Starting my own creative business has been one of the best decisions I have made so far in my life, and I wanted to share some tips I’ve learned over the course of this journey.
There’s a slew of information out there on the web, but I wanted to share what has worked for me, along with some in-depth secrets that has truly helped me the most in starting my own Etsy shop.
My Etsy Shop focuses more on original paintings, so depending on which niche market you are planning on creating your shop around, these tips may have to be tweaked here or there according to your needs.
However, I think these tidbits of advice will be helpful no matter what products you are selling… So I hope it all helps! And here we go:
1. Create Quality Products
Don’t simply fall into the bandwagon of the perks of a stay-at-home business: Running an Etsy shop is a lot of hard work and dedication, and behind your shop is your brand and all it stands for.
Create products that you truly want to make every single day and share with the world.
2. Upload Quality Pictures
The photos of your product is going to be the gateway for customers to find your Etsy shop. Put as much effort and resources to make your photos top notch.
Even if you are not selling artwork, these tips can come in handy for you.
Generally keep the photo clutter free, with the main focus being on the product.
Make sure to take your photo in good lighting conditions and further brighten your photo in a photo-editing software like Photoshop.
I know when I’m browsing through Etsy for products, I gravitate towards shops that have bright, aesthetically pleasing photos of their products. It not only give a more professional look, but potential buyers are more able to envision what the product looks like in real life.
3. Keywords are Key!
Keywords are the SEO for your Etsy shop.
My favorite tool for Etsy keyword research is Spacefem’s Etsy Tag Analyzer: It’s completely free and truly a lifesaver for any Etsy shop trying to gain grounds among other successful stores.
- Enter in an Etsy shop’s name that is popular and successful in your niche market.
- See what keywords work for their products, and utilize those keywords in your own shop.
- You may notice that most successful shops on Etsy do not use drastically different keyword phrases for their products: They stick to the keywords that they choose. Doing this creates high keyword density for certain keyword phrases, which increases the chance of their products showing up in Etsy searches.
- So try not to go all over the place with your keywords! Choose the 12 or so keyword phrases you want to use, and stick with them for each listing you add to your shop.
4. Have a Lot of Listings
This is especially important to get your listings visible in search results on Etsy, as well as Google.
This works alongside implementing the keywords strategy in #3 to maximize your keyword saturation/density.
I recommend having at least 1 full page of listings in your Etsy shop: It helps give your store a more established look that’ll keep buyers looking around your store.
Set up categories so that your potential buyers can look for exactly what they want.
5. Use Detailed Descriptions
Once a customer finds your listing, what’s going to get them to click that “Add to Cart button” is your description when you’re first starting out and don’t have those reviews established yet.
Give basic information about the item that customers are looking for (Check descriptions of similar stores on Etsy to get a general idea of what to add)
What makes your item special?: Give a little backstory to your item and the creation process that goes towards each item.
Inject some personality into your writing!
This helps the buyer learn more about you and gives that personal edge that really speaks to customers when they can’t see and speak to you in-person.
This is the reason why customers choose to shop on Etsy… to make that extra connection with individual makers that is absent when shopping from big companies.
6. Understand Shipping
Shipping is a whole other subject, but it is SUPER important, especially if you are selling something that is larger in size, fragile, or high-value.
Shipping is a whole other subject, but it is SUPER important, especially if you are selling something that is larger in size, fragile, or high-value.
Generally, for higher value items, I ship UPS or FedEx because it’s a lot safer than going Postal. You usually have a guaranteed delivery date for your package and can choose to declare however much value you need in case something were to happen to it.
Distance, Weight, and the Dimensions all dictate the cost of the shipping.
Use an online shipping estimator on UPS or FedEx’s websites to get accurate estimates.
For lighter, low-cost products, ship using USPS to save on shipping costs.
Plus, since Etsy uses USPS, you can print your USPS label directly from Etsy and you get a better rate than the regular, retail price you may get otherwise.
After you understand the general shipping costs of your items, try incorporating the shipping into the price of your item and setting up Free Domestic Shipping:
This helps the customer so that they don’t have to worry about the cost of shipping… It can sometimes be more than what they expect. I always appreciate it whenever I see an item listed as Free Shipping.
** Check out my Blog Post for More Information: Shipping Art 101 **
7. Update Your Shop/Storefront Information
On Etsy, there is an area you can fill out for your shop’s information, as well as your information as the owner/seller.
Make sure you take some time to fill that out thoughtfully.
Add your website, social media platforms, and ways they can reach you if they have any questions.
Make sure to include a picture or logo for your shop!
8. Be Available, Friendly, and Professional
I find that many buyers will start a conversation with you on Etsy to see if the product is right for them.
Be Kind, Helpful, and Honest
Try to understand what each buyer is looking for and sincerely help them find the right choice – even if it means telling them that your product isn’t the right fit or not what they are possibly looking for in an item.
In the end, you want the buyer to have a positive experience shopping with you, and have no doubt that they chose right in shopping from your Etsy shop.
And truthfully, being honest and upfront is a positive quality that makes you stand out amongst other sellers. And that leaves a memorable impression among your buyers.
Plus, I know from experience that buyers on Etsy are amazing!
They are especially kind and they want to support individual makers – truly.
They will often share items they love in their personal social media – And that’s a huge plus!
Even if they don’t end up buying from your shop, they are still nonetheless sharing the love!
9. Promote Your Shop on Social Media
I personally recommend using Pinterest or Instagram, as these give that important visual element to your business that will attract customers to your shop.
I use both, and have found that both platforms have other the years brought my art to so many more people (and potential customers) than what Etsy alone could have brought.
Utilize as many resources as possible! You are your own promoter for your creative business.
For more details on how to promote your Etsy shop, check out these blog posts:
14 Ways to Get Your Art Noticed on Instagram
200+ Instagram Hashtags for Artists
How to Promote Your Art on Pinterest
10. Be Patient
To be upfront with you, it took me around 6 months to even get my first sale: But it was mostly because it took me several months to research and learn about running a shop in Etsy.
These are all the secrets and tidbits of advice I’ve compiled together from all that research and personal experience so that your journey may start out (hopefully) more straightforward than mine.
Be patient. And enjoy the journey as it comes!
I hope this blog post helped you in your own creative journey to becoming a creative entrepreneur for your own business.
Let me tell you, once those first sales come in – and you start getting reviews for your shop – you’ll only start doing better from there.
So keep on creating and building up your listings! You will eventually get there, so be patient and love the journey as it comes!
Good luck, I’m rooting for you!
Hello Ms./Mrs. Obata!
My name is Samantha and I just wanted to say I love these tips, they are very helpful, especially the one about discriptions! I have my own Etsy store called TinyToesBySamantha and I opened around September of 2018 and it is moving very slow. I know your last tip was to be patient and it took you about 6months until your first sale, but I am wondering if you could take a look at my shop and let me know if there is anything I could use improvement on. When you look at your own work everything looks amazing, and things could slip through the cracks for customers to be deterred from.
Thank you!
Samantha Rawlings
Hi Samantha! I think your shop looks amazing! You may want to add some of your most bought items as your featured items so that when buyers go to your Etsy store front, they’re the first items they see. You can do this by clicking the star below each item listing from your store management page. Also, I think it’s just a matter of time to get a good collection of raving reviews… that is what’s going to spur other customers to buy an item when they stumble upon it on Etsy. After you find out what works and what doesn’t work in your shop, you can cater more towards your buyer’s tastes. Hope this helps! <3
Hello Shihori, just want to extend my compliments on your blog. It is very well written and informative especially as I am a new Etsy shop owner (Sept/2018) and go through the constant ups and downs of whether all the work and struggle is worth it. I will continue to carry on as I love making my stuff and, quite frankly, will have to buy a bigger house soon to store everything unless I start selling!! If you want, you can check out my shop and see what you think (https://etsy.com/shop/cutencuddlycrafts). Also, your separate blog on editing photos is great. I love the fact that you actually have taken the time to spell out exactly how to do the necessary steps, including screenshots. For a technical idiot such as myself, this sort of information is amazing. I wish more people would share their expertise too.
Once again, good job and thanks for all the great suggestions.
Hi! Thank you so much for writing this and sharing it. My shop has only been open for 6-7 weeks now and no sales. I know I have to change quite a few things but you have definitely given me some hope and encouragement. I just plan on doing my best and I’m not giving up! Thanks again. Sincerely, Jen
I am wishing you the very best in your business! Definitely experiment and see what works and what doesn’t work for your business.