You Need to Know How to Make Etsy Work for Beginners

One of the best Etsy tips for beginners is to know what to do before opening an Etsy shop. 

That means you should be clear on 2 aspects: 

• WHAT is it that you sell on Etsy
• WHO is going to buy what you sell on Etsy 

If you are crystal clear on the above points. Then, it will be easy to set up and optimize your Etsy shop for maximum success. 

If you have a computer and an internet connection. Then, you can open an Etsy shop in a jiffy. But opening a shop with Etsy will not bring sales. The real work begins after you have opened an account with Etsy. 

5 Etsy Tips for Beginners That Will Make You Successful 

1.     How to Start an Etsy Shop for Success

Although Etsy shop means e-commerce. But the basic rules of running a traditional brick-and-mortar store apply to Etsy too. 

So, that means your shop should resonate with your ideal audience the moment they have a look at it. For that, your customers should be able to stick to your shop the moment they arrive on it. 

For that, your Etsy shop must have the following: 

• Appropriate Header Banner and Shop Logo 

Consider the Etsy banner as the retail shop banner. Thus, you must include WHAT you sell and WHO can benefit from it.  

One of the good examples of that is a shop selling African beads. As you can see, its banner mentions what and how and for whom do they sell. 

Even though I arrived at their store for the first time. I can gather the following information: 

• they sell fair trades African beads for crafters
• they are popular and sell a lot of beads
• their shipping schedule is quick

Likewise, you should be able to design a banner that talks to your audience. 

The logo dimensions are small. That is why you need to use it with prudence. In an ideal scenario, it must depict what your brand name is. As with Beadchest, their logo shows a chest full of beads. 

So, refrain from using whimsical brand names.  Go with one that you can reproduce as an image in a vector logo. Else, you will have the lone option to use your brand name itself as a logo. 

• Descriptive “About Us” section 

Believe it or not, the more you talk about your origin and process. The more the audience propels towards your brand. 

So, it is a great idea to mention your love for the craft that made you chuck your corporate job. Or, how you getting laid off made you transform your childhood hobby into a business. 

Also, adding images and videos of how you go about creating your craft involves the audience. 

Furthermore, you can also include what makes your shop different from others. As with thebeadchest, they demarcate themselves as quick shipping fair trade suppliers. 

• Inclusive Shop Policies

This one is tricky. No matter how much you fine-tune it. It will keep evolving with time. Every sale will teach you to add/ subtract from your policies. That is why policies are always a work-in-progress. 

Even though the policies change with time, the basic ones remain constant. They are regarding : 

• Shipping 

• Returns

• Exchange

• Payment

• Customized Orders 

An easy way to think about them is by thinking about them like the pre-nuptial agreement. You must include all the details that will shield you from issues that might develop later on. 

2.     Create Irresistible Listings 

After setting up your shop. Now is the time to list your handmade products. 

Most of the handmade sellers find it difficult to describe their listings. That is why I made this checklist for help. 

1. Add 5 images of the product listed from different angles.
2. The images must be 2000 pixels wide.
3. Use the appropriate image taken from the top as the thumbnail one.
4. Give an SEO Title to your listing in 140 characters.
5. Categorize the listing as Handmade, Vintage or Craft Supply.
6. Add the attributes of your listing – color, occasion, material.
7. Toggle on the Renewal Options – 4 months auto-renewal or manual.
8. Mention if your Item is Digital/ Physical. 
9. Describe your Listing up to the minutest details.
10. Mention if you allow Customization.
11. Mention the third party production partner (if any). 
12. Place Your Listing in one appropriate Section out of 20.
13. Use all the 13 tags so to get found in Etsy search.
14. If you live EU, put Price/ Unit. 
15. If you live in Germany, summarize the main features. 
16. Mention Price and Quantity for listings and its Variations.
17. Mention Sales Tax on the listing if your Shop charges it.
18. If you offer Variations, mention them.
19. Mention SKUs if you are super organized.
20. If you offer personalizations, mention it.
21. Add the Digital files for non-physical listings.
22. If you sell from the US/ Canada, mention Weight and Size for Calculated Shipping.
23. Use the appropriate Shipping Profile.
24. Fill in the Shipping Upgrades, if any.
25. Decide if you want this Listing in the Etsy Ads Campaign.
26. Save your Listing.
27. Preview your Listing to check for errors before publishing. 

3.     Promoting Your Shop 

This is the most important aspect of using Etsy. Setting up a shop on Etsy/Amazon Handmade or even your Shopify store does not bring customers. Sales come with promotion done right. 

In this era of digital marketing, there are 3 basic ways to promote. Though all 3 are inter-related. 

They are :

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 

SEO is a topic that requires an in-depth study. But for the sake of brevity, SEO for artists involves thinking as your customers think. 

That means the use of words and phrases that your customer feed in Google to get solutions. 

So, for example, if I use the phrase – “buy African beads online” on google. Then, I get a chest full of results. You will get a pat on your back if without clicking on the above link you know who tops the results. 

Yes, it is the thebeadchest.  

By the way, you must have arrived in this article by searching for Etsy business tips. That is the power of SEO when done the correct way. 

• Social Media 

As a newbie, you might find SEO overwhelming. Then, you might wonder how do beginners sell on Etsy? 

That is why Social media is a popular alternative to promote Etsy for beginners. 

There are several social media channels. Among them, Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram work best for handmade artists. 

For any social channel to work in favor of your Etsy shop. You must know how to build an engaging audience. Once you have a nurtured audience, you can pivot them towards your Etsy shop. 

Coming up with content to post on social media is challenging. But you can begin by posting videos related to your craft on all your social media channels.  

Once you begin to see some engagement. Then, you can check your stats to know which posts resonate most with your audience. You can use that data to create more content that is similar to the popular ones.  

• Ad Campaigns 

When in doubt, do not run ads to bring sales. That is because you might blow up your money on ad expenses that do not convert. 

Ads work best when you know what works for your shop. You can check your Etsy stats to know which listing brings you maximum views. As an experiment, you can create Etsy ads for those listings.  

If the Etsy ads work, you can move on to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google ads. But if ads on Etsy fail, you should go back to improve SEO and social media marketing.

4.     Aim for Seller Protection

Etsy is a wonderful platform to start your handmade business. But bad reviews, shipping delays, and any unforeseen circumstances can lead to issues. This could make you question is selling on Etsy worth it. 

The best way to avoid ruining your Etsy business is to never violate the platform’s rules. Besides, if you use Etsy’s payment platform and have an impeccable Seller history. Then, you get auto-enrolled in Etsy’s Seller Protection Policy. 

The policy gets you some added benefits. The best one is investigating chargebacks and resolving cases of such Sellers. 

5.     Relax and Let the Shop Relax Too 

If you understand what is Etsy and how does it work. Then, you must know that you should not run your Etsy shop 24×7. 

As per Etsy, they are the marketplace for independent creators. That means as an Etsy seller you should not act like multinationals and big business houses. 

You are a solopreneur and you must put your shop on a vacation mode when you are resting. You create thoughtful handmade products unlike the mass-produced ones in factories.  Hence, you deserve to take some rest to recharge yourself. Working in haste can hurt your small business in the long run. That is why it is in your interest to rest, refresh and come back with more creative ideas.

On the vacation mode, your shop pulls up in searches. But a notice of temporary shut down appears when someone visits it. Furthermore, you can set-up vacation auto-replies for incoming inquiries. 

Thus, Etsy ensures that you remain stress-free during vacations. 

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase any of the products mentioned in this article through routing via the links in this post. Then, I may end up receiving a certain monetary percentage from the sale. Though the one who purchases through the link does not end up paying anything extra apart from the mentioned MRP on the product. Full disclosures on the Affiliate Page.

Some More Etsy Tips for Beginners

1. Add QR Code to your Shop Banner. The code could lead to your Social Media/ Shopify Store/ Blog/ Mailing List.
2. A desktop web browser is mandatory for opening a shop. Once a shop is open, then you can sell on Etsy app.
3. Invest in learning how to take Product pictures.
4. Invest in a Keyword Research Tool.
5. Work on a Business Plan from Day one.
6. Price your Products so as to maximize returns.
7. Use the appropriate hashtags on Instagram. 

Conclusion

Though not in detail, this article serves as a mini beginners guide to selling on Etsy.  

Etsy is one of the best ways to start your handmade business from anywhere in the World. 

All you require is a stronghold on your craft and some technical know-how. If you keep working on both these skill sets, you will gear up for a successful home-based business. 

If you have never used Etsy. Then, you should read this article to know how do you win at Etsy.  

Header Image Source: Pixabay

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