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I love Etsy store for selling my services as an illustrator, my illustrations and products themselves. Etsy is an online store focused above all on handmade and vintage products. You can get physical and digital products.
I have had an Etsy store for a few years, but the last year is actually when I have been working more on it, I invite you to check my store. I thought these tips would be useful to you in case you want to open a store and have not yet decided.
I opened my store for the first time in 2016, by this time I lived in Venezuela, but I really did not give it the attention it needed and my store was not successful. This platform is not widely used in Latin America, but if you want to reach other parts of the world, you are in the right place!
Lately, I have received many questions about How to open an Etsy store, and that's why last week I sat down to talk on an Instagram Live with Yil, the creator of the blog Una Venezolana on Etsy. I realized that this store, like other social networks, is always evolving and we must give it constant love! Since success does not come alone.
Creating an Etsy account is very easy. You need a verified PayPal account. If you are in Venezuela you will need to connect your PayPal account with an account abroad, since Venezuelan banks are not yet compatible with this platform.
It is very important that all the visuals of your store are unified, the banner, the logo, and the photos of your store should have the same style. Remember this is the face of your store! And the better it looks, the more customers you will come to your store.
You must fill all the spaces that Etsy offers, the information of your store and your profile. Add a real photo to your profile and show your best smile! So your clients can see who is behind your creations and everything is more organic.
When selling a product you must create a listing, this is all the info about your product. For every product you sell or every listing you create, Etsy will charge you $ 0.20 US cents. For each product sold, Etsy will keep 5% of the total amount.
In other words, what you will receive will be:
Total amount of your Product - 5% - 0.20 $ = Remaining Amount (What you will receive).
In this list you should add as much information as possible about your product. Including title, photos (Now you can also add videos) keywords and general information.
Like the other platforms, Etsy is constantly changing its rules and algorithms, so I will give you some basic tips, but maybe even these will change in the future. Anyway, the Etsy community is in charge of keeping us up to date with these changes and they send us emails to update us all the time.
So, here are some recommendations when selling your products:
TITLES:
Describe your products in a few words, be very specific in what you sell. Don't use the same words. Don't use very strange words, think about how your customers would search for your product, try to be as organic as possible.
PICTURES:
Fill all the spaces that Etsy offers you to show your product, if you certainly do not have more photographs, you can fill them with more info about your product or promotions.
Invest in mockups, download them for free or make your own mockups. Maybe you are thinking, what are mockups? It is the space or background where you show your product. So if it is an illustration, instead of showing only the final art (Digital or traditional) you can make a mockup where the possible buyers can imagine it on a real scale, placing some art materials, or perhaps you can show your framed illustration in a space of your house. When using or making your own mockups, remember that the focal point and what should stand out the most, should be your product. Therefore, I recommend not adding too many things around that are distracting to your eyes.
DESCRIPTION:
Etsy gives you a lot of space and options to describe your product, fill all these options and try to make it as detailed as possible. Emphasize on materials, process, and timing.
For example, in the case of my custom illustrations, I like to say that even though they are made with traditional mixed media, the final art they will receive will be in digital. I like to describe my work process, what I need them to send me, where they can send it to me, how long it will take me to make a sketch or final art and when they can make changes, also the format in which they will receive their final illustrations.
It is true that many people don’t read all the information, but it is good to have it there to back you up in case of any miscommunication.
KEYWORDS:
They are part of your product description and are super important for appearing in Etsy searches and other platforms like Google.
Etsy gives you the option to add 13 keywords. Use them all! And use as much space as possible, that means, in each keyword space 2 or more words may be entered. Example: do not write "illustration" and "custom" separately in another space when they can be in the same box as "Custom illustration". Include the words you used in your product title.
SHIPPING
Your store may be purely digital, physical or both, always talk about your times and shipping times.
If you sell digital products, describe how long it will take you to make the illustration and how you will send the final art. For the time, my best tip is to estimate that it will be more time than you think, so if you make it in less time, your buyer will be surprised and happier with the result. For some products there is an option for instant download, it is good to also write this.
If you have a physical product, ask your local mail the shipping price and the estimated time the package will reach its destination.
This is what I do, for example if I want to send a set of postcards, I take my product and pack it as if I were going to send it, I add the cards or gifts that I want to include, I calculate what my package measures and what it weighs. You can use a kitchen weight that is perfect for these products that don’t weigh as much. After having this information I can go to my local shipping company, I can also call or enter their website and search how much the cost of shipping would be with the information I already have about my package.
Etsy new recommendation is to offer free shipping, if that's something you are able to do, due to the weight of your product, then Go for it!. Maybe if your shipping is not as high and you can add that amount to the amount of your product, offering your client a free shipping.
REVIEWS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE:
Remember that you are a store, and you must answer to your customers with your best words and respect. Many of your potential buyers will have questions and write you a direct message, try to answer them as soon as possible. Many times they will ask questions that you have already written everywhere in your store, as I said before, even if you write all the information about your product, it does not mean that everyone will read it. Answer all the questions they have, you can even recommend more products from your store.
During the process, keep in touch with your customer. Remember that a happy customer Comes back and recommends your store to another person!
At the end of the entire process, remind them how important a review is for you and your store. You can send them a direct message with the link to make this process easier and more direct.
Every time someone leaves a review it creates a movement in your store and lets Etsy know that you are there and that your buyers are happy. So Etsy will direct more potential buyers to your store.
MARKETING:
On Etsy you can create your own campaigns, you have the option of creating discounts, at the times you want, with the percentages you want. You also have the option of promoting your listings by paying the amount you want, from $1 to what your budget allows you. With this, your listing or product will appear first in Etsy’s searches. Of course, this does not mean that your product will be purchased if you do not follow all the above recommendations.
If you don't have a budget, remember that social media is free! Therefore, share your beautiful creations on all your social media. The one I like the most is Pinterest, apart from being free, it is where the majority of people looking for inspiration and handmade things are. Also, when you upload the photograph of your product to this platform, you can add a direct link to your store, so with one click, potential buyers can have much more information about your product.
I hope that all this information was useful to you and that you are finally encouraged to open your store! Remember that it does not matter that many people are selling the product or illustration you make, the important thing is to add your personal touch and there will always be people who like your work!
