Adam - How to make money using etsy: a guide to the online marketplace for crafts and handmade products

Praise for How to Make Money Using Etsy

If you want to learn solid techniques to get noticed online, spend time with expert Etsy seller, Tim Adam. Tim is up on the latest how-to plus his passion to share his knowledge will get you motivated and improve your online presence and sales.

Alison Lee, host of CRAFTCAST

Tim has been a real asset to the handmade communityhe never ceases to impress with his wealth of knowledge and his passion to share it with the community. The sites he has created have become hubs of information for handmade entrepreneurs all over the world.

Mallory, missmalaprop.com

Since I first met Tim in Etsy Forum in 2007, I knew he had a special talent beyond his artwork. He always stepped outside of his own box and brought new ideas and discoveries on how to sell, promote, educate, succeed, and support each other as fellow artisans. Tim's approach and teaching style is always fresh, fun, and engaging. From the Handbook to Handmade series to Handmadeology , Timothy Adam has come a long way!

Andrea, Swan River Stone (Etsy Seller)

I met Tim on the Etsy forums in early 2008, when he was working on Vol. III of The Handbook to Handmade. At the time, I felt as if I had hit a pulse, a heartbeat into Etsy. How right I was! Tim has been in the right place at the right time and has skyrocketed past all of us! In flight, he brought me up to speed on the basics, starting with copy/paste. We moved on to the how to's of blogging, virtual links, Google Analytics, keywords for my Etsy shops to be on the top of the search engine, Facebook, Twitter, Handmadeology , and most important, everything linking back to selling on Etsy. I am delighted for Tim's tremendous success, and even more so, to call him friend.

Amy Lilley, Amy Lilley Photography (Etsy Seller)

Tim was a great friend before I even started my Etsy shop. I couldn't pay my bills one month and remembered a conversation I had with Tim about how he was rocking on Etsy. I thought, What do I have to lose? A few helpful suggestions early on and his blog have helped my own shop become more successful than I ever imagined!

Paul Holcroft, Holcroft (Etsy Seller)

Tim Adam is a real voice for the handmade community online, always at the cutting edge of news, ideas, and progress. His information and communication style have made him an authority on success to a whole new generation of artists and crafters. Tim seeks to combine innovation with the age old art of crafta beautiful combination.

Tara, Scoutiegirl.com

Copyright 2011 by Tim Adam. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

The term Etsy is a registered trademark of Etsy, Inc. This publication has not been prepared, approved, or licensed by Etsy, Inc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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978-0-470-94456-1 (paper)

978-1-118-03382-1 (ebk)

978-1-118-03383-8 (ebk)

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Printed in the United States of America

10987654321

I want to thank my wife Christina for the constant encouragement that she gives me to push forward and keep designing, creating, helping, and writing. I also want to thank the handmade community for reading and visiting my blogs and for your support over the years. The real star of the show is my little boy Camden Reid: born July 31, 2010 during the writing process of this book. Thanks buddy, for being such a calm and happy baby.

Preface

While searching for a direction for my metal furniture and art, I stumbled upon Etsy. Etsy quickly became my new home and launching pad for many adventures. New designs, connections with artists, learning, blogging, and teaching can all be traced back to the day I joined Etsy. How to Make Money Using Etsy came about because of a need that I saw in the crafting and handmade scene for a guide to selling arts and crafts online. Packed full of information, starting with setting up your Etsy shop, to interviews with top sellers and bloggers, this guide is designed with all levels of sellers in mind.

Introduction

Art and design have not always been a part of my life. Growing up in Northeast Ohio, creating and designing were the furthest things from my mind. I played soccer all my life and was always interested in science. I studied environmental engineering in college and wanted to become a park ranger. Shortly after finishing college in Ohio, I moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to get my degree in secondary education, and be near Christina, the girl I was going to marry. In the summer of 2004, Christina's sister, who is a furniture designer, needed some help with a few metal projects. I wanted to lend a hand in building these projects but, at the time, had never even welded two pieces of scrap metal together. I wound up taking a welding course and fell in love with the trade. I mean, who wouldn't love melting metal? The summer of 2004 changed my life, and it was then that I realized what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I found my passion and my creative outlet that I didn't even realize I needed.

Taking the skills and tools from that summer experience, I went back to Grand Rapids, where I started creating and designing furniture. I designed and built a portfolio of about 20 pieces and I hit the road running. Grand Rapids, Michigan, and its surrounding communities are packed full of galleries and shops, but with such an industrial-modern furniture style, it was difficult to find shops that would carry my work. Most shops did not have the room to carry furniture, until one day I walked into a shop in East Grand Rapids. I remember sitting down with the shop owner and her business partner as they looked through my portfolio. I was so used to being rejected, I was surprised and overwhelmed when they started pointing out pieces they wanted in their shop. This was the turning point. This was when I knew that I could do what I loveand love what I do!