Etsy Seller Interview with Madara and Eduards of JoyfulCouple

How JoyfulCouple 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 am Eduards, the co-owner and co-creator of Joyful Couple, and my partner is my life partner, Madara. So, you can say we are a couple’s company made by a couple.We design, create, and sell various products for couples. Our main focus is strengthening relationships and allowing couples to bond even closer. We also know that for committed couples, the pressures presented by the world can wear away at the playful, spontaneous, and creative energy that defines even the strongest, most mutually supportive, and sexiest relationships. So, our products can introduce sexiness, fun, and understanding in a safe environment.

Some 5–6 years ago, we wanted to gift a sexy couples game to one of our friends, but by looking at the current offerings, no game really spoke to us. They were kind of tacky, in our view. So, we decided that this could be a business opportunity. Then, we got to work and created the first product—a digital version of our Naughty Game.

And actually, Etsy was the testing ground for our idea. At first, we listed our digital Naughty Game there and tested to see if anyone would like our game in digital form. It was like a risk-free test to see if someone would actually play something like that. I believe we made our first purchase after three days, and the rest is history—Joyful Couple was born. Now we have more than eight relationship games, massage oils, and accessories for couples.

The products are designed in-house; all the texts, visual designs, and concepts are thought up by us. And then the printing partners print out the components, and we assemble them in the finished product. Fulfillment is also done in our warehouse.

Favorite items

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

Here, I would like to separate Madara’s and our overall favorites.

I would say that our mutually favorite product is the Naughty Game, because it started it all. And even after all these years, it sells well. It is not the most popular product, but it is among the top 3.

Madara’s favorite product is the Foreplay Game. Given the busy everyday life of the modern couple, quite often we skip our intimate time, especially the foreplay. So, with this game, you can have an effective shortcut to an intense and fun foreplay experience.

And my personal favorite product is Life Conversations. It is a question game containing many important questions that couples should discuss at any stage of their relationship. By having these kinds of conversations, you can truly get to know each other on a whole other level.

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 don't remember exactly, but I believe the first sale occurred three days after listing it on Etsy.Although the first sale came quickly, afterwards it was a long and slow climb, but we reached our first 1,000+ USD month in about a year.

Currently, Etsy is a side income stream for us, so we don’t put much effort into generating more traffic there. Generally, we see organic traffic there mixed with a few Etsy ads and sales.

Of course, we do the monthly check-ups and make tweaks to the listings from time to time, but generally, our Etsy store works on autopilot now.

Managing JoyfulCouple

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?

Currently, we are a team of 4 people (including me and Madara), and the essential tasks are done by our team. Assembling products, fulfillment, and customer support—that all is done by us.

When it comes to Etsy, I would not say that we use a lot of apps. There is one fulfillment app that allows us to make shipping labels more quickly. And then there are some design and marketing apps and subscriptions, like Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Freepik.

The future of JoyfulCouple 

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

At this stage, we are comfortable with the results on Etsy. Of course, we will work on it, so it will grow, not shrink, even if just a little.

We will continue to make small adjustments and add new products to our Etsy store, but generally speaking, our main focus is our webpage.

Advice for new sellers

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

The best advice would be to do something unoriginal. It would be a start. Don’t overthink it; list your product and see what happens!

Etsy is a fantastic place to test your idea. Etsy is almost free. Of course there are fees and commissions, but you don’t have to have designing skills, pay for web design, or pay a hefty sum just to open a brick-and-mortar store, so it is close to being free. So, it is a great place to test out if your idea works or not.