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I keep reading about how easy and fast it is to make money with Etsy. You don’t even have to do any crafting or handicrafts to make it – there are plenty of other things to sell on Etsy. But is it that easy to make money on Etsy?
Make money on Etsy: Here’s how!
Do you have a craft or an artistic talent and want to sell these products online?
Then you are in good hands on Etsy! Etsy is a place where you can sell handmade products, craft supplies, and vintage items.
Shoppers who shop on Etsy know that Etsy isn’t a commodity—and that they’ll have to spend a little more for handmade products. But they get special products in return.
Here’s how you can make money on Etsy, whether you make products yourself or buy and sell handmade items.
Earn money with Etsy: You can sell everything!
To make money on Etsy, you need certain goods—because Etsy specializes in handmade products, art supplies, and vintage products. But what does that mean exactly?
- handmade products
You can list all handmade products on Etsy. You don’t have to create these yourself! Here’s how you can buy handmade products and resell them on Etsy. But of course, you can also offer your homemade things.
- Vintage needs
Everything has to be over 20 years old: clothes, games, furniture…
- Art Supplies
- On Etsy, you can also offer everything to do with art supplies. Beads, cords, needles, fabrics, or wool – all this is possible.
However, you should first take a look at what offers are already available on Etsy umpteen times. Because to make money on Etsy, you have to sell your goods. But if you have a top dog in front of you – who has been selling the same thing for years, has tons of good reviews – and maybe even cheaper than you can offer, it will be difficult.
Therefore, before you set about assembling your Etsy product range, research the market first.
What can I sell on Etsy?
Now that you know what can be sold on Etsy, you’re now wondering: How to make money on Etsy? You need products that suit you and your skills. To give you some inspiration, here’s a list of what I’ve found on Etsy:
- Handmade shopping bag (braided)
This was bought from Africa or something, so not homemade – “only” handmade. That’s enough for Etsy too
- Hand-crocheted cuddly toys
These are hand-made now – and are sold on Etsy for over 50 euros. If you like crocheting and you have (good) pocket money, a cool idea.
Why only pocket money? Because you have to make the products yourself – I tried it, I need at least 10 – 20 hours for a crocheted animal like that. So how much can you crochet per week?
- Personalized dog collars
I find everything personalized cool anyway. A collar with my dog’s name – and my phone number in case of an emergency.
- Instructions for crocheted animals for download
I think that’s cool! I earn per download – without doing anything else. Of course, the profit per sale is lower here – that’s what works when I don’t have time.
- Blankets
Whether knitted, crocheted, or “just” sewn – the main thing is handmade. Here, too, you can decide whether you make them yourself or buy them handmade. Maybe you can personalize it (embroider names on it or something)
The ideas for what to sell on Etsy are endless – just realize that if you just “copy” ideas, you won’t have much luck. Instead, the opposite can happen: you may receive mail from the advocate of the “cloned” product. But you could find a product on Etsy that you can make even better or more interesting.
Open an Etsy shop in 5 steps
Opening an Etsy shop is relatively easy – in a short time, you will already have your items online. The work comes afterward ;). Because without advertising, the first sales will hardly come in.
Step 1: Create an Etsy Account
The Etsy account is created within a few seconds.
Step 2: Open an Etsy shop
To open your Etsy shop you need a little more time and information:
- Your first item (including price, description, and pictures),
- Your account details
- Your company name
- your shop name (be creative – there are already many other shops)
- Your shipping options (also abroad)
- And a lot more….
As soon as you click on “Sell on Etsy” you will be taken to the following subpage on Etsy. After that there are some questions, the answers to which you may be interested – click on everything that you think is interesting.
On the first page of the shop settings, all you have to do is click on it – because the default settings are usually correct here.
To give your online shop a name, you probably need a little patience – because after many shops are already on Etsy, many shop names are of course already taken. Try to be creative here. However, the shop name should have something to do with the products you sell.
For your first article you need at least one picture (several are recommended), a product description (as detailed and accurate as possible), the price, the color, and the category.
Your first item is listed on Etsy! Take a look at the preview – is that how you imagined it?
Then continue with the payment options. Here you need to specify which company you have (probably a sole proprietorship), and your account details. Just follow the prompts, and Etsy will tell you exactly if something important is missing!
This is how you do it with the last two steps (billing + shop security), as soon as you click on create shop, you can start making money with Etsy.
Step 3: Create categories
For your articles, you need a logical structure, which could look like this:
- For men, for women, for children
- Wall decor, carpets, candles
- Glass art, textile art, drawings
You see – it takes a little brain power and a precise knowledge of what you want to sell at all. A good structure of your products makes it easier for interested parties to find their way around your shop. That’s why you shouldn’t let them arise “just by the way”.
Step 4: Add more articles
Once your Etsy shop is online, you can add more items. This is also advisable since no buyer wants to shop in a shop that only has one item. You can also classify your items into different categories.
Step 5: Promote products
Of course, to sell your products on Etsy, you can wait for the first buyers to find you through Etsy itself. However, I have to tell you clearly: There are many well-known and successful sellers on Etsy – why should prospective customers get lost in your shop? Of course, that will happen from time to time — and if you have plenty of time, you might be able to get some decent sales in a few years. However, if you aim to make at least a good side income from Etsy in a good year, you need to advertise your products.
There are different possibilities:
- Advertising on Etsy itself
This means that your products appear above the other (non-advertised) products
- Advertising on Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
Again, your products will appear in the normal feed as a sponsored ad
- Posting on Instagram and Pinterest
These two channels are particularly interesting for this – because what else is there than beautiful, appealing pictures?
- Advertise your products (subtly) in suitable Facebook groups.
You shouldn’t be too aggressive – otherwise, you’ll be banned quickly. But let’s ask what can be improved about the product. Or whether something like this is interesting for the target group? But of course, some groups are really happy – especially if your product offers real added value.
- Search Engine Optimization
My Favorite! With good keyword research, you can get your products in the first two lines of the displayed images on Google – this works best in combination with a Pinterest account. Because these pictures are taken with pleasure by Google.
Etsy without registering a business?
When you open a shop on Etsy, you do so to make a profit. Because you want to make money with Etsy, right? Even if you don’t make a profit yet – the intention alone is enough! That’s why Etsy is a bad idea without a business license. If the tax office notices you (and I promise you: someone will take care of it), it can quickly happen that you have to pay a fine and that you are “allowed” to submit your tax return afterward. Imagine that a few years in hindsight! Where are you going to get your receipts from?
But you don’t have to be afraid of registering your business! You can do this very quickly within a few minutes in your community. As long as you remain a small business (that goes up to an annual turnover of 22,000 euros – as of 2022), you don’t have to worry about the sales tax statement. You should discuss with a tax advisor whether it makes sense to use the small business regulation. It’s often a good starting point to get you started. But Etsy without a business registration is a very, very bad idea!
Can you make money with Etsy?
Ever since 2012, Etsy has been buying more and more buyers. Every year, the trading place Etsy becomes better known and more popular. The statistics below show this impressively.
According to Statista, there are around 7.52 million active sellers (as of December 2021). Last year, 4.4 million active sellers sold on Etsy. This increase is huge! More and more sellers have to divide the “cake” among themselves. But since the “pie” is getting bigger and bigger, it can still be worth opening a shop on Etsy.
Etsy Shop Earnings – Can You Make a Living From Etsy?
In any case, a good side income is possible on Etsy. Many sellers there earn more than 300 euros a month. However, this does not happen immediately. To make a few hundred dollars a month with Etsy, you need some time and patience. There are now also some sellers who can live from their business. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you whether they only sell on Etsy – because there are many other ways to get your products to the man or woman. But to get a feel for the market and generate your first sales, Etsy is the place to be.
Conclusion: Can you make money with Etsy?
If I have to make it short, then I’ll say it clearly: Yes, you can make money with Etsy! A little more detailed…
Even with Etsy, making money will take time and patience – you can achieve anything from good pocket money to full-time self-employment! However, not immediately! You have to learn a lot and put in a lot of time. But it’s worth it! You must not give up too quickly (unfortunately the problem with many ways to earn money) – because everything takes time. Also on the internet. No matter whether you want to earn money with your blog or with Etsy.
FAQs
What’s the easiest way to make money on Etsy?
The easiest way to make money on Etsy is to sell these digital items:
- Baby items
- Craft Supplies
- Home Decor
- Invitations
- Jewelry
- Cups
- Party decorations
- Pet accessories
- Personalized Clothing
- Printouts
- Sticker
- T-shirts
- T-shirt mockup templates
- Bags and purses
- Vintage items and collectibles
- Wedding decorations
Can you sell things on Etsy that you didn’t make?
If you’re wondering if you can sell things on Etsy that you didn’t make, unfortunately, you can’t resell things you didn’t make or design.
However, you can sell things on Etsy that you didn’t physically make, such as the digital items mentioned above!
What Sells Easiest on Etsy?
Several things are easiest to sell on Etsy due to their demand and ease of making or sourcing.
These items are:
- Candles
- Digital prints and downloads
- Home Decor
- Jewelry
- Notebooks and diaries
- Organic cosmetics
- Papercraft
- Cell phone cases and small goods
- Sewing and Crochet Patterns
- Sticker
Now that you know how to make money on Etsy without making anything, your next step is to just get started.
There’s never a good or bad time to try selling on Etsy.
Once you master the skill of selling digital products on Etsy, you will find that it is not too difficult to generate residual income from Etsy digital products as you only need to create the products once and sell them repeatedly.
Of course, they should be quality products.
Otherwise, you can always review your sales performance and feedback, and then refine your products from there.
Once you have a good digital product, passive income will pour in.
Do not believe me? I’ve been there and tried it out, so I’m here to help answer any questions you may have when you’re stuck selling digital items on Etsy.
