Etsy Seller Interview with Joanne of EnchantedWishesUK

How EnchantedWishesUK 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?

My Etsy shop is called Enchanted Wishes, and I started it in 2016, after the birth of my third child. I’ve always been creative and studied art and design at college. I’d previously run two different creative-type businesses but hadn’t really enjoyed them. I started making wooden plaques featuring quotes and decided to try selling them on Etsy. They took a while to make, and I wanted something that was a bit quicker. With a small baby at the time, I began to experiment with doing children’s hand prints as wall art prints. I’ve always loved inspirational quotes and began to add those to my product list, having fun experimenting with typography. This has gradually evolved to where I am now, with a large selection of quotes and art prints. Some prints I design completely from scratch myself; others I buy the license for and incorporate into my own work. I’m always looking at trends and what’s popular at the moment to get ideas for new prints.

Favorite items

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

My current favorites are the Japanese word prints. These came to fruition when one of my daughters developed a love for all things Japanese, and I designed a few prints for her bedroom. I tested them out on Etsy, and they proved to be really popular, so I expanded the range. Japanese culture seems to be growing in popularity, especially with teenagers and young adults, so there’s a big market for Japanese wall art. This theme has paired well with my love of words and definitions, and I designed a range of Japanese word definition prints.

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?

My first sale came quite quickly from what I remember, but subsequent sales were slow, with maybe one or two a week, which was quite disheartening at the time. Now, in the run-up to Christmas, I can make around 20 or 30 sales a day. I use Instagram and Pinterest to attract customers. If I list new products on Etsy, I sometimes run Etsy ads for a short period of time to get them noticed, although they don’t always work particularly well.

Managing EnchantedWishesUK

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 who runs the business. I use Photoshop and Illustrator for all design work. The only app I use is Tailwind, which is great for scheduling Instagram and Pinterest posts in advance and saving time. All of my orders are sent via Royal Mail, as that’s the only viable option for sending prints to the UK. I try to have a short a turnaround as possible, with most prints sent out within 1 working day. I also ensure custom orders are turned around as quickly as possible. It’s been a challenge over the last few years. First we had COVID, which caused huge delays in the postal service. Then, this past holiday season, Royal Mail held strikes every week in the run-up to Christmas. Again, this caused massive delays for mail and led to me putting a pause on international orders and extending processing times for orders to allow for the delays.

The future of EnchantedWishesUK

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

I’m trying to move more into selling printable wall art. This not only eliminates problems such as mail delays and issues with materials and packaging, but is also better for customers, as they don’t have to wait for orders to be shipped and have more flexibility when it comes to print sizes and what media they can print onto. I set up a new Etsy store a few months ago, just selling printables, and it’s been very successful so far.

Advice for new sellers

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

Customer service must always come first. I pride myself on good customer service, and my reviews reflect this. Make sure you communicate as much as possible with customers, and always be polite, even if they are not! I always include a little note with all orders, thanking them for their business and inviting them to contact me if there are any problems with the order. Make sure you have a decent selection of items in your shop. Just having one or two things for sale won’t attract many customers. The more products you have, the better chance you’ll have of being seen. Consider running a sale when you first open, even if it’s just for a few days, as this helps to attract customers. And don’t give up too soon. It can take a while for a shop to get established. Don’t be afraid to diversify and evolve. If something isn’t selling, look at how you can improve it or replace it with something else.