How To Sell On Etsy: 7 Steps To Open Your Etsy Shop

How To Sell On Etsy: 7 Steps To Open Your Etsy Shop In 2021

Ecommerce is one of the greatest innovations of humanity. We are all significantly dependent on it. It has made our life much easier. It is tough to imagine those days when you needed to waste your time in traffic and shopping malls searching for items and products. However, with e-commerce, you can buy faster, more reliably, and accurately. Etsy is one of the biggest names in the market.

Here, in this article, we will review Etsy and discuss how we can sell on it with seven simple steps. Before that, we should know the benefits of e-commerce. We need to know why these platforms are so popular and engaging. Let's get started.

Benefits Of eCommerce

Nowadays, we can buy everything online. Perhaps, people used to buy cheap items on e-commerce platforms. However, even costly and delicate items such as cars, smartphones, professional cameras can be easily bought. What is the key to this popularity? Why are people willing to take the risk of getting hacked but buy what they want? Here are some of the benefits of e-commerce for all individuals.

Faster Buying Process

Imagine that you enter a big shopping mall. You are looking for a nice t-shirt to buy. So, what should you do? Probably, you need to start walking around and see different stores. You might not find what you want and need to check other shopping malls. How many hours you have to waste buying a single t-shirt? It gets worst when you want to buy…let's say a scarf too! And the story goes on and on.

Unlike traditional shopping methods, the buying process will be much more efficient on an e-commerce website. You can browse any items, products, or services very comfortably! Then, you don’t need to bargain over them with the salesman. You will make your purchase with just a few clicks, and then it's done. It is a win-win situation for both buyers and sellers as they spend less time managing the buying process.

Store And Product Listing Creation

What can you get by looking at a product or an item? Perhaps, you can see the colour, the fabrics, etc. However, what about a more important thing? For example, does the product have a discount? How many days does it take for the product to arrive? Interestingly, with e-commerce, both sellers and buyers will greatly benefit from the product listing. In the product listing, you as a seller and buyers will have whatever you need to know about a product.

Product description, category, price, shipping fee, and delivery date are basic information provided in the product listing. Also, there are some high-resolution images to let buyers imagine and observe the products in detail. Also, sellers can customize the product listing, so it includes whatever they need to add.

Cost Reduction

This is very suitable for small businesses that cannot invest lots of money at the beginning of their business. With e-commerce, sellers don’t need to rent a physical store and pay for repairers, design, inventory, etc. I mean, running an e-commerce business is more affordable for sellers. Accordingly, they will charge customers less. Everyone is happy!

Target-Based Advertising And Marketing

Many e-commerce businesses are equipped with analytical tools. These tools have been designed to speculate your customers' behaviour. They also let you track all orders down to see which one is pending, unshipped, sent, cancelled, and returned. You, as a seller, can expose customers to nice videos, reviews, infographics, and professional images by checking your products.

By asking customers to leave their phone numbers or email, you can create a database. Then, you will let the customers know about them whenever you have a new product or service. This is much more efficient than just advertising on social networking websites when you don’t know who is watching your advertisement.

Flexibility For Customers

generally, buying from e-commerce platforms is an enjoyable experience. One reason is the amount of flexibility that customers usually have. Here are some other reasons why e-commerce is so comfortable for customers:

Ecommerce stores are open all the time. So, customers can buy anytime, anywhere.

They get experience and know where they can get high-quality products. Now, they need to get back and purchase again from that store. They will be sure of its quality.

Customers can share their experiences through reviews, so other people don’t repeat their mistakes.

Customers will be given all the essential information they need before purchasing a product.

Product And Price Comparison

Comparing prices help both sellers and buyers to manage more efficiently. Let's start with sellers. They can easily compare their products' prices with other competitors. Then, you can come up with a more reasonable price. Not too high and not too low. They will maximize their conversion faster in this way. Of course, it is also great for customers because they will come up with a more rational decision about the product they decide to buy with just a few clicks.

Faster Response To Buyer/Market Demands

There are many different ways to communicate with customers. When you enter an e-commerce website and have a question, you can easily start a live chat. Or, you can find that online stores' social accounts and sent them a text through these channels. Also, you can send an email or even call to get your answer. All online businesses are aware of the magical power of online presence. So, they won't keep you waiting and get back to you as soon as possible.

Several Payment Methods

People really appreciate your business when they are given several payment methods. Fortunately, these methods are available in e-commerce businesses. These methods include UPI, cash on delivery, card on delivery, net banking, EMIs or credit, or debit card, and pay-later credit facility.

Where Is Etsy?

Here are some facts about Etsy for starter:

It is an American e-commerce website.

You can buy/sell handmade or vintage items as well as craft supplies. So, basically, it is designed for independent crafters and artists.

It is also a good place for collectors to sell their antique items.

Etsy is efficient in shipping options and giving different payment methods.

Shopify, Big Cartel, and Amazon are three of the most popular competitors of Etsy.

Its categories include jewelry, bags, clothing, home décor, furniture, toys, art, craft supplies & tools.

Etsy charges $0.20 per item.

Etsy has been kept growing for many years. For example, just two years ago, the number of sellers and buyers reached 2.1 and nearly 40 million people, respectively.

The company has nearly a thousand employees.

Etsy has more than 60 million items on it!

Where Does Etsy Revenue Come From?

Three main methods bring millions of dollars to Etsy. We are going to check them out here:

First, sellers must pay a fee of 5% of the final sale value for each completed transaction, on top of a listing fee of 20 cents per item.

Also, services such as Promoted Listings, payment processing, and purchases of shipping labels obligate the owners to pay some money.

Finally, revenue might come from third-party payment processors as well.

7 Steps To Openning Your Etsy Shop in 2021

Let's say you have decided to start your business on Etsy. How should you do it? Here are seven simple steps for everyone to follow:

Step 1

First, go to etsy.com and get started. The first step is to click the “Sell on Etsy” link. Now, you have to click the “Open your Etsy Shop.”

Step 2

At this stage, your shop needs to be set up. In fact, you need to provide Etsy with some answers. Etsy needs to know the language you are OK with. Also, you have to describe your products and choose the currency for trade. Your location is also required to be mentioned.

Step 3

Now, you need a killer name for your shop. But be careful! You shouldn’t underestimate the power of your name. You choose a name so that it is synced with the products you are selling. For example, if your name is Jim and is selling t-shirt, Jim's t-shirt collection will be an appropriate name. Customers need to remember your name quickly.

Step 4

After choosing your shop's name, you have to prepare your product listings. What do you need for that? Here are some quick points about your product listings. First, adding professional photos that give different aspects of your product is very important. Also, think about using a nice thumbnail as it is the first picture that buyers can see. Writing brief & simple descriptions and using tags & keywords appropriately help you complete your listing information. Entering inventory quantity and price, set the shipping fee, and previewing your Etsy listings are other things to do.

Step 5

You have to select your payment method. Thanks to Etsy, you can choose from various payment methods, including PayPal or Etsy payments. Other options such as credit, debit, and Etsy gift cards are possible.

Step 6

You have to pay fees and commissions to Etsy. For that, you need to provide billing information and a credit card. This facilitates authorization and identification. In this way, Etsy will know where to charge you for fees and commissions.

Step 7

Done is done! At this point, you are ready to go. However, you need to optimize your shop. There are many ways to do so. Let's review some of them. How can you improve your credibility as a seller? The best way is to provide a brief bio about you with some images. This is how customers will recognize you as the responsible one for their purchase. Then, they are more likely to buy from you. Creating a personal connection with your customer can be initiated by a simple and elegant profile.

The next thing to do is working our FAQs section of your store. Definitely, people will search on it before making a purchase. Sometimes, they don’t care if your answers are helpful or not. They want to check your online presence. So, be available to the customers and help them if you can.

Some More Tips To Make The Best Out Of Etsy

Here are some more tips and tricks that help you expand your business faster:

Your business needs to hire a professional photographer or go and learn some. Because images are the first things, customers are going to notice. Take advantage of them.

Having one product all over the place doesn’t help you sell it. Everything needs to be organized and according to an organization.

Don’t forget about SEO! It is not exclusive to Etsy. SEO is everywhere. It helps you understand the main product categories and use unique keywords to stand out. You can do it yourself and hire someone to do it for you.

Take advantage of analytical tools to let you know how well your business is doing. For example, if you know what products are selling more than others, you will buy them more and eventually profit. Or, you might need to know what nationalities are buying you more.

Finally, try to keep track of your financial status. In this way, you can check whether you have reached your goals and objectives or not.

Summary

Ecommerce platforms are very diverse and popular these days. You can easily purchase products or services. More importantly, you can get help from them and start your own business. You can buy your products/services or other companies. Etsy will give you the chance to do so. However, it is not for any kinds of products or services.

It is designed for handy crafts and antiques. So, if you are an artist or business interested in selling these products, we will highly recommend opening a store on Etsy. This will be the best place for your business to expand and get promoted.

I hope you enjoyed this article. Please stay tuned for our next blog post tomorrow. Take care!

JeannetteZ

I would love to hear from you. Please leave me your questions, experience, remarks and/or suggestions about Etsy in the comments section below. You can also reach me by email at Jeannette@WorkFromAnywhereInTheWorld.com.

How to Sell on Etsy: 7 Steps to Open Your Etsy Shop