Etsy is a great platform for selling vintage or handmade items, art, and craft supplies.

And It’s a great way to make money from the comfort of your home.

Even I know some Etsy sellers who are making full-time living with their Etsy business.

I know you are also having thought of starting your own Etsy shop right?

Don’t worry, in this blog post, we will discuss what you need to do before officially launching your Etsy Shop.

Let’s take a look at each of them one by one.

What To Do Before Opening An Etsy Shop (2022)

Opening an Etsy shop is a great way to be your own boss and start making a living off. However, before opening an Etsy shop, there are a few things you should do in order to be successful.

1. Choosing Your Niche

When it comes to choosing a niche for your Etsy shop, it is important to think about what you are good at and what you enjoy making.

You also want to make sure that there is a market for the products you plan to sell. Do some research online to see what types of products are popular on Etsy, and brainstorm ideas based on what you find.

For eg., if you love making custom jewelry, then think about what type of jewelry is in demand and start from there.

How To Find a Successful Niche On Etsy?

One way to determine whether or not a niche is successful is to look at the competition and other etsy shop owners.

If there are a lot of shops selling similar products, that may be a sign that there is a demand for them. However, if the competition is too extreme, it may be difficult to make sales.

Another thing to consider is whether or not you can stand out from the crowd.

While competition is good, you also want to be unique so that customers will choose your shop over others. To do this, focus on what makes your products different from what’s already available on Etsy and use this as a selling point in your descriptions and photos.

And also make sure that you can deliver the best quality product to your customers in that particular category otherwise you might fail even before you start.

2. Decide What You’re Going To Sell

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s important to take some time to think about what products you want to offer.

What are you passionate about? What do you have experience with? What do you think people would be interested in buying from you?

Once you’ve decided on your focus, do some research to see what other shops are offering and how they’re pricing their items.

This will help you determine what kinds of products are in demand and how much competition there is in your chosen market. It’s also important to consider the cost of materials and shipping when setting your prices.

3. Choosing a Name and Logo

Your Etsy shop’s name and logo are important for creating a brand that customers will remember.

When choosing a name, make sure it is easy to spell and pronounce, and that it accurately represents your products. The logo should be simple and should reflect the style of your shop.

If you don’t know how to create a logo then search on Google and you will find many free logo makers, you can also use everyone’s favorite canva.com.

How To decide on An Etsy Shop Name?

Some of the best Etsy shop names are short and catchy, like “Vintage Cottage” or “Girly Boutique”.

Try to make yours as memorable as possible by using alliteration (words that start with the same letter) in your name like Boss Babe Boutique.

It is also important that your Etsy shop’s name is easy for customers to spell.

You can use some tools like the google keyword planner tool to find the best suitable name for your Etsy account.

How To Make A Logo For Your Shop?

There are many free logo-maker tools available on the internet but my personal favorite one is of course canva.

You can create awesome-looking logos in just a matter of minutes using their premade logo templates, all you have to do is just replace the text with your shop name.

A quick tip: Use a vector or illustration inside your logo that matches your shop’s theme and represents the products being sold in order to attract customers.

Creating a “Shop Title” is also helpful, as it allows potential customers to know what they can expect from your shop in just a few words. A good example of this would be “Handmade Custom jewelry for Ladies.”

4. Test Your Product

This is probably the most important step in the pre-launch checklist!

Before you launch your Etsy shop, it is important to test your products and make sure they are up to standard. This means ensuring that their quality is good.

If you are not happy with the quality of your products, it is better to fix these issues before listing them in your shop.

This will help ensure that customers are happy with their purchases and are more likely to come back in the future with good reviews.

Etsy customers are always looking for quality items so make sure you do all the testing before you ship the item.

How To Test your Products?

The best way to test your physical products is to get feedback from your friends and family.

Just offer them your product for eg. jewelry and ask them whether they liked it or not. You can also ask them for any corrections that they want in the product.

After gritting the feedback you can work on the product again and make it perfect before actually putting it on sale.

Digital products like eBooks, Canva templates, Planners, and Printables are very easy to test. Just offer your products to random people on social media who are interested in that category and ask them for feedback.

For example, if you are selling “Home Cleaning Planner” you can reach out to mothers on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest and offer them your planner for free and ask them for feedback.

5. Choose The Price Range For Your Products

One of the most important things to consider when starting an Etsy shop is how much you should charge for each item.

When deciding on a price, take into consideration all aspects that go into making or sourcing an item:

How much time did it take to make?

How many materials were used in production?

How much money was spent on those supplies?

How many sales should be made in order for this product to cover its costs?

How much do competitors charge for similar items?

The price of the product is one of the most important factors that will determine whether your shop is successful. If you set a price too high, customers may not want to buy from you; if it’s too low, you may not make enough money to cover the costs of production.

It is important to find a price that is fair to the customer and allows you to make a profit when starting an Etsy shop.

Not only Etsy, but this thing is also applicable to all types of eCommerce businesses.

6. Get a Business License & a Separate Bank Account

It is recommended to get a business license whenever you start a new business, however, it is not compulsory in the case of Etsy. Even many Etsy sellers operate without a proper business license.

But before starting an Etsy shop, I highly recommend you get a separate bank account for your Etsy Shop.

This will allow you to keep track of the money that comes in and out of your shop.

You can either use Etsy payments or Paypal to accept payments from your customers and then transfer that amount to your business bank account.

You can also set up your Etsy payments account and attach your debit/credit card for doing all the Etsy related payments using your business account.

Also Read: Is Etsy Legit or Scam?

This way, you can keep track of how well your shop is doing financially and make sure that all the money earned from Etsy sales is being deposited into this account.

7. Learn About Etsy Fees

Before starting an online business, it is important to learn about all the business expenses related to that.

If you’re thinking about opening an Etsy shop, you need to take care of the fees associated with selling on the etsy marketplace.

While there is no charge to open an Etsy shop, sellers are responsible for paying a listing fee and a transaction fee for each item they sell.

Etsy charges listing fees of 20 cents per item, and a 6.5% transaction fee on the total price that you display for the item including shipping and gift wrapping.

These are just basic fees that do not include any advertising fees like Etsy ads and offsite ads, as you can pay Etsy to promote your products on the Etsy search and get more sales.

8. Learn To Take Good Product Pictures

One of the most important aspects of an Etsy shop is the product photos.

Even most of the successful Etsy shops have one thing in common and that is professional product photos.

As a shop owner, If your photos are not high quality, customers may be less likely to buy from you. This is because poor-quality photos can make it difficult for customers to see what they are buying.

When taking product pictures, remember to:

– Use good lighting

– Take multiple pictures from different angles

– Use a clear background

– Make sure the items are well-staged

– Make sure there are no distracting elements in the photo (like other items or furniture)

It is also important to use a consistent product photography style across all of your product photos. This will help customers recognize your shop and know what to expect when they visit it.

Product descriptions are also a very important part of an Etsy Shop. How? They give customers more information about the product and help them decide whether or not they want to buy it.

So not only the photos but the description also matters.

To write a good product description, start by giving an overview of your item (what it is, what it does). Then go into more detail about how customers can benefit from using this particular product or service.

Also Read: How To Add Product Variations To your Etsy Listing To Get More Sales

9. Learn About Etsy SEO

Etsy SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of optimizing your shop and listings to rank higher in Etsy’s search results.

When customers are looking for a specific type of item, they will use Etsy’s search bar to find what they’re looking for.

If you want your shop to be found by these potential customers, you need to optimize your listings so they show up in those results!

You also need to have a good knowledge of keywords.

You can check out or guide to boost your Etsy sales from Day 1.

What are keywords?

Keywords are words or phrases that people use when searching for items on Etsy. If you include those keywords in your listings and titles, your shop will show up higher in the search results!

For example, If someone is looking for a “coffee mug with a cat on it” they might type that phrase into the Etsy search bar. If you have included that phrase as a keyword in your listing, your shop will show up higher in the results than shops that don’t include that keyword.

For your keyword research purpose, I suggest you invest in a good Etsy SEO Tool like eRank which I personally use.

The more you know about Etsy SEO, the better chance you will have of getting your shop found by potential customers.

10. Learn About Pinterest

Pinterest is a powerful tool for promoting your Etsy shop. In order to make the most of Pinterest, it is important to learn how the platform works and understand what types of pins are more likely to be seen by potential customers.

In general, pins that have a high-quality image, a catchy headline, and relevant keywords are more likely to be seen by people who are interested in your products.

To learn more about how Pinterest works and how to create pins that will promote your shop, check out our blog post on How To Use Pinterest For Your Etsy Shop.

11. Read Etsy Rules and Regulations (Seller’s Handbook)

Before opening your Etsy Shop, you need to read all the etsy’s guidelines and regulations.

Etsy has certain requirements for products that can be sold on their platform, as well as a list of prohibited items.

Make sure you understand what is allowed (and not allowed) before posting any listings in your shop!

If you violate the rules, your shop could be suspended and you may lose your account forever.

You can find the Seller’s Handbook here.

12. Focus On Branding

Branding means creating an identity for your Etsy Shop by having a consistent look and feel across all of your listings, social media accounts, website pages, packaging, thank you cards etc.

This includes using the same color scheme or logo on everything from product packaging to business cards so that customers know it’s coming from you!

So make sure to put some thought into your branding and create a look that represents you and your shop.

Don’t know how to create consistent branding?

You can check out our Etsy branding bundles made inside canva, just buy any of them, edit them using Canva, download them and get them printed online or by your nearest printing shop.

13. Create Your Own Website

If you’re thinking about opening an Etsy shop to sell your handmade goods, you might want to consider creating your own site first. Here are a few reasons why it’s important to have your own website in addition to an Etsy shop.

First, when you have your own website, you’re not as reliant on Etsy for traffic. You can use search engine optimization techniques to attract visitors to your site, and social media to drive traffic there as well.

Having your own website also gives you more control over how you present your brand and what kind of customer experience you provide.

Another reason why it’s important to have your own website is that it can be a more reliable source of income than relying on Etsy sales alone.

FAQ

Is it hard to start an Etsy shop?

Well just opening an Etsy store is way too simple but opening it correctly with all the planning and plotting can be tricky for some people. That’s why we have created this article for you.

We have also written many articles on Etsy, you can check them out here on our blog.

What do I need to open an Etsy shop?

Well previously, you were only needed to have an Email id to open your Etsy store but I guess they have changed some rules for some countries. Now sellers have to go through a manual verification process by the Etsy team.

You can try creating an Etsy shop and just follow all the instructions that Etsy asks you to do.

How many items do you need to open an Etsy shop?

There is no minimum requirement for items needed to open an Etsy shop. You can start selling online with just one listing if you’d like. The important thing is to make sure your items are high quality and accurately described.

If you’re just starting out, it’s probably a good idea to start with a small number of items. This way you can get a feel for how the Etsy marketplace works and see what sells well. Once you have a better idea of what people are looking for, you can add more listings to your shop.

Final Tips For Opening An Etsy Shop

Stay consistent, provide high-quality products with great customer service and engage with your audience.

Treat your Etsy shop as a business not just as a shop.

You should focus on creating a brand so that people will know you by your name.

With a few simple steps, you will be ready to start your new Etsy shop.

If you have any questions about what we’ve discussed here today or how it can help make the pre-launch process smoother for your new business venture, please let us know! We are always happy to provide as much guidance as possible and talk through all of the details with you.

Rohit Lohia

Hey there! I’m Rohit Lohia, a passionate SEO enthusiast and the proud founder of Branded Bucks. I’m all about helping small business owners achieve success online through my blog. Join me on this exciting journey as we explore ways to make money online and build a thriving digital presence.