start an etsy shop with no money

How to Start an Etsy Shop With No Money (100% Free Tools and Tips)

ByMel

5 Best Tips to Start An Etsy Shop With No Costs

Are you trying to figure out how to start an Etsy shop with no money?

Maybe you’ve heard about Etsy – the good and the bad.

Maybe you heard that Etsy is a great profitable side hustle (which it is).

But you’ve also heard about the costs behind an Etsy shop.

It makes sense why you might feel a bit weary starting one.

Let me just clear up any confusion about this.

Etsy is profitable and the costs of starting one really depends on how much you are willing to invest in your business.

If you don’t have any money and want to start a shop, this post will teach you how to do so.

Let’s jump into how to start an Etsy shop with no money!

Table of Contents

how to start an etsy shop with no money

What to do before opening an Etsy shop?

So before you open your own Etsy shop, you want to evaluate these several things.

Those are probably the three big factors you want to consider before opening your store.

Why?

Starting an Etsy shop takes a clear vision and an investment of your time.

How much time and focus are willing to put into your Etsy shop?

You will have to consider that alongside your other priorities.

I’d encourage you to reflect on how many hours can you spend per week on your Etsy shop and be realistic with your time.

Is it 3 hours? Is it 10 hours? Maybe 20?

Don’t judge your responses.

Simply make sure you can give a general response to these questions before starting your shop!

Is selling on Etsy worth it?

In the beginning of working on your Etsy shop, it’s going to take a lot of time and effort to learn how to start and manage a business.

But eventually, creating, designing, and selling products will become second nature the more you do it.

There are more than 90 million Etsy buyers, so just imagine the chances of your products getting discovered.

The more time you put into your Etsy store, the more likely you will see success.

I started my store back in June 2022, and I’ve made more than $4,000 as a side hustle income just selling digital products.

When I think about starting from absolute $0 to making any additional income that pays for my gas (lol) or food expenses, I really am grateful.

So I’d say, start your Etsy shop and see where it goes from there.

5 Free Things To Do To Start Your Etsy Shop

So if you’re wondering how to start an Etsy shop with no money… here are five things you can do!

best etsy shops

Use Canva to create and sell digital products

  • If you want to sell digital products for your Etsy store, I can’t recommend Canva enough!
  • Canva is a digital design platform that allows you to create any type of digital products, such as print-on demand t-shirts, labels, digital stickers, posters, flyers, etc.
  • I use this platform to create all my digital products for my Etsy store. You honestly don’t need to get the pro version, but I invested in it because it saves me a lot of time to resize my digital posters.
  • So if you’re looking to save money and time, I really recommend Canva for creating those digital designs!

Interested in selling digital products on Etsy? Check out this essential guide to making your Etsy shop successful.

Psst! Want to start your own Etsy shop today?

Launch your Etsy shop

Take advantage of freebies

  • Freebies are free incentives that bloggers, influencers, or other digital creators will give their supporters.
  • These freebies could either be a free cheatsheet, workbook, an email with valuable tips, and much more.
  • Take these freebies as golden opportunities to learn valuable knowledge from those who have tried what worked for them and what didn’t.
  • Bloggers and digital creators created these freebies to help you. I think it can be really tempting to buy a digital product on how to start your Etsy shop.
  • BUT I do believe that there are so many free resources out there.

Create your own Etsy branding

  • Why not create your own Etsy branding for FREE? Instead of hiring a graphic designer, you could create one on Canva.
  • Canva already has Etsy banner sizes that you can choose from as well as free designs, too.
  • And to be honest, when you’re just starting off with your shop, no one really pays attention to your banner (haha).
  • I would recommend just choosing 2 brand colors. Put them in your banner design or profile picture.
  • This really only needs to take 30 minutes of your day to create a banner and brand your Etsy shop. And over time, you can continue to make changes to your shop.

Watch free tutorials and guides

  • There are literally sooo many free tutorials and budget-friendly guides online in terms of starting an Etsy shop with no money.
  • Take for example, Etsy’s own comprehensive articles on how to open an etsy shop. Or this Skillshare tutorial on starting your Etsy shop with video walkthroughs.
  • Seriously, take advantage of these free tutorials and guides that are accessible and free to use!
  • Before you have the urge to buy a digital product on your Etsy shop (I know it’s so tempting!), take time to see what’s out there and save some money.

Pay attention to promotional deals

  • Okay, so I know this isn’t necessarily a free tip, but when it comes to seasonal deals like Black Friday, New Year’s, or a holiday, you want to keep an eye out for any promotional deals.
  • For example, Canva usually has a promo deal for the New Year. A lot of bloggers will start promoting their digital products regarding Etsy around that time as well.
  • If you have been looking to make an investment towards your Etsy shop, I’d encourage you to not buy impulsively, but wait for those promo deals!
how to start an etsy shop with no money

100% Free Tools To Start Your Etsy Shop

Here’s how to start an Etsy shop with no money. Use these free tools to your own advantage!

Canva: Digital Products

As I’ve mentioned previously above, I use Canva to create my digital designs. I’m all for saving time when I can 

With Canva, it probably takes me about 15 minutes to create an individual design. If it’s a bundle, it probably takes 45 minutes.

The whole process from creating to publishing it on Etsy takes around 20 minutes. 

My creation and marketing process is so much faster now because of Canva. 

Here are my favorite features of Canva that are free: 

  • A ton of free graphics
  • Free templates 
  • Free mock-ups 
  • Free digital products mock-ups (print designs such as shirts, mugs, hats, and much more)

Etsy: Market Research

Market research is defined as finding keywords or search terms that shoppers are looking for on a certain website.

If you want to sell products on Etsy, the best way to find out what to sell (for FREE by the way) is through Etsy. 

If you type in the letter “a” in the search box, you’ll see a drop down list of what people have been searching on Etsy. 

You don’t have to spend a ton of money on finding out what people are searching because it’s already done for you! 

Use this free platform to know what products to create that actually sell!

Youtube: Free Tutorials

If you are more of a video-based learner, then YouTube is your best friend. 

Youtube is a great free source to use to watch tutorials on marketing research for Etsy.

There are many Etsy sellers who have found success and have created Youtube tutorials to share their own tips and experiences.

Simply type how to do Etsy market research or how to make XXXX on Etsy and you’ll find valuable tips.

So utilize the free knowledge, lessons, and tips you can find on Youtube!

Blogs: Free Resources

Aside from free YouTube tutorials, blogs usually give jam-packed information about how to start an Etsy shop and grow successfully.

Essentially, we, bloggers, want to use what we’ve learned from our experiences to help you succeed in your dreams and businesses!

Pay attention to any free resources that blogs are promoting.

My mission as a blogger who teaches people how to grow their Etsy shop is to show you that it is possible to make income from starting your own side hustle!

And if you thought I’d let you exit this post without getting something free, you thought wrong! 🙂

Launch your Etsy shop

Final thoughts about how to start an Etsy shop with no money

It is certainly possible to start an Etsy shop with no money. You just have to put in the time in and work smarter, NOT harder.

How do you do that? Use the free tools and resources I mentioned above.

And also, I thought I would mention that it’s important not to let perfectionism get the best of you working on your Etsy business.

Do what you can and keep hustling. I promise it will pay off.

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