The Create & Thrive Podcast

[180] Don’t be Afraid to Put your Etsy shop in Holiday Mode.

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I see it over and over again in facebook groups – people posting, asking ‘should I put my etsy shop in holiday mode?’

They’re asking because they’ve heard horror stories – where people have put their shops in holiday mode, then re-opened to crickets. It drives me nuts to see so much misinformation and scare mongering, so I wanted to address this always-contentious topic.

Today, I’m going to share my own experience of putting my Etsy shop in holiday mode (for up to 3 months at a time!) many, many times over the last 10 years.

And, you guessed it – my business is still going strong!

That said – putting your Etsy shop in vacation mode DOES have an impact on your SEO (Etsy search rankings) – and I discuss exactly how and why this happens – as well as giving you concrete strategies to overcome the lag when you re-open.

P.S. This month, I’m running a mammoth giveaway to celebrate the brief re-opening of Thriver Circle membership AND the opening of registration to my flagship course, Set Up Shop.

I’ve never done a giveaway like this before – the lucky winner is getting a HUGE prize!

The members of my private online community for makers – The Thriver Circle – are the most awesome, supportive group of people out there… and I wanted to take the chance to say thank you to them by giving every member the chance to win this very special prize.

This giveaway is open to both current and NEW members – so if you’re not already a member, you can enter by signing up while membership is open!

Find out all the details of this mammoth giveaway right here.

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    • Quotes and highlights from this episode:

     

    • People keep asking this question – but putting your shop in holiday mode shouldn’t be something you fear!
    • I’ve done it at least once a year for 10 years – on numerous occasions, for up to 3 months at a time.
    • My sales ALWAYS picked back up again – yes, it may take a little time, but you can speed up the process.
    • What actually happens to your search rankings when you go into holiday mode? Yes, they will be affected.
    • To quote Etsy themselves in this article: “Sometimes you need to take a much-needed break, but when you return from holiday mode, you might not see the same traffic to your shop from search as before you went away. That’s because we’re gathering information about how buyers interact with other listings, while your listing quality scores stay the same. Once you return from holiday mode and your listings are appearing in search results again, we’ll start to gather up-to-date information about how shoppers are interacting with your listings.“
    • Quote from the Etsy Success podcast episode from October 2018: “Here’s the deal with the holiday mode. When you go on holiday mode, your listings are temporarily removed from search. While your listings are out of search, shoppers continue to conduct searches, shop for items, browse, click, purchase, favourite, Add to Cart – all those things. That continues to happen while your listings are temporarily out of search. It’s not that you’re being penalised, but other listings are gaining this engagement and these interactions. Listing quality, which comes from those conversions and those actions, contributes to search ranking. So yes, other listings may rank higher than you following you going on holiday. But over time, once you return, things should even out again. Going on holiday is a great way to take a small break. Just be aware that when you come back things won’t be as fast-moving as they were right when you left.“
    • So – for shorter breaks, perhaps just increase your lead time, and put up shop notices, a notice on each listing, update your shop announcement, your automaric sales email, and your banner, and post notices on social media.
    • Have a closing for holiday strategy… all of the above, plus emails and social media posts.
    • Have a re-opening strategy, which includes emails, social media posting, renewing for a few days, adding to your shop updates, and if possible, having some new products to launch (though not necessary).
    • Also spend a few days posting to Pinterest if sales are slow.
    • Remember – you need and deserve time off! Don’t let a fear of your shop dying stop you from taking a proper break and recharging your creative batteries.
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