Hello, and welcome back to Part II of starting your own online business! Last time, we talked a little bit more about “the basics”: how to make your products, digitize your designs, and finally the importance of choosing a good name. This time, we are going to discuss the more fine-tuned details, such as stocking your shop, choosing payment methods, packaging, and most importantly, opening up! So, let’s get started!
Stocking Your Shop and Payment Methods
Stocking your shop, at least on Etsy, takes a little bit of work. To add a listing, you go to the Shop Manager page, which serves as your information center. Each listing costs $0.20, paid after your listing “expires” or sells out, which is over a period of four months. You’ll have to include all kinds of information about your product, such as its title, type (is it a physical product, or a digital copy?), and shipping information, including shipping prices, where it can be shipped, and its original zip code. It sounds more confusing than it actually is though—you’ll quickly get the hang of it after making a couple of your first listings.
You’ll actually establish preferred payment methods while you’re first setting up, and Etsy gives you good information about how to configure everything. The two main options are either to connect your bank account so the money goes directly there, or to use a PayPal where you can transfer money from there to your account, which can be preferred if you do not want to give Etsy your bank account information for security reasons. Etsy does everything else automatically—your customers can choose which card payment works best for them, and Etsy converts that to your chosen method. You can also choose the frequency of deposits —transfers can range from every day to every month, so you get a lot of flexibility in terms of when and how you get your well-earned revenue.
Shortcut/Hack #1: Etsy has an incredible number of tutorials and videos on how to navigate the more finicky elements of starting a shop. Everything is already pretty clear, but take advantage of the Community & Help section in your Shop Manager, which includes Forums, a Seller’s Handbook, and more!
Packaging
For me, figuring out how I want all of my packaging to look has been one of the most fun parts of this whole process. This is where you can really customize everything, and think about the customer’s experience as well—make them gasp at your creative designs! However, it is important to note that you don’t want too much going on with your packaging, because your art should still be the star! They paid for the product, not the added package (this takes the idea that it’s what’s inside that counts to a whole new level). So, let’s start from the inside out. Besides your art, one of the things that can really make you stand out from the crowd is a personalized note or business card. Business cards are important so that your customers have more information about how to find you again—definitely add your Etsy shop URL, and even better, a social media page!
There are a multitude of websites where you can design cards or add your own art to them, so when choosing, you really can’t go wrong. Just make sure that you can access reviews that show you how the shipping time and design process were—that information is really important, because you don’t want to end up with more customers than business cards! For mine, I used Moo (moo.com), a wonderful business that manufactures stickers (more for shipping), cards, flyers, and more—I would definitely recommend! Personal notes are also a very nice way of saying thank you to your customers. It doesn’t have to be too complicated, but everyone appreciates gratitude, and it’s a great way to show customers that they are important to you. The next level would be considering what you want to wrap your art and cards in. I personally like tissue paper, because it’s inexpensive but looks nice (and once again, doesn’t take the spotlight off your art pieces). Wrapping your products tightly in tissue paper, cloth, et cetera also doubles as protection, so that hopefully your art is in mint condition when it reaches your customers. The final layer is your actual shipping package, or “mailer.” There is a lot of variety in mailer types, and you’ll come across different opinions about the overall protection level of each. Poly mailers are thin plastic, and are best used for clothing/soft products that won’t get bent out of shape. Bubble mailers are also plastic, but provide more rigidity thanks to the lining of plastic bubbles. Rigid paper mailers are probably the ones I’d most recommend—as the name suggests, they are not easily bent and provide the best protection for art prints, stickers, and other products in that realm. There are many more different types, and it should ultimately be up to you to discover what works best for you and your products!
Shortcut/Hack #2: Staples, an office supply retailer, is also a good resource for business cards! They are incredibly affordable, and give you full freedom in terms of designing, which is really valuable
Shortcut/Hack #3: USPS (store.usps.com) has all kinds of free mailers on their website! You can order packs of 10 to 25 at a time, and products range from plastic envelopes to flat rate boxes. This is extremely useful if you need to save money or order more mailers in a pinch!
Logo Design and Opening Up Shop
Another important thing to do before opening is to design your own logo. Once you’ve chosen a name, you might automatically have a logo in mind, or it might require some experimenting. Let’s take my logo for example—my shop name is Lemon + Fern—just from the title, you might venture to say that my logo should be a lemon and then a fern, and honestly, you wouldn’t be wrong. However, it did take some experimentation and work. I finally settled on a yellow circle with a fern shape on top, which I absolutely love! However, it doesn’t have to be that obvious. I recommend experimenting with simple shapes at first, and developing it from there. Remember, your logo shouldn’t be too loud and busy, because it’s always your art that counts.
So, you’ve finally made it to the end, and you’re opening up shop! What a crazy, amazing ride! But wait—how do I advertise? The best way to get your shop noticed is to first reach out to friends and family, and tell them about your new venture! Next, I would recommend making a video or posting pictures of your artwork on social media, which will reach more of your friends, family, and peers. I think it is also helpful to have a dedicated account for your shop—somewhere where you can post updates, new art, et cetera.
And now, you’re actually at the same spot as me. My shop is opening on November first, and I couldn’t be more excited! It’s always been a dream of mine to be able to showcase and sell my art, and here I am! I hope these articles have been informative, and that if you ever want to open up your own shop, you’ll have some great starting knowledge—pretty soon you’ll be able to press “publish” on your last listing, and you’ll be off to the races.