How To Make Money on Etsy in 2024

Can you really make money on Etsy? In this article, I will show you how to sell on Etsy and persuade customers to buy from your shop. I will also share the 5 steps you need to open a profitable shop today. Here, you will learn exactly how to make money on Etsy in 2024!

I know what brought you here. 

We’re all trying to find alternative ways to make extra money because we need the income but also because we crave the flexibility and sense of purpose that comes from pursuing creative projects that we love. 

Right now, one of the best websites to make this happen is Etsy.

Whether you are a creative person looking to start a side hustle or simply a person with a hobby you want to share with the world, you can start making money on Etsy today!

But how do you do it?

If you’re looking to turn your imagination into something that can generate multiple income streams and facilitate the financial freedom you’ve always wanted, you’ve come to the right place.

Below, you won’t just learn how to sell on Etsy, you will actually learn how to make money on Etsy.

Ready to get started?

Let’s go!

What is Etsy?

In short, Etsy is the home of hand-crafted and handmade goods.

While other platforms (like eBay and Amazon) provide a marketplace for cheap, mass-produced goods and price-hungry shoppers, Etsy is the best place for those focused on quality and originality.

Today, Etsy is the eighth largest online marketplace in the world, with nearly 100 million active buyers in 234 countries.

Better still, you don’t have to be a full-time entrepreneur to make money on Etsy – two-thirds of Etsy sellers use their shops as a way to supplement their income, while 95% run their shops from the comfort of home.

How much money can you make selling on Etsy?

The amount of money you can make selling on Etsy will greatly vary depending on your desires, efforts, and abilities.

It is not unusual for Etsy sellers to earn anywhere from $100 a month to $10,000 a month or more!

Rachel, for example, is making over $160,000 a year selling digital planners on her Etsy shop. While on maternity leave, she took this course from Gold City Ventures, and within a few months she started making money.

The key to making money on Etsy is utilizing a few simple tips and tricks which will boost profits and maximize your chances for success.

So, let’s get into them!

1. Choose the right product

To begin, note that on Etsy you can only sell handmade products, vintage items (at least 20 years old), or craft supplies.

Make sure to check out Etsy’s regulations on what you can and can’t sell if you are unsure.

That said, if you’re looking for ideas for products to sell which will actually make money, it’s so easy to find the bestselling items on Etsy using eRank.

All you need to do is to register for a free account, then connect your Etsy shop to it (it’s 100% safe). Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to get a snapshot of the most popular sellers on Etsy that made the most sales.

You can only check the first five for free. If you want more info, including a list of overall top sellers, you need to upgrade to a basic or pro account.

But for now, because I know you are wondering, here are the six most popular categories of items to sell on Etsy.

Handmade Jewelry

No matter which trends are popular at any given moment, one thing remains the same – handmade jewelry is one of the most lucrative things you can sell on Etsy.

Just look at CaitlynMinimalist, run by Kate Kim from LA. She has made, as of today, over 2 million sales and has a seven-figure Etsy business in her hands.

Jewelry and craft supplies

If you don’t have the time or skill to actually create the jewelry, you can provide the supplies to those who would.

Skeptical? Check out Bohemian Findings, started by Hope Milner and her husband as a fund for their retirement dream of settling on Canada’s Prince Edward Island.

Bohemian Findings has now made over one million sales of bulk craft supplies … and yes, the Milners now live comfortably on Prince Edward Island.

Clothing

Yes, selling clothing means shirts with printed designs – an all-time popular seller on Etsy – but now more than ever, it means things like headbands, socks, leg warmers, and other fashion accessories are in high demand.

Some seek to follow in the footsteps of Alicia Shaffer, who became “Etsy’s richest seller” selling bohemian-inspired fashion accessories to the tune of $1 million per year.

Others, like Diane Vick, the proprietor of Lizzy’s Biz, take a more targeted approach. Diane turned her love of spoiling her grandchildren with handmade clothing into a successful Etsy business earning between $1,000 and $6,000 per month by selling handcrafted clothing, quilts, aprons, and more.

Homemade bath and beauty products

There is a “movement” towards homemade and organic bath and beauty products, and many Etsy sellers are taking advantage of the trend.

Zandra Cunningham inspired a generation when she started making and selling her own beauty products at nine years old, becoming, by the time she was a teenager, the proprietor of a thriving company and featured TEDx speaker.

Digital products

Digital items can include artwork, stationery and planners, knitting and crochet patterns, stickers, and more.

With digital products, your customers simply download your product at the time of purchase, meaning no shipping costs to worry about!

Better still, you create digital downloads once and sell them forever, making digital products an excellent potential source of passive income.

Look to Lois Calli-Smith, who turned her lifelong love of sewing not into a clothing business but instead, a business selling digital sewing patterns.

Want more ideas for what digital products you could sell? Check out my complete list of the best digital products to sell in 2024, and also, check the 50 Most Profitable Digital Products To Sell on Esty Right Now.

Vintage items

Etsy is the place customers go when they want something unique and quirky from the past.

For inspiration, look to Serena Fortenberry and Vintage Squalor. Fortenberry started what she calls a “hobby” business selling the unique treasures she finds at the garage and estate sales, thrift shops, and antique auctions.

Vintage Squalor now earns Fortenberry over $1,000 per month doing something she loved to do already.

If you want to know more about what to sell to make money on Etsy, check out my list of the 15 Best Things To Sell On Etsy.

2. Use the power of marketing

Good news: there are many ways to market your Etsy store which require little to no monetary input.

Here are three ways you absolutely should be marketing your Etsy shop:

Social media

Yes, you should share product listings on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and even TikTok. But more than that, you should get into “engagement marketing” on all of these platforms.

This means joining the conversations others are having, commenting on posts, and asking for feedback; it means producing behind-the-scenes content or how-to tutorials for your products.

Most importantly, you should be active on Pinterest.

Some 445 million people use Pinterest every month to find ideas and inspiration for their next purchase

This means that not only should you make your own board featuring your products, but you should join in on pre-existing Etsy pinning groups, in which Etsy sellers pin each other’s materials to boost exposure.

Promotions

Undoubtedly, one of the best features of Etsy is its free-to-use sales and coupon capabilities.

This means you can offer discounted prices or special offers like free shipping to the Etsy community. Promotions are a great way to entice new buyers and build loyalty among existing customers.

Reviews

More than 90% of online shoppers read customer reviews before making a purchase. Further, 58% say they would pay more for products with good reviews.

On Etsy, customers can leave reviews on their experience for 100 days. Building a solid cache of positive reviews is an excellent marketing strategy.

3. Don’t be afraid to invest in ads

But what if you do want to spend a bit of money marketing your product?

For those in this category, Etsy Ads are a good idea.

Here’s how it works: Etsy Ads functions as a sort of auction for ad space on Etsy. You set the daily budget you would like to spend – say, $1 to start – and from there, Etsy offers bids on your behalf for various ad spaces.

The beauty of it is that Etsy wants you to make sales, so they will automatically choose the bids which are best for your specific listings.

4. Use Etsy stats to improve listings

As your Etsy store starts to grow, it is absolutely vital you measure its performance, see what is working and what is not, and adjust your strategy accordingly.

You must let the metrics be your guide!

What metrics should you be looking at, and, more importantly, what do they mean?

Views and visits

Examine how many customers view each of your product listings is generating.

If nobody is viewing your listings, what can you do?

Well, you can consider getting rid of low-performing ads, or don’t eliminate them, improve them! Keep reading, and I’ll show you how to do this below!

Conversion rate

Simply, your conversion rate is how often someone who visits your page actually buys something.

Conversion rate = (orders ÷ visits) x 100

A conversion rate between 1-3% is what you’re looking for.

If your conversion rate is low, it means people are finding your product but don’t like what you are offering enough to make a purchase. Here, improve the listings!

Conversely, if the conversion rate of a listing is high, this means that people like what you are selling, and you might increase sales by investing in ads so that more customers come across it.

Traffic sources

Finally, examine your traffic sources, that is, where your buyers are coming from. This will tell you how your buyers are finding you and consequently, where best to devote your resources.

Are your ads driving views? Consider upping your daily ad budget.

Maybe a specific social media channel is bringing in the customers? Spend more time building your following there.

5. Ship internationally

Did you know: according to Etsy, customers are 50% less likely to buy an item if the shipping price is higher than they’re used to. Further, 20% of customers are more likely to complete their purchase when the listing offers free delivery.

Simply, shipping is vital to a successful Etsy shop.

The good news? Etsy allows sellers to offer free shipping to anywhere in the world!

They even provide a smart pricing tool to help sellers adjust the price of their products to recover the shipping cost.

But what if you determine it’s just not viable cost-wise to offer free shipping on your products?
Don’t fret. If you live in the US, UK, Canada, or Australia, there is something for you too!

There, Etsy allows you to print discounted shipping postage from the comfort of your home.

Remember, Etsy buyers come from all over the world. Focus on getting your product in their hands as inexpensively and efficiently as possible.

How to sell on Etsy

Now that you know the secrets to make money on Etsy, it’s time to get started. As you do, just follow these five simple steps and start making money today!

1. Open your own Etsy shop

First, open your Etsy shop by simply heading over to Etsy.com and clicking ‘Register’ in the top right-hand corner. If you already have an Etsy account, you can skip this first step.

From there, return to the profile menu in the top right-hand corner, click ‘Sell on Etsy,’ and then, ‘Open Your Etsy Shop.’

A couple of short forms later, and you’re ready to go!

Yes, it really is that easy! 

Remember, you’ll need to create one listing to activate your shop, so make sure you have at least one product in mind when you open your Etsy shop.

2. Set up your shop

First, choose a name for your shop (don’t worry, you can change it later). You have 20 characters to work with.

Think about what will make your brand unique, the feeling you want your shop to evoke in your target audience, and the story you are trying to tell.

Next, optimize your Etsy shop profile.

This means:

• Your Seller Profile – Include a short bio and photograph or logo to start building your brand.
• Your Shop Bio – Here, you have 5,000 characters to introduce your brand, technical qualifications, achievements, and, most importantly, your inspiration.
• Your Shop Policy – These are your store’s specific guidelines for transactions, the how and where of your processing procedures, shipping timelines, and refund policy.

If this type of minutiae is not your strong point, don’t worry – Etsy has templates to help you get it done.

3. Create stellar listings

Online stores are at one distinct disadvantage to those selling live and in person. Customers cannot actually feel, touch, and hold your products in an online marketplace before they buy.

This means that one of the most important angles when answering how to sell on Etsy is how sellers facilitate customer connection to their products in other ways.

The easiest way to do this is – Having amazing product listings!

How do you do it?

Use stunning images

90% of Etsy shoppers said the photo quality was “extremely important” or “very important” to a purchase decision.

Think about it. You’re browsing page after page of unique products. Which do you click on? The ones that look the best! In other words, you must have high-quality photos if you want a successful Etsy shop.

Also, Etsy allows ten photos per listing – make sure to use them all.

Your best photo should be the thumbnail, but the rest should show your product from multiple angles, as well as lifestyle shots of the product being used.

The power of titles

Etsy allows titles of 140 characters, but only the first 40 characters show up on the search results page.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use all 140 characters – you should – it means that the customer should know what the product is and what makes it unique within those first 40 characters.

Have a look at how this Etsy top seller is using the title to add as many keywords as possible:

Persuasive product descriptions

Don’t be afraid to write personal product descriptions to tell your brand’s story and illuminate how your product will improve the customer’s life.

But make sure to include the important details, and include them first.

This means key features of the product, measurements, condition, color, and ordering instructions. Answers the questions customers may have before they even have to ask.

Want to learn more? Take this free course on Skillshare to create Etsy product listings that actually get seen.

4. Learn SEO and choose top keywords

It’s a simple question – how do you get your products to the top of Etsy’s search results?

When a customer runs a search on Etsy, its algorithm looks at two broad categories to determine the results the customer sees.

Query matching

First, Etsy’s algorithm looks to match keywords on titles, tags, attributes, and categories.

Simply, your title, tags, attributes, and categories should all be loaded with keywords. More importantly, they should all be using the same keywords to maximize SEO.

How do I know which keywords to use?

To find the best keywords for your product, you can start by using one of the most popular Etsy SEO tools out there – Marmalead.

This app helps you to discover the keywords buyers use to find listings for similar products to yours. You can also check out the real search volume and popular searches, as well as look at your competitors and see what they rank for. 

You can try it for free for 14 days, then it’s $19/month.

Other tools you might want to look into:

• eRank helps you to craft titles and tags, monitor other active sellers, and track your rankings. It’s free for some limited searches, and you can pick from a basic $5.99 plan or a $9.99 if you want the most advanced options.
• Etsy Stats is the free analytics tool you will find inside your Etsy shop account and will help you to identify your best-performing products.

Next, you can conduct a test search yourself.

How?

Type a description of your product into the Etsy search bar and see what gets suggested. These are the words and phrases customers are using when searching for products like yours.

Note, you do not want to rely on the search bar entirely to determine your keywords. This is because what shows up are not necessarily the most valuable keywords, but only those which are popular in recent searches.

Ranking

After query matching, Etsy ranks all matched listings based on the likelihood that a purchase will be made. They want sales to be made, so they want to put products in front of customers that they will actually buy.

Etsy determines the likelihood that a purchase will be made by examining:

• Relevance of tags, categories, and attributes – keywords, keywords, keywords!
• Conversion Rate – are people who go to your shop actually buying?
• Customer and Market Experience – Etsy looks at your customer service history and your shop profile’s content. Yes, completing your profile actually helps SEO. 
• Shipping Costs – Low shipping costs are positively correlated with sales. Since Etsy wants to show results that will lead to purchases, lower shipping costs – particularly free shipping – are given credit by their algorithm.
• Age of Listing – simply, newer is better. Don’t forget to refresh from time to time!

And if you need more help with Etsy SEO check out this free course on Skillshare. It will help you to become an SEO master!

5. Price your products right

When asking how to make money on Etsy, you must find the right balance on your products’ price.

First, consider how much each item you produce is actually costing you – not only the materials needed to make the product but the fees, taxes, and shipping costs you will incur on its sale. And, of course, add in the cost of your labor.

Compare this to the price you are selling your product. If the difference between the two numbers is not great enough to represent a healthy profit margin on each sale, what can you do?

You can try to cut costs by, for example, sourcing more affordable materials with which to work.

But you can also raise prices. Here is a secret: the lowest price is not always the most appealing to customers.

This is particularly true on Etsy, where customers are specifically looking for high-quality, one-of-a-kind products and are willing to pay for them.

Check out Etsy’s pricing worksheet.

How much does it cost to sell on Etsy?

Those looking to start an Etsy shop should be aware of the following fees:

Listing fee

Etsy charges a small fee for every item you list in your shop, which must be paid regardless of any sales.

In the US, this cost is $0.20 per listing.

Etsy’s listing fees are paid at the end of the month. This allows you to pay as you go rather than devoting an up-front investment, good for those just starting out.

Transaction fee

Every time a customer buys something from your shop, Etsy takes 6.5% of the total cost. This applies to shipping costs paid by the customer as well.

Payment processing fee

Studies have shown consumers are more likely to abandon their purchases if their preferred payment method isn’t available.

The good news is that Etsy provides a service called Etsy Payments which allows customers to pay with ten different methods, including debit and credit cards, PayPal, Etsy gift cards, as well as Apple Pay, and Google Play.

However, the downside is that sellers are obligated to use the service, and it adds a processing fee to all transactions. In the US, this fee is 3% plus $0.25.

Is Etsy Plus worth it?

For those looking to take their Etsy store to the next level, there is a monthly subscription service called Etsy Plus offering discounts and an expanded set of tools.

In the US, Etsy Plus costs $10 per month. 

This gets you:

• 15 free product listings ($3 value)
• $5 in Etsy Ads credits
• Discount on domains – Etsy Plus allows you to save 50% on a customized ‘.com’ domain address or get a ‘.store’ address free for a year.
• Advanced customization – Etsy Plus also provides advanced customization options like new banner templates and different front pages for your store, as well as featured ad listing options.
• Restock options – when someone visits your store, and a product is out of stock, Etsy Plus allows them to sign up and receive a notification when you restock it.
• Discounts on shipping boxes, business cards, and other promotional material

For those who have established their store and are looking to take it to the next level, the answer is, yes, Etsy Plus is totally worth it.

Is Etsy the right platform for you?

Personally, my final take is that Etsy is a great platform.

• It can give your new brand significant exposure, especially if you don’t want to invest in creating your own online shop and searching for an audience straight away.  

• Etsy is also a fantastic online platform for making money on the side, and it has all the tools to allow your shop to grow with your success.

It is, however, worth adding one final thing:

56% of Etsy sellers are multi-channel retailers, meaning they don’t just sell on Etsy.

The best plan might be to build up your shop on Etsy initially, taking advantage of their built-in audience, then looking to diversify to other platforms and even start your own website once your brand is established.

Check out my comprehensive guide on How to Start an Online Store if you are ready to build your own e-commerce site.

So there you have it!

The time is now to open your Etsy shop and move toward the financial freedom you’ve always wanted. Yes, it’s going to be hard work, but having your own small business can be incredibly rewarding, too.

So what are you waiting for? The only thing left to do is get started!

If you have any questions, add a comment below or email me. I reply to every comment and every single email!

And if you know someone thinking about starting an Etsy shop or looking to improve the one they have, please do not hesitate to share this with them!