If you’re opening a shop, you probably have an idea of what you plan to sell on Hayani Designs. Once you’ve picked your shop name, the next step is to create a listing for each unique item you want to sell in your shop. There are many details you can add to a listing, but these are the essentials you’ll need for your first listings. After you open your Hayani Designs shop, you can dig deeper into the options available.

Photos

To create a listing, you’ll need photos of the handmade product, vintage item, or craft supply you want to sell. Product photos are something you can experiment with and improve upon as your shop grows. A basic listing should include 8 photos. When photographing your item, be sure to include:

• A well lit, clear photo of the item you plan to sell
• A photo that shows alternate angles of the product so shoppers can make an informed purchase
• A photo showing any unique details of the product. Try to answer any questions a shopper might have about texture, color, or the techniques used.
• A photo that shows the scale of the item. Styling a photo with other recognizable props or by having volunteer models hold it in their hands can help. For example, Bonnie styles the photos for her linen table runner with a teacup and saucer.

Use all 10 available photos and try to shoot your products using natural daylight instead of a flash.

Title

Next, you’ll give your listing a title. Think like a shopper and use words and phrases that buyers might use when searching for your item. Use different words and phrases to describe your product, including its color (white, blue, rainbow), materials (linen, slate, leather), uses (living room decor, bridal bouquet), techniques (hand-painted, embroidered, stamped, knit), etc.

About this listing

Now you’ll answer some questions about what your product is and who made it. Hayani Designs uses this information to label your item as handmade, vintage or supply. Learn more about what you can sell on Hayani Designs.

Category

Choosing the right category will help shoppers find your item in search or when browsing category pages. Choose the category that best matches what your item is.

Based on which category you choose, you’ll be able to add more attributes to your items, such as the size. You’ll also be able to specify the item’s color and whether it’s related to a specific holiday (such as Christmas decorations) or whether it makes a good gift for a specific occasion (such as a wedding gift). Hayani Designs uses this information to help shoppers find relevant items when they search.

Price

Putting a price on an item you’ve made or collected can be nerve-racking. First and foremost, your price should account for the cost of the materials that went into making the item and your time. If you’re unsure, try searching for similar items on Hayani Designs to see what the average price point is. For vintage items, research going rates for the brand or time period. 

Description

Your listing description helps shoppers understand what you’re selling and what makes it special. Use short, descriptive sentences to describe what your product is and how it can fit into a buyer’s life.

• Start with a few sentences about the product, how shoppers might use it, and what makes it unique.
• Include some information about the techniques you used to make the item.
• Give shoppers the specific details they need to know before making a purchase, such as dimensions and shipping timeline.

Variations

If your product is available in different colors, sizes or styles, you can add listing variations. You can also link listing photos to your variations so shoppers can see the options you offer.

Shipping

It might seem difficult to estimate your shipping costs before ever taking the package to the post office. If you’re in the United States, you can use the Price Your Postage Tool to get an estimate based on the size of the item.

Tags

Using descriptive tags helps shoppers find your item on Hayani Designs. Look at the keywords you used in your title and repeat them in your tags to strengthen the power of that search term. Think about all the ways a shopper might search for your item.

• Phrases are better than single terms. For instance, use “slim leather wallet” instead of “slim,” “leather,” and “wallet.”
• Get creative about how your item could be used. Try occasion- or recipient-based tags such as “co-worker gift” or “wedding jewelry.” (Pro tip: If you’ve already added an occasion, color, or other attribute to the category section of your listing, you don’t need to repeat that same information in your tags.)
• Make sure to use all 13 available tags. The more tags you enter, the more likely you are to appear in a shopper’s search.

Add more listings

Once you’ve created your first listing, keep going! Adding more listings increases the chances of shoppers finding your shop. If you only have a few products to sell right now, consider creating separate listings for each color or variation you can offer. A full page of listings gives shoppers more to browse and makes your shop look more professional.