It seems like everyone has a side hustle nowadays. And why not? Side hustles can be so enjoyable and lucrative too. You just need to find your sweet spot.
But if you've never had a small business before, actually starting one can be pretty daunting.
Opening an Etsy shop could be your first big move. After all, you know a thing or two about working with your hands. And Etsy is a great place to showcase your handmade goods... for a profit!
So here are three tips for opening your Etsy shop, from a $240k Etsy seller!
1. Stand out from the competition.
Etsy is a huge marketplace of buyers and sellers, but the competition is also pretty fierce. So if you're looking to make some money, you need to stand out from the crowd. Maybe you offer really cute packaging, or you have unique one-of-a-kind designs for a specific market, or maybe you have a brand that speaks to a certain type of buyer. What makes your products different and why should someone choose to buy from you?
Put a lot of thought into this. And it's okay to make changes along the way. The goal is to figure out your personal brand to stand out.
2. Have a "just do it" attitude.
I saw a meme recently that said, if you want to be good at something, be bad at it first. Because no matter how much time you put into "perfecting" your first listing, or your first photo, the truth is that it'll be bad. And that's okay!
Perfectionism is a form of procrastination. And while I understand that you want to make everything perfect, just know, that your best isn't going to come out right away. It comes with practice, and you have to start somewhere.
Take some photos of your products, create some thoughtful descriptions, aim for B+ effort. Then post your listings. Meanwhile, see how the competition is doing it, and use that research to improve your listings and your products.
So just start.
3. Use keywords that work.
Etsy is like a search engine. A shopper types in a few keywords in the search bar, and then Etsy displays all the related results, with the highest ranking listings first.
Spoiler alert. You want to be in those top 1-2 pages of rankings. But even ranking in the top 10 pages takes some strategy.
Your product titles, tags, descriptions... all of those need to contain keywords that your ideal customer is searching. Do some market research and find out what those keywords might be.
An Etsy shop may be an easy place to start your shop, but if you're looking turn this into a profitable business, there's a little work involved to get you there. Download my free guide to help you get started!
Good luck with opening your Etsy shop and stop by for more Etsy tips!
