How To Sell Art on Etsy

According to CNN, Etsy’s sellers are made of 80% young female entrepreneurs, among them young mothers who have built their shops from scratch to become successful businesses. The platform offers a flexible income source while balancing family life and personal schedules. If you want to turn your art project into a profitable business, Etsy users are waiting to realize the dream. Here is a guide to assist you in starting and running an Etsy shop, or getting the best out of your existing one.

All art sold on Etsy is categorized into two:

This is any tangible art piece created through printing, painting, drawing, sculpting, crafting, or printmaking. It has to be shipped to the customer after a purchase. This type of art costs more than digital art because it is more complex in nature and handling, and is more time-consuming.

This is an artwork created using graphic design tools like Canva, Adobe Illustrator, and other software, and sold digitally. Although it is much cheaper compared to physical art, a great plus is that it can be reproduced and edited many times without degrading in quality. After customers buy digital art, they can use it digitally or convert it to physical art through printing.

Selling physical art might seem daunting especially when starting, but it gets easier with time and experience. It also has great monetary benefits too. So, if it is something you want to sell on Etsy, you can use either of these three ways.

It is a traditional way of selling printed art where you pay a local printer and print art in bulk. Printing in bulk is very risky especially for newies because you have no idea which items will do well and which ones won't, and you might be setting yourself up for losses. For bulk printing to work, you have to be confident in the art’s demand. If you pick this method, start with a sample print to see the quality before making a large order.

Selling original handcrafted artwork such as sculptures, portraits, clay and beadwork, and original paintings on Etsy is very rewarding. It is also a good way to fully express yourself by creating something unique. The process however takes a lot of time, dedication, and investment to work on a single piece, making it hard to sustain. When the art’s price is not properly scaled, it's easy to make a loss.

When you integrate print-on-demand services like Printify, all you have to do is list create, and sell your art. When ordered, the POD service prints it, packages and ships it to the customer, deducting their fees from the sale. This is a low-maintenance, and possibly the least risky way of selling art. With zero worry about unsold inventory, production, or upfront losses, you just focus on making quality art and increasing its visibility.

Now it's time to pick an art category that you’ll have the most satisfaction and fun selling on Etsy.

Posters are anything meant to be hung on a wall for educational or decorative purposes. Photography, infographics, affirmations, and promotional content can be printed as posters. Posters on Etsy are classified under “Home and Living”. They're always in high demand because they are affordable and simple to print and set up at home.

Any piece of art that is created or printed on canvas falls under this category. It is an “improved version” of posters due to its durability and higher quality, making it more expensive. It can be printed using archival inks or painted using acrylic and oil paintings. It's also lighter compared to other framed artwork, reducing the delivery fee.

Although small, postcards have the power to earn you great revenue. They’re always in demand for birthdays, graduation, anniversaries, and weddings which run all year. Demand peaks during special seasons such as Christmas, and Easter.

Stickers are the easiest to make and sell in large quantities, making them a sweet spot for newbies. Their versatility keeps them in demand keeping the shop busy throughout.

If you create handmade pottery and sculptures, you’re in demand on Etsy. These items are sensitive and fragile hence many artists aren’t willing to risk.

Now that you know what to sell on Etsy, follow these steps to start the business.

Visit Etsy’s official website and select “Register” to open an account. The registration form takes less than 5 minutes to fill out and validate your identity. Note that it is a consumer’s account and you need to convert it to a seller account to create a shop.

Log into the new account, select the profile icon to get a dropdown menu, then click on the “Sell on Etsy” link.

Follow the cues to manage the shop preferences, name, and currency, ensuring the name is catchy and memorable.

Before leaving the page, set up payment and billing details, and the storefront.

To tailor the art to meet your consumers’ preferences and market effectively, you have to learn their needs and purchase habits. When researching, work on being in tune with the demand and filling the niche gaps.

This will also assist you to learn and implement Etsy’s SEO strategies to improve the art’s visibility and sales.

Once everything is set up, it's now time to upload the listings. Before you upload any product, ensure it meets Etsy’s standards and does not violate the policies. Every listing needs up to 10 photos, a video (optional), and a description. The descriptions should be straightforward with Etsy’s SEO keywords to increase visibility.

There’s a customization section that you toggle on or off to show you personalized art and a shipping section where you manage shipping preferences.

Being conversant with how to sell on Etsy ensures you run the business smoothly. Here are typical sale transaction steps on Etsy.

You receive a notification every time an order for your art is made, through email or the Etsy app. Check the order details, for example, if they have a special request, then confirm the inventory. If you make art on demand, ensure you have all the details needed from the customer before you start making it.

If you do not have POD services, package the order and label it before shipping it. Use bubble wrap or tissue for fragile art. You can purchase Etsy's automated “shipping label” to save time and money. It has a tracking number so you don't have to get another one at the post office.

When the buyer pays, the money is immediately reflected on the Etsy Payment Account. Sometimes when a buyer is dissatisfied with the art, they return it and get a refund.

Customized art and digital products can’t be returned. You need clear return policies to avoid disputes and to show clear instructions on how to return the products.

Many sellers expect to start receiving orders once they list their artwork. While this might be true for a few people, you have to do your homework and put in some hard work to be successful.

Study shops that are ranking higher than yours, not to directly copy what they do, but to gain insights on how to improve yours. Check how the shops engage with buyers, the marketing strategies, appearance, pricing, and the artwork. Some benchmarking tools that will come in handy are Marmalead and Etsyrank.

Competitive prices aren’t necessarily low, not all buyers want cheap art. The pricing should reflect the true art’s value based on the quality, time, and effort you put into making it. It should also be in line with the product demand.

The visual representation of your art either attracts customers or draws them away. Use well-lit, high-resolution (over 3000 pixels) photos of the products displaying the different ways they can be used or styled.

You will not make any sales if no one visits the shop. Use Etsy’s SEO to describe the art, regularly run Etsy ads, and give discounts and giveaways.

Etsy customers are mainly women who rely on other buyers’ experiences and testimonials. Make the most of the interactions by personalizing messages and packaging, and personally handling messages and concerns raised to retain buyers.

Keep an open mind. There is no one-style-fits-all policy on Etsy. Regularly adjust to the marketing trends and changes on the platform to stay relevant.

While making a regular income selling art on Etsy is doable, you’re likely to come across challenges, but thankfully, you can navigate through them easily.

Etsy charges sellers $0.20 for every listing, a 6.5% transaction fee, and a 3% plus $0.25 processing fee for every sale. These high fees might greatly reduce the profit margin.

While sometimes high competition is a good thing, there’s often a thin line between it and poor SEO visibility, price undercutting, and market saturation. This can be dealt with by picking a unique niche and working on growing your brand and retaining customers.