Starting an Etsy Business For Dummies
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These days, coupons are everywhere, including on Etsy. Yes, that's right: You can offer your Etsy customers discounts on merchandise or free shipping through coupons — or, more specifically, coupon codes. Buyers can then apply these codes to purchases during the checkout process. (When a customer redeems a coupon, Etsy's 3.5 percent transaction fee applies to the discounted price.)

You could create coupon codes to celebrate your store's anniversary or an upcoming holiday, to reward repeat customers, or to share with your Facebook fans, Twitter or Instagram followers, Pinterest pinners, or admirers on other social media sites.

One way to spread the word about your coupon code is to include it in the packaging with any items you sell — say, by writing it on a business card and tucking it in with your piece. Alternatively, if you maintain a newsletter, you may want to include a coupon code there to drive sales in your Etsy shop.

To create a coupon code, follow these steps:
  1. Click the Shop Manager link along the top of any Etsy Marketplace page. The main Shop Manager page opens.
  2. Click the Promote link on the left side of the page and choose Coupon Codes in the pane that appears.
  3. Click the Create New Coupon button. The Create New Coupon dialog box opens.

    etsy-new-coupon Source: Etsy.com

    The Create New Coupon dialog box.
  4. In the Coupon Code field, type the code you want to use for the coupon.

    This code must contain between 5 and 20 alphanumeric characters (no punctuation), with no spaces. Note that after you use a code, you can never use it again. So, you know, no pressure coming up with solid codes.

  5. If you want buyers to receive a coupon automatically upon purchasing an item from your shop, click the Thank You Coupon check box to select it.
  6. Click the Discount Type drop-down arrow and choose the type of discount you want to offer — Free Shipping, Percent Discount, or Fixed Discount.
    • If you choose Free Shipping, optionally select the Domestic Addresses Only check box that appears.
    • If you choose Percent Discount, type the discount amount in the % field that appears.
    • If you choose Fixed Discount, type a dollar amount in the field that appears.
  7. If desired, enter a minimum purchase amount. Buyers must spend this amount to be able to apply the coupon.
  8. Enter an expiration date (optional).
  9. Click the Active option button to activate the coupon code.
  10. Click the Add Coupon button. Etsy creates the coupon code and lists it on the Coupon Codes page.

    etsy-coupon-code Source: Etsy.com

    Etsy creates the coupon code.
To deactivate a coupon code, simply click the code's Active link in the screen shown here. Then, in the dialog box that appears, click the Inactive option button and click Save Changes. Etsy deactivates the code for you. You can reactivate the code later by clicking its Inactive link and then clicking Active in the dialog box that appears. You can also simply delete a coupon code by clicking the X button to the right of the code in the Coupon Codes page.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Kate Shoup is the author of numerous crafting books, including Not Your Mama's Beading, and Rubbish: Reuse Your Refuse. Kate Gatski is an artisan, an entrepreneur, an educator, a veteran Etsy seller, and a member of the Full Time Etsy Crafters Team an exclusive group for full-time or high-volume Etsy sellers.

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