Complete Guide to Setting up Your Etsy Shop in the UK
As an artist or crafter within the UK, one way you can monetize your skills without having to spend a lot is by setting up an Etsy shop. Etsy provides a platform for creative individuals to produce and sell uniquely designed items. With it you can come up with several handmade products and art to showcase to the millions of audiences available on the platform.
That being said it is crucial that you understand how to correctly set up an Etsy shop. This guide will explain all you need to know about setting up an Etsy shop in the UK. You will also get to understand the tips to follow in successfully running a shop on Etsy and so on.
Steps to Setting up an Etsy Shop in the UK
Setting up an Etsy shop is quite straightforward. Here are the steps to follow when setting up an Etsy shop in the UK.
1. Create an Etsy Account
To open a seller account on Etsy, you have to create a consumer account first so as to be able to log in to the platform. If you’ve already used Etsy to shop in the past, then you are most likely to have a consumer account with them. If you don’t have one already, simply go to the Etsy official website and register an account. You will need a valid email address, first name and password to be able to do this. Once you’ve done this, you will be sent an email to verify the account.
Now that you have been able to log in. you can set up a seller account. To do that, simply login to the consumer account that you open. On the top right of the screen is a drop-down menu, click on it and select the Sell on Etsy option. This would take you to a new page where you can open your Etsy shop.
2. Select the Language, Country and other Preferences
You will be required to make some selections as regards language, country etc. So once you click on the open your Etsy shop, you will be brought to a page where you can select your preferences. You will have to choose a default language which you will use later to set up other information on your Etsy shop. You should be sure of the language to be chosen as you won’t be able to change it later.
You will also need to select the country where your shop is. You will be able to select the UK as an option as Etsy is available here. Apart from that, you also need to set the currency you will use later for your product pricing. If you have customers from another country, Etsy will automatically allow them to see the price of your products in their currency.
Once you are done with that, you will be asked to select a description for your business. You will have up to four options here but you are required to select one.
3. Choose Your Shop Name
The next step will be to choose a name for your Etsy shop. Etsy has some naming rules which must be adhered to. You have to ensure that the name is unique, has a maximum of 20 characters and shouldn’t contain spacing.
If you already have a name ready, then you can use the Etsy name checker to see if the name is still available. If the name has been used by another seller, then you need to find another suitable name. Once you find a name, be sure to find out if it’s still available for domain and hosting. You should also check the Companies House website for its availability.
It is better to have your Etsy shop, domain and registered business name to be the same. With this, you will be able to maintain uniformity which is the best for you as a business owner.
4. Create a Logo for your brand
Once you have the name ready, you should start creating your logo and branding. Your shop log should be unique, creative and captivating. There are a whole lot of sellers on Etsy, so for you to stand out, your branding and logo must be unique and creative. Although you will be able to make some adjustments to pictures, logos etc. using some editing tools on Etsy, it’s always better to have them done earlier before set up so that you can launch your shop earlier.
5. Set up your Shop Listing
Now you have to do your listing appropriately so as to get sales. There are many sellers who will be selling similar products as yours. As such you need to ensure that your shop is visible whenever anyone searches for an item. As a new seller, getting this right would be really helpful to you as you don’t have past customers who could come back to buy your product or give referrals.
Therefore, you have to be intentional about your shop optimization. You should learn the tricks of SEO so that your shop can easily be found by potential customers when they make searches on either Etsy or search engines. There are a few things you would also need to take note of when making your shop listing.
- Details: This should include the name of the product and a detailed description of it
- Videos and images: You will need to provide images and videos of the product. You must include at least one image or video but could add up to 10. You can also show the dimensions on the images so customers can understand the product sizes well. Videos are a great way to indicate the quality of your item, so be sure to always include them.
- Pricing: Prices of the product together with the shipping fees should also be indicated.
- Specifications: If you sell products that have specifications like colour or size, then you should list them
- Shipping and delivery: There is a shipping calculator that makes it easier for customers to know their fees. Once the shipping location and other details have been entered by the customer, Etsy uses these to calculate their fees. However, if you will be offering free shipping, it should be indicated here too.
6. Set Up your Payments
Payment set-up will be the next step. When doing this, you will be required to select if your business will be a sole proprietorship or an incorporated one. As such you need to have determined the business structure in which you will be using. Once you choose a business structure you will be asked to provide some details about the business or yourself, which will be based on the business structure selected earlier.
Once you’ve included the business details, you will be allowed to include your bank account details, together with the payment method.
7. Launch Your Shop
Now it’s time to launch your shop which you will achieve by clicking the open your shop button. Once you do this your shop will go live. It is worth providing information on your bio and uploading your picture so customers can get to know you and build trust. You might also want to take time later to set up your shop policies, create payment options, choose a processing timeframe for customer's orders and so on.
Once you’ve launched your shop, you can start making money from it. You should begin telling your people about your business and seek the visibility that you need.
Tips to successfully running an Etsy Shop
Etsy is a popular and global platform with a lot of artisans and business owners. With that, you must do all you can to stand out from the crowd and be visible so as to achieve success. Here are some tips to help you successfully run an Etsy shop.
1. Do research
You should constantly be doing research on how you could improve your product and offer generally. Do research about the best seller of your product niche. It is usually good to know what your competitors are offering, their prices, policies and strategies so as to tailor your offer to what customers want. However, you should avoid directly copying their idea.
2. Do some price testing
Your product pricing could also determine if you would make sales. If your product is very unique, then you could easily set the price you want after calculating all the costs. On the other hand, if there are similar products that solve the same problem as your product, then it will be beneficial to look out for what their price range is. Customers do not love to be overcharged, so be sure that your pricing is fair for the product you are rendering. You should also test your pricing more often especially if you are offering a new product to see what works best.
3. Be logical with your product description
You should endeavour to describe your product as simple as you can. Customers should be able to understand your product and its uses by reading your product description. Also, you should cover all the features of the item here. Aside from that, you need to understand the use of keywords and SEO so you can be visible to potential customers. Using appropriate keywords in your product descriptions makes your shop show up when an online shopper searches for your product or a similar one.
4. Use only quality images and pictures
People will be more attracted to good-quality images and videos than those with bad quality. Most customers want to have a clear view of what they want to buy and since they can’t see it physically, a clear, bright picture and videos will do the job. You should therefore invest in getting materials that will aid photography. Pictures and videos should be taken in good lighting with aesthetic backgrounds. Similarly, you should show every side and angle of each product in your listing.
5. Select the accurate shipping option
Your Etsy shop will most likely grow faster if you have effective and efficient logistics. Customers expect that products should get to them within the stipulated period stated in your shop. Constantly failing to fulfil this would affect your business growth. As such, you should sort your logistics as it’s crucial for your business development.
6. Package items properly
To avoid running into a loss or pushing customers away from your business, then you must learn to package customers’ products adequately. It is one thing to have a lot of customers and it is another thing entirely to handle logistics effectively. To prevent your business from experiencing complaints from customers, delivery items must be packaged well and handled with care till they get to the customers.
Advantages of Setting up an Etsy Shop
Opening an Etsy shop has many advantages you should know. Here are some of them.
1. Easy to set up
Setting up a shop on Etsy is basically easy to do. Even if you do not have any technical skills, you will be able to create a seller account in just a few steps. Apart from that the platform is simple to manage and also the resources available for use on it can also be handled by anyone.
2. Massive Customer base
Etsy is popularly one of the biggest online markets with millions of customers. With the massive audience size available on the platform, it is easier for you to reach more people. Having access to more audience increases the chances of making good sales every day.
3. Low risk involved
Setting up your shop on Etsy comes with little or no risk. In fact, you could easily start up on Etsy on a small scale rather than starting with a big investment. If you have an idea, Etsy could be a great platform to test if the idea would be attractive to consumers or not. As such you do not have to spend on a domain or hosting before you sell a product as you would only need to set up an account and open a shop.
4. Many seller's resources and tools
There are many resources and tools on Etsy for sellers to effectively manage their shop. This includes video editing tools, a listing manager, sales and coupons, mobile apps, promoted ads and so on.
5. Great reputation
Etsy has been around for a good number of years. It is widely known for its unique, hand-crafted and creative products. Because of this, it has a great reputation that makes it attractive to a lot of consumers. So having a shop on a platform like Etsy means you are setting up your business to a large audience.
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Conclusion
If you are considering setting up an online business where you can showcase your skills and creativity, then you should consider setting up an Etsy shop. With it, you will be able to sell unique products, set up efficient payment methods and manage your business on the go. If you have any questions on how to Set up your Etsy Shop in the UK, don’t hesitate to contact us here, and we’ll do everything we can to help.