by Johanna Draper

Created on: December 14, 2010   Last Updated: December 15, 2010

Etsy.com is a great place for artists to sell their handmade work on-line. Etsy offers a very affordable setup, only 20 cents per listing for 4 months, and 3.5% if the item sells. There are no monthly or annual fees!

Before you begin setting up shop, you need a vision. Think about what you want to sell. Get your friends and family to honestly critique your product. Determine how saturated the market is, who else may be selling a product similar to yours.

Make products that coordinate. Sometimes having a bunch of miscellaneous things makes the shop look cluttered and messy. Try to avoid this.

Figure out your prices. How much time and cost went into your product. Remember that on Etsy, you are selling to the whole world. Whatever your prices are, there are people out there somewhere who will gladly pay it.

Build an inventory. While some may think it is best to just put a few things up to "see if they sell", it rarely works that way. Your shop will be much more likely to succeed if you start out professional immediately.

When you have a sufficient inventory built to get started, take good photos. If you are unsure about this, contact someone such as a friend who has experience with this if possible.

One great way to take photos is to hang a white sheet over a window for a giant "light box", and take pictures of your products beside the window.

What kind of props or backgrounds you use is up to you. Determine what you like and take all of your photos with the same settings for a coordinated look and feel. I use old barn wood for my backgrounds. Some people prefer white poster board for a "floating" effect.

When your photos are done, sign up on Etsy.com with a sellers account (don't forget to choose a catchy business name!) Fill out your policies, shop announcement, and profile with good information.

Create your listings, and write good descriptions. Good descriptions will cover details about the size and color of your product, and examples of what it can be used for if necessary. People cannot see your product in person, so photos and descriptions are very important to selling on-line.

List several products at first, and after that, list 1 or 2 a day. Why? One of the most common ways people search on Etsy's search engine is by newest listed. This means when people search for a product, the newest listed items will show up first. This is why it is good strategy to list a couple of items a day, instead of all at once, so you can stay on top of the search engine.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>