Etsy Vs Website: Which is right for beginners?

I saw someone leave Etsy this week for the best possible reason: She had set up her own website and no longer needed Etsy.

The thing is though, how do you know which to choose and when/if to leave?

In my personal experience, I find Etsy to be the perfect proving ground for a new business. Websites will typically cost £200-300 a year or more not to mention add ons to get email lists and automated extras.

So as much as people dislike Etsy fees, they actually work out pretty well in terms of a low risk way to get your products out there. That is because if you don't sell anything then you are only paying the listing fee- with a website you could be £300 down and not make anywhere near enough sales to cover it.

I recommend Etsy first and then once people know you a little better and you are earning more than £300 a year, then you can consider setting up on your own.

Let's go deeper into why. Imagine you are a totally new business with a new product. A small amount of social media, no reviews yet. People don't know you or trust you fully yet. But if you have an Etsy page it gives customers a safe, well known place they can put their credit card details into and know there is a return policy and some buyer protection. Asking them to go to an unknown website is going to much harder and people will be more hesitant to buy unless they have got to know you first.

Once you have built up a following on socials, you have built up reviews and testimonials from your customers, then you can use those to build a website that people can trust in. The big rule of marketing is getting your customer to know, like and trust you, so being on a trusted platform like Etsy is a useful stepping stone to building a longer term strategy.

Now if like me you started on Etsy and now direct everything to your own website, that is when you might start to think about closing Etsy down. But remember, Etsy is like having your shop in a shopping centre...you might not get many sales without driving your own traffic over there, but it serves to catch the odd passer by, who you could then get on to your email list. I would recommend keeping it open with a small amount of listings and then ensuring you add a packing slip with all your orders recommending people join your email list.

What do you think?

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