Ep 159 | 44,000 Sublimation PNG Sales in 10 Months -- with Eden

Summary

Podcast Summary: How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy
Episode: Ep 159 | 44,000 Sublimation PNG Sales in 10 Months -- with Eden
Host: Lizzie Smiley
Release Date: December 12, 2024

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Introduction

In Episode 159 of How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy, host Lizzie Smiley welcomes Eden, a remarkable Etsy and Shopify entrepreneur from Queensland, Australia. Eden shares her inspiring journey of transforming her Etsy shop into a thriving business, achieving over 44,000 sublimation PNG sales in just ten months. Throughout the episode, Lizzie and Eden delve into Eden's background, business strategies, challenges, and invaluable insights for aspiring Etsy sellers.

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Eden's Background and Entrepreneurial Journey

Eden's story is one of resilience and determination. Originally from Outback Queensland, Eden embarked on her entrepreneurial path to support her family during maternity leave. Her passion for creativity and business was evident from her first venture into selling lashes, which later evolved into sublimation products.

Notable Quote:
Eden [04:21]: "I'm a young mom from Queensland, Australia. My background definitely isn't social media or anything big. It's, you know, in the meat processing facilities, to be honest."

Eden's journey took a significant turn when personal challenges arose, including her youngest baby's two open-heart surgeries. Balancing motherhood with running a business from a Ronald McDonald Charity House, Eden's unwavering commitment propelled her Etsy shop to unprecedented success.

Notable Quote:
Eden [06:00]: "I was making packing and shipping orders from there just because, you know, I was the only, you know, my partner couldn't work at that time because we had to relocate."

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Launching and Scaling Etsy and Shopify Shops

Eden initially launched her Etsy shop four years ago, but it was her pivot to digital products in January that skyrocketed her sales. By integrating TikTok into her marketing strategy, Eden was able to drive substantial traffic to her Etsy and Shopify stores.

Notable Quote:
Lizzie Smiley [08:39]: "Were things hard in the beginning? Did it take a while to figure the Etsy out?"
Eden [08:39]: "I'm very quick when it comes to what works, you know, I'm quick to jump on it."

Eden's ability to identify and capitalize on trends, such as the surge in popularity of safety keychains and tattoo-inspired designs, played a crucial role in her rapid growth. Her strategic use of TikTok allowed her to showcase her products effectively, attracting a vast audience and converting views into sales.

Notable Quote:
Eden [09:32]: "The keychains and how to use them drew people in, and then they'd see the matching tumbler and phone case, which fueled further growth."

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Utilizing TikTok for Business Growth

TikTok emerged as a pivotal platform for Eden, enabling her to reach a broader audience and demonstrate her products' functionality and appeal. Her engaging content, including demonstrations and design processes, resonated with viewers, leading to viral success.

Notable Quote:
Eden [17:34]: "I started with Mid Journey and just doing, you know, the basics and just bringing in some cool lines and stuff into my physical product store like that."

Eden emphasizes the importance of creating authentic and educational content on TikTok, which not only promotes her products but also builds trust and interest among potential customers.

Notable Quote:
Eden [29:32]: "I like it because it's basically, you know, I'm just teaching, I'm creating, so I love it."

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Overcoming Challenges: Hacking Incident

Despite her success, Eden faced significant challenges, including a severe hacking incident that led to her Etsy shop being temporarily suspended. Through persistent effort and effective communication with Etsy support, Eden was able to swiftly recover her shop within four days.

Notable Quote:
Eden [25:18]: "The hardest part was getting my shop reinstated after being hacked. They initially suspended it permanently, but I managed to get it back within four days."

This experience underscored the importance of securing one's online presence and having backup plans, such as regularly exporting CSV files of listings and maintaining organized digital assets.

Notable Quote:
Lizzie Smiley [28:48]: "Another thing you can do is save all of your data, like all of your titles, tags, descriptions, all of that. You can export the CSV file periodically."

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Workflow and Operational Efficiency

Eden's disciplined approach to managing her business operations has been instrumental in her sustained success. Balancing her time between creating digital designs and managing physical product orders, Eden maintains a structured workflow that maximizes productivity.

Notable Quote:
Eden [15:41]: "At 3 am, I create the design and upload them by seven, then handle the physical products all day long."

Her ability to work in batches and streamline processes allows her to handle high order volumes efficiently, ensuring consistent quality and timely deliveries.

Notable Quote:
Eden [32:33]: "I have one air fryer that's been running for two, three years and has cooked thousands of tumblers and cups. It just works with my flow."

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Incorporating AI and Design Innovation

Eden leverages AI tools, such as MidJourney, to enhance her design capabilities. While she acknowledges the learning curve associated with AI prompting, her dedication to studying various art styles has enabled her to create unique and appealing designs.

Notable Quote:
Eden [17:34]: "I study different brushstroke styles, different artwork styles to know what to put into the design and how I want it to come out."

Despite the saturation of digital products on Etsy, Eden believes there is still ample opportunity for new sellers who bring originality and creativity to their offerings.

Notable Quote:
Eden [33:53]: "New sellers can definitely come in and blow up. You need to get more original and incorporate AI into your design without relying fully on it."

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Advice and Insights for Aspiring Sellers

Eden imparts several key pieces of advice for those looking to succeed on Etsy:

1. Discipline: Treat your Etsy business with the same commitment as a 9-to-5 job. "Discipline is definitely the biggest thing because at a 9 to 5, you have a supervisor to keep you on track," Eden advises ([42:00]).

2. Creativity and Originality: Focus on creating unique designs that stand out in a crowded marketplace. "Be creative. If you do what you love, you'll never work another day in your life," she emphasizes ([43:44]).

3. Leveraging Social Media: Utilize platforms like TikTok to drive traffic and engage with your audience, but ensure your Etsy shop's SEO is strong to attract organic traffic.

4. Handling Criticism: Develop resilience against negative feedback by blocking detractors and focusing on positive growth. "I block everyone on my social media account. I don't want to hear myself when someone plays my video around me," Eden explains ([42:37]).

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Conclusion

Eden's extraordinary success on Etsy and Shopify serves as a testament to the power of resilience, strategic marketing, and creative innovation. Her journey from a small Etsy shop to achieving over 44,000 sales in ten months offers invaluable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs. By sharing her experiences and strategies, Eden provides a roadmap for others to navigate the complexities of running a successful online business.

Notable Quote:
Eden [44:00]: "Go for it. Be passionate. It doesn't happen overnight. Stick to it. Be creative."

Lizzie Smiley wraps up the episode by encouraging listeners to embrace their entrepreneurial spirit and leverage the insights shared by Eden to achieve their own success on Etsy.

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Connect with Eden:
For those interested in reaching out or learning more about Eden's journey, you can contact her at [e-mail].

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Resources Mentioned:

• HowToSellYourStuff.com for additional resources, courses, and coaching.

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Final Thoughts:
Eden's story exemplifies how dedication, adaptability, and a keen understanding of digital marketing can lead to phenomenal success on platforms like Etsy. Whether you're a seasoned seller or just starting, this episode offers both inspiration and practical strategies to help you thrive in the competitive world of online selling.

Transcript

[Lizzie Smiley]

Hey, my name is Lizzie Smiley and I absolutely love helping people connect with their calling and all the tools they need to kick roadblocks and excuses right out the door so they can cultivate the life they dream about. If you want to launch, grow, pivot or scale your Etsy shop, or you've always wanted to develop the mindset and skills to run your own business, then I'm your girl. I've had that entrepreneurial spirit going strong since my very first lemonade stand. And now I'm a work at home mama with multiple online companies and a full time Etsy shop, all while being present with my kids for the everyday chaos and most important milestones. On this podcast, we'll talk about all things business, mindset, Etsy creativity, dazzling our customers, and so much more. There's plenty of room at this table for you, so scooch on in and let's go. I'm holding nothing back. Welcome to how to sell your stuff on Etsy. I'm so glad you're here. Hey you guys, welcome back to the podcast. I'm so excited to be spending the next hour or so with you and sharing a seriously inspiring, incredible Etsy success story. I am recording this with Eden in October and I it's, it's not going to air for a little while, so you need to know her results have even increased since the recording of this. But for those of you who are new to Etsy, thinking about Etsy discouraged, I really, really want you to know there is, there's still so much possibility and there are great people to learn from and there are great success stories and I just completely believe that you can do this and I want you to keep trying. So if this was like your, you hit play on this being like, ugh, maybe Lizzie has some words of inspiration or something for me today because it's just not working or I don't know if I can do it. I want you to know that you can, you can make, you can completely change your life in less than 10 months like Eden has. Let me tell you a bit about her. She's got a great bio for us. I'm going to read it to you. She says, hi, I'm Eden, a young mom from Outback Queensland, Australia. I started a business just to get my little family by under my maternity until my maternity leave ended. Fast forward four years. Turns out I didn't need to go back. Had two babies, put one through two open heart surgeries, all while shipping orders out of the Ronald McDonald Charity House where we had to relocate three hours away from our home for months on end to have my youngest baby looked after by a specialist care from one of the best of the best doctors starting digital products this year. I would have never thought that I'd be sitting at 44,000 orders just 10 months in making the physical products three years prior and still do daily. I knew where the gap in the market was and still is. Driving my business success through my social media channels has taught me that anyone can be successful with the right amount of dedication, discipline, a willingness to take calculated risks and have a genuine love for their products. My business has allowed me to be at home with my children and that to me is my driving factor over money any day. I definitely think why I have been so successful thus far is that I was a single mother for seven years and raising my baby brothers and sisters prior to meeting my now incredible partner and having our own babies. I missed out on everything. Having to work a 9 to 5 to put food on the table and a roof over my extended family's heads. Social media and owning and running your very own business from home can absolutely be done. An opportunity I will never take for granted. With every new exciting tool at my fingertips, I will never stop wanting to learn and grow or better my skills. And it says my sincerest thanks to all the determined young moms and parents who have helped carve out a way for me in this digital world to follow my dreams and be true to my values of raising a family well. So we are going to have a chat about Eden's background. Her launch of this, of this Etsy shop just in January and having it exceed 44,000 sales make well over 100,000. She's going to share the number in the episode. It's pushing 200,000 passively. I mean passive. We use that word loosely, right? Because digital products, you still have to do work, but once you create the listing, create the product, it can continue to sell without you continuing to do work. And then on top of that, she has a physical product shop as well on Shopify. Utter, utter insanity. So let's get into it. Let's ask her some questions, let's find out her story, let's find out what kind of tips and tricks she's got for us, what she thinks about AI Tumblr wraps and sublimation. Let's do this. Let's welcome Eden to the podcast.

[Eden]

Yay.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Hi Eden, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for, for being willing to get out of your comfort zone and come talk with me.

[Eden]

Thanks for Having me.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I think it's a riot. We have kind of a mutual online buddy, Tammy. Who put you up for this?

[Eden]

Yes.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Do you want to give her a shout out?

[Eden]

Yes, Tammy. Thank you, Tammy.

[Lizzie Smiley]

She's amazing. I love when she like, she comes into my DMs. Well, my dear, I don't even have words, which is rare for how amazing your story is and for how impressed I am with what you have built. So we need all of the tea. Okay, can you please tell us like, tell us about your life before 2024 when you just broke through the digital world. What's your background? Who are you? Tell us about your.

[Eden]

So I'm a young mom from Queensland, Australia. My background definitely isn't social media or anything big. It's, you know, in the meat processing facilities, to be honest. Yes. I live in the country, so that is, you know, that's what pays the bills around here and that's what I've for many years. Before that I was actually second in charge and running a production. So. Yeah, and then, so how it all started was I was going on maternity leave and I, I went into lashes and then I sort of went on tick tock and dabbled into sublimation. So it wasn't until I gave birth and then couldn't do lashes anymore that I actually started doing the phone cases and the sublimation and then I fell pregnant again. And then. Yeah, and then we had our baby but she had some complications so I really had to make it work. And that is when I started my TikToks. When I had my baby, she actually had two open heart surgeries so we had to actually up and relocate from that. So I would have my in laws bring down all my equipment because we had to, you know, relocate three hours away because we're only in the country to a Ronald McDonald house. And I was making packing and shipping orders from there just because, you know, I was the only, you know, my partner couldn't work at that time because we had to relocate. I think we had to relocate like four weeks before I gave birth with her. And then she was in hospital for another four weeks after that, had her first open heart and then we come home and. And then when she was four months old, she had to go back in for another one. So that's when I was doing my sublimation stuff out of the charity house and I just knew that I had to make it work and it did. I jumped on and it wasn't until I got on TikTok that it actually blew up and just became something incredible.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I didn't even remember that I needed to talk to you about TikTok. Like your story by itself was so crazy. We literally have to add TikTok to the agenda. Oh my gosh. Is your, is she good now? Is your baby healthy now?

[Eden]

She, she's on medication three times a day and you know her, that is her norm. And we just go back for, you know, specialist appointments every six months just to go, you know, see how she's doing.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Oh my gosh. How do you manage stress and anxiety?

[Eden]

You just have to get through it.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah. You know what I keep hearing from people, it's especially people who've experienced like loss or illness or something like really scary happen with their kids. And they always say, and I don't even know how to filter this, but they say I wasn't given a choice. Like I'm not strong, I just wasn't given a choice. And I'm almost just like, oh, there's no hope for the rest of us. Like, oh man, it's just. But clearly in your case, so like this just kicked you into hyper drive. Mama Bear kicked in and you're like, I'm just going to take care of business. And you did. So, okay, you said you were packing orders. That was for a physical product. So tell, I'm just curious, like before the digital products really blew up, were you having success? Because you said kind of TikTok helped you. So like, I guess give us your story arc in terms of like, were things hard in the beginning? Did it take a while to figure it out?

[Eden]

I'm very quick when it comes to what works, you know, I'm quick to jump on it. So I started blowing up on TikTok was, did you ever see those self defense keychains, you know that everyone was selling well, you know, like they're the safety keychains and they have like the window breakers on. And I, every week I would have someone bring me a broken down car and I would demonstrate with those keychains, like, you know, how to use it and if they work. And like, yeah, like those videos were in the tens of millions of views and that was, you know, I know and I seen what worked and it was educating people or, you know, showing them like people were just crazed out by, you know, the breaking of the windows, the cutting of the seatbelts. And that's when that part of the business, that was the first part that blew up my business.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Were you selling those keychains then? Was that one of the first things you sold? Oh yeah, okay.

[Eden]

Yeah, they were like these pretty little keychains and I would sublimate the hand sanitizer holders and have a matching tumbler or matching phone case. But the, you know, the thing that drew them in was the keychains on how to use it. And then they would see the keychain and they'd see the matching tumbler and the phone case and you know, and that's how things just really grew and grew from there.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So. Cause, okay, you live out in the, in the country. What motivated you to kind of feel this like urge for safety? I don't know. I guess for me, I left the city to come to the country. So I don't have to worry so much about safety and things like that. What kind of put you into that space that's kind of just unexpected.

[Eden]

They were very trendy back then.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay.

[Eden]

Yeah, they were very trendy and big on TikTok back then. I know that a lot of Americans use were allowed to have like a pepper spray, you know, like the jagged knives and all that. But yeah, and then I just thought, wow, they are cool and just started them.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay. So it was more just about you caught onto a trend and you are so good at that. You are so brilliant at that. Okay, so enter Etsy. Like if you want to.

[Eden]

Did you.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Were you on Etsy? You know you were prior to 2024, but it was a smaller business, right?

[Eden]

Yeah. I had Etsy before I even started a Shopify account. So that was the first selling platform that I had, which I opened it four years ago, I believe. And then I think a month or two in I just went to Shopify and then it just stayed stagnant for three years until I started the, the digitals in January.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And then. So you were already sublimating just for yourself and then you were selling them on Shopify?

[Eden]

Yeah, and driving my traffic from the tick tock with my social media channels.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, and then what urged you to or like motivated you to start the sublimation digital designs?

[Eden]

So I was on. I listened to a lot of YouTube and the Etsy gurus on there because I like to listen to people with the same state of mind, you know that business state of mind. And there's not very many people that do it who's running a product based business. So it was the people that, you know, doing the print on demand, like I just learned. And whether it was designing or like the guild enclosed, I had no idea about that until like I listened to them like that we. I didn't know about it, so I really learned a lot from the Etsy gurus who teach the print on demand on YouTube. And I knew about Bailey Design Co because I was buying her wraps for last three years and then I seen her video pop up of her making the digitals. And that's when it just. I was like, wow, maybe I could do that. You know, maybe I'm already making the product like I am creative. So I thought that I'd give it a go.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Did you have experience with AI and design before that?

[Eden]

No. What?

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, so, gosh, when did you launch.

[Eden]

Your first product for my digitals? Yeah, I believe it was in January. I actually started a series on this. It'd be so good to go back. But I started in January was when I first started uploading to digital designs to Etsy.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And then. When did you get your first sale?

[Eden]

I think that day or the day after. Because I started doing. Yeah, because I started doing an Etsy series on my TikTok channel, you know, just. And like, compared to the sales and the numbers now, like, back then looking back, like it was nothing. But I was showing that, you know, it can be done. And I think because I already have that platform, you know, I was driving people to it.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, so you were sending your own traffic. What kind of content would work on TikTok for, like digital products? I can't even envision, you know what I mean? Like, I think of physical products.

[Eden]

I do creating, the mockups, you know, the design, the designing in Photoshop, people like that.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay. And you'll show that process. And so you're kind of. You're kind of teaching. So. Okay, this is really interesting because we just had Bailey on the show a few weeks prior to you, and she was talking about how when she started sharing her shop on Social like that, that it really affected her sales. But you haven't seen that happen yet or are people coming to buy from you? They're not just like watching, I think.

[Eden]

Because they do see the success that I do have with the physical product. I am already inspiring so many and, you know, and then that leads them to want to go and buy my designs, to then go and put it on their own products because they. How my customers love the designs and, you know, like, I'm making so many cups of the physical product, you know, they're seeing how much people love them, so then that once makes them want to go and buy the design.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So, gosh, I'm so impressed that you literally, like put up A design and it sold immediately. Like, how many do you try to list a day or in the beginning when you were first starting, how many were you listing a day?

[Eden]

In the beginning, when I started, I was trying to go for 10 a day.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Wow.

[Eden]

Yeah. How long would it take?

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah, that's amazing.

[Eden]

How long would it take?

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah.

[Eden]

I only work on my digital download store. Three hours, wait four hours of the morning. I wake up at 3am and by 7, you know, I'm done with it because I got kids, I got school routine, and then I'm, you know, once all that's done, I'm in making the physical products all day long. So I only ever work on it in the morning when I get that quiet time.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, and are you sort of, Are you, are you prompting and like trying to do bulk work at a time? Like you're trying to.

[Eden]

Yeah, I will do that during the day. You know, during the day I'll prompt so many and then just in the mornings I will go and put them all together and create the designs and then add them.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Oh, that's interesting. So it wasn't part of your workflow in the morning to be. To be creating the designs, it was just when you were creating the listings. Tell me, like, walk me through your workflow, if you don't mind. I think that that's fascinating.

[Eden]

Yeah. So at 3am I will create the design and upload them and be done by seven and then. Yeah, and then school routine, morning routine, and then I'm out in the office doing my physical products all day long. But while I'm. But during the day, if I have time, I would just prompt all day long, you know, and then for the next morning for designs.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I'm curious because I've been dabbling in this with AI even when I started last year, when I started. Or was it this? Was it January anyways? Well, when I started my mockup shop, there's kind of like a. There is a learning curve to the prompting and there's a learning curve, there's a. There's patience that's required. Like, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on this because it feels like your first five or ten prompts for even a particular design won't necessarily turn out. Or are you at the point now where they always pretty much turn out because you know what to say?

[Eden]

I definitely know what styles I want and what to say now, but, you know, it obviously took so much to get there. But my. I, instead of studying, you know, I like to study the different Designs of artwork, different artwork styles. You know, whether it be watercolor, alcohol, ink or so many others. That's what I study and what I look for and what I want so that I know what to put into the design and how I want it to come out.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I'm over here just agog. I'm completely.

[Eden]

Just keep talking. I have nothing to say.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I just want to listen to you talk.

[Eden]

Studying the artwork styles, you know, there are just so many different techniques. Like that's what I do.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Where do we look for that? Like, how do we study that? Eden, I don't even know where to look for that.

[Eden]

I just Google like, you know, brushstroke styles, different kind of artwork styles. Like. Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Where did you first learn how to prompt? Or were you just playing off the cuff from the get go?

[Eden]

I remember I was prompting maybe last year or the year before. No, last year I would have started with Mid Journey and just doing, you know, the basics and just bringing in some cool lines and stuff into my physical product store like that. Back then I never had a thought of wanting to create digital downloads that was just to bring different varieties to my products. And that's when it all started back then, about last year.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Oh my gosh. Okay. I'm trying to think. I'm like, I'm like. We didn't really talk about your, like, what has happened? But I already said it in your intro. Can you tell us the. Okay, so 44,000 sales in 10 months is insane. Also, you had an existing shop, so you basically quote, unquote, this is going to break some glass ceilings. You quote, unquote, revived like a dead shop or a slow shop and sold something completely new. Is that all true? Like you took the same shop that you had and did you rename it and you just started a whole new product and there was no problem?

[Eden]

No. Well, the name's the same because it has sublimation in it. So already done to the name you kept.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Well, that's fine. Okay, but. But you changed. So you were sort of in the same vein. Like, how much money does that bring in every month? 44,000 sales.

[Eden]

Well, I'm at 169,000 for the year.

[Lizzie Smiley]

That is insanity. Because that is not print on demand where you're giving. You're only taking home 30% of that. It's not totally passive because you're uploading every day. What? How many do you upload now per day?

[Eden]

Oh, the last couple of months I have been pretty big in my physical product shop. I've had really Big months, especially at the 40 ounces. So I kind of just, you know, go down, up and down whenever I feel creative.

[Lizzie Smiley]

But I mean, consistent. Are you seeing the sales maintain? Like, are things evergreen? You've got a bunch of best sellers.

[Eden]

Yeah, yeah, no, I still see sales daily.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Oh my gosh. Okay, okay, so what do I, where do I even want to go from here? Okay, so you got sales right away. TikTok. TikTok was huge. Do you think, like, do you get a lot of organic traffic from Etsy now too?

[Eden]

Yes, I do. And even still, like, even now, today I'm getting a lot of fresh new customers, so I'm seeing that in the last couple of weeks.

[Lizzie Smiley]

When would you describe your digital product shop as like taking off? Like, what was kind of the point of the story where it went nuts?

[Eden]

The tatted girls. I started. Yeah, the tatted girls.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Tell me more. All of it. Oh, tatted. Oh, like tattoo. I'm sorry. Yes. You and I should be best friends because we could not be more opposite. I'm so square. There is not a tattoo on my body. Tell me, tell me more, tell me more. So, okay, putting tattoos on women worked well.

[Eden]

Yeah, yeah. Like if you look at Etsy right now, they're, they're everywhere. The tattoo, tatted girls. It was when I started that in about, I think February that I had massive days. Yeah, it was just tatted girl after tatted girl and you know, so many of my customers would see that and then because I was already putting them on the 40 ounces or the products and it just went, it just blew up and then it became so big all over. Tick tock. Like so many people printing, tagging, it was crazy.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Are you ready to start building your social media presence to help market your Etsy products? But not quite sure where to start. I am so excited to tell you guys about the social media membership that I'm a part of called Julie's Biz Boutique. My friend Julie Oxendine started out selling wreaths on Etsy and has built a monster of a social media presence of over 1 million followers who buy her products, her tutorials and her courses. She is the queen of Etsy social media coaches and I cannot recommend her more highly. She's also so relatable and genuinely interested in helping you grow, which is just my kind of gal. Her monthly membership will keep you up to date on how to best leverage all of the platforms with their ever changing algorithms and connect you with a wonderful community of like minded makers. As a member, you will also get immediate access to Julie's library of over 100 training videos on everything from Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Etsy, and even more. I could keep going on. It's the best bang for your buck that you can get to learn so much about social media and find the inspiration and help you need to start growing your following. Fun little secret too. I gotta plug this in. Julie's membership only opens to the public for new members a couple times a year. But since she loves us so much, we get special treatment and you can join us right now. So just go to howtosellyourstuff.com Julie to learn more and get enrolled today. Once again, that is howtosellyourstuff.com Julie and I can't wait to hang out with you there. Did you kind of open up that whole micro niche? Like, was there not that much there when you started?

[Eden]

Definitely not. Tattooed girls. I remember doing girls with quotes like three years ago still. To this day, I'm still selling the designs that I brought off Etsy, but there was nothing of, you know, I'm covered head to toe and tattoos. So I, you know, this. It was my vibe and it started with the sugar skulls and then I went and I was like, oh, girl. Like, I think half the time it's like things that just spit out of the prompt and I don't even think of. And they're there and you're like, oh, yeah, okay. And then you start working with it and then just. Yeah, because I think I was trying to prompt the sugar skulls girls. And then it just went up to the pinup girl, to everything. And then that just absolutely blew my. Still, to this day, they still sell.

[Lizzie Smiley]

What is a sugar skull?

[Eden]

Oh, okay. What is this sugar skull? So it's just a skull with like all these cool designs and stuff in them. Sort of like looks engraved and.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, so what. Okay, so what does the sugar part mean?

[Eden]

I don't know.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Maybe it's sweet.

[Eden]

I don't know.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, probably just like that. It's like embellished that there's just not. It's like, okay, that's so I'm just like. I don't. I don't even know. Did you have like an art. Art and design background beforehand?

[Eden]

No, my dad, he is an incredible indigenous artist. But I never, you know, as a kid, you don't sit and, you know, you don't. I never learned anything of that, but no, just never. And yet I've always been creative, but never put the brush to paper.

[Lizzie Smiley]

You Know, how do you like working with AI? Like, do you get pushback about it? Has it been like a good experience? Are you skeptical? Obviously you're not very skeptical. You're making a lot of money from it. But, like, talk to us about that controversy.

[Eden]

I definitely understand, and I have seen the controversy around AI. For me, you know, being on social, I've probably had maybe three or four troll comments, you know, about it. But other than that, I have not had any backlash about it or anything.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I'm actually really impressed because I get a lot of troll comments about it, like, anytime I post about it. Oh, yeah. People call me, like, ignorant and, you know, like a thief and all kinds of crazy stuff and I mean, the most benign kinds of content that I'm creating. So that's really interesting. But you know what? You're.

[Eden]

That's.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I think that's great that there's not. I don't. I think it's because I'm teaching it in certain instances that they're not liking it and you're just expressing yourself through it. Okay, let's talk about, like, let's talk about what this has been like. So I want to hear about, like, the easiest and hardest parts about building your Etsy shop over the past 10 months. Like, what have been the highs? What have been the lows, the easiest?

[Eden]

Oh, it has been. It has actually been so easily, you know, and I think that I got very lucky. Well, I wouldn't say it's luck because I do put in so much work to, you know, be different and stand out. And I think overall, Etsy has been really easy. The hardest part, I think, is obviously bringing it to life on, you know, I know I can. I, I think it all just starts with my social media and then it goes to my Etsy. You know, I can bring it to life on that social media and then they drive it to Etsy. The hardest part I don't think has been, wait, I did get hacked and I did lose my shop on Etsy. It was suspended permanently. Yeah, I lost my shop to hackers, I think, two or three months ago now. They got in, they. And locked me out. I think they got in through my email address and then went in, got into my Etsy, locked me out, but I am within four days, I definitely, I got my shot back. So I'm very lucky because I was told that it was permanently suspended, but then I was talking to another person who was helping me reinstate it. So that was definitely the hardest part.

[Lizzie Smiley]

What did you have to do did you have to get an attorney involved?

[Eden]

No, I contacted them on every single social media platform and I sent a couple of emails. So I was actually speaking. I felt like I was speaking to. One was a bot and one was an actual person because they're telling me two completely different things.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Wow. So how long did it take? Like, how long did you lose it for?

[Eden]

Four days.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And then. I'm sorry, you already said that. I have mom brain so bad today. I'm so sorry. Oh, my gosh. Four days. Okay, so then had they changed anything? Did they steal any money? Or did they.

[Eden]

No. Well, Etsy clicked onto it pretty quick and just suspended the whole shop. And with the bank account, obviously, if you change the bank account, it takes, I think it's seven days.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, so they didn't make much progress.

[Eden]

No.

[Lizzie Smiley]

That's kind of scary, though. You don't really think. I haven't. I'm. I haven't personally heard that. That rendition of the suspension, like, I was literally hacked. And they must have done something to make it look fishy.

[Eden]

Yeah. Because I had my customers reaching out to me, saying, where's my shop gone? Like, I see the shop there, but nothing's on it. Yeah. And I had no access to it.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Did you have to add all your listings back in?

[Eden]

No, that's what I was scared about because I did not save any of them, really. Like, my computer. Now I do, and I backed them all up, but then it was just mess everywhere. But, you know, now I know and I learned.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So what do you. You just. You export the Excel spreadsheet from in there. Do you download that CSV file or what do you do to save them?

[Eden]

No. So obviously I create them on my iPad and stuff. So then I have my folders, my Dropbox folders, you know, for the 16 ounces, for the 20 ounces, and the mockups in there with them.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, so you're just talking about the actual designs and the mockups, but yeah, actually, guys, another thing you can do is you can save all of your, like, data, like, all of your titles, tags, descriptions, all of that. You can export the. This, like, CSV file periodically. And I highly recommend it if you've got a lot of listings, because if anything were to happen, even if someone you were trying to leave Etsy or you got suspended and you couldn't get it back, then you have it all, and you can go put it up somewhere else much more quickly because you've got all that stored.

[Eden]

Wow, I didn't know that even.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Just like, like the SEO. Right. Doing the research and having to do all of that manual crud.

[Eden]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay. I want to ask about the TikTok. Do you like, first of all, do you enjoy it? And second of all, do you think it's necessary or like what do you think it adds to your business?

[Eden]

I don't think it's necessary. I think that, you know, if your Designs and your SEOs on point with Etsy, you will be fine. I don't think you need TikTok to drive your traffic there because there is already a lot of traffic on Etsy looking for these types of things. So, you know, TikTok is just a bonus, I guess you could say.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, so do you love it though? Do you enjoy creating that content?

[Eden]

I do. I like because it's basically, you know, I'm just teaching, I'm creating, so I love it.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, you're so succinct. You know what, let's actually talk for a few minutes about your physical product shop. So is that just Shopify or do you have one on Etsy too?

[Eden]

No, I only have Shopify.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay. Oh, that's making more sense now. So you're selling your actual designs on physical products through Shopify?

[Eden]

Yeah, mine and so many other people's designs that I buy.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Really?

[Eden]

Yes, yes.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay. And how many of those of those tumblers are you? Just tumblers or is it all different things?

[Eden]

All different things.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Wow. And how many sales does that bring in a day?

[Eden]

It depends how I show up on Tick Tock or show up on social media for the day. You know, obviously you have to drive your own traffic to your store, being a small business owner. But yeah, I can do 30 to 40k months easily. I remember the anxiety cow was another. The little anxiety Highland cow was another one that blew my Tick Tock up and that actually started the Trend. Not my TikTok, my Etsy stuff store. I started that trend. It was a comment that someone left on one of my videos and I was like, hey, yeah, let's create it. And that just blew up. I think I done $50,000 in sales in two weeks just making it on a cup. On the 40 ounce cup. And then I had so many people chasing me down for that PNG design. So that. Yeah, it's crazy.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Absolutely bananas.

[Eden]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, so do you use the same TikTok to promote both?

[Eden]

Yes.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And you have what, like a link tree that you're using to.

[Eden]

Yeah, I have a link tree and it takes you to my digitals and like a Facebook group? I don't necessarily really promote my digitals on TikTok. I've only started doing it now because I'm selling the transfers. I'm now selling the transfers, and then I've just been doing videos in Photoshop of, you know, creating, putting together the design and everything. And that just seems to be going really well. So.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah, someone's. I can already hear someone asking, what do you mean by transfers?

[Eden]

It's the printed transfer. So, like the DTF print for the T shirt design or the sublimation printout themselves, like that. Yeah. So now I now have another Shopify store doing all of that. Yeah. So it's crazy because, you know, a lot of people don't want to invest in the printer, so they'll just outsource the prints.

[Lizzie Smiley]

But then they have to have the actual thing to bake it, right?

[Eden]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So those are two different machines.

[Eden]

Yes. So you have a printer and then you have your. I use an air fryer to fry all of my cups in, and then. Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

How many sublimation machines do you have running or I guess oven things do you have running at one time?

[Eden]

I have one air fryer, and I've had that for two, three years. It would have cooked thousands and thousands and thousands of tumblers, cups. It would. It was 90 bucks from the cheap shop, and it's still going strong. I have one because it's easier. I can wrap and then cook. Wrap, cook. Like, it just works with my flow. I can keep.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So you're not doing like, 20 at a time or you can.

[Eden]

No, I. No, not cooking at once. But I will have 20 or 50 cups in front of me that I'm wrapping, cooking and then taking apart, Wrapping, cooking, and take, like, it's like a flow, you know?

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah. Yeah. That's so cool.

[Eden]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Before we came on, Eden and I were talking about, like, laser engravers because you guys have heard me talk about Aunt Robbie, and she wants to do, like, laser engraving. But Eden was telling me about the fire risk associated with those. Like, it's a big problem. Is that not a problem with the fryers?

[Eden]

No, it's just cooking.

[Lizzie Smiley]

You've got me on alert. I really don't want to burn this farm down. Okay. The other thing I really want to hear from you about is, like, for people who are. People get really excited about digital products, especially when they hear massive success stories like yours. They have big hopes and big dreams. Do you think that Tumblr wraps, sublimation designs, things like this? Creating digital files is really saturated on Etsy. Or do you think new sellers could also blow up and do really well?

[Eden]

I think new sellers can definitely come in and blow up. I think I personally, someone who buys so many Tumblr apps every week, I don't think there's enough out there like I'm doing, you know, yeah, in my physical product shop, I'll have a drop on Thursday of all my tumblers and I'll have customers buying five to 10 different tumblers a week. So, you know, every week I need more and more and more and more and more new designs. So. And I was actually looking on Etsy last week to, you know, put new designs up and I just, I couldn't really. I feel like I'm starting to feel like everything with AI has pretty much done like, I feel like if you want to come in, it needs to be more than just generating a picture and putting it on a Tumblr like that because I feel like everything has been done and I was trying to look and like, even the top Tumblr shops, I've noticed there's not very, apart from your standard Christmas designs, there's not very many new designs out there unless you want the copyrighted stuff. But yeah, I was looking last week and I just, you know, I like, I know what my customers like and I'll just buy so many of, so of everything. And I'm buying at least 20 to 30 tumbler apps at a time to put on for my weekly drops. And yeah, I just feel like that it's sort of like come to the AI, everyone's, it's sort of like everything's being done. You know, I think you need to get more. I feel like people are being more drawn to, you know, original designers and creators right now because I know I, in my business, I have found, you know, I'm outsourcing and reaching original creators who are hand drawing their designs or, you know, because it's different and it's exclusive. Yeah, that's what I feel like. But I feel like, you know, if you can come in and, and incorporate the AI into your design, don't rely fully on the AI to, you know, create the design because I feel like, you know, there's only so many cows or so many cute animals and I feel like so much of that has been done throughout the year.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Are you brand new to Etsy, about to get started or struggling a bit to find your groove? What I'm about to say is just for you, okay, I can completely relate to where you're at because I think I can Help you achieve success faster. When I first started my Etsy shop, it was not one of those success stories that we hear on the big YouTube channels, even on this podcast where I just had crazy success and it took off right away. I all but failed for my first six months, just like a lot of new sellers. And so it's very relatable. And the issue for me was I didn't understand demand for one, I didn't understand SEO. I was way too broad in my search terms and I didn't know how to position my product so that customers just couldn't help but click add to cart. And so once I learned those things, I went from making about $25 a month in sales to $6,000 a month and up. And in the holidays, I would even have $13,000 a month, like at my shop's peak. And the thing about me, if you've been here for a minute, you already know this. I'm a terrible gatekeeper, okay? When I figure something out, when I crack a code, when I get excited, I cannot help but tell everybody who wants to listen. It's like either my best asset or my toxic trade. I can't decide. But I put everything that you need to know to fill that beginner knowledge gap into a low ticket, just under three hours course that I have called Six Figure Secrets to getting started on Etsy. In it, I'm teaching you how to find what's in demand for your niche, how to find and use trends, how to start your shop. If you're worried about that part, SEO strategy to find the micro niches where the opportunity is, how to understand the Etsy algorithm and a ton more. The whole thing is bite sized videos, not long form, just small bite sized videos, zero fluff and to the point, you could get the course today, go through the less than three hours over the next couple days, launch your shop this weekend and have sales coming in as soon as Sunday. So let's get you the few missing pieces of the Etsy success puzzle, those little tweaks you need to make so you can start making the sales that you deserve. Because I have never been more convinced that there is room at this table on Etsy for everyone. And the opportunity is so ripe right now. I am in the in the numbers in the data every day and my mind just keeps expanding on the possibilities. Okay, so, so as a special treat, use the code save50 to save $50 on the six figure secrets course today. That's $50 off with a coupon save50. And by all means DM me or shoot me an email when those sales start popping. Because I want to celebrate with you. I mean, I think also, like, following the trends is so important. Like, just making something because it's cute or because you've seen it's been a bestseller isn't necessarily going to do it for someone new. You have to have a creative take on trend combining and reaching that customer with something that feels so specific to them that they have to have it. But I don't understand. Eden helped me with this, and you may have just answered it, and I'm being dense. If you can create, you're already a creator. If you can create 10 a day, why don't you just create your own to sell? Why are you buying from other designers?

[Eden]

Because I feel like I want a variety of everything I don't need to create. You know, there's so many different other styles. I might like what he creates better. I might like what he creates better. I. And I like to still support other people, too.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay. I think. I mean, I'm. I'm delighted to hear it. You know what I mean? It's, like, so cute because you so easily could be, you know, leveraging your own stuff. So I thought that was really interesting. What has changed in your life as a result of your business?

[Eden]

Obviously, the freedom. Working from home is the biggest and most number one. You know, being at home with my babies, you know, being able to work, I think that's the biggest part because really not much has changed. I live in the country, you know, I'm pretty. I'm pretty much a homebody. And it's incredible, though.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Are you going to stay where you are? Like, are you. Is this going to, you know, get you a different life that you want, or are you exactly where you want to be?

[Eden]

I'm exactly where I want to be. I moved away from my hometown to here, so.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Wow.

[Eden]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Do you have ups and downs in sales? Like, I remember probably my first couple of years, I'd have, like, some really great months. And all of a sudden, October always threw me for a loop because it would be really slow for me in the physical products, and I'd kind of be like, oh, my gosh, what am I going to do? What's going to happen? Is it going to pick up? Do you ever have slower months, or do you worry about how you'll keep up with it?

[Eden]

If I have slower months, it's because I'm either drowning in orders or I want to take a break. I'm very lucky. I'm very switched on when it comes to social media and what works. And you know, a lot of my videos do pop off because I know how to perform them and you know, what, what works and. Or, you know, I know how to intrigue people with different techniques and what I'm creating. So for me, for the last four years, I think my order count would have been under 200, maybe like three or four times. And that's because I think right now my order count sits at 280. As stressful as it is, you know, I'm able to make a batch of 50 orders at a time and work in batches. But for me, it has just been go, go, go all year round. I know for the last two, like last month or so, I have kind of just fallen off social media because I'm just, you know, exhausted from the year. But my business has been lucky enough to be successful all year round.

[Lizzie Smiley]

That is incredible. It sounds like, yeah, you've just got a beat on all of it and exactly which buttons to push to create more income if you needed to or wanted to. I love that you're like, I need less work, I need a break. It's so great. Do you have any advice you could share with people who are brand new or they're wanting to get started?

[Eden]

Yeah. Discipline. When owning your own business, discipline is definitely the biggest thing because at a 9 to 5, you have a supervisor to keep you on track, whereas at home in your own business, you have to be disciplined enough to keep yourself on track. So treat it like a 9 to 5. If you want to get paid, you have to show up. Because at work if you don't show up, you don't get paid. So discipline is definitely a big thing. And just go for it. Don't be scared about what anyone's going to think.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Was that hard for you?

[Eden]

Just going for it?

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah, like not worrying about what people think. Was that easy or hard for you?

[Eden]

I block it. I blocked everyone on my social media account. My fiance is still blocked. I just, I just don't want to hear myself when someone plays my video around me. I just. Just cringe and fall into my seat.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah.

[Eden]

But a lot of people find me, I'm like, oh, didn't I block you? Like, But I mean, I live in a country town, so, you know, we all. Everyone knows everybody and it's not that bad.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Do they know what you do now?

[Eden]

Yeah, I have my following me now.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And I'm like, oh, yeah, what a gangster move. You, you block everyone, including your partner.

[Eden]

He still blocked 450 followers later.

[Lizzie Smiley]

That is hysterical. I'm sure that's 450,000, right?

[Eden]

Yeah, 450,000.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Let's just not mince words there, Eden. Let's be really clear about how ridiculously amazing you have done. Okay. Is there anything I didn't hit? Is there anything you really wanted to talk about or share or something on your heart you want to make sure?

[Eden]

No, I think just go for it. Be passionate. It doesn't happen overnight. You know, stick to it. Unless you're eating, stick it out. Be creative. You know, if you do what you love and you'll never work another day in your life.

[Lizzie Smiley]

That'S so good. Okay, guys, I'm gonna keep Eden's shop and everything confidential as we've always talked about before, because the copycat situation on Etsy is next level and we want to protect her business and we want to show her gratitude for sharing with us. But she has an email address. Do you want to share that, Eden? Where people could shoot you a note if they would like to ask any questions or connect with with you?

[Eden]

Yeah, it's Eden. E d e n.sultner s a l t n e r [e-mail].

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, I will make sure and link that. And thank you so much for being willing to spend this time. I know you're extremely busy. I know that this. There's the. The glory is fleeting. There's not a whole lot in this for you other than just paying it forward and passing it on and sharing with other people. So I just really want you to know that I appreciate you very much and it's been an absolute joy.

[Eden]

Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you for Tammy pushing me up and doing this. I'm glad I did. I was very nervous. But, you know, you've made it so much easier. So thank you very much.

[Lizzie Smiley]

You did awesome. You were perfect. It was like nothing. It was like nothing. Guys, I hope you enjoyed this so much. I hope if you're new, you're feeling inspired about what's possible. So many people want to say Etsy is too saturated. There is not a single niche. The one place you might want to watch out for is jewelry. That's the one place that's hard to get really creative. And we need to have a coaching call to talk about how to approach that. But otherwise, digital products, sublimation, print on demand, most physical products, like, seriously, the opportunity is still ripe and Eden is a perfect. It has been 10 months. The woman has made more than six figures that she's taken home in her pocket. I'm gonna go move in with her. So I hope you guys are inspired and thank you for spending this time with us. I love you all so much. And until next week, go make something awesome. Take care guys. And that's a wrap on this episode of how to sell your stuff on Etsy. Thanks so much for hanging out with me today. If you're looking for more resources, head on over to howtosellyourstuff.com where you'll find podcast show notes, all the links from today's episode, the blog courses, coaching and more. If this episode was helpful to you, awesome. The greatest compliment I can receive from you is a rate, review and subscribe on this podcast. Not only will it allow us to connect again on a future episode, it lets me know I'm providing you with value and helps other people find this content more easily. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your support. Have a great day and see you next time.