Etsy can be an intimidating platform because it’s usually the first step crafters take from a local customer base to an international base. All of a sudden, you’re in the big leagues – you need to figure out SEO, how to ship products, how to market your items to someone who can’t physically see or touch it beforehand.

The good news is, if you haven’t opened an Etsy store yet, you can use my link to get 40 free listings. This gives you lots of opportunities to try out the platform without making an upfront financial investment (you’ll still have to pay the related fees when you sell your items, but this will be covered by the purchase price.)

There are also tons of great resources available to help you succeed. Etsy has a really comprehensive Seller Handbook which covers everything you need to know to sell on Etsy: SEO, best practices for photography, pricing, branding, shipping – it’s all there!

I highly recommend joining the Canadian Etsy Shop Support group on Facebook and read through their files. They have some great resources on setting your shop currency (I have mine set to USD), figuring out shipping, and helpful tips and tricks.

CreativeLive has a few Etsy videos on topics like getting started, SEO, and bookkeeping. If you keep an eye on their On Air videos, you can watch them for free on specific days. Sign up for an account so you can add them to your watchlist and get an e-mail reminder the day before so you don’t miss out.

If you’re already selling on Etsy, I’d love to hear how you’re feeling about it! If you haven’t taken the plunge yet, what is holding you back?