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Hey friends!
Welcome to my latest quarterly income report, where I show you my Etsy sales for the quarter.
I sell apparel, mugs, and totes on Etsy using print on demand. Print on demand is a fulfillment method where products are only printed and shipped after an order is placed.
This means no upfront inventory costs for me, which makes it a low-risk, low-cost business model.
Since I started my shop in October 2022, my goal has been to get sales on Etsy so that I can have another stream of income. My goal is, and was to invest the additional income into index funds so that I can retire early.
Once I retire, I will still continue to work on my shop because it is so much fun and I’m highly obsessed with it. And, it won’t actually be a job, where I sit and work from 9-5.
Etsy affords so much flexibility and location freedom!
Why Sell On Etsy?
I chose to sell on Etsy because it has a built in organic traffic source, which is beneficial to all sellers on the platform. As long as you do a few key things correctly, you don’t have to drive traffic to your shop through social media or ads.
I also have a Shopify store, and driving organic traffic to that shop is not easy!
Quarterly Sales Overview: Q1 2024
Revenue Highlights
First things first, let’s talk numbers. This quarter, my Etsy shop generated a revenue of $21,254.22.
It’s been an incredible three months, and I’m thrilled with the progress. I’m up 477% from last year.
My profit margin is typically 30-35% of my Etsy sales revenue. The variability in profit margin depends on the number returns/exchanges for each month. It also depends on how many offsite ads brought in sales to my shop.
Offsite ads are ads that Etsy runs for your shop, and you pay a percentage fee on the sales generated. It is a larger fee than the 6.5% rate that you pay on a sale.
If you have below $10,000 in Etsy sales, you can choose whether to participate in offsite ads or not, but I highly recommend it as it has increased my sales significantly.
Typically, all my other costs are fixed.
My fixed costs are the tools I use to run my shop. I use EtsyHunt and eRank for research. And, I use Canva, MidJourney, and Creative Fabrica for designing.
I’m trying to increase that amount by slightly charging more for shipping, and increasing the cost of my most popular products.
For this first quarter of 2024, my profit was $7,013.92, or 33% of my revenue.
Here Are The Tools I Use:
Canva: Canva is the most amazing tool. It is user friendly, and always improving! The tools that Canva has have evolved so much since I first started using it in 2022–for the better. I use it almost everyday. I use it to create designs, to edit AI designs, and to create product mockups.
Creative Fabrica: Creative Fabrica is a design marketplace that has a ton of fonts, graphics, and more that you can use in your designs. They even have pre-made designs that you can use for POD. Simply filter for POD to find any design that you can add to your POD product and sell!
Midjourney: Midjourney is an AI image tool that blows my mind every time I use it. It takes some time to get the prompts down. Once you play with it, you will get better at creating images and art to include on your print on demand products.
EtsyHunt: EtsyHunt is fantastic for competitor research and some light keyword research. My favorite aspect of EtsyHunt is the Chrome extension that allows you to see the sales amount for an individual item on Etsy. Check out this article to see an example.
eRank: eRank is an SEO data tool that also allows you to search the competition and will also give you key words for your Etsy listing. It is also a great research tool to find low competition and highly searched niches.
Printify: Printify is a print-on-demand (POD) service that allows individuals and businesses to create and sell custom-designed products without needing to manage inventory or handle fulfillment. I put my designs on products offered by Printify. When an item sells, Printify prints and ships to my customer.
Get Sales On Etsy Using AI
One major insight I gained this quarter is the power of using AI for design.
Yes, you heard that right—AI for designs!
Incorporating AI tools has drastically improved my workflow and creativity. Here’s how:
- Efficiency: AI tools helped me create unique designs faster, which means more products listed on Etsy. It helps me to batch create several different designs which saves me a ton of time. This makes it easier to test out designs, and potentially get more sales on Etsy. Many people ask “can you sell AI art on Etsy”? Copyright questions on AI are still being worked out under the law. I believe that if you alter and modify the images, then you are the owner of that new, altered design (this is not legal advice). I’ve been using Midjourney to create the basis of my designs. I then change them significantly using Canva.
- Innovation: Using the appropriate prompts can generate different types of designs. Sometimes with Etsy, you will see many copycats for bestsellers, or VERY similar designs. Using AI can help your products stand out in a saturated niche.
- Quality: The final designs were polished and professional, leading to higher customer satisfaction and repeat purchases. I have so many 5 star reviews that rave about the designs that are on their product. It really is a game changer in terms of sales.
If you haven’t tried AI for your designs yet, check it out. There are other AI image tools out there, but I found that Midjourney was the best in terms of they quality of designs it spit out and ease of use.
Future Plans and Goals
Based on this quarter’s performance, my future plans are clear—continue using AI for my designs and continue to get sales on Etsy! Here’s a sneak peek into what I’m aiming for in the next quarter:
- Expand Niches: With AI, I plan to try out designing for different niches and test out several new designs that I previously couldn’t imagine creating. I’m not a graphic designer, though learning Midjourney and Canva has made me feel like I am.
- Increase Marketing Efforts on Pinterest: I’ll be leveraging Pinterest much more to drive more traffic to my Etsy shop. I have a Pinterest account, and have just been pinning to my boards since I started in October 2022. I was not intentional about adding keywords to my boards, or even adding descriptions in the boards! This past few months, I now see over 100 visits to my shop from Pinterest alone! So, now I am planning to be more intentional with pinning to see how my traffic will grow over time.
Conclusion
This quarter has been a whirlwind of learning, growth, and success.
If there’s one takeaway, it’s to always be open to new tools and technologies that can elevate your business.
AI has been a fantastic addition to my design process, and I can’t wait to see how it continues to impact my Etsy shop.
Ready to take your Etsy shop to the next level? Give AI a try, engage with your customers, and keep pushing the boundaries of what you can achieve.
Tell me what tools have helped you in your Etsy business in the comments below!
Until next quarter, happy selling!
Looking for more information on getting sales on Etsy? Check out these articles:
Side Hustle: Can You Really Make $2200 A Month on Etsy?
