In summer of 2023, I launched a brand new Etsy shop, hoping to make an extra $500 a month.
6 months later and that same shop is now making a net profit of $10,000 a month!
And whilst I could say it was an easy and linear path to get there – it most definitely wasn’t!
Achieving a monthly income of $10,000 on Etsy selling printables and digital downloads requires strategic planning, dedication, and consistent effort, oh and lots of trial and error.
If you’re new to the world of Etsy and are considering selling printables, here’s a mini step-by-step guide to help you reach this ambitious goal:
Work With Me to Achieve Your Etsy Goals
Before I jump into this article, I also offer 1:1 Fully Personalized Etsy Plans that are tailored to your Etsy Store, Products and Niche.
So you not only get personal advice from a seller who has made over 100,000 sales, but also an incredibly detailed, step-by-step plan that will put you on track to building your very own online empire!
I currently have a waitlist, but if you’d like to join, you can learn more about my service here. *This article in comparison just scratches the surface!
How to Make Good Money Selling Printables on Etsy
Step 1: Choose Your Niche
Your niche is important when it comes to making good money on Etsy.
Choose the wrong niche for yourself, and you’ll see low profit margins, choose the right one, and you’ll see incredibly handsome profits.
Here’s some important things to help you work out what is right for you:
Research Market Trends:
- Use tools like Google Trends, Etsy’s search bar, and keyword research tools to identify popular and trending niches within the printables and digital downloads market.
- Analyze competitor shops and best-selling products to understand what types of printables are in high demand.
- Look for gaps or underserved areas within your niche where you can offer unique and valuable products.
- Don’t just copy what is currently selling well though! I see this ‘strategy’ posted all the time, but it never works and hurts your brand’s reputation. Not to mention you could get a copyright takedown claim by the other seller.
- Narrow Down Your Focus: Consider your own interests, skills, and expertise when selecting a niche. You can either choose a niche that aligns with your passions and allows you to leverage your strengths or pick one you’re good at, not so passionate about, but know will make you money.
Related: 21 Printables That Sell Like Crazy Online ($5,000+ Month Business Idea)
Step 2: Develop Your Product Line
1) Brainstorm Product Ideas:
- Generate a list of potential product ideas based on your chosen niche and target audience’s needs and preferences.
- Consider creating a range of products that cater to different customer segments or address various pain points within your niche.
- Experiment with different formats, styles, and designs to offer variety and appeal to a broader audience.
Related: 17 Digital Product Ideas that Sell Like Crazy on Etsy!
2) Create High-Quality Designs:
- Invest time in honing your graphic design skills to create visually stunning and well crafted printables. You can use Canva in many cases!
- Pay attention to design elements such as fonts, color schemes, and layout to make sure your products are easy to use. There’s nothing worse than a printable that doesn’t print very well, so don’t use small fonts, colors that take all the ink etc.
- Use high-resolution images and graphics to maintain quality when customers print or use your digital downloads.
- Do a test print to double check how everything looks!
Related: 17 Easy Ways to Make Money with Canva ($6,000+ a Month Ideas!)
3) Diversify Your Offerings:
- Consider offering bundles, sets, or collections of related products to encourage upsells and increase average order value.
- Stay up-to-date with industry trends and customer preferences to continuously expand and evolve your product line.
Step 3: Set Up Your Etsy Shop
This part is pretty simple, you’ll be glad to know.
1) Create Your Shop:
- Register for an Etsy seller account and follow the platform’s guidelines to set up your shop profile, including choosing a shop name, creating a logo and banner, and writing an engaging shop description.
- Complete all required steps to verify your identity and payment information to ensure smooth transactions with customers.
2) Optimize Your Listings:
- Do some basic keyword research to identify relevant search terms and phrases related to your products.
- Optimize your product titles, descriptions, and tags with these targeted keywords to improve search visibility and attract potential buyers.
- You’ll want to use and or create high-quality images and multiple angles to showcase your products effectively and provide accurate representations of what customers will receive. I personally used Canva to create this style of mock-ups.
3) Establish Brand Identity:
- Develop a cohesive brand identity that reflects your unique style, values, and personality.
- This might look like choosing a consistent color palette, fonts, and visual elements that align with your brand image and resonate with your target audience.
Step 4: Drive Traffic to Your Shop
If you work with me with a 1:1 personalised plan, you won’t need to rely on social media traffic as much.
In fact, 90% of my sales came from Etsy SEO alone, and 85% of the shops I’ve worked with implement this more passive way of getting traffic and sales.
The rest already had social media pages and wanted to use them to attract more buyers, which I completely understand, so I worked with them to build a personalised social media strategy for their shop too.
1) Engage with Your Audience:
- Build relationships with your audience by actively participating on social media, by posting content showing your products, related to your niche.
- Respond promptly to customer inquiries, comments, and messages to provide personalized assistance and foster a sense of trust and with your audience.
- When you start getting sales, you’ll absolutely want to encourage user-generated content by featuring customer testimonials, reviews, and photos on your Etsy shop and social media profiles to showcase the positive experiences of your satisfied customers too.
2) Optimize for SEO:
- Conduct regular keyword research to identify new trends and search terms relevant to your products.
- Update your product listings, titles, and descriptions with targeted keywords and phrases to improve search visibility and rankings on Etsy.
- Monitor changes in Etsy’s search algorithms (these change 3-4 times a year) and adapt your SEO strategy accordingly to maintain a competitive edge and maximize your shop’s exposure to potential buyers.
Step 5: Provide Exceptional Customer Experience
This separates a bad shop from a good one!
1) Deliver High-Quality Products:
- If a customer mentions a printing problem or something similar, fix it as soon as possible!
- Test your products across different devices and platforms to ensure compatibility and a seamless user experience for customers.
- Offer clear instructions and guidance on how to download, print, and use your products to help customers get the most value from their purchase.
2) Offer Excellent Customer Service:
- Provide prompt assistance to customers before, during, and after the purchase process.
- Be responsive to customer inquiries, feedback, and requests for support to address any issues or concerns in a timely and professional manner.
3) Get Feedback and Reviews:
- Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews and testimonials on your Etsy shop and product listings. This is super important!
- Follow up with customers after their purchase to request feedback and gather insights into their experience with your products and service. Great way to get 5* reviews!
- Use customer feedback to identify areas for improvement and make adjustments to your products, processes, and customer service practices to better meet the needs and expectations of your audience.
Step 6: Analyze Performance and Iterate
1) Monitor Sales and Analytics:
- Track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as sales revenue, conversion rates, average order value, and customer acquisition costs to measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and overall business performance.
- Use analytics tools and reports provided by Etsy (this is all free by the way!) to gain insights into customer behavior, traffic sources, and product performance to inform your decision-making and optimization strategies.
2) Iterate and Optimize:
- Regularly review and analyze your Etsy shop’s performance data to find areas for improvement.
- Experiment with different pricing strategies, product variations and customer engagement tactics to optimize your shop’s performance and drive incremental growth.
3) Set Goals and Milestones:
- Highly recommend establishing ambitious yet achievable goals and milestones for your Etsy business, such as monthly revenue targets.
- Break down your larger goals into smaller, actionable steps and timelines to keep yourself accountable and motivated to work towards achieving them! I personally love using Motion, the ai task scheduler.
- Celebrate your successes and milestones along the way, and use them as opportunities to reflect on your progress, learn from your experiences, and set new goals for the future!
This is just a brief overview of what I did to make $10,000 a month on Etsy selling printables.
If you’d like a personalized plan that is specifically built for your business with a clear, detailed step-by-step breakdown, you can join my waitlist here.
I currently only work with 5-8 businesses a month so you know you have my undivided attention.