Affiliate marketing can be very lucrative when done correctly.
Affiliate marketing involves sending traffic from your blog, website, or social media platforms to online shops through a special set of links.
In return, the store will pay you a commission for every sale that you send to their site. It’s truly a win-win situation.
For bloggers that recommend products and services on their sites, this is often motivation enough to market the products/services that they are passionate about, and receive a check without having to sign up to sponsorships with large brands.
In this piece, we will take a look at affiliate marketing on the Etsy Affiliate Program and everything you need to know about the program.
First, we start by understanding Etsy.
Table of Contents
What is Etsy?
If you are new to Etsy, it is an online marketplace where artists, crafters, and vintage retailers can open online stores.
The marketplace enables them to become business ‘owners’ without the hassle of setting up a website.
Etsy was founded by three friends in a New York City apartment who identified a gap in the market. By 2007, Etsy had already garnered over $1.5 million in sales.
It grew in popularity and in 2015, it held a successful IPO. The platform is a darling to affiliate marketers.
Products That You Can Promote
Etsy products lie in two main areas:
- Handmade crafts
- Vintage items
Some of the products sold on Etsy include arts, paper goods, craft and crafting supplies, artisan foods, jewelry, small-batch cosmetics, clothing and accessories, and handmade personal care items.
Vintage items are slated to be at least 20 years old in order to qualify. Some of these items include accessories, costumes, jewelry, clothing, games, toys, books, housewares, and photos.
The Etsy Affiliate Program
The program is run by Awin in North America, Europe and other parts of the world.
US publishers also have the option of enrolling via the FlexOffers affiliate marketing network when they can’t join through the Awin network.
Joining the Awin network is not free. They charge a refundable $5 fee to enroll. The fee is to prevent spammers from joining the network.
Here are some of the features of the Awin Affiliate Network:
Creatives
Awin is a renowned affiliate network. One way they make the process of becoming an affiliate easier for creatives is by adding banner ads or text affiliate links to their site.
They have a ‘Copy Code’ function on their frontend that is suitable for creatives.
Affiliate Payments
It can be frustrating when your payments are delayed or when you do not receive them at all.
However, this will not be your predicament when you opt to promote Etsy products through their affiliate program.
You can be sure that you will be paid on time. In fact, they pay twice a month- on the 1st and the 15th.
Of course, you have to have validated sales in order to be paid, so don’t hope to receive any commissions for the initial 30 days, at least.
After that, you can expect to receive payment every fortnight, or monthly if you like.
When it comes to receiving payment, the program pays through several avenues that are definitely available to you. These include:
- Check
- International wire
- To your bank account through ACH
However, they do not make payments through PayPal or cryptocurrencies.
Your payout threshold is usually a minimum of US$20 but can go as high as US$10,000 in case you are a big hitter.
Cookies
This affiliate program usually comes with a 30-day cookie, which is common in most affiliate programs.
This feature grants Etsy loads of time to convert traffic that comes to Etsy shops into leads.
This cookie can also work through ‘last click’ attribution so ensure you only direct warm traffic to Etsy content and offers.
Affiliate Tools
The affiliate tools are on the Awin network and not on the Etsy affiliate program. However, this doesn’t mean that they are not useful.
The ‘link builder’ feature enables you to make deep links to items anywhere on the Etsy store.
One really useful Etsy affiliate tool is definitely the ‘My Awin Chrome Extension’. It enables one to head to the Etsy site, browse around until you identify an item you like.
Once you do this, you just click on the extension button and an affiliate link is created right there.
The ability to create text links this easy might not be revolutionary, but it makes life easy for the affiliate marketer.
Commission Rates
Let’s now take a look at how much you’ll get paid for including Etsy affiliate links to your content.
When on the Etsy affiliate program, you receive a 4 percent commission for ‘standard publisher’ referrals.
You also get 2 percent per sale for the referrals that are as a result of user generated content (UGC).
‘Standard publisher’ sales are sales that are generated directly from a banner ad or Etsy affiliate link.
‘UGC’ sales on the other hand are as a result of content uploaded to social media platforms i.e, videos, images, etc.
Essentially, it’s safer and more lucrative to leverage on Etsy affiliate links.
Something else to be aware of is zero commission rates contingent on the payment method used by a buyer.
For instance, gift card purchases made by a customer are usually zero commission rate items inside the Etsy affiliate program.
Important Rules to Note
There are numerous rules to be aware of in the Etsy Affiliate program. Here’s a few that are especially important for website/blog owners:
Sign Up to the Right Program
Ensure that you enroll in the appropriate affiliate program in your country. The countries covered by the program include: USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Sweden, and Australia.
Furthermore, the program has an EU, and ‘Rest of World’ accounts that suit people with no country specific program to join.
On the bright side, the commissions are credited in spite of the country the actual sale was registered in.
Can’t Link Etsy Listings Directly on Pinterest
Early on, the affiliate program allowed bloggers to make Pins on Pinterest that acted as direct affiliate links. However, that practice ceased on Pinterest.
Although, as of 1/7/2020, one can share direct links on their social media handles like Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
However, if you prefer to use Pinterest to market your affiliate links, there is still a way.
You will simply send them first to your blog post and then include the affiliate links on the post itself.
You Can be Both an Etsy Seller and an Affiliate
The site allows you to be an Etsy seller and an affiliate, but you can’t promote the items on your own shop or shops that you are ‘closely linked to’ with your affiliate links.
How to Sign Up to the Etsy Affiliate Program
The first step is registering for an AWIN account. AWIN is the affiliate network that heads their affiliate program which means that they use a third-party app to manage their affiliates.
After registering, proceed to the AWIN dashboard to see your statistics, receive your links, as well as get paid.
As mentioned above, the registration may be free, but you’ll be charged a $5 fee to have your account verified. However, you’ll get your money back when you receive your first payment.
To start off, click on the “Sign Up” button in the top corner and give the required details. They will inquire a few personal details and information on your blog, and the process is pretty much straightforward.
Ensure that you fill out all the required details so as to start using the account. Next, you need to apply to be an Etsy affiliate.
To do this, go to Advertisers> Join Programs> Search and select “Etsy”> Click “Join Program”.
To join, click on the “+” sign or simply click on the program’s name to know more, and then click on “Join Program” on the sidebar.
Include a little note saying how you’re planning to market Etsy on your blog to boost chances of being accepted. This will help set you apart.
And that’s how you become an Etsy affiliate!
Ways to Make Money through the Etsy Affiliate Program as a Blogger
Showcasing artists
This is one of the most profitable routes on Etsy. In this, you write a blog post, showcasing a number of artists and then show how their products are unique and helpful. You then link back to their product through your affiliate link.
How do you go about this?
Look for Etsy products that you’d like to showcase, say, jewelry. Search under jewelry until you find items that you like.
Next, check out the shop. Is it full? Is it active? Are the images appealing? Are there good reviews?
Are the prices in the lane that your audience would normally spend on? If it checks all these boxes, go ahead and check the about pages.
Next, reach out to the seller/maker/artist. Tell them how you love their product, and how it will also appeal to your readers. You can use different avenues to interview them. Keep it low pressure.
Round-up post
Round-up posts are very popular with shoppers online who are looking for ideas of items to purchase.
Since Etsy features a large number of items, you’ll be lost for choice for products to include in your post.
Here are some round-up post ideas:
5 Minimalist Earrings You’ll Fancy Wearing
8 Modern Desks for Your New Office
9 Gifts Ideas for a New Mom
Art for the Contemporary Home
8 Gifts Ideas to Get Her for Valentine’s
As you may have noticed, these topics are all over the place. This shows that there are hundreds of round-up post ideas that you can come up with as the site has numerous things to pick from.
However, when picking items to have on your ideas, steer clear of ‘one-of-a-kind’ items. This is because, once they are gone, they’re gone.
Someone may read through your post, then upon clicking the link, they find that the item is gone.
This will not only make them disappointed, but it will make your blog post seem outdated.
Featuring Small, Women-Owned Businesses
It’s interesting to note that 86 percent of Etsy sellers are women.
So, when browsing on Etsy, chances are you are supporting a woman, mom, or a small business directly by helping them foot their bills, helping a mom remain at home with her kids, and generally boost the economy.
If you usually blog on these topics, then how about featuring some of these women?
DIY Craft Projects
If you blog about DIY or craft, then you probably know that craft supplies are very popular on Etsy.
You could therefore use or suggest these supplies in your personal DIY project. It could be on your website (include the text links to the products used), your YouTube Channel (list the products in the videos’s description), etc.
Etsy’s Sections for Post Ideas
The site itself is a goldmine for blog post ideas. You can browse through the various high-level sections such as Clothing & Shoes, Home & Living, Jewelry & Accessories, Craft & Collectibles, Toys & Entertainment, and Vintage.
Additionally, the site also has the gift-guides with curate listings that helps make searches easy.
Finally, when you click on one of the high-level sections, you come across several sub-categories, and additional categories below that, and so on.
All these subcategories and sub-sub categories can help you come up with great blog post ideas.
Exploit the wedding niche
Weddings are a very popular category on Etsy with some wedding shops raking sales of hundreds of thousands.
As such, if you can craft a blog post and still fit in wedding items, you stand to benefit greatly.
Some awesome blog post ideas that you can use for inspiration include:
Sustainable Wedding Ideas
Trends for Fall Weddings
Props for Outdoor Weddings
Handmade Wedding Dresses That are Greatly Affordable
Conclusion
Etsy is a great platform to be an affiliate partner on. They have a wide variety of items that cover most niches. They also have unique products that are exclusive to their site.
Their affiliate marketing program boasts of numerous marketing tools and creatives that you can work with
And with each product you promote, you will be helping a small business.
