This may come as a surprise, but I need to tell you: if you haven’t prepared for Valentine’s day, you are running out of time. I have compiled a handful of last minute actions you can take to make some money from the festival of love.
Timing is everything in retail, and you need to get it right to make the most out of your opportunities. People go crazy about gifting each other on Valentine’s day, so your next holiday opportunity is coming up in February. However, you need to start prepping as early as November to make the most out of it.
No worries, you can still do some last minute settings and fixes, but first of all, grab your calendar right now and make a reminder to start prepping for Valentine’s day, 2022 at the end of October. For now, let’s see what we can save from the upcoming season for your business.
Product updates
If that’s an option for your portfolio, you need to think about updating your products, to make them more compatible with Valentine’s day. Instead of a white candle holder, make some with hearts, or if you sell necklaces, make some with heart-shaped beads. As cheesy as it may feel, hearts sell.
SEO updates
Optimizing your product information, titles and tags for Valentine’s day searches may be a bit late in January, but it can still do a lot to boost your sales in the remaining couple of weeks. Here are 6 ideas to up your game with refreshing your tags and making them perform better during this holiday season:
1. Personalized gifts run great during Valentine’s, so if you offer custom made products, now is the time to add these tags:
– personalized Valentines gift for him
– custom Valentines gift for her
2. Incorporate “Valentines gift” in the name of your products:
– Valentines gift earrings
– Valentines gift bracelets
– Valentines gift necklace
3. There will be a lot of sellers using the “Valentines gift” tag, so even better if you insert an adjective in front of the “Valentines gift” tag like this:
– unique Valentines gift
– cute Valentines gift
– romantic Valentines gift
4. Think about who can be gifted with your products for Valentines and insert it in the tag phrase either in the front:
– girlfriend Valentines gift
– boyfriend Valentines gift
– husband Valentines gift
– wife Valentines gift
5. Or in the back of the phrase:
– Valentines gift for husband
– Valentines gift for wife
– Valentines gift for boyfriend
6. You can diversify your tags with the word “new” to target new lovers, new moms or dads. All the better, since these people are even more likely to buy gifts for each other:
– Valentines gift for new boyfriend
– Valentines gift for new girlfriend
– Valentines gift for new mom
6 useful tools
If you update your tags and product names, you are only half way done, so don’t rest just yet. Keep pushing your opportunities with the next 6 ideas:
- It is not enough to put the new updated keywords in the titles and tags, they need to go into the product description, too, so take the time and update your product descriptions as well.
- Make sure you use the keywords you use in the new product titles so that everything would be lined up. This way your shop performs better in searches and presents a unified feel.
- Make sure that the front page product pictures are on a light color background and they are of high quality and sharp. Valentine’s day sells better with such settings. Advertise those that are most likely to sell for Valentine’s.
- Use your banner as an extra space to advertise – for free. Indicate your special Valentine’s offerings in your banner and use your new product pictures. Use a carousel banner to show even more product pictures.
- Don’t forget to post your special Valentine’s day offerings in your social media accounts. May it be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any other channel, put out regular posts about the upcoming holiday and your best offers.
- If you have newsletter subscribers, use it wisely. Notify your customers in advance about your offerings and you can even send out reminders that the day is approaching. Just don’t overdo it, because people get fed up with too much reminder.
Go the extra mile
Etsy shoppers just loooove free shipping. If you can incorporate the cost of shipping in your product prices, offer free shipping. Don’t forget: it is not your cost, since you build it into your prices, but looks very attractive to the general shopper on Etsy.
Offer free gift wrapping for Valentine’s day. A neat wrapping paper with a bow is not costly and such an extra offer may be just what makes someone choose you over your competitors.
There is still some time to prepare your Etsy shop for Valentine’s day, but don’t waste it. Go to your Etsy shop right now and get to work. Use as many or as little from the above list as you see fit and check how these changes impact your sales volume this year.
I’d love to hear about your success stories. Get in touch and let me know how it all worked out. Let’s talk.
