If you’re thinking about starting an online t-shirt business, you’re probably asking yourself how much can you make on Etsy?
Can you really take SVGs or PNGs – like the ones from my shop – and turn them into t-shirts that actually sell on Etsy?
YES! 😲
But how much can you make selling t-shirts on Etsy?
These Etsy sellers below are making consistent sales – and these figures are just for individual t-shirts. Imagine if you had a shop with 12+ different designs that had similar results?
Top Sellers Who Nailed It and Successfully Make Money Selling T-Shirts on Etsy
Today, I’m going to share two inspiring stories of Etsy shop owners who used a print on demand service and their Etsy shop to build six-figure businesses.
JollyFamDesigns
Entrepreneur Cassiy Johnson started her print-on-demand Etsy shop in 2020 when she was furloughed during the pandemic.
In just over 18 months, she turned her side hustle into a full-time job. By 2023, she had generated $730,000 in sales. 🤯
Just take a look at her shop’s stats from Alura.io:
Passion is what drove Cassiy to success. While she was furloughed, she learned everything she could about dropshipping and print-on-demand services.
In April 2020, she launched her business – and it cost her just $50-$100 to get things rolling.
Her first successful product? A quarantine-themed mug. And she used Printify to print, pack and ship that mug to customers. No inventory. Minimal overhead. More💲💲!
What’s her secret?
Cassiy says that to stand out from competitors, she finds shirts that are already popular with customers and makes her own variations of them. She’ll make similar designs for:
- Couples
- Friends
- “Mommy and me” matching shirts
But Cassiy also says that it’s important to analyze what makes an Etsy listing successful. Everything from the colors to the listing photos, the fonts in the design and the niche will have an impact on your success.
FerrisBuilt
FerrisBuilt is another pandemic Etsy success story. Founder Lindsey Ferris had previously owned a successful event production company that had been in business for over a decade. Then, the pandemic hit.
Within months, she lost her entire business.
After making some tough decisions, Lindsey poured all of her time and energy into building her print on demand business on Etsy.
Since the launch of FerrisBuilt, her Etsy shop has made more than 8,400 sales and generated over $177,000 in revenue. 😲
She also has a Shopify store that has generated another 4,500+ sales.
Lindsey’s designs cover a wide range of topics, from mental health to trends and current events.
Her designs even caught the attention of Meghan Markle, who was seen wearing her merch in Vanity Fair, People Magazine, Elle Magazine, Instyle and more.
Along with selling her t-shirts, Lindsey helps raise funds for non-profits through her Etsy shop. In 2021, her customers raised over $4,800 in donations for mental health organizations.
What’s Her Secret?
Lindsey says it’s important to design t-shirts that you want to wear. If it’s something you want to wear, other people will probably want to wear it, too.
She also recommends:
Getting inspired by what you believe in. If you’re passionate about a cause, then create designs that are inspired by them.
Keeping it neutral and creating designs that everyone will love.
I love her advice because if you’re passionate about what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life.
5 Tips for Starting Your Own Etsy T-Shirt Shop
If these Etsy shop owners can transform their side hustle into a six-figure business, you can, too!
Here are 5 tips to help you get started:
1. Find a Niche That You Love
One of the best tips for starting ANY business – including an Etsy shop – is to find a niche that you love. Why? Because when you love what you’re doing – what you’re creating – you’ll naturally be motivated to keep going.
And when you make that first sale, you’ll be even more inspired and dedicated to making your dream a reality.
2. Choose Your Designs Carefully
Think carefully about your t-shirt designs. Make sure that they’re:
- Professional
- Original or that you have the right to use the design
But what if you’re not a graphic designer? No problem!
You can still make fun t-shirt designs that you can sell on Etsy.
3. Do Your Research
Before you start creating t-shirt designs and putting them up in your shop, do your research. See what’s selling on Etsy. What kinds of t-shirts are getting the most sales? What are buyers most interested in?
Keyword research tools will be your best friend here, and the great news is that lots of these tools have free options. Here are a few of the most popular ones.
These tools also let you see how many sales a product or shop has had and estimates of their revenue.
Research will help you find a niche that’s:
- Something you love
- Profitable
4. Consider Print on Demand
If you have the budget, space and time, then there’s no reason not to consider printing your own t-shirts. I share more details about how to print t-shirts yourself using Cricut below, keep reading!
But if you don’t want to deal with the overhead that comes with running a t-shirt business the old-fashioned way, consider print on demand services like Printify or Printful.
All you have to do is upload your design and create mock-ups (they help with this, too).
This is what’s actually so cool about this method – you don’t have to worry about production and delivery.
They’ll handle the rest – printing, packing, and shipping.
This allows you to focus on creating beautiful designs and online marketing – which actually affects your revenue the most!
But if you want to try and reduce the cost of production and shipping and make your business more unique, you can print on T-shirts yourself. More details below!
5. Never Stop Promoting and Optimizing
Marketing can mean the difference between success and failure with your Etsy shop. Make sure that you’re:
- Active on social media sites like Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and more. I use Pinterest to drive over 200k monthly visitors to my websites – Here is my Pinterest strategy which you can follow to drive tons of traffic to your Etsy shop as well. Pinterest traffic allowed me to earn over $1000 on my Etsy shop in my third month after starting my new Etsy shop!
- Optimizing your shop and listings – update them if needed and optimize them for SEO
- Using paid advertising (if it fits into your budget) to promote your top selling listings
Even when sales are going well, continue promoting your listings and shop to build your brand and keep people interested in your shop.
How to Use Cricut to Print on T-Shirts That You Can Sell on Etsy?
You’re probably thinking… T-shirt printing is hard, right?
NO 👎
Have you ever used your Cricut to make custom t-shirts?
If you’re like me, you’re probably intimidated by the idea.
I mean – isn’t that why they have professional t-shirt printers? It has to be harder than it looks, right?
👎 WRONG! 👎
It’s a LOT easier than you think to print on t-shirts using just your Cricut and a few basic supplies.
I’ll walk you through the steps, so you can start making your own custom shirts today – right now if you want. 😉
Where to Get Your Designs
The fun part is DESIGNING your shirt. You’re only limited by your imagination – and your SVG file collection 😜.
We have a killer collection of SVG and sublimation files in our shop that you can use for your shirt designs.
Here are some of our fave designs:
Here’s What You Need
T-Shirts
To start, you’ll need a plain t-shirt. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t even have to be new when you just want to practice lol. It just has to have enough blank space for your design.
White shirts are a great choice because they make the design pop. But you can use any color shirt you want. Just make sure the design will still be visible. I heard from a YouTuber that black or dark color t-shirts sell better – but this is something you’ll have to check.
Cricut is a great source for t-shirt blanks, or you can hit up your local thrift store and find a plain shirt. Maybe you have one in your closet already.
Find a shirt you LOVE, and let’s get cooking 🍳.
Cricut and Your Handy Tools
Of course, you’ll need your Cricut and some handy tools:
- Weeding tool 🔧
- Material trimmer ✂
- Iron-On Vinyl
Here is an amazing accessories bundle for Cricut Maker machines that you can get from Amazon.
No t-shirt project is complete without iron-on vinyl like this one from Amazon. Choose your colors wisely. For example, if you want to print on a dark gray or black shirt, use a lighter-colored vinyl, like:
- White
- Light gray
- Bright gold
- Bright green
The colors you choose will affect the visibility of your design, but they’ll also create an impression. You can be bold or understated – the choice is yours.
Iron or Heat Press
To get your design onto your shirt, you’ll need a heat 🔥 source – either an iron or a Cricut EasyPress.
Bringing Your T-Shirt Designs to Life
Supplies? ✅ T-shirt? ✅ Cricut? ✅
Now what?
You have everything you need. The last step is to bring it all together.
Here’s how:
- First, import your design to the Cricut Design Space. Or, if you want to show off, you can make your own from scratch.
- Once your design is ready to go, click “Make It.” Design Space will start sending the design info to your Cricut.
- If you haven’t done so already, make sure your vinyl and everything else are loaded up and ready to go.
- Follow the prompts, and make sure that you choose mirror on the cut screen. You’re using iron-on, so your design has to be mirrored. Otherwise, it will be backwards 🙃.
- Once your Cricut has finished doing its thing, it’s time to do some weeding 👩🌾. Basically, you’re removing the excess iron-material from the lettering or design.
- The final step 🥁? Transferring the design to your t-shirt. You can use either your home iron for this or a Cricut EasyPress.
That’s all there is to it! Now you can rock your own t-shirt designs everywhere you go and sell them on Etsy!.
Take that, professional t-shirt printers! 🤜💥🤛
