Calling all crafters, artists, and creatives! Did you know that you can easily turn your hobby into a business with Etsy?
“Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. It’s home to a universe of special, extraordinary items, from unique handcrafted pieces to vintage treasures”
Ety’s mission is to keep human connection at the heart of commerce. Etsy is powered by creatives connecting buyers and sellers around the world for the purchase and sale of special pieces with the human touch. ❤️
What is Etsy?
Etsy is a global marketplace that is most known for handmade and custom masterpieces.
On Etsy, you sell handmade items, vintage items, and craft supplies.
Handmade goods are those made or designed by the seller and range from clothing to décor and everything in between (including digital downloads, printables, or products with original designs).
With over 6 million sellers and 90 million global buyers, Etsy is a place where creativity and commerce meet for entrepreneurs to turn their craft into cash.
Etsy truly encompasses the spirit of “shop small,” providing sellers a place to personalize their virtual storefront and buyers a place to support small sellers in their craft.
To learn everything you need to know about how to get started selling on Etsy, check out A Reseller’s Guide to Etsy.
Turning Crafts into Cash
Etsy is a global marketplace where crafters can feature their products and projects on a customized virtual storefront.
Etsy makes it easier than ever to get your masterpieces in front of a global audience, walking you through the process. Etsy allows you to showcase yourself, your business, and your products while helping you to navigate the difficult aspects of the business such as payment processing, shipping, and sales tax.
Top-Etsy seller Leslie from I Reworked It explains, “Etsy provides a platform where creatives can make money doing something that brings them joy.”
Etsy even offers marketing opportunities through Etsy Ads and Offsite Ads, where you can increase exposure to your listings with a marketing budget.
Etsy provides the tools and audience to turn your passion into profit by “creating a space for the hobbyist to the experienced to showcase their art and sell to buyers around the world.” -Lelise, I Reworked It 🌎
How to Get Started Selling on Etsy
Creating an Etsy Account takes only a few moments, and Etsy walks you through the steps to personalize your storefront and upload your creations!
The Etsy listing form is exactly what you would expect;
First, you can upload your photos and even a listing video to show off your products!
Check out this stunning handmade crochet cardigan by Leslie on Etsy!
Etsy Tip: Capture great photos! There are many talented crafters on Etsy which makes for a lot of competition! Make your products stand out by showing creative photographs, modeled images, etc. These vibrant, unique, modeled photos by Leslie are literally perfect. 😍
Next, you will create a detailed title:
Etsy allows for the most characters in the description; you have 140 characters to optimize your title for Etsy SEO (search engine optimization).
In the example above, Leslie utilizes the title to describe the item vividly with keywords!
Your Etsy Description is Important, too:
The more detail, the better; not only to enhance search engine optimization but to showcase your item and build trust with your buyers.
In this description, Lelise provides all the details about the item as well as measurements so buyers can purchase with confidence!
Your description is incredibly important, as you want to maximize search engine optimization (SEO). The best way to do this is to think like a buyer! Make sure you have all of the keywords that a buyer would type into the search bar if they were looking for items like yours!
Finally, you will fill out the item attributes which are listing fields with details about your item. If you offer personalization, you can provide that information as well.
Plus, you can also use up to thirteen hashtags on Etsy to help buyers find your products:
These are the tags in the description for Leslie’s cardigan, and we’re obsessed. 🌈
For a step-by-step to the Etsy listing process, shipping information, and more, check out A Reseller’s Guide to Etsy.
Etsy Seller Spotlight: Leslie
See how Leslie turned her creativity and love of crafting into a successful business and brand on Etsy!
Leslie is a crafter, crochet designer, up-cycler, tie-dye creative, reseller, and entrepreneur. She’s also a mother, wife, podcaster, Youtuber, live seller, content creator, and community mentor, amongst other things ✨
Leslie grew up in Philadelphia and has been a creative artist her entire life. As a professional baker, she has worked in several cafes and bakeries, and she started crocheting at the age of ten! 🧶
In addition to baking and crocheting, Leslie paints, sews, and does so much more! She particularly enjoys upcycling and DIY projects to create amazing masterpieces!
Fun Fact: Leslie is a supermom, with five children, five stepchildren, and a granddaughter!
How Leslie turned her hobby into a business!
Nearly twenty years ago, Leslie started selling her crochet items to friends. Many of her first customers were the parents of her daughter’s preschool friends! Just like that, a business was born. ✨
A true entrepreneur, Lelise balanced both her crochet business and a dessert business that specializes in desserts for people with food allergies.
She grew her crafting business when she started to tie dying in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. Her tie-dye business has taken off as well! Check out her pieces, they’re 🔥
Leslie has been selling on Etsy since 2005! She features her amazing collection of crochet, tie-dye, hand-painted, and reworked pieces on her Etsy Shop IReworked It.
Leslie truly epitomizes the perfect merging of creativity, passion, and entrepreneurship.
In addition to her beautiful crochet masterpieces, she takes boring, old, or flawed items and reworks them into something unique and beautiful. Leslie promotes sustainability with her eco-friendly practices and business model.
“Remember your why.” -Leslie, I Reworked It!
Having followed Leslie for years and having the pleasure of hearing her speak in reselling events and forums, something she says has always stuck with me: “Remember your why.”
Leslie, through her wisdom and experience, has always kept passion and inspiration at the forefront of everything she does. Leslie’s why has evolved over the years of entrepreneurship. As a mom of little ones, her why was to provide for them. As a mama of adult children, her whys are passion and enjoyment.
Leslie explains “With each item I create, I learn more about who I am.” She uses art to “step outside of [her] comfort zone, try new things, and meet new people.” Leslie is blessed with a business where she can make money doing what she loves. Most importantly, she adds, “I bring joy to other people’s lives through my designs.”
“I bring joy to other people’s lives with my designs.” -Leslie, I Reworked It!
Remembering your why and staying connected to your purpose and passion is among the most valuable pieces of advice I’ve heard as an entrepreneur. Thank you, Leslie 💜
Expert Etsy Tips
Leslie has been selling on Etsy for eighteen years! During this time, she has learned so many things about reselling and Etsy!
Here are a few expert Etsy Tips from a professional Etsy seller:
- Learn before you list. Leslie recommends that before getting started on Etsy, you familiarize yourself with the resources on their Help Center. They provide helpful videos and articles to answer all questions and teach you the basics of the marketplace.
- Get inspired. Check out Etsy shops that sell items similar to what you plan on selling to get ideas on how to set up your shop.
- Marketing. Leslie encourages sellers to share their Etsy shop on social media. She explains “Etsy is not your business, you are. If you want to grow, you have to market outside the app.”
- Love what you do. Continue having fun with your craft. Leslie explains, “If you have fun on the creative side, the business side won't be so hard to manage.”
- Challenge yourself! Leslie explains not to be afraid to change something if you are not growing.
On her Instagram account, Leslie posts daily inspiration, behind-the-scenes footage of her creations, wise words for entrepreneurs, and tutorials to show how she creates such beautiful pieces. Be inspired! Follow Leslie at Areworkerspassion on Instagram.
Remember, the sky is the limit! In addition to selling on Etsy, Leslie cross-lists her items for maximum exposure! She even sells on her own website powered by Shopify and does live sales on WhatNot, too!
Don’t forget, you can crosslist your handmade masterpieces to multiple marketplaces with just a few clicks with Vendoo!
Do you sell on Etsy? Share your experience or a tip below! 👇🏿
