A few months ago, Etsy announced that they would be rolling out a new Offsite Ads Program, and everyone freaked out. The new program officially went into affect in April, and Etsy sellers started getting charged ad fees on May 4th. I saw Etsy sellers on multiple online forums threatening to leave Etsy, protesting their newfound loss of control and Etsy’s ever-evolving forced rules, citing all of the changes that Etsy has undergone recently. Here’s the thing though – if you sell on Etsy, you were never really in control to begin with. Etsy is a rapidly growing online selling platform, and with rapid growth comes rapid changes.
When Etsy first started out, it was strictly set up for handmade businesses. Over the years, Etsy has become more lenient on what “handmade” means. Now they allow drop shipping and digital downloads. Etsy has increased seller fees and started favoring shops who offer free shipping. They’ve added new ODR (order dissatisfaction rate) policies that can result in shop suspension, and now, they’re adding required participation in offsite ads (for some sellers).
I’m not telling you this to scare you, but the cold, hard, truth is that your Etsy shop is owned by Etsy, and Etsy can do whatever they please with you and your shop. I’ve been with Etsy throughout all of these changes, and I’m still with Etsy (proudly!), making more sales than ever before. With that being said, I know that the day may come where I may leave Etsy, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
As much as I love Etsy, the brutal truth is that they can, at any time, shut down my Etsy shop for any reason, with or without warning. When your shop is shut down, you lose access to all of your customers and all of your listings. I’ve mentioned this before, but one of the downfalls to selling only on Etsy is that you have very little control over your own business. That’s why I strongly recommend getting your own website domain and starting your own online store via an e-commerce platform in addition to selling on Etsy. I use GoDaddy to purchase my domains, and Shopify as my e-commerce platform.
The best part about having your own website is that you call the shots and have control over your entire business. For more information on starting your own website, check out my article on How I Make Over $100k in One Year On Etsy + Shopify.
Now that the hard stuff is out of the way – let’s take a look into what Etsy’s new Offsite Ads Program means for you and your business. I promise, it’s not as scary as it sounds!
Sellers Making Less than $10k in Annual Sales Can Opt-Out
If you make less than $10k in sales within a 12-month period, the good news is that you aren’t required to participate in the Offsite Ads Program! You can choose to opt-out at any time.
To opt-out of Offsite Ads:
- Once in your Etsy account, click Shop Manager.
- Click Settings.
- Select Offsite Ads.
- Click Stop promoting my products.
If that’s all you needed to know, I bid you adieu! To learn more about the pros and cons of Etsy’s Offsite Ads Program, keep reading below!
Sellers Making More than $10k in Annual Sales Are Required to Participate
If you make $10k or more on Etsy within a 12-month period, you are required to participate in the Offsite Ads Program. There is no way to opt-out. Before you get upset, make sure you read all of the details below, because it really isn’t as bad as it seems! In my opinion, the new Offsite Ads Program is actually beneficial for growing your online business.
What is Etsy’s New Offsite Ads Program?
With Etsy’s new Offsite Ads Program, Etsy will advertise your listings for you on various online platforms. These platforms currently are:
- Bing
Etsy pays the upfront advertising costs for you, and you only have to pay if someone clicks on and purchases your item. If someone clicks on your ad and then purchases your advertised listing within 30 days of that first click, Etsy will charge you a fee that is a percentage of the sale.
Etsy’s Offsite Ads Fees
The fee you are charged depends on your annual Etsy sales. If you’ve made less than $10,000 within the past 12 months, Etsy will charge you 15% of the order’s total. Remember, if you’ve made less than $10,000 in the past 12 months, you can opt-out of offsite ads at any time.
If you’ve made $10,000 or more in the past 12 months, you’ll be charged a discounted fee of 12% of the order’s total.
This may sound like a hefty fee, but remember you are only paying for clicks that result in a sale.
Benefits of Etsy’s Offsite Ads Program
1. You Only Pay for Clicks that Lead to Sales
This is one of the best parts of Etsy’s new Offsite Ads Program. You only pay for clicks that lead to sales! In other words, if someone clicks on your ad but doesn’t end up purchasing your item, you don’t pay a penny! If you’ve used advertising before, you’ll know that this isn’t usually how advertising works. Advertising is almost always either pay-per-click or pay-per-impression.
When you advertise on platforms such as Google, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram, you have to pay when someone clicks on your ad (pay-per-click), or even sees your ad (pay-per-impression), regardless of whether they buy your product or not. This means that you could get hundreds of clicks that don’t result in sales, and you still have to pay for it.
When I used to advertise with Google, sometimes I would pay $100 and it would only result in 2 or 3 sales. It didn’t really seem worth it to me. This is why I kind of love Etsy’s new Offsite Ads Program. Etsy advertises on Google for me, and I only have to pay when a click turns into a sale. Pretty sweet if you ask me!
2. Etsy Ads and Offsite Ads Are Now Separate
This is my second favorite thing about Etsy’s new Offsite Ads Program. Before this program rolled out, there was no way to separate my Etsy Ads budget from my Google Ads budget. If I wanted to use promoted listings on Etsy, my daily budget was used for both Etsy and Google Ads. Now my daily budget goes solely towards advertising on Etsy. Woo!
3. You Will Gain Exposure and New Sales
You will gain exposure on mega online platforms like Google, Bing, and Facebook. With all that exposure, you are bound to get more sales. And if by chance you don’t get any new sales, you don’t have to pay, remember?
Cons of Etsy’s Offsite Ads Program
1. Some Sellers Are Forced to Participate
If you’ve made $10k or more selling on Etsy in the past 12 months, you are forced to participate in Offsite Ads. This can be upsetting to many sellers because they feel a loss of control over their business.
2. The Fees Charged Are a Big Chunk of Your Sale
Having to pay 12-15% of your sale cuts deep into your profit margin, especially if your profit margin is small to begin with. You might want to consider increasing your prices so that you have a better profit margin. Check out my article on How to Price Your Products, and be sure to grab your free product pricing calculator! If you sell expensive products like furniture, the good news is that your advertising fee is capped at $100 per ads-driven order.
After weighing the pros and cons, I still think Etsy’s new Offsite Ads Program can be a great new tool for growing your Etsy business. Either way, I hope that I’ve helped you understand the program a bit more. What do you think of Etsy’s new advertising program? Has it helped your business at all? Let me know in the comments below!