Ep.58- Beyond Etsy: Smarter Selling Strategies

October 26, 2025

Hey friends, it’s Delores here.

If you’ve been hearing the collective uproar from creative sellers everywhere, you already know Etsy’s latest algorithm update has shaken things up. Views and sales have dipped for many talented artists, and it’s easy to feel discouraged.

In this week’s Creative Juggle Joy Podcast, Kaylie explores what’s really happening — and more importantly, what you can do about it.

The Etsy Shift

Etsy’s “AI-driven” search system is behaving differently than ever before, favouring engagement over traditional keywords. That means your work might no longer appear in searches the way it once did.

It’s frustrating, yes — but it’s also a reminder that as artists, we thrive when we stay flexible.

Finding Balance Beyond One Platform

Etsy is still valuable for exposure, but as Kaylie said, it’s smart to treat it as a starting point, not the destination.

She shared some excellent alternatives like Zazzle, GoImagine, and Shopify, along with ways to host your own site affordably using Hostinger or PayHip. The message is simple: explore, test, and diversify so you have more control over your creative income.

Marketing That Builds Real Connection

I especially loved her focus on storytelling.

Whether you’re pinning your latest design on Pinterest or sending a newsletter about what inspired a new collection, connection is what keeps people coming back.

Show your process, your workspace, and the joy behind what you create — those little glimpses matter more than perfect branding.

Staying Grounded Through Change

The landscape for artists will keep shifting. Algorithms will update; fees will rise. But creativity, curiosity, and community remain constant.

Start small, stay adaptable, and keep sharing your art in ways that feel true to you.

🎧 Listen to Ep. 58 – Beyond Etsy: Smarter Selling Strategies for Creatives in Uncertain Times on your favourite podcast app.

✨ Until next time — keep creating, keep juggling, and most importantly, keep finding joy in the process.

Resources

If you’d like to explore some of the resources Kaylie mentioned in the episode, here’s a quick list you can reference or link later:

🌍 Selling Platforms & Marketplaces

Etsy – still great for discovery, but use it as one of many income streams.
Zazzle – ideal for card designers, illustrators, and artists who want easy custom print-on-demand products.
GoImagine – a U.S.-based ethical handmade marketplace that donates profits to charity.
Card Isle, Greeting Card Universe, Thortful – for artists and designers specialising in cards.
Folksy – UK-based handmade marketplace.
MakerPlace by Michaels – new U.S. marketplace backed by a major craft retailer.

🛒 Website Builders & Tools

Shopify – all-in-one e-commerce platform for scaling your store and creating a branded shopfront.
Hostinger AI Website Builder – beginner-friendly website setup tool with AI-assisted store creation.
WordPress + WooCommerce – flexible website and shop builder for print-on-demand, digital downloads, and courses.
Art Storefronts – built specifically for fine artists and photographers.
PayHip , Gumroad, Podia, Ko-Fi – platforms for selling digital downloads and creative assets.

🖨️ Print-on-Demand Suppliers

Printify (merged with Printful) – wide product range and global fulfilment.
Gelato – great for art prints, clothing, and home products.
Prodigi – UK/EU-based POD supplier specialising in fine art prints.
Spoonflower, Contrado, Pattern Bank – print-on-demand platforms for surface pattern designers.

💌 Marketing Tools & Strategies

Pinterest – treat it like a visual search engine for your art.
Tailwind – schedule and automate your Pinterest marketing.
QR Code Generators – Canva or QR Monkey for creating scannable links for craft fairs and packaging.
Email Marketing Platforms – use to connect directly with your audience and share new collections or updates.

🎁 Workshops & Templates

Holiday Email Toolkit for Creatives – plug-and-play email templates for artists, handmade sellers, and digital creators.
Holiday Sales Prep Workshop Replay – available on Kaylie’s YouTube channel.
My 5 Cards in 5 Days Challenge – learn how to design and sell greeting cards across multiple platforms.

TRANSCRIPT:

Kaylie Edwards: [00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of the Creative Juggle Joy podcast. I'm Kaylie. In this episode I'm going to be talking about something that's been rattling the handmade and art community lately. Etsy's latest algorithm changes. If you've been selling on Etsy or even just hanging around creative Facebook groups, you've probably seen the words, my shop views have tanked, or My sales have dropped, or I have had no sales this month.

More times than you can count and you're not imagining it. There's been a huge downturn across Q3 and into Q4 2025 since Etsy rolled out what a load of creators are now calling the brain rot AI algorithm. It's prioritizing engagement and machine learning predictions over [00:01:00] keywords we are using.

Previous keywords aren't as effective. and your listings could be shown against things that are really not relevant, and that's why a lot of shops that were thriving for years have suddenly dropped off the search and are struggling for sales. Today we're talking about how to protect your creative income when the platforms move, the goalposts, how to diversify without burning out, and how to market what you make no matter where you sell.

Why, depending on Etsy alone is so risky. Right now, thousands of handmade and digital sellers are feeling the sting. This new a AI search behavior has caused a noticeable dip in views and sales for artists and makers worldwide. And here's the truth. When your entire business lives on a rented platform like Etsy, you are at [00:02:00] the mercy of someone else's experiment.

Fees go up. Visibility drops without warning and policy changes can wipe you out overnight. I'm not telling you to ditch Etsy. It's great. It still has a massive audience and is brilliant for discovery. and great for startup for beginners, but you need control and optional routes. You use Etsy for reach, not dependency.

Where else can you sell your art and creations? I get this a lot, and there isn't any one size fits all. Let's talk about some options because there are loads of them, whether you are a handmade seller, an artist, or a digital designer. I've grouped these by category so you can see what fits your business best.

Print on demand and physical product platforms. These are great if you want to design once and have the printing, packaging, and shipping [00:03:00] handled for you.

This can be Zazzle. Zazzle is a great, alternative for Etsy. They're very more into the gift giving. And custom. It's very custom based. So you can create your designs even within Zazzle itself and have your customers customize their design.

So let's say you create a design and leave space for that person to add their name or a year that is really great and Zazzle is great for doing that. There's been plenty of people that have seen great success on Zazzle and sometimes even see consistent results and sales from that platform, but it's still a rented space, so bear that in mind.

You can have a few stores as long as it doesn't stretch you. Then there's also Go Imagine, which is US [00:04:00] only at the moment, the pros. It's ethical alternatives to Etsy. Its profits go to charity, and it focuses on genuine, handmade, but the cons, it has a smaller buyer audience than Etsy right now, and it's limited to sellers in the US

let's just go back to Zazzle, the pros. It's super easy set up. You can link directly from your socials or your bio page. It's brilliant for card designers, pattern artists, illustrators, and people who want to get their art and graphics onto products and where they don't have to keep inventory.

But the cons, the marketplace style means competition is high, so keywords and visuals do matter. Just like with Etsy. For card creators specifically, I have come across a few that, my client, Delores, who's the co-host of this podcast, her students have used the likes of Card Isle. That's what she teaches.

Greeting Card [00:05:00] Universe and Thortful, which is more UK based, are great platforms to get your feet wet. In that income stream. If you want to learn more about card designing, you can take Delores' five and five card day challenge, which is brilliant, and it'll walk you through how to get started and how to sell on these platforms.

The pros, these are card focused marketplaces, so the fantastics for exposure if you've got a niche or seasonal range. But the cons, like Card Isle doesn't allow outbound links. And I, I believe that's what Lisa Martin in our previous, guest episode, repurposed a lot of her car designs onto Zazzle products where she can link from Zazzle to social posts and her site.

Then there's also website builders. Like Art Storefronts, which is purpose built for fine artists and photographers. [00:06:00] You get integrated print fulfillment, marketing automations, email tools, analytics. It looks professional from day one. The cons, it is a higher monthly cost, I believe, and setup fee.

So it is best for those treating art as a serious long-term business. And you also have the likes of Shopify as a website builder. Pros it. It's the most polished, all in one store builder with endless apps and print on demand connections you can use. Perfect if you want to scale and create a branded store, shopfront, it is built for e-commerce, but the cons, monthly fees, and the small learning curve as well.

It can get costly with, the apps that you have to integrate to get it to how you want it to look and feel. Delores, has, a Shopify store that she sells her brush sets on and we have struggled a little [00:07:00] bit with the basic template website builder that, that it comes with for creating the pages.

And it can be a little bit clunky, but, I believe they've got other apps that can, can kind of factor into that. And there's so many tutorials on YouTube on how to create an e-commerce Shopify store. I would look them up. If that is where you want to go it, the monthly fee can, I think it's around about $30 a month to start with them.

And obviously if you're not earning anything right away, it can put a lot of people off. Other options for building a store can be. I've come across Hostinger a AI website builder. The pros is brilliant for beginners. The AI can spin up a fully hosted store in minutes based on what you give it or what you want.

It's affordable, and you can link [00:08:00] one print on demand integration without touching WordPress if that's the route you want to go. If you want to host your website on Hostinger itself, cons is limited If you later want advanced features or multiple integrations for print on demand. Just a note, some print on demand companies that I know do really well, good quality Printify.

They've also, merged with Printful. Printful is quite a big in the space as well as Printify, but they have merged, so Printify is a great one and I know the quality from Printify from who I've used out with their printers has been good quality. Some people have got mixed reviews, so you just have to make sure that when you use a print on demand supplier, you are buying samples for yourself to check the quality before you start selling them.

I know Gelato and Prodigi have great quality Prodigi I think is [00:09:00] based in the uk, eu and they have, printers in the US as well. They are quite focused on like art, printing, photography and things like that. Gelatos great for t-shirts blankets and everything

These are fantastic. They have a huge product range. They plug and play integrations with the likes of WooCommerce, which is on WordPress or Shopify. But the cons, you obviously, you handle your own mockups and your marketing, but that also means higher margins and creative freedom. And with some of these print on demand, suppliers, they can integrate with Etsy as well, which is a bonus.

Another WordPress builder, if you are a little bit more savvy Hostinger can also use the AI builder to create a WordPress website for you. It's like a one click creation with WordPress. It'll help set up the WordPress [00:10:00] for you, and it'll have the AI feature where it'll create the template and what you want it to look like.

It's low cost. You still get total control of it. You can run multiple print on demand suppliers on WordPress using the WooCommerce plugin. And that integrates with a load of print on demand suppliers. You can also sell courses or digital downloads all under one roof, as well as if you are a handmade seller, you can also sell your physical products on there too.

The cons. It is slightly more techy at first, but once it's set up, it's incredibly powerful for growth and there's so many tutorials out there that'll help you.

And then a few surface pattern related. Design and fabric markets. If your art lives in repeats or you create patterns for textiles, wallpaper, or giftware, places like Spoonflower. Is it kind of like a print on demand as well, whereas obviously [00:11:00] your designs go up on Spoonflower and they will, print on fabric and wallpaper and things that people buy from.

The pros. It's one of the biggest fabric and wallpaper print on demand sites with built-in manufacturing, global reach. The cons, commission margins are modest unless you build volume and competition is quite high, but it's brilliant exposure for licensing and collaborations. Contrado and Pattern Bank are also worth a look for pattern designers exploring high-end or licensing routes.

I know Contrado, they have some products where you can add your patterns to the products and they can be like all over repeats, so leggings and things like that. If that's something you wanted to sell. If you sell digital products and creative assets, let's say you sell digital brushes, templates, or downloads, you can use Pay Hip, which is super friendly [00:12:00] for beginners.

It's free to use. They just take a transaction fee. Every time you sell, they don't take any, monthly payments or annual payments. It's only when you sell something, they take a percentage. You can pay a plan so you don't have to pay so much, transaction fee, but it's still great for getting started.

I started with Pay Hip after my WordPress site was going down a rabbit hole with a different business I had. But pay Hip was great when I started my second business. Podia, is also great for courses and digital downloads as well. Gum Road, great for digital downloads, Ko-Fi shops as well.

Creative Market is another one. The pros is they're low fees, so no coding needed. Instant delivery cons, smaller built-in audiences. You'll rely on your own marketing a lot more, which you should do anyway no matter where you sell. These are perfect if you want to [00:13:00] start small and build more passive income streams, handmade marketplaces by region.

There are a few, so folksy is more uk. The pros is it's a lovely handmade only platform with a supportive British buyer base. Cons, it's smaller traffic than Etsy, but great for artists who value authenticity and community. Maker place by Michaels, which is based in the US The pros. It's new and backed by a major craft retailer, which could grow quickly in 2026, 2027.

The cons, it's still early days. There is limited data on traffic or fees yet, but worth watching if you're in the US handmade scene. And remember, this isn't about ditching Etsy overnight. It's about building resilience. Pick one or two that fit your products and test for 30 days. See where the traffic and conversions come from before [00:14:00] adding more.

You want to build up some sales on these platforms first. That's how you're better off going. So how to experiment without the overwhelm. Start by duplicating your top five Etsy listings to a new platform. Keep a simple tracking sheet for views and sales. Use AI or templates to batch mockups and descriptions.

Give it a month to gain traction before deciding remember, it's a test, not a mass migration, and see where it goes first then. Decide whether you wanna carry on with that platform or you want to add another one.

I would always say to create your own website, whether that is a super simple one, using Pay Hip or using the likes of Hostinger, which is hosting your website and helping you create it with a website builder. [00:15:00] Or the likes of Shopify if you don't mind paying the monthly fee and figuring it out a little bit more with the e-commerce features. Then we have how to market your physical and print on demand products off platform.

This is where we turn your listings into an audience, because posting a product online and hoping it sells is a bit like whispering in a crowded room. Let's give your art megaphone instead. Pinterest, SEO, and boards. Pinterest is basically Google for visual people, so it's brilliant for artists, designers, and makers.

Start by creating boards that match what people are already searching for. Like gifts for nature, lovers, cozy winter home decor, or cottage core wall art, whatever your products are centered around. When you upload pins, think of them like little breadcrumbs that lead back to your shop. Use the words your buyers would [00:16:00] actually type.

Not fancy art terms. If you're selling mugs, pin them with titles such as Funny mug for book lovers, rather than ceramic typography design. Simple language wins with Pinterest. Pinterest loves consistency, so try to upload or re-pin new mockups. Once or twice a week, you can schedule ahead with the tailwind scheduling platform, or even inside Pinterest now, so it doesn't have to eat your time.

Every time you list a new product, make sure you are putting pins up of that product.

Then email marketing, which can work so well with Pinterest as well. Now I know email marketing can sound scary or a bit too businessy, but honestly it's just chatting with people who already like your work. You can collect emails in all sorts of low pressure ways. Add a small signup form or a QR [00:17:00] code at your craft store that says something like, get 10% off your next order, or Join my studio newsletter for first dibs on new designs, or, new cozy mugs or whatever.

Add the same QR code to your packaging or thank you cards. Send a friendly email once a month or. I would recommend once a week or biweekly if you can, it depends on your audience and what their cadence is for receiving emails. If you start getting a load of unsubscribes, that could mean that you sending too often or too little, but you still need to test the subject lines as well.

What you wanna do is tell a short story. Share what inspired your latest pieces, or show a behind the scenes photo from your workspace or craft fairs or any in-person events make sure you are showing mockups of your products being [00:18:00] used or lifestyle images of them.

You can use AI so well with the likes of Kittel to create them. I do go into that in a video, in my holiday workshop. Finish with one clear link that says, shop this collection here. And it doesn't have to be polished.

People just love feeling part of the process.

And social storytelling. Social media isn't just for posting the end results, although that really will help because people seeing your products consistently is gonna help sell. It's also for showing the journey instead of filling your feed with buy now posts show the making part as well. There needs to be a balance.

You need to tell your story. You need to share your values and your beliefs, your hobbies, why you got into your business, why you create what you create. That builds the connection and people will resonate with that. There are a couple of, social [00:19:00] media experts in the art field that go into a little bit more on how to post better.

For attracting the right buyers. I will have to link some of them in the description post, short time lapses of you sketching or mixing colors, pressing your product labels, packaging up your products. Those ones do really well. Talk about who the piece was made for. Maybe I designed this for a fellow NightOwl who work best at midnight that story instantly connects with someone scrolling. I created this handmade mug with my cute inspired theme for those who love winter or something like that. And always tag a link clearly in your caption.

Don't make people go hunting. Where to buy. Instagram is a little different. You can't directly [00:20:00] link in captions unless you're doing it in your stories. You can do the link with the link, sticker. You can do that. Stories are a great way to sell on social media with Instagram and even Facebook as well.

Using the link sticker is great to send them to your latest products and use link in Bio as well. Don't make people go hunting for it.

QR codes everywhere. These little black and white squares are your secret offline weapon. I wish I'd knew more about them when I first started doing craft fairs. You can create one for free on Canva, or I think there's an app called QR Monkey as well. You can print it on business cards, packaging or market signage.

When someone scans it, they go straight to a link in bio page or a simple landing page, or directly to your latest [00:21:00] products you can send them directly to that so they know where to go and it saves them typing and makes impulse buying much more effortless.

Seasonal drops and bundles. People love the feeling of discovering something limited. You can group your existing products into themed collections like Winter Studio bundle, self-care gift set, or creative starter pack. You are not adding more work. You are repackaging what you already have. And because it's seasonal or limited, you can build gentle urgency without slashing prices.

Add a countdown in your emails or posts like available until Sunday or only 10 sets left. There's a maker on Instagram who I follow, and she is brilliant at doing this because she creates a load of these custom handmade, gorgeous mugs and she'll create a big batch of these mugs. And [00:22:00] what she'll do is she'll wait to sell them until.

She's finished with the batch. Once they're all done and ready to sell, she will give people a teaser. She does a broadcast in the Instagram and she gives people a teaser to let them know when the stock's gonna drop in her shop and she'll give them a deadline of when go live.

She creates 'em all on a website she then. Makes 'em all live for that week. She'll let people know and they will instantly go and buy and they sell out so quick. I have missed so many product drops because I'm not quick enough or don't have the money at that minute to spend on these gorgeous, very cool handmade mugs that she creates, which are obviously priced at.

The correct price because she spends so much time on these mugs and they're gorgeously, handmade.

And cross promotion across products. So if [00:23:00] you've already designed something you love, don't stop at one format. Turn that illustration into print, a mug, a notebook cover, maybe even a tote bag, t-shirt or sweatshirt and then photograph them together as a lifestyle scene.

When shoppers see your design across multiple products, it tells them you've built a brand, not just a one-off item. It helps you repurpose your designs.

So whether you are pinning, emailing, or handing out QR coded cards at Craft Fairs, remember this, every single listing is a tiny billboard for your brand. The more places you show it with personality and purpose, the more chances your art has to find its perfect home. Algorithms will come and go, but your creativity and community are what keep you in business.

Algorithms can change overnight, but your relationship with your audience is your real algorithm. Keep experimenting, keep showing up because your [00:24:00] creativity always finds a way. If you'd like help planning your holiday promotions or email marketing, grab my holiday email toolkit for creatives. It'll be linked in the show notes.

It's packed with plug and play templates for artists, handmade sellers, digital creators. And if you want deeper step-by-step map for seasonal sales, you can still catch my holiday sales prep workshop replay on my YouTube channel. I'll also link that in the description on the show notes. Thank you so much for listening to the Creative Juggle Joy podcast.

If today's episode gave you a few light bulb moments, please share it with another creative who'd love a dose of encouragement. You can find all the links and resources mentioned today in the show notes.

Until next time, keep creating, keep juggling, and most importantly, keep finding joy in the process.