Save yourself approximately 4,201,973 hours per week using Etsy snippets (+ free swipe copy!)
If you’ve read any of my other blog posts, you probably know that I’m a HUGE advocate of responding ridiculously quickly to Etsy conversations. There are a few of reasons for this:
1- It clears up your to-do list. If you can respond immediately, you don’t have to make a reminder to yourself to respond later. Plus it’s one less thing weighing you down throughout the day.
2- It seals the deal. If someone is messaging you, that’s great-- it means you have a potential customer in the wings! Respond quickly (I already recommend within ½ hour if you can manage) and you’ve pretty much sealed the deal-- they’re still in the mind of thinking about your brand, and your conversation can serve as a confirmation that it would be smart to purchase from you.
3- It legitimizes your brand. Even if you’re working part-time on the weekends while you do a full 9-5, by responding quickly to conversations, customers can see that you take your business seriously-- and not just as a hobby.
**Note- I don’t want you to feel like you have to be all in all day with responding to conversations quickly-- definitely set boundaries for your business and give yourself permission to take a break!**
Now if you’re anything like me, about 9/10 of the questions you receive on a daily basis are ones that have been asked about 10,000 times. Questions like:
“Can you tell me when this will arrive at my house? My zip code is 84404.”
“What is your current turnaround time?”
“Do you have any discount coupon codes?”
“Will I get the item in the picture?” ←- (Yes, I have gotten that mind-blowing question a couple of times!)
...And the list goes on and on and on.
Truth bomb: I’m not perfect (nor do I ever claim to be!) and I’ll be the first to admit that it’s hard to stay chipper and sweet when I’ve been asked for the 10th time that day whether or not I have any current coupon codes (spoiler alert: I don’t).
However.
This can be a problem because if I want to seal the deal, I probably shouldn’t be annoyed at my potential customers (especially since at the end of the day I am so, SO grateful to each and every one of them).
Enter Etsy Snippets.
These are little text boxes of joy that will save you approximately 4,201,973 hours/week (or 600,381.86 hours/day if you’re counting) answering questions.They’ll help you streamline your conversations + maintain your sanity. And they’re ridiculously easy to use. Trust me.
So what exactly are they?
Snippets is an Etsy tool that allows you to save commonly used text in a little “snippet” to copy + paste into any further conversation you receive that ask you the exact. same. question.
Where to find snippets
First things first-- how do you even access these little time-saving hacks?
Luckily, it’s suuuuuuper easy.
To access the snippet feature, simply start or reply to any conversation (either on the app or on your browser) and you’ll see a little speech-bubble image with a bookmark. That’s the snippet button.
If you’re brand new to snippets, when you click it, you won’t see a drop down menu like the image above with all of those different topics; those are all snippets I’ve personally added over the past couple of years. Your list will probably be empty, but that’s okay-- we’re going to fill it up!
To add a new (or your first!) snippet, simply click to start a new conversation
...and then begin typing whatever text you’d like to save as a snippet.
Once you’ve finished typing out your brand-new snippet, go ahead and click on the snippet button and give it a name in the “New snippet name” field on the drop-down menu. Once named, simply click “Save this snippet.”
And viola!
You’ve just saved your future self many, many hours of future conversations.
Boom.
What snippets should I create?
Whether you’ve just now been introduced to this Etsy feature or if you’ve known about it for a while and just keep putting it off (because what kind of snippets should you type up in the first place?) then keep on reading-- I’ve got a quick way to figure out exactly what snippets you need to save you tons of time!
Ready to get started? Let’s do this :)
First things first--Take a look at all of your Etsy conversations from the last month. Do you notice any similar/repetitive questions? Write those down.
Once you’ve got a list of about 5-6 (or more!), it’s time to start coming up with a “snippet” or “canned response” answer to each one. These may seem impersonal on the surface--but they don’t have to be! Let me share some quick tips to writing effective, ridiculously friendly snippets:
1- Keep them super sweet and informal. Write as you would to a friend-- customers always respond positively to conversations where they feel they are talking to an actual person!
2- Keep them short. People are natural skimmers with online material, so use bullet points, short sentences, and succinct paragraphs to increase readability.
3- Use them sparingly-- only when the question involves a simple answer. While I’m all for productivity, these snippets should not replace normal customer/shop owner interaction all day every day. Etsy is about creating a community and taking care of our customers and you’ll still want to maintain that high level of customer service interaction.
Now that you know what questions you should take the time to create snippets for, you might be wary of staring at that blinking cursor as you over analyze what to say in each.
Don’t worry-- I’ve got your back ;)
Below are some template snippets that you can use and abuse as your own. Use them as inspiration, tweak them, or flat out copy + paste them word-for-word into your own Etsy shop-- you’ve got my full permission to do any and all of the above :)
Shipping transit time:
Hi [insert customer name here]!
Thank you so much for your order-- it made my day! Your items will be shipped in 2-5 business days of purchase and you should receive your package in 3-5 business days via USPS First Class mail (If you selected Priority shipping, your order will arrive quicker). International shipping averages about 3-4 weeks.
Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions!
Cheers!
[Your name]
[Your brand]
Business turnaround time:
Hi [insert customer name here]!
Our current turnaround time is a super-quick 2-5 business days and you should receive your package(s) 3-5 days after that, via USPS First Class Shipping. If you need your items faster, please purchase “Priority Shipping” at checkout and leave us a note so we can be sure to note your order!
Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions!
Cheers!
[Your name]
[Your brand]
Express shipping upgrades:
Hi [insert customer name here]!
Yes, we do offer express shipping options! You can purchase a rush order upgrade here:
[insert link to rush upgrade]
Also, be sure to select “Priority Mail” at checkout and leave us the date you need your item by so we can be sure to make it happen!
Cheers!
[Your name]
[Your brand]
Item not received (but marked as delivered):
Hi [insert customer name here]!
Oh no! This happens from time to time, and here is what I recommend:
1- I would check with any other members of your family that might live with her to see if they brought them in--9/10 times this is what happens in a situation like this :) USPS also occasionally leaves packages at a next door neighbor's house for pickup.
2- If it doesn’t turn up, please check in with your local post office. They occasionally will hold onto a package there for pickup, even though it is marked "delivered".
Please keep me posted-- so sorry for the frustrations with USPS delivery!
Cheers!
[Your name]
[Your brand]
Item not received (tracking stopped updating!):
Hi [insert customer name here]!
Thank you so much for letting us know. I’m so sorry for the delay in your package's arrival. Please note that occasionally a package’s tracking ID won’t be updated, even if the package is still moving (this happens frequently in Nov-Dec).
If you haven’t received your item by [this time frame], I would be happy to send you another! Please get in touch with me at that time if your order still hasn’t arrived, and we’ll get another one in the mail for you ASAP.
Thank you for your patience!
Cheers!
[Your name]
[Your brand]
Custom Order Requests:
Hi [insert customer name here]!
We are not accepting custom order requests at this time, but thank you so much for inquiring! If you’re interested, we do have a similar item here: [insert link to item.]
Best of luck in your search!
Cheers!
[Your name]
[Your brand]
Hi [insert customer name here]!
Yes! We love working with customers on custom orders! I’ve attached a questionnaire form for you to fill out to give me a better idea of what you’re looking for. If it seems like we’ll be a good match, I’ll go ahead and set up a custom listing for the deposit (½ total cost) for you to purchase prior to work beginning.
So excited to work with you on this special item!
Cheers!
[Your name]
[Your brand]
Again, these are just a sampling of some snippets you may want to include.
Other snippet response topics you might want to look into:
Customs Fees
Christmas Deadline (but seriously)
Sizing inquiries
Coupon Codes
Swatch requests
Etc. etc.
And there you have it-- a really simple + easy way to save yourself time while providing an even higher and faster level of customer service.
The most important thing to remember is that even though they may take up a little extra time now to get set up, they’re going to save you an enormous amount of time later and make customer service suuuuuuuper easy to stay on top of.
You came, you saw, now it’s time to conquer-- so get to work!
Xoxo
Morgan