How To Sell Digital Products On Etsy

Are you wondering how to sell digital products on Etsy so you can create a digital product once and then sell it over and over again while you sleep?

Ahh… this sounds like the perfect business model, right?

Selling digital products on Etsy is a great low cost business idea that’s perfect for stay-at home-moms, college students or anyone who wants to start an online business on a budget.

It is super quick and easy to start an Etsy shop and upload some simple digital downloads, so let’s get started and find out how to create passive income from Etsy digital products!

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How to sell digital products on Etsy

It is pretty easy to sell digital products on Etsy but there are a few steps involved. In this post we’ll look at :

• The best digital products to sell on Etsy
• How to create a digital product in Canva
• How to set up your Etsy shop
• How to upload your digital product
• How to price your Etsy product
• How to promote your Etsy shop

But let’s start at the beginning….

What is a digital product?

A digital product is a product that can be accessed online or downloaded to your computer.

Because it only exists in digital form, it does not require shipping or replenishing. This means that once you create your digital product you can sell it over and over again, without much extra work.

Examples of digital products you can sell on Etsy are:

• eBooks
• Planners
• Printables
• Templates
• Courses
• Audio files

Is selling on Etsy worth it?

Before you open an Etsy shop you probably want to know if selling on Etsy is worth it.

The answer is yes!

I think tons of Etsy shop owners would agree with me, because you only have to look at how many sales these shops are making to realise that selling digital products on Etsy is profitable!

Here’s two examples of Etsy shops that sell digital downloads and make lots of sales:

Trendy Fox Studio sells small business templates and printables and has made over 42 thousand sales!

Here’s another shop called FRGLMAMA where they sell printable planners and have made over 53 thousand sales.

It obviously depends on what digital product you sell, but if you’ve done your market research you should be able to come up with a few digital products ideas that sell like hot cakes!

The best digital products to sell on Etsy

To start a successful Etsy shop you need to know what digital products to sell on Etsy. The most popular digital products on Etsy are often products that solve a problem or help your client progress in their journey.

So a good way to come up with digital product ideas is to think of a specific audience you want to help and then anticipate what they need help with. For instance, if your ideal client is an online business owner, you could create social media templates, eBook templates, printable planners etc.

To give you a few more ideas, please check out my list of…

Best selling digital products on Etsy:

1. Printable planners
2. Digital planners
3. Social media templates
4. Educational printables for kids
5. Printable postcards
6. Logo templates
7. Wedding invitations & table numbers etc
8. Digital art prints/ wall art
9. Lightroom photo presets
10. Kids crafts & colouring pages

These are some of the best selling digital downloads on Etsy, but there are a lot more products that sell incredibly well. Just have a browse on Etsy to see which digital product shops are star sellers and what kind of products they sell.

Related reading:

How To Sell Canva Templates on Etsy

How to make digital products to sell on Etsy

Now you have a bit of an idea what the top selling digital products on Etsy are, you probably have one burning question: How to create digital downloads to sell?

Well that really depends on the digital product type you’re trying to create, here are a few ideas for software you could use to create digital products:

• For eBooks you could use Word, InDesign or Canva.
• For wall art or things like postcards or stickers, you could use Photoshop, Illustrator or Canva.
• Online courses you can create in ThriveCart
• Most other digital downloads like printables and planners can be created in… you guessed it: Canva.

Canva is my favourite online graphic design editor that I use to create all my printables and other digital products. It’s super easy to use and it’s free, so make sure to check out Canva here.

Creating digital products can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.

When you first start out it makes sense to create a simple digital download like an eBook, a checklist or a printable planner.

You could create an eBook with my Canva eBook Templates in less than an hour or you could create a printable planner with my Digital Planner Template Kit.

How to create a digital planner in Canva

Let’s have a look at how to create a digital or printable planner in Canva (one of Etsy’s best selling digital products).

Step 1

Go to Canva and create a free account.

Step 2

Option 1: Create a new document in A4 or A5 size.

Option 2: Import this done-for-you Digital Planner Template Kit. (Simply purchase the template kit and click the supplied link which will open a 48 page planner template for you in your Canva account.)

Step 3

Option 1: Go to Canva templates and select a template as starting point and make it your own or design your planner from scratch.

Option 2: Edit the imported template pages to suit your planner, duplicate, reorder or delete pages as required.

This video shows you how to edit your Canva templates:

Step 4

Download your planner as a PDF file.

(The best file type for Etsy digital downloads is a PDF file  for things like eBooks, printable planners, colouring pages etc, and JPG’s for wall art or other more image based files.)

Step 5

Save your digital planner files to your computer and also save this PDF file to Google Drive or DropBox. (This is where you’ll send your Etsy shop customers to access their files.)

Next you’ll need to start an Etsy shop and upload a one page PDF that has the link to your digital product which is stored on Google Drive or DropBox.

How to start a digital Etsy shop

Starting a shop on Etsy is free and super easy to do, just follow the steps below.

Step 1: Create an Etsy Account

Although starting an Etsy shop is free, Etsy will charge 0.20 USD for each product listing. But, lucky you, if you use my link below you’ll receive 40 product listings for free!

Start your Etsy shop and get 40 free listings here

Step 2: Set Your Shop Preferences

Next Etsy wants to know your shop preferences. Here you’ll choose your shop language, shop country, and shop currency. Select your choice from the dropdown menu and click Save & Continue.

Step 3: Name Your Etsy Shop

It’s a good idea to put a bit of thought into naming your Etsy shop. If you already have a blog or business, you’ll probably want to stick with that name (if it’s relevant to the products you’re selling of course).

Things to keep in mind when choosing a name for your Etsy shop:

• Name length: Try to keep it short, use no more than 20 characters (letters and numbers only, no spaces or punctuation).
• Check availability: Click Check availability to make sure it’s available.
• Is it descriptive: Does it describe what you do?
• Memorable: Is it easy to remember?
• Availability: Is the name available on social media, as a domain name, as a licensed business name, and as a trademark?

Once you’ve decided on a shop name, click Save & Continue.

Step 4: List a Digital Product on Etsy

Now you’ve got your shop basics set up, let’s have a look at how to list digital downloads on Etsy.

In the left menu click on Listings and then in the top right click on the button + Add a listing.

Now you’re on the listing page where you can add all the details about your digital product and some mockup images that make your product look good.

Make sure to give your digital product a descriptive title and a detailed description with plenty of keywords that Etsy shoppers are likely to type in when searching for your product.

Etsy also lets you add 13 SEO tags that will help your product get found in Etsy searches. To help you find the best Etsy keywords you can use an Etsy tags generator.

The main setting for selling digital products on Etsy is the Product Type Setting, here you need to select Digital: A digital file that buyers will download.

Once you got this selected, a Digital files box will appear further down the page where you can upload your digital file (or a PDF with a link to your digital file and instructions on how to access it).

How to price Etsy items

Figuring out how to price digital products on Etsy can be tricky in the beginning. But at least digital products are a lot easier to price than physical products because you have no (or minimal) material cost and no shipping cost.

So you only have to charge for your time, the time it takes to create your digital product. But because you can sell your item over and over again, you can charge less and still make a profit in the long run.

I recommend checking out similar digital products on Etsy to see how much other shop owners charge. But keep in mind that this price includes a 6.5% Etsy transaction fee, so set your price lower and then with the Etsy fee, your price will be in the acceptable price range.

How much does it cost to sell digital products on Etsy

Like I mentioned before, to start an Etsy seller account does not cost anything, but listing your digital products will cost 20 cents per product unless you start and Etsy shop with my link and then you get 40 product listings for free.

While it’s pretty cool you can start selling on Etsy for free, there are a few other fees to be aware of. Let’s have a look…

Etsy Fees

Etsy has several types of fees:

Etsy Listing Fees: you’ll be charged $0.20 USD per product listing per 4 month period. After 4 months you can renew the listing for $0.20. If you start and Etsy shop with this link you’ll avoid listing fees for your first 40 products.

Transaction fees: you’ll be charged 6.5% of the price you display for each digital product listing.

Promotional Fees: You can advertise your listings and promote your shop with Etsy Ads and Offsite Ads. If you use Etsy Ads, you select your daily maximum budget. For Offsite Ads, fees are only charged if the ad results in a sale.

How to promote your Etsy shop

Now you’ve set up your shop and added a product listing its time to start promoting your Etsy shop. Here are some of the best ways to promote your Etsy shop:

Etsy SEO

The one burning question on every Etsy seller’s mind is how to get your Etsy listing on the first page?  Of course everyone wants to know how to rank higher on Etsy, because if your product shows up on the first page, it means more sales $$$.

So how do you get your product listing on the first page of Etsy?

Etsy SEO.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and yes Etsy is a search engine. If you type in certain keywords, products that have these keywords in their title or description will show up in the Etsy search results.

So the best way to get your digital product showing up on the first page of Etsy is by using relevant keywords that you know your audience will type in to search for that particular product.

Use these Etsy SEO tips to boost your Etsy ranking:

• Use keywords in your product title and description
• Use long-tail keywords (eg: Canva lead magnet templates for coaches, rather then templates)
• Use all 13 tags in your product listing
• Be specific when choosing your listing category
• Research long-tail keywords with a tool like SemRush or KeySearch
• Use keywords in your product image names (eg: canvaleadmagnettemplates.jpg)

Using keywords is your best bet to get items noticed on Etsy and bring more traffic to your shop.

Pinterest Marketing

Pinterest is the perfect place to promote your Etsy shop. Pinterest is a visual search engine so if you create pins for your digital products and use the right keywords, you will surely get your Etsy shop noticed.

Promoting your Etsy shop on Pinterest is very similar to promoting a blog on Pinterest and to get started you should set up a Pinterest Business Account.

Next you need to upload new pins on a daily basis, the more consistent you are the better. I use Tailwind to schedule my pins so I don’t have to be pinning manually all day and I stay consistent.

For more info on Pinterest Marketing, keyword research and how to set up your Pinterest business account make sure to grab my free guide: Pinterest Setup For Success

Etsy Ads

As I mentioned earlier, you can promote your Etsy listings with Etsy Ads and Offsite Ads. It will depend on the product you sell if Etsy ads are worth it for you. Often more highly priced products will benefit more from ads because lower priced items might not make enough money to outweigh the advertising cost.

Running ads for a new Etsy shop ads can be great for shop visibility and getting reviews.

Start A Blog

Another great way to promote your Etsy products is by starting a blog and writing helpful articles that attract the right audience for your products. In your blog posts you’ll talk about a particular problem your audience is struggling with and as a solution you can offer them your digital product.

To be successful you’ll need to niche down and really help one particular audience, for example, you could write a blog about homeschooling and then sell educational digital downloads, homeshooling planners, kids craft printables etc.

Blogging is a great way to drive traffic to your shop and increase your Etsy sales.

If you want to start a blog but don’t know how, you can sign up to my free course here:

Free Course

Kickstart Your Money Making Blog

Etsy FAQ

If you have any more questions about selling digital products on Etsy, please check this list of frequently asked questions.

Can you sell digital products on Etsy?

Yes absolutely! When you create a new product listing you can select either a physical or digital product.

How long does it take to open an Etsy shop

Opening an Etsy shop does not take long at all! You can configure your shop settings and upload your first product in minutes.

Is starting an Etsy shop free

Yes, starting an Etsy shop is free but Etsy will charge $0.20 per product listing every 4 months. But if you open an Etsy shop with this link, you’ll get 40 Etsy listings for free!

Do I need a business licence to sell printables on Etsy

Etsy does not need sellers to have a formal business license and encourages you to talk with a professional if you have concerns. For more information read this article.

What is the easiest thing to sell on Etsy

The easiest product to sell on Etsy would have to be digital downloads like printables, wall art, planners etc. This is because digital products are easy to make, don’t require replenishing and can be sold over and over again. Digital products are the best Etsy product to create a passive income stream with little ongoing work. They also don’t require shipping or storage, therefore keeping your costs low and your ongoing work to a minimum.

This Is How You Sell Digital Products On Etsy

Selling digital downloads on Etsy is great side hustle idea that has the potential to turn into a highly profitable business.

And the best part?

It’s a business model you can scale without having to trade time for money. You can sell digital products as many times as you want without having to put in extra work, making it the best passive income stream you could wish for!

I hope I’ve answered all your questions and you now have a better understanding of how to create an Etsy store and sell your digital products.

If you’re ready to start selling on Etsy today, make sure to check out my Digital Planner Template Kit or my Lead Magnet Toolkit which are perfect to create your fist planner, eBook, checklist or plenty more best-selling digital downloads.

Good luck creating digital products and if you have any more questions, please leave a comment below.