Crickets to Cha-Chings—Episode 208: The $100K Trend Strategy on Etsy (Steal This!)
Podcast Host: Gold City Ventures (Cody)
Guest: Angel, a.k.a. Passive Income Angel
Date: October 30, 2025
Overview
This episode dives deep into the precise, trend-driven strategies that helped Angel, known as Passive Income Angel, scale her Etsy shop to over $100,000 in her first year—with no prior experience. Cody and Angel walk through Angel's methods for spotting trends, leveraging seasonality, timing listings, finding low-competition keywords, and using research tools and AI to stay ahead in the handmade and digital product niches on Etsy. The episode is designed for Etsy sellers looking to “steal” this actionable $100K trend method and maximize their reach for upcoming seasons and holidays.
Guest Background: Angel’s Etsy Launch Story
[00:16–02:29]
- Angel started her Etsy shop in 2020, initially as a side hustle while teaching full-time and raising a young child.
- She first tried selling handmade jewelry, discouraged by the labor and shipping time required.
- Turning Point: Discovered print-on-demand (POD) through a YouTube video and immediately started her POD shop.
- Quickly surpassed $10K in a single month by her first holiday season and over $100K in her first year.
Notable Quote:
"I just decided to sell an Etsy as just like a side hustle…I got a little discouraged but I was like, you know what, that's okay. I'm just going to just go ahead and do it as an extra income stream."
— Angel [00:28]
Hitting Seasonal Trends: From “Crickets” to Cha-Chings
[02:29–05:33]
- Angel’s first attempts (Valentine’s, Easter) were “a bust” due to lack of understanding around trends and buyer intent.
- Success broke through with the “senior” niche in May (e.g., graduation/senior gifts), then took off in the fall/Halloween.
- Used high-search, low-competition keywords and news topics; a single October listing earned nearly $30K by January.
- Leveraged organic influencer exposure: a minimalist Christmas design was picked up by a million-follower influencer, which then set a design trend retail stores like Target adopted.
Notable Quote:
"I found a keyword that was high search, low competition and I made products based on that keyword…and my shop exploded...I started a design aesthetic trend and now I see that trend at Target."
— Angel [04:02]
Spotting and Reverse Engineering Trends
[06:12–09:34]
Angel’s Methodology:
- Analyzing the current holiday (e.g., Halloween) for trending aesthetics, then applying those trends to the next holiday (e.g., Christmas) for fresh product ideas.
- Key Halloween-to-Christmas trends:
- Coquette (bows, feminine, Y2K aesthetic)
- Iridescent and retro color palettes
- Personalization (increases conversion)
- Vintage/nostalgia
- Leopard print, abstract deco, pastel colors
Pro Tip:
"You really can do a lot of trend spotting by looking at the holiday people are currently searching for and applying it to the next one."
— Angel [06:12]
Workflow Demo:
- Search broad seasonal keywords, use Bestseller filters and digital product filters to see what’s trending.
Research Hack:
- Digital sellers are often ahead of the curve; searching for digital products (e.g., PNGs) can reveal upcoming trends.
Perfect Timing: When to List Seasonal Products
[09:34–14:05]
- Post listings for big holidays 8–12 weeks out (ideally 3–4 months). Earliest shoppers (and viral pins/influencers) can drive major results.
- For Christmas: Have listings up by September 1.
- Last-minute digital sales possible, but physical POD should cut off by Black Friday for on-time delivery (unless using express options).
- Missed opportunities: Listing late can still yield some sales, but leaves “money on the table” from missed momentum and product line expansion.
Notable Quote:
"I listed an editable letter from Santa like a week before Christmas…that thing made so many sales during the week, all the way up till Christmas Day. But you missed out on thousands of dollars in sales not listing it sooner."
— Cody & Angel [11:53–12:23]
Tools & Tactics for Trend and Keyword Research
[14:12–16:29]
- Tools Used: E Rank, Everbee, Etsy Radar, Etsy itself
- Process:
- Track most searched keywords, styles, and themes 30 days back (seasonality lag).
- Use ChatGPT for data wrangling (turn screenshots/charts into actionable insights).
- Aesthetic Trends:
- Cottagecore, Retro/Vintage, Gothic (even for Christmas), Minimalist, Abstract Deco, 90s/Y2K, Pastel, Western Boho, Renaissance.
- Search Terms:
- Look for high search volume, unsaturated keywords.
- Micro-niche targeting (e.g., gifts for ER nurses, gifts for men interested in pickleball).
Understanding Etsy’s Buyer Mindset
[16:32–19:12]
- Etsy buyers are intent-driven (“I know what I want and who it’s for”).
- Top gift recipient searches: dog, baby, cat, men, women, kids, teachers, moms, nurses, coworkers, etc.
- Long-tail and micro-niche phrases (e.g., “gifts for ER nurse,” “gifts for men who love motorcycles”) enhance discoverability.
Keyword Trend Breakdowns and Product Examples
[19:14–26:09]
- High-potential trending products:
- Christmas phone cases (POD)
- Black & white checkered aesthetic (driven by retro/Scandinavian look)
- Laser retro Christmas (digital sellers)
- Christmas aprons and platters (POD with Printify/Anywhere Pod)
- Nurse Christmas shirts, milestone ornaments (“First Christmas Married”), “Christmas Crew” shirts
- Ugly Christmas sweaters (first page ranking can lead to explosive sales, especially for trending memes/politics/news)
Bundling Tip:
"I can just see someone, a really smart seller, bundling this for a grandmother gift—plate, mug, apron with matching phrase…People really enjoy those types of gifts and they're personalized, so your conversion rate is increased."
— Angel [21:49]
Micro-Niches, Milestones, & Personalization
[22:16–30:39]
- Personalization and commemoration: buyers want to mark milestones (first Christmas married, baby’s first Christmas, birthday, retirement, engagement, memorial items).
- Micro-niches: Go a step deeper than broad niches (e.g., ER nurse instead of just nurse), but ensure there’s search traffic.
- Use tools/AI like ChatGPT to brainstorm specialty niche lists (“what kinds of nurses or teachers are most popular?”).
Notable Quote:
"If you’re smart, you’re going to niche down even more and go ER nurse, labor and delivery nurse…make sure you’re focusing on intent-driven micro-niches."
— Angel [23:02]
Combining Trends Across Holidays
[27:22–36:16]
-
Method: Spot aesthetics/graphics in the current holiday and translate them to upcoming events (e.g., Y2K pumpkins ➔ Y2K Christmas trees).
-
Examples:
- Pattern text trend: e.g., “Mama” designs for Halloween reimagined for Christmas
- Coquette/cottagecore: bows, pastel colors on Christmas apparel/products
- Western styles: Carried from Halloween to Christmas
- Messy doodle/coquette: hand-drawn elements with bows, super hot right now
-
Low competition niche ideas: mother-in-law, neighbors, godparents, coworkers, employees, hostess gifts, pharmacists, veterinarians, etc.
Notable Quote:
"Always be thinking: How can I dig a little deeper—go a little bit more micro with my niches. Now, don’t go so micro that there’s no search traffic…always be thinking about how you could add new value to that niche."
— Angel [25:31]
On Etsy: Live Trend Analysis
[31:43–36:16]
- Broad searches like “Christmas” reveal what’s trending in real time.
- Trends spotted:
- 90s/Stranger Things/cottagecore for kids (big doe-eyed characters)
- Sarcastic holiday shirts (“Probably Just Gonna Jingle Some of the Way”)
- Y2K color palettes
- Messy coquette doodle elements
- Micro-niche phrase shirts, personalization
- Nostalgia, retro fonts, animal and character trends (geese, possums, etc.)
- Watch out for trademark/copyright infringement!
- Trends spotted:
- Research Hack: Use AI to remix/surface new phrases and designs from existing trends.
Resources, Further Learning, and Next Steps
[36:37–37:14]
- Angel shares trends every Wednesday on her YouTube (search: “Passive Income Angel”) and on Spotify (Wednesday Grind Podcast).
- Will provide a free downloadable cheat sheet with episode highlights/trends via the show notes.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- "I started a design aesthetic trend and now I see that trend at Target…wild!"
— Angel [04:22] - "People come to Etsy not just to buy, they want to create or commemorate memories. That's why milestones drive so much traffic and higher conversions."
— Angel [23:22] - "You always want to look at longevity…if you don't have time to rank and scale, you're almost better off focusing on a proven evergreen or going onto the next holiday."
— Angel [11:27] - "Use your AI, guys—it's really helpful!"
— Angel [15:25]
Essential Takeaways
- Spot, Record, and Repurpose Trends: Always scan the current holiday/season, apply those aesthetics to the next.
- Niche Down (Smartly): Micro-niches for both recipients and trends (but validate traffic first).
- Timing is Everything: List 8–12 weeks ahead for events, use last-minute wiggle room for digital products.
- Research Like a Pro: Use E Rank, keyword tools, and AI (ChatGPT) to identify trends and manipulate data into actionable plans.
- Personalize & Bundle: High-converting, higher average order values come from personalization and thoughtful product bundles.
For Angel’s cheat sheet and direct links, refer to the show notes as promised during the episode.