Etsy Seller Interview with Marcy of BackyardPatchHerbs

How BackyardPatchHerbs got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

I actually started my own website back in 1996, long before Etsy was even founded. However, marketing that way was a bit slow to progress, so when someone suggested I try out Etsy, I began listing items on the site in July 2010. I sold my items in person prior to that and was one of only a few handmade sellers on eBay starting in 1998.

But on Etsy, I found my niche. I grow the herbs myself and design and create the blends on my own, printing my labels at home and packaging them all by hand. That way I can control the pesticides (there are not any) and the preservatives (there are not any) in the blends, as well as make special custom blends for those with allergies and sensitivities. Back in 1996, I started out with six herbal teas, two herb mixes (one for Dill Dip and one for Italian Dressing), and some bath salts. Over time, I crafted more items in response to customer inquiries and personal experiments. I now make more than 200 different items, with different products available based on the season.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

I started growing herbs back in the 90s because I love herbal tea, but finding it commercially was hard and most of what was available was a single herb, like chamomile or peppermint.  Herb Tea, like black and green tea, should have nuances of flavor and depth, and richness.  You don’t get that from one herb in water, so I began growing herbs and crafting my own teas.  My favorite herb is lemon verbena, so I have several products that feature lemon verbena and those tend to be my favorites.. My Cinnamon Spice Tea, often referred to as the Pumpkin Spice herb tea is great once the weather turns cooler in the Fall, also my favorite season. 

Zesty Lemon was one of my first tea blends featuring lemon thyme, lemon verbena, lemon balm, lemongrass, and just a bit of lavender for color. I make and enjoy this tea all summer so it is still one of my favorites.

My salt-free Lemon Chive Dressing has all my favorite lemon herbs in it too and can be made into dressing three ways making it a must-have for my summer salads.  Dill Dip, my first product ever, is also a favorite and I love that with the herbs being freshly dried the flavor is rich and bright allowing one to make it with low-fat / no-fat ingredients and those enjoying it will never realize they are saving fat and calories because the taste is so vivid.

My passion for the flavors often gets people to try them in person, and online, I have to rely on my descriptions to share that excitement so I find flavors people recognize as more popular, like Garlic, Dill, and Rosemary, making my Garlic and Herb Combination, Herb de Provence Blend and Pickle DIYkits popular.

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

I think it was on November 27, 2010, that I got my first sale on Etsy. It was a scone and tea combination that I still sell, featuring my Zesty Lemon Tea. I love lemon herbs, so I guess it was special that the first sale was lemon-flavored! I tended to rely on Etsy for marketing, although I did join some groups to get my name out there, and that worked very well early on. I started a blog in 2010 as well, where I could share mine over a decade of herb-growing experience. That was the main place I marketed my products for years, and I now have the original blog as well as one on my personal website that focuses on recipes using my products. Eventually, I added a Facebook page to connect with students in the classes I teach on herb growing and using. That resulted in new customers as well. I linked up with gardening friends on Twitter between 2012 and 2015, so I do share images from my gardens there now. More recently, I have branched out on Instagram, making and posting videos of my herb blending. This is rather hit-and-miss, as editing is not my thing.

Managing BackyardPatchHerbs

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

I do all the work on the shop myself. I stage the products, take photos, write descriptions, and create seasonal collections. Canva helps me with graphic design. Trello keeps my marketing and blog posts on track and allows me to create posts ahead of time and keep track of them. I’ve had a newsletter through Mail Chimp for over two decades and share not only where I am speaking in person but also sales for products and featured recipes, along with helping folks find the blog and what I am sharing there throughout the seasons.

The ability to purchase shipping labels online has been the most beneficial to my business. I use Pirate Ship rather than Etsy's internal system, as the discounts are better and I can keep track of my shipments from eBay, Etsy, and my own website all in one place. I no longer stand in line with my packages to buy postage at the counter or kiosk. I weigh and pack them at home and just drop them off. This saves time and money, as online postage is so much cheaper. I am big on recycling, so I save and collect boxes all year for the fall season’s gift baskets.

The future of BackyardPatchHerbs 

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

I want to consistently post on social media so that I can create a dialog with my customers, answering herb questions, chatting about favorite herbs, and sharing my experiments with new and old recipes. After my increase in sales this fall, I realized it was time to get some help, and I am deciding if that help should be in posting on social media, gardening with the herbs, or packaging the products. After a recent move, I now have prep space large enough for more than one person. All that is left is to streamline my process so someone else can assist me. I’d like to be able to help someone join the workforce and perhaps branch out with a partner who can use my herbs in bath products or other creative ideas. I am great with edibles. I am beginning to expand into stores, which means creating more professional packaging.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

Many people opened businesses in 2020. My sales on Etsy that year were 4–5 times what they were the year before. 2021 was still quite high, but by 2022, they had returned to normal. So you have to realize: can your shop give you the money you need in normal times? Never compare anything to 2020. The key with Etsy is to find ways to drive folks to your shop—via social media, coupons you hand out in person, or a newsletter. Etsy will bring you customers, but you must do so also. Always take advantage of the tools Etsy provides to evaluate your success. And if things are not selling, don’t go for the discount first; go for the value-added and homemade and raise the price to increase the perceived value.

Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: $820 from Etsy on average, but it is over $2000 a month in December and November. However, I also make $600 to $800 a month in speaker fees.

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: Programs are just my time, so 100%, but with the herbs, it is around 50%.

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 4.6% is my conversion rate, up from 2.3% in the previous 12 months.