Podcast Summary
Episode Overview
Podcast: How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy
Host: Lizzie Smiley
Episode: 211 — Secrets to Fast Success Selling AI Digital Products with Becca Miller
Date: December 11, 2025
In this episode, Lizzie welcomes Becca Miller for an in-depth discussion about scaling an Etsy shop quickly using AI-powered digital products. Becca shares her remarkable journey from starting her digital invitation shop in March 2025 to achieving 1,600 sales and $1,500 monthly revenue in under a year—all while juggling a family, a demanding day job, and life’s daily chaos. This episode is packed with actionable tips on tools, trends, workflow, prompt writing, and mindset shifts, aimed at Etsy sellers at all stages.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Becca’s Growth Story and Mindset
- Starting Out
- Becca opened her digital invitation Etsy shop on March 8, 2025.
- By July (Ep. 189), she’d just hit her 40th sale. As of this episode, she has surpassed 1,600 sales.
- In November alone, she hit $1,500 revenue: “My goal was to make, like, $500 a month on Etsy, and I made that in October... Last month, I made $1,500 in revenue.” (08:02)
- Passive Digital Income Mechanics
- Sells editable Canva invitation templates; buyers edit and print themselves.
- Explains the true passive nature: "I spend 20 minutes on this invitation and I don't look at it, touch it, unless a customer has a question." (09:30)
- Her best-selling invitation sold 500 times and made $1,500 in two months (09:56).
The Role of Trends & Data-Based Decisions
- Trendspotting Membership & Tools
- Lizzie emphasizes making data-based decisions—using tools like Profit Tree and Etsy Radar to vet product ideas.
- Becca credits Lizzie’s trend reports and weekly opportunities as foundational for choosing new products and niches.
- Combining Trends
- Example: Spotting the “coquette” and “watercolor” trends, combining them for breakthrough products: “It was trend combining. It was the coquette trend... and that watercolor... sketch image that Etsy is loving.” (13:56)
AI Tools & Prompt Strategies
Favorite Tools
- Ideogram
- Ideal for newcomers; user-friendly prompts.
- Great for text-based designs and invitations.
- Gallery feature helps reverse engineer trending prompts: “I would click on [an image] and see what prompt they used.” (15:13)
- Midjourney
- Better for realism, animated images, and complex scenes.
- Recently added a style reference feature—lets users refine prompts visually (19:23).
- “Anytime I want anything watercolor... I am going to MidJourney every single time.” (18:30)
Writing Prompts—Their Process
- Lizzie’s Approach
- Finds prompts in Midjourney galleries, tweaks them in ChatGPT (“I call her Gigi”) for specific adjustments.
- Becca’s Streamlined System
- Starts with a prompt in ChatGPT for the exact image needed.
- If the result isn’t right, Becca uploads the image back to ChatGPT for feedback and an improved prompt.
- “I take a screenshot... upload it as an image [in ChatGPT] and say, make this image better by blah blah blah….” (23:12)
- Why Simplicity Wins
- Beginners should focus on doing, not overanalyzing: “Your first designs are gonna suck... the only way to fix that is to keep designing.” (11:38)
- Over time, prompt writing becomes intuitive.
Workflow & Time-Saving Hacks
Templates & Organization
-
Dummy Listings in Etsy
- Keeps a filled-out draft (“dummy listing”) in her Etsy dashboard. Copies and edits for each new product.
- Saves 10–15 minutes per product: “I have a shell... now I don’t have to keep on going back and forth and changing that every single time.” (26:57)
-
Template Canva Files
- Uses master files for mockups—drags PNGs in, cuts listing photo creation from 35 to 5 minutes (28:21).
File & Photo Organization
- Sets up folders for mockups, product types, and collaborations in Canva and desktop folders.
- Uses Google Drive for delivering large bundles to customers via PDF links.
- Deletes non-essential originals to save space (“I don’t keep all the originals…once I upscale it, I get rid of the non-DPI one.” (34:19)).
Listing in Bulk
- Uses trend reports to batch-create listings in the same niche with minor tweaks, leveraging SEO and templates for scale (29:16).
Upscaling PNGs for Etsy
- Game-changing Canva trick:
- Create artboards at 1600x1600 px, then export at the maximum 5,000x5,000 px to ensure 300 DPI (37:03).
- “It’s a game changer... we no longer have to go out to another tool like we used to use Clydeo.” (39:02)
Community & Mindset Insights
Design Quality and the Journey to Expertise
- Persistent creation is essential: “The design quality...the only way to fix that is to keep designing.” (12:01)
- Building “brain cash”—deep familiarity with trends and placement, fonts, colors, and aesthetics is key: “You have built your brain cash...paying so much attention to what those details need to be.” (43:56)
Using ChatGPT to Refine & Critique Designs
- Game-changing workflow:
- Upload the design to ChatGPT and ask what’s wrong or how to improve font pairings, colors, or style: “I’ll take a screenshot...and say what fonts could go better with this design? And it gives you a whole list...” (45:04)
- Use ChatGPT for color palettes, trendiness, and even for design variations.
Integrity & Intellectual Property
- Strong warning against copying others’ work (even via AI): “You have to be very, very careful because ChatGPT...will literally copy that exact thing...it’s an integrity issue.” (50:55)
- Use references for style inspiration, but transform and personalize your creations.
The Power of Community
- Becca and Lizzie rave about the supportive, collaborative “school group” and sharing “cheat codes.”
- “We all are getting so much better because we’re together.” (54:20)
- Becca celebrates that she now helps others achieve their own breakthroughs.
Making Bold Life Changes
- Becca started Etsy for coffee money; now contemplating quitting her full-time job: “I’m okay to quit my job. I love doing Etsy...” (55:52)
- Perspective shift comes from both life’s challenges (NICU mom) and new community connections: “Having Addie shifted my life, meeting you shifted my life...” (57:36)
Future-Proofing & The Role of AI
Staying Versatile as the Market Evolves
- AI will continue disrupting the market—skills built now in digital will transfer to future opportunities.
- “What’s so important for us is to understand how these tools work and what they’re capable of...so that we are not left behind.” (59:22)
- Anticipate a shift back toward experiences, handmade, and craftsmanship as AI normalizes digital products.
Call to Action for Listeners
- Start on Etsy for the skillset, not just the profits.
- “At the very least, do it so you’ve got some skills under your belt in case one day you need them.” (61:53)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “There is room at this table for everyone, and it is not saturated.” —Becca (06:56)
- “I spent 20 minutes on this invitation and I don’t look at it, touch it, unless a customer has a question about it.” —Becca (09:30)
- “Your first designs are gonna suck. Like, just, just. It’s okay. Minded. They were awful.” —Becca (11:38)
- “If you want to talk toddleries to AI, Ideogram is your go to.” —Becca (15:13)
- "A dummy listing on Etsy...saves you 10, 15 good minutes creating a new listing every time." —Becca (26:23)
- “Something’s not right. Upload it to ChatGPT and ask it what’s not right.” —Lizzie (46:33)
- “The hardest thing about this...is knowing you can’t use 16 Joanne colors in one design.” —Becca (45:43)
- “If my friends are asking for [invitations]...I can make $2 giving it to someone else.” —Becca (40:22)
- “If I can even make $5 so I can get a coffee, it’s fine. I just needed something.” —Becca (56:28)
- “The more I do it, it's like, dang, I'm really good at this… This is really good.” —Becca (56:52)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 06:56 — Becca shares sales numbers, passive income explanation
- 13:56 — Trend-combining: finding niche breakthroughs
- 15:13 — AI tools: Ideogram for beginners, using gallery for prompts
- 19:23 — Midjourney’s new style reference, refining prompt strategies
- 23:12 — Becca’s screenshot → ChatGPT iterative design method
- 26:18 — Dummy listing template time saver explained
- 29:16 — Batch listing strategy using trend reports
- 37:03 — Exporting 300 DPI PNGs in Canva—step-by-step
- 45:04 — Using ChatGPT to critique and improve designs
- 50:55 — Integrity and AI: why copying is dangerous
- 55:52 — Becca’s life and career transformation
- 59:22 — Staying future-proof through evolving skills
- 61:53 — Why everyone should learn these business skills
Final Thoughts
This episode exemplifies the power of leveraging AI tools, data-driven trends, and persistent learning to achieve rapid, sustainable success in Etsy’s digital product arena. Through Becca's transparent playbook, time-saving hacks, and community-building mindset, listeners walk away with both the strategy and inspiration to take action—no matter where they are in their journey.
Recommended Next Steps:
- Explore the Trendspotting Membership and community
- Use the AI prompt strategies demonstrated
- Try the workflow and template hacks discussed
- Embrace a learning mindset and community support
Links Referenced in the Show:
- Trendspotting Membership
- Profit Tree & Etsy Radar
- Canva 300 DPI YouTube Tutorial
- School Group/Coaching Community
(All links and resources are available in the show notes.)