I want to make a pet portrait commission business that gives to pets in need by donating portions of the funds I make from selling my work on Etsy to shelters and rescues. Also to bring awareness to pets in need at vendor fairs and make greeting cards with portraits on them. and one day I want to use green art materials so it is eco friendly. Reuse old paper that I made mistakes on. Make homemade green glitter using crushed up sea shells make wood pencil shavings into compost and use watercolor products as oils and acrylics which is plastic is not good for the environment.
I have no plans of starting an Etsy shop at this point in time but there is a lot of solid advice in here that is applicable to Etsy and beyond. Another great video Vanessa. :)
So informative and boiled down to the essentials! Great video as always! :) I started an Etsy shop about a year ago but neglected it and made no promotion, because I got caught up in other projects. I still managed to make a few sales, which left me wondering how these total strangers from the United States were even able to find my shop. I plan on updating and restocking it in a few months though, once I'm done with my portfolio.
Haha yes there's no worse marketing plan than no marketing plan at all, but we all run out of time sometimes! The fact you were able to make a few sales despite no marketing means your products are likely exceptional :D When you have time to dedicate to this again, I'm sure it will be a great succes!
4:39 this is very true! when i first started selling on Etsy i got no attention to my art because i was just doing stuff like colourful butterflies but i started selling stuff that was minecraft related. If you like a certain video game, music genre, app or tv show try and focus it on that if you have permission to do so!
Thank you for all these tips. I love your videos and they are a great help to me. My Etsy shop hasn't really taken off, it's only for digital products, so I'm learning how to improve it. Thank you!
I'm so glad you found the video helpful, Monica! I don't know if you've already seen it, but I have another Etsy video specifically about digital downloads. The first half of that video is pretty basic tips, but in the second half I go over marketing strategies that work well for digital downloads! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wWxOj9CjEA8.html I've also just released a new video on how to get found on Etsy: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IaOh7b3oXNI.html I hope these help!!
@@ArtBusinesswithNess Thank you Vanessa. Yes, I've seen both videos... I've been hooked to your channel all day! hahahaha I also downloaded your guides. Thanks for so many tips and advice. Sorry if you read something that seems weird to you. I'm studying English, but my level is still low and I'm using a translator :P As soon as I can understand without subtitles, I don't rule out buying your courses! I really like the way you explain.
@@moniroca Wow, really you are using a translator? I never would have guessed, it is very well translated! There's really no need to apologize even if there are mistakes though, English is not my first language either (it's French!) so I definitely wouldn't feel offended by English mistakes. I make them frequently myself! The most important is that we try, right? :)
@@ArtBusinesswithNess Totally. Mistakes are for learning!!! yes, I use DeepL translator. I try to write first without their help, but I always check that I'm not writing anything crazy hahahhaa. Little by little... I will be learning.
Helpful video! Can't wait for the next one! I started an Etsy shop but made no promo for it wharsoever and ofc didn't sell a thing. This year I'm thinking of a different approach , waiting to hear your thoughts about digital content.
We finally got to meet her! Yeih! Congrats on the new sponsorship by the way. My idea for Etsy are coloring books for kids and adults since a big part of my illustration process is the lineart. I'm yet to get on that... Do you think a blog that only talks about your etsy shop, inside your main website would work?
Yesss the star of the show appears 😍 A blog can work for sure but hinges on 2 things: first that you discuss topics that your customers are likely to search and find you through (like coloring techniques, coloring materials, etc) and second, that your website is prepared to convert them when they arrive on your blog. This can be things like a prompt in the blog post to sign on to your mailing list to get a freebie, link to specific products related to your blog post, a shop on your site, etc. If they land on your blog but the rest of your website is just your illustration portfolio and they have to dig for 10 minutes to even find the link to your Etsy shop, they're not going to go through the trouble. As long as your website is built with those 2 things in mind, it could work. The most ideal method would be to have the blog on a separate website just for your etsy shop though, as this coloring book stuff is unlikely to do much for your publishing clients. But I don't think it'll literally turn them off if it is all on the same website, as it's not completely off topic.
Great video!! I am starting to understand how etsy works! Marketing seems the toughest part for me. 😅 I learned a lot from this video. I am looking forward for your new videos! 😊
Thanks Nash! Yeah marketing is a toughie! It's so different from anything related to drawing skills. It's a really good thing to learn though, because then you can make a living off any product you choose!
@@ArtBusinesswithNess Strangely enough I was having doubts...I think it's because your accent reminds me a lot of Marc Brunet, and his accent throws me off for some reason. Thanks for satisfying my curiosity :-)
@@lowwwery Ahhhh I see! Great ear picking that up! Not many people can recognize it, it's different from the French accent (much less fancy!) and sounds like nothing for most people haha..
Thank you for another great video!! I look forward to each and every one. :D And thank you for the free etsy guide! I've been thinking about it for a couple of years, and this information really helps a lot!
@@ArtBusinesswithNess I'm leaning towards an inspirational line of stationary, that way I can use my own watercolor images to 'beautify' lol! ;) But I'm still playing with ideas!
I won't lie: it is difficult! But all the information you need is readily available. As long as you do your research and take the time to learn how to make Etsy work instead of going at it blind, there's no reason that you wouldn't succeed :) Best of luck!
Ohhhh yes jewelry on Etsy seems TOUGH!! It's a really saturated market so it's hard to stand out. Plus, the profit margins are small so it's a lot of work to make only a small amount of money. It must have been really challenging!
@@littlepinkpebble I do a lot of marketing efforts to find customers :) I use Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook groups to find people, then I offer free monthly freebies to move those people over to my mailing list and private Facebook group.
I'm original artist painting exclusive reverse painting on glass. I've now taken canvas prints super large sizes rather than the tiddly ones most have. No followers where do I start
That sounds wonderful! Followers are great, but buyers are better! Don't focus too much on Instagram numbers and instead try to figure out where your buyers would be.
Thank you for your videos. They are chock full of great advice that also resonates with the business workshops we've been attending. They are also very timely for us, as we are now at the point of expanding our illustration business from a "hobby" to a proper enterprise. We are looking into opening an Etsy shop and you've clarified a lot of questions about it :)
Great video Ness! I used to have my own webshop via Shopify but whatever marketing strategies I made, didn't work. It is a new tipe of art that I don't understand I guess. Now I'm building up my portfolio page and I have set up a shop there. I'm thinking to offer digital prints. Even if I don't make any sales, I don't need to pay any fees for it in the end. What do you think about it? Have a great day!
Marketing is tough! I had 2 failed Etsy shops before I got the hang of it... Keep tweaking, keep trying new strategies, and you will find what works for you!
I'm of two minds on the subject. I really think at first, it might be way too much work for little reward to set up both. But as you start gaining more momentum, making good sales and you're ready to scale, the advantages of having your own website start really coming in. Advanced analytics, the ability to set up mailing list optin forms and pop-ups, and a Facebook pixel to run ads, for instance. So I think Etsy is good to get started and test the waters, figure out what sells, build an audience, and then a website is good for scaling.
Hi Ness! Thanks for great info! Good starter things to consider here. Curious how you find your market through FB pages and other blogs without appearing as a stalker or breaking their rules. My experience has been that many have rules for members that do not allow solicitation. How do you manage that?
It depends for each audience! In my case (digital planning) there are FB groups where we can advertise our products. There may be the same thing in your niche too! If not, you can try Pinterest, RU-vid videos, write a guest post on a blog, etc. If no FB group will let you advertise your products, start your own FB group! Paid ads (such as Facebook ads) are probably the most efficient way to do it since your can specifically target people.
Just found your video because I want to grow my etsy shop. I do mostly anime and chibi illustration commissions (icons and more) but a friend of mine who also had great success told me to not get payed on etsy bc all the fees are not worth it. She wrote in her description to pay per Paypal after messaging her so I did the same. The only problem now is that I can't get reviews since no one really orders per etsy since they pay on Paypal. Is this a great problem and if yes what do you think I should do?
Hi Lero :) If you're only selling commissions, it makes sense to do it through PayPal. You can still get reviews, you just have to request it directly from your customers when you deliver the final art! If you are selling other products too, I suggest to stay with Etsy. The Etsy fees are not high compared to the costs of hosting a shop by yourself on Shopify or even Wordpress.
Hi I draw sketches I wanna start selling my art on Etsy but I don’t know if this gonna work or not , sell as hobby? Or open the business? I’m from FL I don’t know about the law . Please help me . Margaret.
First step would be to learn about small business law in your area then! In many places, you don't have to pay tax on your side hustle unless it's above a certain amount. But you won't know for sure until you do your research or talk to an accounting specialist.
The revenue Etsy shows you in that graph doesn't include Etsy fees or other expenses. What I said was, after Etsy fees, I still had "well over" $1000 per month in my pocket :) Some months are more, some are less (for example, the summer is slow) but when all averaged out it was about $1200 per month after fees.
@@ArtBusinesswithNess oh I missed the PER MONTH part. Sorry. I was like holy crap Still waking up, on about two hours of sleep after a 16 work night that was supposed to be a 4 hour work afternoon 😑
@@ArtBusinesswithNess ohhhh, that makes sense then, I was listening to it while painting, so I wasn’t watching 🤣 but it was a great video, so thank you for making it and helping us new folks out!
