How to Create a Successful Etsy Shop

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How to Create a Successful Etsy Shop

It is free to open up a shop! So why wait!? Some people say to wait until you get at least 10 items, but I think since it is free you might as well start ASAP to start getting sales and ratings. Your first few items will be the hardest to sell since you don’t have ratings people are nervous to purchase, so don’t get discouraged. To be honest I started getting discouraged and had my boyfriend make one of my first sales and leave me a review it has been growing every since. 🙂

Make sure you use a link to get 40 free listing! Essentially it is free until you sell an item so definitely worth giving it a try! You can click here for those first 40 free listings.

It costs $0.20 for each listing (after your 40 free), charge 3.5% of the selling price, and a payment processing fee of 3% + .25 percent in the US (varies by country). Basically 6.5% and .45 cents (Yeah, kind of an annoying way to make the cost seem smaller. I wish they would just make it one percent to be easier). To see a full breakdown of fees click here.

Tips to get your items viewed more.

1. Have a good title and make sure you use all 13 keywords.

Keywords are the terms people type in to find what they are looking for.  The more keywords you use the more likely someone is to find your item.  For example, if I am selling a white ceramic mug. I will want to use “white”, “ceramic”, “mug”, “dishwasher safe”, “microwave safe”, whatever the size is.  If I can’t think of 13 keywords I start using terms like “gift” and terms like “wedding”, “Christmas”, “Valentine’s day” since people commonly shop for gifts on Etsy.

2. Have a good description

The first 160 characters of your item description are used for the meta description which is the text shown under your page title on a search engine results page so it is also important to have words people will be searching for.

3. Competitive Prices

Search Etsy to see what other people are selling similar items for. An item shouldn’t be listed too high or too low. Obviously, if it is listed too high people will opt to purchase a cheaper item. What isn’t as obvious, if you item is listed much lower than the other items, they may think it is poor quality or there is some kind of a catch to it. On Etsy, there are a lot of listing for blanks or just decals but not the both. When the listing is too low they might think they are missing something and it’s only for a portion of what is viewed in the picture.

4. Renew your items regularly

The more recent the item was listed the higher on the list. I used to have the highest quantity listed for items I could make an unlimited quantity in until I learned about this. So in other words it is better to write a lower quantity available and have it sell out so you can renew it to get it bumped back up in the search.

5. Share your items regularly

The more links there are to your items not only are they more likely to be seen by people the search engines also gage them as popular so they show up higher in searches. Pinterest, Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter are options to have your items be seen.

6. Take good pictures

Here are a few basic tips that will make your photos look a lot better.

• Use the Square/Instagram picture setting (This is for iPhone, I’m sure Android has something similar).  A lot of apps use the square photo so it just makes it easier so it doesn’t crop out part of the item.
• Always use the flash.  This helps to brighten the colors and also helps to show any details.
• Using a plain background helps to prevent distraction or confusion on which item is for sale.  Here is a link for a nice wood background for only $2.49.
• Make sure the pictures are clear. If you don’t let the camera focus or slightly move it the pictures easily blur.
• I love my photo cube for taking pics of small items. Only $8.49 and free shipping.

Feel free to comment any tips or tricks you have learned that has helped your Etsy shop.

If you would like to join my group Pinterest board “Cricut Crafts Tips and Tricks Group Board” click here to follow it and then send me a message on Pinterest and I can make you a collaborator.