Latest / The Modern Etsy Seller Podcast / EP 3. How to Choose Your Print on Demand Product for Your Etsy Shop | Don't Waste Weeks on the Wrong One

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EP 3. How to Choose Your Print on Demand Product for Your Etsy Shop | Don't Waste Weeks on the Wrong One · The Modern Etsy Seller Podcast

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Hey there, and welcome to the Modern Etsy Seller, the podcast where busy women build, grow, and profit on Etsy.
• 0:10
  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.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Here you'll find simple strategies, reel behind-the-scenes insight, and the clarity you need to stop second guessing and start moving forward, one intentional step at a time.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get to it.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: When I first decided to add print on demand to my Etsy shop, I did not put a lot of thought into choosing my product.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: What I was hearing about at the time was t-shirts.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's what I did.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: And it turned out that for me, t-shirts weren't the right fit.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: T-shirts are big on Etsy, there's a lot of competition, but there's also a huge market.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: They can work, and I sold some, but they weren't for me.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't typically recommend them as a first product for new sellers.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Had I asked myself five simple questions before I started, questions I'm going to walk you through today, I would have realized that much sooner.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: So today we are breaking down how to choose the right print-on-demand product for your shop and why starting with just one is the single best thing you can do.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: I also have a free resource for you.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's a guide that walks you through all five questions and gives you a product brainstorm exercise to help you get started.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: You can grab that at melissacarroll.co slash episode three resource or click the link in the show notes.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, let's get into it.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Before we get to the five questions though, I want to talk about the mistakes sellers make when choosing a product.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because I made them and I see them all the time.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: The first mistake, the one I made, is choosing based solely on popularity.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Picking a product is because everyone online seems to be selling it instead of doing your own research.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, you do want to know that other people are successfully selling what you plan to sell.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's actually a good sign.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: But popularity alone isn't enough.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: There are other factors that matter just as much.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: If you skip those and jump in based on hype alone, you could spend weeks creating and mastering a product that might not work for you.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: The second mistake is choosing based on income claims.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Someone on TikTok says, I was able to quit my corporate nine to five selling mugs, or you'll make$20,000 a month selling candles.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: And look, those numbers might be real, but they might also be inflated, outdated, or just not the norm.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: And even if they are completely accurate, there's a lot more behind those numbers than just the product they sell.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Jumping in just because someone else had a win doesn't mean you'll get the same results.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And going in with unrealistic expectations is one of the fastest ways to get discouraged and quit before you ever give it a real chance.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: The third mistake is choosing not to choose, starting with all the products.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I get it, you're excited, you have a million ideas, but when you spread yourself across five different products right out of the gate, you're spreading yourself too thin.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Five products means five times the work, five sets of listing images, five keyword strategies.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: You never really get good at any of them.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, the Etsy algorithm struggles with this.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy needs time to understand what your shop sells so it can show your products to the right people.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: And a scattered shop makes that harder.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: My advice is to start with just one product.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Get really good at one.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Then if you want to, you can add.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: So how do you choose the right product?
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to run every idea you have through a five question filter.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: The questions are designed to help you validate any product idea before you invest your time in it so you can move forward with confidence.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Question one is the gut check.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Does this product excite you?
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds simple, but it matters more than you might realize.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't enjoy designing for a product, you're not going to create consistently, and consistency is what builds a shop.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to personally use the product, but you need to connect with it in some way.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Something that you can picture yourself creating for week after week.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: So ask yourself, am I excited about this product?
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: If the answer is no, move on.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: If it's yes, then you're ready for question two.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Question two is the math check.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Can you actually make a profit?
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: You are running a business to make money, and this is something you need to figure out before you go any further.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Here's how to do it.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna walk you through this step by step because I want it to be really clear.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm a teacher, so I also know that math lands better when you can see it written out.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: So this is laid out for you in the free resource that I mentioned earlier.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: All right, you need two numbers.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: The first is what your print provider is going to charge you the cost of the item plus the cost to ship it to your customer.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not sure which provider to use yet, start with Printify.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: They have a huge catalog and competitive pricing, and they're a great place to do your research.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: So go in there, find your product, look at the item price, find the shipping cost, and add those together.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's what you'll pay every time you make a sale.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: The second number is what you can realistically sell it for.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: To figure this out, go to Etsy and search your product type.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Look for listings that have the best seller badge.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be up in the upper left-hand corner.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Best sellers are products that have actually sold multiple times.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we know the price is working.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna click into those listings, and that's important because Etsy shows the lowest price in the search results, and a lot of sellers have multiple variations within a listing.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: For example, a blanket might start at$14.99 for a small size and go up to$59.99 for an oversize.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: And what Etsy's gonna show is the$14.99 because that's the lowest price in that listing.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: And we really want to make sure that when we're doing this, we're comparing apples to apples and not apples to chocolate cake.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: While you're in there, also take note of what they're charging for shipping.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: After looking at a few listings, pick a price somewhere in the middle, not the cheapest, not the highest.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now here's the math.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna take your selling price plus your shipping charge and multiply that by 0.89.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: That removes Etsy's fees, which land at around 11%.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: The number you get is what Etsy will deposit into your account after each sale.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Then you want to subtract what you owe your print provider, the item cost plus the shipping.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: What's left is your profit per sale.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So let me walk you through a quick example.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Say you're selling mugs for$20 plus$6 shipping.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: The buyer pays$26 total.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna multiply that$26 by 0.89.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: You'll get$23.14.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's what Etsy puts in your account after they've taken their fees.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now subtract what you owe Printify.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: So say Printify charges$6 for the mug and ship$6 to ship it.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's$12.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: So take away the$12 and you're left with$11.14 profit per sale every time you sell a mug.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you sell five in a day, that's about$55.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Over the course of a month, that's$1,600.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Those are real numbers.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: A good target to aim for is$8 to$10 profit per item.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: More is, of course, great, but less than that doesn't leave enough room for taxes, business expenses, or Etsy ads down the line.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Once the math works, you're ready for question three.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Question three is the market check.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Is there actually a market for this product?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: You need to look for two things.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Proof that people are actively searching for this product and proof that sellers are successfully selling it right now on Etsy.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: To figure out if people are searching, I use a tool called ERank.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of keyword tools where you can do this, but e-Rank is one of my favorites.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: They have a free plan that gives you five searches a day, which is plenty in the beginning when you're just researching product types.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: But two others that I do like and recommend are Everby and Alora.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so go to ERANK and type in your product type.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Just the product, so just mugs or journals, candles.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then you want to look for two numbers.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: You want to look for the average monthly searches and the Etsy competition.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Searches tells you how often people are looking for that product.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Competition tells you how many listings already contain that keyword.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Then you want to divide.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: You want to divide the competition by searches to get the competition to search ratio.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Here's why that number matters.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: It tells you how many listings are competing for each individual search.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: If a product gets 1,000 searches a month and the competition is 10,000 listing, that's a ratio of 10.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: That means for every single search, there are only 10 listings competing for it.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good number.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: But if a product gets the same 1,000 searches and has 200,000 listings competing, that ratio jumps to 200.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now there are 200 listings fighting for every single search.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Much harder to get found.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: A good benchmark here is under 100.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, the lower the better.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: The other half of this question is finding proof that people are actually buying it on Etsy.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: To do this, go directly to Etsy.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Search your product type and click into shops that have at least 100 reviews.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: That tells you that they've had sales.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: First, make sure they're not a general store, that they mainly or even solely sell the product you're researching.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Then look at their shop age and their sales numbers.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: You're looking for shops where the sales numbers genuinely excite you, where you look at how old the shop is and how much they've been able to sell in that time and think, okay, that's real.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: That would make me happy.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: I have included some specific benchmarks and the free resources so you have a clear reference point if that's something that you prefer, but you don't have to use those.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: You want to find five shops that give you that feeling and you have your answer.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: The product is working.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: People are finding it, buying it, and newer sellers are winning with it.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: And remember as you do this, that competition is not your enemy.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Competition just means that there is a market for it.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's move on to question four.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Question four is the giftability check.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: This one isn't a deal breaker, but it's a strategy nudge that I think is really important.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: So you want to ask yourself, is this product giftable?
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy is a gifting platform.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Products that lend themselves to gift giving have built-in demand year-round.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Think mugs, blankets, journals, ornaments.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: There's always an occasion.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: There's always someone who needs the perfect gift.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Giftable products tap into that again and again.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Question five is the design check.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Also, not a deal breaker, but you want to ask yourself: does this product lend itself to text-based design?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Text-based designs are words on a product.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: No graphics, no icons, no design skills required.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, the majority of my own print-on-demand shop is text-based designs.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: A good message on the right product is incredibly effective.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Most products do work well with text, but some, like certain footwear styles, for example, are better suited for graphic or pattern-based designs.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: So look at the print area and ask yourself, is there enough space for words and phrases to sand out?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: If yes, that's a really good sign.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: Products.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now I want to come back to something.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: As you run products through this filter, you'll probably come across more than one that excites you, has good margins, and has a real market.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that might tempt you to start with multiple products.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Trust me, I get that.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: I am that.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: But here is why I strongly recommend starting with just one.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: The key to getting listings up quickly is building your system first.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Your listing template, your listing photos, your design workflow.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Once you have that dialed in, creating new listings gets faster each time.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: What takes two hours the first time takes 20 minutes by the 50th time.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you're trying to build that system for two or three or four products at once, you're multiplying the learning curve and your workload.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: It takes way longer to get fast and you burn out before you ever hit your stride.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: You also become a real expert in that product from that provider.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: You learn the print quality, the sizing, the mock-ups that convert.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: This is real knowledge, not scattered surface level experience across a bunch of different things.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: And it's important.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: My recommendation is to get to around a hundred listings of one product before you even think about adding a second.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that sounds like a lot, but this is the same product with different designs, different messages, different niches.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the best part.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Once you're making sales, you take the designs that are working and you use those as the foundation for whatever comes next.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now you're not guessing, you're building on real data.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: The second product goes faster than the first, and the third even faster than that.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: And this is how you're gonna build a shop that grows with intention.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: So what you need to do now is run a few product ideas through the five question filter, do all the checks, and find one that's the right fit for you.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: And don't skip the math.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now go grab the free resource at melissacarroll.co slash episode three resource or click it in the show notes.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if this episode was helpful, share it with another seller who needs to hear it.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And make sure you're following the show so you don't miss a single episode.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you next Tuesday.