Etsy Art - How to Start an Etsy Shop

Etsy.com is an online market for selling and buying handmade and vintage items, including fine art and art prints. At the moment, Etsy has over a million items in the art category, including collage, painting, fiber art, photography, prints, sculpture, and more.

Many artists are selling art here by opening up their own Etsy shops.

To demonstrate how you can do the same, we explain how to setup an Etsy store, list your artworks, and promote it though various means.

 

 

 

Etsy 2012 Tips - How to Open a Shop

 

1. Registering as an Etsy.com Seller
    
   Starting an Etsy shop for online fine art sales is free. There are no setup fees or monthly charge, but only for services such as listing items, as described below. In order to start an Etsy.com shop, you must first be registered.
   
   Go to Etsy and register or sign in.
   
   Once this is completed, click the Sell link at the top of the profile page. From here, find the blue Sell on Etsy button at the right, and click it. Fill in personal info, then click Next.
   
   In order to verify an Etsy.co account, they require credit card information. This credit card or Paypal can be adopted for maintaining seller fees. Click the Validate Card link at the bottom when finished.
   
   Once completed this process, it is time to organize an Etsy shop!
   
   
2. Setting up an Etsy.com Profile
   
   Go to Your Account, then Public Profile at the top-right side of the page. On this page, an avatar or profile picture may be uploaded. If etsi is connected to a Facebook account, the profile image from there will be applied. In the About section, write a short bio. Add any preferred activity modules, such as Shops, Teams, and Favourite Items. Fill in the rest of the information accordingly, and click Save Changes when finished.
   
   
3. Starting an Etsy Shop
   
   Go to Shop Settings, Your Shop, then click Info and Appearance. Create a good name for your Etsy shop, but give this much thought because it cannot be changed.
   
   Enter a description explaining your art, style, and processes in the Shop Title area.
   
   Choose or create a good attractive banner which will appear at the top of your Etsy store. The banner should be 760px by 100px. 
   
   Complete the Shop Announcement section whenever there is something important to notify your Etsy store visitors, such as a promo, or announcement of a newly added artwork.
   
   Fill in the Message to Buyers with a thank-you message or invite to follow on Twitter and Facebook, for example.
   
   When completed all of this, click Save Changes.
   
   
4. More Etsy.com Shop Features
   
   Other features to examine under the Your Shop menu are payment and currency, shop policies, shipping profiles, shop sections, and featuring sale items. Browse the Etsy FAQ for lots of tips and tutorials that will guide through each section.

 

Listing an Artwork on Etsy

 

Find Your Etsy at the top, and click on this. Click on Add New Item at the right. If you have not setup your payment profile already, you will be instructed to do so. Click the previous link once again when completed.

Fill in title, description, and materials, and click Next. Proceed through the simple steps to list an artwork. When arriving at the images page, find a good quality photograph of the artwork, and upload. If adding additional images to the same listing, the first will be displayed as the thumbnail.

If you require additional assistance, Etsi has plenty of tips, tutorials, and help articles to guide through the entire signup, and shop setup process.

Find these at the Etsy seller faq.

 

Promote your Etsy.com Shop

 

Store Promotion

Include a link for the Etsy shop at artist websites, Facebook pages, Twitter, and any other online profiles. For Facebook and Twitter, go to account settings, and connect to each respectively. To connect a Facebook page, go to Your Shop, then Info and Appearance. When synchronized, a like button will appear at the Etsy store, and items added to the shop will appear at the Facebook page.

Etsy Coupon Code

Coupon codes to offer promotional deals to customers for certain artworks are created by finding Coupon Codes under the Your Shop promote section. The promo codes can be set to offer a percentage discount, or free shipping.

Google Product Search

Shops may be included in Google Product Search if they follow Google’s guidelines, and Etsy’s standards. To find out how you can get your shop added to Google Product Search, please visit this article.

 

7 Etsy Selling Tips for 2012

 

1. Invest in a good quality digital camera, preferably a digital SLR, and take plenty of photos. Use a well lit setup to photograph the artwork. Check out our photographing art tips for advice.
   
   
2. Set art prices that compete with other Etsy members. Browse though other Etsy profiles and see what other members are charging.
   
   
3. Fill in categories and tags. These help art buyers at Etsie to find your art while searching. Choose several tags that describe and match the artwork.
   
   
4. Pin artworks to Pinterest. Etsy.om has a pinning button onsite so that visitors can pin images directly from Etsy shops. These link back to the original source, your Etsy.com store.
   
   
5. Check out certain Etsy apps that integrate with Facebook pages, or can be added to an art website.
   
   
6. Consider participating in Etsy Showcase, a paid advertising program.
   
   
7. Promote your Etsy store everywhere possible. Visit our article Promote Art Links with Social Networks and Bookmarking Services for advice on where to promote fine art.  

 

Do you have an Etsy shop? You are welcome to share it with us, along with your experiences with selling art and other items through Etsy.com.