Helping Creative Wantreprenuers become Entrepreneurs with Purpose
Interested in opening your own Etsy shop? Not sure where to begin? Get my step-by-step directions on getting started.
From naming your business to paying yourself, read #allthethings on launching
(or growing) your creative business!
Looking to talk to an expert about your creative ideas + business dreams? I offer one-on-one coaching and mentorship.
You’ve opened up your Etsy shop, now what?
So you’ve read my getting started on Etsy guide, stocked your shop, and shared your new venture with friends and family. All the hard work is done, right? If you think it’s time to sit back, relax, and wait for sales – you are going to be disappointed.
After you open your Etsy shop, the real fun begins! There’s still work to be done, I mean this is a growing business, right?
If you’re like me, hearing “what do you want for Christmas?” leads me to feeling materialistic and unfulfilled. Gift giving can be hard, but I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite things that any Etsy seller would love! There’s no guilt in wanting to support your biz.
Add these to your Christmas list and share with your family so they know exactly what you want – to help you grow your business in 2019!
Handmade Biz Financial Bundle If you’re struggling with bookkeeping, finances, pricing, expenses, or inventory – this favorite is a must have! The bundle includes the Etsy Seller Spreadsheet (bookkeeping template designed for makers selling on Etsy), Inventory and Pricing Spreadsheet (compute your costs, organize your materials, and formulate pricing including expenses) and video tutorials to teach you exactly how to use these tools!
Goal Getter Planner This makes for the perfect stocking stuffer! I love the simplicity of this planner and the motivational quotes included. At only $7 you can buy one for yourself and one to gift.
I highly recommend Pinterest for Etsy sellers – it’s my favorite marketing platform and new improvements are making it even better. I’m going to tell you exactly why I think it’s the best, how to connect your Etsy shop to your Pinterest account, and how to make the most out of the platform. I’ve included a free checklist at the bottom of this post with step-by-step directions on setting everything up!
Setting up an Etsy shop and waiting isn’t enough. Actually, doing that is a major biz fail. Etsy is wonderful, but you don’t become a business by just opening a shop. You have to drive traffic from other sources to the platform if you really want your sales to grow – and if you want this to be more than just a hobby.
When you add content to Pinterest (a pin), it is similar to planting a seed. Water the seed, maintain the plant, and watch it grow! The sooner you get started on Pinterest the better. As your pins continue to get re-pins, your content reach gains traction. A product you pinned a year ago could lead to traffic today.
Posts on other social media platforms (I’m looking at you Facebook and Instagram) have a very short life. According to Copypress.com, the average life span of an Instagram post is about 48 hours but engagement starts to taper after 6. Facebook posts only last about 5 hours. Crazy, right? That’s why I love Pinterest for Etsy sellers – it’s like the gift that keeps on giving!
You’ve spent your time choosing a perfect shop name, mastering your product, and taking photos but the cha-chings haven’t started rolling in yet. It can be so frustrating to feel like the time you invested in getting set up is wasted.
I hear it all the time – people become very impatient when they don’t get their first sale quickly. They start wondering what they did wrong and begin pondering if starting an Etsy shop was even worth it.
If you’re reading this, you might be one of said people. And I’ve gotta tell you to slow your roll and/or hold your horses because Etsy success does not happen overnight! Giving up on your shop will guarantee that you never get that first sale. Continuing to invest your time, put work into it, and try new strategies ensures that it will happen. I promise!
Summer is quickly approaching (finally and YAY!) and there’s no better time to start an Etsy shop.
If you don’t know my story – I started my Etsy shop in 2013 with a handful of items and little clue what I was doing. I made my first sale within 24 hours and went on to sell over $1,300 my very first month! You can read the story of how I got started right here.
I quickly realized the potential of turning my hobby into an online business. Now, over five years later, I get to work in my business full time (I’m the boss, I get to create every day, and I no longer dread Mondays!) AND get to help other people do the same.
So, why should you start an Etsy shop right now?