For all the creative and crafty people out there, Etsy has dominated the handmade marketplace since 2005. With over 60 million items listed by 2.1 million sellers as well as 39.4 million active buyers, Etsy is a great eCommerce platform to sell your hand-crafted products.
Often sellers use Etsy to earn some extra money on the side, garnering a small profit from a hobby or pastime. Others use Etsy's marketplace as a platform to start a profitable business. Either way creating an online store on Etsy is clever for small business owners whose passion is in handcrafting items. For the painters, knitters, moulders, and sculptors Etsy could just transform your Sunday night hobby into a Monday to Friday job.
If this is something you're keen to get into we've got some useful tips and tricks on how to create an Etsy account to help you grow your brand and business.
1. Register with Etsy
The first task at hand is registering your email and creating a password to enter Etsy. It's an easy one, but if you're intending on using Etsy as a full-time seller make sure you create a password that is strong – although rare, it's not uncommon for hackers to target popular shops so better to be safe than sorry!
2. Set up your online shop
These sections are important to set up the details and main structure of your online business:
Setting up your shop preferences– This will involve choosing the language, country and shop currency. These details will be influential in attracting a particular customer demographic.
If you want your customer base to stem mainly from the UK set these preferences accordingly. This section will also ask you if you intend to be a casual or professional seller but don't worry, the option you choose won't affect your Etsy shop.
Naming your shop– This can be quite tricky. It's a good idea to brainstorm some potential names and even have a look at what other people selling similar items to you have chosen. Think of your shops name as a pairing of the style and description of your items – for example, Fresh Greenery or Elegant Crystal Jewellery are clear reflections of what they intend to sell. Be careful not to mistakenly use a trademarked name, try googling yours first to make sure it's not taken!
Stock your shop– You can now fill your shop with all your wonderful handcrafted items to sell! A good way to do so is to think of your online store as a physical shop – when you walk in you should be able to see groups of similar items stocked together, varieties of items at varying prices to appeal to a range of customers and some offers or multi-buy deals. Use this imaginary scene to stock your shop so it looks thoughtfully curated to your customers.
Set up how you would like to be paid– Just simply select your bank account country, enter your bank details with a residential address and add your card so you can process Etsy payments! Keep in mind Australian sellers cannot sell without a residential address on file to start receiving payments and cannot use PO boxes! These details will also double as a billing address and card for any payments you make.
3. Join in with the Etsy Community
A good way to learn more about selling and selling well is to get to know other Etsy shops. Join in with the website's forums and maybe even reach out to your favourite sellers for tips.
- Speaking to other community members can draw people to your shop and hopefully get you some positive feedback for your online store.
- Attending craft fairs and Etsy meetups is also a great way to have a look at what others sell and see what items are most popular with customers.
4. Take appealing photos
You won't have to be a professional photographer to take good photos of your Etsy items. All you need them to be is clear and illustrative and with the iPhones and Androids we carry around in our back pockets every day you won't need to invest in an expensive camera!
- Make sure to experiment with angles and lighting to get the most detail out of your items.
- It's always best to include multiple images as well as one of your items doing what their intended for – so if it's a necklace get one of your friends to do a bit of quick modelling for your Etsy shop!
5. Keywords are useful!
Potential buyers using Etsy will be searching for certain items by using specific keywords. Using words or phrases in your item descriptions that will relate to what these buyers are looking for will boost the amount of people finding your online shop.
- Write down a long list of potential keywords that would be relevant to your shop. When you can't think of more, pick the strongest few and use these in your product tags and image titles.
- Check your Etsy Shop Stats weekly or fortnightly to see what keywords are working well, if some are lacking behind try using others to see what works!
6. Get artsy with your packaging
As Etsy is a platform for artisans making handmade, bespoke products, customers expect something a little special when their items arrive. Everyone loves receiving parcels and even more so if we open them to a little bespoke surprise or a completely sustainable package
This could be a handwritten note thanking the customer for their purchase or even a few sweets inside the packaging. We at Interparcel can help you sendyour Etsy parcels with reduced shipping costs so you can save your pennies for their special touches!
7. Choose a cheap and reliable parcel delivery service
It can be cost a lot of time and money to produce handmade items to sell online, so choosing a delivery service that save you both of these can be vital. By integrating your Etsy shop with Interparcel you benefit from quick and easy bulk shipping, organised order management and the cheapest shipping rates!
- Minimise the risk of items going missing as every one of our services includes full tracking services so you and your customer can be up to date with the status of the shipment.
- Get discounted parcel delivery prices for services like Same Day or Next Day delivery for those orders that are time sensitive.
- You can connect your Etsy account to Interparcel's shipping tool – in doing so you can drag all of your customers information into one area and process all of your orders at once making it simple and easy to get orders out fast.
8. Always provide great customer service
Customers will always feel more inclined to return to a particular brand when they have previously experienced great customer service. From the start, your Etsy store should always strive to give customers your best, here's a few ways to do so:
Make an enquiry email – if customers would like to reach you to perhaps ask about an order, request a return or refund or even query about custom orders for an event, you should have a means for them to contact you. This could be an email or a phone number whichever you're more likely to keep up with.
Be speedy with replies – it's good to create a contact link with your customers, but it's not good to leave messages unopened or not responded to. Engaging with your customers is important to keep them updated and reassured that their items are on the way.
Send out thank you emails – sending these sorts of email gives you the chance to make customers feel appreciated. Starting a small online business can be hard and building a customer base that can see your hard work can result in good reviews being left for this base to flourish. This also gives you a chance to advertise new items and deals!
9. Start a blog
Most items on Etsy are unique, made by people that are skilled and specialise in handmade products that are hard to by. Starting a blog can be useful to show customers the process of your crafting (without giving too much away). Growing the visibility of your Etsy shop through a blog can be a handy way to explain your craft and introduce yourself.
- Use this platform to talk about topics that your customer base will be interested in, if that's eco-friendly ways to live or materials to use this can promote your brand in a less obvious way.
- You could also consider promoting your use of a carbon-neutral delivery service we can offer you such as DPD Local to show customers your commitment to selling without a carbon-footprint!
10. Off you go!
Getting your Etsy shop exactly how you want it can take time and a lot of research into what others have done successfully. Don't get bogged down in the details to start, instead just try your best and let your items do the rest!
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