How to Sell Art on Etsy: Tips and Tricks for Success

Etsy has a large global community interested in unique, handmade items. This can be a great fit for artists like you looking to make a sale.

Besides selling art online, Etsy is fantastic for growing your fan base. This popular online marketplace could be like your own gallery—curated to best showcase your talent. 

Whether you need some encouragement to keep making art or you’re looking for ways to make money online, keep reading to find tips on:

• Creating an Etsy shop and finding your niche

• Deciding on the products you’d like to sell and ways Printful can help

• How to sell art on Etsy, promote your products, and stay competitive

How to sell art on Etsy in 7 easy steps

Getting started on Etsy is simple. But, it’s a crowded global marketplace with lots of other artists selling their artwork online. To succeed, you’ll need to be passionate about the products you’re creating, keep your audience in mind, and stay on top of trends.

As with all great journeys, they start with a single step. So, let’s get going!

1. Create an Etsy account

First off, you’ll need to set up a shop on Etsy. It’s easy to do—create an Etsy account on their website (or sign up through Google or Facebook), set up your shop location, and pick the currency. 

Source: Etsy

Then, decide on a shop name, create your first listing, and take care of the payment methods. For this, you’ll need to set up a payment method for how you want to be paid, and a billing method for paying your Etsy fees. 

Source: Etsy

2. Define your target audience and research the competition

To maximize your success, tailor your offerings to a specific target audience who you think could connect with your art. Think of factors like age, location, interests, and buying habits. For example, if you create abstract minimalist paintings, you may want to target a younger audience living in bigger cities who have an interest in contemporary art and are looking for interior design pieces.

Research demand for similar products and look for opportunities to fill a gap in the market. For example, if you make art prints of vintage maps, you could target buyers searching for artwork centered around popular travel destinations and major urban centers like London, New York, or Dubai. 

Source: Etsy

Check out Etsy and other online marketplaces to see different approaches on how to sell art online and make money. Take note of popular themes, styles, and price points. Also focus on how other artists are marketing their work. This can help you define what sets you apart and what you can do to make your shop more appealing to your target audience.

3. Decide on the products 

Deciding what kind of products to add to your inventory can seem straightforward—it’s just artwork and prints, isn’t it? To stand out, try to expand your product offering.

Think of your store items not just as individual pieces, but as a complementary range. That way you’re more likely to tap into different markets (hello, artsy t-shirt lovers!) and attract repeat customers who love your style.

Original artwork

Etsy is great for selling handmade items including original artwork. What’s more, it’s an opportunity to show how you create your works of art and celebrate your style. 

If you’re making prints at your studio, take pictures of the printing process, the paint application, and close-up details. Showing a glimpse of the artwork production will help potential buyers see how an individual piece is made and what makes it unique. 

Posters

On Etsy, many people are on the lookout for beautiful pieces to decorate their homes or office spaces. Particularly, students and young people are often searching for affordable decor like posters to hang on the walls and spruce up their home interiors.

Learn more:

• 29 Poster Ideas + Tips to Create Your Own Poster Design
• Etsy Calculator—predict your Etsy fees and profit

Selling prints of your work can be very profitable because you can generate repeat income from a single piece. Also, having a lower price point (versus original art) means you will likely sell more.

With print-on-demand services it’s never been easier to design posters with your artwork. And you don’t even need your own printing equipment! You can start selling prints online using giclée printing. What is a giclée print? Simply put, it’s a high-quality digital print for a reproduction of your artwork. It’s durable and a great value compared to standard prints. 

Source: Travel By Henry

Canvas

Having your design on canvas instantly adds a sophisticated, artsy look. Plus, canvas wall art is a trendy interior design choice—a real statement piece that’s found in many homes. 

Learn more: Your Ultimate Guide to Canvas vs. Metal Prints

If you’re a photographer or a digital artist creating colorful, bold images, using canvas is a great product fit for your artwork. 

Source: SilveryArtLand

Postcards 

Once you start noticing which designs are selling the best, it’s a good idea to highlight these to sell separately as postcards or as add-ons to other purchases. Consider putting together sets of 4 or even 8 postcards to showcase your best selling designs. 

People who enjoy sending handwritten notes and greeting cards will be interested in getting some original postcards. 

Source: miraalou

Stickers

Stickers are one of the most versatile products for artists to play around with—think custom shapes, colors, text, and more. Made from durable vinyl, this is a good product to have on offer for customers who opt for a smaller purchase before committing to getting a larger canvas.

Want to get started but looking for some sticker ideas? Check out our blog post for design inspiration.

Source: Muriel de Mai

Mugs

Mugs are both a beloved personal item and a great gift for all hot drink lovers. So, adding your artwork to coffee mugs could bring in customers who are keen to add an creative twist to their morning routine.

Although there are many popular mug ideas, having cheerful, original artwork is sure to be fun and uplifting!

Source: eightytwodesign

Apparel

T-shirts and hoodies are popular wardrobe pieces that many potential customers would be interested in. Art buffs or anyone looking for an original design would surely like to get their hands on uniquely-designed apparel that stands out from the crowd. 

For inspiration, check out this hoodie with artistic patterns in bold, vibrant colors on a black background. Or if you’re into illustration, consider selling tees with your artwork like this t-shirt with original drawings inspired by the universe.

For more design inspo, check out our blog post on creative hoodie design ideas. If you’re looking to sell t-shirts instead, we’ve got you covered—browse through 50 t-shirt design ideas for every occasion. 

Accessories

Accessories take up a large market share on Etsy, so it’s a good idea to tap into this market and place your design on fun everyday accessories like phone cases. 

We tend to spend a lot of time on our phones, so many shoppers are looking for distinct, eye-catching designs for their phone cases. If your artwork is bold and funky, check out this “always looking at u” original artwork design for inspiration.

Source: b3naqua

4. Create a Printful account and connect it to Etsy

Once you’ve decided to set up your online store on Etsy, connect it to Printful to get the most out of the vast product range. To do so, follow these steps:

1. If you don’t already have one, set up a Printful account

2. Go to “Connect an ecommerce platform” and select Etsy

3. Press “Connect your Etsy store”

4. You’ll be directed to Etsy and asked to authorize the Printful app’s access to your store; press “Allow Access”

5. Connect your existing Printful account and start adding or syncing products 

And that’s it! Now you can create print-on-demand products in your Printful account and they’ll be automatically added to your Etsy store as listings. 

5. Design products

By now, you probably have some ideas about what kinds of products you’d like to sell. Now it’s time to start designing. As an artist, you might already have lots of design ideas and sketches ready, so let the fun begin! 

With Printful’s Design Maker you can upload existing designs and create mockup images of your products. This way you’ll see how your design looks across different products like t-shirts, mugs, and phone cases. You can then save mockup images and ask friends, family, or social media followers for feedback on your product designs. 

Source: Printful

And remember that details go a long way. Having custom packaging can increase the value of your brand, so try designing custom pack-ins, stickers, postcards, or thank you notes to give a personal touch.

6. Perfect your Etsy listings 

Etsy is a crowded marketplace, so perfecting your listings is a must for a successful Etsy shop. To increase your online visibility and capture attention, add attention-grabbing images and videos of your products together with accurate listing descriptions. 

Also research relevant keywords and tags. Incorporate them in your listings to increase the chances that they’ll appear at the top of Etsy search results.

Title

When deciding on a title, include some descriptive keywords that sum up your product. If you’re selling a print of your artwork, for example, mention keywords like “art print,” “home decor,” “wall art,” or similar.  

A good title should make it easy to find and understand your product, so research potential keywords customers might use when looking for similar items.

Description

Descriptive keywords are also crucial for perfecting your listing info. The keywords you use across your listing titles, descriptions, tags, categories, and attributes are all essential when it comes to query matching, the first phase of Etsy SEO (Search Engine Optimization). 

Try adding the relevant keywords in the first couple sentences of your product description, but avoid simply naming them in a row of text. You don’t want to appear indifferent, so instead work on creating a connection with your artwork. 

Remember—a captivating and accurate description will create a positive opinion about your product. Make sure to include information about the materials, size, technique, packaging, and any extra details that make your art unique. 

For example, this artist describes the materials, printing technique, and dimensions of their art print, while also highlighting a special mention by a local design festival. 

Source: GosiaHerba

Product photos 

When people look for items on Etsy, the product photos are what they notice first. So high-quality images are crucial in making your artwork stand out. 

As an artist, product photography needs to be a top priority to showcase your style and make a good first impression. Neat, aesthetically-pleasing images that are well-lit, in focus, and with a clear background are a must. 

Try to also add images with visual cues like a cozy home interior setting. This way, potential buyers can instantly imagine how the artwork would fit into their home decor. 

Videos

Posting a video with your listing can help capture the attention of potential buyers and keep them engaged for a longer period.

What’s more, a high-resolution video that zooms in on important details can help customers get a better sense of color, texture, and dimensions.

There’s also a visibility advantage—Etsy’s search algorithm gives priority to listings that have multiple photos and videos, making them more likely to appear in search results. 

Tags

Everything we’ve covered in this list so far can help your products rise in the search rankings. But the most important thing for Etsy SEO? Tags!

Etsy tags help buyers discover similar products through search and navigation. You can add up to 13 tags for each listing, so add keywords that are descriptive and popular among your target audience. 

For example, if you’re selling a watercolor painting of a landscape, go for keywords like “panoramic landscape,” “watercolor wall art,” and “large watercolor painting.” 

Make sure the keywords are varied and hint at the piece’s material, size, technique, subject, and use, like “rustic interior” or “dark green painting.”

Source: HeliosGiclee

7. Market your Etsy store

If you’re interested in learning how to get more sales on Etsy, have a look at the built-in marketing tools on the platform (like Etsy Ads) and optimize your listings by making the most of Etsy SEO.

Creating art-related content on social media platforms is also great for showing off your work, building a loyal customer base, and growing your audience.

Etsy Ads

To show up at the top of search results, you could use Etsy Ads, also known as promoted listings. It’s simple to set up—choose which listings to boost and decide on a budget you’re willing to set aside for promotion. 

Etsy charges anywhere between $0.20 to $0.50 per ad click. You’ll be charged only when someone makes a purchase. So, it’s a better deal to promote pricier items like original artwork or a large print, as the ad will be a smaller percentage of the cost. 

If you decide to place ads, make sure to monitor and adjust your campaign as you go. Use data to assess what’s working and what’s not, and learn from this to improve your marketing strategy.

Source: Etsy

Etsy SEO 

Etsy provides a range of built-in SEO tools, like the Etsy search bar, the “related items” section, and the “shop sections” feature. Having a good understanding of Etsy SEO can help you market your shop and attract more customers. 

By researching and using relevant Etsy keywords in your product titles, tags, and descriptions, you can make your products more discoverable to potential buyers.

As with any marketing strategy, it’s important to stay up to date with the latest SEO best practices and algorithm updates. By doing so, you can ensure that your shop is optimized to perform well in Etsy search results over the long term.

Social media

Posting images and videos with your artwork on Instagram and TikTok can help you connect with a global audience. In need of inspiration? This “Avid Skier” video by painter Werner Bronkhorst currently has more than 13 million views on TikTok. Its social media success has sparked a trend on Etsy with lots of painters recreating the style of mini skiers on a white canvas. 

Source: Etsy

Is Etsy a good place to sell art? 

If you’re unsure whether or not Etsy is a good fit to sell your art, think about the many benefits that come with selling on a platform that has a global audience. 

Compared to other online marketplaces or setting up your own website, it’s relatively easy and inexpensive to start selling on Etsy. The low barrier to entry means you can set up your shop in a day and spend more time on your art. Additionally, when selling artwork directly to customers, you have the potential to earn a higher profit compared to selling art through a gallery.

Plus, Etsy automatically hones in on the right buyer pool. Since it’s known for having sellers that offer handmade and unique items, many customers are there to look for artsy pieces. With a large audience of potential buyers, you can connect with people who enjoy your art despite being thousands of miles away. 

But, keep in mind that there’s a lot of competition on Etsy. It can be challenging to stand out and attract new customers, especially at the start of your journey. To succeed on Etsy, you’ll need to invest time and effort into marketing your art, building a strong brand, and offering high-quality customer service.

How to price art to sell on Etsy

To price your artwork, first think of factors like materials, time, and experience. Note that Etsy charges fees for listing items and each transaction made, so factor these costs into your pricing strategy.

Online marketplaces like Etsy are great for drawing in a variety of customers. So try offering different sizes (for example, prints ranging from A1 to A5) and varying price points for products. Think of your original artwork and unique pieces as higher-end options that can attract art buyers willing to pay more.

Occasionally check out the sellers who are making similar products. Are they cheaper? Do their products look better? Adjust your listings so that you’re competitively priced. 

Explore this guide on product pricing for more tips on pricing strategy.

Conclusion

All in all, when thinking about how to get more sales on Etsy, lean into your style and build a following around it. Having a creative vision and dedication to promoting your art are key to creating a brand that brings in customers. 

Make sure your marketing efforts are focused on perfecting your listings with the help of Etsy SEO and actively create content about your art on social media. Try to research your audience and offer a good range of products to address any gaps in the market. 

If you’re curious to learn more about selling print-on-demand products on Etsy, have a look at this blog post exploring Printful’s product range. We’ve also compiled a beginner-friendly guide with everything you need to know about how to make money on Etsy.

Learn more: What to Sell on Etsy: 27 Bestselling Products

Most importantly, be truthful to your style, connect with others, and enjoy the process of selling art on Etsy. Good luck!