STARTING AN ETSY SHOP | 6 Figure Etsy seller explains HOW TO START AN ETSY SHOP

About this video

Kate, who says one of her two Etsy shops is in the top 1% and is six figure, gives an 8-step approach. 1) Choose your product: ask what skills you have or can learn, what you are passionate about, how practical it is to ship (small jewelry vs a huge heavy wood sign), and whether it brings repeat customers vs being seasonal or one-and-done; niche down and specialize, and follow what is trending. 2) Pricing: factor your hourly rate, material costs, taxes paid quarterly, shipping and packaging, and Etsy’s fees as stated in the video — a 5% transaction fee, a 20 cent listing fee per new listing or renewal on sale, and a US payment processing fee of 3% plus 25 cents. Build shipping in and offer free shipping if possible because Etsy boosts those shops; source materials wholesale. 3) Branding as staging a house: logo, colors, banner and photography should signal professionalism; hire a professional if you can (she names Autumn Lane Paperie, with 15% off a first order). 4) Photography makes or breaks listings: up to 10 photos per listing, use natural light by the biggest window or a light box, clean backgrounds, plus simple clear shots and lifestyle/model shots; a smartphone is fine. 5) SEO: Etsy matches searches via tags, titles and descriptions; use Etsy’s search suggestions and long-tail keywords from a shopper’s second, narrower search, and check phrases on e-rank.com. 6) Shipping: manual, calculated or free; buy labels through Etsy with FedEx or USPS — she found FedEx more cost-effective for larger heavy boxes and USPS cheaper for small packages, noting FedEx charges for pickups and USPS does not; she recommends a shipping scale and a Dymo thermal label printer. 7) Marketing: Facebook groups, brand ambassadors given free product, discounts for friends and family but route every order through Etsy so sales boost the listing in search, collaborations/giveaways, and Etsy Ads mainly in slower times. 8) Best practices: earn five-star reviews with consistency, on-time shipping (extend processing time if busy), fast professional replies, and service recovery — replacement, refund or future discount — backed by clearly filled-out shop policies.

Key takeaways

• Niche down to one specialty product and check shipping practicality and repeat-purchase potential before committing
• Price in everything stated: your time, materials, taxes, shipping, 5% transaction fee, $0.20 listing fee, and 3% + $0.25 US processing fee
• Offer free shipping by building the cost into the price, because Etsy boosts free-shipping shops in search
• Use long-tail keywords from shoppers’ second, narrower search in titles, tags and descriptions; check demand on e-rank.com
• Route even friends-and-family orders through Etsy, and protect reviews with planned service recovery options

Episode details: published August 17, 2020 · 16:58 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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