When you think about opening an Etsy shop, there are a LOT of things to think about, and it’s helpful to have a list of what you need to prepare and think about ahead of time, because you don’t want to miss anything.
When I sat down to write this article, I wanted to make a helpful article for you guys that was specifically about preparing to open a shop on Etsy. I’ve done a number of articles about how to start a handmade business – and the advice in those obviously will apply to someone starting an Etsy – but I wanted to address the important decisions and planning that is more specific to opening an Etsy shop.
So, ready? Let’s dive in.
Before we get into the specifics of what you need to do and plan before opening your Etsy shop, I want to talk briefly about what I call the “dream” stage of opening your handmade business.
I have a very helpful free download called “The Maker’s Roadmap” that literally maps out all the tasks and stages of starting a new handmade business, it gives you a visual “road” that you will follow so that you are doing all the things you need to do, and doing them in the right order.
The “dream” stage is the first stage on The Maker’s Roadmap. It’s a very important stage because you are thinking through all the different choices and options for how you want your business to run, and what your goals are.
What I love about The Maker’s Roadmap is that I don’t just talk about what you need to do, but why it’s so important to do it before starting your business.
It will cover things like
. . . all the things you need to do so you know how you’re actually going to be making money with your business.
So this is a very important resource that you will want to download – just click the link below to get it!
e-com sales on tap training
simple step-by-step plan to grow your online store sales into a consistent and predictable income with the Reliable eCom Sales System
For this article, though, what I really want to dive into are details that are very specific to the Etsy platform.
The first one is rather obvious, but we need to talk about it, and that is to read the Etsy sellers policies. When you start a shop with Etsy, you enter a contract with them – you’re essentially renting a place on their platform just like you would rent a storefront on a street. And just like you would read a rental agreement before renting a brick-and-mortar shop space, you need to read Etsy’s seller policies so you are aware of exactly what they allow and don’t allow . . . and you need to be happy with what those policies are.
I know that sounds obvious and super boring, but I can’t tell you how many people don’t take the time to do that. And then are disappointed by some things that Etsy has in their policies because they just didn’t read them and know about them . . .
. . . or their shop gets closed because they were selling things that Etsy doesn’t want on their platform. And that’s always very disappointing as well.
So be sure you read Etsy’s policies, you’re going to enter a contract with them so it’s essential you understand this contract and what you are agreeing to.
The second thing I want to talk about is your Etsy shop structure.
A common mistake I see is when someone decides what products they want to sell, takes great photos, starts to set up their product pages and upload their photos to Etsy . . . and suddenly they’re like “hmmmm how do I organize all of these products in my Etsy store?”
So let me tell you it’s much much better if you think about your shop structure and organization beforehand, rather than when you’re in the thick of actually setting up your store.
What is important to think through on Etsy – because it works a little differently than on your own website or on other platforms – are the sections that you’re going to set up for your products.
You need to think through:
Each of these decisions is so much easier to make beforehand rather than as you’re uploading your stuff onto Etsy.
You want to really think through these decisions and not make them quickly because they not only will impact your conversion rate, they will also impact your Etsy SEO – which is, as you will soon discover, a BIG part of marketing on Etsy.
I have an article that walks you through how to organize your Etsy shop sections, as well as an Etsy SEO Guide, I will put links to them and a few more resources at the end of this page.
Now onto the next thing you want to think about, shipping.
You will want to think through shipping details for your shop such as:
So essentially just really thinking through what shipping options you will offer to your customers, as well as what services you will use to print a shipping label and get your products shipped and delivered to your customer.
You also need to decide if you plan to be in the “Etsy Star Seller” program, because that will impact your shipping choices. In order to have an Etsy Star Seller badge (at least at the time I’m writing this article) you have to have trackable shipping. If you’re using Etsy labels for shipping then that’s great because their labels include tracking. But if you aren’t using Etsy labels then you’d need to choose a carrier that has trackable shipping.
The same goes for the Free Shipping decision – it impacts SEO so be sure that you think it through. Depending on what niche you sell in it will be more important in some cases than in others but it’s definitely important to consider!
I have two very helpful articles about shipping that you will also want to read when you’re done with this article. One answers the question “Should I offer free shipping on Etsy?” and the other teaches you how to account for shipping and fees in your prices.
Next let’s talk about the reading through – and understanding – the seller fees on Etsy.
I see a lot of sellers get started on Etsy and when they get their first fee report they’re very confused as to what is what and what they’re paying for. They realize that maybe they didn’t account for fees enough in their pricing strategy, and the fees aren’t being covered correctly with their current selling price.
So it’s very important for you to understand that before you sell on Etsy you should list each of the fees that you’re going to be charged and understand clearly what all these different fees are and how much they will be so that you’re clear on that and there aren’t any bad surprises, because these bad boys add up.
By doing this you will ensure that you have correct profit margins in your pricing strategy.
You will also need to think about shop payments, as in how you will actually take payments from your customers. Are you going to have Etsy payments, which means using the credit card system inside of Etsy? Or were you thinking about using PayPal?
First you need to find out what options are available to you based on the countries that you’re selling in.
Etsy payments is the main way to get paid on Etsy. When you sign up for Etsy payments then the buyers on Etsy can use a ton of different payment methods in your shop, and then their payment goes directly into your bank account, which is great and very convenient.
BUT . . . some countries are not eligible for that, so you will want to make sure that you are in an eligible country, and if you’re not, see what options are available for you.
Next is how you will handle messages, as in how you’re going to communicate with your customers. And my recommendation here would be to set up an auto reply. It’s a good practice in general – customers like to know their message has been received and will be responded to, but it’s also very helpful if you plan to be part of the Etsy Star Seller program.
The Star Seller program tracks how quickly you respond to your customer inquiries, and the best way to have great response rates is to have auto replies set up.
Using auto-replies also means you’re not a slave to your notifications – instead you can set a schedule where you periodically check and respond to messages instead of having to immediately respond to message notifications the moment they come in.
Now these were things that are very specific to the Etsy platform, but opening an Etsy shop is no different than opening any handmade business. Etsy is just the platform that you are going to use to sell on the internet, which is why we looked at the specific aspects of this platform that you’ll want to think about when you set up your shop.
You will also want to think about all the steps that you need to do to set up a successful handmade business which is why I created the free Maker’s Roadmap – it will guide you through all the steps you need to take, from pricing to photography to anything in between, so make sure you download it below!
free “Beyond etsy” training!
Discover how to make a full-time income and future-proof your business without spending every waking hour on social media, or having to rely on Etsy’s ever-changing platform.
The next article you will want to read to help you set up your Etsy shop successfully is Strategic Tips To Organize Your Etsy Shop Sections so be sure to read it to learn easy and helpful tips that help you set up your Etsy shop sections to maximize Etsy SEO and sales!
Thanks for reading, and until next time, aurevoir!
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