Etsy has given millions of creatives the opportunity to sell their products on the popular platform. Whether you’re looking for a part-time or full-time opportunity, there are plenty of Etsy business ideas that will help you meet your goals.
You can sell both physical and digital items on Etsy and take advantage of many of their helpful features for entrepreneurs.
In this article, we’ll provide some tips on how to get started on Etsy along with the top profitable Etsy business ideas to consider.
How to Start an Etsy Store
Starting an Etsy store is pretty simple. You’ll need to create an account as a seller and name your shop. It’s helpful to do some research and brainstorming ahead of time to determine what products you want to sell.
If you need help coming up with ideas, we will go over several excellent options below.
Once you know the name of your Etsy shop, it will be time to stock your shop and create your first listing. Upload an image and description of one of the products you wish to start selling.
You can upload up to 10 images and a 100 MB video (optional). If your product is digital, you can even upload the file. Or, describe the product, list the price, and name it in your store.
Once you’ve created your listing, you can get prepared to start taking orders by creating a shipping profile to include how you’d like to receive payments from sales.
Etsy also offers a lot of tools to help you optimize and market your shop so you can get more sales.
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How Much Money Can You Make with an Etsy Shop?
How much you earn with your Etsy shop really depends on a variety of factors. This includes your niche (and how popular it is), the type of products you’re selling, pricing, and more.
Etsy does charge a fee to list and sell your item on the platform which will be explained later in this article.
Some sources say the average Etsy seller earns around $44,000 per year but this is not a guarantee. It all depends on how much traffic your store gets and how many sales you make.
If you’re looking to make a few hundred dollars per month with Etsy this is certainly possible.
A few sellers have been able to make hundreds of thousands of more with Etsy but this is after putting in a lot of time and work into their shops over the years.
12 Profitable Etsy Shop Ideas
If you’re looking for Etsy shop ideas, this is a great place to start. The ideas below are already proven to be successful on Etsy and there is still plenty of room for more innovative Etsy businesses as well.
1. Printables
Printables are digital downloads that can easily be printed for use. These include things such as calendars, planners, checklists or guides, chore charts, organizational resources and more.
Choose a theme for your printables based on something you’re interested in or an area where you see a need.
For example, if you’ve really found meal planning helpful in your home, you can create meal plan printables for people to buy that help them plan and organize their meals for the week.
Or, if you want to help people stay on track with their fitness goals, you can create a daily workout planning sheet to sell in your Etsy shop.
Consider designing your custom-made printables using tools like Canva or Photoshop. Just be sure to steer away from using pre-made templates or certain fonts.
You want your products to be 100% made by you and include fonts that are free to use and don’t have any e-commerce restrictions.
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2. Clothing
Have an interest in sewing or making clothes? Consider selling your designs in your Etsy Shop. This can include t-shirts you design or trends you’d love for others to wear.
Instead of opening a storefront in your area to sell your clothes, you could save money on fees, rent, and start-up costs by choosing Etsy.
Do some research to see what other sellers are doing when it comes to selling clothes. That way you can gain some inspiration and spark new ideas about how to make your Etsy shop better.
3. Crafts
Are you pretty crafty? Etsy actually started out as a major hub for people looking to sell their homemade crafts and similar items.
Whether you make handmade jewelry, decorations, key chains, or paintings, you could find success with an Etsy shop. This is one of the most popular Etsy business ideas because it’s also one of the most profitable.
People already know Etsy as a place to buy homemade and handmade crafts. This means they will come to the site looking for creative products to buy.
Narrow down a theme for your crafts shop and try to launch a few different products at the same time. That way, you can test out options and pricing to see what customers like best.
4. Blankets
Some people can never have too many blankets especially when it comes to high-quality homemade ones.
If you can knit and/or sew well, selling blankets on Etsy could be a great idea. You can customize the blankets to make them more unique, or commit to using a really durable and quality material.
Try you hand at making throw blankets for furniture, baby blankets, or even custom name blankets and see how well they sell.
5. Crochet
Crochet can be more than just a fun hobby. You can make a business out of it with your own Etsy shop. Crochet items are very popular on Etsy, and you can create everything from cardigans and baby shoes to cup coasters and even small figurines.
Another product that is very popular on Etsy is crochet patterns. A crochet pattern is basically a step-by-step guide that teaches you how to create a crochet project.
You can create a printable guide for different crochet projects and sell them in your Etsy shop. Then, customers can print it out and use their own supplies to create it.
6. Art
Selling art in a gallery can be hard, but selling your art on Etsy is easy. You can sell your paintings, canvases and other art projects in your Etsy shop. Metal art is another popular type of artwork that sells well on Etsy.
In addition to art that you make by hand, photography can also be included in your list of products. If you like taking pictures and capturing some stunning scenes, people may want to buy your images and frame them in their homes.
7. Woodwork
Etsy has many different shipping options to accommodate larger products. This is perfect if you’re looking to sell your woodworking products on the platform.
If you create custom small furniture or home decorations with wood, there’s plenty of room for your Etsy Shop to be successful.
Some Etsy sellers have sold everything from woodworking signs and gifts, to wooden spoons and patio furniture. One particular shop sells regular hardwood scraps that customers can use for their own projects.
Each box sells for around $30 and the shop has made 36,091 sales to date. This means they made more than $1 million just by selling scrap wood.
8. Cards
Greeting cards are a popular way to recognize someone special in your life or share an exciting moment. Instead of going to the drug store and scanning the cards aisle, many people are looking to Etsy shops for creative and sustainable cards to purchase.
Greeting and Happy Birthday cards are always a solid option. You can write something clever or thoughtful for the cards yourself and include your own graphics and designs.
Or, you can design and sell a different type of card like affirmation cards, bridesmaid cards for weddings, or even memory cards for kids.
9. Jewelry
Jewelry is a great item to sell on Etsy since it’s easy to ship and there are so many options to consider. It also always makes a great gift.
You can sell bracelets, necklaces, pendants, rings, and more in your Etsy store. Consider buying supplies in bulk. That way, you can spend less on the items you need to make the jewelry and earn a profit when you sell it.
10. Collectibles
Another one of the best Etsy business ideas to consider is selling collectibles. Collectibles can literally be anything from items you make yourself or things you customize or find in your area.
For example, you can make your own magnets that people can stick on their fridge. Or, if you live near a beach, you can try selling natural seashells that you collect there.
The best thing about selling things people can collect is that they are likely to buy from you again to build their collection.
11. Personalized Gifts
Most people love personalized gifts. This can be anything from wall art or jewelry to tumblers, coffee mugs and other gifts. First, decide which items you’ll customize and how you’ll do it. If you’re taking custom orders on Etsy, you can charge different prices for the different fonts and colors.
12. Personalized Pet Supplies
Personalized pet supplies can also sell well in an Etsy shop. If you love pets and are willing to get creative, you can create customized food bowls, collars, leashes, and more.
There are some Etsy sellers who even make custom pet portraits and these are pretty popular as well.
What to Do Before Opening an Etsy Shop
Narrowing down the theme for your Etsy shop is a great initial step. Then, there are a few other key things you’ll want to do before launching your new business.
1. Research Your Competitors
Researching your competitors is always a great place to start, not to copy others but to get inspiration and see how you can make your ideas better.
Use Etsy to search for different shops that may sell the same types of products you’re considering listing. What types of products in your chosen niche do they list and how much do they cost?
You should also check to see how many shops already exist on Etsy. While there is usually plenty of room for more, some categories are pretty saturated which could make it harder for your shop to get noticed.
It’s perfectly fine to go for a competitive niche since this demonstrates your concept is proven. However, just know that you’ll need to drive traffic to your store using other marketing methods as well.
2. Choose a Stellar Name For Your Etsy Shop
Etsy shop name ideas may not come to mind right away, but it’s best to start brainstorming some ideas. See if you can come up with any catchy phrases or put a fun twist on the type of products you’ll be selling.
A catchy name is great for branding and it’s also memorable to customers. Etsy has a great guide on how to choose a stellar name for your shop that you can reference here.
3. Understand Etsy’s Fee Structure
Etsy charges a $0.20 fee per listing plus 5% of the sale price. The good news is that you can set your own pricing. With this in mind, it’s important to make sure you’re pricing your products so you can make a realistic profit. If you price too high, you may limit your sales but if you price too low, you may not make enough to sustain the business.
4. Set Goals
Setting goals is crucial for any new business. Get clear on how many products you want to create and how you’ll do it. You can set soft deadlines on when you’ll have certain things done so you can launch your shop in a timely manner.
Also, setting income goals can help you stay focused and on track. If you want to warn $1,000 per month for example, you’ll be able to plan out how many sales you need to make based on the pricing of your products.
5. Create a Marketing Plan
Don’t forget to plan out how you’ll market your Etsy shop. Etsy is such a huge platform and if you have a popular niche, odds are your new shop may be toward the end of the search results.
Etsy does have features that allow you to add keywords, meta descriptions, and other attributes to boost your store’s products in their search rankings.
You can also invest in Etsy ads to get more eyes on your shop, and offer sales and promotions to drive customers to purchase.
Outside of Etsy utilize social media marketing efforts by promoting your shop on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. If you have a blog or website, mention your store there as well as to your email list to bring more traffic in.
Related: How to Make Money Blogging With Affiliate Marketing For Beginners
6. Self-Search
Realize that Etsy can be a fun and creative outlet for you. Do some self searching to see what you’re good at and where your interests lie. That way, you can create and sell products that you enjoy working on and share your talents with others.
Starting an Etsy shop can require a lot of upfront planning and preparation, but it can be a super fun way to make money online.
Also, depending on what you sell, Etsy could become a source of semi-passive income for you. If you’ve been thinking of starting an Etsy shop, be sure to use these tips and shop ideas in mind as you prepare to get started.
