Before you start an Etsy shop, consider these alternatives (WARNINGS ABOUT ETSY, WHAT TO DO INSTEAD)

[@DinaLu]

A lot of you following me are interested in starting an Etsy shop, but I don't think it's for everyone. For a lot of you, your time is better spent somewhere else... and I talk about that in this video. Hope this video gives you some perspective ❤

[@kizarumelon2477]

Not passive buts till quite fun haha. Imma do it for sheets and giggles. Don’t plan on withdrawing any money out. Just gonna keep growing it hahaha

[@JHernandezOriol]

This is all 100% true and agree. Thank you! Finally, someone who is keeping it real. Just my assumption, but I believe clickbait influencers talk about how they made x amount of money because they all started it when covid hit, and made tons of money at that time, but now its saturated and they prob aren't making as much money on it, so now they are selling courses and monetizing on social media now as their main source of income. Its misleading for people who want to quit their jobs and start side hustles. It takes A LOT of energy and time for sure! Not as easy as they say.

[@DinaLu]

Glad you resonate with this! ☺️ The business niche on KZbin is quite the place haha. I especially don't like the ones where they haven't done the business themselves but are telling others to do it.

[@Erin_Wilson_Studios]

I'm on the other end of my career (starting again at 55), and I still find your channel--and more specifically, your honesty--helpful. Thanks 🙏🏻

[@DinaLu]

That's so awesome, Erin! Thank you and good luck on the business!!

[@jocythesempai]

Etsy took 70% of my commissions because they didn't believe my tracking number for my products were good enough...I'm looking for other alternatives because I'm losing more money with Etsy than anything else! Thanks for the video!

[@DinaLu]

Awwww. Hope you find something that works for you!!

[@gromit9826]

Thank you for this video, i was so bummed when i found out i couldnt sell on etsy bc of my country

[@GeorgeTSiy]

You have such practical ground perspective combined with honesty and pleasant manner, thank you for sharing your insights

[@DinaLu]

I appreciate that!

[@getfithealthywithvivien1234]

I think the problem is not with lowering the price because of competition, but adding more value so we can sell for a higher price. 🤔Going to test this out. Thanks for your videos- they’re very inspiring .

[@DinaLu]

Yes totally! And thanks for watching!

[@_Jesuschristcares]

Your explanations are so clear and concise. I feel like I'm in a classroom with a great teacher.❤🙏✅

[@DinaLu]

Aww YAY!!!

[@jasonphoa]

You did it again! Great advice! Many were enticed, jumped in without much thoughts and then went nuts after awhile without much success.

[@DinaLu]

Thank you Jason!!

[@milaberi9491]

Hi Dina! Thank you for your honest opinion. Your video has helped me to sort out my thoughts on my own business. I appreciate you saying all things from your personal experience.

[@DinaLu]

Glad it was helpful!✨💕

[@RiahsVoyage]

You are amazing raw and honest. As a new KZbinr I am ready to start a shop in my Niche. You have helped me to understand is this something I want to invest my time into and if so then I need to look at the long-term picture super informative video. I am extremely grateful.

[@DinaLu]

Awww so happy to hear this!!! Wishing you all the best with the business 🙌❤️

[@thinkmakepush]

hey dina! i've been following your channel for a while now and you always provide such great information! so glad you mentioned having your own website vs selling on etsy. etsy is good but there's SO MUCH competition! driving traffic to your own site is the way to go. plus, you get to keep all the profit instead of giving a percentage to the platform you're selling on. again, great info! i always enjoy watching your videos!

[@DinaLu]

Awww sooo happy to hear this!! 🙌❤️ Glad you're getting value out of it!

[@doyelroy4215]

Dina ive been watching you and im going to open my etsy shop soon. I really am thankful for everything you share here. love from india❤🎉

[@DinaLu]

Awww good luck!! ❤️✨

[@kcrun]

Love this. So many on here make it seem to easy- it is far far from that.

[@DinaLu]

Aww glad you liked the video! 🙌

[@valisha.1111]

you are the best! thanks for your kind sharings 💗

[@dotpenji]

This video offers valuable insights into Etsy shops and alternative business models. Could you share a real-life example of someone who transitioned from considering Etsy to pursuing one of the alternatives you discussed? What impact did this shift have on their journey?

[@ShekinahSol-kv3fp]

She provides a balanced view of the pros and cons of selling digital products on Etsy, and offers helpful suggestions for those who are considering starting an Etsy shop. Like the vid!

[@DinaLu]

I can think of one person who had an Etsy shop selling physical products, and then transitioned to selling on their own website AND Etsy still. The strategy they're trying to use is to create more content and make it a legit brand outside of Etsy so that they can drive traffic to their own website. Not sure exactly how it's going for them right now. But I'd say in general you have more control when you do your own thing and don't just rely on Etsy.

[@jeromelajom4856]

@@DinaLu That's a smart strategy! Diversifying and building your own brand outside of Etsy can provide more control and long-term sustainability. It's a way to reach a broader audience and reduce dependence on a single platform.

[@yaminichetani8392]

This was a really really helpful video to get a perspective. Thank you!

[@DinaLu]

Glad it was helpful!😊

[@editronos]

You are adorable. I just listened whole video with my open mouth lol.

[@thelexistudio]

This is helpful. I have my own website but I was wondering if Etsy will help. Thanks for sharing the insights!

[@DinaLu]

Yay glad it was helpful!

[@aubreytheweirdone]

Thank you for making great videos and inspiring us creators!

[@DinaLu]

You're welcome 🙌

[@kizarumelon2477]

Honestly Etsy sounds a lot more chill and fun. From the vids I’ve seen. If dropshipping was level hard. Etsy would be level easy or normal.

[@DinaLu]

Etsy can be chill! It's only stressful if you make it stressful for yourself haha. Never tried drop shipping, so can't speak on that!

[@viru3708]

Hey Dina,💞 I have signed up for your email list and in recent one you mentioned about less views in comparison to others. But let me tell you get quality views just like your content and even no fake thumbnail or only promotional videos. Your videos really helps us. Thank You❤❤

[@DinaLu]

Thank you!! This means a lot to me! ❤

[@Hannahkirkhamart]

good video, honest and informative :)

[@DinaLu]

Glad you liked it!

[@shellygray6197]

Hi Dina. I have been watching you since you opened your first Etsy shop. I am a 54 yr women and I must say I see your growth. I agree with this video. I have done everything under the sun to get my Etsy store thriving but still no sales since May. Recently I started dabbling in KDP publishing since August no sales. I feel very discouraged. I thought about Affiliated marketing but I just don't know how to do it. Do you have any advice on how you got started making money doing a affiliate marketing as this online stuff doesn't seem to be selling anything I've literally spent the last five months every weekend working on this cuz I still work a full-time job and no sales.

[@DinaLu]

Hey Shelly, sorry to hear that! Starting a business has no guarantee of success or making money, but the more you try, work on it, and learn more, the higher the chances of success are. I've felt super discouraged too when businesses didn't work out or when I didn't get any sales (in my previous businesses), but I always learned something. For affiliate marketing, I literally just put links of products I use and love under my KZbin video descriptions, haha. So my method of making money with affiliate program is to create content and build an audience (ie. KZbin), and then recommend products I use and love (ie. put links under my videos). If you're looking for more support with starting a business, I do offer 1:1 coaching (details are in my video description).

[@Joy-bg8wk]

Hi Dina, thank you for creating this video. Actually, I really want to do some freelancing and earn money for my student life. But I don't know where to start or which website I can post my articles on because I'm afraid of being scammed. Do you have any tips and advice? Thank you

[@DinaLu]

You're welcome! I have an in-depth video called "how to become a freelancer" ☺️ that will help!

[@ainoluo]

Would love to have a video solely dedicated to the non-Etsy route and how you’d go about the strategy in detail. And just to confirm - I could create my products and build an Etsy shop as well as my own online store simultaneously, with the same products?

[@DinaLu]

Yes there are many people selling the same products on Etsy and also their own website! That's a great video suggestion, but I actually haven't sold low-cost digital products on my own website before so I would only be speaking from theory and not from real experience. But my strategy would be to create some kind of content that is permanent or permanent-ish (youtube, blog, podcast), that drives traffic to my shop / an email list which then can sell the digital products. But creating content takes a long time so I'd rather sell something more expensive like a course that's $100+ and not little digital products that are $10-20. Hope that helps!

[@ainoluo]

absolutely, thanks! will consider this point of view before i start creating - which is still gonna happen this year :) and btw you are one of my big inspirations@@DinaLu

[@DinaLu]

@@ainoluo aww thank you ♥️

[@juliemicard5631]

Great video ! I would also love to learn more about what you're doing to earn money from affiliate marketing !

[@DinaLu]

Literally just putting links under my KZbin videos haha about products I use and recommend

[@juliemicard5631]

@@DinaLu oh ok haha 😂 good luck with that 🙌 !!

[@dvojohanson]

Guys, do not forget about step № 0 before you start and watch tutorials: check the countries where Etsy actually works. Because you must prove this with your taxpayer number. Cool video, Dina!

[@DinaLu]

Good reminder!

[@phyttv732]

Just wondering if you have ever thought about running a creative workshop on calligraphy. I'm thinking about running a workshop for my craft but I'm not really sure where to start

[@DinaLu]

What do you mean a creative workshop on calligraphy? I used to actually teach calligraphy a lot in 2019 to 2022, and I still teach corporate team building calligraphy workshops. What's your craft? 🥰 I have some older videos called how to teach a calligraphy workshop on my channel, I think those will be useful for you even if you aren't teaching calligraphy

[@phyttv732]

I want to run a workshop on chainmaille jewellery@@DinaLu

[@forevercreative]

Hi Dina I saw etsy changed their listing photo size do you know what the new sizing is? I would greatly appreciate your reply!

[@DinaLu]

Sorry for the delayed reply! I would check out videos by By Kristina Nicole because she covers the dimensions in a lot of detail!

[@JoymarBomboc]

Very helpful.

[@DinaLu]

Woohoo!

[@crazymexicandope]

Is having your own site where you sell digital products something you would do yourself? I heard doing that would have it's own challenges such as handling payments; etsy and these other places already have built in payment methods with tons of security. I wonder how much more it would require and at what point it would be better than selling on etsy.

[@DinaLu]

There are pros and cons to each, so it would depend on what my goals are. I started an Etsy because I liked that the audience was built in and it's easy to set up. The drawback is that you get less control, there are more fees, and the sales are not consistent. I might experiment with my own shop on my own website later on but for the moment I have another new project I'm working on haha

[@crazymexicandope]

@@DinaLu ah I gotcha, thanks for responding 🙏

[@Artbyevelyn]

Hello, did you use Etsy ads?

[@DinaLu]

I talk about Etsy ads in all my monthly update videos! Sometimes I use them, sometimes I don't

[@idnanchovy]

Hi Dina, I get suspended without spesific reason why 😭

[@namastayn8906]

I'm set on starting but the tax stuff really scares me. I'm from Italy and I don't really know how the taxing thing works here.

[@DinaLu]

Don't let it hinder you! Talk to an accountant or another business owner in your area!

[@LindyL]

As always, great value in this video, thank you! I haven't started Etsy yet but I think my idea might work. I want to sell culinary photos sort of like stock images and making sure the buyer can do big prints with the jpeg image. And this is something I like to do so I think yes I will be able to make at least one listing per week. But I'm also wondering ifI can list them both on Etsy and on stock image sites like shutterstock, etc.

[@DinaLu]

You're welcome, glad it was helpful! I haven't had any experience selling photos, but I'm sure you can find some blogs/videos about selling photos!

[@mingskitchen9708]

Great ideas❤👍！

[@DinaLu]

Glad you think so!

[@kanaanlouis]

Hello I love your content, I would love to become a content creator but where do you start, and how do you stand out? I would love to see a video of how you create content.

[@DinaLu]

Thank you! I have some videos about creating content in my playlist called "my youtube/business journey." I also share a lot of behind-the-scenes on my instagram dinadlu!

[@kanaanlouis]

Oh great I’ll go watch, Thank You!

[@AlvinLeong-me3iu]

At the end of the day you need to work the business, it's not buying stocks and leave it there for growth and income.

[@pinkswxft5319]

Hi Dina, amazing video as usual! I have a question, I'm a tennager (almost 16) planning to start a digital products business on etsy. But along with this, I also have my school and entrance exam preparations for after 12th (we have entrance exams for universities in india). I'm heading towards being a designer so i think learning graphic design would be useful for me even for the business and for my main career. But like I mentioned, I have other things going on too so I wanted to ask if it is too time consuming? Like not the design or marketing part but the dealing with the customers part. Do too many customers message you personally on etsy asking doubts?

[@DinaLu]

Good luck on your exams! I can't speak for all Etsy shops, but for my own Etsy shop, I barely get any customer inquiries... maybe like 3 times only in my whole life.

[@jetimpulse]

very informative! another great vid. oh btw, hey dina♥️lol

[@DinaLu]

Thank you so much!

[@pollyrockstar8652]

In short, affiliate marketing is the main source of passive income?

[@DinaLu]

It's the most "passive" passive income I have. KZbin is kind of passive but I still need to be active to maintain it to a certain extent.

[@EddyTheLion]

Not me. Vlogs are better ❤

[@user-eb9yu6fz7v]

Bachi jaise harkato walo honest ladki

[@LuxuryBridalinsights]

To conclude: go get a job guys

[@suzi-ml8ep]

New subscriber here! watched few videos about Etsy and digital products and found it helpful. I agree with the part mentioned to build a personal brand for content creation. I've been trying to start but have so many niches, how do I combine them all? I have 8 instagram accounts because of this and I don't think it is effective right now. I have interest in graphic design, arts and crafts like crochet, illustration, painting / watercolor painting, cute illustrations ( my goal is to turn this into stationary and merch to sell, like stickers, figurines, etc), food and travel, photography, health and wellness ( I have chronic pain, autoimmune gut issues and have learned a lot from it) , lifestyle. what do you suggest on how to focus and combine niches? do you have a video on this topic? My goal in the end is passive income and financial freedom, freedom to travel

[@DinaLu]

8 Instagram account accounts is a lot 😆 if you have many passions, I would: 1) just choose one to start, and then after a couple months you can decide if you want to start a new business 2) have a personal brand that consolidates a bunch of your interests. It will be more about you than the actual interests