In this episode, I’m interviewing Exercise Physiology expert Emily Moravec (@Illustratedemily) who’s turned her professional knowledge into a thriving Etsy business. Emily leveraged her expertise and scientific illustrations to create digital...
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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 guys, welcome back to the show this week I'm so excited to share another amazing Etsy story. This is totally unique topic we haven't talked about before. Completely different story than we've had before. We're going to have so much fun. I have one thing I want to let you know about and you've been asking over and over and over again and I so get it for one on one help because I used to do coaching calls over zoom. I occasionally opened up shop audits and those things just my schedule with the kids does not allow for me to do those things anymore. But I just chewed and chewed and chewed until I found a solution. And what I have done, it's brand new, is I have opened up an Etsy seller coaching group. It's on school. So it's a private group on school. And if you have questions that you want answered, if you want to be a part of a serious seller community, if you want a monthly group coaching, call with me. If you want to just be able to ask and get a real answer from people who know what they're talking about, you're going to want to join the coaching group. I will link it in the show notes for you. It's here's the deal. It's just a one time fee right now. It's an introductory rate of only one forty seven doll dollars. You pay once and you're in for life. Just one time fee and you will be in there with us in school. So I'm trying to keep it extremely affordable. It's less than a coaching call, a little more than a shop audit. But you're in there. There's no recurring fee. I have staff in there who are Etsy sellers that are experienced. They've been trained by me, they have been approved by me. They're going to be helping moderate. I won't be able to answer every single question, but you will get an answer from somebody who I trust and I know they know what they're talking about and they will answer. You will get me once a month on a coaching call for sure. And we are going to have so much fun in there. So if you're looking for some one on one, if you got questions, we're going to get you answered. This is the way to get access to one on one help from me. So with that being said, let's launch in to today's amazing story. I'm going to be speaking with Emily Moravic and she is a recreation and exercise instructor with an Ms. In exercise physiology and a talent for scientific illustration. That's her first passion. Her Etsy shop merges her professional expertise and illustration to serve others by the tagline print at home, movement and happiness. Her work has resonated with thousands of customers and wellness professionals alike, becoming a trusted resource for inclusive exercise guides. Emily is now expanding her reach through a personal Instagram brand where she shares wellness through illustration. So let's dig into it. This is going to be a digital product, mostly passive, but super hyper specific to her actual career niche. So let's welcome Emily to the podcast. Emily, Yay. Hi, welcome to the podcast.
Emily Moravic
Thanks, Lizzie. I am very excited to be here.
Lizzie Smiley
I'm so excited you're here and thank you for being willing to come and share because your shop and your story is like. So we've never talked about anything like this before. Like you are, you are a unicorn. Did you know that?
Emily Moravic
I didn't, but I guess I kind of feel like one.
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah. Yeah. I think everyone is going to just eat this up. So I think, I think I'd like to start, I want to start with the question of like, what's been the most surprising part of your Etsy journey so far?
Emily Moravic
Yeah. And I appreciate that you gave me this question a little bit ahead of time because I thought back to almost two years ago and you know what surprised me? The first thing that surprised me was actually the Google off site ads.
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah.
Emily Moravic
Because my product didn't exist barely on the Internet at all, which might be a bad business tactic to go into. But Google Loved it. And Etsy and Google talked or whatever they do in their business world. It immediately like, I think it immediately jumped me and I don't, I don't know the ins and outs of how that works, but like a ton of my first like six months of sales was offset ads, off site ads, off site ads. And I think it's because there was nothing like that in Google. But maybe you can explain it further, I don't know.
Lizzie Smiley
Well, you, you've got me geeking out so hard right now because we talk a lot with new sellers. Like one of the biggest mist people make when they start on Etsy is especially these wonderful, passionate, creative people who are just my favorites and they come in with a really, really unique idea and they don't have success selling it on Etsy because there's not demand on Etsy for it. So Etsy is a search engine, right? So it's like, you know, a little bit of beginner training for people listening. Etsy is a search engine, so we think, oh my gosh, I sell this at a craft fair. It does great. I'm going to sell it on Etsy. It'll do great. And a lot of times if it's really unique, it doesn't. Because it's one thing if you're walking by and you see something pretty at a craft fair and you're drawn because of the story and seeing it in person and this kind of impulse buy. People aren't impulse buying so much on Etsy. They're using the search tool to decide to look for something very specific. They came with something in mind. So it can be hard to sell something unique. You, my dear, are even bigger unicorn than I realized because so since Etsy didn't have. You said it didn't exist. Etsy didn't have. There wasn't demand on Etsy. This is where people get so mad about off site ads. But it actually saved your bacon and catapulted your shop because while you were funny.
Emily Moravic
Yes, good, because I've heard you kind of, or maybe your guests kind of like complain about it, but I was like, what are they complaining about? Because to me it worked. I had three main pillars, if you will. I started with the swim lesson and there was one lady who had done it but like five years ago and it was maybe not a super esthetically pleasing product. And so I started there and then I was like, wait, none of the other things that I teach at my recreation center are here. So I just went with it.
Lizzie Smiley
Okay, so, okay, so we're not going to get into too much of the numbers, guys. But off site ads is basically where if Etsy is seeing that there is demand and interest on Google for what you are selling, they will offer up paid, paid ad space on Google. So Etsy's paying for it on Google to show people your products. This was perfect for Emily because the demand wasn't on Etsy yet it is now. So she was taking a bit of a risk, but Google had huge demand. And so then what happens is Etsy, then if you make a sale, they then pass on the advertising fee to you. I won't get into the nitty gritty because there's different tiers. If you're making under $10,000 a year from your shop, you can actually turn off site ads off. Once you are past 10,000 a year, you have to have them on, but the percentage you have to pay goes down. So we can talk more about that. Let me know if you want like an Instagram, you know, carousel about that, guys, I should, I should. Let me write that down right. Off site ads. I think that would be good. So actually just go look at Instagram, you'll find out, you'll find the breakdown there. But this worked out so perfectly for you. And so here's the thing, it can be harder on someone with a handmade product because their margins are smaller. So you are selling a digital product with all profit other than your Etsy fee and your listing fee. And so that worked out really well. And that is why. So like, that's why you're like, this is great. And someone else, you know, like with my signs, I would, I. They were hard on me. They were a little hard on me because of the profit margin. So that's where that can get finicky. So more on off site ads on Instagram. But Emily, let's back up. What are you selling and how is it going? So like tell us your stats and what you're selling and where this all came from.
Emily Moravic
Okay, yeah, I'm gonna kind of read off of my notes here. But if I were to categorize my cell phone, my product, I would say it's very much in the health, wellness and fitness niche with like an asterisk that it's very accessible, compassionate, inclusive exercise programs. I work with older adults in real life and that's what I've created in my shop. So I'm very much playing off of my professional education and past experience in aquatic therapy and rehab and then making programs and creating visual illustrated guides that I Illustrate. And then you also asked. Did you ask about stats?
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah. Do it. I would love. I think it would be so helpful to hear how it's been going. And when did you open the shop too?
Emily Moravic
Okay, so it's almost to the day. The shop is two years old. I looked up the lifetime stats. So this is for the whole shop? For the. For its whole lifetime. It is at a 4.1 conversion rate, have 400 repeat customers, which maybe doesn't sound like a ton of ton, but to me, they're the most loyal humans on the planet. They send me every other week messages in my DMs. They're always asking about the next thing. They are like clients from afar, kind of. I looked up the stats on if it's me driving traffic or Etsy, and it's about 70% SEO from Etsy and then about 30% me driving it. And of that, I believe most of it is Pinterest.
Lizzie Smiley
Okay, so how often are you pinning on Pinterest daily, really? And do you just generate the pin from your Etsy shop or do you create a pin in Canva to then pin on Pinterest?
Emily Moravic
I create all of them. So every Sunday, I'm very consistent. Sunday is my Pinterest day. I create, I don't know, 10 to 20 pins, and I do use the native scheduler, so it'll. I try to have like two pins going out a day and then they. Pinterest is wild. Like, Pinterest will like. It's just a really cool snowball thing. So if you have.
Lizzie Smiley
You're in the perfect niche. You're in such a perfect niche for Pinterest. I'm looking up the episode for Pinterest, so keep going. And I'm gonna make sure they know when they can hear more about it.
Emily Moravic
Yeah. And I will say, you guys, I learned a ton about Pinterest through Lizzie's podcast and the guest she's had on there. I think you've had some experts in that area.
Lizzie Smiley
Go Back to episode 176, guys. 176 with Laura Reich was all about Pinterest, and it was incredible. And her resources are in. I'm actually paying for her course to help with my. To help with the coaching business. So, okay, Pinterest, perfect because you're in fitness. But there are so many things. There are so few niches of things that we would sell on Etsy that wouldn't be perfect on Pinterest. So I'm so encouraged. You're pinning once a day and they're sending 30% of your traffic.
Emily Moravic
Yeah. And I was also trying to understand the share and save link thing.
Lizzie Smiley
Yes. I'm so glad you said that.
Emily Moravic
Yeah, that's huge. So if you can get your little Pinterest snowball rolling, that could be a really, really good thing for new sellers. Even if it feels like you're creating into the void right now, if you're really consistent with it, I think they say it takes about three to six months. Sure enough, at that third month, it'll start to. To give you those Share and Save links. Now for me, it did drive like the lifetime value is maybe like five or six thousand dollars over two years. Again, that might not sound like a lot, but to me this was like, that's huge. So I'm going to stick with it. I, you know, I think it's, I think it's a worthwhile endeavor.
Lizzie Smiley
Share and save is totally free. I will put a link in the show Notes where you guys can sign up. It's just, you just click through from to your Etsy Shop. And what it does is it activates that whenever you share a link from your Etsy shop, whether it's a listing, it's the whole shop, it's a section. When you share and there's a purchase that comes from that link, you pay less in the Etsy transaction fee. So the 6.5% goes down. Do you know what it goes down to? I can't remember off the top of my head. I want to say it goes down to 4%.
Emily Moravic
That sounds correct.
Lizzie Smiley
I think that's what. I haven't looked at it in a few months, but I will link that for you guys. And if you're using Pinterest, if you're using Instagram, if you're sharing anywhere, friends, family, whatever, use the Share and save link and save a little bit on that transaction fee because it does add up. And that was. I'm so glad you brought that up. How much is your shop making you every month right now?
Emily Moravic
My highest month has been a little bit over $3,000. The average, I would say is about 2,500.
Lizzie Smiley
That's passive. Mostly that because it's all digital products, right?
Emily Moravic
Yes.
Lizzie Smiley
How many listings do you have? Girl, you got to tell us. Sorry. You know, I'm going to get all excited now. How many listings do you have?
Emily Moravic
Maybe 124.
Lizzie Smiley
And how often do you add new listings?
Emily Moravic
Every Friday.
Lizzie Smiley
Oh my. How many do you add?
Emily Moravic
Just one.
Lizzie Smiley
Okay. One listing every Friday.
Emily Moravic
I mean, I. So I got a little Comfy, if you will. Last summer. Last summer. And I was like, holy cow, it's making sales like because in June water aerobics actually trends really high. So I have both like Australia going off and the United States, like they're all obsessed with this. And so my shop was going off and I was like, this is amazing. I don't have to do anything ever again. But once that trend slumped, I was like, oh no. I. It felt like I lost so much revenue and then look like really digging into Pinterest analytics, which I'm not good at. I did realize that this was a trend and so that's how I got that really high month. So I try not to, I try now to, to make sure I have more evergreen things that will help me stay in that 2,500 to 3,000 each month, if that makes sense.
Lizzie Smiley
It does. And I'm having to control myself because the spin off. So like, okay, let me just. I have to get this out of my body really quick. If I was, if Emily had come to me and been like, okay, how do I scale this to a multiple six figure business? I'd be like, girl, all right, we are going to start our own website and we are going to do blogs and we are going to do content for all year round that is pointing to the Etsy listings. We are going to build a membership where people in the membership are on the email list and they're paying a monthly membership to get, you know, whatever content. We are going to get you an app. I actually pay for this app so I'm like trying to like tone up my arms a little bit. Lol. And so they're actually not that good. Like the workouts are perfect but the content is not that great. And I'm just like, we are going to put this on an app that people will pay for monthly. We'll create all of these extra streams with the content she's already got and yes, beef it up a bit but like all. So I'm thinking how do you beat that slump when aquatic. What did you call it? Water aerobics goes down.
Emily Moravic
Yeah. Yep.
Lizzie Smiley
Okay, so like then it could be like you know, back to school fit or how do you like. Here are some. These exercises will help you not gain weight over the holidays. Like everything when it's not like New Year's or summer bod time when people are going crazy about stuff related content for the blog that then points to like whatever listings would be perfect for it. So then those things are creating extra pins for you going out and talking about the things that aren't that are in when it's not like big weight loss time. I'm just. Okay, I got it out. I'm just saying you could do so much. I'm thinking of Bailey. Do you know have you heard Bailey on the podcast before? Bailey digitally purpose?
Emily Moravic
I think I have.
Lizzie Smiley
Okay, so she is the queen of leveraging an Etsy shop into several streams of income. In fact, that's another episode I'll have to link. I have no idea what number it was, but let me link that Bailey episode where she talked about how it was the first time she came on. This would be good for you, Emily, if you ever wanted to scale. Because she talked about how she took just her. So like you a digital product png it was specifically Tumblr apps in the beginning and she turned it into repeat buyers through an email list and through a membership. So like I'm going to tell you, never do a whole shop access bundle. Sell bundles but never do a full shop access. Instead get people on your email list where they get a discounted rate. They get a special coupon for every time that they buy from you so they'll keep coming back as you keep creating. I think I'm officially like a. And I'm. I used to be all for it. I'm officially anti full shop bundles. I'm all about huge bundles. I'm all about. What is the word? I was just talking to my VA about this. She's yelling at me through the thing right now. Oh, no brainer offers. I'm gonna do a whole video YouTube video on this. No brainer offers where it's like something they can't refuse. But don't do full shop. All right, sorry. I warned you, Emily. Go say it.
Emily Moravic
No. And I actually have a lot. I hope this helps someone listening too. And it's just not like a personal problem. So right now, two of my main pillars are chair yoga and this water aerobics. Water therapy. Right now I do have the aquatic therapy stuff as a bundle and it sells pretty well. On the other hand, I have this chair program that I actually have already tried to do exactly what you're talking about because my chair people come back month after month, they ask me for a new program.
Lizzie Smiley
And so I do a posture training. Do a posture one. Keep going.
Emily Moravic
Yeah. So I, I have these requests coming through constantly. And so I did try to start the chair exercise club on my really, really small. I have like an email list of like 400 people through kit.com but it's kind of flopped, so. But I'm. But everything you just said was sort of getting the wheels turning. I need to probably take off the whole water aerobics bundle. The whole shop, right?
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah.
Emily Moravic
And then I could get them into whatever other platform, kit.com or whatever.
Lizzie Smiley
It's not a whole shop though.
Emily Moravic
Right.
Lizzie Smiley
It's just your water aerobic stuff.
Emily Moravic
It's just. But those people, Lizzie, they come back weekly. So that's why they like the whole. I call it the whole library. A lot of them are other instructors.
Lizzie Smiley
Okay. Nope. Switch it to bundles. Don't do a whole library.
Emily Moravic
Okay. Because now I have like, however many of those people are just kind of gone.
Lizzie Smiley
Right.
Emily Moravic
Right. Forever. But I think that's huge. I'm like gonna write that down and definitely kind of reconfigure some stuff this week. That's really good. Thank you.
Lizzie Smiley
Another. And you can kind of pick and choose. You don't need to do all of these things. But my. One of my strengths is ideating and so I just like to throw this out there. The other thing I would do, especially because I know you have an Instagram and you. I think you said to me it was small.
Emily Moravic
It's really small right now.
Lizzie Smiley
Okay. Every day for 90 days, I want you to post a hyper specific reel. Like not. Here's how to do water aerobics. Like here's this specific arm movement in water aerobics that defines this muscle. So stuff where there's still. It's still going to. Because then you're going to be able to use something like manychat. Do you know what that is? It's an automation tool. You've probably seen someone's listening. So you could say, like, it's an automation tool that you can connect to your Instagram and you would be like, comment arm and I'll send you the, you know, the workout or whatever. So then they comment arm and then the manychat immediately sends to their DM whatever link you want them to. This is. This, like, this thing has changed my life. And my. Made my. My Instagram makes me probably a thousand dollars a week at least. I only have about. I have under 5,000 followers. You guys. You could make easily $100 a day from Instagram with even just 500 followers. So but you've got to have really good content. So you just. You need to do hyper. This is for everyone. Hyper specific reels. So it's not like if you're a home organizer, it's not how to organize your home it's how to remove grit from the grout of your bathroom tile. It's how to organize your junk drawer. It's like hyper specific problems every day for 90 days. Your. The only reason that my. My Instagram has not exploded is because I am not. Have not been disciplined enough to do one every single day for 90 days. So anyway, you could go crazy with that. And you're not giving away your content for free. You're literally doing hyper. Hyper specific. And your niche would go crazy, Emily. You would draw so much traffic. Okay, so. Yeah, but take off that bundle first.
Emily Moravic
Yes, thank you.
Lizzie Smiley
Yes, yes. And I'm just curious, look, how do you decide what to create next? Like what, what helps you determine? Are you doing data research? Is it just what you feel like? Is it something from the gym that happened? How do you decide the next listing you're going to create?
Emily Moravic
Okay, so probably all three of those things you just said first. I would say first. I do work with people one on one. And so even like you just use hyper specific. But someone might come to the pool with a hyper specific issue. And then my creative brain is like, let's create something that really helps this person. So first I'm creating it for me and this individual and then I figure out a way to package it that's just slightly less specific and it goes out to the masses. But then secondly, now that I have a little bit of return customers, these people email me constantly. I have chronic heart failure. What can I do? Just this morning I had a gentleman messaging me. Actually, he found me through the Instagram, which is literally like a hundred people on there. He's like, okay, I have si, like the bottom of my spine XYZ thing going on. So how can I be creative and, and serve this person right? They might not be able to afford therapies. It's not the most, like accessible, like fitness in general is intimidating for people.
Lizzie Smiley
Yes.
Emily Moravic
And we all, we all don't look like, like the hot Instagram people. So I.
Lizzie Smiley
You do look like that, Emily. Whatever.
Emily Moravic
Well, I mean, I. Anyway, well, thank you, Lizzie. But I think that. So I really try to listen and engage with these people with exactly what they have going on and try to figure out how could this help, like not just this one person, but all of these people. And sometimes my husband will be like, why are you on your phone still messaging this person that lives in Timbuktu about their back pain? But I'm really trying to gather like exactly what do they need and how do we make something really Specific that serves them them. And then thirdly, Pinterest trends.
Lizzie Smiley
Okay. Wow. You're not. So you're not doing Etsy research. You're letting outside things dictate they're still database. But again, you've come through the. The Google Ad actually rabbit hole. That's super interesting. It's perfect for you. Oh my gosh. Like, well, okay. Do you use, I'm hoping you use really good disclaimers like medical disclaimers and did you hire an attorney for that?
Emily Moravic
So that's on my to do list. I listen to your podcast about the attorney right now I'm basing it off of like when I was in graduate school we had pretty specific, I guess you'd call it like an intake form. Even though we're not physical therapists. It's more general than that. So I try to, I include one of those in every single guide as well as a academic like research list. And so I'm very, very clear with people that this is like almost like an academic delivery. Like this is good.
Lizzie Smiley
Yes. This is for educational purposes. Yeah.
Emily Moravic
Like this is, you know, this is not a prescription. This is just a. Yeah, education.
Lizzie Smiley
Are you a print on demand or digital product Etsy seller who's tight on time or still learning all of the Etsy secrets? I totally remember the days of having no idea what product to create next before I learned how to make those in full informed decisions so I can really identify with where you're at. I know how stressful and frustrating it can be to just create listing after listing and see little to no results. You wonder what you're doing wrong and just you just want someone to tell you what to create that's actually going to sell. Where are those opportunities? So let me give you a leg up with my weekly trends and opportunities report. You just join my membership and every Monday I'm going to send you an email with a list of exactly what is trending right now with a video tutorial showing you how I found those trends and how to apply them in your shop. We're taking guesswork and time, extensive time off of your table. I'm also going to send you five print on demand and digital product opportunities that are growing in demand right now. Helping new shops make sales and still have very low saturation in the marketplace. So your tight schedule, your newbie status doesn't have to hold you back anymore. I'm going to help you earn while you learn. You can grab my free demo to start and see an example of what the week is. Weekly Trends and opportunities. Email looks like right from the show. Notes, see what you're gonna get and I will see you on the inside soon. Yeah, you definitely wanna, like, talk to somebody. But I'm thinking, like, how cool would it be Again, I'm thinking the blog, like, here's swim routines to help with plantar fasciitis. Oh, you've, you know, here's what you can do to still get. Burn, you know, 300 calories in a workout, but your knees are bad. You know, like, I. You could just go so crazy. So. But I'm so glad we actually, we're talking about this legal thing because I want to make sure, like, anyone who is selling something like this, I mean, to be honest, Paige Hulse, the attorney, she's actually my attorney and she's the one who comes on the podcast. She says every Etsy seller should have an LLC because it separates your personal assets. And this is just me passing along educational information. Guys, I am not a legal expert. We're get. We'll all get in trouble if you listen to me. But she has come on the podcast and said everyone should have an llc. It separates your personal assets from your. From your business assets. And especially, like someone like Emily, you're dealing with things that could be construed as medical or health issues. You want to make sure you've got the right disclaimers. You want to make sure you have an llc. And so I can actually link for you guys. There's going to be a lot of links today. I have a whole, like, page on my website of legal topics, like every episode page has been on, so you can go back and listen to those and see how it applies to you. And then she actually suggests these specific policies that you. In your. In your Etsy Shop policies, these specific things that you want to have in there to cover you legally. And she also has a llc, what is it called? Operating agreement, which you need and you have to have on file with your bank. So I mean, just everyone emails me about this stuff all the time, Emily. And it's like, how do you even get this stuff into the podcast? And if I do a legal topic, everyone who has my personality type will not click on that episode. So we're popping it in now. So I'll just. It's going to be not scary. I'm going to link all that for you guys. It'll be called the legal topics. Do you already have an llc, Emily? That's really personal, but you should make sure you do that. If you.
Emily Moravic
I Do thanks to you and your attorney podcast. Because this was already going through my head and I was like, okay, Lizzie says so I'm. Yeah, yeah, well.
Lizzie Smiley
And in. In total transparency, I always operated with just my Social Security number. And I'm thinking back to these, like, 20 pound signs that I was making that people were hanging over their cribs. I mean, a. You'd have to put me in a mental institution if anything happened to anyone's child from our signs. And we were very careful with, like, here's how to hang them and here's how they're secure and all that. But, like, I did not do it right. I did not have an LLC at the time. I did not have the right disclaimers. And thank the Lord I was one of the lucky ones who didn't get, you know, have a problem. But so now I just like, I'd rather be vigilant and tell you guys it's actually not that expensive. This is something that you can do, you know, something you can and should do. We've got resources that are, like, really good from Paige, and actually I think she's running a sale on her templates right now. I'll put that information there, too. Okay. So do you. How do you come up with your SEO?
Emily Moravic
Okay, so that's interesting because mostly I've learned about SEO through your podcast and, you know, listening to how you've described it. And first of all, again, because I started when this stuff was not really on Etsy, I couldn't. Yeah, I couldn't get SEO from Etsy. And I really. Now there's a bunch of, like, I don't even want to call them copycats because I don't. I don't really believe that we're doing the exact same thing. But mostly it's. Sometimes I use Google, like, Google search topics.
Lizzie Smiley
Okay.
Emily Moravic
With the trendy stuff, believe it or not, some of it I actually pull from, like, Instagram, like, with the trendy fitness stuff, which I kind of avoid because I don't know if I really, like, ethically even believe in a lot of the stuff we see floating around social media. I know, I know, but it does sell well, right? You can steal their little. Their little quips and stuff like that.
Lizzie Smiley
It's the hook. You got to have the good hook, right? To get the.
Emily Moravic
Yeah, I do get a lot of it from Pinterest. And then some of it is really, because I'm such a niche down world. There isn't a ton of variety, so I can steal a little bit of like, what's trending on Google? And then just like, merge the SEO in with the very few, like, niche words that are in my industry. So I have to say, if I. I mean, I'm thinking my SEO probably is easier than someone trying to compete in jewelry or something like that.
Lizzie Smiley
Oh, okay. Because you're not having to so. Well, you have a different. You have a totally different challenge. Like, it's so fun. You're kind of like the exception that proves the rule. And this is what I love. There is no one right, Coach. I hate it when people are like, everyone else is lying to you. I'm the only one telling you the truth. I'm not gonna get on. I'm not. I'm just not like that. I'm like, there's enough room at the. All of these people have made lots of money. Their path works. There's not like, are there some people who are just out there lying? Absolutely. We're living on planet Earth with lots of good people and lots of evil people. But, like, there are. There's just no right, there's no wrong way. So I share what's worked for me and my students. It doesn't mean Bailey's doesn't work or Heather's doesn't work or Cassie. I loved when Cassie was on and she's like approaching print on demand. Completely, completely opposite of how I did. And she's just like, and this works great. And I'm like, that is the coolest thing ever. It just gives us all a better chance. So actually, I think you have a different challenge because you have to look in several places. You have to look on Pinterest, you have to look on Google, you have to look on Instagram, you have to know the trends. You've got to know your industry, as opposed to someone like me selling a PNG or a Tumblr app or a coloring page. And I'm just in ever be on Etsy. And it's just one and done. So my challenge is competition and I've got to find those micro niche keywords. I've got to know how to use trends. I've got to use the date, you know, go into the data. But it's a different. It's a different challenge. Super, super interesting. So you're. You said you're packaging a PDF, right? You're selling your. So it's PDF and you said you illustrate it. Are you. How are you doing that again?
Emily Moravic
Sort of a variety of ways. I illustrate some stuff just by hand in a journal.
Lizzie Smiley
Wow.
Emily Moravic
But I'VE changed it over now, and most of it is in Procreate. Do you know what procreate is?
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah, I love Procreate.
Emily Moravic
Yeah. So my first love in life was scientific illustration. Like, I wanted to do that as a career, but it didn't really seem like a good career, which is probably. Was probably a safe bet in reality, but I don't know. So I already sort of had a knack for that. And then I figured out how to expedite it and make it go a lot faster and so smoother and aesthetically pleasing in Procreate. It's very simple for people listening, I'm sure. I bet your audience has a lot of artists using Procreate, but if you're like doing the SVG or PNG stuff, it's pretty awesome. I think it's like $13 for a lifetime subscription. So that's a great tool for people who want to be able to illustrate or sketch or anything like that.
Lizzie Smiley
Okay. But you're the real deal. You're the real deal. Because I go in there to color in a coloring page, I cannot sketch anything.
Emily Moravic
But it's fun.
Lizzie Smiley
It's.
Emily Moravic
It's brought a lot of creativity and, like, fun to the project overall.
Lizzie Smiley
And I love how you mentioned earlier, you were talking about how there was some older competition, but their stuff wasn't as aesthetic. Do you want to talk about aesthetics? Has that been like an important. Do you think that's really helped you is your aesthetic?
Emily Moravic
Oh, yeah, I think so. I mean, I do think that's like the cornerstone of my shop. Like, there are other. There are a couple other people doing something in the fitness niche. Right. I don't know where they get their images from or what's going on there, but there is there all, like. I don't know how to say. I don't want to sound like self righteous, but it's all very plain, Jane and the same. And so I've actually, like, over the last about year and a half, I've just stopped completely looking at what they're doing. And I really, really just try to make it pretty to me. So it's pretty to my aesthetic. Maybe it's not pretty to everyone else, but so far I've gotten really good feedback and people come back all the time, like, we love this one, we love this one. And so it's been. It's been pretty fun.
Lizzie Smiley
How did you learn how to make those decisions? Like what? Like what aesthetic to use, what color palette to use, what kind of. You have a very, very specific Aesthetic. I need more language, you know what I mean? Like your. Even the shapes that you use, the way that you. It's very specific. It's very beautiful and inviting. How did you learn that?
Emily Moravic
Okay, the short answer is I don't know. The slightly longer answer is yes. I have an advanced degree in science, but my whole life I've actually been very artsy. So like I was like in an AP art program all through high school. That was definitely like, that's just like, I guess my like natural zone of genius. I don't know, as we grow up, maybe you feel like you can't really pursue a career in art or something like that. And I'm kind of on a self identity journey here and I think that this is just sort of organic to me. I really don't have an answer besides that. I think it was organic. Like, I think that's just how I express. And I haven't taken any formal art classes since high school. Maybe I will in the future. I think I would like that. But I was also just really supported both high school graduate and undergraduate in these science programs. A lot of these professors would kind of actually let me have a loop around and they'd be like, actually, why don't you illustrate it? Because I think I have like kind of a non neurotypical brain. I can close my eyes and like recreate something. And so that's like how I got through like physiology school. I could be in the cadaver like lab until like midnight and I. And people hate anatomy tests and I could just like illustrate the whole thing like eyes closed, like go. So it's truly like a passion and I hope to like lean into that more. Right now the shop is really much about serving people, but I do hope to kind of run with the illustration stuff somehow. I'm not sure, but we'll see.
Lizzie Smiley
So, so interesting. I actually have such a dear friend who, she never got to do anything with it either. But she was a science, was like a medical illustrator, right?
Emily Moravic
Yes, yes, Yep.
Lizzie Smiley
So you're the second person I've ever known and this is. And actually so she, she owns Camp Nicolay for girls in Northern Wisconsin. It's the camp that I went to for years. It literally formed my identity. Her name is Georgie and she's amazing. Amazing. I love her so much. But literally like, so she's got this incredible, incredible illustrations on her wall and she ended up running a camp. But I'm, I'm drawing the parallels. You know what is so interesting? And I know I've Said this before on the podcast, someone's gonna say, okay, grandpa, but I'm just gonna say, some people are so intuitive about what looks good. These people who, you know, they're always. They know how to pick an outfit. They can just look and they can put things together and it looks great. They know how to decorate a room or a wall. They know how to lay a tablescape. These things do not come naturally to me. Okay, like, thank goodness you all are not here to see my house. Like this. The re. Okay, I got lucky behind me. I, I literally looked at Pinterest and so my debt. My, my. It was actually so. It's so funny actually now you saying. Cause you said you liked my background. You're actually good at this stuff. So I guess what I want to say is some of you are listening and you're feeling really encouraged because you're like, I'm like, Emily, and I can just do it. And it's intuitive and it's easy. And I want to say, yeah, you've got a huge advantage and you should run with it. And that's. And if you're, if you're needing a little tap on the shoulder to say, this is for you, this is for you. And that was your tap. If you're sitting there like me and you're going, oh my gosh, I'm never going to be able to do this. She's literally illustrating dead bodies. I do not have this talent, like procreate. Yeah. I literally go in there to do like a watercolor. Like, no, it. Everything is figureoutable. You be encouraged as well, because if I can do it, you can do it. And you know, we're using, we're using canva, we're using some helpful from AI, we're using chat, GPT, we're using other, you know, people's creative. I can run my mouth. This is what I can do really well. Like, I don't. This, this. No one trained me how to do this. In fact, I dropped out of speech class because I, I was just like, this is going to kill my confidence. So that is. That wasn't even on my list. But it's super interesting that you aesthetic is so important. So, gosh, what are, what are. You know what? No, I'm going there. Talk to me. You mentioned before we even got on here that you really enjoy mindset. Has that played a role in your Etsy business or in your entrepreneurship journey? Like, why does. Because people don't think mindset matters. They'd rather do learn something tactical they don't want to dig in. Talk to me about Mindset for you.
Emily Moravic
Yeah, no, I think it's huge. I don't want to go, like, super deep on your podcast, but I would say in the last two years, I've been on a huge, really, like, self identity journey anyway. Like, you separate that from the business. I'm an adult adoptee, and so that's always like. And I've had a wonderful, beautiful life, but there is a lot of, like, identity stuff that comes up with that. And I think. I think I started on that, like, kind of wellness journey, if you will. And I think I was just really drawn back to my roots, which was this illustration thing. And so it kind of all kind of coalesced and I started doing all the things, right, like the yoga with the meditation, listening to podcasts, like, plugging into all these, like, external things. And so now kind of what it looks like for Mindset is I might set an intention for the day and it might be, like, about my physical body or what I need to do at work today or how I want to show up in the business today or different stuff like that. So it's like an intention setting and then kind of checking back in with that intention throughout the day. I know. Lizzie, I've heard you talk about meditation. That's something I've really only plugged into in, like, the last six months. And it's been huge for me. It's crazy how useful it is. I think we have this idea and I'm not an expert in this, but I'll just share my own little quip about it. It's like, I think I had the idea that meditation was like you trying to clear your mind of, like, into nothingness, but I have found that that's not true. And working with some professionals in this space, they kind of say it's like a way to find clarity. And so if I am feeling sort of like pessimistic or stuck about the business or am I wasting time with this or xyz, I'll kind of, you know, I'll put on some meditation music or even a guided meditation, and I'll like, I'll literally, like, ask my own brain if you will, like, please help me find some clarity about what I'm doing with XYZ thing. And it really has been helpful. It's been really, really helpful. And I think it is helping me with my own identity and identity with the business.
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah. Do you. I was gonna ask that. Do you. Do you. Do you find that it Makes any difference in your business?
Emily Moravic
Oh, absolutely. Because otherwise I feel like. I think it can kind of feel like, not silly, like, I don't want to downplay what we're doing, but it can feel discouraging. Like, it's like, I don't. Am I wasting a bunch of time and money doing this? Or I don't know. But I think, I think it really helps me stay consistent and motivated. And again, like, I guess I'm going to come back to the word, like, clarity. It's like, no, of course you're serving. You just spent an hour talking to this man about chronic heart failure. Right. It's like, of course you're helping someone. Of course this is useful. And it kind of just gives me clarity, I guess it helps me stay on the. Stay, stay working towards something.
Lizzie Smiley
What about some of the biggest lessons you've learned? Like, back more to the practical. What's. What have been? What has Etsy taught you?
Emily Moravic
Yeah, so I wrote these down. We already talked about the first one. So ditching, like, limiting beliefs, right. The mindset stuff, you're not going to be able to show up and run your Etsy shop if you don't believe that you can. First of all, the second one, I think we talked a lot about that in this episode already, is just serve, serve, serve. So not only. I think what's more applicable to your beginner listeners is they have to figure out where they could. I think you use the term niching or finding what customers are buying, but then truly listening to and serving what they want and need. So serve, serve, serve. And then the third one I wrote down was I really, like, turned off what other people are doing and tried to focus in on what I should be doing based on point number two, which is how do I really keep serving that same customer and helping people in that niche?
Lizzie Smiley
Awesome.
Emily Moravic
Yeah.
Lizzie Smiley
What about, what about. Do you have tips for beginners? It's really interesting because you're coming at this from. You literally took your career, your passion, your training and turned it into an Etsy shop. But I have to imagine, I mean, everyone still starts as a beginner. Do you have some tips for people who are just getting started or thinking about it or struggling?
Emily Moravic
Yeah, I feel like if you did want to go into something, I'll speak to, like, what I mostly have experience in, which is like, spinning off of your own career. Like, try to really envision, like, like if you had. If somebody was like, you had to tell them your zone of genius at your own profession. Or maybe not profession Maybe you say passion, and I think you've coached this, Lizzie. It's like, really lean into that thing that, like, makes you a bit joyful, but you also know that you can really, like, kind of shine through. And then maybe you draw a little inspiration by peeking at other people's Etsy shops, but then kind of try to close that out. And I don't know if this is good business advice or not, but, like, don't try to recreate what they're doing. Really, really lean into, like, what is that thing that you shine through, like, in your daily life? People are like, wow, that's cool that you can do this and really lean into that. And I know you'll say, but make sure you verify that. Someone would probably buy it. Yeah. But, yeah, I think just, like, really stepping into your own power, like, what you're a genius in, what lets you shine. I think that's pretty important because otherwise you're probably gonna hate it. I imagine you would hate it. Then.
Lizzie Smiley
The burnout, right?
Emily Moravic
Yeah.
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, you know, on the big YouTube channels, even on this podcast, where I just had crazy success. And it took off right away. Right? 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 couple code, when I get excited, I cannot help but tell everybody who wants to listen. It's like either my. My best asset or my toxic trait. 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 beginner 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 idea. No, 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 numbers in the data every day and my mind just keeps expanding on the possibilities. Okay, 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. Save 50. And by all means DM me or shoot me an email when those sales start popping because I want to celebrate with you.
Emily Moravic
You.
Lizzie Smiley
I think we all, you made such an interesting point. We all have a zone of genius. We just don't give ourselves credit for it. So like, and, or we have imposter syndrome and we don't think we're good enough. So like every single person here listening, maybe they have the best behaved kids on the block.
Emily Moravic
Yeah.
Lizzie Smiley
And they think it's completely generic to be providing any kind of content around that. Or maybe they are like obsessed with sourdough. And their sourdough loaves have the most beautiful designs, but they're like, oh, but there's prettier, more aesthetic things on Instagram or TikTok. Why would I even bother? And there's somebody who is like, literally knows every single heirloom seed every ever made, ever package and where to get it. And they're sitting there thinking, okay, but like you could just get a farmer's almanac. Or like everybody knows that you can Google it. No, no, no. If I had that attitude about this podcast, none of us would be here right now. I am still probably one of the smallest players in the game of Etsy coaches, and yet I make a great income And I help thousands and thousands of you. And if I told myself, well, I could name these other 10 people who have five times as big of a business as me and it talked me out of doing it, where would we all be? So I think you made such a great point there, and I. Sometimes we just need it called out a little bit, like, no, like, there's something that you know everything about. Stop.
Emily Moravic
I wonder, I wonder, Lizzie, if they were to like, kind of like reverse audit or like stock themselves, if you will, on like an Instagram account, right? Like Instagram will like, serve you, like, everything you're kind of into. I wonder if that could like, help people really, like, hone in on, like, if they don't feel like they could like, riff off of their profession. Like, kind of what you said, like, the Sourdough girlies, like, they could be like, like, okay, mine is unique. Like, like run with that. Especially because we know, like, Sourdough is trendy or whatever. The thing is. Right. Yes. I think that they could kind of replicate that success, like, and truly be like an expert in their. Whatever that is, you know, and it's.
Lizzie Smiley
Like, it's like, what do people ask you about? Like, what. When you. I don't know, if you go to church, like, you know, what is someone coming up to you be like, hey, I know you know about this thing. What could you tell me how to, you know? Are they asking you for your recipes? Are they asking you about parenting? Are they asking you about putting outfits together? Are they asking you about gardening? What do people ask you about? Sometimes that's the way we almost have to think of, like, oh, yeah, I really do know more than most people about that. That's what I get. And then just don't talk yourself out of. Okay, so you're not in a garden yet with your recipes, but everyone's still people, you know, are asking you about recipes. That's actually how I formed this business. Before I was running this, this multiple six figure Etsy shop and I was going to my business friends being like, I want to start a podcast, but I don't know what to talk about. And I'm like, I have a really amazing spiritual journey and I have a really amazing marriage and I've got all this parenting stuff and I was going to do all of that. And my friends were like, hello, Etsy. And I'm all like, oh, but there's all these other people who already do that and, you know, they had to kind of look at me, like, really? Like, but really, because we package it with our own voice. So I don't know, maybe. Maybe that cracks something for someone. I don't know. What should we end with? Emily? What else? What else? What else do you really want them to hear?
Emily Moravic
I don't know. I forget what your last question on the note sheet was, but I just had this, like, I had this quote written down. I think I probably heard it from one of the Mindset podcasts, but it's make your story the best story you've ever heard. And I just like that because I think it's like, yeah, just like kind of exactly what you just said about, like, don't diminish that little thing in the back of your brain that you know you're good at or that you might. That might be unique and special to you. And I just. I just like that quote because no one else is gonna make it for you, and you really do have to kind of just step into your own identity and power and create the thing that. Yeah. That you really can, like, shine through with. So.
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah. And if you love it, what's the worst that's gonna happen?
Emily Moravic
Right?
Lizzie Smiley
No one buys it. Okay. You just created stuff you love.
Emily Moravic
Yeah. Right?
Lizzie Smiley
Give it. Give it. We'll give it away for Mother's Day or for, you know, Christmas or whatever. What's the worst that's gonna happen? Oh, my gosh. I love your story. I love your shop. I love how you are just, I don't know, kind of like breaking all the norms. I love how you're so true to, like, this. Like, you are. You are a unicorn. You have a very unique skill set, and you figured out a whole new way to monetize it, and you're amazing.
Emily Moravic
Thanks, Lizzy. Thank you.
Lizzie Smiley
Okay, how. How can people find you and connect?
Emily Moravic
Okay, so I'm going to share my Instagram handle, which is just together. Yeah, I think that would be the best way if they want any of these wellness or fitness guides. You can find me on Insta. On. On the Etsy platform without my shop name. It'll be pretty obvious, I think.
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah, but Instagram sounds like a great place also to just, like, say hello, dm. You show her. Give her some love, guys. Give her a follow. Tell her how much you enjoy the episode.
Emily Moravic
Yeah, Instagram would be great. I. Like I said this morning, someone's in there asking me about their SI joint, and I don't have it. I didn't have an answer for him right away, so I said, you know what? I want to do some research, and my sort of academic background, and I'm going to put something together for him. And that's a really fun place to connect with people.
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah, I love it. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for being willing to share and thank you so much for our ongoing friendship. It's been so actually Instagram, right? You and I, that's how we've initially connected.
Emily Moravic
I think so. Because you were in Wisconsin. I was like, I live in Colorado now, but I spend a lot of time in Northern Wisconsin, too.
Lizzie Smiley
It's such a small world. Such a small world. Okay, guys, show her some love. Thank you so much for hanging out with us this week. And until next week, go make something awesome. Take care, guys. And that's a wrap on this episode of how to Sell youl 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.
Podcast Summary: Ep 181 | How an Exercise Physiology Expert Turned Digital Guides into $3k+ in Monthly Etsy Income --with Emily Moravic
In Episode 181 of "How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy," host Lizzie Smiley welcomes Emily Moravic, an exercise physiology expert who has successfully transformed her expertise into a thriving Etsy business, generating over $3,000 monthly through digital guides. This in-depth conversation explores Emily's journey, strategies, and insights into building a niche Etsy shop that blends professional knowledge with creative illustration.
Lizzie Smiley introduces Emily Moravic as a recreation and exercise instructor with a Master’s in Exercise Physiology and a passion for scientific illustration. Emily’s Etsy shop, "Print at Home, Movement and Happiness," combines her professional background with her artistic skills to offer inclusive and accessible exercise programs. Her work has resonated with thousands of customers and wellness professionals, positioning her as a trusted resource in the health and fitness niche.
Notable Quote:
“I didn’t know it, but I kind of feel like one [a unicorn].”
— Emily Moravic [03:50]
Emily shares her initial surprise with Etsy’s offsite ads, particularly Google Ads. When she launched her shop two years ago, her products had minimal presence on the internet. However, Etsy's partnership with Google propelled her products by advertising them where there was already significant demand.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
“A ton of my first like six months of sales was offsite ads, offsite ads.”
— Emily Moravic [04:14]
Emily's Etsy shop focuses on the health, wellness, and fitness niche, specifically targeting older adults with inclusive exercise programs. Her products are primarily digital PDFs that offer visual, illustrated guides, merging her expertise in exercise physiology with her talent for illustration.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
“This is my shop the cornerstone of my shop... making it pretty to me.”
— Emily Moravic [31:50]
Emily emphasizes the importance of Pinterest in driving traffic to her Etsy shop. She dedicates Sundays to creating 10-20 pins using Canva and schedules them to post consistently. This strategy accounts for approximately 30% of her shop’s traffic, with Etsy’s SEO contributing the remaining 70%.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
“Pinterest is wild. It’s just a really cool snowball thing.”
— Emily Moravic [10:15]
Emily discusses the challenges of relying on seasonal trends, such as water aerobics, which can cause fluctuations in sales. To maintain a stable income, she is focusing on creating more evergreen products that remain relevant throughout the year.
Key Points:
Advice from Lizzie: Lizzie suggests creating content tied to different times of the year, such as "back to school fit" or "holiday weight management," to sustain interest beyond peak seasons.
Aesthetics play a critical role in Emily’s Etsy shop. She consciously designs her products to be visually appealing, differentiating her offerings from competitors who may have more generic or less aesthetically pleasing designs.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
“How do you decide what aesthetic to use... It was just how I express.”
— Emily Moravic [32:56]
Emily highlights the significant role mindset plays in her entrepreneurial journey. She practices intention setting daily to maintain clarity and motivation, helping her navigate challenges and stay aligned with her business goals.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
“It really helps me stay consistent and motivated.”
— Emily Moravic [39:19]
Lizzie stresses the importance of legal protections for Etsy sellers, especially those offering health-related products. She recommends establishing an LLC to separate personal assets from business liabilities and using clear disclaimers to protect against potential legal issues.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
“Every Etsy seller should have an LLC because it separates your personal assets.”
— Lizzie Smiley [26:30]
Emily advises new Etsy sellers to focus on their unique strengths and passions, ensuring their products reflect what makes them stand out. She emphasizes the importance of serving customer needs and creating products that bring joy and value.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
“Really stepping into your own power, like, what you're a genius in... that's pretty important.”
— Emily Moravic [42:26]
Emily shares her Instagram handle, @together, where she connects with her audience, responds to queries, and gathers insights to develop new products tailored to her customers' needs.
Final Notable Quote:
“Make your story the best story you’ve ever heard.”
— Emily Moravic [48:16]
This episode offers invaluable insights for Etsy sellers looking to blend professional expertise with creative product offerings. Emily Moravic’s journey underscores the importance of niche targeting, effective marketing strategies, and a resilient mindset in building a successful Etsy business.