Should you sell on Etsy?

I get asked a lot about my secrets to growing Proper Letter from nothing to a six figure lettering business. And while the answer is multi-faceted— I always start with talking about Etsy and why I think it’s a great place to not only start your business, but also grow it.

So today I’m going to talk about the Pros and Cons of having your shop on Etsy and also talk a bit about why I love having Proper Letter on that platform.

PROS:

Built-in Audience

Okay so this is a BIG one and its a huge pro. When your first starting your business, it can be hard to gain any traction, especially if your main marketing strategy is on social media. And because your also a new business you probably don’t have a large social media following yet— so where do you get clients and customers from? Well for me, Etsy was the solution to this problem. Etsy has a built-in audience of millions of buyers who want something special and unique— and they have customers who want to buy exactly what your selling— even if your brand new at selling it! And I love that about the platform.

Make and Sell the Items YOU love

When I was new to business, I was pretty much just making anything that a client asked for. Because I didn’t have the luxury of saying “no” yet, I was honestly making a lot of things that I didn’t like and also didn’t totally fit my portfolio either. But Etsy was where I got to put up the things I actually loved to make— and guess what? Overtime I ended up developing my personal style and creating product lines that worked with this style— and now its the bulk of my business. If I was ONLY doing client work I would never have found my way to creating the things I actually loved. So I think Etsy is great for this as well.

Its an easy way to start a business

From shipping to organization to customer communication, Etsy is super easy to use and also a really streamlined way to run your business. When I tested out a shopify site last year, I realized how incredibly easy Etsy actually makes the process of getting and fulfilling an order and so I highly recommend it to anyone who is getting overwhelmed by starting a business— because they really make it super easy for you!

Getting Featured

Etsy is invested in your business, and they want your business to succeed. When they find items that they love and they know others will love too, they might feature it in their marketing and Editors Picks. And as someone who has been featured frequently over the life of my shop, it is a huge bump in sales and exposure! Its not easy to go viral on social media or through other publication so getting featured in Etsy is huge win. While there’s no sure way to get your shop and items featured by Etsy (they have guidelines you can follow to increase your chance though) if your putting out good products, follow their guidelines and have great reviews, you have a chance at being featured too!

Consistent Income

My Etsy shop has become my main source of sustainable, consistent income. Because of the built-in audience I was talking about earlier, people are always on the platform searching for the products they want and ready to buy. If you can create products that are popular year-round and you maximize Etsy SEO, you should be able to create consistent sales as well. I also get a huge boost around shopping holidays which is a huge bonus.

CONS

Name/Brand Recognition

If you’ve ever bought something on Etsy and someone asks where you got it from— you probably said “Etsy” or “ A shop I found on Etsy”. It’s okay we’ve all done it. For me, the major issue with having your shop on Etsy is the lack of brand recognition from your customers. So while this might not be a huge issue in the beginning of your business, as you grow and start wanting to have a broader audience elsewhere, this Etsy issue can pigeonhole your business a bit. But I think having an engaged social media audience or email list is a great way to fight that as you grow your business, so its definitely not a dealbreaker in my opinion.

Fees

Etsy has fees for listing and selling your items, and it’s the major con of selling on Etsy for a lot of shops. Because of this you have to make sure your including their fees in your pricing structure everytime you list a product.

Copying

This one really gets me. But I’ve had a lot of issues with seeing my items copied on Etsy. And I know this is an issue for others as well. You come up with a fun product and then its copied over and over again, so there basically nothing you can do about it. Etsy does have ways to report copyright infringement issues, but its not totally straightforward or easy so I would say that it is a big downside of the platform.

Saturation

Since Etsy is a marketplace, there can be thousands of items that are similar to yours. When you’re just starting out on Etsy, it can be hard to figure out what will make your product and your shop stand out in the crowd. It can also be extra hard to be found if your not maximizing SEO- which is a whole beast in itself. However if you have great photos, learn how to use Etsy SEO to your advantage and have a strong brand identity you can definitely overcome this issue.

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So all in all, is Etsy right for you? Honestly, that is a personal decision every business owner has to make on their own. But in my opinion, the pros outweigh the cons for sure. My shop has become what is today in large part because of Etsy and I think if you learn how to REALLY use it and put in the time and effort, anyone can be successful there as well.

P.S. If you’re ready to start an Etsy shop or already have one but need a better blueprint for making it profitable— I’m launching an Etsy course in March, get on the waitlist HERE!