You just have to begin. That’s what I told myself when I began listing items on Etsy in May. I had opened a shop a couple of years ago but only listed a couple of items before taking them down. I hadn’t given it much effort. This time I wanted to give it an actual try and share my creations. In just a week I landed my first sale and every since then I have hit 90 sales. That’s more than I imagined I’d get! I’ve learned a lot so far about starting an Etsy shop or business in general, and I’d like to share them with you.
- Factor in your time as well as shipping and ALL your costs into your price. I sold my first item for less than I should have but I quickly learned my lesson.
- You don’t have to invest in fancy packaging right away. If you want to, sure, but it’s not completely necessary. I started by reusing boxes that were in good shape and adding dollar store tissue paper and crinkle paper. Customers care more about their order getting there on time and in perfect condition, not that you included fancy cards or candy or other extras. Those can always be added later, if desired.
- Tags and titles are important. I am working on figuring this out, but so far some of my listings have done really well because of the search keywords.
- Don’t be afraid to promote yourself on social media.
- Keep finances organized. Etsy offers a Quickbooks integration to make it easy, but you can use whatever method you’d like. I prefer Excel sheets. Also, open a separate business account(s).
- Sell what you like to sell, not just for money. I have taken down listings because I no longer liked making certain things, or I wanted to do those certain projects for fun only.
- Start thinking about holidays early.
- Believe in yourself!
Have you started an Etsy shop or other business? I’d love to hear about it!
Related post:
Recent Cricut Projects
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