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In the spring of 2018, we started a Mastermind group with other FIRE Drill listeners to create Etsy Digital Download shops. We went from concept to fully operational side hustle in 6 weeks.
Digital downloads include things like quiet books, planner sheets, debt payoff coloring sheets and patterns. They are much easier than selling physical products since you only have to make the PDF one time and it can be sold thousands of times.
We were inspired to start this side hustle after having Laura of I Heart Planners on the podcast in Episode 31. She made 6 figures on Etsy selling planners and quit her job as an engineer to pursue selling digital products full time.
PS – if you’re looking for the link to sign up for the next mastermind, it’s here: https://firedrillpodcast.com/mastermind.
What it was like being in an Etsy mastermind
Our group of 12 listeners and the two of us met once a week for 6 weeks. We encouraged each other, held each other accountable, and shared what we learned with the group along the way. We also had a blast getting to know one another! Check out what Kevin had to say about being part of the group:
What was the result of the mastermind?
The result was that we had 14 very different and unique Etsy shops. From Sanibel Island scavenger hunt guides, to gardening planners, to fridge cleaner templates to artwork – our group sold it all.
-> Click here to see the 14 amazing Etsy shops created by the spring mastermind group.
And we’re making money!! Here is a screenshot from J’s Etsy sellers app.
How to Create Passive Income with Etsy Digital Downloads
For this episode of FIRE Drill Podcast, we brought on two group members to talk about their experience and share the lessons they learned as they started their shops.
Show notes from today’s episode on Etsy Digital Products
- https://firedrillpodcast.com/mastermind<– We’re opening up sign ups for the summer mastermind. Snag your spot!
- Debt Free Happens <– Kevin’s blog
- Our Etsy Shops
- Craft Count – Website listing Etsy top sellers in different categories
- Tools for Creating Etsy Digital Products & Listing Pictures
- Etsy Seller Handbook (seriously so useful!!)
- Etsy Digital Download Shop Facebook group. You MUST already have a shop to join the group.
- Gold City Ventures Etsy Printables course
Key takeaways from our chat with Tamzon and Kevin:
The latest podcast episode is 90 minutes long so we will distill it into 4 main takeaways.
1 – Get something up quickly
Don’t waste too long on anything – from picking your product to fiddling with your design. You don’t know if it will sell yet. Get something up, experiment & test 4 Hour Work Week Style.
If you have to change your product because there is no market for it, you don’t want to have sunk hours into it. Get a sale and determine if there is demand on Etsy first. Then fiddle to make the product great once you’ve proven it will sell.
2 – Pick a product that is in demand
Go for a small slice of a big pie instead of a big slice of a small pie!
Kevin found a good niche as no one was selling debt thermometers on Etsy, and they were going like crazy on his website. There was demand and very little competition. He received two sales in the first week of launching his shop.
Tamzon knew there was demand as everyone wanted a quiet book after seeing the one she made. She wasn’t about to spend 60+ hours to make one for everyone that asked, so she created the pattern so they could put in the time!
Tamzon shared her product on Facebook with friends and got a large influx of sales. (We love Harry Potter so we are mildly obsessed with her shop!)
Gwen does stained glass and noticed there weren’t very many stained glass patterns on Etsy, so she got to work creating those. She later found out the market was super small so sales have been slow.
J had a shop on Etsy before the mastermind that sold bachelorette party tattoos. So, it was only natural she create bachelorette party game sheets for her product. They are selling well!
Find something you can put on Etsy that you’re familiar with and interested in and go crazy!
3 – Keywords are clutch
Etsy Rank is a great way to track keywords and do research on products.
Go find your competition and look at what keywords they’re using. You’re limited to 20 characters per keyword, and only 13 keywords. Make sure you use as many keywords as possible.
Also, the title of your listing should exactly match the keywords. One participant changed her title to match the keywords and immediately noticed a bump in traffic.
Only put in keywords that are relevant to your design or else people aren’t going to buy.
4 – Passive income?
Earn money while you’re at your day job! While you’re sleeping! While you’re walking the dog!
Ok you get the picture. People will buy at all hours of the day and it doesn’t matter what you’re doing at that particular moment.
However, it doesn’t mean it’s super easy. With Etsy digital download shops, you’re basically front-loading all your effort at the beginning and then recouping the time in the form of money later. Creating quality listings takes time and effort!
Once things start picking up momentum though, watch out! The sky is the limit! J included a screenshot of what her recent activity on the shop looks like:
Here is a bonus takeaway question that someone asked in the FIRE DRILL Facebook group. – how do you manage taxes? and how do you manage going from W2 to side hustle income?
5 – You must remember to include this Etsy income in your taxes at year-end
Here is what Etsy displays to you in their finances section:
Here is a screenshot from the Tax section of my (J’s) Etsy shop for 2018 sales (you can see when I took Etsy off of vacation mode and started the Etsy mastermind in March!).
You don’t get a 1099 under $20k for Etsy income so you have to remember to include this income when you file at the end of the year. I file with my side hustle income as a sole proprietor meaning I file under my own name and I don’t have an LLC or anything.
I also opened a solo 401k for my side hustle income last year which I can put 25% of the revenue into tax-free. I did that last year and that prevented me from owing a bunch of money at the end of the year.
I can’t speak to managing variable income from a side hustle because I work full-time as well but I think Broke Millennial has either written about it or tweeted about it and might be a good resource since she’s been doing this for 2 years. And Gwen too once she gets going with her businesses!
Want to start your own shop?
- Here is a link that will give you 40 free listings when you sign up for an Etsy shop.
- Watch the following videos.
Starting a shop on Etsy. This will teach you everything you need to know on creating a shop on Etsy! Gwen created a video and you can follow along with her as she created her shop.
How to make a listing. J walks you through each step needed to create a high-quality listing with Etsy SEO keywords. Including the keywords is SUPER IMPORTANT (see below!).
The Mastermind went so well that we’re doing it again!
That’s right, if you missed out on joining our Etsy digital download shop last time around, you have another chance!
In addition to the digital download shop, we’re also going to be hosting 2 more groups at the same time.
- One group is an Etsy shop, but with a print-on-demand focus. No more worries about guessing the right amount of sizes or figuring out where to store inventory. This mastermind was inspired by our Episode with Brianna Moller Greene.
- The other group we’re starting is a Mastermind for blogging! J and Gwen run blogs that get tens of thousands of views a month and we want to share our accumulated knowledge with others. Gwen will be continuing to work on her personal finance blog while J starts up a new lifestyle blog.
If you want to sign up for the Mastermind or get more information, click the link below:
https://firedrillpodcast.com/newmastermind
The Mastermind starts at the end of June and will run for 6 sessions.
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Bridey says
The link that will give you 40 free listings doesn’t work for me.
firedrillpodcast@gmail.com says
Oops! We just fixed it now.
Lisa says
Is there a tutorial that shows how to make the digital printable?
Thanks
Etsy Seller says
I’m going to assume that the shop selling Harry Potter items purchased the proper license to sell them. Harry Potter is a registered trademark. Shops have been shut down for infringement. You’re doing a disservice to your followers by not warning them about intellectual property infringement.