Etsy is one of the biggest online marketplaces in the world. With more than five million sellers serving nearly 90 million active buyers it has the potential to turn a side hustle into a full-time business.

It’s a place where small business owners can meet their ideal customers. Millions of people search the marketplace with a credit card in hand, ready-to-buy crafts, handmade jewelry, and art.

Products such as clothing, photography, art, wedding essentials,  jewelry, health & beauty, food products, and a lot more things make Etsy stand out among other marketplaces. Not only this, but Etsy is also compatible with Open Source and SaaS-Based platforms like Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce. Therefore, sellers look forward to connecting their online stores (based on these platforms) with an Etsy store.

This article will show you in full detail how you can make money by selling your products on Etsy.

• Selling on Etsy
• How to Sell on Etsy
• Selling on Etsy Rules
• Best Things to Sell on Etsy to Make Money
• Top Etsy Sellers
• Top Selling Items on Etsy
• How to Make Money on Etsy
• Easy Things to Sell on Etsy
• Top Selling Food Items on Etsy
• How to See What Sells on Etsy
• How to Start an Etsy Shop
• Guide to Dropshipping on Etsy
• Fees For Selling on Etsy
• Selling on Etsy Cost
• How Much Does an Etsy Seller Make?
• Etsy Shop Ideas
• Selling Art on Etsy
• Selling Digital Downloads on Etsy Fees
• Selling on Etsy Australia Fees
• Selling on Etsy Fees UK
• Selling on Etsy in Florida
• Selling on Etsy Taxes
• Selling on Etsy Pros and Cons
• Selling on Etsy Tips
• What Are Some FAQ About Selling on Etsy?
• How Much Money Can You Make Selling Digital Items on Etsy?
• What Are the Problems Faced Selling on Etsy?
• What Are the Top Selling Wood Products on Etsy?
• How Many Greeting Cards do we Need to Start Selling Etsy?
• Can I Make Decent Money Selling Photographs on Etsy?
• What Are Some Tips For Selling Digital Products on Etsy?
• What is The Best Print-on-demand Platform For Selling on Etsy?
• Can You List Vintage Items For Selling on Etsy?
• How to Keep Track of Your Stock When Selling on Etsy
• Shipping Costs When Selling on Etsy
• Sales Tax When Selling on Etsy
• Advice For Increasing Etsy Traffic

Selling on Etsy

The first stage in opening an Etsy shop happens long before clicking the “Start selling” button on Etsy’s homepage. Take a moment to decide whether Etsy is the right marketplace for your small business. 

Read Also: Dropshipping

Much like Amazon or eBay, certain items sell faster on Etsy’s marketplace than others. Items in the home and living, art, and jewelry categories are the most popular with buyers—that’s why the sales channel is popular with crafters and those selling handmade items.

Similarly, while Etsy has buyers (and sellers) all over the world, the marketplace is more popular in some countries than others. Some 30% of Etsy sellers are based in the UK; another 11% are in Canada. Other European countries—including Germany, France, and Italy—make the shortlist. However, it may not be the best place for your business if your primary audience is outside of those most popular regions.

How to Sell on Etsy

Etsy makes the process to start selling easy. Here are the steps on how to sell on Etsy and set up your own online shop.

1. Go to Etsy.com to Get Started.

Visit the Etsy homepage, click the Sell on Etsy link, then click Open your Etsy Shop.

2. Customize Your Shop’s Settings.

Being your own shop manager, you can set your shop preferences for how you want to sell your products. Select the language for describing your products, and the currency for trade, including your location, etc.

3. Select a Shop Name.

This is the part where your creativity can come into play. You should come up with an Etsy shop name that reflects your personal brand. Your name should be synonymous with your product offerings and easy for customers to remember. The name needs to be between four and twenty characters with no spaces or special characters.

4. Start Listing Your Products.

Follow these steps to set up your product listings:

Add Photos: Etsy sellers are advised to have a minimum of five photos for each item, to be taken from different angles so buyers can have a proper idea of what your product looks like. The pictures should be of high quality and shot with a nice background.

Adjust thumbnails: Thumbnails are the first pictures a buyer comes across when they search or stumble upon your product. These dictate the look and feel of your shop, so make sure they are consistent and match your brand.

Complete your listing information: Your product description should have a title and description that describes what it in detail.

Also, make use of the 13 ‘tags’ available for each product. Buyers look for products on Etsy based on keywords, so make sure these keywords match what is in your tags.

Enter inventory quantity and price: Add the price for each item and make sure you factor all the costs into your sale price. Include the quantity in stock, and also if there are product variants such as size, color, and material.

Set the shipping fee: This is where you include shipping fees, country of origin, processing time, weight, and size. You can always update this information later if needed.

Preview your Etsy listings: Look at the shop to see if there are any changes to make. It’s important to feel good about your shop’s look from a customer’s perspective before publishing for the first time. Click finish and you’re all done adding your first product.

5. Select Your Payment Method.

There are many types of electronic payments available on Etsy. You could offer PayPal or Etsy Payments which is what most sellers use. Etsy Payments allow sellers to get their money through different options like credit and debit cards (as well as store credit), and Etsy gift cards.

6. Include Billing Information.

This will depend on your country of origin. Etsy may want a credit card for authorization and identification. You will also provide a card where Etsy can charge you for fees and commissions.

That’s it. You’re all set up and it’s time to start optimizing and promoting your products.

7. Optimize Your Shop.

Here are a few ways to optimize your Etsy shop and attract more sales.

Add Your User Profile: This will include a short bio about you with a photo. This will let visitors know who you are and increase your credibility as a seller. You can use this opportunity to create a personal connection with your customers and give more insight into your product.

Add Your Shop Policies: This section includes FAQs that customers may ask about the product. You can also add processing and shipping timelines so customers can have an idea of how long it will take to get their product. Return policies (if any) also fall into this section.

Add A Store Bio: This is the section that allows you to talk more about your e-commerce store and who you are. Etsy sellers are given 5,000 characters to write your biography. Remember to write with passion and create a connection with your potential customers.

People value transparency, so try to be open about your values. You can also show them how you create your products by inserting photos or videos of your workspace. You can share your shop’s social media links here too.

Use Etsy’s Marketing Tools: This allows you to reach out to a wider customer base through social media. Etsy has made this easy to do with a new marketing tool to allow sellers the opportunity to share their products on social platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Selling on Etsy Rules

Keeping in mind these basic requirements will set you up for success on Etsy.

a. What can be sold on Etsy

Etsy is a unique marketplace. Buyers come here to purchase items that they might not find anywhere else. Everything listed for sale on Etsy must be handmade, vintage, or a craft supply.

Handmade items are items that are made and/or designed by you, the seller.

If you sell handmade items, you agree that:

1. All handmade items are made or designed by you. If you work with a production partner, you must disclose that production partner in your relevant listings.
2. You accurately describe every person involved in the making of an item in your shop in your About section.
3. You are using your own photographs or video content —not stock photos, artistic renderings, or photos used by other sellers or sites.

If you are selling personalized or made-to-order items in the Handmade category, you agree that:

1. All listings are available for purchase at a set price.
2. If you are using photographs of previous work with options for customization (like color choices) included in the listing, it is clear in your description that the photos shown are just examples.

Vintage items must be at least 20 years old.

Craft Supplies are tools, ingredients, or materials whose primary purpose is for use in the creation of an item or special occasion. Craft supplies may be handmade, commercial, or vintage. Party supplies may also be sold as craft supplies.

We encourage you to be transparent about how your craft supplies were made and where your materials come from. You can disclose whether your items have social or environmental attributes, such as organic or recycled. You can also select the location of manufacturer.

b. What Can’t be Sold on Etsy

Even if they otherwise meet our marketplace criteria, prohibited items, services, and items that violate our intellectual property policies are not allowed to be sold on Etsy. All listings must offer an item for sale (which includes digitally delivered items and can also include reserved listings).

You may not create an Etsy listing for the purpose of sharing a referral code, posting a want ad, or similar activity that does not offer a physical or digital item for sale.

Reselling is not allowed in the handmade category on Etsy. Reselling refers to listing an item as handmade when you were not involved in designing or making that item.

Keep in mind that members may flag listings that appear to violate our policies for Etsy’s review. Etsy may remove any listings that violate our policies. Note that listing fees are non-refundable. Etsy may also suspend or terminate your account for any violations. You’ll still be on the hook to pay any outstanding fees on your Etsy statement.

If you are raising money on behalf of a charity, you must obtain that charity’s consent.

c. Managing your Etsy Shop

Your shop represents you and your business to the Etsy community. It’s important that you, your items and your shop are honestly and accurately represented.

By selling on Etsy, you agree that you will:

1. Provide honest, accurate information to Etsy and in your About section.
2. Honor your Shop Policies.
3. Ensure your shop content, such as any text, photos or videos used to represent yourself, your shop or your listings, abide by Etsy’s policies, including our Anti-Discrimination Policy.
4. Accurately represent your items in listings and listing photos.
5. Respect the intellectual property of others. If you feel someone has violated your intellectual property rights, you can report it to Etsy.
6. Not engage in fee avoidance.
7. Not create duplicate shops or take any other action (such as manipulating clicks, carts or sales) for the purpose of shilling, manipulating search or circumventing Etsy’s policies.
8. Not coordinate pricing with other sellers.

d. Seller Standards By listing a product for sale on Etsy you understand and agree that you are responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations for the products you list for sale, including any required labels and warnings. Etsy assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, labeling, or content of your listings.

Meeting Service Level Standards

As a seller, you must provide great customer service and maintain trust with your buyers. These requirements are called our Seller Service Level Standards. Etsy may reach out to you if your shop fails to meet Etsy’s Seller Service Level Standards.

By selling on Etsy, you agree to:

1. Honor your shipping and processing times. Sellers are obligated to ship an item or otherwise complete a transaction with a buyer in a prompt manner unless there is an exceptional circumstance. Please be aware that legal requirements for shipping times vary by country.
2. Respond to Messages in a timely manner.
3. Honor the commitments you make in your shop policies.
4. Resolve disagreements or order issues directly with the buyer. In the unlikely event that you can’t reach a resolution, Etsy can help through our case system.
5. If you are unable to complete an order, you must notify the buyer and cancel the order.

e. Selling Fees

Sellers may be charged for using some of Etsy’s services. There are fees associated with the listing, selling, advertising, and certain other Etsy products and features.

Best Things to Sell on Etsy to Make Money

1. Stickers

One of the best things to sell on Etsy is Stickers. If you are looking for items to sell on Etsy, this one is a great one to look into. Because of the high demand for this product this item makes my list of top items to sell on Etsy. You can also buy stickers in huge quantities which makes this item a huge win to sell.

2. T-Shirts

T-shirts are a great way to start on Etsy because it’s very easy to get started. Because it’s so easy to get started this item is one of the best things to sell on Etsy. You can team up with a drop-shipping company such as Printify to help you create and sell t-shirts directly on Etsy.

This is a great way to make extra money with an Etsy shop, and if you browse the T-shirt selection on Etsy, you can get ideas on what’s popular on the platform.

3. Printables

Printables are one of my favorite Etsy items and one of the easiest things you can turn into products to sell online. It’s also one of the greatest things to sell on Etsy. 

Printables such as budgeting templates, life, and cooking templates all do very well on Etsy. So if you are looking to create printables to sell on Etsy, it can be a very profitable side hustle.

4. Craft Supplies

Craft supplies are another great item to sell on Etsy. Items such as cotton crochet yarn and charms to put on bags sell really well on Etsy. So if you are great at creating craft supplies, you can create an Etsy shop and sell those items.

5. Baby Items

Some of the best items on Etsy are the “coming home outfits” for newborns and matching outfits for siblings. Because this item is in high demand it’s one of the best items to sell on Etsy.

6. Wedding Decorations

If you are looking for one of the best items to sell on Etsy this is it. Since people have weddings throughout the year, wedding decorations are always in season. Because of that reason, wedding decorations do great with sales on the Etsy platform.

Some examples of wedding items that do well on Etsy are wedding signs, wedding neon signs, Mr. & Mrs. cake toppers, and much more.

7. Pet Supplies

Do you have a pet? If so, you probably buy a lot of different cute items for your pet. Some other pet supplies we have seen on Etsy are dog houses, dog beds, pet tags, and much more.

8. Home Decor

Home decor such as wall art, frames, vases, and home knit blankets all do great on the Etsy platform.

9. Jewelry

Jewelry is another item that is great to sell on Etsy. There are a lot of different jewelry items that we have seen on Etsy that sell great such as rings and bracelets.

You can also create personalized jewelry for your customers to make even more sales.

10. Personalized Clothing

If you are looking for some of the best items to sell on Etsy, this item might be great for you. Creating personalized clothing such as t-shirts do great on Etsy. Have you ever seen shirts for newborns with their names on them or personalized shirts for wedding parties? If so, it’s a great chance that they got them from Etsy.

Top Etsy Sellers

Etsy is a global marketplace for unique and creative goods, including handcrafted, one-of-a-kind items and crafting supplies.

Here is a list of the top-selling shops on Etsy, along with the number of each shop’s sales and admirers. Etsy’s top sellers offer products to get organized, party favors for special events, supplies for making jewelry, healing crystals, and more.

PlannerKate is the top seller on Etsy. Owned by Kate Antesberger, it sells planners, stickers, bingers, albums, planner kits, checklists, vision boards, icons, and more. The shop has 1,841,378 sale transactions and 61,419 admirers.

CaitlynMinimalist creates jewelry with meaning and minimalism. Its catalog consists of name pieces, handwriting, and meaningful quote jewelry. Customers can take a piece of handwriting and immortalize it into daily wearable silver jewelry. The shop has 1,574,688 sale transactions and 259,152 admirers.

Bead Boat has more than 8,500 jewelry-making supplies and everyday jewelry products. The shop has 1,469,977 sale transactions and 59,364 admirers.

ModParty offers handmade gifts and party favors for weddings, baby showers, birthdays, and celebrations. The shop has 1,294,176 sale transactions and 115,636 admirers.

Yakutum, ​​from Istanbul, Turkey, has been on Etsy since 2008. It sells jewelry supplies, offering approximately 25,000 products and specializing in brass and gold-plated items. The shop has 971,590 sale transactions and 36,742 admirers.

King Jewelry Supplies opened on Etsy in 2014. The shop offers approximately 15,000 jewelry supply products, including raw brass and gold-plated supplies, chains, charms, beads, clasps, rings, and earrings. The shop has 921,428 sale transactions and 49,588 admirers.

PeggySueAlso Leather is from Tacoma, Washington. With over 150,000 square feet of leather in stock, it offers embossed cowhide leather, earring leather, metallic leather, suede, cork leather, and leather from ostrich, alligator, goatskin, lambskin. The shop has 810,220 sale transactions and 25,387 admirers.

Nicole de Bruin Charms is a comprehensive charm shop from Stockport, United Kingdom. It offers nearly 16,000 products, including beads, buttons, paper products, charms, and custom-engraved tags. The shop has 765,735 sale transactions and 54,403 admirers.

Lotus sells healing crystals, gemstones, jewelry, stone carvings, and objects to make you feel good. The shop has 753,023 sale transactions and 79,880 admirers.

Happy Kawaii Supplies is dedicated to all things colorful, sugary, and sweet. The shop’s motto is “If it’s not cute, we won’t sell it.” The owner also runs the Bunny Sundries shop. HappyKawaiiSupplies has 741,220 sale transactions and 55,857 admirers.

DesignInYourHeart, from Seoul, South Korea, sells jewelry-making supplies with a large selection of charms, beads, earrings, and gemstones. The shop has 665,202 sale transactions and 25,774 admirers.

Think Pink Bows offers stylish bows for babies, toddlers, and girls. The shop has 662,390 sale transactions and 88,293 admirers.

World Incense Store is a family-run metaphysical supplies shop that offers incense, candles, crystals, pendants, charms, and more. The shop has 639,050 sale transactions and 72,849 admirers.

Yadanabeads sells beads, chains, and findings. It began as a small jewelry shop in 2007 but then began sharing its beads with other Etsy jewelry makers. The shop has 634,355 sale transactions and 50,860 admirers.

Seedville USA offers flower and vegetable seeds for gardening. The shop has 626,538 sale transactions and 18,399 admirers.

Top Selling Items on Etsy

The best things to sell on any e-commerce platform change all the time. We could base the decision on who the top Etsy sellers are, and their items.

If we were to do this, those products would be, in sales volume order:

• Organizational stationery and stickers (PlannerKate, with over 8 million sales).
• Jewelry craft supplies (Yakutum, with almost 6 million sales, Nicoledebruin with over 5 million sales, CLBeads with 5.5 million sales, Yadanabeads with 5 million sales).
• Personalized gifts for weddings and baby showers (ModParty, around 5.5 million sales).
• Handmade jewelry and beads (Beadboat1 with 5.5 million sales, Jewelersparadise with around 5.3 million sales, and Yummytreasures with 4.6 million sales).
• Handmade leathercraft suppliers (Peggysuealso with 4.7 million sales).

The overwhelming winner for top Etsy sellers would be the craft jewelry category for things like clasps, wire, chains, beads, charms, and pendants. But the fact that there are a number of established sellers in this space on Etsy may be a reason to avoid it, not jump on board.

How to Make Money on Etsy

Making money on Etsy involves coming up with a profitable idea, selling enough to cover your costs and time, setting up an Etsy store, and promoting your store in order to get buyers. Then evolve with the times, constantly updating the items in your shop and finding new ways to reach buyers.

If you want to make money selling stuff, it’s important to sell a product you care about. But before diving in, make sure it’ll actually sell. You can do some quick market research using Etsy’s search bar. Be as specific in your query as possible and click through to the different shop pages to see the number of sales made since opening.

If it seems that there’s enough interest in your product idea, then you can move on to the next step: making sure the product will earn you money. Here’s how to do the math.

Figure out the cost to make each item. First, figure out what costs, such as materials or labor, are involved in production. If you want to sell handmade jewelry, for example, look up prices for the gems and earring hooks you’d use to make each piece. Then calculate the cost of making a single item.

Research the competition. Scope out prices for similar items on Etsy. It’s also a good idea to consider prices on other marketplaces, such as Amazon or local stores, to increase your chances of selling.

Factor in Etsy’s fees. Selling through Etsy isn’t free. For example, the site charges 20 cents to list an item. When you make a sale, there’s a transaction fee of 5% of the price you display for each listing plus the amount you charge for shipping and gift wrapping. Read up on all of Etsy’s fees before you start selling.

If you expect to owe more than $1,000 in taxes on your earnings, you should probably set aside money for estimated quarterly tax payments. There might be state, local or other taxes. Estimate your tax liability to determine an accurate figure to save.

Evaluate the numbers. Take the price-per-item you’ve picked and deduct the associated costs — including fees, taxes, and production expenses — then see what’s left over. If you can’t turn a profit while maintaining a competitive price, you might want to try another sales venue or a different product.

Easy Things to Sell on Etsy

1. Candles

Candles are super easy to make and can customize with scents colors and even holders. Grab some cute mugs from a Tjmaxx and fill it with a delish scented candle!

2. Headbands and Wraps

Right now headbands and wraps for fall are so in! A  crochet one will keep your ears warm during the cold or a turban is perfect for any weather.

3. Vinyl stickers for the car

If you have a vinyl machine this is a great item for Etsy! You can create any popular car sticker or people love anything monogram! Make one to advertise then only make them as the orders come in! No wasted vinyl here! Offer differently sized for different prices.

4. Baby bibs

This is actually one of the items I sell at my own Etsy shop! There are so many different styles you can make and they sell really well! Plus you can keep some for your own little one

5. Digital Prints

Because they are crazy easy to create and you can sell the same single file over and over again! You can make one image that you can sell an infinite amount of and Etsy delivers the file for me so once an order is placed, you don’t have to do ANYTHING! It’s amazing.

You don’t need any fancy software to make your prints either, you can use a Word document for a while then switched to Canva which is a free site!  Do keep in mind, that you cannot just copy someone else’s work! That is actually illegal! But you can create your own unique images or photos you take and sell them easily!

6. Baby bows

Back before Etsy, this is actually how my mom make extra money while she stayed at home with us! She made and sold adorable baby bows and clips! People love bows and clips for their littles and they are so extremely easy to make! Grab some ribbon and get making!

7. Baby blankets

Blankets are so easy to make and are pretty popular on Etsy. All you need is a fabric for the front and some for the back stitch all four sides and you’re done!

8. Any baby craft!

Every mom out there loves to buy things for their little one especially when they’re pregnant with their first and there is a whole bunch of ladies out there who would much rather just buy something someone else made rather than make it themselves! So any baby craft is a good sell on Etsy! Shoes, burp cloths, onesies, nursing pillow covers, bedding, quilts, toys, etc!

9. Bath bombs and salts

Bath bombs and bath salts are quick easy and perfect gifts for the holiday season!

10. Jewelry or Keychains

If you make Jewelry in your spare time or have before, why not sell it? Even if you’re not familiar with making jewelry there are lots of easy tutorials out there! So many people head to Etsy to buy jewelry now!

Top Selling Food Items on Etsy

A quick search of the best selling food on Etsy leads to products most people love, such as beef jerky, homemade fudge, candy, and even baked goods such as baklava!

Etsy is a diverse platform where you can sell food from home or a commercial kitchen. Keep in mind, selling food from home is strictly regulated, and doesn’t allow for meat products, even jerky, to be sold on Etsy! If you see best-selling food on Etsy that is perishable, chances are they are made using a commercial kitchen or through a local restaurant.

However, you can still set up your business to sell the best chocolate on Etsy, as chocolate is non-perishable and can be stored at room temperature. Etsy might also be the website to sell baked goods, as evidenced by the tons of baked goods listed as best sellers and the number of customers! For instance, one of the best cookies on Etsy has over 4,000 reviews!

If you’re looking to sell food on Etsy from home, make sure it is listed as an accepted cottage food, and then check out the reviews to see what customers are raving about!

How to See What Sells on Etsy

Unlike eBay, you cannot search Etsy for specific types of items, say “vintage transferware” and be served a list of those items that have sold and their selling prices. You can, however, find out how many specific items, listed in specific shops have sold, whenever the buyer of an item leaves a review.

Step 1: Go to Etsy and head to your favorite vintage seller or visit my shop. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find reviews that buyer’s have left regarding their purchases.

Step 2: Click on either the photo or the description of any of review

Step 3: This will take you to a new page. Click on “See item details ->“

This will take you to a page where you’ll learn the price that the item(s) sold for! It’s that simple.

Be sure to click on “Description” on the lower right to find out more details about the item that sold. In particular, you want to know the condition of the item as this will have a bearing on the price it sold for.

How to Start an Etsy Shop

If you’ve ever made artisan or handmade goods, you’ve probably heard “you should sell these on Etsy” a time or two. Learning how to set up an Etsy shop is easy. Here are nine simple steps for you to have your shop ready to go in a single day.

1. Create Your Etsy Account

In order to create a seller account, you must first have a consumer Etsy account. Navigate to “Sign In” in the top right corner, and a dialogue box for credentials will open. Click on “Register” if you don’t already have an account. You will receive an email asking to confirm your account.

After signing in, next to the shopping cart in the top right corner is a gray circle with a silhouette on it. When you click on the circle, a drop-down menu gives you an option to click on “Sell on Etsy.”

After landing on the “Sell on Etsy” page, there’s a black “Open Your Etsy Shop” button below the banner.

2. Enter Your Shop Preferences

Here, enter your shop preferences; language, shop country, shop currency and whether your shop is your full-time income or not. When finished, click “Save and continue” in the bottom right corner.

3. Name Your Shop

You can name your shop in 20 characters or less, and it must be unique from other shops. Your name may only have unaccented roman letters and numbers, without spaces. Enter the proposed name you want and click “check availability.” If you’re not sure what to name your shop, Etsy has tips for choosing a shop name. Once set, you can only change your shop name once, so choose carefully. After deciding on a name, click “save and continue.”

4. Create Your Listings

Now you will create your listings. Etsy recommends having a minimum of ten different listings for a greater chance of visibility.

Your listing includes:

• Photos. At least one photo is required, and you can add up to ten photos. In addition to product images, upload a picture of the product next to a ruler or a dollar bill (or similar) to help customers gauge the size of an item. Even though you will list measurements in the listing details, a visual of the size helps.
• Videos. While not required, a video can set your product apart from your competition. Show the product in use and at all angles.
• Listing details. List the title of the product, who made it, when it was made, whether it’s a physical or digital product, a detailed description, materials used and tags. Here you can also add a section to group like products together.
• Inventory and pricing. What is the price of your item? Make sure to factor in the cost of materials, labor, shipping cost (if offering free shipping, build it into your product price) and shipping materials. If you follow best manufacturing processes, this is where you also include a SKU.
• Product variations. Does your product have multiple sizes or colors? List them here.
  Personalization. If you offer personalization on your products, select “on.” Otherwise, keep it “off.”
• Shipping. You can have Etsy calculate your shipping costs for you based on your origin zip code. Input your processing time, where you are willing to ship, shipping services offered, whether you include free domestic or international shipping and whether you want to build a handling fee into the shipping price. Item weight and size go here, too.

You can preview each listing before you save it. Once you’ve added all of your listings, select “save and continue.”

5. Input Your Payment Settings

Etsy needs to know your tax filing status, so the first question it asks under the payment settings is whether you’re an individual or sole proprietorship or a registered legal entity. If you select “individual or sole proprietorship,” provide your country, full name, date of birth, address, phone number and last four digits of your social security number.

Incorporated businesses will enter the name of the legal entity, legal business address, state, business registration number and EIN. Additionally, Etsy needs a primary contact for the business, so it asks who the shop owner is. You’ll provide the full name, address, date of birth and the last four digits of their Social Security number.

After completing this section, your next section is the country where your bank is located. From there, input your routing number and checking or savings account number that you want your Etsy sales to go into.

6. Enter Your Credit Card Details

You need a credit card to pay for your Etsy fees. Input your credit card number, CCV, expiration date and full name on the card. For peace of mind, sign up for auto-billing and Etsy will automatically bill your card on the first of the month or when you pass your fee threshold. Otherwise, you can pay any time from the first to the 15th of the month.

There are three main fees you’ll encounter as an Etsy seller:

• Listing fees
• Transaction fees
• Payment processing fees (if using Etsy Payments)

7. Open Your Shop

After you’ve entered your credit card details, the “open your shop” button will turn black and you can click on it. Congratulations—your shop is open. Now you can share your shop with your friends, family and followers.

Your shop URL comes in two different formats:

• https://www.etsy.com/shop/nameofyourshop
• https://nameofyourshop.etsy.com

8. Update Your Bio

By adding a brief bio and photo, you can show potential customers the artisan behind the shop. This is a place where sellers like to share their inspiration for what they do. For example, if you start your shop because you are raising money for a cause or to help finance a journey (such as IVF or adoption), say so.

9. Set Up Your Shop Policies

This is one of the most critical steps in becoming an Etsy seller. You want to anticipate any questions a buyer might have to help eliminate any back-and-forth questions via chat. A policy section will also help in the event of any disputes.

Essential elements of your shop policies include:

• Processing time
• Shipping policies (for example, maybe you only ship via USPS Priority to take advantage of free insurance)
• Payment options
• Returns and exchanges policy

Guide to Dropshipping on Etsy

First things first: Etsy makes it extremely difficult to dropship on its platform. If you search its site, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any communication that explicitly prohibits dropshipping. However, there is language around similar business models and ways of operating, such as reselling and print on demand.

Technically speaking, there are two main ways of “dropshipping” on Etsy. We put dropshipping in quotations because these methods aren’t exactly dropshipping, per se, but they’re as close as you can get to the business model when selling on this marketplace.

Here are the two dropshipping options for Etsy merchants:

1. Open an Etsy storefront and outsource the production of your goods. Like dropshipping, this outsources manufacturing, so you don’t have to worry about production. However, you still have to manage order fulfillment. If you go this route, it’s important that you outsource the production of goods designed by you. Etsy requires sellers to at least have a hand in the design. According to its terms and conditions, “All handmade items are made or designed by you. ”
2. Source products from Etsy to sell on your online storefront. This method involves sourcing products from Etsy merchants and then reselling them on your own branded ecommerce site. Note you can’t source products from Etsy and then resell them on your own Etsy shop. Having your own storefront offers you more control and business autonomy, but you’re also responsible for marketing and driving traffic to your store, since you won’t have Etsy’s built-in customer base.

The rules of dropshipping on Etsy

While Etsy doesn’t explicitly call out dropshipping on its website, it does publish some rules and conditions around similar business models:

• All items for sale on Etsy must be handmade, vintage, or a craft supply.
• Any items sold in Etsy’s Handmade category must be made and/or designed by the seller. Reselling is prohibited.
• When working with “production partners,” sellers must disclose the relationship on product listings.
• Production partners may not be Etsy shop members or suppliers from whom the merchant sources ready-made products to resell.
• Etsy merchants may not use AliExpress dropshipping.
• Vintage items need to be 20 years or older.
• Craft supplies may be sourced from a third-party seller and can be handmade, commercial, or vintage.
• Every Etsy listing must directly promote and sell a physical or digital product. You can’t create Etsy listings for a referral code, a want ad, or a “similar activity.”
• Specific prohibited reselling activities include: repackaging and rebranding commercial items; curating others’ handmade goods you didn’t design or make; selling items made or designed by another seller who is unaffiliated with your shop; selling traditional handicrafts or fair trade items you didn’t design or make.

So, in short, you might technically find workarounds and hacks to be able to dropship on Etsy, but it isn’t easy. And Etsy sure isn’t making any changes to make it easier.

Benefits of Etsy dropshipping

• Competition for dropshippers is low

Because Etsy makes it so difficult for sellers to use dropshipping, very few are actually doing so. This means there’s little competition, which gives new dropshippers on Etsy an easy advantage.

• Niche businesses are warmly welcomed

If you have a dropshipping niche business or product idea that fits Etsy’s requirements, dropshipping that item can be a great opportunity. Etsy welcomes niche businesses that can own their categories. Plus, it categorizes merchants, so it’s easy for customers to discover your business when browsing relevant categories and searches.

Vintage or handmade items are easier to market

Etsy is an ideal third-party marketplace for handcrafted and antique items. So it’s a no-brainer if you’re dropshipping products that fall under one of those categories, because of its highly segmented user base.

• Curated customer bases are more accessible

People using Etsy are typically looking for a specific type of item. And many times, they’re willing to pay more for it because it’s one-of-a-kind vintage or handmade.

Drawbacks of dropshipping on Etsy

• High fees

Dropshipping on Etsy can be expensive. The marketplace’s fees will quickly cut into your profits—and they continue to rise. Sellers pay a 20¢ listing fee per item—if you sell two of the same item, Etsy will charge the listing fee twice. When you make a sale, Etsy also charges a transaction fee of 6.5% of the displayed price, plus shipping and gift wrapping. Global currency conversions also have a 2.5% fee. You can build a basic branded website through Etsy’s Pattern, which costs $15/month.

• Rigid dropshipping rules

It’s clear Etsy isn’t a fan of dropshipping and doesn’t welcome the business model to its platform with open arms. As such, Etsy doesn’t have any features or tools dedicated specifically to helping merchants dropship. And they likely won’t roll out anytime soon.

• No wholesaling option

Etsy further backpedaled on dropshipping when it sunsetted its wholesale offering. It encourages merchants to have a hands-on role in product development and manufacturing, so it removed the wholesale program that made it easier to dropship on Etsy.

• Time-consuming listing process

Listing items on Etsy isn’t as easy as with a dedicated ecommerce site builder like Shopify. Etsy doesn’t offer the ability to bulk upload, so you have to list each item manually. Some merchants also report delays from the time their listing is published to the time it starts appearing in search results.

Low scalability

The nature of the items sold on Etsy typically means they’re not mass-produced at rapid rates. Because items are carefully designed, made, and/or sourced, your Etsy suppliers likely can’t make as many items as quickly as large manufacturers can. Not to mention the finite nature of inventory when it comes to vintage and antique products. This makes it harder to grow your business and drive more sales.

How to dropship products from Etsy

Refer back to our two Etsy dropshipping workarounds:

1. Open an Etsy storefront and outsource the production of your goods.
2. Source products from Etsy to sell on your online storefront.

However, there are a couple of approved Etsy dropshipping partners you can work with directly to help streamline the process and do it from your Etsy storefront:

• Printify: an integration that allows merchants to sell dropshipped print-on-demand products featuring the merchant’s designs
• Art of Where: a dropshipping partner that fulfills print-on-demand products with customization options for labels and stickers
• AutoDS: a tool to help merchants source products from Etsy to sell via their branded Shopify store

Fees For Selling on Etsy

There are different types of fees applied when you sell on Etsy. These are the following:

• Listing Fees
• Shipping Label or Delivery Fees
• Transaction Fees
• Payment Processing Fees and
• VAT

a) Etsy Listing Price:

To make a listing online on the Etsy website or on the Etsy app costs $0.20, which is available for four months (variations excluded). Etsy automatic renewal feature will renew the listing every four months, charging $0.20 each time unless you cancel any listing. 

Once it gets expired, either you can set an auto-renew option, or you can manually renew the listings, and for each of the listing, the same 20 cents/listing fee will be applied.

It also charges $0.20 for each of the ADDITIONAL quantity(ies) that sells within a single transaction. It means if you sell multiple listings in 1 order, $0.20 will be charged on each item.

If you want to list a private/custom status for a particular listing, you need to pay a $0.20/listing. Once a custom fee is applied, it shows as follows:

b)  Shipping Label Fee:

This is the fee set to deliver an item. It includes several factors such as distance, dimension, weight, and shipment carrier. The Etsy sellers of the U.S, Canada, UK, and Australia who accept payment by Etsy Payment or PayPal are eligible to use Etsy Postage/Shipping labels.

The major shipping carriers of Etsy are USPS, FedEx, Canada Post, Royal Mail, and Australia Post. Etsy sellers can buy postage labels from these carriers at the rate offered by them.

Shipping fees also include Primary and Secondary fees, which means the applicable shipping fees for an individual item plus when it is shipped combined with other products by any of the shipping carriers, respectively. You can reach for carrier’s terms and guidelines through Etsy’s help.

All fees for the postage label appear separately on your payment account and will specify the name of the service provider and the postage label number.

 c) Transaction fee:

The Transaction fee constitutes 5% of the total value of a product. Also, if a seller chooses Etsy’s “Immediate Checkout,” a 3% fee is levied.

Contrasted with the costs of setting up a website with a shopping cart, and getting a merchant account (which likewise charges handling expenses), Etsy is a reasonable option. Etsy is not only feasible but also flexible enough to allow you to sell products from your online store, helps to manage your business.

Etsy Plus offers numerous tools for growing your brand or increase your brand recognition, Etsy sellers with Etsy plus membership have to pay $10/month as Subscription fees, with an advantage of 15 listing credits.

If you use Etsy Square to get your multiple listing at a discounted rate of $0.20, it will be termed as In-person selling fees where the square payment processing fees will be applied.  

d) VAT:

Value Added Tax is the tax levied on every new stage of production to the point of sale. Wherever an additional value is added to the product or services, the rate of tax is added to the cost of production. The rate varies from product category and the region it is being manufactured.

• The VAT on processing Fee
• The seller services VAT  and
• The VAT charged in some states.

Then there are miscellaneous fees involved; however, these are subjective. It will be levied only if you use features like Etsy payment processing fee, deposit currency conversion (it is 2.5% of the market rate), promoted listings, Google Shopping ads, and Targeted offers ($0.10 for every targeted email sent).

Selling on Etsy Cost

There are no upfront costs for selling on Etsy, making it a great place to there are charges associated when you make a sale. As Claire Westbrook, founder of TrendyJournalsl, says, “The biggest downside of Etsy is the numerous fees: listing fees, sales and tax fees, and transaction fees. Generally speaking, Etsy fees end up being close to a third of the product’s revenue.”

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest.

Listing fees

Listing fees are one of the most popular Etsy charges. Sellers are charged 20¢ for every new listing they upload to their store—regardless of whether the listing results in a sale or not.

By default, listings are shown on Etsy’s marketplace for four months (or until the item has been sold). If auto-renew is toggled on in the listing information, you’ll be billed the same 20¢ once the four months are up.

Transaction fees

Sold an item through Etsy? You’ll need to pay a 6.5% transaction fee to the marketplace in return for facilitating the sale. That’s in conjunction with the postage, shipping, and gift wrap pricing of each listing.

Sellers in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Turkey also need to pay a regulatory operating fee (ranging from 0.25% to 1.1%) on each listing. It’s charged on total revenue—the product price and any shipping fees you’ve charged the customer.

• United Kingdom: 0.25%
• France: 0.4%
• Italy: 0.25%
• Spain: 0.4%
• Turkey: 1.1%

Payment processing fees

Throughout the process of setting up your Etsy store, you’ll have entered your bank information.

Store owners can also opt into Etsy Payments, where buyers can choose from a list of alternative payment options, like PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Klarna. Enabling Etsy Payments means being subject to its payment processing fees.

Sellers in certain countries—including Mexico, the Philippines, and South Africa—will also need to meet minimum payment thresholds before their Etsy revenue is in their bank.

Currency conversion fees

Etsy does all of its business in US dollars. While you can sell items in other currencies, all of the charges related to selling on Etsy will be billed in USD. The marketplace will convert your funds to your bank account’s currency before transfer, but note that this currency conversion won’t always be the market value.

Etsy may also take a 2.5% currency conversion fee when you’re doing business using a currency other than USD.

Offsite Ads fees

While you can have a perfectly optimized product listing that reaches potential customers in the Etsy search engine, the marketplace knows that, sometimes, buyers want to add fuel to the customer acquisition fire. It helps sellers do that through advertising.

Sellers can opt into Offsite Ads, where their products are shown across Etsy’s own marketing and advertising channels. Business owners can have their products appear in Etsy’s Facebook, Google, and display ads—all without having to manage advertising accounts themselves.

But this comes at a cost. Etsy sellers are billed when their product sells through an Offsite Ad. If your storefront made less than $10,000 through the marketplace within the last year, 15% of the order total will be taken as payment for their Offsite Ad program. Pass the $10,000 threshold and your Offsite Ads fee is discounted to 12%. Either way, Etsy promises that your Offsite Ad fee will never exceed $100 per item.

Etsy shipping costs

Sellers in certain locations that accept Etsy Payments or PayPal can purchase shipping labels through the marketplace and deductions are taken straight from their account. Rates vary depending on the carrier, origin and destination locations, and size of each package. Additional fees apply for signature confirmation and insurance.

Etsy Plus

All Etsy sellers have the choice to opt into Etsy Plus. Its subscription package promises to help sellers “take their shop to the next level,” with added perks for sellers opting into the $10 per month fee. 

Etsy Plus sellers are immediately gifted 15 listing credits and $5 in Etsy ads credit. They also get added features like:

• Customizable shop options
• Discounts on custom domain names
• The ability to email shoppers when an item is back in stock

How Much Does an Etsy Seller Make?

The average income for an Etsy seller is $44,380, which isn’t dire but isn’t great, either. It’s possible to make a comfortable living selling crafts online—look at Three Bird Nest and their headbands that rake in $65,000 a month. That’s over half a million dollars a year.

Starting a business—and that’s what an Etsy shop is, a business—is expensive. When you first start out, you might not make any sales, but you’ll still have to spend money on your materials and supplies to make the art or crafts that you’re selling. You could be in the negative numbers if you’re not careful, so make sure you’ve got some savings to draw on when you’re getting your shop off the ground.

Once you’ve figured out your own costs, you need to take Etsy’s into account. Nope, an Etsy shop isn’t free. The company has to make money, too, you know. Their dogs want gourmet treats, too.

Etsy takes a percentage of your profits (3.5% commission on the price before shipping), as well as charging you a small fee (twenty cents per item you list) to use their site as a business platform. They make money when you make money, so it behooves them to advertise your wares all over the place.

Etsy Shop Ideas

We’ll list some great Etsy shop ideas to help you get started on the marketplace for makers.

1. Stickers

Stickers are a fairly popular item to sell and buy on Etsy. The term “Etsy stickers” sees just over 4,000 monthly average searches, and a search for “stickers” on Etsy turns up more than two million results. That’s a heck of a lot of competition, but also a lot of opportunity.

Because selling stickers is so versatile, you can niche down into virtually any vertical market. You can also create sticker designs yourself or hire a designer to bring your creative ideas to life for you, so no skills necessary.

2. Enamel Pins

Much like stickers, making enamel pins is a flexible Etsy shop idea, and a search on the marketplace only turns up about 170,000 results—so there’s lots of room here. You can make many different kinds of enamel pins, including textured soft enamel, durable hard enamel, 3D mold, epoxy, and die stuck. You can make your enamel pin designs with an editing program like Photoshop or hire a designer to help you.

Pinlord sells enamel pins on Etsy and Shopify, under the Etsy shop name Enamelpinsforever. The pop-culture-inspired pins have illustrated designs with slogans beneath. They share a distinct design style, though each gives nod to a different theme or joke.

3. Art

Etsy is an ideal marketplace for selling art because it’s specifically geared toward makers and creators. Therefore, Etsy shoppers have come to expect art and other creative products when they visit the marketplace. “Etsy art” itself gets more than 4,000 monthly searches, and “Etsy wall art” is queried as much as 7,400 times each month.

There are lots of ways to sell your art online, both on Etsy and your own website. You can offer your art as digital downloads—think things like phone wallpapers or desktop background images—so you don’t have to worry about shipping and fulfillment.

You can also sell physical items featuring your art. Some artists go the print-on-demand route and offer a multitude of products including t-shirts, mugs, and phone cases. Others create one-of-a-kind items that can’t be replicated or reprinted.

4. Candles

Selling candles is a great business to start, especially with people spending more time at home due to COVID-19. The candle market is expected to reach $545.2 million by 2025, and “Etsy candles” gets more than 4,000 average monthly searches. Plus, candles are useful in a variety of environments even outside the home—think about restaurants, spas, and other places of business with a nice ambience.

5. Woodworking Projects

Woodworking projects are excellent items to sell on Etsy because they fit in line with the crafting and makers theme. Infinite Abyss makes a variety of woodworking projects to sell online, including serving trays, wall shelves, and other home goods. To supplement Shopify sales, it also has an Etsy store where customers can browse the same items.

6. Jewelry

Jewelry is a massively popular item to buy and sell on Etsy. “Etsy jewelry” has an average 19,000 monthly searches and Jewelry & Accessories even has its own category on the marketplace—with more than 16 million results. Starting a jewelry business is an excellent way to start selling on Etsy.

To get ideas on the types of jewelry people look for on Etsy, consider the following average monthly search data:

• Etsy rings: 10,000
• Etsy earrings: 8,600
• Etsy necklaces: 6,100
• Etsy engagement rings: 4,500
• Etsy name necklace: 3,200
• Etsy bracelets: 3,100

Georgia-based handmade jewelry brand Virginia Wynne Designs sells its sterling silver designs on Etsy and its Shopify store. The brand has the same main image on both sites for a consistent brand experience.

7. Clothing

Clothing is another popular item to sell on Etsy, with “Etsy clothing” being searched about 3,200 times each month. Just like with jewelry, you can take inspiration from drilling down in the search data. Consider these average monthly search figures:

• Etsy t-shirts: 6,100
• Etsy lingerie: 5,400
• Etsy wedding dress: 5,200

“Etsy fabric” also has nearly 5,000 average monthly queries—you could use Etsy as a sales channel to sell your surplus or custom-made fabrics.

Handmade pottery and clay goods

If you can make pottery, clay, ceramic, or similar goods, this skill is perfectly suited for Etsy shop ideas. Lorena Haldeman launched her brand HaldeCraft on Etsy to sell her handmade clay goods.

She later opened a complementary Shopify store where she could organize her products in a user-friendly way via categories and subcategories, making it easier for her and her customers. You can make any variety of goods.

Selling Art on Etsy

Every artist and crafter eventually gets asked the same question, ‘Do you sell on Etsy?’ It’s understandable, Etsy is a global marketplace dedicated to selling handmade and creative goods, so is selling on Etsy worth it?

Selling on Etsy is worth it because it’s the easiest way to set up an eCommerce store dedicated to handmade arts and crafts and vintage goods. Etsy is quick to set up and learn. It’s a low-cost, low-risk sales platform that rewards volume sellers with low prices, and 5-star reviews.

To make money you need traffic, to get the traffic you need listings. It’s not good enough to list a dozen of your finest pieces. No one will find you. You need 100’s of listings, each one with unique tags, titles, and descriptions.

It’s a tedious business but you must resist the urge to copy and paste identical descriptions. Each new listing is another chance of getting found by the search engine and you can’t afford to get lazy.

In other words, forget about original art and crafts, we are talking about reproductions or downloadable files. Your business is not scalable without reproductions. You make one original and sell it multiple times.

It’s good for art prints, printables, small gifts, and ephemera. It’s not good for selling original art. It’s best to treat Etsy as just another outlet and not invest all your time, energy, and money on that platform alone.

Selling Digital Downloads on Etsy Fees

Etsy is one of the biggest online retailers behind Amazon and eBay. A large group of shoppers look for digital products on Etsy every day, either for their own project or businesses. With the built-in traffic, there is big potential to find success on Etsy if you know how to choose the right product to sell. ‍

It’s relatively cheap to start selling digital downloads on Etsy. Listing fee is $0.2 per listing, and transaction fee is 5% when you make a sale. A lot of the design softwares that you can use are also very reasonably priced. We will go through some of the options later.‍

One of the reasons why digital downloads are popular is that it saves time and money for customers. Compared to finding a designer to come up with a custom design, a DIY digital product is much more convenient and hassle-free for the buyer.

Selling on Etsy Australia Fees

Joining and starting a shop on Etsy is free. There are three basic selling fees: a listing fee, a transaction fee, and a payment processing fee.

It costs USD 0.20 to publish a listing to the marketplace. A listing lasts for four months or until the item is sold. Once an item sells, there is a 6.5% transaction fee on the sale price (including the shipping price you set). If you accept payments with PayPal, there is also a payment processing fee based on their fee structure.

Listing fees are billed for $0.20 USD, so if your bank’s currency is not USD, the amount may differ based on changes in the exchange rate.

You pay an advertising fee on any sales you make from Offsite Ads. When you open your Etsy shop, you can decide if you want to participate in Etsy’s advertising services.

Selling on Etsy Fees UK

There are a few charges you should be aware of when selling on Etsy: a listing fee, a transaction fee and a payment processing fee. If you’re selling an item in the UK, you’ll pay 15p to publish a listing, which remains on the site for four months or until the item is sold. Once you’ve sold the item, you’ll have to pay a 5% transaction fee on the sale price and delivery.

As we’ve mentioned before, if you accept payments via Etsy Payments, you’ll pay 4% of the sale plus a 20p payment processing fee when an item is sold.

You’ll also pay a fee when you make a sale from one of Etsy’s offsite ads as the site pays upfront costs to advertise your listings via Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Bing.

A 15% advertising fee is charged if you make less than $10,000 (£7,260) in sales over a 12-month period or a 12% fee if you exceed that amount.

All sellers are automatically enrolled for offsite ads, but, if you’ve made less than $10,000 (£7,260) on Etsy in a year, you can opt out to avoid this fee.

Selling on Etsy in Florida

If you want to sell your wares online from Florida but don’t want to pay start-up costs or deal with inventory requirements then Etsy is the way to go. It is a simple way to sell your items online. There are tons of people on Etsy who are interested in buying your wares.

But what many Etsy sellers fail to realize is that they may need a business license or permit to sell their items on their Etsy store. It depends on what state and county you are in at the time you are selling on Etsy.

Etsy specializes in handmade goods whether they are physical or digital. You don’t need any previous retail experience to start selling or open an account. Etsy has a community with over 1.7 million active users and 28.6 million active buyers. In 2016 alone Etsy received over $2 billion in gross sales.

Another reason people love selling on Etsy is that you don’t need to create your own website. You open an account, upload pictures of your items, and start selling. It’s that easy. But many sellers don’t realize that even if they see it as a hobby your state may not. Some states require you to pay taxes on your sales.

If you want to avoid paying any fines or fees comply with local laws regarding selling on Etsy. Even if you only see it as a hobby that you do for fun in your spare time your state or county may require a business license.

Most states require sellers to collect sales tax. Sales tax and use tax can be complicated depending on the state you are in. There are only 6 states that don’t charge sales tax. Depending on local regulations you may need to collect local sales tax as well.

When it comes to physical and digital goods tax and licensing laws aren’t always equal. Some states only collect sales tax on physical goods only. Others collect sales tax on both. Check with your area to determine what the law says on physical and digital goods.

If you registered your Etsy business under a name different than your own you may need to register a Doing Business As. Even if you don’t need to be licensed you may still need to register as DBA with your state.

Selling on Etsy Taxes

If you sell items on Etsy, you must pay income tax on your income—usually, the total amount you earned by selling your products, less your business expenses. Etsy reports your gross income to the IRS on Form 1099-K, but even if you don’t receive a 1099-K, you must report Etsy sales income on your tax return. If your state has income tax, you must pay state income taxes on the net income from your Etsy sales as well.

If your total net income from self employment including Etsy sales is $400 or more, you must also pay self-employment tax on the income. Self-employment tax is comprised of Social Security and Medicare taxes — the percentage that would normally be withheld from your paychecks as an employee, plus the percentage your employer would have contributed.

When you’re a self-employed individual you’re responsible for paying both types of taxes yourself. As of 2021, this means a total of:

• 12.4% of the first $142,800 you earn for Social Security tax
• 2.9% of your total income for Medicare

If your income is greater than this amount, then you will likely be subject to an additional Medicare tax of 0.9%.

If your income is considered a hobby, then it will be subject to income taxes but not to self-employment taxes.

Selling on Etsy Pros and Cons

Although starting an Etsy store can be a lucrative venture, it isn’t for everyone. Running a successful Etsy store requires hard work and dedication. Therefore, you should ensure that it’s the right selling platform for you before opening a store.

We’ll now list the top pros and cons of starting an Etsy store.

Pro: You Can Market Your Business to a Large Audience

Etsy has more than 81.9 million active buyers, making it a great place to sell your handmade or vintage items.

Buyers come to Etsy seeking specific handmade items, so you already have a built-in audience. Listing your products on Etsy will allow you to potentially get sales from organic search traffic on the Etsy homepage.

If you struggle to sell online, listing your products on Etsy could be a great way to make additional sales.

Con: You Can Only Sell Handmade or Vintage Items

Etsy’s marketplace includes craft supplies, handmade items, and vintage goods. You must offer items that fit into one of these categories in order to sell on Etsy.

Due to this, wholesalers or resellers can’t sell their products on the platform. If you fall into this category, you may benefit from platforms like Poshmark, eBay, or Facebook Marketplace.

In addition, according to Etsy’s reselling policy, you can only resell items in the craft supplies or vintage categories. Etsy prohibits the sale of repackaged commercial items or handmade items that you didn’t design or make.

Pro: Etsy Offers Built-In Analytics

Business owners should always make decisions using data, and luckily, Etsy tracks many metrics for you.

Your Etsy dashboard will show you stats about your shop, such as:

• Traffic to your page
• The number of times that consumers have added your item to their favorites
• Orders received
• Revenue for each item in your Etsy shop
• Which customers are interested in items from your store

Having access to Etsy’s analytics platform will allow you to improve upon various aspects of your store. For example, if you see that customers have favorited your listing, consider offering them free shipping. This could convince them to make a purchase!

Another reason to utilize Etsy analytics is that you can use it to determine your inventory needs. If you see that certain items are selling better than others, you can focus producing more of those items.

Con: Etsy Charges Listing and Transaction Fees

Like most selling platforms, Etsy charges sellers certain fees in order to make sales on their platform.

Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee and takes five percent of your sale as a transaction fee. This includes gift-wrapping and shipping fees.

If you use Etsy payments, which allows customers to pay by credit card, you’ll be charged a three percent fee. You’ll also be charged an additional $0.25.

Even if your customers choose PayPal as their payment method, the payment will be processed through Etsy rather than PayPal. Therefore, you’ll still be subject to the Etsy transaction fee.

Although using Etsy can attract buyers that that might not have found your store otherwise, it’s important to consider these fees. If you make more sales on your website or another selling platform, selling on Etsy may not be worth your time.

Also, if you sell items that are difficult or expensive to produce, you might lose money by selling them on Etsy. Instead, you may be able to make more sales on your own website.

Pro: It’s Easy to Setup and Maintain an Etsy Store

Opening an Etsy shop is easy and only takes a few minutes. They have a step-by-step guide for shop owners that explains the process. In addition, it’s free to open a basic shop on Etsy.

While premium features are available for an additional charge, they’re not necessary to start an Etsy shop. Etsy’s Seller Handbook answers almost any question you have about selling on Etsy, including information about legal, shipping, taxes, finances.

Once you open your Etsy shop, you’ll also have access to Etsy’s guides on topics such as:

• Growth strategies, such as social media tactics, Etsy ads, and offsite ads.
• How to write product descriptions that will attract potential customers
• Productivity hacks
• Optimizing search engine optimization (SEO), so that your listings show up in search results

Once your store is setup, Etsy offers the ability to automatically renew your listing after an item is sold. By selecting this option, you won’t have to relist the same item and re-write the listing description. This is beneficial if you sell items that can be re-produced. If you offer unique vintage items, you may need to produce a new listing each time you have something to sell.

Con: The Seller’s Market Could Be Saturated

In 2020, more than 4.4 million sellers sold items on Etsy and that number is projected to keep growing. In the expanding gig economy, more and more entrepreneurs are turning to online business ventures.

The top-selling categories are home décor, jewelry, clothing, toys and games, and crafts and supplies. Even if you sell unique items, you’ll still be competing with thousands of other business owners who offer similar products.

Selling on Etsy Tips

If you think that selling on Etsy could attract new customers, you should learn how to set up your Etsy shop. Here are some tips and tricks that you can prepare to sell items on Etsy’s platform:

• Check out your competitors:

Before you open your shop, look at other Etsy storefronts to see how successful business owners are leveraging the platform. You can see how they photograph items, write listing descriptions, and price their items. By looking at what other sellers are doing, you can gain inspiration for your own store.

• Fine-tune your Etsy listings:

Before you list items, make sure that you have ample inventory and that the items are ready to be shipped. Your inventory should be ready to go so that once your store is open, you can focus on making sales. If you sell custom, you should make sure you have enough supplies and communicate turnaround times with potential buyers.

• Market your Etsy store:

Once your Etsy store is open, you’ll need to focus on attracting interested buyers. To start, you should write listing titles and descriptions that include searchable keywords. That way, buyers will see your listings when they search relevant terms.

In addition, you should market your Etsy account on other platforms. Many Etsy business owners share their listings popular platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and their business’s website.

After you make sales, be sure to remind buyers to write a review about your storefront. Etsy stores that have reviews from happy customers will likely attract more buyers in the future!

• Pursue additional business financing:

If your Etsy store becomes successful, you may decide that you need funds to pursue new goals. For example, you may need money to purchase more inventory, hire employees, or pay for marketing costs. Due to this, you may benefit from taking out a business loan for your Etsy store.

Once you receive a small business loan, you can use it to invest in your Etsy business’s future!

What Are Some FAQ About Selling on Etsy?

What do I need to set up an Etsy seller account?

To get started, you will need to create an Etsy customer account which includes registering an email address and creating a password. 

Once you have done that, you will be able to set up your Etsy shop. 

During the shop setup process you will need to complete the following steps before you can open a shop:

1. List your shop’s country, currency, and language.
2. Name your shop.
3. Create a listing. To progress to the next stage of setup, you will need to create one manual listing first. The listing will require photos, a product title, product category, description, price, and quantity. Shipping options will also be selected at this stage, plus your item’s weight and size. You will be able to automate your listing process after the initial shop setup. 
4. Set up your payment profile. You’ll supply your bank information, including account and routing numbers, plus some personal identifying information like your name, date of birth, and last four digits of your Social Security Number. You will also need to fill in your home address and phone number.
5. Set up your billing details. Add a credit card and your billing address. This is how Etsy will charge you for any fees (listing fees, payment processing fees, etc.) that you cannot cover with the funds you generate from item sales. 

What are the commission rates and fees on Etsy?

Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee per item. Listings expire after four months, and cost an additional $0.20 to renew. Etsy has additional explanations for how the listing fees work with multiple units of stock—you are only charged a listing fee for additional inventory if the additional units sell. 

Etsy charges a 5% transaction fee for every purchase. The transaction fee includes your listing price plus any shipping charges or gift-wrapping costs. Etsy offers more in-depth details about fees on its site. 

Payment processing fees are also calculated by Etsy. In the United States, the payment processing fee is 3% of the total amount of the sale (including tax and shipping), plus a $0.25 flat fee. Etsy provides more details about payment fees on its site. 

Here is an example of how Etsy’s fees would work.

Let’s say you are selling a paintbrush for $8.00. You have 5 units of the paintbrush listed in stock. A customer purchases 3 paintbrushes in a single transaction. 

The sale price for 3 paintbrushes is $24.00. Shipping for the order costs $6.00, and the sales tax is $1.98.

You have already paid a $0.20 listing fee for listing the first unit of stock. You will pay an additional $0.20 for each unit that sells after the first unit, plus an “auto-renewal sold” listing fee of $0.20 for renewing the listing with your remaining stock. Your total listing fees for this transaction amount to $0.60.

The transaction fee is 5% of the total value of the sale price plus shipping ($24.00 plus $6.00). In this case, your transaction fee is 5% of $30.00, or $1.50. 

The payment processing fee is calculated based on the total amount of the transaction, which includes tax and shipping. The total amount of the transaction was $31.98. The payment processing fee is 3% of $31.98, plus $0.25. The payment processing fee for this transaction is $1.21, since Etsy rounds up to the nearest cent.

All in all, your fees for the transaction would be $0.60 in listing or auto-renewal fees, plus a $1.50 transaction fee, plus $1.21 in payment processing fees, for a total of $3.31 in fees.

All fees are first deducted from your account balance generated from the sales you make. If your account balance does not have sufficient funds to cover the fees, Etsy will charge the credit card you have on file. 

What are the image requirements on Etsy?

Etsy accepts the following file types for product image URLs: JPEG, GIF, or PNG. 

The max file size is 1 MB. Larger files may fail to upload. 

Etsy recommends using pictures that are at least 2000 pixels on the shortest side, with a resolution of 72 PPI. Smaller images will be blurry, but will not be prevented from uploading. 

Use a square or horizontal main image with an aspect ratio of 4:3 to account for the cropped view in the thumbnail image. 

Do I need approval to list in certain categories on Etsy?

No. As long as you are selling handmade items, vintage items (at least 20 years old), or crafting supplies, you can list products on Etsy. Etsy’s site provides more detail about these categories, plus prohibited items and services. 

Are UPCs or GTINs required to sell on Etsy?

No, UPCs or GTINs are not required to sell on Etsy.

If you have a large product catalog or a high volume of orders, feel free to contact us to see how we can help you with product listing optimization to order management.

How Much Money Can You Make Selling Digital Items on Etsy?

Digital Products are a lucrative at the moment. The market for digital products has been predicted to increase a lot in the next years. However , the digital product market on etsy is fairly saturated.

Many shops make thousands of sales a year through digital products. This is because they offer products that have lots of demand but not so much supply. You need to find one of these niches and create digital products from there

You can make thousands if you have great ideas and your product is marketed correctly. It also depends on the quality, uniqueness and seo you use. You can make anywhere from $50 a week to $1000 a month by selling printables on Etsy but ultimately that all depends on your pricing and product.

Naturally, if you only sell seasonal products, you’ll make more when those products are in season but if you’re selling digital files Etsy that are Evergreen products, you should have a steady flow instead of a sporadic one. 

What Are the Problems Faced Selling on Etsy?

The marketplace and store integration has for sure brought a huge customer base at the finger tip of merchants, but at the same time, the technicalities involved are intimidating for most of the e-retailers. The article talks about the various issues that a sellers trying to sell his products on the Etsy marketplace. Read on to know more:

Complexity involved in product listing
The process of listing the products at the marketplace and making it accessible to the marketplace customer is quite tiresome. The manual synchronization of the inventory and the related details is one of the factor that stops most of the e-merchants to sell their products on Etsy.

Bulk Management
Once the listing is done, managing the inventory is another issue faced by the sellers. There is change in the stock every now and then. Moreover, the change in the products pricing and the other related details is difficult to handle. Keeping a track of the inventory between the two stores in another worry. 

Order Management between the two store
It sometimes even becomes difficult for the store admin to manage the orders of the two stores. The competition at the marketplace is quite high for a single products. Hence, a slight delay or inadequacy in the order processing may cost you some conversions.

Order Shipment
Since, Etsy is operating worldwide, managing the shipment of the orders is always an issue. The shipping methods has to different as per the convenience of the sellers depending on the location of the customers. Thus, for the e-sellers catering the global customers comes with it own pros and cons.

What Are the Top Selling Wood Products on Etsy?

Painted Wooden Signs

Wooden signs are awesome: you can make them say whatever you want and there’s no shortage of things to say. They can be very inexpensive, too: just grab some wood (reclaimed, recycled, brand new, scraps from a previous project, anything works), think of something to say, and paint it on!

Competing successfully with the bigwigs would require finding a unique angle, such as personalization or saying something they’d never print on a sign sold at Target.

Laser-Cut Wood Crafts

Laser-engraved and laser-cut wood is a little off the beaten path as far as handmade crafts go, but the results are professional and stunning to look at. This woodcraft category definitely does not suffer from “I could make that myself” syndrome, and there is some truly unique stuff out there.

It’s also a pretty untapped market (and what few artisans there are in this space seem to be doing well with hundreds, if not thousands, of sales) and potentially a lot more lucrative than sign painting.

Handcrafted Wooden Toys

The market for handmade wooden toys exploded over the last few years as parents turned away from cheap crap made in questionable conditions overseas in favor of natural, simple toys from local artisans. Let’s meet some successful wooden toy makers!

ImaginationKids (12,000+ sales) caught my eye with their brightly painted toys. A lot of wooden toys on Etsy are sold unadorned or with a clear veneer, so the stuff in this shop really stands out! These toys also look hand-cut, rather than laser-cut like most others.

Wooden Home Furniture & Decor

If you like to dream big with your wooden crafts, you might find enjoyment in furniture making!

SereneVillage (1,100 sales) sells rustic-looking farm tables, picnic tables, TV stands, and more – all made from reclaimed wood! It’s not furniture, but one of my favorite items in this shop is this decorative food tray for food photography. This shop finds is voice in vintage-looking one-of-a-kind pieces.

How Many Greeting Cards do we Need to Start Selling Etsy?

Etsy sellers operate individual boutiques, specializing in variations on a single item or cramming their virtual shelves with a variety. Sell your own crafted custom greeting cards on Etsy, where you’re in full control of setting prices and designing your shop’s appearance, with no rent or utilities to pay. Etsy does charge fees on what you sell, but there are no up-front costs to get customers in to buy your cards.

Gather materials to make the cards from art supply shops, dollar stores, remnants of fabrics or items from around the home. If you plan to sell a lot on Etsy, you may want to buy in bulk to save yourself money and always have materials on hand for when creativity strikes or orders flood in.

Take photographs of your cards, either propped up standing or against a neutral background. While photographs are not required to sell on Etsy, they will bring you more business as most shoppers will want to see your work before they commit to purchasing it.

Assign your account as a seller, which requires a credit card to keep on file, although there is still no charge for this. Set up your bio, which will give prospective shoppers information about you and your card making. Include details on why you’re making cards and what inspires you. Upload a picture of yourself — this is not required, but if you’re shy, you can upload a picture of a pet or some of your card work.

Can I Make Decent Money Selling Photographs on Etsy?

Photography is a popular category on Etsy, and many photographers use the platform to sell their artwork.

With the benefits of traffic also comes competition. While many sellers make a full-time living on Etsy, 65% earn less than $100 per year from their shops. If you want to stand out and successfully sell your photography prints on Etsy, you can’t just upload a few images and cross your fingers. You need to know the ins and outs of how to sell photography on Etsy.

Etsy has made selling photo prints online much easier. It gives creators an affordable way to set up their stores and tap into a large audience. If you have a passion for photography, knowing how to sell photo prints can help you earn money and gain a following.  

There are many creative ways to offer a variety of products based on your artwork, so you can attract more customers and give them more reasons to buy more from you. The right production partner can help you turn your photos into canvas wall art, puzzles, and posters, to drive more sales. 

Thanks to new technologies, you can integrate your store with a print-on-demand and dropshipping production partner, so you don’t have to worry about managing inventory or investing in equipment.

Don’t forget to keep improving your products and listings. Experiment to see what works best for your audience so you can promote your items more effectively. Keep building relationships with your customers and stay in touch with them so they’ll keep coming back. Also, connect with other sellers to learn from experts who have created success on Etsy!

What Are Some Tips For Selling Digital Products on Etsy?

While the concept of selling digital downloads on Etsy is more straightforward than selling physical items, it’s still rather intricate.

Here are 6 tips to get started:

1. Find your niche 

Niche marketing is the quickest way to create a growable and scalable business while ensuring long-term success. But, unfortunately, simply racing out and selling digital downloads you like isn’t going to cut it. 

Look for inspiration from your competitors. Find an Etsy shop with lots of sales and unique items without much competition. Fine-tune your design to your own style, and you’ll tap into the demand that’s being underserved. 

2. Perform market & keyword research

Understanding your market is key to your success in selling anything on Etsy, even digital downloads. That’s why it’s important to shop your competitors and their products. You need to know what’s out there before jumping headfirst into a saturated market with a sub-par product.

But you can learn more about your market than just who else is selling products similar to yours. Look at the competitive Etsy shops within your market and ask yourself the following questions:

• How are they marketing their products? 
• What makes their digital downloads unique? 
• What makes their brand unique? 

After all, your potential customers will compare your digital downloads to your competition’s.

• How are your products different?
• What makes them better?
• Are they priced competitively?

It’s essential to clearly define how you set yourself apart from other Etsy shops before you launch your business.

3. Remember, your customers probably aren’t as tech-savvy as you

The next step to selling digital downloads on Etsy is to, of course, launch your Etsy shop. This is pretty straightforward. You’ll need to set up your Etsy shop like every other seller, the only difference being that you won’t be shipping physical products.

At this point, it’s important to remember one thing about your future customers. They’re probably not going to be as tech-savvy as you are. This is where your returns policy needs to be cut and dry. And with digital downloads, it’s not a returns policy as much as a refund policy.

So you have two options: Clearly define when a customer is deserving of a refund if they can’t figure out what to do, and provide detailed instructions for how to use your downloads.

Creating instructions for something as simple as extracting files from a zip folder might seem pointless, but it could save you some back and forth with future customers. Find some good instructions online, adjust the steps to align with your product, re-brand it to fit your shop, and include the instructions with every order.

4. Watermark your listing photos and design proofs

Now that you’ve created your new Etsy shop to sell digital downloads, it’s time to develop listings for each of your products.

If you don’t want a competing Etsy shop to steal your designs, you should watermark your listing photos and design proofs. Etsy has taken some steps to help with protecting the rights of your brand through their new Reporting Portal, but you can never be too careful.

A watermark on your listing isn’t going to lock it down like Fort Knox, but if someone wants to steal your designs, they’ll have to work harder to rebuild it from scratch.

5. Price your digital downloads competitively

You read earlier how there are fewer overheads selling digital downloads on Etsy compared to selling a physical product. 

Yes, that means your final prices can be lower, but not free. Competitive pricing is essential to making a profit and ensuring you’re adequately rewarded for your time.

Getting your pricing right will take time. You’ll likely need to operate your Etsy shop for a while before you start understanding how your price point impacts your sales. But with digital downloads, adjusting your pricing is as simple as moving a slider up and down.

6. Fine-tune your Etsy SEO 

Etsy SEO, or search engine optimization, can help you bring in significantly more traffic and sales to your Etsy shop. 

When people land on the Etsy homepage and search for your product, you want to ensure that your products appear as high as possible in the search results. 

This won’t be particularly hard if you’re selling a product in a niche with little competition. But do you know if you’re using keywords that shoppers are actually searching for?

On the flip side of the coin, if there’s a lot of competition in your market, you’ll need every competitive edge you can get for your products to rank higher than your competitors.

What is The Best Print-on-demand Platform For Selling on Etsy?

To help you get started selling on the platform and not miss out on a huge potential to reach global customers and make money, below are 10 best Etsy print-on-demand suppliers providing a wide variety of customizable products at competitive prices with prompt delivery.

1. Printful
2. AOP+
3. Yoycol
4. Printify
5. Shirtee
6. T-Pop
7. TeeLaunch
8. Gelato
9. CustomCat
10. ArtOfWhere

If your favorite print-on-demand suppliers don’t support direct integration with Etsy, you can go about solving this problem by using Order Desk.

It’s an omnichannel eCommerce order management app that lets you build paths and automate your workflow between 300+ third-party services, including Etsy and a lot of other dropshipping & print-on-demand platforms.

Another method is to use the CedCommerce app to connect your Shopify dropshipping store with Etsy and start syncing your product catalog as well as fulfilling orders in minutes.

Can You List Vintage Items For Selling on Etsy?

Everything listed for sale on Etsy must be handmade by you, vintage, or a craft supply. All items sold on Etsy must also follow our Prohibited Items Policy. It is your responsibility to make sure your shop and its items are compliance with Etsy’s policies. Before buying or selling on Etsy, please review our Terms of Use.

Vintage items must be at least 20 years old. Newer, vintage-style, or collectible items aren’t allowed in this category.

Craft supplies on Etsy are tools, ingredients, or materials whose primary purpose is for use in the creation of an item or special occasion. Craft supplies may be handmade, commercial, or vintage. Party supplies may also be sold as craft supplies.

How to Keep Track of Your Stock When Selling on Etsy

Etsy is aiming to create a very simple and understable platform for sellers, which would be easy to manage. In order to achieve this goal they have already made some steps. First of all, Etsy has created a shop manager which helps make quick decisions here and now, without needing to search for the information somewhere deep in the settings. Everything was put on the main page and is easy to understand for both new and advanced users.

On the Etsy shop manager dashboard you will find information such as latest stats – orders and listings; recent activity in the shop – the actions that your customers make. There you can also easily get to your listings, manage marketing activities, conversations with customers, orders and shipping.

Shipping Costs When Selling on Etsy

It depends on the products that you sell and what your competitors are doing. If you sell a small size item that is not costly to ship or if most shop owners in your niche ship free, we would recommend to include the shipping cost in your product price. This way you can take advantage of the higher ranking in Etsy search.‍

However, if your item is more bulky, or if most of your competitors are not providing free shipping anyway, then charging an additional shipping fee would be ok. ‍

That being said, high postage costs are known to be one of the biggest obstacles in a shopper’s buying journey – Almost 50% of shoppers abandon their shopping cart because of unexpected shipping costs! So even if you charge an extra shipping fee, make sure it’s competitive and is not too big of a percentage of the actual product price. For example, a $5 shipping would be ok for a $50 item, but is probably too much for a $15 one.

Sales Tax When Selling on Etsy

As a venue, Etsy can’t provide specific tax advice. It’s up to each seller to research their local laws about collecting and reporting taxes for their Etsy sales. Tax regulations can vary greatly by location. If you’re unsure how to charge tax, we encourage you to consult an accountant or other experts in your area.

If you do need to charge tax, sellers located in the United States can use the sales tax tool to specify a tax rate for each US state (by state, zip code, or range of zip codes). 

Adding a tax rate

Your shop needs to be open to the public. After you open you’ll need to add the tax rate and then go back and apply it to your listings as described below.

1. If your shop is already open, go to Shop Manager > Finances > Payment settings. Then, select the Sales Tax tab.
2. If your shop is located in the United States, select a US state, zip code range, or zip code. 
3. Enter a tax rate in decimal format. For example, enter “8.125” if you want a tax rate of 8 1/8%.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for any additional locations and tax rates you wish to collect.
5. Be sure to click Save.

After adding a tax rate to your shop, new listings you create will have the tax rate applied by default. We recommend checking your older listings, especially listings created before setting up a tax rate, to make sure these items are marked as taxable and that the tax rate is applied.

If you don’t want to charge tax on an item, when creating or editing a listing, uncheck the box next to the item’s price.

Advice For Increasing Etsy Traffic

Competition on Etsy is quite tough. There are many sellers also hoping to get attention to their products. You need traffic to your store. Without people looking at your Etsy listings, you won’t get sales.

Here are five tactics that’ll help you get more traffic to your Etsy store.

1. Get found on the Etsy search engine

To get people to your store, the single most important idea you have to grasp is that Etsy in itself is a huge search engine.

Say you’re selling leather-bound notebooks. When prospective buyers type “leather-bound notebooks” into the search bar on Etsy, does your product listing appear on the first page?

The higher your products show up in searches, the more people get to your store and actually make a purchase.

Learn how to use Etsy’s seller tools and techniques like keyword research and competitor research to optimize your store for the Etsy search engine. There are loads to learn in the art of optimizing your store and listings for the search engine. Check out the Etsy Seller Handbook and helpful search engine optimization (SEO) posts from TrustFile Avalara to brush up on SEO knowledge.

2. Dress up your storefront

There are thousands of shops on Etsy and you need to stand out; not only to get more traffic in but to keep visitors coming back.

The key to this is to have a detailed, thorough, and visually appealing shop.

Photos are the lifeline of online shops like Etsy. Buyers love photos that show off the product’s best feature. If it’s something that can be worn, make sure you have a model photographed wearing it. As much as possible, be consistent with your photos. Using a backdrop like a solid colored cloth or foam board is a quick fix.

Don’t overlook seemingly small details like your shop’s “About” page and your store’s policies. Make sure your policies are reasonable, especially your returns and exchange rules. Make this section interesting. Just because they’re “fine print” they have to be bland.

3. Kick it up on social media

Set up profiles on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Use beautiful photos of your products and your creative process. Online buyers love seeing how products are made and what they’re made of. Feature raw materials and other components of your works in progress.

Establish a standard routine. You should try an approach like 5-10-5 where you post five photos, follow ten profiles, and share five posts daily.

Read Also: Borrow Money to Make Money

Of course, use hashtags so your audience can find you easily. Good ones to use are the #wip hashtag for works in progress, and #handmade for process photos. Research your competitors and the most popular profiles in your niche for the most effective hashtags.

4. Start a blog

Don’t be afraid to get self-promotional. A blog is another venue for you talk about your products and let your audience in on the creator behind the products and a bit deeper into your creative process.

Link to your product listings where possible. Having relevant links pointing to your Etsy store improves your chances of getting found on Etsy. Of course, only link when the content is relevant — don’t overdo it.

5. Be known in your niche

Aside from marketing to your direct audience, there is a lot to gain in networking with other creators and brands in your niche.

Look up sites that welcome guest posts. There’s also no harm in asking websites if they’d be open for a guest author to write an article for their site. Make sure that your pitch isn’t all self-promotion.

For example, if you’re selling hats, maybe you can pitch a step-by-step guide on hat-making. Make it pretty and full of photos. You can include a link to your store. Share that you have handmade products in case the readers would rather buy than make.

Never buy a link or engage in spammy and black hat techniques. You’re not only wasting money. You could also be penalized for it and lose all the fruits of your hard work.