How To Make Money Selling Digital Downloads On Etsy

Do you want to learn how you can make money selling digital downloads on Etsy? 

It’s a great way to make some extra money or even a full-time income working from home and being your own boss. The best part of it is that you won’t even have to deal with shipping!

If you’re interested in learning how you can make it happen keep on reading.

But before we get started don’t forget to sign up for my free resource library to get exclusive password-protected content like money and time management printables.

What exactly is a digital download and how does this whole system work?

A digital download is simply an electronic form of a file or document that you sell online. Instead of receiving a physical copy a buyer receives it electronically and can print it out at home or at any local printing shop if the product is a printable or any type of artwork. 

So after you created a digital product, you create a listing for it where you describe what it is and what it’s for, using keywords so it’s easier for people to find it. You set the price and then start promoting it. 

Once a person buys it, he or she can download the product and you receive money. 

How much can you make selling digital downloads on Etsy?

There’s no limit to how much money you can make, it’s all up to you, your niche, your actual product, and your marketing strategy. Many people make a full-time income by selling digital downloads on Etsy! 

So do good market research, align it with your passion, and get to work!

Benefits of selling digital downloads on Etsy:

1. The best thing about selling digital downloads is that you create your product only once but can sell an unlimited number of digital copies. 
2. It grows into a real passive income. 
3. Unlike a physical product, with digital downloads, you don’t deal with headaches like packaging and shipping.
4. You don’t need a degree in graphic design, anyone can do it by using software like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Canva, etc.
5. You save a lot of money on things like materials, shipping costs, storage, and more. 
6.  It’s a low-maintenance way to stay in touch with your creative and entrepreneurial passions.

What digital products can you sell?

1. Finance printables

A lot of people love finance printables because they help them take control of their financial situation and know every little thing about their budgeting, debt pay-off journey, savings, and more. 

I recently opened my own Etsy shop and created a Financial Planner Bundle that I’m currently selling and which includes:

1. Cover Page
2. Vacation Fund Page (1 page)
3. Bill Pay Checklist – Seasonal Theme (12 pages)
4. Expense Tracker (5 pages)
5. Monthly Budget (5 pages)
6. Debt Thermometer (1 page)
7. Debt Payment Tracker (1 page)
8. No-Spend month (1 page)
9. Savings Tracker (1 page)
10. Emergency Fund (1 page)
11. Cash envelopes (3 pages)

It’s perfect for binders and right now I’m running a quick sale of 40% off.

2. Printable planners

Everyone wants to manage their time properly and stay organized, that’s why printable planners are always in high demand. 

They are also perfect for people with busy schedules and those who love writing things down like me. 

But if you’re more of a tech person you must check out this article of the best productivity tools to help you stay organized and efficient with your schedule.

3. Fitness printables

People want to stay fit and healthy, right? It gives you a great opportunity to help them while making money by creating fitness printables. They can use them to keep track of their workout routine, water intake, calorie counting, you name it! 

I’m back to exercising and I might need to create or buy one for myself. 

There’s also a platform HealthyWage that gives you money when you lose weight! Basically, it was created for people who lack motivation, which is usually the main reason why people quit. So it encourages its users to achieve their weight loss and fitness goals by providing cash prizes.

4. Digital planners

Digital planners or notebooks are almost identical to the traditional paper ones that people buy from a stationery shop but instead of being paper, they download a planner on iPad or any other tablet. I use my iPad and Apple Pencil for that and I love it. 

When you create a digital planner you add hyperlinks that take people to a specific page once clicked. 

If you love sketching you can also create digital stickers, and sell it together with your planner or separately. 

5. eBooks 

If you have a lot of knowledge about some topic, or maybe you have a message or story that you want to deliver to people, and you love writing, you can write a book and start selling it in a digital format. 

While some people prefer paper books, a lot of people find eBooks more convenient and cheaper. 

So if you already have one or are in the process of creating it give it a shot!

6. Digital artwork

There’s a huge demand for digital artwork because people love decorating their homes with beautiful stylish pictures. 

Another reason why people buy digital art on Etsy is that it’s super cheap! All they need to do is to download, print it out, and get a frame for it. 

So if you’re artistic it’s an amazing opportunity to use your creativity and turn your passion into making good money.

7. Meal planner templates

Whether it’s for spending less money on eating out, controlling a budget, or losing weight people have been loving meal planner templates. 

The one I created for myself and people is a Meal Planner Kit that includes 25 printable pages with 2 different designs of daily meal planner templates, 3 designs of weekly ones, and 3 designs of grocery list templates.

As I mentioned above I’m running a quick sale with 40% off.

8. Wedding planner printables

People buy this type of digital downloads because they make it much easier to plan the entire wedding and keep everything in one place. 

So you can include forms and organizers to help manage guest lists, table plans, suppliers, and more. 

9. Coloring pages

People love coloring pages because it’s a lot of fun! The number one reason why many people buy them on Etsy is that there are tons of beautiful and unique designs they can choose from.

They also don’t have to step out of the house to get one and print it out at home. 

So if you love drawing, you can let your creativity flow and create some coloring pages to sell. 

10. Branding kit

You can offer branding services to people who want to establish a brand cohesive look and feel for their blogs and websites with simple elements.

It can include creating a logo, blog profile image, button designs, tagline fonts, and more.

That’s what they look like.

11. Wedding invitation templates

Another great idea for digital downloads is wedding invitation templates. You will need to create editable designs that buyers can tailor to match their wedding scheme and then print themselves at home. 

Wedding invitation templates have been a hot sell lately!

12. Game printables

Whenever there’s a special occasion like a wedding or baby shower, game printables come in handy to keep people entertained and just have fun. 

As you can see there are so many options for you considering that this list is not limited!

6 steps to making money by selling digital downloads on Etsy:

1. Do market research.

You need to get very familiar with what’s happening in the market right now, what products people love, and how much people are willing to pay for certain products. 

Looking at what other people offer in the niche you want to create your products, think about how you can differentiate yourself from your competitors, can you bring better value?

2. Think of an idea/s.

After you’re done researching what’s going on in the market, you need to think of an idea. My favorite source of inspiration usually comes from Pinterest or Etsy itself!

3. Create the product/s.

As I mentioned above you can use any design programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Canva, Illustrator, Procreate, and more. 

Try to do the best you can and give more value than your competitors do. 

4. Set up your Etsy shop + optimize it.

You cannot post your digital download without creating an actual Etsy shop. 

It’s pretty easy, you will just need to create an account with your email address and fill out the basic information like your shop name, language, currency, etc. 

The system is very intuitive so it won’t be hard at all. You can always check out the Etsy help section if you have more questions. 

After your account is created you will want to complete your profile by adding a shop banner, and a profile picture, and tell a little bit about your shop and what you sell. 

When you add your “About” information make sure to be clear and use strong keywords that will help buyers find your shop by typing those keywords in the search bar. 

5. Create your first listing + optimize it.

You cannot make money selling digital downloads on Etsy without creating a listing for each product.

It’s very easy!

You will need to add the product name, detailed and enticing description, photos of the product, quantity, tags, price, and the actual file/s. 

Don’t forget to have SEO in mind when you’re adding the title and description. 

6. It’s time to promote!

After you’re done with creating a listing or several listings, it’s finally time to promote. Driving traffic is probably the hardest part, so don’t think you will get it overnight. It takes time. 

You need to tell people about your product, so market it over your social media, use Pinterest, create social accounts for your Etsy store, and be creative, because you cannot just drop a link and run. 

The efforts will be paid off!

Alright, I hope now you have an idea of how to make money selling digital downloads on Etsy and I hope it was helpful.

Please share or pin it for me, it won’t take more than 10 seconds I promise!

Do you have an Etsy store? What do you sell or what are you planning to sell?

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