Why I’m Looking at Etsy and Pinterest Differently
I recently sat down with Tara Jacobsen of Marketing Artfully, and she completely reframed how I think about selling on Etsy. For a long time, Etsy felt intimidating because it seemed like everyone was competing for the same search traffic inside the platform. There’s this idea online that you can open a shop and suddenly make thousands of dollars overnight, but Tara has never approached business that way, and honestly, neither have I. What interested us both more was creating something sustainable that could slowly build over time.
What really clicked for me in our conversation was when Tara said she doesn’t want to compete inside Etsy search at all. She wants to use Pinterest to drive people there instead. Pinterest is where people are browsing, dreaming, collecting ideas, and imagining possibilities. Etsy is where they go when they’re ready to buy. Once Tara framed it as Pinterest being the library and Etsy being the marketplace, the whole strategy started making so much more sense.
Related: Using Pinterest to Sell Products
The Long Game Matters More Than Going Viral
One of the biggest mindset shifts Tara shared was accepting that this is a long game. Pinterest takes time. Etsy takes time. In her experience, almost everything online takes six to nine months before it really starts gaining traction. She even laughed and said, “In my life, everything I do takes six to nine months to start working.” That can feel frustrating in a world where everyone is selling instant success, but honestly, it’s also freeing.
Instead of obsessing over immediate results, Tara focuses on consistency. Creating listings regularly. Pinning consistently. Testing different images and keywords. Letting the platforms slowly understand what her shop is about and who her products are for. She’s not trying to hack the system. She’s trying to build momentum.
Related: How the Pinterest Algorithm Works
Pinterest Gives You More Creative Freedom
What Tara loves about Pinterest is that it allows her to approach marketing creatively instead of rigidly. One product doesn’t just become one pin. It can become twenty different ideas, aesthetics, keywords, or seasonal angles. A single product can appeal to multiple audiences depending on how it’s presented.
For example, Tara shared that one of her designs could be marketed as feminine, coquette, bakery inspired, Valentine themed, or vintage inspired depending on the imagery and keywords used. That flexibility gives Pinterest so much power because people search emotionally and visually there. They often don’t know exactly what they want until they see it. That means the wording, aesthetics, and visuals matter just as much as the actual product itself.
Related: Troubleshooting Pinterest Images
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Why Starting Before You’re Ready Actually Matters
One thing Tara kept coming back to is that waiting for perfection usually delays growth. Her first product images weren’t perfect. Some of them honestly looked bad once she saw them all together. But if she had waited until everything looked polished and flawless, she never would have started, and there wouldn’t have been any pins out there working for her.
Pinterest especially rewards momentum and consistency more than perfection. The more listings you create, the more opportunities you have for your products to get discovered. The more pins you make, the more chances you have for one of them to resonate with someone months later. Sometimes the pin you made today becomes relevant because of a trend six months from now. That’s why getting started matters more than getting everything exactly right.
What Feels Most Exciting About This
What excites both Tara and me most about Etsy and Pinterest together is that they create opportunities for real people to build meaningful income streams around things they genuinely enjoy making. Whether that’s digital products, art, printables, vintage finds, handmade goods, or print on demand, there’s room for creativity and experimentation. Tara herself has done it across multiple shop formats, including a printables shop called Paperly People that brought in $25,000 in its second year.
I also think people are craving more connection to creators right now. They want products that feel personal, thoughtful, and human. That’s why platforms like Etsy still matter. And when Pinterest helps connect the right person to the right product at the right moment, it creates this really beautiful bridge between inspiration and action.
For Tara, and for me, the goal isn’t overnight success. It’s building something slowly, intentionally, and sustainably enough that a year from now you can look back and see real momentum that started with simply deciding to begin.
You can find this podcast episode by going to Apple or Spotify
For More Pinterest Marketing Resources:
Additional Resources from Tara: Worksheet, Links & Class
Shop: Product Seller Pin Templates
Watch: 5 Pinterest Income Streams You Need to Try in 2026
