Etsy Seller Interview with Valerie of BettyLuPaperie

How BettyLuPaperie 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’m Valerie from Betty Lu Paperie, where I offer wedding stationery and paper accessories that honor etiquette and embrace artful design.
Betty Lu Paperie was created in 2013, after I designed invitations for my own wedding. I was the bride who never found the invitation I wanted, and my goal was to serve brides by creating the stationery and ordering experience I couldn’t find for myself. I knew I could make the process less stressful and more enjoyable—that’s what I set out to do then, and that's what I seek to do for BLP couples now.
Initially, Betty Lu Paperie was just a side hustle. I had a full-time job at a fashion magazine that I loved. However, after going viral on Pinterest and learning how to use Etsy strategically, I quit my job and decided to focus solely on BLP.When I look back on the past (almost) ten years, I’ve never felt happier than the day I chose paper over Prada. This business gives me the opportunity to serve brides and celebrate marriages, and that’s the part of this work I love.
On a more sentimental note, I named my stationery business for my aunt, Betty—a quintessentially southern woman who was an incredible cook and an even better hostess. Her hospitable nature inspires the very heart of this paper shop. A portion of all sales is donated in her honor to organizations that help empower women, promote equality, and protect the environment.
Almost all of my products are made right here in the United States. I don’t print anything in house; everything is outsourced to incredibly talented and reliable print shops and production partners in the US. Not only does this free up time for me to spend in my business doing other projects like social media or packing orders, but it also allows me to keep costs down and quality consistent.

Favorite items

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

This is my favorite letterpress wedding invitation, and it’s also one of my most popular designs among clients. I feel like it really embodies what my ideal client is looking for in terms of design and aesthetic—it’s clean and simple, and the wedding crest makes the perfect heirloom. I share the digital file of the crest with clients as a keepsake so they can use it on everything from wedding favors to a set of linens for their home.

Another top product that my clients love is this return address stamp. It has always sold pretty well, but after it was featured in Brides Magazine in 2020 as a unique engagement gift idea, sales nearly tripled. Thankfully, that feature kept me afloat during the pandemic, when most weddings were postponed or even canceled.

Funny enough, I never imagined it being used as an engagement gift. I created it for clients who wanted to hand-address their own envelopes. But now, I get so many couples who receive the stamp as an engagement gift and then look up my stationery shop afterward and decide to order invitations.

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?

About two months But, to be honest, I was just having fun with it back then. I didn’t really have everything worked out yet. I just knew that I wanted to sell wedding stationery and help out other brides. Plus, ten years ago, there wasn’t any knowledge about how to sell on Etsy. We all just kind of had to figure it out on our own! So, I think I got pretty lucky with my first couple of sales. Today, now that Etsy has so many regular shoppers, it might be a lot quicker to make your first sale.
To gain new clients on Etsy, I use Etsy ads. And although I do spend a good bit on advertising depending on the time of year, it doesn’t account for the majority of my sales. For example, over the last month, 16 out of 42 orders came from Etsy ads.
Because I’ve been featured on other websites and publications (like Brides Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Southern Living), I get a good bit of traffic from those sources.
Really good SEO, being a "star seller," offering free shipping, and being a consistent and reliable seller also help make my listings appear higher in search.
For those who are just starting out, I recommend finding a niche and focusing on creating a really great product within that niche. Share your story, explain what sets you apart from others, and start promoting on one social media network.

Managing BettyLuPaperie

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?

It’s just me! Because everything in my shop is fully personalized, there are a lot of steps in my client management process. So I organize clients into different progress categories on Etsy within the "Orders and Shipping" tab.
Progress Categories include "New,"  "Waiting on Info,"  "Waiting on Approval,"  "To Print,"  and "In Production." Most of these categories are pretty self-explanatory, but I use the "Waiting on Info" tab for clients who have not sent in their invitation wording yet, and I use the "Waiting on Approval" tab for clients who have not finalized their proofs yet.
I order all of my shipping supplies through Uline, and I use Etsy shipping labels. I try to batch orders so that I can ship everything out on the same day. This way, I’m not running to the post office or FedEx multiple times every week.

The future of BettyLuPaperie

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

I plan to add more personalized stationery to my shop. Personalized stationery is a product I began selling in 2020, during the pandemic, when most people weren’t buying wedding stationery.
I realized during the pandemic that I needed a product collection in my shop that didn’t rely solely on weddings. Personalized stationery was another way for me to diversify my product offering while still remaining within the stationery niche. Weddings are also very seasonal, as most people don’t have winter weddings. So, stationery was a great way to keep income flowing in during the off-season.

Advice for new sellers

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

I currently offer private coaching and online courses for other Etsy sellers (link here), and this is my 4-3-2 method that I recommend for new Etsy sellers:

1) Add new, high-quality products to your Etsy shop often. if you can, at least four times a month.
2) Find one social media network that works for you—whether it’s TikTok, Instagram, or Pinterest—and promote your Etsy shop there at least three times a week.
3) Build an email list and email your subscribers at least twice a month. You can do this by offering a special discount, like 10% off or $25 off. Create a graphic and add it to your last photo on every product listing so new shoppers will see it and sign up. It’s an old method, but it works! Flodesk, Mailchimp, and Convertkit are all great email platforms to get started with.

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

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: monthly salary of $7,500 to $8,500 However, COVID does affect sales. If there is another large surge in cases, it could decrease sales.

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: Avg. around 60% profit

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: Between 1%-2%, depending on the time of year. Because I sell luxury goods, I usually have a lower conversion rate.