How to Start an Etsy Shop Step by Step in 2026 💻 (Etsy Shop for Beginners Setup Tutorial)

About this video

Kate Hayes walks step by step through opening an Etsy shop in the current setup flow. Using her referral link gives the first 40 listings free, she says; the seller registers with email, name, and password, then completes shop preferences (language, category, currency) and names the shop (4 to 20 characters, no spaces, special characters, or accented letters). Next is how you’ll get paid: choosing bank country, seller type for tax purposes (individual/sole proprietorship or incorporated business), personal details, and connecting a bank account via Plaid, with the name on the Etsy account matching the bank account. Identity is verified through Persona by photographing a government ID and taking a selfie, with express or manual review and a possible 1 to 3 day wait. She notes a one-time $29 setup fee due at setup, explains the billing-info step, and describes the optional Etsy Plus offer at $10 a month, with 15 listing credits and $5 in Etsy Ads credits and the setup fee credited back after 6 months. A first listing is no longer created during setup, but she stresses SEO research for the title, tags, description, category, and attributes, demonstrating Sales Samurai keyword research and citing a free 3-day trial and her code Kate 20 for 20% off. The final step is shop security: turning on two-factor authentication, preferably via an authenticator app, and saving backup codes before reaching the shop dashboard.

Key takeaways

• Shop names must be 4 to 20 characters with no spaces, special characters, or accented letters
• Bank connection is done via Plaid and the name on the Etsy account must match the bank account name exactly
• Identity verification through Persona uses a government ID photo and a selfie and can take 1 to 3 days
• A one-time $29 setup fee is due at setup; Etsy Plus at $10 a month is optional
• Listing SEO depends on the title, tags, description, category, and attributes, researched with a tool such as Sales Samurai

Episode details: published February 24, 2026 · 15:12 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Kate Hayes’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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