Why Etsy is better than a stand-alone website
When talking to creatives who are considering opening up a product based business, one of the most frequently asked questions I hear is..
Why is Etsy better than a stand-alone website?
I'm talking Squarespace, Wix, Big Cartel, Shopify, Wordpress.. all of the big names. None of them have what I consider to be the most amazing feature Etsy offers. THE BUILT-IN AUDIENCE OF 56 MILLION SHOPPERS. So if your mind isn't already blown, hunker down and get ready.
Etsy is basically its very own search engine.
Let that sink in for a minute. That means no competing with the millions upon billions upon jillions (that's a technical term, just in case you were wondering) of websites in a Google search. That means not having to drive your own traffic. That means not needing a massive social media following to start making sales. That means ready-to-purchase shoppers who have already made the decision to look for your goods on Etsy.
Big Cartel and Shopify are e-commerce hosts, but they don't have a database search function. Each shop is completely independent and responsible for driving their own traffic. Squarespace, Wix, and Wordpress all have e-commerce options as well, but again, no way to search through every shop on the platform.
So you can totally learn Google SEO, compete with literally every other website in the world, pay for advertising to drive traffic (Google, Facebook, etc.), build a massive social media following, funnel followers to your site and hope they buy, pay monthly or yearly subscription fees, and learn additional third party shipping apps..
OR!!!
You can learn Etsy SEO (which is a heck-ton of a lot easier), automatically get your shop in front of people who are already interested in your stuff, link your items with Google Shopping (for free!), pay ZERO monthly or yearly fees, and purchase all your shipping labels straight from Etsy (with a discount included).
Is it a no-brainer, or is it a no-brainer? I'll let you decide.
Need more convincing? I've got you covered! Grab my FREE guide with FIVE of the biggest reasons that Etsy is the number one place to start a creative business.
