Welcome!
By the end of this program you’ll know where third-party, paid Etsy research tools provide accurate and actionable data—and where they don’t—so you’ll be able to make more informed decisions (and get more sales!) for your Etsy shop.
Etsy research tools are exuberant in their claims—which is understandable. They want Etsy shop owners to subscribe. But if anyone is going to base shop-defining decisions on what the tools produce, it makes absolute sense to know if they’re as good as they say they are, and if the results they give are accurate.
That’s what we’re going to find out.
I’m going to be candid about certain aspects of Etsy tools in my RealityCheck, which may leave the impression that I’m totally against them. That’s not the case. The tools do offer useful features for specific tasks, but their “exuberance” is not always backed up by their abilities and they don’t really make much effort (deliberate or not) to clarify their limitations. This leaves users unaware of potential issues they should be considering. My goal is not to convince you to cancel your subscriptions, but to provide a balanced perspective on the tools’ strengths and weaknesses.
By the end of this program, you’ll know where you can use the tools with confidence—and where you can’t.
A Quick Note
Before we dive in, let me just underscore two things:
- I have no financial interest in any paid Etsy tool; I am not an affiliate. I have nothing to say in this program about which specific tool you should choose. I’ll show you what I find “without fear or favor,” and what tool you choose (if any) is your decision.
- I’m not an active Etsy shop owner. I don’t bring biases based on my own shop or past experiences. My focus is on providing you an independent resource that helps you judge whether you want to pay a subscription to a third-party Etsy tool. Or not.
How My Program is Set Out
- Over the next three modules I’ll detail the Etsy tools that are in my study, and what features they offer. These modules provide a useful context for the later analysis sections and will be especially helpful if you’re new to Etsy tools, unsure of what the tools do, or are contemplating changing tools. You’ll get a good overview of what’s out there and what they do.
- In the fifth module I give a short summary of my findings—go there if you want to cut straight to the answers! 🙂
- In modules 6 to 10, I present the actual results for each of the key research metrics (keyword search volume, listing sales, etc.), for all the applicable tools. Go there to dig into the details on how the individual tools performed, see links back to the actual data I collected, and understand why I reached the conclusions I did.
- Module 11 has some final thoughts from me after immersing myself in all these tools!
I’ve set out my findings with you as a busy Etsy shop owner in mind. I present the main body of my research “feet first.” Each module begins with a summary, allowing you to quickly grasp the essential points. Read further for more detailed explanations and supporting evidence.
If you do take me at my word (i.e. just read the red summary sections), you should get a good understanding of where and why you can rely on third-party Etsy tools, in less than 30 minutes.
You can move through the modules in any order, although I recommend going in sequence.
Next Module
Click the Next Module button below and we’ll start on that background information. I’ll share with you a comprehensive (and interactive) list of Etsy research tools and their menus, so you’ll know exactly what’s out there and you’ll have a preview of where we’re headed.