Etsy
Checklist
Essential Tools
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- β Use this checklist for your own Etsy shop
- β Export it as a PDF for personal use
- β Print a copy for personal reference
- β Use it to manage multiple shops you personally own
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New to Etsy selling? Work through sections 1 to 3 before you list anything. Already have a shop? Jump straight to Section 03 (Photos) and Section 04 (SEO) β these are where most existing shops are leaving money on the table. Questions? Find me at cuonline.ca
Your storefront is your first impression. Etsy won't consider your shop complete unless every section below is filled out β and incomplete shops rank lower in search. Start here before anything else.
If you use Print on Demand via Printify, these settings must be correct before you start taking orders. Getting these wrong means missed orders, wrong return addresses, or production issues you'll fix manually at 2am.
Your main photo is the single biggest factor in whether someone clicks your listing. Most shops lose sales here before a buyer reads a single word. Go through every active listing with this section.
Etsy SEO determines whether your listings ever get found. The most common mistakes: wasted title space, descriptions that open with the title copy-pasted in, and ignoring alt text. Fix these first.
Instead of spending hours writing SEO manually β use this prompt in ChatGPT or Claude. Upload your mockup image, paste in this prompt as a Project or System instruction, then simply type "write my SEO" and it will generate your title, tags, description opener, and alt text automatically.
- Go to chatgpt.com and create a new Project
- Inside the project, click "Add instructions"
- Paste the full prompt below into the instructions box
- Each time you want SEO: upload your mockup image and type "write my SEO"
- Go to claude.ai and create a new Project
- Inside the project, click "Set project instructions"
- Paste the full prompt below into the instructions box
- Each time you want SEO: upload your mockup image and type "write my SEO"
Most shops set up and forget this section entirely. This is where repeat business and 5-star reviews come from. These automations and habits separate growing shops from stagnant ones.
