How CustomDivaTees 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?
The idea of CUSTOMDIVATEES™ was born in a tiny apartment in the summer of 2015. There was no room for a proper sofa and a dining table in our living room, but Daniel and I did have room for this awesome new place in our minds—a place where your deadlines are met, your questions are answered, and your expectations are exceeded!
People would never believe me when I tell them we initially wanted to make jewelry. After a (very) short period of trial and error (and some minor hand injuries), however, we quickly decided jewelry making was not our thing (yet, our first clients did receive handmade earrings as a gift). It was then that we shaped the idea of our current Etsy shop.
Oh, the beginning was so hard. We had zero sales the first few months, most probably because I knew nothing about SEO and my photo-taking and photo-editing skills were basically non-existent. I was on the verge of believing nothing would ever come out of our Etsy endeavor, and we actually considered giving up. But then, one day, I heard my first cha-ching. What a heavenly sound! It was my biggest reward for months of research, trial and error, reading thousands of articles about Etsy and watching every Etsy-related video I could find online.
And then, the orders started coming. Boy, we were so not prepared for this. We both still worked full-time, and I also worked part-time as a freelancer. I just had my first child, and we lived in a one-bedroom apartment.
I still clearly remember the madness this period was. I was stamping our logo on craft paper, using a ruler to measure the space between each of the two stamps so we could have "branded packaging." We would pack the orders right on the bed, as there was no other space available in the whole apartment (my back still punishes me for all the bending). We would eat on the kitchen counter for months, as our dining table was turned into a printing station with the heat press on top. We rarely went to bed before midnight, and Daniel got up at 6:00 am so he could do some more printing and then drop the parcels off at the postal office before going to work.
Now that I am writing this, I realize I miss these times. Our business was so young, we were so inexperienced and yet, against all odds, we didn’t give up. And here we are now, 7 years later, after 60,000+ sales, with an unyielding ★★★★★ rating. We are more than ever committed to giving you the best shopping experience you've ever had on Etsy.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
Here are my favorite items:
These are our personalized hotel slippers with your custom small business logo. We’ve sold hundreds of thousands of personalized bridesmaid slippers, but the ones with logos (for small businesses) are my favorites! I just LOVE chatting with other small business owners and working on their ideas to make them a reality. Maybe I am biased as I had a hard time finding vendors who would agree to sell me marketing materials on a small scale, and now I am able to offer all our items with personalized branding and no MOQ whatsoever – our clients can literally have their logo on one slipper and the name of the receiver on the other. This is my way of making the B2B world a better place. :)
This personalized makeup bag is so pretty with the heart next to the name—it’s so versatile and appropriate as a personalized yet affordable gift for any important woman in your life. If you read the reviews, you can see how a lot of clients say they didn’t expect such high quality for the price point, and they are right. Ours are made of premium heavyweight cotton canvas and guarantee you many years of use (I have been using several of them for years)!
Our bridesmaid slippers, of course! They are so pretty with the vibrant personalization in a variety of colors, including metallic and glitter ones, that one of our future brides once said: "Tina, these slippers are so cute that if I ever remarry, I will surely buy my bridesmaid slippers from you again." What I like best about our bridesmaid slippers is that we add to the collection every year. Last year, we added the blush slippers, and this year we added navy blue and maroon slippers. This way, we give our future brides the opportunity to match the slippers with their getting-ready robes and wedding colors. What’s more, this year we added a lot more print options and the feedback has been awesome!
Except for these three items, which are best-sellers, I am obsessed with our brand new Christmas items: jute gift bags, personalized Christmas hats, and Christmas red stuff bags (for gifts). They will be listed in our shop very soon!!
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?
It took us a few months to get our first sale. Throughout the years, we tried a lot of marketing strategies, including email marketing, social media, Facebook ads, etc., but what works best for us is a complex synergy of impeccable quality products, stellar customer service, and an awesome team that makes sure our clients are happy with their purchases.
I would say we currently attract customers with our high-quality photos and detailed descriptions. Also, I am constantly answering messages and making sure all our clients’ needs are met. We keep our processing times short (thanks to my organizational skills) and, as my team usually tells me, I have not yet learned to say No. I see short deadlines and custom designs as a challenge rather than extra work. In 99% of the cases, I make the impossible possible.
Managing CustomDivasTees
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?
A lot has changed in the past few years. As they say, the only constant thing in the world is change. As our sales grew, so did our team. At the beginning, it was just me and Daniel, but today, we have an awesome team, and I can’t even think what I would do without them! Managing an Etsy shop is definitely not what I thought it would be. There are so many details to think about that I often spend 12+ hours in front of the computer.
I am proud of my organizational skills, and I believe everyone on the team is happy to be working with clear rules, written instructions, and a predictable workflow. Each person on the team has their own responsibilities, and each order undergoes at least 3 checks (quality, design, shipping details). We are so used to working together that we understand each other without even speaking at times – each one of us just knows what to do.
I use Zoho Mail and I love how intuitive it is. It’s so easy to keep everything organized – my mail, my tasks, my calendar, all in one place.
We rely on Dropbox as two of the people on the team work from home.
We all communicate in Flock. It’s very easy with direct messages and group chats. We have dedicated group chats for different aspects of the work, so we don’t flood the "Hub" team chat. Also, although most of us are in the same room, we mainly use Flock instead of talking when it comes to work tasks. I am sure it saves us a lot of mistakes as we use this chat as a ticket system – one person writes "the problem" and the other person confirms that the problem is solved. It’s much easier this way, as you are often busy doing the task at hand, and you may forget what someone told you. With chatting, you get back to your desk and it’s there, in the chat, ready for you to take action and then confirm the problem is solved.
For SEO, I rely on Marmalead—for me, it’s the best tool for finding keywords for your titles and tags.
The future of CustomDivaTees
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
We want CUSTOMDIVATEES™ to be the number one place to shop for personalized gifts on Etsy. I know it sounds grand, but we are allowed to dream, right? :)
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
OK, several things:
- Do not think as a maker. Let’s say you sell earrings. Don’t focus on creating a thousand listings or styles of earrings. Instead, create one listing and focus on showing it to a thousand buyers. Then, move on to the next listing.
- Photography – you may sell the most beautiful product on earth. Take poor photos of it and your failure is guaranteed. Of all the money we’ve spent on marketing, advertising, etc., the money we spend on photography and videography is the most well spent.
- Be professional. Even if it is only you working from your living room, your clients don’t know that. Please be polite, answer your messages in a timely manner, and please don’t ever reply in a non-professional way. I know the client is not always right. However, you should never let your negative emotions show in a reply. Never answer while still in effect. Write your genuine answer in a Word document if it will make you feel better. Then, take a deep breath, and answer professionally.
After all, your Etsy shop will eventually become what you make it. Think of it as a hobby. Don’t prioritize it. Blame outer factors (the market, the competition, etc.) and it will never be successful. Spend your time and efforts to make it better every day, make it your main focus, your dream, and it will open for you a world you didn’t even know existed.
CustomDivaTees
Personalized gifts for special women
