Etsy Seller Interview with Sage of TenthMuseArts

How TenthMuseArts got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

I started selling on Etsy as a polymer and mixed media artist specializing in alternative and fantasy-inspired jewelry in 2008. By 2011, I had started a polymer art magazine, which slowly took over my art creation. Within a couple of years, I transitioned from selling art to selling publications that taught others how to create with polymer as well as live and grow as a craft artist, which is still central to my site today.

When I was selling art jewelry, I looked for a niche. I found it in fanciful-gauge earrings, which became the majority of my sales then. Selling publications became a niche as well, mostly because there was so little information of the kind the magazines and books I published offered that I didn’t need to search for a niche. It was almost my company's creation. Today, I sell my past publications and the publications of other polymer and mixed media publishing artists. I find helping people create joy in their lives as fulfilling as creating my own work, and the income from selling publications takes the pressure off me to create in quantity when it comes to my own artwork, leaving me free to create larger and more personal projects.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

The Polymer Journeys books, two retrospective collections of the best in polymer art during the previous decade, are my favorite publications. They show the variety and breadth of talent and possibilities in the medium from all over the world.

All my publications sell consistently. I can’t say that one item sells more than another, although magazines sell a bit more often, but at a lower price point.

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

I believe I had my first sale within the first week, or something close to that. I just remember that it happened much quicker than expected. I drove customers from my Facebook page to my shop initially. I featured art by other artists as well as my own work daily and had a great following. When I moved to publications, I switched to a blog format, built a good-sized mailing list, and made sure to publish both blogs and newsletters like clockwork. Consistency is the way to go. Today, I do the same thing, but I promote it on my podcast, The Sage Arts.

Managing TenthMuseArts 

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

Back in my heyday, I had a team of 3-6 people that helped with all aspects of creating the publications and one person who kept up my shop listings. Today, it is mostly me with an on-call person to help out when things get really busy. However, I have always been the one to answer emails. You can’t beat a personal touch and a real connection, especially these days. I keep things simple. I use Etsy shipping to create shipping labels, unless I get a special request, in which case I use Pirate Ship. Quickbooks Self-Employed takes care of the bulk of my accounting, and Meta is my scheduler for social media posts. I don’t need more than that to run the shop.

The future of TenthMuseArts 

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

I do plan to start selling my own work again, primarily prints, as I’ve moved from jewelry to mixed media wall art. This may involve a second shop, but it too will be as automated as possible, using FinerWorks to fulfill and ship.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

Plan your shop, your creation and shipping processes, and your time. And then be patient. It is a busy world out there, but if you have authentic work to offer, it will speak to the right people, and they will find you (with a little help from your own promotions, of course!). What you don’t want to do is lose the joy that your creative work brings because you get overwhelmed by the business end. But being prepared for being busy will help you keep things manageable. And don’t think you can’t say no to a commission request, a custom sale, or special shipping. Say no to anything that is disruptive to your usual day-to-day or makes you feel overwhelmed. Trying to play catch-up because you put too much on your plate won’t allow you to offer quality work, quality service, and a quality life.

Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: I’ve had my shop shut down most of this year as I take care of my family. But before then, it was a few hundred a month on average. This isn’t my only sales avenue.

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: 35–80%, depending on whether I’m selling other people’s publications (35%), or my own (upwards of 80% because the initial print costs were paid for with initial sales upon publication). When you can duplicate for cheap, it really helps that profit margin, and publications, especially digital ones, are the easiest to make once and replicate.

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: I’m not sure. I don’t pay much attention to the numbers these days.