Etsy began charging sellers for paid search campaigns last year through a new offsite ad program. Now, content marketing expense sellers are charged with the same program.
It’s a bold move (some might say boldly). When an affiliate publisher controls the traffic that leads to a sale in the market, Etsy charges that seller a fee to cover their costs.
The marketplace announced on Tuesday that it will expand the Offisite Ads program to include its publishing partners:
“Off-site ads can bring buyers to your offers through ads on high-traffic websites like Google, Instagram and Pinterest. And now your articles could get published on publishing sites like Buzzfeed, Martha Stewart, and Real Simple too. “
Other publishers participating in the Etsy content marketing program include MyWedding, Better Homes and Gardens, Lyst, and Shape.
Etsy also breathlessly stated, “In addition to these big-name publishers, we’ll be sharing your Etsy listings with social media influencers and bloggers.”
As we found in our coverage of Etsy Offsite Ads, sellers who pay to be listed on Etsy expect the market to invest in marketing and advertising to attract buyers. When it does a good job of attracting buyers, Etsy is rewarded with commission fees from sellers.
For off-site ads, in addition to paying a commission on all sales, sellers pay an additional “advertising fee” of between 12% and 15% for off-site ad sales. This makes the program difficult for sellers when setting prices for their products – whether they want to build in a sufficient margin for a regular 5% commission or increase prices by the unpredictable 17% commission (12% offsite ad fee plus standard ) to take into account 5% fee).
All sellers are automatically registered for offsite ads. Only those who have made less than $ 10,000 on Etsy within 12 months can opt out.
What publications their ads might appear on: “What if there’s a website I don’t want to be featured on?” Etsy expects sellers to ask about the program in frequently asked questions. There was the following answer:
“We carefully select our publishing partners and check them according to strict brand guidelines. So we’re starting with a small, curated list of approved publishers. If you are part of our Offsite Ads program, your listings can be displayed on any of these websites. You can find a list of our current publishers in the Etsy help. If you have any feedback on our publishing partners, send us your thoughts here. “
Etsy also announced on Tuesday, “In addition to adding publishers to offsite ads, we are expanding Google Shopping across the entire Google Display network. This means your ads can appear on thousands of websites partnered with Google. This allows you to reach more potential customers even if they are not actively looking for opportunities to buy. “Last year, Google Shopping went from pay-to-play to a largely free platform.
Sellers can learn more and find frequently asked questions on this page of the Etsy Seller Guide.
Ina Steiner
Ina Steiner is the co-founder and editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on e-commerce since 1999. She is a well-known authority on market sales and the author of “Converting eBay Data into Dollars” (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book “Blogging Heroes” (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter @ecommercebytes and send updates to ina@ecommercebytes.com.