9 Things I’ve Learned After Running An Etsy Shop For 6 Months
Have you ever thought about starting your own business? Maybe an Etsy shop where you have full control over what you create and how you make your money. You’ve come to the right place!
I started my first Etsy shop back in April 2020, since then I’ve made over $1000 in sales, got my products featured in Buzzfeed and have donated to countless organizations across the country.
As I start to gain some success in my business, I thought it’d be helpful to document my Etsy experience as a part of my Digital Nomad journey.
If you’re new to the blog my name is Raeah and I’m on a journey to become a Digital Nomad in 3 years.
Starting an Etsy shop is a huge part of my journey and it can be such a useful platform for other aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking to get into e-commerce and online sales.
In this post, I’ll cover all of the most important things I’ve learned after running an Etsy shop for 6 months and how you can use this advice to start your own successful Etsy shop!
With its growing popularity, Etsy is the perfect platform for new business owners looking to break into the e-commerce industry.
Although the platform is super easy to understand, running an Etsy shop is still a business and in order to be successful, it has to be treated that way.
Etsy could bring your business to the next level so that you can start monetizing your brand and generating a real income.
It took me 1 year of not making any money from my travel blog to finally realize that I needed to monetize my brand.
If your business doesn’t make you any money it’s just a hobby, and that’s not the goal here.
Imagine going from $0 to $500 a month in extra income, what could you do with that extra money? If you’re interested in more blog posts about money read “How To Save Money On A Low Income.”
Why Is Running An Etsy Shop A Good Idea?
Etsy can:
- Monetize your blog
- Increase revenue and diversify your income if you’re on another platform
- Expand your customer base and audience
- Grow your blog even more: I’ve gotten new followers from people who found me on Etsy
- Generate passive income for Digital Nomads
- Extra income to help make life a little easier
Here are 9 things I’ve learned after running an Etsy shop for 6 months.
#1 E-Commerce Jargon
Some of the most important terms I’ve learned are:
- ROI
- Leads
- Conversion Rate
- PPC
- Organic vs Paid Advertisement
- Call To Action
- Inventory
- Keyword Ranking
- Shopping Cart
- Wholesale
- Upselling
- Gift With Purchase
All of these terms make running an E-commerce shop a lot easier, so if you’re thinking about starting your own shop then this is a great place to start!
#2 Importance Of SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can have a huge impact on your business.
I saw almost identical items perform differently based on the tags, title and description of my products.
That means having good SEO in your shop is super important to rank higher in the search engines and make more sales.
#3 It Takes Time To Make Sales
I only made 1 sale my first two months after starting an Etsy shop(link), I could have given up right then and there since I never thought I’d become successful.
I re-worked my shop, added in some new items and now 6 months later I sell 10+ products every single month!
#4 You Have To Constantly Promote Your Shop
When I’m slow on promoting my shop I see the traffic and sales in my shop decrease.
It’s a constant hustle of getting your shop noticed on social media and in the real world!
Check out my Instagram page for new releases and sales!
#5 You Need To Have An Upfront Investment
Although the Etsy platform is mostly free, you’ll need to spend a bit of money to get your first products in your shop.
If you’re only selling digital items you might not have any physical supply costs but think about the platforms you’re using to create those products, if you’re hiring designers and the monthly costs associated with working from home like your internet and power.
Those costs are business expenses.
At a minimum selling physical products requires:
- Supplies & Inventory
- Materials to make the products
- Packaging
Saving a bit of money before starting your shop will help you take on the initial costs before you start turning a profit.
#6 Not Every Month Is The Same In Sales
Sales come and go in the business world, you never truly know how much money you’re going to make in a month so be prepared for the unexpected.
Some months are better than others so it’s best to just keep improving the shop and accepting the challenges along the way.
#7 Get The Product Out There & Perfect-It Later
The longer you wait to get your shop started the more other people have a chance to get into your niche and dominate.
You’ll never know if your product is good or if you’ll make sales until you try!
Get a good product out there, get feedback and improve it as you go, you’ll only get better by making mistakes and learning from your experience.
#8 Fees Are Unavoidable
Fees are mandatory on Etsy so you’ll greatly benefit from working them into your product cost so that you’re not losing too much money.
Charge an extra couple dollars to your product to cover your Etsy fees.
#9 Packaging Isn’t That Important In The Beginning
Fancy packaging can come later when you know your shop is going to be a good investment for your business.
Just make sure it’s solid, protects the item and can ship easily. You can find affordable bubble mailers here.
Starting an Etsy shop can be a really profitable and enjoyable side hustle or full-time career.
If you’ve ever thought about starting your own shop then I suggest you use this information as a reminder throughout the process.
I’ll be writing a lot more content focused on running an Etsy shop on the Fearless Nomad blog so please follow me on Instagram for updates!
READY TO START YOUR ETSY SHOP AND BEGIN EARNING AN EXTRA INCOME EVERY MONTH, MAKE SURE YOU DOWNLOAD THE STEP-BY-STEP GET STARTED CHECKLIST HERE.
