Latest / The Modern Etsy Seller Podcast / 55. Building an Etsy Print-on-Demand Business: My 4-Part Framework

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55. Building an Etsy Print-on-Demand Business: My 4-Part Framework · The Modern Etsy Seller Podcast

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hey there and welcome to the Modern Etsy Seller, the podcast where busy women build, grow, and profit on Etsy.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Melissa Carroll, a full-time teacher, a busy mom, and an Etsy seller who's built two successful Etsy shops in the small moments of everyday life.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Here you'll find simple strategies, real behind-the-scenes insight, and the clarity you need to stop second guessing and start moving forward one intentional step at a time.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get to it.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, welcome back.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you've spent any amount of time learning about starting or growing an Etsy print-on-demand business, you know there is no shortage of information out there.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: You can find tutorials on just about everything from researching products and creating designs to writing Etsy listings, improving your SEO, running ads, using Pinterest, automating your business.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, that list goes on and on.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: And all of those things can play a role in building a successful Etsy business.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: But when you're learning about all these different things in isolation, it can be difficult to see how they fit together and contribute to the bigger picture of building and running a business.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I've started thinking about everything that goes into building and running an Etsy print-on-demand business in terms of four core components: foundation, a repeatable product system, efficiency, and amplification.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Pretty much everything you do to build and run your Etsy business falls into one or more of these four areas.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Each component serves a different purpose, but they're all interconnected.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: And while there's a natural order to some of the work when you're first getting started, the components aren't independent of one another and you won't move through them in a straight line.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: You'll continue working within and revisiting these different areas as your business grows.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: So in today's episode, I want to walk you through each of them and explain what they involve.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, I'll share how they work together to build and grow an Etsy print-on-demand business.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: So the first core component is foundation.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: This is the build it component.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where you're making the initial decisions and putting the pieces in place to get your Etsy business up and running.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: That starts with understanding how the print-on-demand business model works, including the relationship between Etsy, your print-on-demand provider, and you as the seller.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: You want to understand your responsibilities, the costs involved, and have realistic expectations about what it takes to build a profitable business.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: From there, you need to decide what kind of shop you're going to build.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: And there are a couple of different ways you can approach this.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: You might build your shop around a particular product and sell it to lots of different types of customers.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, you could have a shop that specializes in mugs for all kinds of people and occasions and moments.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Or you might build a shop around a particular audience or niche and then offer different products that appeal to them.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, you might have a shop that specializes in gifts for pickleball players.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, I generally recommend that you start with just one product so that you can learn the process of selling it before expanding into additional products.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, you want to do your research before choosing that product.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Is there demand for it?
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Can you make a reasonable profit from it?
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Is there an opportunity to offer something different than what's already available all over Etsy?
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Once you've made those decisions, the rest of the foundation component is about getting your business ready to operate.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: So that's going to include things like choosing your production partner, figuring out your pricing, setting up your Etsy shop, understanding how orders will be fulfilled.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: By the time you've worked through the foundation component, you should have a functioning shop that you're ready to stock.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: A product that you've researched and believe has potential, and a clear understanding of how your business will operate.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: And even though most of this work happens when you're first getting started, you might revisit parts of foundation as your business grows.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: If you decide, for example, to introduce a new product, you'll need to evaluate its demand, pricing, and fulfillment process.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And if you decide to introduce digital products to your print-on-demand shop, then you're going to need to understand all of the inner workings of that model.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Once those pieces are in place, you're ready to start building your catalog.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that's going to bring us to the second core component, and that's the repeatable product system.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: This is really where the ongoing work of building your Etsy business happens.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Once your shop is set up and you've decided what you're going to sell, you need a process for consistently coming up with product ideas, creating designs, turning those ideas and designs into listings, and learning from how those listings perform so that you can make better decisions as you continue building your business.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: And it's the repeatable system because you're going to do these things over and over.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: These activities are the engine that keeps your business moving and growing.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: The repeatable product system can be broken down into five distinct parts researching, creating, listing, reviewing, and responding.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to take a little time to talk about each of them.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: So it starts with research.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: And love it or hate it, research is an important part of building an Etsy business.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Before you create a product, you want to have some reason to believe that people might be interested in buying it.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: A big part of that is market research.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: You're paying attention to what's happening on Etsy, including what's selling, what customers are interested in, how competitive certain products or niches are, and where there might be opportunities in the market.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: There's also keyword research, which helps you understand the words and phrases shoppers are using to search for products like yours.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: That information can help you evaluate product ideas, and it becomes especially useful when you're creating your listings.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: You can use Etsy's own search features as well as third-party research tools to help with both, but research also happens outside of Etsy.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: You can find inspiration and trends in conversations, in social media, in stores, even in just your everyday experience that give you ideas for products people might connect with.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And as you start recognizing those opportunities, you'll want to capture them somewhere.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: So you should be building a collection of ideas that you can continue exploring.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: The next part of the repeatable product system is creating.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: This is where you take the ideas and opportunities you've identified through your research and start turning them into products people will want to buy.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: This happens in your design tool of choice.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: I prefer Canva, but there are others out there.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where I use what I call my message first design approach.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Before I start choosing fonts and graphics and colors and things like that, I think about who the product is for and what I want it to communicate.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: It could be something that reflects a person's personality, their interest, just their identity.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's a funny saying that they can relate to or a meaningful message that makes it a great gift for some particular occasion or moment.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: And once the message is figured out, then you can start thinking about how to bring it to life through the design itself.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: So you're taking what you've learned through research and turning it into products that appeal to the customer you're trying to reach.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Then once you've created your product, it's time to list it.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: And this involves more than uploading a design and filling in a few fields on Etsy.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: You want to create a listing that gives your product the best opportunity to be found, catch someone's attention, and ultimately make a sale.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: This is where my 3S listing framework comes in.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: You want your listing to show up in search, stop the scroll, and secure the sale.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that covers everything from keywords and SEO to your main listing image, to your mock-ups and your pricing and your description and all the other details that help a customer decide whether to make a purchase.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now I have a separate podcast episode dedicated to each of the three S's.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: So if you haven't listened to those yet, I'll share those episode numbers in the show notes.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: But once you've researched and created and your listings are now published, the fourth part of the repeatable product system is review.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where you start looking at what's happening in your shop to see what you can learn from it.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Look at your numbers.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Are your listings getting views?
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Are people favoriting them?
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: Are certain products attracting more attention than others?
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Are people buying anything?
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, how much you can learn is going to depend on how much information you have.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're a brand new seller or you have a brand new listing with a handful of views, it isn't going to tell you nearly as much, or you're not going to learn nearly as much as a listing that's been getting consistent traffic for several months, or even just a listing that's been up for a couple of months.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: But as you build your catalog and collect more data, you can start identifying patterns that help you understand what's working and where there might be opportunities to improve.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's gonna lead us into the final part of the system.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: So after you've reviewed the numbers, now you need to respond.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: You need to do something about it.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: This is where you take what you've learned both from that research and from what's happening in your shop and use it to decide what to do next.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: You might decide to build on something that's already working, you might decide to make improvements to listings that aren't performing as well as you had hoped.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: You could also explore new product opportunities or give something more time.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: That can be sometimes the response.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: You're just gonna give this more time before you do anything at all and kind of see what happens.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: So the idea is to make decisions based on the information you have rather than constantly guessing what you should be doing next.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And as you continue creating new products, publishing listings, and learning from the results, you keep moving through that same process, using what you've learned to guide your decisions along the way.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: And these five steps make up that ongoing work of building and growing your Etsy print on demand business.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: As you gain experience, build your catalog, and collect more information about what works in your shop, you'll be able to move through the process with more confidence and you're gonna be able to make more informed decisions along the way.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: And because you're going to be repeating this process over and over again, it makes sense to find ways to make it easier and more efficient.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: So that brings us to our third core component, which is efficiency.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is where you streamline it.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's all about finding ways to make the work you're doing easier, faster, and more manageable.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've listened to this podcast for a while, you know that I'm a big believer in creating systems that help you save time, especially when it comes to creating and publishing your listings, but everywhere.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things I recommend doing before you start listing a new product type is setting up your reusable asset.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: So is that something you've probably heard me talk about before?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Those reusable assets are all the pieces you're going to use over and over again as you list.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: So things like your Canva templates and your mock-ups, your listing images, your product descriptions, your pricing strategies, things like that.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: That way, each time you create a new listing, you're working from a process you've already established instead of starting from scratch.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: But there are lots of other places where you can improve efficiency throughout your business.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what this component's about.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: You might batch similar tasks together.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: You could develop a better system for organizing your products in your Canva files or even just the ideas that you have.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: You could start using third-party tools, especially once you get going and you have a little extra money maybe to put towards them.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: You can use tools like Anywhere POD that's gonna allow you to streamline parts of your listing and fulfillment process.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: AI can also be incredibly useful for things like brainstorming, organizing information, creating templates, and helping with some repetitive tasks.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then as your business grows, you might even reach a point where it makes sense to outsource certain tasks or hire someone to help with parts of your business.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, you will still want to be thoughtful about what you automate or delegate.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: There are definitely parts of running an Etsy print on demand business that require your own judgment, especially when it comes to researching opportunities and creating products and making decisions about what to do next.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as you gain experience, you're going to start recognizing these opportunities where you can improve your workflows and make better use of the tools and resources that are available to you.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is going to be to build systems and workflows that help you make the most of the time you have available so that you can consistently work on growing your business without feeling like every task takes forever.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's going to bring us to our fourth and final component.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: And this is amplification.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: So this is the grow it phase.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is where you start looking for additional ways to get your products in front of buyers and bring more traffic to your Etsy shop.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Now, one of the biggest advantages of selling on Etsy is that you're selling on a marketplace where millions of people are already shopping.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: And a big part of the repeatable product system that we talked about earlier is creating listings that give your products the best opportunity to be found through Etsy search.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: But there are other ways to increase your visibility and reach potential customers beyond just relying on organic Etsy search traffic.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: You might experiment with Etsy ads.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: So that would still be with inside the Etsy platform, but that's going to get your listings in front of more shoppers.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: But then you can also use Pinterest to help people discover your products or promote your business through social media.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: We recently had Gloria Chow on the podcast.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: You could explore opportunities for publicity or collaborations.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: You might start building an email list so that you have a way to stay connected with customers and people who are interested in what you sell.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: You might even look to grow beyond Etsy itself and have additional places where you sell your product.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you certainly won't need to do all of these things.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I have a podcast episode about the only two marketing strategies I recommend considering when you're first getting started.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: And those are Pinterest and building an email list.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to share that episode number in the show notes as well.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: But you can start laying the groundwork for those strategies early on.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then as your business grows, you might decide to put more time and effort into using Pinterest consistently or into making sure you're regularly communicating with your email subscribers.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, amplification is about finding additional opportunities to reach potential customers.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that way you can grow your business beyond the traffic that you're already getting through Etsy Search.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, before I wrap up today's episode, I want to tell you about an opportunity you might be interested in.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: I am currently developing a one-on-one Etsy program, and I'm looking for five print-on-demand sellers who would like to participate in a completely free two-week coaching sprint.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: Over those two weeks, we'll take a look at where you are in your Etsy business, figure out what makes the most sense for you to work on right now, and establish one specific goal that we can work toward together.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: We'll put together a plan to help you make progress toward that goal, and I'll be there to provide guidance and support you as you work through it.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: You'll get three one-on-one coaching sessions with me, along with Voxer messaging support between our calls.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is open to print-on-demand sellers at all different points in your journey.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you're preparing to open your shop or you've recently gotten started or you've been selling for a while, you are welcome to apply.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: So in exchange, I'm asking for your honest feedback about the coaching experience as I continue to develop the program.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm only selecting five people.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: The applications are closing this coming Friday, Friday, October 16th.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're interested in getting some personalized help with your Etsy Print on Demand business, you will find the application link in the show notes.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: So getting back to today's show, I hope walking through these four components has helped you see how all the different pieces of building and running an Etsy print on demand business fit together.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot to learn when you're building an Etsy business, any business.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the different strategies and tools and advice that's out there.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: But when you start looking at everything through the lens of foundation, the repeatable product system, efficiency, and amplification, I think it becomes a little easier to understand how everything fits into the bigger picture.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: And hopefully that makes the process of building and growing your own Etsy business feel a little more manageable.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: All right, thanks so much for spending some time with me today.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: I will see you on the next episode of the Modern Etsy Seller.