Turn it on
- Open Shop Manager.
- Go to Marketing, then Etsy Ads.
- Click Get started.
- Type your daily budget. The lowest allowed is 1 USD a day.
- Click Start advertising.
A brand new shop has to wait 15 days before ads can start. Your ads are shown to buyers in the countries you ship to.
Choose what to advertise
When you start, Etsy may add your existing listings to the ads on its own. Open Manage advertised listings and tick only the ones you want. Etsy's own guide says that with a small budget you can start with your best sellers or one category. An ad can’t create demand for a product nobody is looking for.
Pick a budget you can afford to lose
This is my method, not an Etsy rule.
- Decide the total you’re happy to risk for a test. Say 90 USD.
- Test for 30 days.
- Divide: 90 divided by 30 is 3 USD a day.
That’s a spending cap, not a promise of sales. Etsy suggests looking at results over at least 30 days. That doesn’t mean you have to go past your own limit.
What to check after 30 days
- How much each listing spent, how much revenue it got, and its ROAS. The ROAS guide explains how to read this.
- The search terms that led to clicks.
- Whether the budget is high enough to be shown at all.
Marketplace Insights shows what shoppers searched in the last 30 days. It doesn’t show your ad results, so use both.
Try this first
- Pick three listings with good photos and reviews.
- Set a small budget and start.
- Write the start date on your calendar and look again after 30 days.
If you want someone to set this up with you, it’s part of the Etsy Consulting: Essential package.
Keep reading
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Rules, numbers and dates change often. This page reflects the sources below as checked on Nov 9, 2026. Confirm current figures with the official source before you act.