How to Sell on Etsy (Beginner’s Guide)

Etsy is the most popular marketplace focused on handmade and vintage items and craft suppliers. But, how to sell on Etsy? Is it only for physical products?

You may have so many questions.

If you’re a crafter, artist, or designer, or if you can make whatever objects you love to sell, there are plenty of consumers out there looking for your unique product.

Want to give it a try by opening an Etsy shop?

Let’s get into the guide!

Contents

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What is Etsy?

Etsy is an online buyer and seller community similar to eBay, which focuses on hand-crafted and vintage goods, etc.

You can see most products fall into the category of crafts, arts, paper goods, and jewelry and most of the sellers are selling digital goods as well.

Etsy is not only a perfect marketplace for handmade items. It’s also a perfect platform for sellers who want to sell digital products online. It’s easy to set up a customized online shop with full e-commerce capabilities.

Why Selling on Etsy?

Just imagine you’re crafting doormats yourself. So, you can sell in local markets or any local shops, But it’s limited to a certain area that you’re selling on.

The Internet has opened doors for sellers to reach consumers beyond their local area. But every small business owner may don’t know how to set up their own website or an e-commerce platform.

And the main part is, collecting payments from their consumers.

This is where Etsy comes in handy for you!

If you’re looking for a very suitable and related market to sell your goods, Etsy is providing a great marketplace specifically for crafters to list and sell their products to a broad audience.

And the best part is, that Etsy also allows you to sell digital downloadable products like printables, which means buyers can download your digital products immediately from your Etsy shop without any hassle.

How to Sell on Etsy (Step-by-Step)

Getting started with Etsy is a simple process and you can list products and set up payment methods in a friendly environment. Until today, there is no setup fee or monthly fee to start an Etsy shop.

However, Etsy costs you $0.20 per item as a listing fee. You can learn more about fees on Etsy from their fees and payment page.

Let’s get started!

First, Decide what you’re going to sell on Etsy. If you’re a person who likes to do crafts, you know what is the best thing to sell.

Simply, go to Etsy and see what are the best-selling items here.

But never depend on that list, think of something unique thing you can make!

And it’s not limited to physical goods, you can also sell digital goods too.

If you’re thinking about selling printables, and templates you can use free design platforms like Canva to create them in less time.

How can I use Canva to sell printables and templates on Etsy?

Once you’ve created some unique templates, all you have to do is create a template link and make a PDF.

Make sure to include all the template links and easy-to-follow instructions for your buyers to use.

Now, when it comes to listing your templates on Etsy, just create a new product as a digital download and upload that PDF as the digital product. Voila!

That way, your buyers will receive their purchased templates hassle-free.

However, it’s important to note that Canva has a licensing agreement.

So before you dive right in, take a moment to read it carefully or check out the following video provided by Canva.

It’s always good to be in the know.

Once you got a clear idea about what to sell and how the payments have been processed on Etsy, you can follow the below steps to start your Etsy shop easily.

To create an Etsy account, head over to Etsy and click the “Open a shop today” button.
Once you registered successfully, click “Sell on Etsy” at the top menu of the website.
Start building your Etsy shop by providing shop preference, shop name, and check availability and continue.
List your first product by filling in your product details, category, images, inventory, type (physical or digital), shipping, and all the things Etsy will ask from you.
Set up the payment method you’ll get paid.
Set up the billing process on Etsy.
Finally, click the “Shop Manager” icon on top of the website menu to view your shop dashboard.

That’s all!

Important: Don’t forget to explore the Etsy seller handbook to get more advice and inspiration for running your Etsy shop!

More than that, Etsy’s Plus package gives sellers access to a suite of tools designed to take their shop to the next level. Simply put, Etsy Plus comes with additional features such as advanced shop customization options.

When you listed your products, you have to run your Etsy store effectively to gain more sales.

To start promoting your products you can do things such as:

Start a Blog (Not an instant, but the best solution)
Use social media
Pin on Pinterest
Etsy promoted listings
Collaborate with Instagram Influencers
Advertise yourself on related websites
Ask for a Review (From Youtubers or bloggers)

Remember, like other e-Commerce sites, Etsy buyers also can leave reviews about the quality of the product on your Etsy shop.

So, keep in mind to provide a good and worthy service. You can provide a more helpful description for your product to help buyers to buy your product easily.

As another advantage, you can set up a URL forward for a domain you own directly to your Etsy shop. It helps you to get more sales by just giving and sharing your domain with others.

In addition, don’t forget to customize your Etsy shop logo and cover to provide a great look and feel for your customers.

Happy selling!