Etsy Startup Guide - How To Open Your Shop & Create Your First Listing

Congratulations on deciding to open an Etsy shop! Etsy is a huge marketplace that has something for everyone, and it can be really fun to be a part of.

I’m going to share everything you need to get started, including my tips and tricks for Etsy best practices. This blog post will walk you through the setup process, and how to win your first sale.

At the time of writing this, I’ve gone from zero sales to over 15,000 sales in just a few years. I’m here to help you become successful shop owners too.

Ok, now let’s get started!

SETUP YOUR ACCOUNT

On the Etsy homepage, and click “Sign In” at the top right. If you already have an Etsy account, sign in.

If you don’t have an account yet you’ll need to click “Register”. Simply type in your email address, first name, and create a password, and you’re all set!

Now you’re all signed into your account and we can open your shop!

At the top right of your homepage, click on your profile and scroll down to “Sell On Etsy”

Etsy will take you to an info page where you can read a little more about the tools they have to help you. Click “Open Your Etsy Shop”.

SHOP PREFERENCES

Now you’ll fill out your shop preferences. Etsy will ask you your preferred language, your country, your preferred currency, and what best describes you as a seller.

I chose “I sell part time and that’s how I like it”, but you can choose what works best for you.

Click “Save and Continue” at the bottom right.

Now it’s time to name your shop! The Etsy naming tool will help you find something that’s unique to you while clearly reflecting what you want to sell.

For example, if I want to sell custom cards, I’ll type in “customcards”. That name wasn’t available, but Etsy showed me a variety of similar options.

Next I’ll try one of their suggested options at the bottom, but I’ll spell out the words how I like … “Custom Cards By Britt” aka (customcardsbybritt)

Hooray! That one is available! Once you’re happy with your shop name, click “Save and Continue”.

Create a Listing

Next you’ll be prompted to create your first listing. Click the blue “Add a listing” icon.

You’ll first need to upload good quality product photos. These photos need to showcase the product you are selling. Use as many photos as you can.

Crisp, white backgrounds help make the image stand out. Bright lighting makes a huge difference. Take product photos near a window in bright natural light if you can. You want to have the photos clearly reflect your product while showing off how amazing it is!

I’m using an old product photo example of mine, but you can see what I mean with bright lighting.

If you are planning on selling digital products, you may opt to purchase mockup photos. Be sure to read the listing description of the mockups you purchase, and follow their guidelines for use.

You can arrange your photos however you’d like. Simply drag and drop them into place.

The thumbnail photo will be the photo that pops up in Etsy when buyers are searching for products. Make sure your product is centered in the photo, and use your best photo for the thumbnail.

Next we’ll add product information in the listing details.

LISTING TITLE

Your listing title is very important. This (along with your photo) will be the motivating factor for buyers to click on your listing. It needs to use clear keywords that describe what you are selling. Think about what makes your product unique and amazing! Use these descriptors to help you craft your listing title.

Think about what you would type into a search bar when searching for your product. Since I am selling custom cards, I’ll use keywords like “custom greeting card” to start off. Next I’ll think about what else makes my cards amazing, I’ll include keywords such as “hand lettered” or “personalized” or “handmade” all to describe my cards.

Custom Greeting Card — Hand Lettered Card — Personalized Card — Handmade Card

ABOUT THIS LISTING

Etsy will ask you a few questions about your product. Answer the questions by choosing from the dropdown menu. They will ask who made it, what is it, and when did you make it?

CATEGORY

You will also need to add the category your product falls into. Start by typing your item, and Etsy will help you with the rest.

I typed in “cards” and Etsy came up with a bunch of categories to help describe my product. I chose “Greeting Cards” from their options.

You can see that Etsy will now direct shoppers from the categories of “Paper & Party Supplies”, “Paper”, and “Greeting Cards” all to my listing!

OPTIONAL

The next few categories are optional, but the more information you add to your listing the better!

Colors - You can choose to describe your product in colors. Simply choose from the drop down menu.

Occasions & Holidays - Select the occasion or holiday that your product would most likely be purchased for. This is a simple step that will help Etsy send buyers to your listing!

RENEWAL OPTIONS

Each renewal lasts for four months or until the listing sells out. You can choose to manually renew your listing when it sells out, or have it renewed automatically by Etsy. Each time a listing is renewed it will cost you $0.20 USD.

I like to have Etsy automatically renew, but you might feel more comfortable renewing yourself. Choose what works best for you.

TYPE

Etsy will ask you whether your product is a physical product that will be shipped to buyers, or whether it is a digital product that will be downloaded.

If you choose physical product, the listing will be customized to help you choose best shipping options. If you choose digital, you will be able to include your download right into the listing at the bottom.

DESCRIPTION

Now you’ll be able to add all the amazing details about your product.

Be sure to include important information like:

• product size

• product weight

• materials

• ingredients

• how buyers can use your product

• anything else that makes your product amazing!

PRODUCTION PARTNERS

A production partner is anyone who’s not a part of your Etsy shop who helps you physically produce your items. If you’re a one-woman-show and running this biz completely by yourself, then leave it blank. Otherwise, include the names of those who helped in creating your amazing product.

SECTION

This part is optional, but Etsy will help you group your listings into sections within your shop.

For example — if my whole shop is Greeting Cards but within the shop I’m selling Birthday, Wedding, and Holiday cards, then you’ll want sections for Birthday, Wedding, and Holiday. You’ll add these sections as needed when you create your listings.

Click “Add your first section” and type in your title. This listing will be a Birthday card, so I’ll create a section titled “Birthday”.

TAGS

This is another optional section, but is really important for helping buyers find your shop while searching. Think about all of the possible keyword options they might use to find your product.

Since I’m selling custom handmade greeting cards, I’ll use terms like “custom cards” and “greeting cards” and “birthday cards” to help buyers find my listing. You can add up to 13 search terms.

MATERIALS

List all the materials used to create your product.

Again, the more you add to your listing the better you help your buyers. If a buyer is deciding between your product and another shop’s product, but the other shop has all of their questions already answered for them, they might choose another shop over yours.

You want to make sure they have all the info they need to click “Purchase” at the bottom!

INVENTORY & PRICING

Price — enter the price you are selling your product for. Make sure your pricing is competitive within the market you are planning to sell. It should be reasonably priced so that buyers are motivated to choose you over others.

Quantity — include the quantity you have … I have 6 cards made so I will type in “6”. Note that Etsy says “for quantities greater than one, this listing will renew automatically until it sells out. You’ll be charged $0.20 USD listing fee each time.”

If my quantity was 1 and it sold out, Etsy would mark my listing as inactive and nobody else would be able to buy it. If my quantity was marked as 6, the number would simply go down with each purchase until it was sold out.

SKU — this is also optional but may help if you have large quantities of inventory. I’m choosing to skip this.

PERSONALIZATION

You can opt to include a bubble for buyers to personalize your listing here. You have 256 characters to do this.

SHIPPING

Shipping is actually quite simple once you learn how it works. You can even choose to have Etsy calculate shipping costs for you, which I highly recommend.

Shipping Prices — select “Calculate them for me” if you prefer to have Etsy help you with shipping.

Origin Zip Code — this is the zip code you are shipping your products from.

Processing Time — you can select as little as 1 business day to as long as 6-8 weeks. It’s entirely up to you. I would recommend 1-3 business days as that is pretty standard.

Where I’ll Ship — you can either leave All Countries selected, or click “Edit” to limit shipping within the USA. Choose whatever you personally prefer. When I first started, I chose to only ship within the USA. After a bit of practice I expanded to worldwide shipping. International shipping is actually very simple so if you want to include international shipping from the start, I’d say go for it!

Shipping Services — Next you’ll be prompted to select the type of shipping you wish to offer to your buyers.

Before setting up your shipping preferences, I recommend figuring out what type of packaging you plan to use to ship your products. Include packaging for your product (like simple bags, tissue paper, wrapping, small gift boxes, etc.) as well as cushioning (like packing peanuts, bubble wrap, etc.) and finally the outer box you plan to ship everything in.

I will wrap my cards in clear bags and fasten them with washi tape. I’ll then wrap the cards in tissue paper and tie them with a bow using crafting twine. I’ll also place a product info card and shop business card inside. I’ll finally place my cards in a bubble mailer to ship.

I personally use ULINE and you can order everything you need right from their site. They are a huge company with reasonable pricing. Keep in mind that the smaller and lighter your package is, the less it costs to ship.

You’ll also need to measure the exact weight of your product to ship. If your package is small (like my greeting cards) you might want to invest in a tiny kitchen scale. When I was shipping mugs, tumblers, and apparel this was perfect.

You need to measure the total weight of your package, which includes not only your product, but all packaging and shipping materials used.

Item Weight & Item Size— The bubble mailer I am shipping is 6” x 9” and the total weight of my package is 10 oz.

Etsy will show you the estimated shipping price based on where you are shipping.

Click “Save and Continue”

Cheers! You’ve successfully just created your first listing!

HOW YOU’LL GET PAID

Okay, now it’s time to chat about the fun stuff - finances!

You’ll need to select what type of seller you are: Individual or sole proprietorship, or incorporated business. Most sellers will be Individuals.

For tax purposes, you’ll need to tell Etsy a little more about yourself. This includes your full name, date of birth, SSN, and mailing address.

Next you’ll fill out bank information so that your funds can be sent to you! Hooray!

When you make a sale, Etsy will send your funds to the bank that you list here. You can also choose how often you want to get paid, but standard Etsy procedure is once every week.

SETUP BILLING

If you owe money at the end of the month that wasn’t covered in sales, Etsy will bill you. You will need to include a credit or debit card here to cover your Etsy bill.

Since I’ve created one listing so far, I owe $0.20 USD for the listing fee to Etsy. If I make no sales all month, I’ll still owe Etsy the $0.20 USD for my listing.

If I sell a set of cards, Etsy will take that $0.20 USD from my sale and I won’t owe Etsy anything! Cheers to that!

YOU DID IT!!

That’s it! Once you fill out your billing information, click “Open Your Shop” and your listing will be live on Etsy!

If you open an Etsy shop, I’d love to celebrate with you! Share a picture over on social media using the hashtag #brittanylettering! For even more ideas and business tips, follow @brittanylettering on Instagram!

Be sure to head over to the Etsy shop to find fun designs for your projects!

Happy crafting!
XO Brittany