What’s a normal Etsy Ads daily budget for a new self-care shop?

Hi! For a brand-new Etsy shop, a “normal” Etsy Ads daily budget is usually small—think $3–$10/day to start, then scale only after you see which listings actually convert. If your profit per order is tight (common with candles/bath items after materials + shipping), start closer to $3–$5/day so you can learn without burning cash, and only increase once you’ve got a couple of listings proving they can generate profitable orders.

A simple way to set a starting budget

• Pick 1–5 best listings (your highest margin + best photos + clear scent/size details). Ads work best when the listing is already strong.
• Set a budget you can run for at least 14–30 days without stopping (consistency matters more than a big number).
• As a gut-check: if you can comfortably “spend” the profit from 1–2 orders per week on learning, that’s often a good starting point for a new shop.

What to watch to know if Etsy Ads is worth it
The mistake most new sellers make is looking only at “views” or “clicks.” What matters is whether ads create profitable orders.

1) Your break-even ad spend (the most important number)
Figure out roughly how much profit you keep on an average order before ads:

• Sale price (plus shipping if you charge it)
• minus product cost + packaging
• minus Etsy fees/payment processing (estimate is fine)
• minus shipping (if you offer “free shipping,” it’s coming out of your price)

Whatever is left is your profit before ads. If you typically net, say, $8 per order, then you generally can’t spend more than $8 in ads to get one order and still come out ahead.

2) Cost per order from ads
In your Etsy Ads stats, look at how much you spent to get an order (or use):

• Ad spend ÷ ad-attributed orders = cost per order
  If your cost per order is below your break-even profit, ads are working. If it’s above, you’re paying for sales you can’t afford.

3) Ad-attributed revenue vs spend (ROAS / “return”)
Etsy will show revenue attributed to ads. That’s useful, but don’t stop there—high revenue can still be unprofitable if your margins are slim. Use it as a direction signal, not the final answer.

4) Clicks without orders (listing problem vs keyword problem)
If you’re getting clicks but no sales, it’s usually one of these:

• Price/shipping feels high compared to competitors
• Photos don’t clearly show size/scale (common for candles)
• Title/first photo doesn’t match what shoppers expected (wrong traffic)
• Variation/scent info is hard to understand
• Reviews are limited (normal when new—lean into trust signals like ingredients, burn time, etc.)

Practical “new shop” approach that usually works

• Start with a small daily budget and advertise only your best 1–5 listings (not your whole shop).
• Let it run 2–4 weeks, then cut anything that’s spending with no signs of converting.
• Scale the one or two listings that get consistent orders profitably.

If you tell me your average item price and your rough profit per order (even a guess), I can help you back into a daily Etsy Ads budget that actually makes sense for your margins.