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How to Sell Art on Etsy: The Ultimate Guide

Everything artists & designers need to know to succeed & make money on Etsy.

So you’re looking to sell art Etsy? You’re not alone. While traditionally, artists make the majority of their income through events, the post-covid world has brought about the need for change.

Most artists know that websites like Etsy and Redbubble are great ways to make money selling their art. Problem is, most artists lack the knowledge necessary to make a sustainable income.

My hope is that this guide can help my fellow artists win art selling art online with Etsy.

Create your Etsy shop.

Enamel pins? Game of Thrones fan art prints? Handmade jewelry? Your art, regardless of niche, has an army of potential buyers waiting to discover what you offer.

Creating an Etsy shop is pretty straightforward and can be done in just 8 steps. First, I’ll walk you through these steps. Then, share some tips from my own experience and from other Etsy sellers to help you succeed right away while avoiding the mistakes we made.

1. Create your Etsy Account

Too many artists let fear of judgement prevent them from sharing & selling their art online.

The truth is, your art doesn’t have to be ‘perfect’ (whatever perfect is). You just need the right people to be aware of your art.

That’s why you need to be where people are, and Etsy is that place. 

You can set up an account with Etsy by clicking on the “Sell on Etsy” link, entering your best email, name, and password. Then, click “Register,” and you’re set to continue.

Note: Etsy also gives you the option to create an Etsy account through your Google, Facebook, or Apple account. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you’ll remember the password to. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to reset mine. 

 

2. Choose your Etsy shop preferences

On this screen, the info you’re entering enables Etsy to know where your shop is located & the language uses should see when visiting your shop.

Note: If your bank currency is different from your shop currency, you’ll incur currency conversion fees (2.5% of the sale amount) when customers make purchases. This is a pretty rare circumstance, but worth knowing.

3. Name your Etsy Account

Naming your Etsy shop can feel both simple and overwhelming at the same time. This is potentially your first branding decision for you as a business owner.

Either, you want to be the ‘face of your brand’ and will name your Etsy shop after yourself like I did (Travis Vaught Art) OR you want to create a brand around an unrelated name or concept “(ex. Midnight Jewelery; Fox Den Design, etc).

There are advantages to both that I’ll explain in a minute. But if this is becoming overwhelming, I encourage you to pick one and date it for a bit. You’re not married to this name; you can always change your Etsy shop name later. 

4. Add Products to Your Etsy Shop

To make sales on Etsy, you’ll need to creating product listings. Each listing is one of your products. If you can have multiple copies of the same product, don’t list it more than once. Etsy has an option to list how many copies are in your inventory.

Once you’re sold out, the product listing won’t let anyone else buy it, so don’t worry about people buying products you don’t have.

There are 6 easy steps to setting up a product listing on Etsy. Those are:

  1. Upload Pictures
  2. Position Your Thumbnail
  3. Add the details
  4. List your inventory & pricing
  5. Select Shipping & Price Info
  6. Publish that bad boy

Upload Pictures

To make sales on Etsy, you’ll need to creating product listings. Each listing is one of your products. If you can have multiple copies of the same product, don’t list it more than once. Etsy has an option to list how many copies are in your inventory.

Once you’re sold out, the product listing won’t let anyone else buy it, so don’t worry about people buying products you don’t have.

There are 6 easy steps to setting up a product listing on Etsy. Those are:

  1. Upload Pictures
  2. Position Your Thumbnail
  3. Add the details
  4. List your inventory & pricing
  5. Select Shipping & Price Info
  6. Publish that bad boy

What advice would you give an artist who’s sharing on social media for the first time? Share with me on Facebook here.

Interested in seeing my art for reference? Click the button below to view my art portfolio.

Address

Inman, SC 29349, USA
(706) 401-4027

Commission

Available by Request. Please direct message on Facebook or Instagram for the quickest response.

Copyright Travis Vaught. All Rights Reserved.