It’s super exciting to start an Etsy shop! You have beautiful handmade goods or some sassy supplies and you’re ready to sell. Yay for you! There’s nothing like having sales come in while you sleep! A successful Etsy business can change everything! I have a few quick tips to share as you get started in this wonderful world of online business.
This is not a step-by-step guide on how to set up your shop or list your items. You can easily follow the instructions on Etsy to create a shop. I just wanted to help you avoid some common mistakes and give you a bit of advice to rock your new business right from the start!
7 Tips for Your New Etsy Shop
1. Photos Sell It! Selling online requires awesome photos that do the work for you as a shop owner. To keep it simple use natural light when possible or have proper lighting that will make your items stand out. Many new phones take great photos…just make sure they are nice and bright so all the details pop.
Use a photo editing app or a free online site like Canva.com. You can crop, sharpen and brighten your images in a few simple steps.
Your customers can’t pick up the item and look at it. Add photos from all angles and include a close up shot. Take a look around at the photos from popular shops on Etsy and take note of their photo backgrounds. Try your best to make your shop images front page ready! Keep improving!
2. Stock Up! A shop with only a few items will make it harder for you to be found. Work your way up to a 100 items and watch your sales soar…trust me. 200 items and you’ll be BUSY!
All those items have tags that help your shop be found from search traffic. Once they’re at your shop they’ll see all you have to offer and they might buy a dozen different items at once. A well stocked shop rocks!
3. Be Descriptive! Write a description that tells more than the facts. Share a story about your inspiration for the item. {This is what makes people feel great about handmade!}
Share any great comments you get from your first customers. Take a couple hours and read descriptions of some top sellers and you might gain a new perspective on what an awesome description can do for your item. Make them want it!
4. Price it right! There are many different opinions on this but I’m just going to share what works for me. I started my shops with low prices, and as my sales grew I slowly raised my prices up to what works best for me. It’s the amount of profit that I feel comfortable making while creating an item that gives the customer value for their money. I like happy customers that return to buy more. I feel like it’s alright to make a little less at first and grow my customer base, sales and exposure.
5. Shipping…keep it simple. Shipping can be a challenge for some shops, but I’ve always sold items that are easy to ship. I ship Priority Mail whenever possible or use a padded envelope for small items. I’ve used Stamps.com forever since some of my orders come from places other than Etsy. I love it! I hate going to the post office and waiting in line…so, save time and try Stamps.com {special offer here for new customers}.
I have set shipping rates for Canada and other countries. A little research ahead of time will save you headaches on shipping charges. Some countries are expensive to ship to and you don’t want to lose money by stating an incorrect shipping charge in your listing. {Can you tell I might have learned that lesson the hard way???}
6. Share it…it’s not all up to Etsy! Sharing your shop items with Facebook friends, pinning them on Pinterest, posting a photo on Instagram, or tweeting about them on Twitter will help you connect with new customers. Your friends and past customers will know what’s new in your shop and your sales will reflect your effort.
The more you put into this side of promoting your business, the more you will get out of it. Being consistent will make all the difference in the world.
7. Research constantly! Always be on the lookout for new product ideas, social media tips and ways you can order your supplies for less. Think about starting a blog if you’re serious about turning your shop into a business.
You can find all the information and resources needed in this post…How to Start a Blog for Your Etsy Shop. It’s all you need!
Hopefully these tips will help you get started a little quicker! There’s always room for improvement, but it’s nice to avoid common mistakes if you can.
Dream big and keep reaching for your awesome goals! Take it one step a time and you’ll get there!
Selling on Etsy opened a whole new world for me, and I love to see it doing the same for so many of you!
Here are a few more posts you might enjoy reading to kick up your Etsy Business…
- Why Etsy Sellers Should Have Their Own Website
- How to Start a Blog for Your Etsy Business
- How to Use Instagram for Your Etsy Business
You’ve got this!
~Kim
P.S. Did you download your free 7 page Marketing Bliss Blueprint yet? It was just released and sent to some of you by email. Click here to download it!
Great tips! I’d like to add another: Add dimensions when applicable. The lack of them can be very frustrating.
I’m not an Etsy seller, but if I was I’d definitely want to take advantage of something like Stamps.com. I have sold things on eBay a few times, and every time the most annoying part of the process was having to take the thing to the post office to ship it. If you can cut that step out, the entire “selling stuff from home” thing would be a lot easier!
Awesome tips
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