It’s June. Summer is heating up - and so is the never-ending stream of Etsy advice online. As we move into summer shopping, a quick word of caution is that
Etsy Advice is Everywhere. Most of It Is Garbage
From YouTube to Facebook to Etsy Support itself, everyone has a “do this one thing and blow up your sales” tip to grow your shop. Spoiler alert: most of these people have no idea what they’re talking about. For many of you this is clear but there are new sellers in our cohorts so this month, we’re cutting through the noise and calling out three of the worst places to get Etsy growth advice - before they lead your long term growth strategy into a ditch.
1. YouTube creators: They're building YouTube channels, not Etsy shops
Let’s start with the obvious. Most Etsy YouTubers don’t make their money on Etsy - they make it on YouTube.
And their videos? They’re not marketing strategies. They’re content. Clickbait titles, recycled tips, and a whole lot of generic “proven formulas” that are based on… what exactly?
- At most, they’ve run one or two shops with modest results.
- They have zero access to multi-store trends or platform-wide insights.
- Many of their “tips” haven’t been tested, tracked, or even tried more than once.
Worst case? You follow a bad suggestion like "it takes quite a lot of time for the Etsy algorithm to accurately index an item" and you stop targeting real-time opportunities, so Etsy quietly buries your listings.
Yes, feel free to watch - but watch like you’d watch a cooking show. You can find inspiration, just don’t burn down your kitchen trying it at home - always validate new ideas with your team here.
2. Facebook Groups: Etsy’s collective anxiety spiral
Facebook Etsy groups can feel like the seller watercooler - lots of noise, little signal.
Most of the loudest voices there? Sellers who aren’t making many sales, with plenty of time to vent. These groups often become echo chambers for:
- Complaints about "unreasonable customers"
- Rumors about the algorithm being broken
- Collective Etsy-doomsday paranoia (spoiler: it's not coming)
To put simply - if someone’s spending hours a day posting in these groups, they’re probably not the person crushing it on Etsy right now.
The problem is that emotional spirals in these groups lead to bad decision-making based on fear, not data. And honestly? This is possibly the worst crowd to group-think with. Most of them are stuck, frustrated, and operating without strategy - just reacting. When panic sets the tone, even good sellers start making moves that hurt their shop more than help it.
3. Etsy Support chat: Not your marketing team
Let’s be very clear about this one - and they will be perfectly glad to read this:
Etsy support is there to help you fix problems - not build your brand.
They’re frontline customer agents. Their job is to walk sellers through policy questions and tech bugs and buyers through refunds - and definitely not to guide your shop strategy.
Many of these agents don’t fully understand the platform, they have zero idea why your shop was closed, not to speak about how Etsy SEO or Ads work. Any marketing questions are giving them a very hard time and they can only respond with basic and oversimplified explanations of how the interface works.
You wouldn’t ask your bank’s call center how to grow your investments. And asking Etsy Support how to grow your sales is as much a waste of time.
So where do you look?
Simple: Follow the data.
Your shop stats, traffic trends, and listing performance will tell you more than any 10-minute video ever will.
And when you hear a new idea? Run it by your strategy team here.
We’re analyzing performance across dozens of Etsy stores in real time - not guessing, not reacting, but measuring what actually works.
The “proven formula” you want to follow? It’s not a hack. It’s a mindset.
The most successful sellers don’t chase the loudest voice - they follow the patterns. They test. They tweak. They build momentum.
There’s a reason our Etsy Success Program is invite-only - we’re here to give you data-backed, shop-specific strategies that actually move the needle.
And your team is always here to help you find the mix that works for your growth.
Have an amazing Summer Season!
