8 Easy Steps on How to Sell on Etsy – Etsy Seller Shares Success Tips

Are you a craft hobbyist or an artist? Do you love collecting vintage items or have access to wholesale craft supplies? If you answered yes to one or more of the above, you could consider starting an Etsy shop to sell your handmade items (e.g., artwork or crafts) or vintage pieces that you collect to people from around the world. Today, we will discuss the 8 easy steps on how to sell on Etsy.

Etsy is an online marketplace dedicated exclusively to artists, craftsmen (and women), and vintage collectors. Whether you are a craftsman (or woman) or an artist, consider starting an Etsy shop to sell your handmade artwork and crafts online.

If you can make unique or custom hand-crafted items, Etsy offers you the opportunity to sell your products to a global audience.

In this article, I will provide you with a step by step guide on how to sell on Etsy, and then I will provide information on Etsy fees, what items to sell on the site, and how to market your product. I had a popular Etsy store called Coloring Beach for several years and am going to start a new Etsy shop for you today! Follow along!

What is Etsy?

Etsy is a unique marketplace for buying and selling handmade items, vintage goods, and craft supplies. Starting an Etsy shop is a great way to start an online business, selling your handmade products to people from around the world.

If you have already decided on what you want to sell, you can start an Etsy store to start selling your crafts to make money online immediately.

If you are new to Etsy and want to sell on Etsy, here is a detailed guide on how to sell on Etsy:

How to Open Your Etsy Shop

Opening an Etsy shop is easy. Here are the simple steps to start opening your Etsy shop:

1. Create an Etsy account
2. Choose your shop preferences such as your language, country, and currency
3. Choose a name for your Etsy shop
4. Add product listings to your shop
5. Pick your payment methods
6. Set up your billing details as a means of identity verification
7. Click “open you shop” to go live
8. Customize your shop

1. Create an Etsy account

The first step to creating an Etsy shop is to create an Etsy account. Click on the Sell on Etsy link on Etsy.com in the footer to create an account by entering your email, name, and password. You can also create an account through your Google, Facebook, or Apple account.

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Get a FREE Commercial Weekly Undated Planner to sell in your Etsy Shop!

Click here to sign up for the PLR Beach Email list and get a free Commercial Undated Weekly Planner!

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2. Choose your shop preferences

Next, you will choose your shop’s language, country, currency, and time commitment. Choose a shop language in which you will describe your items. Once you have opened your Etsy shop, you can translate your page into other languages.

Then, you will select the country for your shop. After setting the home country for your shop, you will set the shop currency where you would like to price your listings.

3. Choose your shop name

Choosing a name is a vital step in setting up an Etsy shop. Choose a name that reflects your products and style. Your shop name must contain 4-20 characters in length and not include spaces or special characters. I have a Shopify store called Mom Beach so wanted to also set up an Etsy shop for Mom Beach to help increase traffic.

If your chosen shop name is in use, Etsy recommends other shop names that are still available. When choosing a shop name, you should think about keywords that reflect your style/products to include in your chosen name.

4. Add product listings to your shop

Once you have chosen your Etsy shop name, you can start adding product listings to your shop. When you add a product to your shop, it is called a listing. 

Use at least five clear photos to add to per product listing to see your product from different angles. Make sure that the size of your images is at least 1,000 pixels square. You can now add videos to your Etsy listing too!

Next, choose a title, product description, and tags for each product. Use keywords in your product title, description, and tags. You can add 13 tags per item. Think about keywords potential customers will be using to search for your items. 

After completing your listing details, you will fill in inventory and pricing details. Enter your product’s price, sales tax, quantity, and variations (if you have more than one version of the same product) and then set your shipping price. Now you can publish your listing. You can preview your listing before publishing it.

If you have no products to sell or want more, then check out PLR Beach’s commercial use planners and coloring pages! You can sell these digital products in your store today.

5. Choose your payment preference

When you are setting up an Etsy store, you will be prompted to choose how you will get paid. You can offer different payment options in your shop to take payments from your customers for their orders. You have to select which payment type you want to use.

Etsy Payments – Etsy Payments are the main form of payments on Etsy. If you live in an eligible country, you will use Etsy payments to take your customers’ payments. You can offer customers the options to pay with credit/debit/bank cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Android Pay, as well as Etsy Gift Cards and Etsy Credits.

PayPal – You can offer customers PayPal payment option if you are not eligible to use Etsy Payments. You have to use your own PayPal account to accept payments. 

Check or money order – You can offer payment methods that need to be mailed to you, in which customers who purchase using a check or money order send the check or money order to an address you share only with them.

Other – If you have another way of accepting payment, you can offer it in your shop.

Be sure to include information and instructions about your payment method in your listings and shop policies.

6. Set up Billing

Sellers in certain countries are required to provide a credit card as a means of identity verification. Etsy will require you to provide a credit card to open your shop, depending on which country you are in. 

7. Open your Etsy shop

If you have finished all the sections, you can open your shop by clicking the Open Your Shop.

The web address you can get for your Etsy shop will be:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/yourshopname or https://yourshopname.etsy.com

You will always be able to make changes to your Etsy shop after opening it. 

8. Customize your Etsy shop

Now that you have opened your shop, it is time to start selling on Etsy. But before you get started selling online, you need to customize your shop to make it visually appealing and easy to find.

Here are a few essential things you can fill in to complete your Etsy shop set up.

About/bio section

Upload videos or photos for your about/bio section and share the story behind your shop and products to let other people know who you are, how your business came to be, and your vision for your brand. Upload a good photo to add a Shop Owner Photo (your profile photo)

Shop banner and shop logo

Choose and upload a banner and shop logo that reflects your brand’s style and make a strong first impression on your potential customers. Add a professional logo that reflects your brand. It is your shop icon that will represent your shop across your Etsy store.

Then you can add images for Order Receipt Banner, Shop Banner and to your shop to customize to represent your shop across the site.

Policies

Shop policies outline all your systems for delivery, returns, exchanges, payments, custom items, etc. that are important for shoppers to know before making a purchase. Etsy provides you a privacy policy template here.

Etsy Plus sellers have access to advanced shop customization. Once you have customized your Etsy shop, you can start selling online.

What to sell on Etsy

There are a variety of products you could choose to sell on Etsy. Here are some potential ideas of products you could sell on Etsy:

• Homewares – such as illustrated prints
• Clothing – such as denim and patterned items
• Jewelry – such as personalized name items; birthday or wedding date pieces
• Children’s – such as wooden toys and fabric storage bags; clothes
• Vintage – such as clothes, furniture, and home accessories
• Craft supplies – such as stamps, fabrics, and paints
• Wedding items – such as hats, paper flowers, and table settings
• Design – such as decorative cushions 
• Furniture – such as natural or reclaimed wood pieces
• Printables – such as the commercial digital products that we sell here on PLR Beach

Take a look at the site for ideas of what to sell on Etsy.

Items you can list for sale on Etsy must be handmade, vintage, or craft supply. If you sell a printable, you must have the commercial rights to it.

If you want to sell handmade items, they must be made and designed by you, the seller. Vintage items must be at least 20 years old. Craft supplies are tools, ingredients, or materials that are primarily used to create an item or special occasion.

On Etsy, you can sell products that fit the following categories:

• Jewelry & Accessories
• Clothing & Shoes
• Home & Living
• Wedding & Party
• Toys & Entertainment
• Art & Collectibles
• Craft Supplies & Tools
• Vintage

The above categories are then broken up further.

What are Etsy seller fees?

While it is free to join and start a shop on Etsy, there are selling fees: a listing fee, a transaction fee, and a payment processing fee.

A listing fee – There is a $0.20 listing fee per listing to the marketplace. A listing to the Etsy marketplace lasts for four months or until the item is sold – whichever comes sooner. 

A transaction fee – When an item sells, Etsy will charge you a 5% transaction fee on the sale price (including the shipping fee). 

A payment processing fee – If you accept payments with PayPal, there is a payment processing fee based on their fee structure.

Etsy also offers two packages: 

• Standard is free and suitable for those just starting.
• Plus is $20 per month and suitable for those looking to expand.

If you advertise your items through Etsy across the web, you only pay an advertising fee when you make a sale. The advertising fee depends on the revenue you have made on Etsy in the past 365 days.

How to market your product on Etsy

After you have created an Etsy shop, you need to market your products to let people know that your Etsy shop exists. Marketing your products will help new customers find your products. Here are a few ways to market your products:

• One of the best ways to promote your products is to use social media. It is a free way of reaching potential customers around the world. Pinterest is one of the best ways to market your crafts items since this platform is craft-focused. 
• You can include your Etsy shop URL on your business card to market your shop. Link back to your Etsy shop from your blog, website, or social media.
• Consider investing in paid advertising using Facebook ads, Pinterest ads, Google ads, and so on to market your shop and products.
• Join the Etsy community where you can network with sellers and shoppers.
• Make sure to optimize your shop for Etsy search. Add your location so that your shop can be found in local searches.
• Other ways to market your product include word-of-mouth advertising and creating your website.

Tips on becoming successful on Etsy

I have sold on Etsy for several years under the name Coloring Beach. Here are some great tips for selling on Etsy:

• Always take good pictures of your products.
• Provide clear descriptions and helpful information on your products. Answer questions quickly and get items out as soon as possible.
• Add your personal touch to your items to make sure you stand out.
• Invest in paid advertising using Facebook ads, Pinterest ads, Google ads, and so on to market your shop and products.
• Solve a problem for your customer.

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Get a FREE Commercial Weekly Undated Planner to sell in your Etsy Shop!

Click here to sign up for the PLR Beach Email list and get a free commercial Undated Weekly Planner!

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Sale Samurai – Etsy Cloud-based Competition and Keyword Software

I have been using this new Etsy software, Sale Samurai, for a week and really feel it is really useful. I thought I would share it with you!

It is really simple to use. All you do is connect your Etsy store and it then grades each of your listings.

You can also search for keywords and it tells you the search volume. It also offers suggestions and shows you other listings with those keywords.

You can then spy on your competition to see what keywords are helping them rank higher than you.
It is similar to Marmalead, but much cheaper in price. Marmalead is $19 a month and Sale Samurai is only $9.99 a month. For both services, you can pay a yearly fee to save money.

I have a free account of Marmalead, which you can no longer get. I see that it has similar features of the paid account. I feel that Sale Samurai’s interface is more user-friendly, however.

I was given an exclusive coupon just for you, plrbeach ,that will save you an additional $2 a month so it will bring it down to $7.99 a month! You get a 3 day free trial to see if it is right for you.

Get Sale Samurai now and save $2 a month with code plrbeach!

Conclusion on How to Sell on Etsy

I hope you have learned how to sell on Etsy from this article. If you have a talent for creating arts or crafts, all you need to do is join and open a shop on Etsy to start selling.

Whichever product you choose to sell, make sure it is something that you love to make if you want to do well on Etsy. 

Click here to check out the commercial-use products we sell on PLR Beach that you can sell on Etsy!

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• What is PLR Content? 19 Ways on How PLR Can Help You Succeed
• I Make Money Selling Printables and Low-Content Books – So Can You!
• FREE Undated Weekly Planner for Commercial Use

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