Easy Guide To Set-Up And Find Success To Make Money on Etsy


how to sell and make money on etsy

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Looking for ways to make money on Etsy? This one stop guide will give you all the information you need for finding succuss while selling on Etsy.

Have you ever thought about setting up an Etsy shop to sell your handmade goods? Etsy sellers are dominating the market with beautiful handmade items and many of them are seeing great profits all while they get to work from the comfort of their own homes! If you want to learn how to set up an Etsy shop to be successful, here are some of our best tips for doing so!

How To Set Up An Etsy Shop To Be Successful - this beginner's guide is full of tips and ideas for how to set up an Etsy shop and have it be successful!

How to Make Money on Etsy

First, decide on a name. Find something that suits your product, your personality, and something that is both easy to spell and remember when you set up an Etsy shop! Choosing a business name is critical for success, and you don’t want to choose something you’ll hate later on down the road. Keep in mind that if you ever encounter someone out and about and want to give them your business name and don’t have anything to write with or business cards on you, you want it to be something they can easily remember, spell, and find online.

Next, you’ll want to decide on your products and prices.This is essential for Etsy businesses, because you’ll likely have some competition. If you have a completely unique item that isn’t listed on Etsy, you have a little more leeway here. However, if you’re selling something like crochet items or coffee mugs, you’ll likely have a lot of competition. Look at prices of similar items to help you decide what you can realistically set your prices to. Additionally, you want to really focus and make a list of the items you’ll be selling so that when you go through and list them, you’ll already know exactly what to do and exactly what you need pictures of.

Etsy selling tip

Pro Tip: You’ll also want to read up on fees before you open your shop. Having a shop itself is free, but there is a $0.20 listing fee for each listing and a 3.5% fee for all items that you sell. There are also fees for things like auto-renewing listings and if you choose to accept PayPal, you’ll have to pay a fee there for payment processing.

Now you’re ready to open your shop! Click “Open Shop” and fill out all the necessary fields with information that’s needed and you’ll be on your way!

What to Sell on Etsy

Then, you can start to set up listings on your shop. Make sure when you set up your listings, you’re using titles that would be something you would search if you were looking for that item.

See our Massive List below on all kinds of ideas. This is just a handful. There are tens of thousands of great ideas on Etsy!

How to Sell on Etsy for Beginners

SEO (search engine optimization) is essential on Etsy because more than likely, your items will be found when someone searches for something you have listed. In other words, you item listing needs to stand out from the otehrs!

To accomplish this, use key words to help with your search traffic! Additionally, make sure you’re using bright, clear, nice quality pictures for your listings. This will help tremendously with sales!

Lastly, don’t forget to add your shop policies (ie. whether or not you’ll accept returns, etc.) as well as your shipping policies and prices. Having all your bases covered is extremely important when you set up an Etsy shop as you don’t want to be in a situation later where you needed them to clarify a situation.

Setting up a shop on Etsy

START SELLING ! Promote your Etsy Shop in Facebook Groups of similar interests. Join Etsy Seller Groups to help support you, ask questions to. Create your own Facebook group to show off your Etsy items and link back to your Etsy shop!

What other questions do you have about how to set up an Etsy shop that will be successful?

Can you make good money selling on Etsy?

The Answer is oh heck yes!

Do you consider yourself a crafty person?  Have you ever thought about turning that craftiness into a business?  Or, if you aren’t interested in a full-blown business, have you given any thought to in building up a nice little side hustle with your crafts?  

Etsy is the place to do this, my friends. Etsy is a selling mecca for all things handmade and whether you have a lot of inventory to sell or just a little, you can succeed!

Here are my 10 tips for Etsy selling success

Participate.  Join Etsy and begin participating in the forums, reach out to other shop owners, offer feedback to other shops.  

Your participation will eventually turn into people giving you feedback and visiting your store and those people will eventually turn into customers.

Etsy is just like any other business envirnonment, networking is key.

Research Etsy sellers.  Spend a little bit of time researching sellers that are offering the same products that you will be.  Pay attention to what their shop looks like, how they display their items and try and figure out what they are doing right

Research your product.  You need to have knowledge of the product that you are selling and whether you can expect to sell it and how much you should plan to sell it for.  

  

Customer service is key.  Be sure to always have excellent customer service.  Etsy is just like any brick and mortar retailer. Customers come back if they have had a good experience and good customer service equals good experiences.

Have a strong social media presence.  If you don’t already have social media accounts, get them now. I highly suggest Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

These will help you to grow interest in your brand. You can also create a FB group for people to follow your new products and link to your shop from there.

Don’t forget to build your Etsy brand

Build a brand.  Spend some time building your brand.  Always put in an effort to build your brand.  

Building your brand means: establishing yourself, building a presence, creating similar products with similar designs so that your items are recognizable.

Create a good logo.  Creating a good logo for your shop will help you get recognized by shoppers.

Excellent photos.  You need to be sure and post only great photos of your products.  You’ll be surprised to learn how many items sell based on photos alone.

You could have the exact same product as another seller, but if their photos are better than yours, they will almost always get the sale.

Take care with packaging.  Once you are ready to send out your product, be sure that to package it carely and creatively.

Finding cute, unique packaging is a good way to help the customer remember you.

Send a thank you card. Once you make your sale, be sure to send a thank you card along with your product. It’s a nice customer service touch, that your customer’s will remember.

How To Sell Printables On Etsy

Have you ever thought to sell printables on Etsy as an extra source of income? Selling printables is easy to do and can be a great way to earn extra cash for bills, debt, or even the Christmas fund! In this post, we’ll talk about how to sell printables on Etsy, various styles of printables, and there’s a video full of tips and tricks at the bottom – so keep reading!

Learn how to sell printables on Etsy to make money every month to help pay off debt, bills, or add to savings!

What is a printable?
A printable is a piece of content someone can print either for free or by purchasing the file to print. Common types of printable are: planners, meal plans, art, inspirational quotes, birthday invitations, wedding invitations, and anniversary invitations.

How much should I sell printables on Etsy for?
Pricing is really dependent on each seller. There is no right or wrong answer. Find a price that you’re comfortable with that you think is fair for both you the seller, and your future customers! Pricing low might guarantee more sales, but pricing higher isn’t bad either – if it took a lot of work and is unique, don’t undervalue yourself!

3 Important Steps To Sell Printables On Etsy

1. Upload to your shop.
Once you’ve set up your Etsy shop, upload your printable to a listing for the price you’ve chosen. Be sure to use nice, well-lit images and for printables, you may want to look into framing them to make them stand out or have a nice background to make your picture stand out from the rest.

2. Make sure to give accurate, detailed descriptions of your product.
This helps you rank high in searches and generate some sales. Include things like color, size, purpose (is it a planner, invitation, etc.?) so that people can find your product easier.

3. Market, market, market.
Pinterest is a great way to market your products, especially on Etsy. Pinterest is a very visual platform and having beautiful pictures of your product in pins is a great way to get some clicks to your shop and products that will hopefully convert into sales!

Word of mouth is great too! Tell friends, family, and it’s a good idea to whip up some business cards for your Etsy shop that you can hand out to people you meet if it comes up in conversation.

Check out this video to learn more about how to sell printables on Etsy:

Want to learn to create your own Printables? click here for a step by step DIY 

For the Complete Post on Creating Free Printables With Canva Click here. 

What kinds of printables are your favorite? Do you have an Etsy shop? What do you sell? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

Is it worth it to sell on Etsy?

Items you can sell on Etsy are limited to the creative imagination! Etsy is the kingdom for all things creative. You know it’s true, right?

How many countless hours have you spent searching through all the millions of adorable homemade and handcrafted items knowing that you have the skillsets to create some of the exact same things? (I’m sitting here with my hand raised with ya, friend!) Etsy is a powerhouse of creativity.

Almost anything that you could want to create can be sold on Etsy. How awesome is it that you can earn a living and make some money, simply by creating and selling items that you can do in your spare time? And if you’re feeling really adventurous, you could even make Etsy a full-time gig for ya!

Easy Guide To Set-Up And Find Success To Make Money on Etsy (2)

Does anyone make money on Etsy?

In 2017, over 33 million customers spent over #3 billion (yes, BILLION) dollars on items that they found on Etsy. You have to get in on that stream of revenue!

If you’re looking for items that you can sell on Etsy, here are some awesome suggestions to help get you started!

53 Items You Can Sell on Etsy

53 Items to sell on etsy

Dresses , Tops , Purses, Poetry

Letters from the North Pole and Santa, Easter Bunny, Sooo much fun!

Vinyl decals, Pillow Cases, Belly Rings, Nose Rings, Crochet Hats

Vintage china, Robes, Planners & Binders, Puzzles, Crayons, Folded Book Art

Family tree collage, Photo Frames, Animal Magnets, Glass Paper Weights

Crocheted scarf, Wall Prints, Dolls, Watercolor paintings

Stuffed animals, Earings, Car Bumper Stickers, Cupcake Toppers,

Personalized spoons, Custom Socks, Glitter Pills

Greeting cards, Maid of Honor Gifts, Decorative Clothes Pins, Hair Accessories

Personalized Coffee Mugs, Candles, Wedding boards, Knit Blankets

Hot sauce, Coffee Beans, Chocolate Chip Cookies, BBQ Rub

Keychains, T-Shirts, Pebble Art , Cros Stitch Pictures

Spoon rings, Christmas Ornaments, Wreaths, iPhone Docking Station

Wine holder, Website logos, Websites Blogs, Web Pages

The great thing about selling on Etsy? Almost anything goes! Well…almost anything. Like all buying and selling sites, there are rules that one has to follow. And while they may be simple, Etsy takes them seriously and enforces them as well.

Is selling on Etsy worth it? Selling on Etsy can:

  • Earn money to pad those pockets!
  • Help you grow your business
  • Give you creative juices to learn and discover new products
  • Network with other artists and brainstorm
  • Get your products in front of MILLIONS of people from all over the world
  • Introduce your Etsy shop to a new market or audience that you never thought possible

I’m seriously not kidding when I say it’s awesome to sell on Etsy. Imagine spending your days and nights creating amazing projects or finding vintage items that you can resell, without the worry of exaggerated prices and high fees. Etsy can help you with that. 

Here’s the deal. Everyone knows about Etsy. It’s like the Pinterest for crafters and creatives and it’s growing by huge numbers each and every day. What started out as more of a “mom and pop” type selling shop has grown into a HUGE resource for creatives and artists to sell and showcase their products.

For far too long, artists didn’t have an outlet that they could showcase their work on, but Etsy was created and obviously, now, it’s no longer an issue. If you have internet, you can sell on Etsy. It’s literally as easy as that.

You may want to read this to help you get started on setting up your Etsy shop!  I’ve included a short video to help you get stared. 

So what are you waiting for? Get those creative juices flowing and start making something awesome that you can sell on Etsy! Winter months are right around the corner so anything knitted or crotched is a HOT commodity right now!

From gloves to scarfs, (and maybe even some long johns!), you can find an audience for it on Etsy! Just be prepared, sometimes items sell so well that backorders happen!

It’s always a good idea to have several items made up before you start your Etsy shop, just in case something that you make becomes a hot item!

Easy Guide To Set-Up And Find Success To Make Money on Etsy

Matt R

Hi, my name is Matt and I'm the founder of Barefoot Budgeting. This site is dedicated to one thing... helping you budget and save money.

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