Welcome! I’m so happy to see you here all bossed up and shit! Are you ready to setup shop on ETSY?
The Boss Up Project is where I walk you through setting up your ETSY shop so you can have all the tools to be a successful seller.
Having thoughts of failure? Leave that at the door.
Why Sell on ETSY?
I have been selling on ETSY on and off since 2008 or 2009. I have had a handful of shops. Some were amazing and some not so much. With my experience and the success of my tshirt shop (we made 6 figures in 2021!) I wanted to give you some of my knowledge.
I truly believe ETSY is a great platform to start a small shop because of the amount of traffic the site is recieving and therefore potentially able to send your way. When I have tried to sell on other platforms it has usually ended in little to no sales.
While some people say your friends and family are a great place to start (true in some cases but not in all)… 99% of my sales are NOT coming from poeple I know. Also… I used to have dreams of opening a brick and mortar shop, but now I see so much more potential NOT having that extra stress and expense.
Boss Up Project Starts Now
I am going to be sharing a lot of the Boss Up Project on Instagram becuase it is the easiest platform for me. I created a highlight so you can always go back and rewatch the information I’m sharing. If you are not already following me on Instagram (why the heck not!?) follow me @poofycheeksblog
If this is your first ETSY shop use the link and we both get 40 free ETSY listings!
First Step: Set Up an ETSY Seller Account
In order to setup an ETSY seller account you can use an existing account or register a new one. You will need to enter the following things:
- Your address, name, social security number (all that good stuff only you know)
- Bank Account information where you want your deposits sent
- Credit or Debit card information to be charged if you ever have a negative shop balance
- Shop Name
I wish I could help you a little more with this part but alas I don’t know your personal information and luckily ETSY makes it near dummy-proof.
The Dreaded Shop Name
SO.MANY.PEOPLE can’t get past creating the shop name. It’s like a blank hole of ideas or when you FINALLY think of a good one it has already been taken. It doesn’t have to be that difficult though.
I’m using a shop I created a few weeks ago Kelsey Sapp Weddings as a guinea pig for the Boss Up Project. It will be a way to watch me grow a shop while you grow yours along with me. I am not a fan of the shop name but it got the shop open, allowed me to start adding listings and when I think of something more fitting I can change it down the road.
Don’t loose sleep over this. Try one of those games where you take your favorite animal + favorite color or something crazy like that. If you know your items are going to have a theme then maybe base it around that. I urge you not to spend more than 20-30 minutes on this… SERIOUSLY!
I mean what the heck is Poofy Cheeks? … besides a very memorable name I can no longer change for fear of people not being able to find me anymore in search.
ETSY shared a great article on How to Open an ETSY Shop in 4 Steps and their shop name portion is very insightful.
DO THIS NOW:
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Setup your ETSY seller account today or AT LEAST by this weekend. This doesn’t mean you have to add listings, we will touch on that next. At least get your foundation set with the personal information and the shop name.
What are you waiting for!?
Second Step: Brainstorming ETSY Listings
Chances are if we are meeting like this then you already have product ideas for your shop.
Download ‘My First 20’ PDF to help you brainstorm the first 20 items you want to list in your shop. The goal DOES NOT need to be 20 listings to start, but that needs to be the end goal. We are all going to work through this at different paces becaues of money, time and drive. That’s okay!
Here are my tips for brainstorming listing ideas…
- Create products that have something in common. Examples include a tshirt shop (all items are tshirts), product theme (all products are dragons), celebrations, wedding, crochet etc. Get my drift?
- Work towards a minimum of 20 listings in your shop. There are some things ETSY likes and this is one of them. They typically don’t feature shops with a handful of listings. Bottom line they are trying to make money too and want to link to an established shop. Again, this doesn’t have to happen right away but should be the end goal.
- Don’t overthink your products. Having variations of one product is perfectly fine.
