How Hard Is It To Sell On Etsy? 19 Epic Tips That Will Help!
Are you wondering how hard is it to sell on Etsy?
Maybe you have a creative or crafty hobby and you want to start earning a side income from it by selling on Etsy.
You might be interested but you’re not sure where or how you even start. I had the same concern before I help my sister set up an Etsy shop.
The great news is that no, it’s not hard to sell on Etsy and you CAN be successful at selling on Etsy even as a beginner!
It is not for the faint-hearted but just like every other goal worth pursuing in life, you need to be strategic and committed.
In this post, I’ll share 19 top tips on how to sell on Etsy and I will also go over the pros and cons of selling on Etsy.
At a glance, here are the tips to help you sell on Etsy:
1. Do Research And Create Your Etsy Shop Business Plan
2. Fully Set Up Your Etsy Account
3. Highlight Your Brand’s Story In The About Section
4. Choose The Best Banner For Your Etsy Shop
5. Use High Quality And Clear Photos
6. Include Good Videos In Your Listings
7. Apply Etsy Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
8. Write Optimized And Eye-Catching Listing Descriptions
9. Promote Your Listings On Social Media
10. Offer Top Notch Customer Experience And Service
11. Optimize Your Product Prices
12. Work With Etsy And Leverage Their Resources
13. Use Your Etsy Shop Data Analytics To Improve Sales
14. Build Trust And Gather Honest Reviews
15. Add New Product Listings Regularly
16. Choose A Good Production Partner
17. Leverage On Holiday Sales
18. Lean On And Learn From The Etsy Community
19. Invest In Yourself And Stay Committed
Affiliate Link Disclosure
Some of the links on here are affiliate links, and I may earn if you click on them, AT NO EXTRA cost to you. I hope you find the information here useful! Thank you so much.
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If you are super busy and you want to start making money selling digital products on Etsy asap, you can check out this and this Etsy course, that will step up your Etsy game and start earning within 3 months!
Alternatively, you can also check out this free Etsy Ebook that will share a list of best-selling products by month and teach you how to capitalize on seasonal trends to make sales.
1. Do Research And Create Your Etsy Shop Business Plan
Is Etsy worth selling on? Yes! But you need to do your market research and create a business plan first.
Pick a niche by looking at the product demand and the competition level. Observe what’s already available on Etsy and note what your competitors are doing.
When you are specific about what you’re selling and who your target audience is, it’s a great start to building a successful Etsy business.
2. Fully Set Up Your Etsy Account
If you’re wondering how to become a seller on Etsy, one of the first things you need to prioritize is to fully set up your Etsy account.
Here’s what you can do:
- Write your story in the About section
- Add your store policy on returns and exchanges
- Upload a shop banner
- Add a shop announcement
A complete About section and adding shop policies help improve your search ranking on Etsy and make it easier for customers to find you!
3. Highlight Your Brand’s Story In The About Section
When writing in the About section, make sure to highlight the unique story behind you and your craft.
Customers often go on Etsy to not only buy handmade products but they want to support skilled artisans.
Showing who you are and your creative process will help you connect with potential customers. Once you establish that connection, it will encourage them to buy your products.
4. Choose The Best Banner For Your Etsy Shop
The banner is the first thing that customers see when they land on your Etsy shop, so it’s important to make a good first impression!
Depending on what photos and text you choose to display, customers will get a feel of your shop and brand.
If you’re looking for ideas on the different types of shop banners, you can check this video and experiment to find what works best for you.
5. Use High Quality And Clear Photos
The quality of your product photos can be a huge factor in how hard is it to sell on Etsy for you.
Use high-quality photos so that customers can clearly see the creative details of your products and how to use them.
My favorite trick for taking clear photos is shooting in a well-lit environment. For instance, by the window where you can get plenty of natural lighting!
6. Include Good Videos In Your Listings
Videos convey much more information compared to still photos and it helps increase your credibility as an Etsy seller.
If you’re selling jewelry, a simple video of how a bracelet charm dangles on your wrist can help bring it to life.
Showcasing will help customers imagine how beautiful it would look if they bought and wore it too!
7. Apply Etsy Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
If you’re concerned about how to make a good Etsy listing, applying Etsy Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to your listings will be a game changer.
Use specific long-tail keywords compared to broad generic keywords in your Etsy listing titles and that will improve your search ranking.
This means higher chances of potential customers landing on your Etsy shop and buying your products!
My favorite tool for finding good keywords is Sale Samurai. It’s a powerful Etsy keyword tool that will help you find high-volume and actionable keywords to grow your Etsy traffic.
If you really want to level up your SEO knowledge, sign up for my SEO course. I share a step-by-step plan that will help you get thousands of organic traffic!
I have also written plenty of articles with the best SEO tips, but if you want practical tips that you can apply immediately to your Etsy shop, read this one: 11 Etsy SEO Tips That Will Skyrocket Your Sales.
8. Write Optimized And Eye-Catching Listing Descriptions
Some Etsy sellers write a great listing title but miss the mark with a basic description.
In your listing descriptions, feature the benefits of your product and make it clear how using it will add value to your customer’s life.
Make sure that you are also using all 13 tags for your listing and that you optimize the tags with accurate and relevant keywords!
9. Promote Your Listings On Social Media
Are you wondering, is Etsy a good place to sell? It definitely is because of the existing customer base on the platform.
But you can accelerate the growth of your Etsy shop by promoting your listings on social media too!
Spread the word about your Etsy shop on Instagram and Pinterest to bring in more traffic and improve your sales.
10. Offer Top Notch Customer Experience And Service
Successful Etsy sellers know that offering top-notch customer experience and service helps solidify your shop and brand.
If you want to be awarded the Star Seller badge and prove your credibility to new customers, strive to do this:
- Reply to messages quickly
- Ship your products on time
- Include thoughtful gestures like a thank you note in the packaging
11. Optimize Your Product Prices
The average Etsy sales in first year can go over $40,000 but it depends on many different factors like the niche you’re in and how you price your products.
Optimize your pricing strategy so that it covers the cost of materials and labor but still allows your shop to grow.
Aim to serve your customers and provide an overall high-value experience when they shop with you.
This way, you can incorporate perceived value as part of your pricing strategy.
12. Work With Etsy And Leverage Their Resources
One of the benefits of Etsy and selling on its marketplace is that you have access to its resources.
Get familiar with their Seller Policy to make sure that you know how to provide a positive experience to customers on Etsy and that you abide by their house rules.
Apart from that, you can also leverage Etsy Ads to promote your listings!
13. Use Your Etsy Shop Data Analytics To Improve Sales
New Etsy sellers tend to worry about can you make money on Etsy. The answer is yes!
The Etsy feature that can help you do that is Etsy Stats and Search Analytics. It allows you to analyze your listings and keywords performance so that you can improve your sales.
Once you have baseline data of your listings, you can tweak and improve them to increase your sales conversion rate.
14. Build Trust And Gather Honest Reviews
One of the things that make it easier to sell on Etsy is when you gather reviews to build trust with new customers.
If you haven’t made a sale yet, ask family or friends to invest in your store and buy an item to leave an honest review.
As your sales continue to grow and customers leave positive reviews, it will show potential customers that you are a trustworthy seller.
15. Add New Product Listings Regularly
Add new product listings regularly so that you can increase the number of listings in your Etsy shop over time.
More listings mean you have a higher chance of a customer buying from your shop!
Have you heard of the 80/20 principle? Some successful Etsy shops have hundreds of listings but 20% of their listings contribute to 80% of their revenue.
So find your sweet spot for the number of listings on your shop.
16. Choose A Good Production Partner
Did you know that you can create your own designs and sell print-on-demand items like t-shirts and mugs?
In fact, there are plenty of things you can sell on Etsy to make money. If you’re interested, check out this article I wrote about 31 Best Things To Sell On Etsy To Make Money In 2022!
Selling print-on-demand items is a great strategy to consider especially if you need to scale your Etsy business at some point in the future.
You can work with production partners to create unique items with a personal touch. Make sure to choose a good partner and disclose it in your Etsy listings!
If you are selling prints on Etsy and want to know a list of well-established partners you can choose from, read my article on How To Start Selling Prints On Etsy [And Make LOTS Of Money!].
17. Leverage On Holiday Sales
When you create a sale on Etsy, it gives potential customers an incentive to buy from your shop knowing that they are getting a good deal.
The best time to have a sale is during the holiday season! This is when customers are looking for gifts for their family and friends.
Make sure to spread the word about your holiday promotion on your social media.
18. Lean On And Learn From The Etsy Community
When you’re working hard and deep in the trenches, thinking is Etsy good for sellers, you can lean on and learn from others in the Etsy Community.
It has forums and teams where you can seek advice from other Etsy sellers and even meet up with those near you!
Networking with top Etsy sellers can inspire you and help pave your own way to success.
19. Invest In Yourself And Stay Committed
If you’re serious about growing your Etsy shop, you need to invest in yourself and stay committed. Most people give up too quickly!
If you’re selling digital products, increase your knowledge and enroll in the E-Printables Side Hustle Course to level up your Etsy game.
It’s an excellent course, and the co-creators, Julie and Cody, have earned thousands of dollars each month from their Etsy printable business!
Put in the time and effort to perfect your craft and build your brand.
In a few months, when you’re earning a stable income from Etsy, you’ll no longer be wondering is Etsy worth it. You’ll know for sure it is.
The Pros Of Selling On Etsy
Now you know how to become a seller on Etsy but you’re still unsure if you should go for it?
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of Etsy as an online marketplace:
- Easy, Quick, And Affordable To Start
Setting up your Etsy shop is super easy, quick, and affordable!
Compared to building your own website, it takes a longer time and not to mention the high cost of paying someone to design it.
- Established Customer Base
There were 96.3 million people who purchased items on Etsy in 2021.
When you set up an Etsy shop, you instantly have access to its established customer base.
Plus, Etsy customers are more focused on high-quality and unique products rather than low prices.
- Low Listing Fees
Etsy only charges you $0.20 per listing for the first four months. For new sellers, this low listing fee is affordable!
After four months, you can choose to renew the listings at the same price.
- Etsy Is A Trusted Marketplace
If you sell products on your own website, potential customers may be hesitant to buy from you because they’re not sure if they can trust you yet.
When you sell on Etsy, customers immediately trust your shop because Etsy itself is a trusted and established marketplace. Customers know that they are taken care of when they purchase on Etsy.
- Supportive Community On Etsy
Etsy has a supportive community that you can always go to for help and advice.
There are a lot of Etsy sellers out there that you can learn from! So it’s easy to find best practices online and test what works for you 🙂
The Cons Of Selling On Etsy
Let’s look at a few cons of selling on Etsy that you might face:
- Increased Competition
It’s good that there are a lot of customers on Etsy but keep in mind, that there are also many sellers.
Increased competition means it’s harder to stand out from the rest. So it’s important that you actively promote your Etsy shop on social media and build a strong brand.
- Customer Loyalty Issues
If you sell on Etsy, customers are more likely to build loyalty to Etsy compared to your business.
For example, when a customer buys a handmade bag from your store and someone asks them about it, they might say “I got this from Etsy!” instead of mentioning your shop.
- Lack Of Your Own Branding
Similar to the con above, having an Etsy shop might cause you to blend in with the rest of your competition.
All the Etsy virtual storefronts have a similar template so try to wow your customers with your brand and logo all over your packaging to make it memorable.
- Etsy Fees Do Add Up
Etsy has different types of fees like listing fees, transaction fees, transaction fees, and advertising fees.
Individually the fees seem small but over time, it adds up!
Make sure that you’re taking this into consideration when you develop your pricing strategy.
- It’s Hard To Build Your Email List
Building your own email list is a strategic marketing move but there’s no straightforward feature that Etsy offers to you as a seller.
Etsy has a strict privacy policy that doesn’t allow you to add customers to your email list without consent.
What you can do is invite customers to sign up for your newsletter for updates and they may opt in. You can include this invitation on your profile page and shop announcements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is It Worth It To Sell On Etsy?
So, is it worth it to sell on Etsy? Yes, it is worth it to sell on Etsy! It is the easiest method to set up an eCommerce shop focused on vintage goods and handmade arts and crafts.
Setting up an Etsy shop is quick and easy to learn. The low-risk, low-cost marketplace rewards volume sellers with 5-star reviews and low prices.
How Much Does The Average Etsy Seller Make?
Wondering about how much does the average Etsy seller make? The average Etsy seller makes between $43,000 and $46,000 per year.
That is an excellent foundation to start with as top Etsy sellers earn over $65,000 a month! It’s proof that it is possible to earn a comfortable income selling crafts online.
How Do Beginners Sell On Etsy?
So, how do beginners sell on Etsy? As a beginner, you can start selling on Etsy by creating an account.
Select your shop location and currency, choose your Etsy shop name, add a new listing, and set a payment method for how you want to be paid.
Finally, set up a billing method for you to pay your Etsy fees.
Is Selling Stuff On Etsy Easy?
Is selling stuff on Etsy easy? Yes, selling stuff on Etsy is easy! Etsy makes many listing and selling items on its platform relatively easy, especially if you compare it to selling products and maintaining them on your own website.
But similar to any other business you venture into, selling stuff on Etsy will take time to launch and your success requires continuous effort!
All Set To Start Your Etsy Journey?
Now that you know it is doable for you to sell on Etsy, time to put your plans into action this weekend!
I hope the tips I’ve shared above will help you lay a firm foundation to successfully sell on Etsy and you’re no longer wondering how hard is it to sell on Etsy.
It may not be an easy feat but it will be so satisfying to see your crafts and products bring joy to other people while earning extra income for yourself!
Who knows, this might be the start of something great or your own Etsy empire? 🙂
Wishing you all the best in your endeavor and if you found this post helpful, share it with your friends!
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