My one-stop Etsy Listing how-to post

​You're opening an etsy store! Whoop whoop! Exciting as it is, there’s a lot of groundwork, much of which can feel a bit boring. I know, I do it grudgingly. That groundwork is essential though, as it helps you create a professional looking store which more people will find, and then want to buy from.
 
This is my distillation of what I've learnt and found useful. It's a bit whistle stop, so do go and look up better posts elsewhere about more details for photography for example. For now, grab a brew and get reading!

​Not actually started your shop yet? Before you get stuck in, use the link to the right so you can start risk free, with 40 free listings.

40 Free Etsy listings

​Before you upload a listing, get shop basics done!

You have a logo and a name, job’s a guddun right? Well, it really does help to complete your about and policies, and perhaps a couple of FAQ’s. Etsy helps you through this quite a bit, but if you’re struggling, have a look at another couple of relevant Etsy sellers you admire, and see the sort of things they have said.
 
Right, let's get ready for listing prep!

Photos

Etsy now offers you ten photo slots, and even suggests what kind of photos to use.

• Trust me, however happy you are with your photos; in the future you'll wonder what you were thinking.
  You can always take better photos, and gradually, you will.
• To keep things simple, get a suitable background (lots of people stick some subtle wallpaper to a board!) set up next to a window so you have natural light, and use a big bit of white card to help reflect extra light onto your set up.
  Try different times of day and different windows, and find a set up you can use again and again.
• Or…invest a couple of quid in two good lights with diffusers, and a pop up light tent, and any time of day you'll be able to take evenly lit shots without them being yellow, harshly lit, overly shadowed etc.
• What type of photos to take? Find other people selling similar items, and be inspired. Can you show the item as if it's just been unwrapped with a suitable card next to it? (“Oh, I could get dad that for his birthday…”) Can you show it being used? Can you show it from all angles? A close up of the texture?
• If nothing else, keep photos well lit, in focus and use range of angles are the essentials.

Lots of shadows!

Lightbox and helpers

Well lit all round!

​Keywords

Work out the keywords before starting your listing, and you’ll have the basics to create your listing.

​Sit and write down everything you can think of relating to your item. Colours, materials, shapes, styles, who might use it, where and when they might use it… Find similar listings and see what they use the same as you, and what other words you've not thought of.

Here's what I use to jot things down as I sip a brew - feel free to download and use it to help you!

etsy_keyword_brainstorm_sheet.pdf
File Size:	106 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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NOW you can go to start filling out your Etsy listing!

​Title (using keywords)

It's a “Butterfly brooch”, nothing more to say… Wrong! Pick from your keyword list to create a relevant title. “Rainbow butterfly brooch. Colourful jewellery for LGBT or a trendy grandma. Silver butterfly wings badge”.

​Item description (use your title)

Now copy that title into the listing, and expand it into sentences, and add measurements and other keyword details you couldn't fit in your title.
 
“Bring a rainbow into your day with this bright butterfly brooch. Colourful glass beads make this badge perfect as jewellery for an LGBT ally, or the timeless style makes it equally suitable for a grandma gift.
 
Worn on a coat, hat or scarf, it's cheerful and bright!
 
Silver plated butterfly wings support a chain of glass beads, arranged in a rainbow. Brooch fastens with a locking pin.
 
3cm wide and 4cm tall.”
 
Can you see parts of the original title in there, and how I've added extra details to it?

​Standard inset catch all text

Under your listing description, it can be useful to add details you repeat across all of your listings, perhaps with a couple of variants for different product types. This is separate to your FAQ and policies, and a good way to show customers you care, plus covers your back answering some questions before they're asked!
 
You may want to think about allergies, compliance with legal regulations, how do you pack it for posting, how should it be cleaned, do you include cleaning instructions when sending it… Be short and sweet, but think what a customer may want to know before they buy, and may be too lazy to go looking for.
 
Have a reccy at one of my listings and you'll see the sort of things I cover. 
​www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PerfidiousJewellery
I got this advice from the fab Amy at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SuperSuperHQ, so have a look at her listings too!

My "catch-all" blurb

​Keywords and materials

The final bit of writing on an Etsy listing is keywords and materials. Fill them all in as much as is relevant, as it all helps people find you!
 
Go back to your title, and split that down. So for my fictional listing: Rainbow butterfly brooch. Colourful jewellery for LGBT or a trendy grandma. Silver butterfly wings badge. I would get:
 
Rainbow
butterfly brooch
Colourful jewellery
LGBT
Grandma gift
Silver
butterfly wing
Badge
 
That's eight, and I can have 13 keywords, so then I'd go back to my description to pick other relevant words, cheerful, bright etc. The same for my materials, as they should already be in my title and listing
 
Filigree butterfly
Silver plated butterfly
Chain
Glass beads
Pin

Finally... Item Overview

hat's all the words done, so now to go through the drop down options at the top of the listing. Again, keywords should help you here, deciding on the category for your item, is it for a specific celebration etc.
 
Getting these drop down details filled in is essential. Even if it feels like you're duplicating details from the written part, many mobile phone users will only see this information, and not scroll down to your writing.

Woo hoo!

So, your photos are bright and engaging, all your sections are filled out (using your keywords so more people will find you through more search methods) and all of your descriptions are exciting so people will realise why they NEED this …

​Now go and share that Etsy link! 

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​Not actually started your shop yet? Before you get stuck in, use the link to the right so you can start risk free, with 40 free listings.

40 Free Etsy listings