The Definitive Guide for Selling Photos on Etsy in 2024
Whether you’re a seasoned professional or an enthusiastic hobby photographer, you may be wondering if selling photos on Etsy is easy and profitable. The answer is yes – that is, if you know what you’re doing.
Thankfully, this step-by-step guide will help you navigate the ins and outs of setting up your Etsy shop, optimizing your listings, and effectively marketing your photography to potential customers.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you make a purchase through those links. This comes at no additional cost to you.
Decide What to Sell
It’s important to understand whether you want to sell digital photos, physical photos, or both on your Etsy shop.
Each of these product categories has their own pros and cons.
Digital Photos
Offer your customers the convenience of instantly receiving their purchased items by selling digital downloads through your Etsy business.
Digital products can be listed as instant downloads or made-to-order downloads. The difference lies in whether you provide digital files of your photography listing or more unique images based on your customer’s specifications.
When creating an instant download, you’ll see an option to upload up to five digital files per listing, each with a maximum size of 20 MB.
All you need is a digital file and a few cents to spare on listing fees.
Pros:
- It's fast. It's both an instant download and, unquestionably, one of the quickest ways to sell photos on Etsy.
- It's infinite. There are no caps on selling a digital file because you can sell the same file countless times.
- Low production costs. If you're selling digital photos on Etsy, there's no need to create physical prints, manage inventory, or ship products to customers.
When creating an Etsy listing, you’ll have the option to set a quantity or enable automatic listing renewal. By default, all new listings are set to auto-renew after each sale.
Remember that even if you enter a set product quantity on your listing and it hasn’t yet sold out, you’ll still be charged a $0.20 listing fee on each sale.
Cons:
- It's a packed market. It's a highly competitive market with many other Etsy shops offering similar digital photography, so you'll need to find a way to stand out.
- Lower profit potential. Aside from having a lot of competition that can impact your profits, digital versions of designs sell for less than physical prints of the same designs.
- The threat of digital piracy. It's hard to control what happens to your designs after you sell them. Consider watermarking your images and including a copyright disclaimer in the product description stating that your photos aren't intended for commercial use.
Quick Tip
Earn free Etsy listings by inviting others to open shops on Etsy.
Physical Photos
From captivating landscape photography to thought-provoking abstract compositions, you can sell photo prints and unique wall art.
We’re thinking of posters and canvas wraps, framed or unframed prints, catering to the preferences of a wide and diverse customer base.
Pros:
- It's a tangible product. Your online store could provide shoppers with physical items they can use or gift to others.
- Higher profit potential. Unique physical prints have a higher perceived value, especially if they're released as limited-edition goods.
- A smaller threat of digital piracy. Photo and canvas prints are much harder to copy and reproduce than digital prints.
Cons:
- It's a crowded market. Many physical photography sellers choose Etsy as their sales channel, which means you'll encounter a lot of competition.
This is why it’s essential to find your niche.
- Higher production costs. Unless you're using a print-on-demand service, expenses related to printing, keeping stock, packaging, and shipping your photography work to customers can eat a good chunk of your profits.
- Quality concerns. While you may receive complaints about the quality of a digital photo sent to your Etsy customer, fixing problems related to physical photo prints is costlier.
Once you’ve decided what you want to sell, go through Etsy’s Seller Policy.
Steer clear of listing prohibited items to avoid getting banned and ending up in legal trouble before you even start selling photos on this easy-to-use marketplace.
Quick Tip
Follow our guide to learn more about Etsy's policies, copyright, and how to avoid copyright infringement.
Sell Photos on Etsy With Print on Demand
Offset most of the cons of selling physical prints on Etsy by using a print-on-demand service like Printify.
We’ll do the printing, packaging, and shipping for you, streamlining the whole process of selling photos online.
Attract customers and focus on selling photos printed on high-quality merch.
Make It Happen Today!
Set Up Your Etsy Shop
- Register. Create an Etsy account, agree to Etsy’s policies and Terms of Use, then open an Etsy Shop.
- Adjust shop preferences. Set the default language, country, and currency you’ll use to price your items.
- Name your store. Choose a memorable shop name that aligns with your brand; a name can consist of up to 20 characters.
If you’re stuck for ideas, try a business name generator like Namelix.
- List your first product. Add a title and description, choose an appropriate category, and adjust shipping settings.
This can be a test product listing, but you’ll still be charged a $0.20 listing fee.
- Adjust payment options, billing, and security. Set up Etsy Payments, billing, and verify your identity.
Quick Tip
Follow our comprehensive guides to learn how to start an Etsy shop and how to sell on Etsy.
Prepare High-Quality Listings
To start selling photos on Etsy, you’ll need to create product listings that people want to buy.
Optimize Product Listings
To ensure your customers successfully find your store, you’ll need to spend some time tweaking your product pages.
- Research keywords.
Attract potential customers from your target market and give them an immediate understanding of what you’re selling by finding the right words and phrases.
- Use keywords and tags.
Highlight your product’s unique selling points by adding keywords that boost visibility in search engines and up to 13 product tags that place you higher in Etsy search results.
- Adjust product titles and descriptions.
Your product title should be unique and informative. Make sure it doesn’t have too many words – this isn’t something you want to max out on.
Although a product description is hidden under “Learn more about this item” on the product’s page, it plays an important role in attracting potential buyers.
Give your customers a clear understanding of what you offer and what makes your products unique – specify the format, sizes, dimensions, materials, and all other important details.
- Establish terms of use.
Clearly outline what customers can and can’t do with your items
If you want to prohibit customers from reselling your digital photography – add a disclaimer in the product description.
Add Captivating Images
Highlight the unique features of your physical or digital prints. Ensure that the images accurately represent the final product’s colors, dimensions, and texture.
A single photo won’t do – add multiple high-quality images that showcase your designs clearly and creatively.
If you’re selling physical prints, include engaging lifestyle mockups from our Mockup Generator or get your product photos from Placeit.
If you’re taking your own photos, use appropriate lighting and try capturing your products from multiple angles and next to other products to display the size accurately.
Quick Tip
Check out our creative photography ideas to boost sales for additional tips.
Price Your Listings
Setting the right price for your photography listings on Etsy can be tricky. You want it just right – not too high to scare off customers, yet not too low to undervalue your art.
Consider factors like material costs, time invested, and prices set by your competitors.
Don’t forget about multiple small Etsy fees – save yourself some time and use our Etsy Calculator to price your listings for profit.
Quick Tip
Take a look at our guide on how to price Print on Demand products to learn the tricks of the trade.
Market Your Etsy Shop
Selling photos on Etsy isn’t just about uploading your stunning artwork on a sales channel, it’s also about getting your products noticed in a sea of other creative minds.
We’re not joking – Etsy is full of sellers, so you’ll need to find a way to stand out.
We’ll cover some of the basics to give you a clear idea of how to set your store up for success.
Quick Tip
Check out our blog on Etsy marketing for additional tips and tricks from industry experts.
Social Media Marketing
In addition to selling photos on Etsy, you can let your unique story shine through social media posts, drawing in potential customers and nurturing a loyal following.
Come up with creative ways to engage with your audience and show some behind-the-scenes material to create a buzz around your photography.
Share your Etsy store across visual-centric social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Etsy Ads
Consider using Etsy Ads to give your listings an extra push through online advertising – Etsy offers both onsite and offsite ads.
- Onsite ads are paid promotions that can increase your product visibility within Etsy’s marketplace. Etsy ads position promoted listings prominently in Etsy’s search results, categories, and market pages.
From your Etsy Shop Manager → Marketing → Etsy Ads → Set a daily spending budget with a minimum of $1.00 → Start advertising.
- Offsite ads are a service provided without any initial expenses – you’ll only be charged an advertising fee after a sale.
With offsite ads, Etsy promotes your listings across various online platforms, apps, Etsy Publishing Partner sites, and Google Display Network sites.
If you don’t want to use Etsy Ads, go for alternatives like Google Ads or Microsoft Ads.
Make It Happen Today!
How to Start an Etsy Photography Shop With Printify?
Printify lets you connect your store and easily sell photography prints with no upfront costs. We’ll only charge you for order fulfillment and shipping.
Create your merch and list it on your Etsy shop by following a few easy steps.
Sign Up
Register on our platform to gain access to a free Printify account.
Dive into the world of online selling and enjoy all the perks offered by Print on Demand.
Connect Your Store
Before you can connect your store to Printify, make sure to first open a store on Etsy.
Once that’s done, go to your Printify Dashboard → My new store → Add a new store and select Etsy from the list of popular sales channels.
Create Your Products
Our Product Catalog offers over 900 customizable products, including wall art perfect for any photography shop.
Use our Mockup Generator to upload or create your designs. There are free design tools, graphics, and even an AI Image Generator.
Once you’ve settled on a design, proceed to generate product mockups.
Publish and Start Selling
It’s showtime! Move on to publishing photography prints on Etsy, launching your store, and start selling photos to eager shoppers.
Sell More Photos: Tips to Up Your Selling Game
For your photography business to reach the profitability of other Etsy sellers, some of whom receive as many as 49,000 orders a month, you need to carry out a few more tests and tweaks to get the ball rolling.
Fill Everything Out
Go to your Etsy account, open your shop page, and get all the essentials in order.
- Create engaging shop branding. Be consistent in your Etsy store branding by choosing colors, fonts, and themes based on the image and idea you want to sell to your customers.
- Add information on your business. Fill out your About section, sharing your story and reasons for selling photography.
- Add images like a shop logo and banner, following Etsy’s requirements and best practices.
- Add relevant shop policies. Make sure to cover order returns, exchanges, and shipping fees.
- Consider offering free shipping to boost sales and your visibility in Etsy search.
Collect Reviews
If you want to stand out from other sellers and make selling photos on Etsy your full-time job, you need more than just a catchy shop name and beautiful cover photos.
You need to establish community credibility.
An important part of the selling process is encouraging customers to leave honest reviews after purchasing your photography products.
Positive reviews serve as a stamp of approval on your shop, increasing the likelihood of new clients and future sales.
Support Your Etsy Store Customers
So, how do you ensure those honest store reviews are positive?
- Offer high-quality products. This is a pretty obvious point, but it’s also at the heart of ensuring a good buying experience that leads to positive reviews.
- Deliver exceptional customer service. Promptly address any questions and concerns buyers may have and encourage their feedback.
Be transparent in product details, shipping times, and store policies.
- Send out post-purchase messages. A brief thank-you message or a feedback request can encourage good reviews and catch issues that could have otherwise resulted in negative feedback.
Going the extra mile for your customer can turn a one-time buyer into a loyal advocate for your shop.
Consider Discounts for Those Who Buy More
Boost customer loyalty and encourage larger purchases by offering attractive discounts for buying multiple items or reaching a specific order threshold on your shop.
From your Etsy Shop Manager → Marketing → Sales and discounts → Create a promo code.
Reward your customers and watch your sales grow as they enjoy savings on their favorite products.
Review Your Products and Remember to Be Critical
Honest self-evaluation ensures that your product offer resonates with customers, leading to increased buyer satisfaction and sales.
- Become your own customer. Step into the shoes of your potential buyers to take a critical look at your product listings – evaluate the clarity, pricing, and visual presentation.
If you sell physical products, review the quality, functionality, and overall appeal of the finished item.
- Review competitors. Go to other shops that sell photography on Etsy to review their products in a similar way.
- Analyze. Compare your products to those offered by other Etsy shops that sell photography and pinpoint ways to improve your product offer.
Consider Expanding Your Product Range
Experimenting with new and existing products is a sure way to attract new customers and keep existing ones engaged.
Sell photography in different sizes and formats. Consider creating photo sets and collections, and decide whether you want to sell digital versions of your physical photo designs.
If you’re using Printify – consider printing your photographs on other personalized products like greeting cards or blankets.
FAQ
Is it worth selling photo prints on Etsy?
Absolutely! If you have captivating photos, Etsy provides an excellent platform to showcase and sell them to a global audience of shoppers.
How much money can you make selling photos on Etsy?
Beyond the uniqueness of your photography products, your financial success depends on well-crafted listings, strategic marketing efforts, and understanding your target audience.
Do digital images sell on Etsy?
Certainly. Digital images, ranging from downloadable prints to digital artwork, have a market on Etsy. They offer convenience to buyers seeking instant access to your art.
With the right presentation and effective marketing, digital images can turn into a steady source of income.
How to protect your Etsy shop from intellectual property theft?
To secure your photos from unauthorized use on Etsy, consider watermarking your images and including a copyright disclaimer within your product descriptions.
If you encounter stolen content or copyright violations, file an Intellectual property infringement report.
How to sell digital photos on Etsy?
When you create a new product listing, choose Digital as your listing type under Listing Details.
Sell photos as instant downloads or made-to-order downloads.
Quick Tip
Check out our guide on how to sell digital downloads on Etsy for more details.
To Summarize
We hope this guide serves as your roadmap to turning your passion for nature photography, landscape photography, or any other artistic interest into a thriving Etsy business.
Take advantage of Print on Demand with Printify, add your unique designs to various products, and sell photography on Etsy!
Make It Happen Today!
Written by
Vita Stevens
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