Etsy Plus is a subscription offer from Etsy for sellers that gives you additional benefits over the standard, free plan. While it's not expensive, there's no need to waste money on this subscription if you don't need it. So is Etsy Plus worth it in 2024? Let's talk about the benefits.
How to sign up for Etsy Plus
To sign up for Etsy Plus, go to your Etsy account dashboard. Click on “Settings” then “your subscription” as shown below.
This will take you to a page that describes the benefits of Etsy Plus and allows you to sign up by clicking the “Upgrade to Etsy Plus” button.
What is the cost of Etsy Plus?
Etsy Plus is currently $10/month. The subscription does save you some money through an Etsy ads credit and listing credits. Let's talk more about the benefits next.
Membership Benefits
Etsy Plus does give you quite a lot of benefits for the price. Here's what it all includes:
Listing credits (15 listings)
Etsy ads credits ($5)
Access to a custom web address
Restock requests
Advanced shop customization including a customized banner and featured listing display templates which allow you to change your shop layout
Discounted shipping boxes, business cards, and other marketing materials
Seems like a bargain for $10, right? There are some reasons you might not want to upgrade your Etsy shop though.
Does Etsy Plus Increase Sales?
With all of those benefits, subscribing to Etsy Plus unfortunately won't increase the traffic or sales to your Etsy shop. You don't get any improvements in your search rankings through Etsy's search algorithm, either. So if you're not getting a lot of traffic already, most of the benefits of Etsy Plus are wasted because no potential customers are seeing your store.
It might be tempting to subscribe to Etsy Plus just for the ads credit and listing credits if you aren't getting a lot of traffic, but there can be some issues with that as well.
If your listings aren't ready for ads, you can hurt your organic ranking by turning them on to get traffic because you'll lower your conversion rate. So if you aren't already confident in your listings, keywords, and conversion rates, you shouldn't be using ads quite yet anyway and your advertising credits will be wasted.
You'll know you're ready for Etsy ads when you have one or two listings with a good and very consistent conversion rate. Click here to learn more about how Etsy ads work.
Do you need the other benefits?
Does your Etsy store really need another subscription fee? If you aren't already profitable using Etsy ads, you probably don't need Etsy Plus.
Custom shipping boxes and other promotional materials can certainly improve your brand look and customer experience, but even with the discounts provided by Etsy Plus can still be quite expensive for most sellers. I would recommend waiting until you are getting consistent sales and are profitable before investing in this type of branding.
While the advanced shop customization options can be fun for your shop home page, if you aren't currently getting a lot of traffic on the platform, then it's not something you'll need because interested customers won't see it. Instead, focus on getting more traffic through Etsy's search algorithm. Click here to read more about how Etsy SEO works.
Alternatives to Etsy Plus
If you'd like to get some of the benefits of Etsy Plus, it is possible to do that without adding to your monthly Etsy bill.
You can get a custom web address through any domain provider. GoDaddy and NameCheap are both common for custom domains and easy to use. You can then set your custom domain URL to forward to your Etsy shop in just a few minutes.
While you can't have on-site restock requests unless you're subscribed to Etsy Plus, you can use your email marketing to essentially control the process yourself. Simply ask customers to sign up for a restock request through a landing page from your email service provider. Then you'll be able to control how your restock is marketed and sent to buyers.
Additionally, custom business cards and promotional materials are easily obtained through many other providers at reasonable prices. Consider using VistaPrint or Canva.
Is Etsy Plus worth it?
Overall, Etsy Plus may be worth it to high-volume Etsy sellers who need a specific feature, like restock requests. But if you aren't getting a lot of traffic, Etsy Plus is an expense that most sellers don't need and you'll be wasting most of the features like the advanced shop customization.
What should you do instead? Focus on getting organic traffic through full product lines and quality SEO. Learn more about how to do that in my free masterclass here.
