I’ve Opened an Etsy Shop

With the cost of living crisis looming and being a single-person household with one income, I thought it best to look for some passive income opportunities. So I’ve opened an Etsy shop.

I’m selling digital downloads and printables directly linked to my EllesBellesNotebook brand. Primarily the items consist of habit trackers, planners, and 30 Day Challenge ideas and printables.

Items are all under £5, excluding bundles, and designed by me. I’ll be uploading items regularly and running monthly sales, so Favourite my shop – helpfully called EllesBellesNotebook – to be the first to know when items are on sale.

How to open an Etsy Shop

It’s remarkably easy to set up an Etsy shop. You just need your first item available to sell, some photos or images of said design, and a name. You can design up your shop face after the fact, but the first thing you need to upload is the product you’re selling.

For me, I uploaded a 4-page PDF with 200 30 Day Challenge Ideas. It was very simple to upload, I uploaded a PNG title page of my product and completed the description with full T&Cs.

Since I’m selling digital products I have a no-return policy and I wanted to make it clear that products were digital PDFs and not physical products, so ensured I added those details. I also wanted to copyright any materials designed by me and set warnings that items cannot be re-sold or circulated.

How do passive income streams work?

The main reason I’m opening an Etsy shop is that it’s a great way to earn a passive income. A passive income basically means a revenue stream that doesn’t involve active or continuous work. For example, if I were selling physical handmade products that would be an active income as I would have to dedicate a lot of time and money towards it.

A passive income stream, such as selling digital downloads and printables, means I can create the product and upload it to Etsy, then I never have to worry again. Every sale is a plus, and I will have to do some active marketing – such as this blog post! – but for the most part, my products are on sale until such time as I take them down.

What are printables?

I’ve designed and am selling printables. These are PDF files that can be printed at home for relatively low-cost and used in journaling, scrapbooking, planning, or can be used for digital planners.

I’m selling A4 products, but these can easily be re-sized for A5 to fit into a Filofax or journal. And because I don’t do the printing there is very little cost on my end, except for a few small design fees. As such as I can upload quite a lot of high-quality printables in a limited space of time.

How is my Etsy shop doing?

Currently, I would say I am in an experimental stage. We’ll see how it goes, and if ultimately I don’t enjoy or see the benefits of spending my time producing these items, then I will close my shop. But for me, let’s see how it goes.

Would you ever open, or have you opened, an Etsy shop for a passive income stream? Let me know in the comments below.

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