Tips for Etsy Sellers: How to Use Etsy Conversations

By: Rebecca George for CheapThriftyLiving

Trying to make more money by selling on Etsy? Using Etsy's Conversations feature is a simple and effective way to boost your sales, grow your audience, and make more money with faithful customers.

It's also just a great way to boost your customer's experience and your relationships with other Etsy sellers.

Keep in mind, though, that there is a certain etiquette among Etsy users as to how and when to use this valuable feature. Using it too much can be annoying, and not using at all can be detrimental to your business.

What Are Etsy's "Conversations?"

“Conversations” (or “convos”) is Etsy’s internal messaging system. It’s a really useful tool for communicating with customers and other sellers within the site. There are set etiquette rules to using this feature, but if you’re new to Etsy these may seem unclear. Here is a simple guide to get you started!

How to Use Etsy Conversations

DO use convos mainly to discuss details for custom listings, answer questions from customers, and to confirm orders. Responding quickly to messages from your Etsy customers will give you an advantage over sellers who aren’t as fast. I often have shoppers compliment my speedy replies to convos, setting a positive mood for the whole transaction. This doesn’t mean that you need to wake up in the middle of the night to answers messages, but do try to write back quickly during normal hours.

DO use convos of you want to notify other sellers their item is included in an Etsy treasury you’ve created. This info will also show up in their Activity Feed, but it’s okay to send a quick message with a link to the treasury. Make sure to vary your messages somewhat from person to person so you don’t get flagged for spam and temporarily locked out of the system.

How NOT to Use Etsy Conversations

This leads to my next point…

DON’T send unsolicited messages to other sellers or buyers on Etsy with random discounts, coupons, or other sales pitches and offers. Lots of newbie Etsy sellers have made this mistake because they get excited by someone favoriting (or “hearting”) their products or shop. But ultimately this is against Etsy’s TOU’s (Terms of Use) and you can be reprimanded if it’s reported.

DON’T delete important messages from your convos- even when you have them in your email inbox. It’s much easier to double-check details of your orders when they’re all together in your convo folders. Also, if you ever need to send Etsy information pertaining to a case opened by a customer this will make it easier to find the correspondence.