Etsy is an online marketplace that focuses on handmade goods and vintage items.
Starting an Etsy business is a great way to express your creativity, earn some extra income and get your products in front of a wider audience.
It’s also relatively simple to set up and ongoing fees are minimal.
Business isn’t just about the product you’re selling, but it’s also about marketing.
Your store needs a name, logo, colors and photos so that people can recognize it on Etsy or Pinterest.
Choose Your Niche.
Make sure your niche isn’t too broad.
You don’t want to be known as the store that sells everything because people won’t really know where to go for what they’re looking for.
A good idea is to focus on one thing, be it weddings or children’s products.
You can always expand later but you need a specific product line in order to have success early on with Etsy.
Create Your Shop Name And Logos
Tip For Logo Creation.
Use CANVA to create your Etsy logo , its a free online logo maker.
Create A List Of Ideas For Your Online Store.
Don’t be afraid to get creative with your product line.
If you can think of a product, somebody else is likely selling it on Etsy.
So take some time to brainstorm a list of products you could sell in your store.
Even if you don’t have any experience making the products, there’s always someone who is willing to teach you how.
👉 Learn how to make different crafts for free.
Set Up Your Shop.
Now that you have all of your branding in place, it’s time to set up your shop.
This includes setting up a payment account and adding some listings.
You’ll also want to create a shipping plan and write up a shop policies page so that buyers know what to expect when they purchase from you.
Start by setting up your shop categories.
There are two different ways to do this.
The first method is to separate products by function. For example, you could have a kitchen section and a home decorations section.
However, this can get a little messy if a product can fit in more than one category–which it likely will.
So the second way of doing this is by theme. For example, you might have sections for wedding gifts, children’s toys and baby shower favors.
This is going to be easier when choosing which items go in which category because they’ll group together nicely on your shop page.
You can always add multiple listings under each section so that it covers all possible bases without being too cluttered for buyers to find what they’re looking for.
✨here is a more detailed FREE classes on how to set up and run a successful etsy shop.
Room For Expansion In Your Categories.
You want to make sure that you aren’t overwhelmed with your shop categories.
If it’s too much, consider breaking them out into subcategories underneath each main category.
This way, buyers can find the type of product they’re looking for but it isn’t so overwhelming that it’s difficult to navigate your store.
Write Up Shop Policies And Shipping Costs.
It’s important to have a shop policies page on Etsy because it lets potential customers know what to expect when purchasing from you and any rules or regulations regarding item listings.
It should include things like how shipping works, exchange and return policies and whether items are made-to-order or ready to ship immediately.
Make sure this is in place before listing anything because people will be looking for it.
You’ll also want to set your shipping rates.
This can be a little tricky because you don’t want to price yourself out of the market, but you also need to make a profit on each sale.
So consider what your materials cost, how much time it takes to make the product and then add on shipping costs. This will give buyers an idea of how much they’re spending in total when they purchase from your store.
Activate Your Shop And Start Listing Products.
Now that everything is all set up, it’s time to start listing products in your store.
Take some great photos of your products, write up a catchy description and choose the right keywords so that people can find your listings easily.
You can also add tags to each listing to further help potential buyers find what they’re looking for.
As you list more and more products, your shop will start to rank in Etsy’s search results and you’ll start to get more traffic.
So there you have it! Starting an Etsy store is pretty easy once you know what you’re doing. Just follow these simple steps and you’ll be on your way to success. Good luck!
Wrapping up
You now have an Etsy shop set up with all of your branding done and some listings ready to go.
If you want to, take the steps above and try it for yourself!
Etsy can be a great place to start selling your wares because there are so many different products that you could sell on their platform.
They even offer classes on how to get started if you need any help getting things off the ground.
All in all, starting an Etsy store is easy once you know what you’re doing.
Just follow these simple steps and see where they take you!
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