The Ultimate Guide: How To Start An Etsy Shop?

Last updated on October 14th, 2023

Are you a creative person involved in painting, designing, crafting, collecting artistic items, or simply manufacturing things all by yourself? Then, like most other modern business owners, you may not like to waste your valuable time running around places to sell something. So, how about selling through a credible and popular online platform, Etsy, without going anywhere physically.

Etsy is the one eCommerce platform where millions of businesses are already present and selling. It has been a trusted and time-tested international marketplace since its inception in 2005 in Brooklyn, New York. An overwhelming number of over 4.36 million sellers and 81.9 million buyers are active on Etsy.

These stats are tempting enough for any business owner to open a shop at this vast marketplace. We will take you through the entire process of starting the Etsy shop and promoting your business, know the preparation you need to make beforehand.

Have These Things Ready Before Starting Your Shop On Etsy:

i. Get A Logo

Before you open your shop at Etsy, get a logo, which will be your business identity. Your customers will recognize your business when seeing the etsy logo of the shop. But do not worry about paying the expensive fees to graphic designers since you can do the design on your own.

You can explore an etsy logo maker tool that will help you incorporate the right design elements such as colors, fonts, icons, etc. Thus, you can customize your logo until fully satisfied with the result. So, first, have your logo in place.

ii. Product Labels

Before starting your Etsy shop, check if your product labels are ready. A product without its label visible to the customers is equal to no selling. So, if you have not already created product labels, get them designed by hiring a graphic designer. Or, you can even buy an Etsy product label template to create and print those labels at home.

Since you are new at Etsy, there is no need for you to hire the services of an expensive designer. You can create your product label yourself without any design skills using an online product label maker. It is a DIY software tool to help users create designs and take care of their design requirements.

iii. Product Images

Do you have your product images ready? If not, then get all of your products photographed. You do not necessarily need to hire an expensive photographer. Just be a photographer yourself and experiment with light and shades to see which portrait mode works best on your smartphone to get likable product images.

iv. Set Up A Separate Bank Account

Creating a separate bank account for your Etsy transactions would be good. This account will record all of your Etsy-related expenses in one place so that you do not mix your commercial expenses with your account and money.

v. Keep Your Packaging Materials Ready

When customers place orders for your products, you need to wrap them nicely and professionally since they like to deliver things that way. Plus, you can quickly package and sell the product if the packaging material is ready.

So, have a good stock of packaging tapes, shipping labels, boxes, and packing peanuts to help products absorb shock while transporting. You will also need a thermal label printer. Do not forget that your Etsy logo will be present on each packaging of your product.

How To Start an Etsy Shop?

Now that you have put all the essential things required to run your shop, here is the step-by-step guide to starting your Etsy shop.

Step 1: Register Your Shop with Etsy

The first step is registering your business with Etsy to open your account. You need to click on the ‘Register’ button and provide the required input, including your name and email address. Also, create a strong password.

Then, scroll down the page to find ‘Sell On Etsy.’ Click on this button to open a new form to fill in some of your details.

Step 2: Choose Your Basic Settings

After having your Etsy account registered, go to the ‘Shop Preferences’ page to choose what you prefer.

• Set Your Default Language: You will choose a default language that you will use for product descriptions. Also, you can choose to translate your page into many other languages.
• Your Country: Set your home country, which will be the location for starting your Etsy shop and business.
• Choose The Currency: Then, set your country’s currency or any other currency for transaction. Note that you will have to pay a conversion fee of 2.5% to Etsy if the currencies of your home country and shop currency are different. So, choose the currency option wisely.
• Choose Your Business Hours: You need to tell Etsy if you want to run your business full-time or part-time. But you can choose ‘Others’ if neither is the choice. Note that this information will not impact how you do your business, but Etsy needs this detail for its consumption.

Step 3: Name Your Etsy Business Carefully

The next significant step you need to take is to give your business a name. But it is not as simple as you think as it will involve some strategic thinking. You need to get creative to pick an attractive and unique name. Remember that the name should stand out from millions of business names on Etsy.

A test of the name will be that customers can know about your business at a glance, and they can recall it quickly. The challenge here is to select a name that is impressive, unique, but relevant to your products.

What is more, Etsy will rule out a business name if it does not meet its guidelines. So, as per the guideline, the name should be unique and within 4 to 20 characters long with no spaces, special characters, and profanities included.

But do not worry, as Etsy also will come up with the names available with it, and you can pick one of them. If still not satisfied, try an online business name generator that can list dozens of different names, even Etsy business names, per your relevant keywords.

Overall, your Etsy business name should be distinctive and relevant to your product. But it must be easy to pronounce for the customers since they can use it as a keyword to search your store on Google directly.

Step 4: Add a Logo and Description

Next, place your logo, your Etsy shop’s brand identity, at the set space on the left side of the page. But consider the limited square space, which is 500 x 500 px, so that your logo fits well in it.

Do not take your logo design lightly as it can even break or make your business prospects. Your Etsy logo should be a subtle icon to send the right visual signals about your products, business goals, any cultural settings regarding the products, and so on.

When starting your business, you do not require a professionally correct logo. You can even design your logo initially, and later, you can redesign it. To create your logo without any experience, use an etsy shop logo maker.

Your Etsy business name and its address will appear on the side of the logo. But equally important is the description of who you are in terms of your background.

Write this page in an engaging style so that visitors know about your cultural and other backgrounds and the story behind starting your business. Let them closely know who you are.

Step 5: Create A Compelling ‘About Us’ Section

There is the About Us section that you should explore carefully. Here, you need to tell what your Etsy business can do for the customers. Use this section to build a narrative for the items you sell and how customers benefit.

But do not try to promote and sell here; instead, just give a list of items you make and sell. You can also mention the partners or people who help you conduct your business.

Also, give links to your social media channels of the business.

Step 6: Set Your Pricing

Since you are a business owner at Etsy, you must set the prices of your products for your customers. But how would you give a price tag to the products?

Keep in mind the tough competition. Since there are millions of Etsy businesses, many of them may be selling your type of products, so you should set competitive prices.

Consider your manufacturing costs so that you earn a nice profit. Your price should include the cost of materials, the labor cost you incurred, and the shipping cost.

Also, keep the prices reasonable initially and then increase them steadily as people recognize your business. It would be good to use the Etsy calculator to determine your shipping cost for your product’s weight and size.

Step 7: Add Items To Your Shop

Now, your shop is ready to list out your products. To list your products, click on Shop Manager and then click Listings. You can also go to Your Shop and click on Add a listing. You can provide a maximum of 10 images of the product from different angles.

Make sure that your listing includes photos of products, videos, listing details, inventory and pricing, and product variations. Do not just restrict yourself to providing product photos. Making videos is a simple task these days. So, include videos that show your products from different angles. While you will deliver product details with its measurement, a video visual helps build trust for what you sell.

When providing listing details, give the product’s title and its manufacturer. Tell when it was made and what material was used.

Step 8: Add Etsy Payments To Your Shop

You should enable Etsy Payments by including it in your shop’s settings to allow you options such as PayPal, Apple Pay, and Etsy gift cards. Etsy will deposit all of your sales money into your bank account in your country’s currency, irrespective of how buyers pay.

You should include Etsy Payments in your shop’s settings to enable your buyers to pay you in Etsy’s 10 payment options spread across the world.

To add Etsy Payments to your shop, go to your payment settings and provide your credit card and bank account details. You also need to give your residential address and verify your identity.

Step 9: Give Your Credit Card Details

Do not forget to add your credit card details to pay different Etsy fees. Etsy can then automatically bill your credit card every month on the scheduled date with these details in place. You will need to pay listing fees, transaction fees, and payment processing fees. If you use Etsy Payments] through your credit card.

Step 10: Open Your Shop and Get Started

Once you have completed the steps mentioned above, you are ready to start your business. Just click on the ‘Open Your Shop’ link, and you have started your Etsy shop for business. Check if your Etsy logo and other details are correctly in place.

But just because you have started a shop on Etsy does not mean that people will flock to it and buy things. You still need to make additional efforts to drive potential customers’ attention toward your new shop. There is still a lot to do on the branding and marketing front.

Step 11: Talk About Your Etsy Shop On Social Media

After starting your Etsy shop, promote it on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others. Use your social media account as a vehicle to take your Etsy shop and business to your followers and the world.

Post your Etsy product images more often on different social channels to turn your business into a trustworthy brand. It requires a consistent presence of your products on social channels. Use both image and text-based social media to your advantage.

And while promoting your business, never forget to show up your Etsy logo on social channels so that people recognize it as your symbol for business.

These are the steps you need to take to start your Etsy shop, and now you know that the process is fairly quick and simple. But while becoming one of the millions of business owners on Etsy is easy, to stand out is difficult as you need to put a lot of thinking and effort into creating your place.

You will need an impressive but unique Etsy logo design for your Etsy shop to stand out. You also need website design, social media page design, and visuals to promote your business on various platforms.

So, you will need different tools to create visuals and guides such as design size guides such as Etsy Banner Size to make your store visually appealing. Use these helpful tools and guides to your advantage.

Wrapping Up

Etsy is an eCommerce marketplace with millions of business owners and buyers being part of the platform. Your small business can benefit immensely through this marketplace if you can explore its potential fully. But the first step is to register and start your Etsy shop carefully. The marketplace makes it easier for people to initiate their business in a few clicks by offering the required details.

Create Your Own Etsy Shop Logo