9th Month on Etsy Selling Digital Products 👩‍💻 closed 2nd shop, outsourcing, should I reveal my shop

[@DinaLu]

Hope you enjoyed this video and let me know what you think in the comments! ❤ Should I reveal my shop at the 1-year mark? What are you doing about the square photos change? 🤷‍♀

[@dotpenji]

Your video update was incredibly insightful and thorough. It's impressive how you're actively managing your Etsy shop's performance and adapting your strategies. 😊 I'm curious, with the changes you're making in terms of outsourcing and refining your listings, have you seen any noticeable improvements in your conversion rates or overall sales? Keep up the awesome work and can't wait to hear more about your progress! 🚀

[@DinaLu]

Thank you so much! I just started to work on the listing images, so I don't really see any difference in conversion as of now, but I'm sure I'll have an update later. Outsourcing some of the design has definitely helped me to be more consistent in posting new listings!

[@DenverOrtiz]

Your video update showcased proactive shop management and adaptable strategies. Kudos @Dinalu

[@monicasoriano8581]

Great content!

[@monalizapantoja8490]

Agree! @dotpenji

[@kristineambas]

I agree with your sentiment! The video update provided valuable insights into actively managing the Etsy shop's performance and adapting strategies.

[@sardartoqeer4044]

You earn a New subscriber, this is my very first comment on any KZbin video! I've really enjoyed watching and learning from your videos. You deserve even more recognition for your amazing work. Keep it up! ❤️

[@DinaLu]

Awww I'm so honoured to be the first comment!!!! Thank you so much!!

[@JenniferAltman]

Your videos are so motivating! And I love seeing your insights, I'm just now learning etsy so I'm about to binge watch all your videos 😅

[@DinaLu]

Awww thanks Jennifer! Glad it's motivating 🙌 thanks for watching and have fun binging haha

[@michaellim7635]

Really love how honest and realistic you are about your biz journey. Thanks for sharing!

[@DinaLu]

Thank you Michael!!

[@Alixiacafe]

I think that if you will reveal your shop you will have a lot of new orders from youtube and this will be great! And it will be more interesting analyzing listing and design you make! About copy it’s a risk but even if they copy you will be the original, i don’t know if is possible to report a design as a copy on etsy it can be an idea

[@DinaLu]

Yeah that's true, and since my templates are made for business owners, there is some overlap with my audience. I could also make more videos on that topic of "how to make ____ for your business."

[@SnappingPOV]

💟Thank you so much. Always wait for your videos which gives me motivation to upload on my channel🥰 and NEVER GIVE UP and work smart and consistent for best results. And I am enjoying it🤩☺

[@DinaLu]

Aww yay so happy to hear this!!

[@SheGotHelicopters]

Thanks for the update, Dina. I like the idea of a 1-year shop reveal, and hoping you do it. You've thrown around the idea of stopping the Etsy stuff. If you were to do that, a 1-year reveal would be a nice finale, and would leave a nice legacy on your KZbin channel about your experience. Best of luck either way. Looking forward to the next one...

[@DinaLu]

Thank you! Haha yes you're right, I've been been on and off about my shop. I can always start a brand new one after the 1-year reveal as a new "case study" haha.

[@SheGotHelicopters]

@@DinaLu Hey, I was also thinking that if you were to stop developing this Etsy shop, that would negate the negative effects of revealing your shop (losing revenue to others who copy you). Also, the shop reveal might significantly boost the youtube views, which may (or may not) be more important to you than the Etsy shop anyway. Just a perspective to consider :)

[@DinaLu]

​@@SheGotHelicopters Yeah maybe at the 1-year mark, my goal with the current Etsy shop will just be to maintain it instead of growing it. I think it'll be fun to create a new Etsy shop from scratch and see if I can grow that one even faster haha. We'll see! Yes my KZbin is way more important than my Etsy shop :)

[@joshdehustler]

Thank you for sharing this information. I'm excited about the chance to experiment with it and showcase it to my audience. I truly value your insights

[@DinaLu]

You're welcome, Josh! Good luck!

[@joshdehustler]

@DinaLu thanks 😊, please can you make a video on best affiliate marketing to site

[@albieberk5768]

I love what you're doing and all the real information you give.

[@DinaLu]

Yay! Glad to hear that!

[@nicolesanchez6251]

I love your business transparency and how you share the good, the bad, the ugly and your personal perspective! I cant wait for the next vid 😁.

[@DinaLu]

Aww so happy to hear that!!! :)

[@epicnguyens2821]

Firstly, loved the video. Secondly, I think copying is going to happen regardless, whether you share or not. SO, if showing it helps more people understand the ins and outs, then it would be a helpful tool to you and this channel. Also, it gives you a chance to get feedback on the shop as well, or advice on things you may not have thought of. Then you can implement different things to see if they improve things so we can all learn and see if they do. Lastly, I have been hesitant on Etsy for many reasons. but one of the is the control issues of them doing whatever they want. So, can't wait for the new video!

[@DinaLu]

Thank you so much! And yes, I agree with everything you said. I think the data after revealing the shop will be very skewed (especially the conversion rate since there will be a lot of people just checking out the shop from KZbin) but yeah I think it might be good overall. Currently editing that video, hope it'll help you make a decision :)

[@sethasophanna7841]

Very interesting. Finally a youtube video with a realistic approach on etsy sales. I am very interested in creating editable templates. There are sellers who offer for example editable cv templates which you then can edit in Word. But it's clearly not created in Word. Do you maybe know from which program you're able to convert to Word?

[@DinaLu]

Thank you! Glad you found it helpful! Hmmm I'm not too sure about that because I don't create CV templates, sorry!

[@deniserichardson5379]

Yes, Etsy made a change to listing photo size so you'll need to edit each manually! I just finished 241 listings.

[@DinaLu]

Oh man! That's a lot. You mean you kept the same dimensions but just moved your elements around so that it fits into a square when cropped?

[@deniserichardson5379]

@@DinaLu That's correct! I just moved my elements to fits into a square crop!

[@DinaLu]

@@deniserichardson5379 I started to edit my listings in that way too!

[@prufrock7697]

Youre so knowledgable about marketing. If self-taught, what's one blog or tool you would recommend for someone who wants to learn about mktg? I wanna say cool stuff like you do: "It will have an overall net positive effect" and know what it means!

[@DinaLu]

Aww thank you! I went to business school so I learned the basics of marketing there (didn't specialize in it though). But I learned the most just from running my own business for the last 5 years. I'd recommend 1) Starting your own business and doing marketing for it, learning with the flow 2) Reading blogs/watching KZbin videos/reading books on marketing

[@prufrock7697]

@DinaLu Well, that explains your air of authority, D 😃 (having gone to business school!) Studying the arts feels like I missed out on learning about practical reality lol! Ty for suggesting that I learn by doing 😊😘

[@somegreenlife249]

Hi, I wouldn't publish it. I have a small channel myself about making candles and it's incredible how much you get copied. In the beginning I had no problem sharing anything and had to learn what I can share without problems and what may be detrimental to.

[@DinaLu]

Oh no, sorry to hear that! What exactly did they copy? The branding, marketing of the candles?

[@jetimpulse]

hey dina! nice to see you again

[@DinaLu]

Yuppp new video!

[@OfirLavi-b8h]

I really like your videos! I enjoy watching them. I know you from your first video on Etsy, it was on the main page of my KZbin for some reason. before that I didn't know anything about digital products and all that. But it interested me and I loved your video and I decided to give it a try too so I opened a shop too!! I'm having a bit of a hard time and I've spent more money on advertisements than I expected, but for now I'm continuing. Honestly, I really wanted you to reveal your shop because I was really really interested in how you found your niche, how you knew it would be successful and how you really succeed (even if it's not a lot of money) and simply in general your whole thinking about the shop and that. But I really understand you considering it because obviously some will be copied from you and you might lose money and customers that way. Either way I'll keep watching your videos!!💖 (Sorry for the bad English, it's not my first language😅)

[@DinaLu]

Thank you so much! And yeah I think it would be very interesting if I revealed my shop. There would be so much we could talk about, like how I found the niche, and everything else you mentioned. Your English is great by the way!

[@saya1865]

Personally I think if you reveal your account you could make a lot of money from the KZbin views. I believe you shouldn’t worry about people who’ll copy you cause 1:that means they think your work is a great idea 2: nobody can be you, it doesn’t matter how much they try to copy or what they copy their store isn’t YOURS. It’ll never be the same. People can have the answer/ idea but don’t know what to do with it as well. I say don’t worry.

[@DinaLu]

Thank you Saya! Those are great points and mindsets that I'll take into consideration!

[@berylmarieisblessed]

OMG youre right, ppl are gonna copy. Revealing the shop is something a lot of KZbinrs do but nobody is forcing you. lots of great informative content in your videos, ESP the parts about revisiting your listing thumbnail, product descriptions, etc. but just some friendly feedback--YES it is getting complainy and the square listing photos do suck kinda. But play the game, is my opinion. You're doing great.

[@DinaLu]

Thank you so much! Still thinking about whether or not I want to reveal my shop haha.

[@saletizo]

​@@DinaLucheck HappyDownloads she is in planner niche, 455k subscribers on YT and bunch of shops seling her products without change. People will just download files and sell as own or use your canva links.

[@BSPoK]

9 months! Dina 🎉 Consistency! Congratulations.. we’re all complaining all the time lol so don’t worry about it 😇

[@DinaLu]

Thank you!!

[@Etsyexpert001]

Hi Dina, How we find digital product keywords without trademark for Etsy digital product shop

[@eglesap4897]

How you find out what are u going to sell? As it seems market is saturated in every niche,,

[@DinaLu]

Every market is saturated, but I believe you can find opportunity in every saturated market if you niche down. As for me, I had some experience in that niche already so I know what the customer is looking for. I would recommend you check out my 1 hour tutorial called "how to start an Etsy shop in 2023," I show you how to do market research 😊

[@rumo9]

Honestly if you're relying on Etsy for a significant portion of your income, I wouldn't reveal your shop! Copying is def annoying but I know a lot of other Etsy KZbinrs don't reveal their primary store because it sends traffic and clicks that don't end up converting into sales, which could hurt the listing quality score. I love that you want to share more with us though! At the end of the day it's your call :)

[@DinaLu]

Yeah I agree! But right now Etsy isn't a significant portion of my income and I don't plan it to be ... but even if it WAS a significant portion of my income, I wouldn't rely on it because I think it's unstable (based on my own experience so far... but I think it COULD be stable for some people depending on several factors). Fingers crossed the income will go up though hahaha.

[@michelle_stonesoup]

Can you share more about where you found your freelancers and whether they are accepting other clients?

[@Anjali_24_Singh]

Do you want freelancer Canva designers? Or SMM ?

[@DinaLu]

I hired my 2 assistants on Upwork!

[@CaliberDawn]

I think it well be a net positive and u could tech use this platform to call any out!

[@DinaLu]

Haha we'll seeeeee

[@luisapulvirenti7046]

Hi Dina! How did you find the two people who help you?

[@DinaLu]

Both were from Upwork!

[@kathbumbelina2621]

Someone already copied you and you haven't revealed your shop on here. I think that there will a greater good by revealing it tbh!!! I changed my etsy listing images when I seen the text cut off 😆 I couldn't stop thinking bout it.

[@DinaLu]

Yeah I'll have to think about it some more haha. And nice you changed them! I think eventually I should but it's going to take some time.... haha

[@annaspeaks373]

I have no experience with etsy but when I see your videos I need to watch. Is etsy beginner friendly?

[@DinaLu]

I'd say yes, in terms of setting up a shop. It's not like building your own website or needing to connect payment platforms to your website, but it does have a lot of downsides which I'll talk about in a video coming out in 2 weeks. Everyone CAN start an Etsy shop as a beginner, but that doesn't mean everyone SHOULD.

[@annaspeaks373]

@@DinaLuLiked how you said that. I will wait for a video❤

[@cicekfl]

do not reveal the shop...One day, it will be your main source of income, you do not wanna ruin it..

[@DinaLu]

I'm not actually planning for Etsy to be my main source of income. For me it's more of an experiment still and not a commitment.

[@albieberk5768]

I wouldn't reveal it. For one reason, it will interfere with your "clinical study" of selling on ETSY.

[@DinaLu]

That's true, but revealing the shop after 1 year would allow me to talk about the "clinical study" in way more depth, even though it technically ends the clinical study. I can always make a new anonymous shop haha for another study.

[@adolphekatia9418]

Hi Dina! I've been enjoying your informative Etsy videos, and I appreciate your consideration for shop owners and the issue of copycats. I wanted to share a suggestion - since you're careful about protecting your own shop, could you consider extending the same courtesy to others by hiding their shop names when showcasing them? Respecting their privacy could make your videos even more valuable and respectful of the Etsy community. Keep up the great work! 🌟

[@DinaLu]

Glad you're enjoying the videos!😊 Hmmmm interesting, I'm not sure I completely understand... These shops I show (for example, when I talk about the recent square photos change) and their products are all public on Etsy, so why should I hide their shop names? If I hide their names while you can see their products publicly, it's not giving them credit. Could you clarify?

[@adolphekatia9418]

Ah, showing their shop names invites for copycats. The exact reasons why you're not showing your shop name, which I respect. I've noticed that KZbinr Cassiy Johnson, who also creates Etsy-related content, opts to hide shop names in her videos. While viewers can still find the shops, this approach requires more effort. I genuinely appreciate your channel for creating such engaging and delightful content.

[@DinaLu]

Ahhh I see! Thanks for bringing this up and I think I'll have to think about this one, depending on how I'm talking about those other shops and what topic it is. Sometimes, I just click into a random Etsy shop (from my incognito browser) to show an example, so in this case, I don't think it's necessary to hide the shop's name since everything is public and I'm not commenting or critiquing something specific from that shop. Appreciate you bringing this up, though! If you have other suggestions, I'm open to them as well.

[@cordialgreetingsart]

I personally wouldn't reveal your shop. You've worked too hard on it. I wouldn't change your photo sizes because this is still the time of year of testing. They test heavy in the summer and fall up until November. It would be awful if you changed all the sizes and they change it back. It's a constant roller coaster of testing. Just leave it where it is.

[@DinaLu]

I think I'll update the cover photo so that when it's cropped into a square, the text isn't cut off. But yeah I agree, changing the dimensions of ALL of them would be such a hassle.

[@LofiRelaxationAndChill]

If your Etsy shop is your source income... Don't show it to the public.

[@DinaLu]

Yeah I would agree with that! But I'm making KZbin my main income :)

[@shubhamsarkar9680]

you should not reveal your shop. Then the data will be of no use. Thanks...

[@DinaLu]

Hmm interesting... I think if I reveal my shop, I won't focus so much on the data anymore. It will be educational/tutorial/explainer videos on what worked and what didn't.

[@shubhamsarkar9680]

@@DinaLu Oh, now I understand your thought process. That would be interesting.

[@danielle-lauraward4190]

Don't reveal your shop. I have a copy cat for my shop that started out as a client and gave us so much praise, shared our stuff, tried to be friendly then flat out copied us. It hurt so much, mostly because they gave us so much support before they started copying us. I hate to say it but the same could happen here. Imagine how much it'll hurt finding out a subscriber here has copied you. Keep it secret, your videos show how realistic Etsy can be regardless of your niche or product. I have 3 shops in total, all offering the same products but in different styles, all do differently and vary in sales. My point is that the realism you offer doesn't require us to know your shops niche, its just good to know the reality of Etsy because the 1k in a week videos are not realistic, regardless of their niche.

[@DinaLu]

Oh man so sorry to hear that Danielle! That really sucks. Did you speak to that client after they copied? Yeah, copycats is what I'm scared of. Let's see how my Etsy shop does and if it does so-so or bad, I might reveal it haha. Might start another one just for fun :) And thanks for saying that the realism I offer doesn't require knowing my shop's niche, I appreciate that!

[@hippowafflesify]

I would not reveal your shop to be honest not unless your youtube is giving you significant amount for your income because once you lose that niche of your shop, that income source is going to be affected for sure.

[@DinaLu]

Yeah let's see how my Etsy income goes! I don't plan on Etsy being my main source of income, but the more it makes, the harder it will be to reveal it haha, but it would be great case study if I do reveal it. I'll decide later :)

[@WizSocia]

I would say dont reveal it

[@kizarumelon2477]

Don’t reveal your shop. It’ll be the death of your shop. Instead. Plz keep doing these monthly reports :).

[@DinaLu]

Haha I'm still thinking about it!

[@SamaaadBD]

Do not reveal your shop :)

[@kwesibruno]

hiking partner.