← How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy
How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy
Ep 203 | Scale Your Digital Product Etsy Shop Into Multiple Income Streams – with Bailey Vann
00:48:30
This week, Bailey is sharing her journey of building her Etsy shop to an astonishing $45,000 a month, primarily through digital products. She reveals her strategies for creating multiple streams of income, including the importance of product research,...
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- [00:01]
A
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.
- [00:59]
B
Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast. I am so excited for another conversation with Bailey because she is the best in the business at taking an Etsy shop and scaling it up into a money making machine. The way that she has structured this and and put it together to build up to $45,000 a month in her Etsy shop completely blows my mind. And it was an approach that I never even thought to take and hers is mostly passive because she was selling digital products. So. So I'm going to tell you more about her and we're going to really get into the nitty gritty today of how she built multiple streams of income from her Etsy shop. But if you are new to Etsy or if you are thinking about getting started soon, I want to make sure that you have this tip in your back pocket. When I started my Etsy shop, I didn't realize how much I needed to really do product research before I got started. I just had a great idea. I knew it was kind of a trend because I was building, I was making signs kind of like Joanna Gaines farmhouse style. So I knew it was a trend, but there was so much I didn't know about how to position them on Etsy and I really should have done more product research. So if there's any really big tip I can give you as a new seller or someone who's thinking about it or trying and not having the success yet, make sure you're doing a lot of product research and I know that we all are telling you the coaches out there are telling you about a lot of different tools all of the time and it can get very pricey to have different memberships and subscriptions going on. And so lately I've been talking a lot about a tool called Profit Tree because they have a one time fee, so you pay $67 and you get access to all of their tools, including a product research that right now is my very favorite to use. So if you are needing to look into the product research and you want to be able to see how much money your competitors are making, what listings are performing well, what listings are new and performing well, you have to have a tool like this. And I don't know how much longer they're going to have this like lifetime offer. Like I know down the road it's going to be a subscription service. So if you want to get in, you might want to look into this now profit Trees tool. Etsy Radar is, it's very, very easy to use. It integrates into your Chrome extension and connects to your Etsy shop so that when you're scrolling doing your research on Etsy, you can literally look right below a listing and see how it's performing real time. Like all of your competitors, I have a YouTube tutorial that'll show you exactly how I'm using it. Kind of like show you click by click because I know your time is so valuable and trying to go in and learn a new tool can be daunting. So I'm going to solve that for you with a really short video showing you how to use it. Look down below in the show notes for a link to that YouTube tutorial and also to where you can get that limited time offer for the lifetime access. So no monthly fee, $67. You get access to their profit tracking, their Etsy ads training, which you definitely want and you also get access to their product, their product research information, which is what is really, really helpful, I will tell you. Side note, I, when I first figure, finally figured out how to sell my signs on Etsy, I scaled my shop to about $6,000 a month gross and selling the signs. And I then needed to start learning about Etsy ads if I wanted to grow. And when I turned Etsy ads on, it scaled from 6,000amonth to 12 or $13,000 a month by adding the in. It was very, it was very reasonable. But you need to know how to effectively run ads and that's why you want Profit Tree because it's going to help you understand your numbers and your data enough so that you don't overspend on ads and go into the hole. So check that tool out. It's like all the rage right now. I'm having so much fun with it. And I want to make sure you new folks before you go sign up for a bunch of subscriptions. You can start with just this one. It'll help you. The other thing I wanted to ask you guys about is I'm kind of reading the room a little bit to find out if you'd be interested in a template membership. So right now I have a trendspotting membership. That's where I'm teaching you every single month. But a lot of you guys are in the digital product space and you're selling like just AI created digital products. You're, you're selling templates, you're selling PDF files and things like that. And so when I'm looking at ways I can help you, I was thinking about putting together a membership where every week you get a new template where you can turn that into a product to sell on Etsy. So whether it's a tracker or it's a planner or it's a checklist or something, it'll be something that's trending on Etsy that you can take my base canvas a file, I'll give it to you as a template. You can go in and change it for your niche or change it aesthetically, but the basic work is done for you where the template's there and you could just change out some things and list and sell it. It'll save you a ton of time. So let me know if you're interested. I'm starting to put together some, some templates that will go into the first several weeks of this if we get, if we get the interest for it. If not, I'll bundle it and figure out another way to provide it to you guys. But if you're interested in that, it'll be a, it'll be a low cost. You'll get four templates a month that you can use for commercial purposes however you want. Totally. Like, you can resell them. I will have a link below. Let me know if you're interested in that. And anyone who's on that list will get a special, like a special bonus when, like if and when I launch it. So I'm just want to gauge your interest first. That's where we're starting. Let me know if you're interested below. I'm very wordy, word salady today, so forgive me, I don't know what the deal is. Let's talk about Bailey because she is the queen. Bailey is a top 0.1% Etsy seller and coach who now helps others create digital product businesses, resulting in scalable passive income. She was able to make $15,000 per month with one digital product shop on Etsy within three months and has now tripled that monthly revenue, resulting in over $1.3 million earned on the platform and implemented strategies to automate a majority of the business and now runs several digital product shops. Seeing the success of her main digital product shop, Bailey went on to also build her own brand off of Etsy and created a digital product membership site for her customers that now has over 800 members. In 2024, she launched her creative digital product business community where she helps others learn how to sell designs on Etsy Insights. I'm in that group. It's amazing. She also has her YouTube channel where she provides free educational content to her audience. She's a mother of four small children, so she believes in working smarter, not harder, in order to maximize her work time as efficiently as possible, and now teaches others to do the same with the strategy she's been able to systematize. Okay, so we are gonna dig into it with Bailey. I want to hear what she thinks, like, is going on with Etsy, if there have been any changes, how she's advising new sellers, anything differently. And then also I want her to give us the nitty gritty and how she built her Etsy shop into multiple streams of income. Because for a lot of us, that's where we need to move towards. We start on Etsy, we get established, we figure out how to leverage the algorithm, make money on the platform, and then we do things to build it out beyond Etsy, both to scale our income, but also to protect our asset. So let's dive into it. It's going to be a great conversation. Please help me welcome Bailey to the podcast. Yay, Bailey. Welcome back to the podcast.
- [07:27]
C
Hi. Thanks for having me.
- [07:28]
B
Well, I'm so excited to find out what I'm going to learn from you today, you boss.
- [07:34]
C
We'll. We'll see what we can come up with.
- [07:37]
B
Well, I'm excited just for. I'm excited everyone gets to listen in, but for, for you and me to just get to chat and talk about Etsy. These are, These are some of my favorite conversations. Okay, so I have to know, and I have a guess, but I have to know what you're thinking because we're seeing Etsy rolling out changes. We're seeing people talking about how everything is pivoting and we all need to. Okay, so I would love your opinion. Are you noticing anything changing about the Etsy Marketplace?
- [08:01]
C
There definitely has been a shift in the past couple months due to lots of changes both with the algorithm and different policies that Etsy has put into place. And what the main thing and the main takeaway is is that we have to understand now that the algorithm is really prioritizing the buyer and we need to be thinking about that when we are putting up our designs. Not necessarily like focusing so much on our SEO and getting really in the detail with that, but really just thinking about at the end of the day when the customer types in that search, what is it that they're, you know, actually going to be looking for that's going to help your SEO? Because you need to be thinking like a buyer and not like a seller trying to keyword stuff all of those in. And if you think like that, you're more than likely going to come up with better keywords to put in your title and your tags, but then also be able to look at it on the other side, on the research side. And when you put, put in those types of searches, just see what is actively selling because that's what's most popular. Etsy gives us the answers so we can really see what is selling and that makes it so much easier when we're then going to go ahead and create our versions of those products.
- [09:19]
B
Do you, do you have a favorite keyword research tool that you're using for some of this or product research right now?
- [09:25]
C
I am really loving Profit Tree. Yes. I don't know if have you had a chance to use it?
- [09:31]
B
Oh, I am like knee deep in the weeds. I'm having so much fun with like the new Etsy radar tool.
- [09:37]
C
Yes. Yeah. So I've been using that non stop. I find it super, super easy to use. You can do your research if you have a keyword in mind in literally under seven minutes. You should be spending no more time than that with it just because it makes it super easy to see the little color codes. And you can just take your, your research and then start creating because that's where a lot of people get stuck is they're just too busy, you know, going off on this rabbit trail. But just look for the numbers is what I tell my people. Three numbers is all you're really looking at, which is just, you know, how old is the listing and is it really actively selling? So you keep that in mind. Your keyword research.
- [10:15]
B
I love how it's like more current data than ever being. Because ever be. I love ever be, but it's like a month behind.
- [10:22]
C
Yes. Yeah. So they're pulling like exactly, you know, day before, I think is what it is. I'm not sure on how all of that tech works, but it's really, really accurate. And that's one of the biggest things we want to be doing is, you know, jumping on things that are current now, not that were current two months ago.
- [10:41]
B
Exactly. I think especially as people are planning for the holidays, I'm seeing students maybe design too late for things now. I will say, like in fairness, if you pick the right trend, I had some things I designed too late last year. So like this is the coach slapping the coach's hand that are selling this year. Didn't sell last year because I was too late to it. But a year later, here they are. I would have usually deactivated those listing as I just got too busy. So I think that being able to see the real time data is super helpful, especially as you're. As you're designing for holidays and not evergreen.
- [11:10]
C
Exactly. Yeah, 100%. And I always tell my members that take a look at something that is really popular for Halloween, like even if you see it two months before Halloween, because if it's already popular, you know, in August or something, just jump ahead, take that design style, esthetic and apply it towards Christmas. Because likely, if it's already a bestseller and popular, just move ahead and you'll hopefully catch that same type of trend on a different holiday.
- [11:41]
B
Okay, so I have a lot of beginners listening, Bailey. And so some of them are going to think, okay, I should make a Christmas design with bats on it. Is that what you mean or.
- [11:50]
C
No, actually there is some crossover, not necessarily with bats, but for an example, the ghost. I actually have a post about this in my group that says ghosts are becoming more of an evergreen design style because they were popping up all over on Easter. They were fourth of July ghosts. There are Christmas ghosts. There are now teacher occupation, nurses. So they are definitely not, you know, stuck with Halloween. And that's like an idea of a. Of a subject or a type of a character, I guess that has just branched out kind of like what the Highland cow did. It started out as, you know, cute Highland cow, and then the cute Highland cow became every season and holiday imaginable. Every type of occupation, anything you could coquette, Highland cows, boho, you know, you name it. So they definitely can move outside of their little boxes.
- [12:47]
B
I feel like last year it was the skeletons that Just became like an evergreen. You could use a skeleton for anything. The ghost doesn't surprise me because I feel like the ghosts really broke out of their Halloween shell with, like, the academia niche. Do you see those really, really cute paintings that somebody came up with and it was like ghosts reading in an arm. I mean, I literally want a picture for my wall. Do you know what I'm talking about?
- [13:07]
C
Yeah, yeah. With the wildflowers and they look really natural and very aesthetic and very like almost cottage core type, you know? But yeah, you're right in the, like, academia type of thing. So that probably is where that started because then you could put that up and it doesn't have to be for Halloween.
- [13:26]
B
I personally, it's kind of funny because I don't even do Halloween, but I love a ghost. I think they're so cute. I can't help myself. I don't mind a skeleton either. It's just charming. But you were saying you meant, like, picking up on if you're seeing something. Okay, so right now it is October, and there are going to be Halloween designs that are trending that are maybe using the postage stamp trend, or they're using the doodles trend, or they're using the watercolor brushstroke trend. And so I think what you were trying to teach, which is, I love that you said that for the newbies, is if you're seeing that work really well for Halloween, don't design for Halloween right now. Design for Christmas and use those trends.
- [14:05]
C
Yes, 100%. So, like, for example, the postage stamp thing that's been happening for the past six months. Yeah. And it did really start out as just like the vintage, like, city stamps is what they were the first time I saw it pop up. And then all of a sudden you started seeing it with different holidays and seasons. Then you started seeing it with different niches. Like, I saw a nurse one and then I did see a teacher one, actually. So they're gonna. It's going to turn into something like that brushstroke trend where you can put anything into that type of design aesthetic or template, if you want to call it that. Really scale that pretty much as. As, you know, as much as it makes sense. I'm trying to think of an example where it wouldn't make sense, but the postage stamp actually makes it really, really easy to just. If you could set up your template and make that interchangeable with your little. Whatever the subject of your little postage stamps would be, then that would be something that you could scale really quickly and get a Ton of designs out. If you're just thinking ahead far enough.
- [15:08]
B
Do you think, like with the newbies, do you have a suggestion? Okay. I get this question all the time. Oh, I've been wanting to ask you this, actually. I want to hear your opinion. I am getting this question every day. Lizzie. I have a digital product shop and I want to test some print on demand products. Should I start a separate shop? And I'm excited, Bailey, because I have heard different coaches answer this differently. I love that there's not a wrong answer, but I want to know what you would suggest and why I would.
- [15:34]
C
Test them on my current shop. And the reason being, especially if you want to test print on demand products, that's such a vastly different ball game than digitals. Any type of digitals, whether you're more on productivity side like doing digital printable planner type of things or you're more on my side, which is graphic designs and sublimation. I, and I get this a lot. I have had so many people who have come back and say, I'm so glad that you just had me do 10 or 15 and just test it because I hate the process. I never want to do it again. And then they actually, they're like, I'm grateful for our digital process and what we do because they found out they just didn't like it. So I actually, I mean, I've tested so many different types of product types on my current shop. A lot of people don't know that I still will randomly test stuff like that right now, but I'll just bury it in the listings and hopefully people don't, you know, go find them. But I've tested print on demand and handmade stuff, but I would recommend testing it first, whatever the type of product is, just because it's going to be a completely different process and you're going to run into things you might not have expected. Instead of going through all of that pre work of opening a new shop, thinking about branding it and positioning of that and what you're going to do because you might not end up liking it. And I'm the first person to tell anybody, don't do anything that you don't like because you most likely will be doing a lot of it. And if you hate it, it's just, it's not going to work out in the end.
- [17:05]
B
I think so often. Okay. And I know this gets abused. I know that the I don't agree with just throw up a hundred junkie listings. I don't agree with that. I do agree with get up 100 really high quality listings because by the time you get there, you're going to know what works and you're going to be able to make some good decisions and. Or you're going to reach out to Bailey or myself to help to find out what's why it's not working. But I think that you have to test a bunch of different things to figure out what yours is going to be. Unless you're coming into it already with some background and just knowing exactly what you're doing. And that is like 2% of people. So I love that you said that. I think that people should test all different things. I think it's just a matter of stay consistent with it. It becomes a problem when you like throw up three listings and then six months later you throw up three more listings for a totally different product and you're just like, none of this works. I'm like, well, I'd like to be seeing you throw that many up a week. Let's actually, let's choose to stay focused on the Etsy shop. I don't care so much about what you want to test this week. Does that make sense, Bailey, or do you want to refine that at all?
- [18:09]
C
A hundred percent? I mean, I, you're even nicer to say three a week. I'm like, if you're not doing five to seven a day. Five to seven a day, you know.
- [18:19]
B
Well, and you need to know that your name comes up daily in my sphere with my coaching, because people will say, okay, how many listings do I need to make? Or how many do I need to get up? And I, I'll say, well, what are your goals? Oh, I want to go full time as fast as possible. I said, well, the way that Bailey did that was 20 listings a day.
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C
Yep.
- [18:37]
B
Digital products.
- [18:38]
C
So funny. Yeah, so funny that you said that. Because my new workshop that comes out tomorrow for the members is called the One Hour Listing Sprint. It is exactly how to create 20 listings, list or edit them, mock them up and list them to Etsy in one hour. 20 different products and it is with one tool. That's the whole thing is I'm not going to be using any type of bulk automation or anything like that because I'm showing the workflow of what I did in 2022, 2023, before there was all kinds of crazy tools that you could be using. Because the biggest thing my people often say is they have too many subscriptions, it's too expensive, they're not making enough money yet, and they can't list consistently. So this will solve hopefully both problems. To show a workflow of this is not, I mean, this should not be taking you six to eight hours a day. This is not the kind of, that kind of business. It should be. You should have a workflow that works for you, that you can get 20 listings up a day and sell with one tool and not, you know, 10 of them.
- [19:45]
B
So will that be a YouTube video or is that something. Because this is going to air a few weeks from now. So are we going to be passed when people can participate or how can they look into that?
- [19:56]
C
No, it's on demand. It is in my community. Yeah. So it will be available in there? It is. It will be available after. Separately for purchase if you're not a member, just like as a workshop purchase. But it's, it's not a YouTube video just because it's very, it's, it's not flashy as far as the steps of, you know, here's how you're going to do this, here's how you're going to do this. Plus, I'm going to kind of demo if your tool of choice is different than the one that I'm showing how you can actually do that in that tool and make, you know, even if your product is different because I'm just demoing it on just regular PNG digital designs. So we'll show, like if let's say you're doing Tumblr wraps or let's say you're doing wind spinners, it will work for basically any digital design product.
- [20:49]
B
Okay, that's awesome. So if people want to join us and we'll talk more about this later. And I'm in your, in your school coaching group where you drop, like constant prompts about how to design things. I get all kinds of tips over there. If I'm having trouble prompting. There are so many resources there. That's where they can find this challenge. And it'll be there when, after you post it. It'll be there. They can go through it and they can see how you do things really quickly.
- [21:11]
C
Yes. Yeah.
- [21:12]
B
Okay. So you know what, one of the things that I, whenever I get a chance to talk to you that I love to talk about is how you have taken Etsy Shop and you build multiple streams of income out of it. So when people talk about, oh, well, you know, what if my Etsy Shop gets shut down or, oh, you're so limited by only doing Etsy, we need to expand beyond that. And I overall agree that unless you're just Staying kind of side hustle. I think it's really wise to build more of a legacy business where you're capturing your own email, you're building an email list, you're ultimately moving people to your website, you're growing more things so that you a can reach beyond Etsy, but you're also kind of safeguarding yourself from any problems. And you do this better than anyone I have ever seen or know or met. The way that you stack it is so brilliant. Would you, I don't know if you want to even just start with your story of how you took that Etsy shop and like built all of these streams of income. It still baffles my mind, Bailey.
- [22:06]
C
Yeah, so I mean, and it really is just basically like that, just stepping stones. So I didn't do all of these at once. A lot of people think, you know, you come into and you start everything at once. That's just like a way to fail real quick. So take one thing at a time and you just build on top of it. So yeah, I started with Etsy, but right away I saw the success that the designs were having and I just knew that with the Etsy marketplace being the way that it is, you don't own your customers and you should always have a backup. So right away from the beginning, I started an email list from those Etsy customers by having them legally opt in. A lot of people are like, well, you can't build an email list with your Etsy. You can, you just have to do it the legal way by having them actually opt in. So I grew that email list to over 20,000 people within a year and would just email them weekly with any new designs that I came out. And that is how I became the top seller in this space on Etsy was because I didn't wait for my products to rank, because I could just send an email and 20,000 people would see it and a certain percentage would just immediately purchase. So that's how I kind of circumvented the Etsy system. But at the same time I would also redirect them if they wanted to get get them for less. They could purchase a membership on my site which was a source of reoccurring and still is income, so that they could not necessarily have to purchase them individually on Etsy. Now a certain percentage of people would, you know, don't want subscriptions so they would always go back to Etsy and that's fine, like there will always be that group of people. But I also built up a really loyal group of people that, that came along with that email list and Facebook group. I did a Facebook group which has over 11,000 people. So I was doing that same weekly post in there, showing them whatever the new designs were and then redirecting them back to Etsy or to my membership site. So that was the first big thing. And then about, about a year into that, I started having all kinds of people reach out asking if I would ever teach how to create Tumblr wraps. And I was just like, I hadn't really thought of it. But at the same time There were several YouTube videos that actually came out about me at the time. And it was all about how this Etsy shop makes, you know, $40,000 a month with just digital designs. Here's how to do it. And I was just like, well, that's not how you do it. And I was kind of taken aback by the way that they were, you know, portraying about how easy it was. Not that that it's necessarily hard, it just requires some strategy to get to that level. And so I was just like, well, if they're going to teach it and I'm being asked, I might as well do it. And that's when I decided to start my YouTube channel, teach people on YouTube and in my online community. So that's how that level of income has been stacked on because I still basically am in the AI design space, but just teaching now how to do it and also how to start your own membership as well.
- [25:17]
A
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 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 to just want 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 weekly trends and opportunities email looks like right from the show notes. See what you're going to get and I will see you on the inside soon.
- [26:32]
B
So help me understand and I have so many questions. If you had just done. I'm just like, I love it all so much and I think this is so helpful for people to see because it casts a vision. If you had just done Etsy, what would like average monthly income have been for you?
- [26:50]
C
Well, at the height, the height of the store was several 45k months in a row and that was now I always preface that was running about $3,000 in ad spend because it was like $100 a day. So in hindsight not that much could have been definitely. But I never needed to go up more just because I was bringing in that much traffic myself. So I mean, had I kept at it, it's just I decided at that point when I decided to go all in on YouTube, it was kind of one or the other just due to time. As you know, I have four children and this, you know, it's supposed to be a lifestyle business for me Anyway, not a 12 hour a day sit here and 12 hour day thing. So it was kind of a choice, you know, which way do I want to go. I've always wanted to be on YouTube. Fun fact, like I try to do a YouTube channel with my daughter and make slime with her when she was very young and she was so into it and I got really into like researching how to do YouTube videos and how to do all of this stuff, you know, and so. And the channel never went anywhere and of course because she wanted just to play with the slime and nothing else, do the filming or anything. So it was kind of, I was just like, it was a new challenge for me at the time. And then it just kind of really snowballed because I had extreme growth on YouTube, like really fast. That's not normal. When I started that in 2023 and so would my Etsy shop still be at that level had I kept at it a hundred percent because I would, would I'm the last person to let anything just, you know, if I don't have something to replace it now, I think I would have had to dive into a Few more current strategies that I teach on Etsy right now just due to the way that Etsy changed with AI coming on and the influx of sellers now able to sell because of AI. So my strategy probably would have leaned a little bit more into things like the bundle strategy or whole shop strategy, which is essentially.
- [28:59]
B
Would you have done that?
- [28:59]
C
What I do? Yeah, I would have because it's the same thing that I do with my membership. I would have just done it on Etsy and capitalized on that search because there is a big search for it. But I would have made it where they have to purchase it every three or six months because of the new designs that were constantly being added. And then you're really looking at more of a high ticket game because you're kind of like at A$150 minimum price price point. And so you don't need, you know, hundreds and hundreds of sales to get to those income levels.
- [29:32]
B
Okay. I was gonna say, I feel like you'd be leaving so much money on the table if they just paid for it once. And then you're. You were so prolific with creating new designs. So that makes sense. They had to renew it. Their full access to the Google Drive or whatever would be limited. It would stop at a certain time. I'd have to buy another one to get the new designs for X amount of time. And you were communicating that via email. Okay. Okay. So yes, if you, if you had just done, if you had just been on Etsy using the, the traffic that's there, maybe some Etsy ads, but you hadn't built your email list, you hadn't done the Facebook group, you hadn't done the membership. Do you think, like, where do you think your income would have been capped at? Because I don't. 45,000 is incredible per month. But I, I don't know the Etsy alone, I. Teach me. If you can do that with Etsy.
- [30:18]
C
Alone, the only the, without an email list and without the Facebook group, it capped at 15k and that was like three months in a row.
- [30:28]
B
Okay.
- [30:28]
C
And so at that price point of a three to four dollar design, that's probably what you're looking at. Even running a hundred dollars a day in ad spend. So that's still 3,000amonth. You got to take that out of your 15k. So really you're looking after fees and everything. You're probably looking at closer to a 9 to 10k a month shop.
- [30:50]
B
Okay. See, I think, I think that's so helpful to know that if you're wanting to Reach more of like a 20, 30, 40 plus thousand dollar a month. Either you need to do something that's higher profit margin or you're going to have to. This space is great. This is my favorite space with you. But you're going to have to do some other things. So do you mind if I ask a few questions about the systems? Oh, go ahead, speak.
- [31:11]
C
Speaking about that real quick. Just because I, I know that there's a lot of people who think oh, it's just in your, your needs niche but I actually did a YouTube video about this about maybe a month or two ago where I actually highlighted several seven figure digital shops that are just like mine and how every single one of them have an email list, they have a Pinterest or they have a Facebook group, they have a significant external Etsy following and they market to them weekly, if not not more than weekly. And so I was just explaining to them that we don't get to these numbers which a lot of them are higher than me without external Etsy traffic. Just because Etsy's traffic is capped at whatever the amount of people are actively searching for, whatever it is we're putting up. So if we don't go out and find those, that's how you get to 45k a month is because I went out and got them, not because 40, you know, know however many people, what 20,000 people were searching for that that month.
- [32:15]
B
I will, I will link that video. I hadn't seen that one yet. I will really enjoy watching that as well. But here's the other thing. You know, people complain and I understand because it's frustrating about copycats and you're going to have copycats no matter what in business. That's literally every business out there. The second you're a business, someone's going to copy you or you're copying someone else or whatever. But the second you start doing your own marketing, you circumvent that a little bit because you can then go beyond what's coming into Etsy. You're sending it yourself. I think that's a way to take your power back. I don't think it's the right choice for everyone right now. I think you need to master Etsy first. You're going to overwhelm yourself. I see that happen way too often. But like I'm super here for the strategy. I was going to ask you for your, for building the email list. Did you, how did you get people to opt in? Did you have a freebie that you gave?
- [33:01]
C
Yeah. So in a digital Product listing, as I'm sure you're aware, you have five file slots. So you just want to make sure one is your PDF that has a link to your landing page where that they would opt in. And honestly, you just want to give them something free that relates to the products that you're already selling. A lot of my members get hung up saying, well, I don't know what freebie to create. Well, they were there for a certain product or niche or whatever. You just want to repeat, you know, something that's already working. You don't want to give them something completely different than, you know, what they were there for in the first place. So in my case I just gave them, if they opted into the email, it was just three more free designs. That was it. They didn't even know what designs they were getting. It just said want three more free designs plus weekly designs, plus notifications of, of discounts or whatever and that was it. So they did not even know what they were getting and the email list obviously grew. So I think a lot of people overcomplicate like it needs to be some perfect opt in and sure, for some businesses it needs to be something, you know, much better than that. But just free designs in my space works because it's just a customer that needs hundreds of designs on average and so they're going to take free designs.
- [34:19]
B
So I think it's interesting to note that you put it in the. It was when someone purchased from you, they received it in their downloads. This wasn't something you were advertising it necessarily. Tell me if it was in your photo gallery, in your listing photos.
- [34:33]
C
No, no, that one. Now that's a different strategy just to get the click in the first place to give them free designs because that's a way to stand out in your. In the feed is to offer something either matching or more designs or whatever it might be. So that's a click through rate increasement or type of, you know, it is a freebie offer. But it's not to get them to join the email list. That's just to get the purchase. Once they've made the purchase, then your goal is just to get them to click that PDF and you want to name it something obviously like get something free or what it might be. Or they won't click on it because then they'll just click on whatever they bought and you want them to open it and then they'll click the link and then it should be linked to your landing page, which is where then you would have them legally opt in. So that you're following all of the rules and then they're on your email list.
- [35:26]
A
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. 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.
- [36:18]
B
Been here for a minute, you already know this.
- [36:19]
A
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.
- [36:47]
B
To start your shop.
- [36:48]
A
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 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.
- [37:50]
B
What about the Facebook group, Bailey? Do you think that strategy still works? Like, if I wanted to go start a new Facebook group today to market my PNG files, would that still be an effective strategy?
- [38:02]
C
I would say it's much more difficult now than when I did it, only because there are thousands of, in my space of the design sublimation Facebook groups. So you are competing with a lot of established groups. And unless your designs are just super unique and, and way different than what's out there, the Facebook group scene is pretty full. And unfortunately there's a lot of like share groups that, that like to share design files from Etsy. And so that makes people want to, you know, just join the free groups and not the paid groups of where it's the creator creating them. So my main recommendation is, and they are kind of a lot to manage. So if you don't have the time to be moderating a Facebook group or paying someone, honestly email converts 10 times better. So I would just focus on growing your email list and then you're not needing to moderate any type of social media or you know, be in there posting as well.
- [39:05]
B
That's so interesting to hear. I was wondering about that. Like, is that still a smart way to go about it? Is there a different one? I am not surprised to hear about the share groups, but that broke my heart a little bit. I had, didn't. I hadn't thought about that before. That they're literally someone's buying them and sharing them or someone's getting an all inclusive and sharing them. Ew.
- [39:24]
C
Yes. Yes. Unfortunately it happens way too much. There's, there's groups dedicated to taking them down and a lot of times the groups get taken down, but then they pop back up and you kind of just have to look the other way or you'll get distracted.
- [39:39]
B
That's a great way to just stop running your business, which is not like just taking, take, take the reins back and market yourself if that's happening. And then the only other thing was about the membership. So they were doing that. They're not paying for that. Although like you said they could do, you could do the whole shop bundle membership through Etsy. But you were running it off of Etsy, where through your website, they're purchasing, they're paying a monthly fee to get what.
- [40:02]
C
They get access to all of my designs. So at this point there's over 12,000 designs that they get access to.
- [40:11]
B
Wow.
- [40:11]
C
And so they can purchase it either as a monthly rate, annual rate, or there is a very expensive lifetime, which I'm surprised a lot of people do buy that. But they just want lifetime access to it. And so then. And then they get, you know, everything I've ever created and then everything that we add moving forward. So it's. It's quite a deal. Especially if they compare to like what they've spent on Etsy for, you know, even 10 files, you know, times three would be $30. My membership is less than that, so. And they would be getting, you know, 12,000. And mine is not organized like a Google Drive folder. It's, you know, has navigation and it has searchability, so you can actually go in there and find what you need.
- [40:55]
B
Wow. Can I ask where you host it? Like what platform works well for that? Or is that.
- [40:59]
C
It's on the Ever. Yeah, it's on the Everbee Store now. So it used to be. Yeah, it used to be on Wix and WIX is. Or any like type of solution like that is going to be very expensive to host that amount of files. So keep that in mind. But whenever be came out and it will sync with your Etsy store so that you could manage your listings that way and copy your store over. That's when I started using them in about, I want to say, April.
- [41:27]
B
So do they get like a coupon code and then they can just buy anything for free kind of thing or how does that. How. I don't understand how the files transfer.
- [41:33]
C
No, they. It's basically everybody has like an app installed where it's a membership app. So they just purchase it and then, then it's gated behind like a paywall. So then they can just go to say 4th of July and then they see all the 4th of July and then they can search and then they just have to click it and it just downloads.
- [41:51]
B
Oh, my goodness. I've been. Everby Store's been on my radar. Like to go ahead and look into that. I kind of want to take one of my Etsy shops, like off of Etsy, not off of Etsy, but add a website to play with. And I've been. Do you think I should try Everbee store. Do you like it a lot?
- [42:06]
C
Yeah. And it's so compared to uploading to Wikipedia WIX it's like 10 times faster. So the upload process is just so fast. It's so easy. It's just like click three things and your product is there and that's if you're uploading something new. If you're going to copy your Etsy store, that will just take a couple of minutes. I believe they support all types like print on demand, handmade and digital. And it doesn't have to be like a membership format the way mine is. It can be they just going to purchase something, you know. Yeah, I think it's a really, really cost effective way for someone to get a website up without having to deal with all of the tech that comes with setting up your own.
- [42:45]
B
So if I sync my shop, all of my listings will digital products will sync over to ever be store including the backend download file.
- [42:54]
C
Now when I moved over in April there was not because there can't be an API connection with that with Etsy to get the file. But what you do is you just, just have your folder of your files and as long as the name matches you upload it and it will match it to your products.
- [43:12]
B
Okay.
- [43:12]
C
So you just have to have organized your files which I was not very well prepared for. So that would be the only thing you need to make sure that makes sense.
- [43:23]
B
I actually, I mean it's more work for us but I'm just like man, if an API could grab our files on the back end, that would be a nightmare for like stolen intellectual property. My gosh.
- [43:33]
C
Yeah, there isn't, there isn't an API. There isn't any software that can do it because Etsy doesn't allow it with the interface. Like, because I was just like, well let's get this bulk uploader tool. This is how we'll download them. But there isn't a connection for it. So.
- [43:46]
B
Super interesting. I could, I could go on for hours. Bailey. What? Talk to me about the, your like favorite resources that you're promoting right now that are helping Etsy sellers. I'm in your, in your, in your school membership group and that's my absolute favorite thing. But I know you've got other things going on on.
- [44:02]
C
Let's see, as far as like keyword research tool number one will be profit tree is what I'm really liking for that other resources I'm trying to really focus on just finding the best all in one AI tool and editor so that people aren't hopping around, you know, trying seven different things. And so my two recommendations, honestly right now would be actually there's three because I never thought that canvas AI would get to the level that it is, but it's getting so much better that I'm just like, okay. And that's. I mean they're in the top three. So Canva can is because they've made so many advancements with their AI is definitely a recommendation. And then KITTL is one of my. Still one of my favorites. And the reason why both KITTL and my designs are basically the same for me is just because you have the option to try. I believe it's like 15 different AI image generators all in one place. So you don't need a subscription to Ideogram. You don't need a subscription to wherever the other ones are normally hosted. I don't know where they're hosted because I just get them in the in KITTL or in my design. So those would be my two main recommendations. If you're looking for an all in one editor that can generate, that can upscale, that you can mock up in.
- [45:27]
B
And as well and then if people want to go deeper with you, where can we learn more?
- [45:32]
C
If you're brand new Starting out, the YouTube channel is a great place to start. I basically have design tutorials on every type of AI, graphic design, type of products that you would want to sell on Etsy, as well as some strategy types of stuff on there as well. And then I do have my one main community and that is where I mean everything that you would possibly need start to finish. If you want to go more of a hybrid route where you sell both print on demand and digital that's in there or just digital only as well as trending daily products and prompts because that is just the biggest thing on Etsy is the trending. I mean they come and go, you know, we see them this week it's something else and the next week it's going to be something different. So it's to going constantly changing and.
- [46:21]
B
Then I feel like you, you do all of the marketing so well where, where can people find you and connect?
- [46:27]
C
I would I say YouTube. YouTube is the best place just because I answer all of the comments on there still. I get a ton of comments on there, but that's the best way to reach out. Unless you're already in the community then you know to tag me in there. That is really where I'm at the majority of the time.
- [46:45]
B
You're keeping it so simple. I love It. Okay, well, I could. I could again, literally talk to you for hours. I could come up with 30 more questions. But I just want to thank you so much for your time. I know you're so busy and this takes you away from your work and your babies and again, lifestyle business. So just thank you for your willingness to come share and talk with me and teach us all of your goodness.
- [47:07]
C
You're so welcome. I love coming on here. You're. You're my favorite podcaster.
- [47:11]
B
Oh, thank you all. Big hugs, Bailey. You guys, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. I feel like I need to open up like a. Like a Q and A survey for the next time Bailey comes on. We've got so many questions. We could ask her, but definitely go check out her YouTube channel. She is like the one YouTuber that I watch most consistently. I'm always learning things. I feel like she's always the first on top of everything. And I like, she's kind of like my authority. I'm like, I know that if Bailey said it, I can, but it's true that. That it'll help. So. So just know what a trusted and respected resource she is coming from me. But thanks for hanging out with us. Until next week. Go make something awesome. Love you guys. Bye.
- [47:48]
A
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.