay productive. This past month, my focus has been on my Etsy shop. Here are some things that have helped me step up my Etsy game:

• Ship from your house. I really hate going to the post office, so I recently started using USPS pickup. You can schedule a home pickup online, and it's 100% free. Etsy has a "print address label" feature, so all you need is a label printer to create your own postage. I just bought this one, and I love it so far.

• Upgrading your packaging. Lately, I've been working on prettying up my packaging. I designed several new stickers and inserts. As I mentioned, I've also been printing my own USPS labels, which look much cleaner than hand-addressed envelopes.

• Updating listing copy. I've copied and pasted product descriptions for years. However, I like reading unique listing copy on other shops. It makes things feel more personable, and like more love went into making the product. Right now, I'm working on implementing this in my shop.

• Planning sales. I've always been pretty bad about running sales in my shop. I'm currently working on a calendar of sales, along with on-brand creative to promote those sales. 

• Offering incentives. I love getting reviews from customers. As a way of saying thank you, I decided to offer a new coupons for anyone who leaves me a review. I also printed an insert to package up with my prints, as a way to promote this incentive.

• Digital decluttering. Make sure all your conversations are wrapped up and that all your open orders are closed. This is so important in staying organized.

• Renaming shop. You used to not be able to change this on Etsy. Up until recently, I was still using my personal name as my shop name. I just changed it this past month.

• Revisiting photography & branding. This is probably the most important thing you could spend time on. Having a solid look and feel is the main factor that drives traffic to your shop. If you don't have the time and resources to take great photos, look into stock images. Adobe Stock has a pretty affordable plan - 10 images per month for $29.99. 

• Creating a shop video. I haven't done this one yet, but it's on my list. I love watching the videos that other shops have posted!

• Connecting with other sellers. Start a team, message other sellers, favorite shops. It's easy to work in a bubble, especially when you're managing a small business. However, you can learn a lot from other Etsy sellers, which will help you run your business better.