1. Getting Started: Evaluating Your Product Line

Even if you have already been making your own custom pillow covers, it is helpful to browse some of the Etsy shops that carry the same items. You can explore what other pillow cover sellers are offering to get a better understanding of the niche you may want to cover, so to speak.

You may start out with one style while it is advisable to have at minimum 100 products available to sell. This may even include supplemental items that complement your pillow covers, such as custom tea towels, blankets or throws and other home décor items that enhance the interior atmosphere like drapes or candles.

2. Evaluating Your Pillow Cover Design Studio

Some of the best advice for crafters is to ratchet up their workspace and give it the room it deserves. When the sales take off, you are going to want to be ready to produce. Now is the time to establish a space for your own comfort, considering the necessary room to move and design your pillow covers, to situate tools and supplies, and to house your inventory as well as your shipping materials.

This organizing part is critical for you to keep track of what you have, what you have sold and what you need to resupply. Your custom work notwithstanding, you will need to have created items that can serve as examples to show on your Etsy site. We will have more on that later.

3. Essential Tools and Materials for Crafting Custom Pillows

Whether you are producing pillow covers from bulk purchase pre-sewn items with or without the forms, having an Etsy site may find you branching out and making your own pillows altogether. It is likely you have the set up including sewing machine, threads, cording, cutting mats, scissors, rotary cutter, pins and other notions.

Examine what you have and what you may include in your product offerings then determine the tools you will need to be ready to tackle whatever comes your way. For example, a specific zipper foot that makes seaming on the machine a breeze can make production fun and easy.

4. Mastering the Art of Personalization: Adding a Unique Touch

You likely have numerous designs already going for your custom pillows. While you can gather a lot of ideas from browsing other seller’s pages, keep in mind the significance of personalizing your designs for your buyers. Given the versatility of print-on-demand, you can produce pillow covers from personal photographs provided by your clients.

Consider offering custom pillows with significant photo images for special occasions such as for the newlyweds, newborns, graduation, birthdays, anniversaries, pets or any number of momentous life moments that can be memorialized in photos. A photo collage presents another way to personalize your pillow designs.

5. Customize Options that Resonate with Etsy Buyers

Monograms, lettering, funny phrases or sayings – all of these and more give you the opportunity to gear your designs to the preferences of your buyers. All over print or edged-to-edge print is another appealing design style. You may be doing this if you are applying dyes to apply color when creating your own painting style.

You may also explore using print-on-demand options using digital files that can be printed directly onto your pillow covers. Whether you simply purchase bulk pillow covers and insert forms or you build the entire piece from start to finish, you have so many ways to reach the interest of buyers with your unique creative style.

6. Photography Magic: Showcasing Your Pillows on Etsy

You will want to produce images of all your creations for the purpose of posting them on your Etsy pages. Photos of all your samples will guarantee interest and help you make sales. Consider that you do not need to photograph every single pillow you make, but you will want to have at least one image of each style.

With the increased quality of lenses and features for taking pictures from a cell phone, there really is no need to hire a professional anymore or shell out the expense of a high-quality camera. You can either include an area in your craft room that is dedicated to shooting your product line or simply take advantage of what is already in your home or garden.

Setting the Stage

With some thought put to creating backdrops or a stage upon which to place your products, you can work with some lighting to produce photos that look as good as any professional would shoot. Product shots are fun, easy and inspiring. A plain backdrop provides the blank canvas for placing your products as isolated items with nothing to distract the viewer. Other shots can be on a bed, a sofa or a chair to help show off your pieces.

By offering a variety of sets, you can optimize your presentations. For instance, you may offer a set of pillows with each one portraying part of a continuous message. Placing the pillows along a couch to complete the message tells the whole story in one view. With thoughtful placement, you can create irresistible images of your work that are compelling to buyers. You can find more tips on creating a product photography set-up at home here.

7. Etsy Shop Essentials: Setting Up Your Store for Success

Armed with your product shots, you can put your effort into creating an engaging shop profile. This is your shop so go on and enjoy it. Setting up your Etsy shop is user friendly. If you do not already have an account, you can create one for free. The listing fee is only 20 cents and is good for four months or until an items sells. You only pay transaction, payment processing and offsite advertising fees when a sale is made. Find more details on the fees here.

Your first steps need to be performed on a web browser, and you can manage your shop using the Etsy Seller app on other devices. After creating your account, you can add a profile picture with your bio to let others see and know who you are. You will set your shop location and designate the currency. Come up with a catchy name that reflects your vibe. Unlike your username, your Etsy shop name is the strongest part of your branding efforts. You can find extensive help tips on creating your shop name here.

You can create your listing and set your payment method for how you want to be paid. You will also need to set your billing method for how you want to pay your Etsy shop fees. You can find more detailed ways to streamline your Etsy shop finances here.

8. Pricing Strategies and Setting Shipping Policies

You can establish your prices on your items based upon your judgment. You need to think like an entrepreneur, though, and consider pricing strategies for sales, promo codes and targeted offers. Promotional campaigns are not just for the holidays. Anytime you want to bring in new shoppers or retain existing customers, consider running a sale. This is also a convenient way to clear out some inventory to make way for new items.

There is much more to the strategy of sales including:

• ✔ Incentivizing shoppers to spend a little more than they might otherwise
• ✔ A great way to broadcast your brand and products
• ✔ Increasing revenue to help you reach your business goals

You can find more extensive information on marketing strategies here.

Shipping can have a tremendous influence on whether a customer will decide to make a purchase with you. An effective and competitive shipping strategy is key to successfully running your online business. You must consider pricing, carriers, and customer preferences with regard to pick up, drop-off or delivery.

Of course, these options must also coincide with your production schedules. When you establish a workflow where you can meet expectations or realistic processing times and high-volume periods. Then, both you and your customers can rely on the decisions they make when purchasing. You can find more information on these elements of shipping here.

Your shipping policies must also include returns and exchanges when selling non-digital items in your Etsy shop. These details pertain to your individual listings as opposed to a blanket return policy. Cancellations, however, are set on a shop-wide basis to be clear whether you accept cancellations. There are also privacy and fixed policies to consider as they need to be published as well.

9. Marketing Your Pillows: Building Buzz on Etsy

You have at your fingertips a variety of ways to leverage social media to promote your Etsy shop. Showing your Etsy shop link on such platforms as Facebook, Instagram, X, Pinterest and others allows you to share shop updates such as:

• ✔ Latest product listings
• ✔ Shop milestones reached
• ✔ Announcing upcoming sales, coupons or promotions
• ✔ 5-Star reviews

There are tools in your Shop Manager that allow you to connect to your Etsy shop. Also, there are Etsy teams consisting of dedicated members who support each other. You may also take advantage of Etsy seller programs that are currently available to Etsy sellers. You can find more information on this here.

10. Managing Orders and Providing Excellent Customer Service

As an Etsy seller, you are part of a large and ever-growing community that relies on the sellers to consistently provide excellent customer service. In this fashion, you are no different than any business owner who seeks to establish strong, positive relationships with the customers. This aspect alone is enough to generate repeat purchases. Making the effort to connect with clients assures the powerful impact that tends to foster positive reviews and improves the exposure on Etsy.com.

There are Service Level Standards outlined in Etsy’s Seller Policy Page. As a seller there is the expectation that you provide good customer service while maintaining trust with your buyers. Honoring shipping and processing times promptly, outside of unusual circumstances, goes a long way to developing and keeping in good stead with buyers.

This includes prompt response to messages received from clients. Effort must be put to resolving disagreements or order issues directly. Even if there seems to be an unsolvable issue, there are still ways Etsy can help through their case system. If you find you have an order that you cannot fulfill, it is incumbent upon the seller to notify the buyer and proceed with cancelling the order.

Communication With Buyers

Communication between buyers and sellers is paramount to achieving successful transactions. Clients may message sellers with questions before a purchase or afterward to clarify shipping timelines, ask questions about certain concerns or even after receiving an item to cover certain issues. Responding within 24 hours not only assures the customer that they have your attention as you have their interests top of mind, but it goes a long way to increasing your chances of becoming a Star Seller.

Establishing your Etsy shop gives you the store. Your online presence reaches countless buyers. If your product line is one that may also work in street sales or fairs that occur at various times through the year, you have a further chance to reach out to people who meet you face to face. In some circumstances, you may find that you can contribute some of your products to giveaways that get mentioned by others.

Sometimes offering your products as gifts to podcasters or vloggers may reach thousands of potential buyers who would visit your shop because their favorite personality mentioned it. Set benchmarks, track your sales and you may see how you are reaching your goals. Each customer offers the opportunity to learn how best to serve the next customer. Have fun with it and achieve success selling your custom pillows on Etsy.

WRITTEN BY:

Clara Rosewood

Clara Rosewood is a home enthusiast passionate about tea towels, inventive kitchen hacks, and elegant home decor. In her articles, she blends creativity with practicality to turn everyday spaces into inviting and functional sanctuaries.