wraps, PNG designs, wind spinners, or license plate designs that are specifically made for a craft known as sublimation. So a crafter will take a digital file that they purchase or create themselves, print it out, and then apply it to a coffee cup, a mug, a tumbler, a wind spinner, you name it. More often than not, they then take their physical final product and sell it to their customer.
Business to Business vs Business to Customer Market
So essentially, I am in the BtoB market, so business to business, as they are a small business owner, instead of a BTOC market, which would be a business to a final customer. So what made this work? Here’s the thing about Etsy. It’s not magic, and I really did turn it into my own system. So here’s the three biggest things that made the difference.
Trendchasing with Intention
I was a trendchaser with intention. So when new trends would pop up on different marketplaces like Amazon or maybe other social medias like TikTok or Pinterest, I would then go and see if it was available on Etsy. If not, I knew that I had an opening. So very quickly, & I mean that day when I would find a trend, I would list my design products. Speed is one of the biggest element when it comes to being victorious on Etsy. So, when you see a new trend, you need to hop on it as soon as possible.
Using SEO That Actually Converts
Number two is that I used SEO that actually converts. So, this means that I would utilize keywords in my titles, my tags, and my descriptions of actual words that people were searching for. So, I wasn’t just keyword stuffing with a bunch of random different keywords that had high volume just to get found. I was actually using words that people were typing in, and I was thinking like my ideal customer.
Understanding the Customer’s Search Intent
Now, being that I actually was my ideal customer in the past, meaning I had sold these specific products, it made it a lot easier for me to understand what it is that they were actually typing in. Number three was setting up my own automated traffic circle. So, I did not believe that just because Etsy is a marketplace and they have tons of buyers that I should just wait around and wait for the algorithm to rank me.
Building an Email List and Facebook Group
So, when I did see my first initial success, I immediately started my own email list and a Facebook group. I will say that the Facebook group grew to over about 10,000 people and the email list to over 20,000 people. So, if you have to choose one or the other to actually dedicate time to, I would choose the email list as it also converts higher. This meant that I was able to send traffic back to my Etsy shop whenever I wanted.
Why Owning Customer Contact is Important
And it also led me to be able to start my second stream of income. Being on Etsy means that we don’t own our customers or their data or their information. It’s actually Etsy’s customer. So, it’s really important that we have a backup plan because we can be removed at any time or maybe you break too many rules or you just decide you’re tired of selling on Etsy and want to sell on your own site. You need to have a way to contact those customers.
Setting Up an Automated Traffic Circle
So, with my automated traffic circle, which is what I teach my members to implement in my community, is to set up some type of optin to either a social media account or your email list, and then you’re able to contact them weekly whenever you have new products. If a certain percentage goes and immediately purchase your product, this signals to Etsy that it had immediate sales, which immediately ranks them higher in the algorithm.
Traffic Returning Weekly Helps Ranking
This is the main reason I was able to grow my shop and my revenue so quickly was because I had my own traffic coming back every single week to my shop. Being able to immediately rank in the Etsy algorithm is another big gamecher because, unlike most sellers, I wasn’t sitting around waiting for 30 to 40 days to have Etsy figure out what my listing was and show it to the right customer.
Automation and Batching
An honorable mention in all of this would be number four, which would be automation and batching. So, this means finding tools to do as many listings and create designs in bulk as possible. So, this goes from generating your designs with AI in bulk to mocking them up with some type of bulk automation tool and even listing to Etsy.
Tutorials Available for Automation
I do have multiple tutorials on this channel about each step in the process of how you can automate these, so you can look for those later. Now, real quick, if you want to skip the trial and error phase of finding trending digital products, figuring out the correct SEO to use for them, and then figure out the correct AI prompting to create trending designs that people actually want, then I want to invite you to join my private community, which is what I built for this entire purpose.
Private Community for Etsy Success
This is everything that you need to start and scale a profitable Etsy shop, and it’s all based off of what is working right now. The link for this will be down in the description below. So, income stream number two is my own website, Bailey Tumblr Designs. So, this is the result of being able to tap into that email list and that Facebook group that I grew from my Etsy customers with over $276,000 earned.
Membership Model for Recurring Revenue
This is considered recurring revenue because it is a membership model. This is also one of my most passive streams of income because it’s the same designs that I list on Etsy just on my own site. So, members can pay monthly, annually, or even a higher lifetime access price, and then they get access to all of the designs that I’ve created and everything moving forward.
Benefits for Small Business Owners
So, for small business owners who constantly need new designs for the next upcoming holiday or season or occasion, this is really a no-brainer for them. Instead of spending hours learning to design it themselves or try to come up with different types of AI prompts or buying designs one at a time on Etsy, they have access to over 10,000 designs at this point. And they have the ability to make requests from time to time.
Saving Time and Keeping Shops Stocked
So, this saves them a lot of time and then keeps their shops and their sites stocked with fresh products all of the time. So, some of the benefits of having a membership site with digital designs is, of course, reoccurring revenue. So, you’re never starting at zero at the beginning of each month.
Control and Ownership of Your Site
Since you’re already creating the designs for Etsy anyway, you might as well quickly add them to your own site to create another source of income. Finally, you own it, so you’re in control of it. So, if you don’t want to list designs that week, you don’t have to. You’re still going to get the same amount of revenue as compared to Etsy where if you ever stop posting or you take a longer or extended break, then your sales will likely dip.
Coaching Requests and Time Constraints
So, about a year after having a really successful digital Etsy shop with some months hitting over $47,000, I began to have a lot of emails in my inbox and on my social media accounts asking if I would provide consulting or one-on-one coaching for having these particular types of shops on Etsy.
Creating a Course for Time Management
And in the beginning, I did a bunch of these. I would do coaching calls and one-on-one, but at the end of the day, that was taking up way too much time in my calendar. And as I’ve mentioned, I’ve had four kids. So, I wasn’t able to take on as many clients as I would like.
Income Stream Number Three: Digital Products
So, it was at that time that I decided to create my own course of how I sold this amount of digital designs on Etsy and my proprietary traffic source type of training. And this is where income stream number three comes in, which is digital products.
Info Products Making Over $736,000
So, different than the digital products that I sell on Etsy, as these are info products. Over the past few years, I’ve made over $736,000 through various sources such as courses, ebooks, guides, workshops, and memberships. They are all centered around selling digital designs on Etsy.
Teaching What I Have Personally Done
And these aren’t just random how to make money on Etsy ebook guides because everything that I teach focuses on exactly what I’ve personally done, not just random information that you can find on the internet about growing an Etsy shop. These have covered everything from things like using AI to speed up your design process to full courses about implementing my automated traffic circle.
Audience and Advertising Needs
Now, of course, to implement this type of income stream, you will need to have an audience online or you would need to pay for advertising. I personally do not pay for any type of advertising as the only type of content that I put out there to grow my audience is on this YouTube channel, and I have a small following on Instagram, though it’s nothing compared to the types of tutorials that I provide on this channel.
Importance of Having an Audience
This is really important to note because while you could have the greatest idea for a digital product or a membership or a course, if you don’t have anyone to sell it to, then it doesn’t really matter how great it is. And one of the best ways to grow an audience is here on YouTube.
Income Stream Number Four: Affiliate and Brand Deals
And that income stream is actually covered in number five. So, we’ll get to that in just a moment because number four is my affiliate and brand deals. So, I’ve made over $112,000 from affiliate brand deals and sponsorships.
Recommending Tools and Software
And this is money that I make by recommending certain tools and software. If you’ve been a longtime viewer of the channel, you know that I constantly design in KD, and they would be an example of a type of affiliate income.
Only Affiliating for Products I Use
Now, I only affiliate and do brand deals for actual software that I use and have used prior to ever being on YouTube or having courses or memberships. And I think that this is really important to note because anything that you affiliate for, you should obviously use and know its capability before you recommend it to someone.
Passive Income From Affiliate Links
To me, this is a source of income that is also really passive because I would be using the products anyway and making the articles anyway as all of the products that I affiliate for are something that I use in my day-to-day work.
Income Stream Number Five: YouTube AdSense
So, on to income stream number five, and that is YouTube AdSense. So, over $43,000 in the past 2 years from YouTube AdSense isn’t honestly groundbreaking. However, again, to me, it’s considered passive income because I would be making the tutorial articles anyway.
How YouTube Helps Build Audience
This channel is full of how-to articles, case studies, all about building a digital product business on Etsy. As many of you know, I show my screen. I walk you through tutorials. I actually show my Etsy shop. And YouTube is a search engine just like Etsy.
Selling Digital Products via YouTube Audience
So, when the right people are looking for what I do, which is selling graphic digital designs on Etsy, they will inevitably find me sooner or later. And this is how I’ve been able to sell the digital products that I talked in income stream number three is by having this audience here on YouTube.
Income Stream Number Six: Shopify Site
So, I wasn’t sure if I was going to share this one before, but income stream number six is my Shopify site where I sell digital products, specifically MRR and PLR products. Now, for me personally, this store has only brought in a little over $3,700, but I only bought it a few months ago.
Passive Source of Income from Purchased Shop
And this one is a really passive source of income because I did not create this shop. So, I purchased this from a different person who had started this store a few years ago, I believe. And it really makes sense for my audience to have access to these types of products if you are selling in the printable and planner and productivity space.
Potential for Growth Next Year
I honestly have not put much time and effort into it, and that is on the agenda for next year. So, I do see massive potential in this income stream. Basically, this shop sells done for you templates and planners that digital product entrepreneurs can purchase and then rebrand and resell them, which is why it stands for PLR or private label rights or master resell rights.
What PLR and MRR Mean
These are for people who want to sell digital products but don’t want to start from scratch. So, if you’ve ever tried to format a planner in Canva from scratch, it is a horrible, tedious, and time-consuming process.
How PLR Makes Selling Easier
And so, this is where PLR can come in and make this 10 times easier. If you are interested in selling these types of digital products either on Etsy or your own site, I highly recommend looking at PLR products as they have basically been created for every niche imaginable right now.
Where to Get PLR Products
And some of the best places to get these are places like Creative Fabrica or Etsy itself or a shop like my own PLR way. These types of products can also be priced a lot higher. So you’re looking at more in the $10 to $15 range usually, and that is quite different than the type of digital graphic designs that I sell where we are more in the $3 to $5 range.
Revenue Comparison and Enjoyment
So, while you’ll have to spend a little bit more time on these types of digital products, it’s definitely worth it in the end as far as the revenue. However, and I am biased with my types of digital products, the AI graphic designs, it is a lot more fun because you can use your creativity and you aren’t stuck into one particular niche like, say, a productivity planner.
Designing for Different Holidays and Niches
With sublimation graphic designs, if I want to design 10 Christmas designs all with Highland cows on them tomorrow, I can. And then the next day, I can be doing St. Patrick’s Day and Valentine’s Day. Or I could move into something like occupations and be designing for nurses and teachers.
Keeping Interest Up With Variety
And so this really helps with my ADHD and needing to do something new all of the time to keep my interest up and engaged. Whereas, if I was creating a digital planner and just formatting all day, unless it had some particular type of great design aesthetic where I could really apply some creativity, I would get bored with it pretty quickly.
Choosing a Digital Product Niche
So, this is really important when it comes down to selecting your digital product niche if you are brand new to Etsy or planning to start selling on Etsy because you want to make sure that whatever you start creating, you actually have some type of interest in it. Otherwise, you’ll just get bored and eventually give up on it.
Advice on Multiple Income Streams
Now, you don’t need six income streams just because I have six income streams. I am 40 now, and this did take me years of trial and error up until about 3 years ago. There were lots of late nights and honestly, lots of really dumb mistakes that could have been avoided.
Focus on One Income Stream at First
I highly recommend not trying to create multiple streams of income in the beginning if you are just starting out, but instead focus on one that you get really good at and then start to add on additionally. Even one of these income streams can be life-changing in the amount that they can generate you if they are done correctly and you have patience.
Anyone Can Succeed With Action and Learning
The point is not to copy my exact model as most people will not want to have six different things that they are managing. But the point is is that this is possible for any regular person who is just willing to learn and test and actually take action.
Start, Get Good, and Add More Streams
So just start with one thing, get really good at it, and then if you want add another. And then of course, if you want help along the way, then be sure to check out the link to my community down in the description below as this is what I do every day, helping people sell digital designs on Etsy, as well as other types of digital products.
Something for Everyone in Digital or Print on Demand
And so there’s something in there for everyone, of course, as long as you are selling in the digital or print on demand space on Etsy. As always, thanks so much for reading, and I will see you in the next.
