Etsy Seller Interview with Julia of JulaZnamArt

How JulaZnamArt got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

My name is Julia, and I am the founder and owner of JulaZnamArt on Etsy. I paint watercolor illustrations by hand, do digital processing, and sell clipart sets in my shop. I was motivated to set up the shop because I wanted to share my art with people from all over the world. I've had the store since 2019, and I've sold over 12000 items. I have been painting and teaching others how to paint for a very long time. I am familiar with various techniques of painting and drawing, but until recently I didn’t know how to prepare my illustrations for sale in digital form. My beginnings on Etsy were not easy because I didn’t know how to work in graphic programs, but I really wanted to sell my illustrations online to develop myself and earn extra money. From the videos available on the Internet, I learned how to prepare digital files for sale. When I opened a shop on Etsy, I also set up a sole proprietorship, so I also run a small business. Now I combine two jobs: teaching painting, as I used to, and selling on Etsy.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

My favorite items in my shop are all animal sets: horses, dogs, rabbits, and farm animals. I like to paint animals the most. My customers like to buy such sets as well..

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

In the first months after opening my store, I didn't have much sales - about one or two a month. I had to learn everything. At the beginning I didn't have many art sets and clients. Gradually, my daily work began to bring results, I was adding more and more products, and their quality also improved. Income has also increased and I currently have 20-30 sales a day. I do not use paid advertising. Additionally, I run Pinterest and Instagram, but most clients come through the SEO of Etsy.

Managing JulaZnamArt

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

I run my shop by myself. I work in a studio at home, where I paint my illustrations with watercolors and digitally process them. For work, I use sets of watercolors and watercolor paper, a scanner, a laptop, and the Internet. I scan my illustrations with the EPSON Perfection V370 scanner. The scans are of very good quality and show the details of a watercolor painting. I use Photoshop for digital processing. I look into my shop every day, check the revenue, add new products, and respond to customer messages on an ongoing basis. The sale of products in digital form is suitable for me because I don’t deal with the production and shipping of physical products. Listings renew automatically. Recently, I started to create illustrations on the iPad Pro in Procreate. I just started learning this, but it's a very handy tool. Thanks to this, I can avoid the entire process of painting on a piece of paper, scanning it, and processing my illustrations. The products are created right away in a digital format. Plus, I can take my iPad anywhere with me. Still, I like painting watercolor illustrations, but I want to try something new, so I’m going to expand my shop and sell both hand-painted watercolor illustrations and also graphics created on the iPad.

The future of JulaZnamArt 

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

I want to develop my shop because it brings me a good income, a lot of joy, and satisfied customers. I will strive to double the number of sets I’m offering. I also want to open a second store in the future where I will sell digital cards, pendants, invitations, etc.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

You have to be prepared for everyday work and not be discouraged by failures at the beginning. Believe in your abilities and improve your skills. Check your messages every day and try to assist your clients in the event of a problem.So far, I have met with great kindness and sympathy from buyers. I receive many proposals for cooperation in the field of illustration, for example: logos, book illustrations, patterns, and special orders. I am very sorry that at the moment I do not have time to perform these additional orders, but in the future I intend to develop my own brand and implement such projects as well.

‍Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: $ 5000  

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: $ 4,92

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 3.3%