There are many ways to create an online shop so you can start selling your downloadable products, but one of the easiest ways to get started is with Etsy, available at https://www.Etsy.com
Here are just a few reasons:
With an Etsy shop, you can easily build a mailing list of buyers and maximize your income faster and easier than ever before because you are in direct contact with your customer base.
In addition, you will never be dependent on just one marketplace because you’ll be able to cultivate a tribe of buyers and build a brand that you’re in full control of.
There’ll be no guesswork.
You’ll know where your buyers come from, what they’re interested in, and how to create additional products they’ll want to buy. And making money online will never be easier once you’ve built that community of your own.
Plus, people are already searching for printables on Etsy! This means that you’ll be able to instantly tap into an ever-growing customer base that is active on the marketplace.
So even if you don’t launch your own marketing campaigns, chances are you’ll be able to start generating sales from Etsy’s existing traffic. Easy!
And finally, there are valuable tools that make it easy to create Etsy listings that stand out from the crowd. I’m talking about resources like https://www.MarmaLead.com that not only break down your existing Etsy listings to show you how to improve your outreach, but they grade your listings based on focus keywords, exposure and more!
When it comes to creating an Etsy shop, you’ll want to carefully choose a shop name, and customize your storefront so it clearly represents your brand.
This includes a high-quality shop banner, memorable logo and shop description/tagline, and of course, in-demand printable products.
Let’s get started.
Step 1: Create your Etsy Account:
Head on over to https://Etsy.com and create your account.
Make sure to fill in all the profile and account areas, including your payment information, address and add a credit card to your account so that Etsy can charge you for each listing whenever it needs to be renewed.
You will also want to set your shop preferences including shop language, country, and currency.
Next, make sure to set your shop name so it’s the exact same name as your blog (if you plan to create one, and I recommend you do!). The key is to be consistent across all platforms.
Your shop name can be between 4-20 characters and shouldn’t contain any spaces or special characters.
Whatever shop name you assign will also become your Etsy web address and will look something like this: keyword.etsy.com
Step 2: Add Your First Product
The next step will be to stock your shop with at least one printable product.
Note that you can’t create an Etsy shop without having at least one available product, so if you have yet to create your first printable offer, you’ll want to do that first and then return to your Etsy account to complete the process.
Each product listing can include up to 10 images and you’ll want to use every available space.
However, you don’t need to have all 10-graphics ready. When adding your first product listing, you can always start by just adding one image and then go back in and add additional images later.
Step 3: Complete Your Payment Settings
Set your payment preferences, including how you wish to be paid (Paypal, check or money order, etc.)
Then, set up billing. You’ll need to add a credit card to your account.
Step 4: Create your Brand Graphics
Now that you have a brand-new Etsy account, it’s time to customize your shop! The important thing is to make sure all your images look alike while highlighting the different products.
You want to build a cohesive, memorable brand. If you look at the top printable sellers on Etsy, we all use a set color scheme and they stick to it.
Not only does it look more professional, but it helps people begin to recognize your brand so when they see your pins or visit your blog, they know who you are and what you have to offer.
Creating your shop graphics doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. My personal “trick” is to create one set of templates using a resource like https://www.Canva.com and then re-use them over and over again, simply replacing the product snapshots with ones that represent the current product offered.
Note: It’s always best to create printables based on evergreen, time-tested markets, and then figure out a way to put your own unique twist on each product.
That way, you’re offering something fresh and new, while still sticking within those popular, established niches that are continuing to grow.
Now it’s time to launch your shop!
When it comes to maximizing your sales, there are a few things you’ll want to do to give your shop an instant boost in exposure.
To start, you will want to work on building up that inventory. I always recommend setting your initial product goal to be at least 50 printable products.
Yes, this will take time, but it’ll be worth it! The more products, the better because it will help you rank for different keywords/focus words which will maximize revenue.
After you create your shop, you’ll want to add categories for your products. This will help you rank for the keywords used in category titles, but more importantly, it helps shoppers navigate your store.
Note: I recommend starting off with only 3-4 categories until you build up your inventory. You don’t want any of your categories to be empty or to inundate your customers with too many options.
Categories help to better organize your shop and help potential customers find what they’re most interested in quickly, so keep them targeted. To do this, use clear keywords such as: Student Planners, Goals & Productivity, Health & Fitness or Business Planners, as examples.
When it comes to optimizing your Etsy shop, there are a few different areas that you’ll want to optimize.
Tags:
You use tags everywhere, not just in the keyword boxes associated with each product listing, but in your titles as well.
Etsy gives you the opportunity to include 13 tags that describe your product and you’ll want to use all 13 of these so you can increase your chances at being matched to a search.
Titles:
A well-crafted title that triggers the Etsy search engine to show your listing will naturally drive in sales, but one thing you need to know is that your tags and titles should be the EXACT SAME.
You won’t increase your ranking by using different keywords in your title and tags. In fact, using the same keywords is a critical step in fully optimizing your listing so you’re more easily found.
Here are a few other things to keep in mind:
Etsy allows up to 140 characters in your title. While many people recommend using up every bit of spacing, from my own research and stats, shorter titles often convert better.
Shorter titles are easier for a buyer to read and understand. And if you construct it so that your title is very clear and direct, you’ll be able to cut out a lot of words that aren’t necessary, nor helpful in boosting visibility.
Etsy uses your title to determine which keywords you’ll appear/rank for when someone enters a search phrase on Etsy. Therefore, it’s important that you include some of the best keywords in your title, while also keeping it short and to the point.
About Kate Riley
Kate Riley is a business coach, creative specialist, and serial entrepreneur. She is also a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of romance and fantasy.