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If you’re looking to sell your handmade goods on Etsy, this blog post will show you how. We’ll cover some key tips and tricks that can help save time, make more money, and get started selling today!
Do you want to learn how to sell on Etsy as an artisan, studio artist, designer, or craft supplier? If that’s the case, this is the tutorial for you. Setting up your product listings, establishing payment options, and designing your shop’s landing page is all part of selling on Etsy once you’ve created an account. To price your items, you’ll also need to grasp how Etsy fees operate.
Before you begin, read Etsy’s restrictions on sellers and forbidden products. Then, to learn how to sell on Etsy, follow the steps below:
1. Sign up for an Etsy account.
Begin by creating an Etsy account by going to the homepage and selecting the Sell on Etsy button.
Click Continue after entering your email address. Click Register after entering your name and a password. To go to the Shop Manager, open your Etsy Shop.
You may also use your Google, Facebook, or Apple account to establish an Etsy account. If you already have an Etsy consumer account, log in and select Open Your Etsy Shop to get started building your own shop.
You may sign up for an Etsy account using any of the following methods: your email address, Google account, Facebook account, or Apple ID.
To begin setting up your Etsy shop, click Open Your Etsy Shop after completing the registration process.
2. Configure Your Shop Preferences
After you’ve signed up, you’ll be directed to your dashboard, where you may customize your shopping preferences. This entails defining your store’s fundamental settings. After you’ve filled in all of the information, click Save and Continue.
Designate your shop’s language, base nation, and currency, as well as what best characterizes you as a seller, on the Shop Preferences page.
- The default language you’ll use to describe your goods is specified in this section. You won’t be able to edit anything after you’ve saved it, so be cautious. You may opt to convert your website into different languages once you’ve opened your Etsy store.
- The nation in which your store is located is referred to as the shop country. It’s possible that your nation isn’t accessible right now if you don’t see it in the selection list. The rationale for this latest Etsy development may be found here.
- This is the currency that you’ll use to price your things in. It’s worth noting that buyers in other countries will see pricing in their own currencies. Currency translation costs (2.5 percent of the sale amount) apply if your bank currency differs from your store currency.
3. Give your Etsy shop a name.
It’s time to choose a name for your Etsy business! If you haven’t already done so, make sure the name of your store is simple to remember and reflects your brand.
After you’ve entered your desired store name, click “check availability” to discover whether it’s already taken. If it isn’t, you’re free to utilize it.
Your Etsy business name may be whatever you like as long as it follows Etsy’s requirements. The name of your store should be:
- Be somewhere between four and twenty characters long.
- There should be no spaces or special characters in your text.
- Include no profanities or a name that has already been taken by another Etsy vendor.
- Have not infringed on anyone’s trademark.
When you type in a name that isn’t available, Etsy may propose alternatives.
Take your time choosing the proper company name before opening your Etsy shop since you can only modify your shop name once it has been set up.
Furthermore, if you want to convert your Etsy shop to an eCommerce store and sell on Facebook or Instagram in the future, be sure you can get a business domain name or DBA (doing business as) that matches the name of your shop.
4. Add Products to Your Store
The next step is to start adding products to your store. On Etsy, you may sell both physical and digital things, but the processes are different. The procedure for listing tangible things is outlined below. Refer to Etsy’s advice on how to upload files to a digital listing for digital products (such printable stationery, stickers, and gift tags).
Include images and video.
Click Add a Photo to add files from your computer to upload images. You may upload several photographs at the same time. You may rearrange your photos by clicking and dragging them to the left or right.
Customers should be able to view your goods from multiple perspectives, thus Etsy suggests having at least five photographs of each item (a maximum of ten images). Images should be a minimum of 1,000 pixels square. Learn about Etsy’s item image requirements and best practices.
When you add a picture to a listing, Etsy provides guidance on which sorts of photographs to use in the image placeholders.
You may also include alternative photographs (such as colors or sizes) and a listing video in your post.
Shoppers prefer video listings, according to an Etsy study of over 5 million buyers conducted in July 2020, which contrasted the purchase behavior of those who were offered listing videos to those who were not. So, figure out how to produce videos that sell.
Select a Thumbnail Image
Your thumbnail is your product’s headshot—it’s the first picture of your product that shoppers see in your store, on Etsy in general, and through search.
When you add photographs to a listing, the first photo gets the thumbnail. Simply drag the picture you want to be the thumbnail to the first photo slot if you want another photo in the listing to be the thumbnail. Learn how to change the size of your thumbnail picture.
Details about the listing should be included
The listing details have an impact on how your product listing is classified on Etsy and discovered in a search. Based on the information you provide, shoppers will be able to find your listing more quickly.
Etsy does a fantastic job of explaining each listing data you’ll need to complete for your goods. If you get stuck on a field, visit the help link for additional information.
The following are the detailed listings you’ll need to include:
- Given your 140-character constraint, provide your item a title that explains the product in as much detail as feasible.
- This listing’s details: Three questions are shown in a dropdown menu in this area. Under who made it, what is it, and when did you create it?, choose the right response.
- Consider this field as a broad keyword for your product that people will look for.
When you put category keywords in your listing, here is a sample of what you’ll see.
- Renewal options: Listings are automatically renewed after four months, and you will be charged the corresponding listing cost. We’ll go over this in more detail later when we go through Etsy fees. If you’d prefer to manually renew or remove expired listings, choose “manual” from the drop-down menu.
- Provide a detailed description or a bulleted list of the product’s features. You may preview your listing as a Google search result in the description section, which can help you optimize for eCommerce SEO. Learn how to create effective product descriptions.
- Tags: Use all 13 tags that are available per item. Shoppers locate your item by typing keywords into the search field; these are the keywords you should include in your tags.
Include your inventory and pricing information.
Enter the price, sales tax (if applicable), quantity, SKU (if applicable), and variants for your product. Variants (such as sizes, materials, and colors) may be added, and photographs can be linked to the variations.
Arrange for shipping
Include all relevant shipment information, such as the shipping services you’ll use, costs, the nation of origin, processing time, and the weight and size of your goods.
You may also have Etsy figure out your shipping costs for you (which it recommends).
You must input your zip code and processing time in order for Etsy to calculate your shipping fees.
If you choose Etsy, enter the weight and size of your item when it is packed. You’ll be able to see what the customer will see when it comes to shipping costs.
To make things simpler, when you’ve launched your Etsy store, you may create shipping profiles so you can simply update goods with the same shipping charges.
Save or Publish Your Listing
Unless you choose to Save this as a draft or Publish, your listing will not be saved.
Save as Draft
Enter at least one picture, a category, a price, quantity, shipping costs, and a title to save as a draft. You may always put in temporary information and then change it before publishing. Your draft listing may be found in the Drafts section of your Listings page.
Drafts never expire, and the number of drafts you may have is unlimited. The listing cost is also not collected until the item is published in your store.
Publish
Click Publish to publish your listing when you’re ready to sell. Your Payment account will be charged $0.20 USD for the listing fee.
Listings might take up to 24 hours to show in Etsy search results and categories.
5. Decide on your preferred method of payment
After you’ve created your product listings, you’ll need to create your Etsy payment settings.
For tax reasons, you must declare what sort of vendor you are.
Etsy now requires qualified merchants to utilize Etsy Payments (depending on their area). Etsy used to provide PayPal as a separate payment option, but from May 15, 2019, merchants in qualifying countries, including the United States, must utilize Etsy Payments with integrated PayPal. Etsy Payments accepts a number of different currencies.
You may need to input your bank data as indicated above, depending on your bank’s location.
6. Create a subscription billing system
This step may vary depending on your country when opening an Etsy business.
Etsy may need you to submit a credit card for identification verification and authorization in some regions. You’ll also need a credit card on file with Etsy so that you may be charged for selling costs (more on that below).
If you live in the United States, you may sign up for auto-billing, which means Etsy will charge your credit card on file for any selling expenses you incur.
7. Personalize Your Store
It’s not yet over! It’s now time to work on the store’s front end. Customers may explore your goods, learn more about you (or your business), read your store regulations and updates, and discover whatever they need to know before checking out any of your things on your Etsy shop’s landing page, which is akin to a one-page website.
To alter the design of your store, go to the Shop Manager button in your menu navigation bar.
Fill out the following areas to help establish your Etsy shop’s credibility:
Upload the Store Banner and Product Featured Area.
Because the store banner covers the top of your site and is the first thing visitors see when they arrive, make sure it reflects your brand. Meanwhile, the highlighted section is essentially your store’s display, and you may utilize it to highlight your most popular items.
To the top of your store, you may put a banner or a header image, a text describing your shop, a featured area to highlight product listings, and contact information.
Include an “About” section.
The primary way an Etsy customer learns about you, the person behind the creative works, is via your About section. A well-developed About section should provide a window into who you are as a company, not simply what you sell.
You may also add the Members, Story, and Manufacturers sections here. The About Your Shop option is also accessible from the Your Shop menu.
Consider this area to be a sneak peek into your brand’s ethos and beliefs for your consumers.
- Story: You have 5,000 characters to inform your consumers about your company’s beginnings. Include details about why you began your Etsy shop and what you like about the items you manufacture or sell there.
- Manufacturers: If you employ outside manufacturers to make your items, you may list them here along with details of how each one assists you.
- Members: Add a link to this section to your Etsy user profile and any Etsy profiles that work in or are related to your store.
You may also include images or videos of your studio space or creative process, as well as connections to your store’s social media accounts. This is a fantastic approach for your consumers to learn more about you.
Establish Shop Policies
Answer any queries your customers may have concerning your item manufacturing, order processing, shipping, and payment procedures in this area.
Etsy makes creating store policies simple by enabling you to utilize its templates or suggestions as starting points for your own.
At the bottom of your store page, include a FAQ section and seller information.
8. Open a Store
Your shop will be open after you click Open Your Shop, and you can begin accepting orders.
The following URLs will take you to your Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/yourshopname and https://yourshopname.etsy.com.
Etsy Fees for Sellers
Etsy charges fees for listing and selling things, much like other online marketplaces. As previously noted, you’ll need to set up your payment choices and billing information since they’ll have a direct impact on the Etsy costs you’ll pay.
These costs will be withdrawn automatically from your sales money if you choose to utilize Etsy Payments. If you still owe more costs at the end of the month, you’ll be responsible for paying them. If you live in the United States, Etsy will bill your credit card on file automatically. If you operate in a country where Etsy Payments is not yet available, you will be responsible for manually paying your monthly payment on the site.
Seller costs on Etsy are divided into three categories: listing fees, transaction fees, and payment processing fees. In Etsy’s fees guide, you can learn more about its selling fees and taxes.
How to Look at Your Etsy Taxes and Fees
In your Payment account, you may see your Etsy fees and taxes:
- Go to Shop Manager on Etsy.com after logging in.
- Navigate to Finances, then to Payment account.
- Fees and taxes due may be found under Recent Activities and Fees & Taxes.
In conclusion
If you’re an artist, you already have a customer base on Etsy, so knowing how to sell on the site should be part of your development strategy. Selling on Etsy, like any other company, takes time to set up and needs work to succeed. However, compared to managing your own website, Etsy makes displaying and selling things a breeze. This frees up more time for you to focus on your creative endeavors.
The actual effort comes once you’ve opened an Etsy store. Your Etsy business has the ability to achieve five-star ratings if you have a good marketing plan, a good unboxing experience, and constant exceptional customer support. They also provide prospective buyers a sense of your credibility, which leads to increased purchases.
However, keep in mind that the Etsy community was created by and for creatives and artists, so great items are the most important attraction for new and returning consumers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the trick to selling on Etsy?
By sharing unique items and being honest. For example, you should be truthful about what materials were used in the item and how it was made. You can also share photos of your work with customers to help them visualize their purchases.
