How to Prepare Your Etsy Shop for Holiday PR
The holidays are around the corner and if you’re like me, you’ve already started working on it.
No, no… I don’t mean buying presents (although I may have started that too).
I’m talking about PR.
‘Tis the season for gift guides and product roundups. As more and more people turn away from big box stores in favor of unique boutiques, more and more Etsy shops have made appearances on major holiday gift guides.
And I only see this trend going up. Because of the pandemic, we’re going to see a huge bump in online holiday shopping. Think about it: your Etsy shop is a much better option than shopping in a crowded store, right?
So, with everyone staying safe and staying home, the media is going to put together gift guides that make sense for an at-home audience.
With ample opportunity, this is your year to get the media attention you deserve. The only question now is, how do you prepare your Etsy Shop for Holiday PR?
1. Put together a holiday-themed product
Holiday themed products create a sense of urgency for customers and the media too. If you can create a holiday scented candle line or color your craft in a holiday pallet, this will stand out and help your product get selected over more generic ones.
If you don’t have a reasonable way to make a themed product, I recommend throwing a few products together as a gift basket. You can invest a little into some minimal holiday-themed packaging and walah! You have a holiday-themed product.
2. Invest in your images
If it comes between investing in your packaging vs your images, I choose images.
At the very very very very very least, you need stellar product photos on a white background.
The media will definitely want to include a picture of your product and most of the time they want it on a white background. And frankly, not having a high quality photo of your product on a white background will likely disqualify you from getting featured.
If you can invest a little more and get some great shots of your products in context, holiday themed, or in any setting that grabs attention, it can help your brand and sales a lot.
Read: Everything Every Etsy Seller Should Know About PR
3. Make your about page dazzle
From what I know of the Etsy sellers I have worked with, they all have an interesting story.
You can bet on a reporter stopping by your about page to learn more about who you are, so give them something memorable.
Talk about why you got into your craft, how your products are different, and what they should mean to the customer. Make it personal and friendly, stay on brand, and be authentic.
4. Plan for an uptick in sales
Can you imagine the frustration of not getting your friend/partner/child’s gift in time for the holidays? Ugh… that’s a one way ticket to a bad review!
I’m not saying you need to invest in extra inventory right now…
...but I am saying you need a plan.
If your product is featured in a high-trafficked gift guide and orders are flooding in, what will you do?
First, have a celebratory glass of champagne?
Sure, but then you need to call in reinforcements. You should know how long it will take to get more inventory and who you can call to come work for you in a pinch. Whatever your business would need to quickly scale up, write it down.
5. Start reaching out to the media now
This brings us back to where we began: preparing for Holiday PR. If you’re going to get it, you need to start pitching your products ASAP.
The media works in advance, sometimes several weeks or even months. This means that right now, all the major publications are in the thick of selecting their holiday gift recommendations.
It doesn’t take much to pitch for a Holiday Gift Guide, and if you need help you can check out my free webinar to learn about it.
But absolutely, 100%, don’t wait. You don’t want to miss out on the biggest online holiday shopping season ever.