Etsy Seller Interview with Paige of FelineYogi

How FelineYogi 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 name is Paige Hodges, and I’m the owner and founder of Feline Yogi. My shop features "Yoga Cat"-inspired products for cats and humans that celebrate the hip, modern, enlightenment-seeking cat. My featured product is the Yoga Cat Mat. I also offer a few cat toys with a "yoga cat" theme. And so the humans don’t feel left out, I offer a downloadable "yoga cat" coloring book, and I recently added a "yoga cat" jewelry line.

The Yoga Cat Mat is my best-selling product, and I created it at the suggestion of my husband. He always got a kick out of watching me practice yoga on my yoga mat while all our cats congregated on it as well. So I decided to create a yoga mat, especially for cats because, for some reason, cats love the feel and texture of yoga mat material. It’s a funny product, but it’s actually quite practical. It’s a lounger, scratching mat, and cat toy all rolled into one.

Etsy was the perfect place for me to start selling my products. It’s handmade and different and Etsy customers are looking for something unique. I make all my products in my small studio in Los Angeles, CA.  I buy large rolls of yoga mat material and cut them to size.  I work with an embosser, a small grommet machine, and large rolls of sisal rope. I use the yoga mat scraps and recycled wine corks to create my other cat toys which I call yoga props for cats. I also make my jewelry in my studio as well. I have a distributor in the states where I buy my yoga mat material and I look for other small businesses to buy my other materials to make my products. Feline Yogi also gives a portion of our profits to help local cat organizations in the Los Angeles area. 

Favorite items

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

My shop inventory is small (by choice), so my favorite listings are the yoga cat mats. The slate blue yoga cat mats are very popular and one of my favorites. People also enjoy the green mats. I think people like these mats because green and blue seem to be popular colors with the majority of people.

I also recently added some "yoga cat" jewelry to my shop, and I love this minimalist abstract pendant showing a cat practicing "downward-facing cat." It’s hip yet simple.

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 got my first sale on Etsy within a few weeks. At the time, I only had one listing, and I was thrilled when I got my first sale. Then little by little, people found out about my product, and bloggers started featuring it on their sites and social media. I’m always looking for bloggers, news outlets, etc., to feature my shop. I think media outreach is the best way to market your shop. Social media is fine, but the analytics of social media is constantly changing, and you don’t have much control over what these companies do. So I work on getting outside media outlets (bloggers, well-known websites, online magazines, etc.) to mention my shop. I also attend in-person shows such as CatCon, local cat shows, etc. My "ideal customer" and target audience attend these types of events, and it’s a great way to market your business. Another strategy is to give superb customer service. I really love my customers (aka catstomers!) and I get repeat customers and people who recommend my shop to others.

Managing FelineYogi

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’m a one-woman show, and my husband pitches in to help when I need it as well. I also have a friend (another maker) who I share a small studio space with, and she sends out orders for me when I travel. But for the most part, it’s just me! As I mentioned, I have a small studio space that I share, and it’s great to have a place to do production and fulfillment without my home becoming a factory. I feel very lucky to have the space I have with another maker and at such an affordable price.

I really love being a solopreneur and keeping my shop as simple as possible. I always want to stay small and personable. I want people to know they are buying from a person and not a faceless business. I want to form relationships with my customers. I use Pirate Ship to manage my mailing labels. I use Google Docs spreadsheets to manage my inventory. I always keep a great deal of inventory on hand. I have certain days every couple of months that I dedicate to production. This way, I’m not always making products. This would not work for every maker, but it works very well for me.

A friend of mine created a great Excel spreadsheet for me, and I keep up with all my expenses and sales on that. It’s so simple and cheap! I love it! My husband is an IT guy, so he runs a secured home network for us, and all my files are backed up safely and securely. I often outsource marketing pictures, videos, hangtag design, and packaging.

The future of FelineYogi

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

As I mentioned earlier, I have a new "yoga cat" jewelry line. I’m excited about marketing that line. I also recently opened up a standalone website. I’m working on bringing more traffic to that site but have no intention of leaving Etsy. Etsy gave me my start and still continues to give me sales, and I plan on always having an Etsy shop!

Advice for new sellers

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

Concentrate on a great product(s), good pictures, and listings that make your product as appealing as possible. Pictures are super important because they bring that potential buyer to your listing. Keep your listings simple because people rarely contact them these days.

E-commerce is a crowded field, and it can take a while to get going. So devote more time to marketing than to anything else. As makers, most of us enjoy the creative process most; I know I do, and I’d rather spend my days making products and being creative. But if I want to sell, I have to put more time into marketing. Aim for "80% marketing and 20% everything else," which is the best advice ever given to me. I’m still working towards this goal, but I see better sales when I put most of my time toward marketing. And this doesn’t mean you put out a bad product or don’t spend time making products. It just means that in order to make sales, marketing will take up most of your time.

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

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 2.1%