Do you want to make $20,000 a month selling digital products on Etsy? Digital products offer truly passive income, and I have the secret formula to help you hit five-figure sales every month.
But first, let’s answer one important question: why should you sell digital products online?
What are the Benefits of Selling Digital Products Online?
There are so many advantages to selling digital products online, but here are the top reasons I always recommend them over physical products:
- Overhead stays low. You don’t have to worry about sourcing materials or finding a place to create your products.
- Passive income. A digital product only has to be created once. Whenever a customer makes a purchase, they simply download your file (or files), and they can start using it right away. Digital products are virtually hands-off.
- No shipping hassles. Because your products are downloaded, there’s no need to worry about the hassle of shipping products.
Another great reason to sell digital products online is that you can help solve problems for people. Whether it’s printable planners, journal templates or even courses, you’ll find that your products actually solve problems. And that can be rewarding.
What are the Benefits of Selling on Etsy?
You know the benefits of selling digital products, but why should you be selling digital products on Etsy? Why not just open your own shop and reap all the profits?
You can certainly do that, and many people do.
But there are benefits to starting an Etsy shop.
- Etsy has over 96 million active buyers
- The platform already has an established audience
- Opening a shop takes just a few minutes; building a site takes hours of work
- You get access to analytics that help you measure the performance of your shop
These are my top reasons to sell on Etsy, but let’s not overlook the fact that they make it so easy to sell digital products. Just upload your files, create a compelling listing and start selling.
But I know you’re wondering one important thing: are people actually making money selling digital products?
The answer is: yes!
These 3 Shops Make $20K Per Month on Etsy
There are many shops on Etsy that are making thousands of dollars per month. These are among the most elite sellers making $20K+ per month on Etsy.
1. MyPorchPrints
MyPorchPrints is a top seller on Etsy and has amassed over 800,000 sales since opening its doors. In the last 30 days, they’ve received over 16,000 orders.
Prices vary greatly. Some items are available for just over $1, while others are $6+. Still, no matter how you cut it, this shop is making a killing and likely more than $20,000 per month.
2. DesignPixieStore
DesignPixieStore has over 600 active listings and over 800 sales in the last 30 days. Since its launch, this store has more than 60,000 sales.
This shop specializes in printable products for businesses, so their products are in high demand. For example, they offer logo templates, banner templates and more.
3. DopanPrints
DopanPrints offers clipart in PNG format. In the last 30 days alone, this shop has received more than 10,000 sales and over 60,000 sales in total.
The Best Digital Products to Sell on Etsy
It’s no secret that some items sell better on Etsy than others. Selling digital products on Etsy means selecting the best digital products and creating them.
What are the best digital products to sell?
I’m going to list quite a few ideas for products below that will help you brainstorm more and find the right products to start selling on your shop.
Canva Templates
Business owners, influencers and even teachers can use Canva templates to make their work and lives easier.
The great thing about Canva templates is that they’re easy to make and even easier to sell on Etsy. You can create templates for just about anything.
Do your keyword research and choose a niche that’s low competition with medium to high searches. This will allow you to focus on products people need while easily ranking for search terms.
Not sure how to create Canva templates? View the tutorial below.
SVG Cut Files
Crafty folks love Cricut, and they are always looking for more SVG files to add to their arsenal of designs.
Why not offer them? If you have an eye and passion for design, then creating this digital product may be perfect for you.
Some of the top sellers make thousands of dollars per month selling SVG files and all without having to upload new products regularly. You can even sell bundles of designs for more money than individual designs.
WordPress Themes
Are you a talented web designer who’s a WordPress pro? You can sell WordPress themes on Etsy and make a great profit in the process.
Because let’s face it, it’s tedious to create custom WordPress themes on your own. Business owners and other site owners will be more than happy to pay for your themes.
Online Courses
What’s your area of expertise? Is it something you can transform into an online course? You can sell that course on Etsy as a digital product and make tons of money in the process.
You can create courses on just about anything, including:
- Web design
- Photography
- Marketing and SEO
- Branding
To succeed, make sure that you choose a topic and niche that you are passionate about and have true expertise in.
Instagram Stickers & Highlight Covers
Instagram has 2+ billion users per month, so there’s exceptional opportunity to make sales. You can make sticker and highlight cover bundles, and they’ll sell for years to come.
Printables
Printables are some of my personal favorite products to sell because you make them once, upload the design and the buyer takes care of the rest. You can make neat products, such as printable wedding invitations or baby announcements.
How to Promote Your Etsy Shop and Sell Digital Products
Selling digital products on Etsy is as easy as uploading items to your shop, but you’re up against lot of sellers and dedicated business owners. You need to promote your shop to get more sales and reviews, which helps further promote your shop.
Buyers are more inclined to purchase items from stores with sales and reviews.
If you want to begin promoting your shop, here’s what I recommend that you do:
Focus on Etsy SEO
Search engine optimization isn’t just for Google – it’s for Etsy, too. Buyers will use Etsy’s search feature to find your products, and with the proper techniques, you’ll rank higher in the search results.
And Etsy recommends the following:
- Identify what makes your product great and what your shop does differently than others. While this isn’t SEO directly, it will help you when you create titles and descriptions that are SEO-friendly.
- If you were searching for your shop and the items that you sell, what queries would you plug into Etsy? You’ll need to use these words and phrases in your title and description, but you’ll also add many of these keywords as tags for your items.
Once you’ve reached this point, you can begin optimizing your:
- Shop title
- Shop description
- Images
- Policies
Each item also requires some form of SEO in the title, description, images and videos.
If you want to learn more about SEO for Etsy, I’ve left a video for you below to follow along with:
Run Ads
Etsy offers advertising on the site, and if you have a budget for it, you’ll skip the SEO part or promotion and will have your shop items put right in front of your target demographic. Etsy will charge you on a cost-per-click basis and you can set:
- Total budget
- Keywords
- More
Your budget will be used to determine how much you’ll pay for each click, and the ad platform works on a bidding basis. If you pay more, your ad will show up higher.
If you want to entice buyers to purchase your products, you can also offer coupons or run sales like many of the top store owners do.
Promote on Pinterest
If you want to get free traffic to your Etsy shop, Pinterest is one of the best avenues available. Make sure to read my Pinterest guide to drive free organic traffic. You’ll need to start by setting up your own Pinterest, which is fast and easy to do. I recommend adding a link to your store in the “Website” section and filling out the bio thoroughly to let people know what to expect from your site.
Next, create Pinterest boards around your shop theme and create both product and collection pins.
Start a YouTube Channel
YouTube can be an immense driver of sales, but it’s also not for everyone. Should you start a YouTube channel? Yes, if it’s something you’re comfortable with. Videos will revolve around your shop and the items that you sell.
You can make full-length and Short videos but remain consistent because it takes time to find success on YouTube.
Related: How to use YouTube to sell your Etsy products
Be Active on Instagram
While you’re on YouTube, you should also be on Instagram. Add pictures of your products and grow a following in the process.
Final Thoughts
Etsy’s low fees, ease of use and traffic of hundreds of millions of potential buyers every month make it the ideal choice for anyone who wants to start selling items online. You might have seen cute crafts on the site or amazing homemade creations, but there are alternatives for craft sellers that almost puts selling on autopilot.
If you want the secret formula to make $20k a month on Etsy, follow the recommendations above and remain consistent.
