The Ultimate Guide to Selling Merch on Etsy

Our ultimate guide to selling merch on Etsy gives shop owners a rundown of the tools they need to find success on the platform. Etsy is a great place to discover and support small businesses/sellers. And that includes your merch, too!

While Spreadshop is the main hub for your merch, marketing your merch on Etsy can expand your audience base. You’ll put yourself in touch with a whole new demographic that might not have found your merch otherwise.

Selling merch on Etsy takes more than just setting up your shop, though. You’ve got to be engaged and committed to connecting with your customers. And we know a thing or two about that.

Etsy for Beginners

It takes minutes to start selling merch on Etsy, so stop putting it off!  As an incentive to launch your shop, Etsy allows you to list your first 40 items for FREE. There’s typically a $0.20 fee for each listing.

Go ahead and set your preferences like region and currency and give your shop a name. Keep with the name of your Spreadshop or choose something similar for brand consistency. Now, you can start adding products.

Add multiple images to showcase your products (more on that later) and categorize them even further. Write personalized and fun descriptions. Choose categories and tags that best represent your products. Sellers can even add Holiday related tags for extra exposure during this time of year.      

Once you set up your billing information, you can begin to play around with the design of your page. Add an icon, or profile picture, that captures the vibe of your shop. Jot down announcements that promote upcoming sales or limited time offers.

That’s the fun part: making your Etsy shop feel like YOU. If your shop is backed by personal style and confidence – it’s bound to attract fellow shoppers and sellers.

Find Your Audience

Etsy is an ideal shopping destination for people with niche interests. You can find stuff on the site that you wouldn’t be able to find in any other corner of the internet. And merch falls right into that niche territory.

We’ve seen other shops take their niche and run with it. These shop owners know who they want to target and tailor their marketing accordingly. And that’s what Etsy is built for. Adding tags that are connected to your niche is essential. Think about what your ideal customer might be searching for. If they’re interested in X, then they’ll likely be interested in Y. Sometimes, you have to show it to them first.

It’s also important to identify what the market looks like on Etsy surrounding your niche. What items do top sellers have in their shop? What are shoppers responding to? If you find that there’s a hole in the market, it’s an opportunity for you to fill it!

The better you know your niche, the easier it is to find your audience. You can speak to them directly with your merch and form a connection that will have them coming back for more.

Tell Your Story

Shop owners can play a big role in the success of their shop, whether they know it or not. People turn to Etsy because they want to find unique items and support small businesses. Shop owners can help generate part of that support just by being themselves.

You can get something from selling merch on Etsy that you can’t get from big box retailers. They don’t have the ability to connect with customers one-on-one. You can tell your story by marketing your merch the right way.

The landing page of your shop should be stylized with a banner that’s inviting and speaks to your merch. Write a little “About Me” bio, like you can on Spreadshop, that will live in the top section of your shop. You can even include part of this in the descriptions for your items. That way, people won’t have to go to your page to read your story.

This also gives more credibility to your merch. You’ll bring people into your world and develop a sense of trust. It’s important to be open with your audience, but at the end of the day: the merch speaks for itself.

Take Eye-Catching Images

It takes mere seconds for shoppers to decide whether they want to buy a product or not. And when your images are next to hundreds, they better stand out.

We’ve talked about it before, but eye-catching images are essential to your shop’s promotion. The stock images we provide through Spreadshop do just fine. But taking your own really adds that extra layer of personalization.

Think about the look you want to achieve with selling merch on Etsy. It’s easier to build a community when you have cohesive branding for your merch. Diversify your designs by building your own backgrounds or shot layouts. Your page should have a “scrolling factor” that makes people want to see all your products, almost like an Instagram feed. And you can add multiple photos to a listing on Etsy, so take advantage of it! 

Shoot your family and friends wearing your merch from all angles. Include multiple people in photos to show how your items look on everyone. You want to pack the most amount of content you can into your listings!

Get the Most Out of Etsy

Just like you do for your Spreadshop, you’ve got to utilize all the features on Etsy to maximize your value. It’s incredibly important in today’s crowded market to cross-promote yourself. Provide a link to your Spreadshop in each of your listing descriptions. Push buyers to go to your site with offer codes and exclusive merch.

Linking to your socials also makes it easy to find, follow and keep up to date with your shop. The content you have on your Etsy will transfer across socials and can be used in a number of ways: Instagram stories, Twitter posts, blog content, etc. This ties back into that consistent branding we mentioned before. It’s also incredibly valuable to connect with your fellow shop owners.

Become part of the community by joining forums and asking sellers for advice. It’s no fun to do things alone and you’ll develop long-lasting connections as a result. This can be useful if you want to put on virtual events or do collaborations.

Selling merch on Etsy is all about that personal touch. Do things with your packaging you can’t with Spreadshop. Add a Thank You note, business card and little freebies like stickers. These thoughtful additions make ordering from your shop an experience.

We hope this prepares you for selling merch on Etsy. Launch your Spreadshop today to begin your merch journey!