Do you have a passion for photography and want to monetize your skills? Learn how to sell photos on Etsy! It might be a great way to turn your hobby into a profit.
In this blog, Masstic will let you know all the essential steps, without any redundant work. In the end, you will know how to successfully sell your photo, ultimately making your small business become a scale-up version. Now, let’s dive in!
Is it profitable to sell photos on Etsy?
So, the short answer is YES! Etsy, a global online marketplace, has become a popular platform for selling unique and handmade items. If you have an eye for high-quality, unique photography, there’s potential for a steady income.
But, like any other work in life, success depends on a mix of strategy, quality, and effort. So, it’s important to keep in mind the following factors:
✏️ Market competition:
The number of photographers selling on Etsy has grown. This means you’ll need to stand out through niche offerings, quality, and customer service.
✏️ Pricing:
The average price for digital prints on Etsy ranges from $5 to $30 depending on size and exclusivity. The volume of sales can greatly affect your profitability.
✏️ Shipping costs:
If you decide to sell physical prints, shipping, and production costs are factors you can not ignore. Digital downloads may give you a lower profit margin per sale. However, this type of product is simpler to manage and has no shipping costs.
What are the best-selling photo types on Etsy?
When you know the best-selling types of photos, you will have the resources to make wiser decisions on your product line. There are two main ways to sell on Etsy: printed photography or digital files.
In addition to that, when talking about the main theme of the photo, here are a few of the most popular categories you should know:
- Nature and Landscape
- Abstract
- Cityscapes and architecture
- Black and white
- Minimalist
- Seasonal
- Personalized portraits
- Travel
- Vintage images
How to sell photos on Etsy: 5 easy steps
You now have all the basic understanding, are you ready to start your Etsy photography business? Let’s go straight to learn how to sell photos on Etsy through this five-step process.
1. Conduct market research & make a plan
Having a plan is a smart move to save you a lot of time until you fully know how to sell photos on Etsy. And to have the data for a business plan, your first step should be researching the market.
✏️ Analyze Etsy competition:
Observe the sellers that are killing it at the top when it comes to the sale of photography on Etsy. Visit their shop and observe what kind of photos they sell, how much their products cost, and what their branding is. Research how your competitors carry out their marketing activities for the benefit of your business in the long run.
✏️ Identify trends:
Use Etsy’s search bar to find out what keywords and photo types are popular. You can use any tool like Google Trends, Pinterest Trends, eRank, or Alura to analyze demand.
✏️ Identify your target audience:
Who are you trying to sell your photos to? Try to find their interests, ages, occupations, etc. This will guide every decision you make for your photo store in the future.
✏️ Define your niche:
You have your idea about the market and competitors now. Now, it’s time for you to decide on your product line. Which will you take? Be sure to go for the right type of product. One thing that you should keep in mind is that Etsy is not the first choice when people seeking for stock photos. Whatever you choose, the important thing is that the niche fits both your skills and the demand in the market.
After conducting thorough market research, put the information into your plan with a goal for it. You have your solid foundation, let’s jump to the next step.
2. Create & collect photographs
The next step after finishing your research is to either create or gather your collection of photos.
✏️ Take new photos:
If you’re an active photographer, base your next shoots on your research. Take the time to create images that can fit into your chosen niche but are still about your personal style.
✏️ Curate existing work:
Sort through your portfolio and choose the ones that align best according to your market research if you already have a collection of photographs.
✏️ Edit and enhance:
Once the best of the shots have been selected, edit and enhance those into what can be best seen. Software like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop will help to make your images pop.
✏️ Experiment with different styles:
The beauty of digital photography lies in the fact that you aren’t afraid to try something new. Experiment with a lot of different styles of photography.
✏️ Choose the production method:
If you plan to sell physical copies of your photos in addition to digital downloads, you can outsource the production to a partner or do in-house production.
Keep in mind that Quality is key. It is important to keep your customers with your store. The photos must be high-resolution, visually captivating, and expertly edited, especially if you’re offering digital downloads for sale.
3. Create your Etsy photo store
Etsy has made it easy for beginners to start selling on this platform. There are a few steps to ensure you’re off to a solid start.
✏️ Register an Etsy seller account: Follow Etsy’s registration process to set up your shop by clicking “Sign in”
✏️ Click “Sell on Etsy”: The account you have just created is for buyers. To become a seller: Click on the avatar icon on the top right, then find and click on the “Sell on Etsy” option on the menu popup.
✏️ Choose a shop preference:
- Decide the main language: This is the language that you will use to communicate with your customers. You cannot change this setting later.
- Select shop country: Find and select your store’s country.
- Choose shop currency: Choose the currency you want to use for your listings. Be mindful that if your bank’s currency is different from your shop currency, Etsy will charge you a 2.5% currency conversion fee on the sale amount.
✏️ Give your Etsy store a name: Your shop name should be memorable and relevant to your products, which are the photos. Masstic has this list of good names for Etsy shop!
✏️ Add your first listing:
To officially introduce your Etsy photo store to the audience, you need to add at least one listing. At this step, you can simply fill in the basic details to go through this step quickly. Later in this guide, a more detailed and useful listing method will be mentioned in the next step.
✏️ Fill in information to get paid:
You will need to set up a payment account, declare what kind of seller you are, and add bank account information. Whatever the case may be, setting up an account may be different based on one’s location. Therefore, in order to set up the payment method wisely, make sure to have caught up with the requirements of Etsy Payments.
✏️ Provide billing information:
Prepare your card in hand to add it to the Etsy account. Actually, you will be requested to provide one when paying on Etsy, too.
Above is the onboarding process that Etsy will require you to walk through when creating your store. Further in your selling journey, there will be some more work such as designing your store with banners, writing a shop announcement, setting up policies, etc. If you need the steps explained to you in a more detailed way, read this article about How to sell on Etsy for beginners.
4. Upload more photography listings
With regular activity, you send a signal to Etsy that you are an active seller. Therefore, adding more listings over time will help increase your visibility in Etsy’s search engine. There are two main processes to go through while adding more listings as a part of learning how to sell photos on Etsy:
🎯 Do keyword research on Etsy:
- Use Etsy search:
- Put yourself in the shoes of a buyer: What would you type into Etsy to find this product? It is now time to look back at your research on the pain points of your target audience, which was part of the very first step. Then, you have to go to Etsy and try searching for potential keywords.
- Use Etsy’s suggestion: A drop-down menu always shows up when you enter a keyword into the search bar as the suggestion. Don’t waste this valuable source of data. Add those keys to your list.
- Use tools: There are lots of free to paid tools that have insights into trending keywords and competitor data. Some of the tools for you to consider are Keywordtool.io, Alura Etsy Tool, Keyword Tool Dominator, etc.
- Analyzize your competitors: Competitors’ successful utilization of main keywords crawled by tools or analyze their titles, descriptions manually, and tags.
Pro Tips: Use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity to expand your keyword ideas.
🎯Optimize the information:
- Smartly craft the title & descriptions: Include specific keywords in your listing titles to help potential buyers find your work. Be sure to give adequate information about your product.
- Use relevant tags: Etsy allows up to 13 tags per listing. These are essentially keywords that help users find your products. Choose your tags wisely to maximize searchability.
- Set competitive prices: You did the research about your competitor’s pricing of the products. Now is the time to look back at it and give your photos a price that is appealing, and competitive, but still ensures you have a good 40-50% profit margin. And, don’t forget the Etsy fees ( a listing fee of $0.20 and a 5% transaction fee).
5. Promote your Etsy photos store
It is not enough to just post your pictures and then expect the buyers to come and start purchasing from you. Some of the tasks that would be assumed include marketing your Etsy store yourself.
✏️ Social media:
Advertise your listings with popular social media platforms commonly used including Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. Social media is one of the most favorable places to promote photography products.
✏️ Email marketing:
For future email marketing promotions, create a list of past buyers and fans to contact in case of new listings or promotions.
✏️ Paid ads:
Searching up Etsy ads or even social media advertisements to boost the store even further in the quickest time possible. You don’t have to break the bank with advertising, but a little budget can give you the kickstart when beginning.
5 tips to sell photos on Etsy successfully
In order to take the lead in the Etsy photo-selling competition, you will need these cheat sheets:
✏️ Expand the format of photo products:
To raise your sales, you should offer more than photos. Consider expanding into related products like photo calendars, keychains, postcards, wallpapers, printable quote art, etc. Expanding the offered product portfolio can your work more accessible to a larger audience and at the same time present your photos in a variety of methods.
✏️ Pay attention to policies:
Etsy has its rules, especially when it comes to the selling of digital products. It is also necessary to make sure that none of the pictures you can use violates Etsy’s terms of use, particularly concerning copyright and related rights. You may also be required to look up photographic licensing laws to ensure you have full rights to what you sell.
✏️ Copyright your images:
You wouldn’t want to have your photos grabbed and used by others without your permission, and it is wise to do all that is within your power to guard against this. Try bringing down the previews’ resolution slightly so people do not screenshot them without compensation.
✏️ Provide excellent customer service:
Hear customer queries and attend to them in a professional manner and within the shortest time possible we can. This action gives your Etsy store loyal customers.
✏️ Stay up-to-date with trends:
Trends in photography are constantly changing So make sure to update it regularly by monitoring the developments of the photography market and adjusting your product offerings.
How to sell photos on Etsy: Key takeaways
Congratulations for your hard work! Finishing this article is the very first and crucial step to knowing how to sell photos on Etsy. Here’s a quick recap:
👉 Selling photos on Etsy is profitable with the right strategies.
👉 How to sell photos on Etsy in 5 steps:
- Conduct thorough market research & make a plan.
- Produce or curate top-notch photography.
- Create the Etsy photo store.
- Consistently upload new photography listings.
- Use other platforms to promote your shop and drive traffic.
👉 5 tips to sell photos on Etsy successfully:
- Expand on the product range
- Pay attention to policies
- Protect image copyright
- Provide excellent customer service.
- Update new trends.
You have everything you need now. Grab your camera, create your Etsy store, and start selling those photos! For more useful guidance with tips and tricks on how to sell on Etsy effectively, visit us at Masstic.com and stay up to date with the newest knowledge!
