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Oct 07 2020

How to Start An Etsy Shop: 3 Of Your Biggest Questions Answered

If you’ve been wondering how to start an Etsy shop, you might be intimidated by the process and unsure of how to even get started, much less how to enter the competitive marketplace and get seen in front of your customers. After all, Etsy is currently the top global ecommerce marketplace for creative, handcrafted and artisan products. It boasts an estimated 60 million active shoppers and over 3 million sellers using the platform worldwide.

But don’t worry, we are here to help. We’ll answer 3 of your biggest questions on how to start an Etsy shop: what do you need to get started, how much does it cost, and how to optimize your shop to stand out.

Image source: Etsy, 2020

How to Start an Etsy Shop: What Do I Need? 

Etsy does a great job of walking you through each step of the Shop creation process. To break it down simply, listed below are 5 of the most important things to be prepared with as you learn how to start an Etsy shop. 

  1. Account. First things first! If you haven’t already, sign up for a free account on Etsy.com. You can also click on the “Open Your Etsy Shop” button on the Etsy website to get started immediately.
  2. Shop name. It is best to think ahead and have your shop name ready before opening, because you can only change it once later on. Choose a name that is easy to pronounce and remember that it reflects your products or mission. You might want to do additional research ahead of time like checking domain names or social media handles to match your business name. Note: Your shop name cannot be longer than 20 characters and cannot contain spaces or punctuation.
  3. Products. You’ll need to have at least one item ready to list as you make your way through the checklist to start an Etsy store. Etsy recommends having 10 solid products to start out with, and further suggests having 5-10 high quality photos of each item that show variation and detail of your product for customers to view. We’ll talk more about optimizing these listings later on.
  4. Bank account and credit card. Etsy will ask you for the bank account that you will want funds delivered to as you make sales. Furthermore, you’ll need a credit card on file that will be charged for Etsy’s selling fees.
  5. Branding. The last thing you’ll want to have ready for when you start an Etsy page is a professional-looking brand that includes a logo, profile photo, and banner image. First impressions are huge, and as a new shop joining over 3 million sellers, you will want to stand out from the competition with quality visuals. We’ll discuss this further down below as well.

How to Start an Etsy Shop: How Much Does it Cost?

While it is free to create an account and start an Etsy store, there are certain selling fees that Etsy requires of business owners who choose to use their platform. Let’s break it down to the most important fees.

  1. Etsy Listing fee: $.20
    It costs 20 cents to post one “listing” in your Etsy shop, which expires after 4 months, or whenever it sells.
    For example: If you post one listing of an amber necklace with a quantity of 10, you will be charged $0.20. If none of the items sell in 4 months, then you will be charged an additional $0.20 to renew the listing. When a customer purchases a necklace, the listing fee applies since you have made a sale and now need to “list” again for the remaining items. Essentially, this more or less breaks down to being $0.20 per item that you sell. So if a customer bought 3 necklaces in one transaction, the cost to you would be $.60.
  1. Etsy Transaction fee
    Etsy charges sellers a 5% transaction fee for each order. The 5% is applied to the total price you charge your customer, which includes shipping, gift wrapping, and customization. For example, if you sell a $10 item with free shipping and the customer purchases gift wrapping for $3, Etsy will take 5% of $13 for a total transaction fee of $0.65.
  1. Etsy Payment Processing fee
    Etsy sellers in the US can accept payment straight through the site with what is called “Etsy Payments,” or they can accept payment through Paypal. With Etsy Payments, the processing fee is 3% plus $0.25 for each transaction, and with Paypal it is 2.9% plus $.30 for each transaction.

Let’s recap quickly and break this down into a real-life example to understand the fees associated with one listing. Suppose you are selling a t-shirt for $22 and charge $3 for shipping. The fees for this listing would be as follows: 

  • $0.20 to list the shirt in your shop
  • 5% of the sale (the item price + shipping cost) =  $1.25
  • 3% plus $.25 if they paid with Etsy Payments = $1.00

Total Etsy fees for your t-shirt listing: $2.45

If you have your listings set to auto-renew, you would then be charged another $0.20 to list the t-shirt again, and the process repeats itself.

How To Start an Etsy Shop: How Do I Optimize My Shop to Stand Out? 

Now that you’ve learned the basics of how to start an Etsy shop, let’s focus on the next important steps: optimizing your shop to get it ready to be seen and loved by customers. Here are some key tips that will help your Etsy shop earn reliability, and gain traction. 

  1. Fill out every section of your bio and shop information. From your new shop storefront page, click “Edit Shop” and make sure to complete every section. Add a profile photo, shop owner bio, and About Me section. You can even upload some photos and videos to have a more personal introduction or show behind the scenes. When customers visit your shop, they should be able to quickly learn the basics about what you sell, who you are, and why you stand out from the competition.
  1. Set up your Shop Policies. This is beneath the About section, and it includes important information like your shipping details, refunds and cancelations, and privacy policy. Make sure there’s clear communication so that customers understand the expectations when they purchase from you. This is where you might also want the help of an attorney to draft a professional privacy policy for you. Etsy has some helpful tips on how to write a privacy policy that meets GDPR standards, if you are planning on selling to the UK.
  2. Have professional branding across your shop. From the banner image to the packaging and business cards, your brand matters. Having a consistent logo, tagline, color scheme, and/or graphics across your shop can have a profound impact on the way people identify with your brand. Many shops don’t take advantage of the free “real estate” that is the banner image of the shop. This is a great place to “wow” potential customers with your brand aesthetic. If you’re struggling with the design process, contact us today for our professional branding and design services. 
  1. Start out with as many listings as possible. You’re only required to post one listing when you first start an Etsy page. However, it is a good strategy to have as many listings as possible ready for your customers when you open. Etsy recommends 10, but you can start with as many as you want. Not only does it help you look legitimate and serious about what you have to offer as a brand new seller, but it also highly increases the likelihood that customers will click around your shop and be interested in other listings while they’re shopping. 
  1. Be consistent with new listings. To piggyback off tip #4, it is vital that you are regularly updating your shop with new listings. This will draw new traffic to your shop, help boost your search results, and increase your chances of being found by shoppers. In our research, we have found that generally it is a good rule of thumb to try to reach around 100 listings. Of course there are exceptions, especially if you sell more high-ticket or custom goods, like this shop’s handmade pikler triangles, for example.
  1. Purchase professional mockups to display your items. Another great way to stand out from the competition is to use professional mockup photos for your shop items. This is ideal for shops that are selling digital items, t-shirts, mugs, and other print-on-demand products that they will want to show off professionally. See this example of a digital painting, where the mockups show what it would look like hanging in a home. You can search on Etsy or sites like CreativeMarket.com to find mockups that fit your brand and aesthetic. Most of the time they come with easy instructions on how to use them. 
  1. Have clear and comprehensive listing descriptions. What is included in your listing? What will the client receive? Is it a physical item, a digital download, and is it framed, or packaged, or does it come in a set? Make sure that it is abundantly clear within the first few sentences of the listing exactly what your customer is purchasing. From there, add more helpful details you think will be valuable. This includes tips like how to download a digital file, what kind of t-shirt fabric and sizing to expect, or how to care for the product. Finally, add a personal touch in your description that connects you with your ideal client. This could be a short sentence on why the product is important to you, or what went into the work behind the item. Once you’ve grabbed someone’s attention with a great listing photo (tip #6), this is the next most important piece to encouraging more sales.
  1. Connect your social media accounts and share across your platforms. Go to Shop Manager > Marketing > Social Media to connect your Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter accounts. From that page, you’ll now be able to quickly and easily share new listings, sales and coupons, and even fun shop milestones. Think about more ways you can be engaging with your ideal customers and link to your shop from your social media platforms. 
  1. Run sales and promotions and advertise across your shop. Also under the Marketing settings is an option to offer coupons or sales. This is a great way to welcome your customers to your brand new shop. You can easily set up a “GrandOpening” coupon code to kickstart your launch. Let everyone know about your sale in the “Announcements” section of your store front (you can find that when by viewing your storefront and clicking Edit Shop). Other ideas: place the coupon code in the banner image, add it into your listing descriptions, and promote it across your social media. As a brand new shop entering a big marketplace, you have nothing to lose by offering an initial discount to encourage new shoppers to purchase from you. 

That’s It!

We’ve covered all the basics on how to start an Etsy shop. If you follow the advice here, you will be well on your way to launching a professional-looking, credible Etsy storefront. Stay tuned for our next article, where we’ll be diving into how to use search engine optimization (SEO) to get your shop in front of your ideal customers. 

If you’re still feeling intimidated and would like professional help from an SEM Agency on getting your Etsy shop branded and optimized, please contact us today. Summit Digital Marketing also offers advanced SEO services as well as various PPC advertising management services for anyone looking to advance their business and brand beyond Etsy.   

Written by Summit Digital Marketing · Categorized: Ecommerce · Tagged: how to start an etsy shop, how to start an etsy store

Aug 15 2018

How To Optimize Your Google My Business Listing: Seven Action Steps Anyone Can Follow to Improve Their Local SEO [2019 Edition]

If you’re a local business, one of the best and most affordable ways to get found online is with a Google My Business (GMB) listing.

What is a Google My Business Listing? It’s how you get your business listed on Google; How you can “get on the map,” so to speak. And the best part? It’s free.

Chicago

According to Google, “Local results are based primarily on relevance, distance, and prominence. These factors are combined to help find the best match for your search.” In this blog post, we’ll walk you through how to claim, verify, and set up your Google My Business listing. We’ll also show you seven practical ways to optimize your Google My Business listing, to help boost your business’s visibility, traffic, and lead generation. [Read more…]

Written by Roman Randall · Categorized: SEO

Apr 07 2018

How To Lower AdWords Cost Per Click (CPC): Pay Less For More AdWords Clicks By Improving These Two Areas

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Companies thrive on improvements and positive increases. Whether you’re a start-up company, well-established organization, or somewhere in between, everyone can benefit by setting goals or creating SMART objectives to achieve. A great attainable goal to set for your company this year is to pay less for your AdWords clicks. How can you do this? How can you lower your Adwords CPC? Is there a special cheat code you can type in Google to lower your cost per click? Are there click vouchers or something?

How To Lower Your AdWords Cost Per Click

Unfortunately, there is no specific “How To Lower Adwords CPC” handbook with cheat codes and vouchers. However, there are things you can do to pay less for more AdWords clicks and simultaneously put money back into your wallet. By having a properly organized AdWords account structure and the most relative ads possible, your click-through-rate and cost-per-click will reflect how relevant your ads are. Continue reading to gain professional insight on how to lower your AdWords cost per click (CPC). [Read more…]

Written by Bailey Brown · Categorized: Google Ads

Nov 15 2017

Google® AdWords Tips: Five Things That Helped Us Achieve A 10.68% Average Conversion Rate for Our Clients

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Summary: Last year, we achieved a 10.68% average conversion rate for our clients using Google AdWords. Here are the top five factors that contributed to this success, which you can implement in your own AdWords campaign.

According to our dedicated reps at Google, the average AdWords conversion rate is 2%. Last year, the average conversion rate for our clients was 10.68% — more than 5x the average:

And this year, our average client’s AdWords conversion rate is right around 10%, as well. (Some of our clients are getting 15%+ conversion rates!) So, what factors go into a high converting AdWords account? Let’s dive into that.

Google AdWords Tips: Five Steps to a 10.68% Conversion Rate

Google AdWords is an incredibly effective tool, that allows you to get in front of potential buyers with the right message and offer at the right time. However, it’s also easy to make costly mistakes without knowing it. With some knowledge and practice, you can avoid these pitfalls ahead of time and set yourself up for success.

Conversion rate = The percentage of visitors that turn into leads. [Read more…]

Written by Roman Randall · Categorized: Google Ads, PPC, Search Engine Marketing

Aug 14 2017

Get Found Online: How Small Businesses and Nonprofits Can Improve Their Online Presence.

In 2016, the verb “to google” was finally added to the Oxford English Dictionary, despite years of consistent use. Each year, Time Magazine releases a list of the most “googled” terms for that year. This list in 2016 contained words such as Trump, Hillary Clinton, Prince, Hurricane Matthew, and Pokémon Go. If you find yourself feeling guilty of googling any of these words, don’t worry! So did the rest of the world.

Needless to say, the past two decades we have seen Google take over the world. For some, such as the Alaskan Bush People, they choose to hide from the technological advances of the world and rely on nature and what they can do with their own hands. For others, such as people probably reading this post, we have made it our mission to advance WITH the world and embrace what our brilliant human race has created. Get Found On Google

This leads me to my hard thought topic of discussion. With the power of not only Google, but the entire World Wide Web, the possibilities are endless. Our culture is a culture of a get-rich-quick-reality-tv-vlogging-do-it-yourself-pinterest-loving phenomenon. I am definitely not critiquing these people because I am unashamedly next in line to try to take Joanna Gaines’ place on HGTV. But there is a constant theme here and that is this: Get found online. Everyone wants to “go viral,” as my dad would say. [Read more…]

Written by Bailey Brown · Categorized: Digital Marketing

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  • How to Start An Etsy Shop: 3 Of Your Biggest Questions Answered
  • How To Optimize Your Google My Business Listing: Seven Action Steps Anyone Can Follow to Improve Their Local SEO [2019 Edition]
  • How To Lower AdWords Cost Per Click (CPC): Pay Less For More AdWords Clicks By Improving These Two Areas
  • Google® AdWords Tips: Five Things That Helped Us Achieve A 10.68% Average Conversion Rate for Our Clients
  • Get Found Online: How Small Businesses and Nonprofits Can Improve Their Online Presence.
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