Selling Digital Printables on Etsy: Interview With Cody Berman

Digital printables are one of those side hustle ideas I've always thought made a lot of sense, especially for people who want something creative they can build on their own schedules. They aren't known for being hard to make, and people really do buy them on Etsy and sites like it.

I know a lot of my readers are interested in little side gigs that let them exercise some creativity instead of just doing more of the same kind of work they already do all day.

So, with that in mind, I thought it would be useful to talk to someone who has actually sold digital printables successfully and let him share what he's learned!

Cody Berman is the co-founder of Gold City Ventures and has built Etsy shops selling digital printables himself.

I asked him what his first few months were really like, how long it took to get consistent sales, what the expenses and ongoing work look like, what beginners can realistically expect, and the mistakes he sees people make most often.

Probably most of your burning questions about starting up a side gig like this!

Below are my questions and Cody's answers.

How did you get started selling digital printables on Etsy, and what were your first few months actually like?

I got started selling printables on Etsy after trying a bunch of different side hustles. I used to be sort of the “side hustle guy”.

I had sold physical products, done freelance writing, built websites, and experimented with a few other ways to make money outside of my regular job. Some of them worked, but the problem was that they all required me to keep trading my time for money. If I stopped working, the income stopped too.

That is what made selling digital products so interesting to me.

I loved the idea that I could create something once and potentially sell it over and over again. There was no inventory to buy, nothing to package, and nothing to ship. Etsy could handle the payment and automatically deliver the file to the customer.

That said, I definitely did not crush it right out of the gate.

I think my first 20 listings made zero sales. I had no graphic design background, barely understood Etsy SEO, and was basically figuring everything out as I went. Looking back at some of those early products now, I can definitely see why nobody was buying them!

But every listing taught me something. I started getting better at figuring out what people were actually searching for, niching down my product ideas, improving my designs, and creating better listings.

Then things started to click. Within a few months of opening my shop, I had my first $700 week (which I’ll explain more in a bit).

That was a huge moment for me because it showed me this could actually become a meaningful source of income. More importantly, it was the first side hustle I had tried where I could make money without having to actively work for every single dollar. That really appealed to me, especially coming from the personal finance and financial independence world.

About how long did it take before you started seeing consistent sales?

It took a few months before I started seeing what I would call real traction.

Like I mentioned, my first 20 or so listings basically did nothing. Then I learned about selling seasonal products on Etsy.

Valentine’s Day was coming up, so I started creating products specifically around that holiday. I made things like love coupons, love notes, and Valentine’s cards, then listed as many variations as I could.

That was one of the first times I really understood how important it was to create products around what people were already searching for instead of just making random things and hoping they would sell.

Those Valentine’s Day products started selling, and within a few months of opening my shop, I had a $718 week… while I was on vacation!

That was a huge turning point for me. Up until then, I was still wondering whether this was actually going to work. Suddenly I was making hundreds of dollars in a week from digital products I had already created.

It also taught me a lesson I still use today: when something starts working, lean into it. If a certain holiday, product type, or niche starts getting traction, I would much rather create more variations of what is already working than immediately move on and try to reinvent the wheel.

Your shop is now earning over $1,000 per month. If you're comfortable sharing, is that roughly revenue or profit, and what does a typical month look like now compared with your early months?

A few years after starting my original Etsy shop, I got a comment from someone saying, “You could never repeat your success in today’s Etsy environment.”

Naturally, I took that as a challenge.

So I opened a completely brand-new Etsy shop and set a goal of getting it to $1,000 per month. I wanted to prove that the business model still worked, even starting from zero with no reviews, no sales history, and no advantage from my original shop.

It took me 116 days to hit it.

The shop kept growing from there and eventually reached over $4,000 per month in sales.

One of the reasons I love digital products is that the margins can be extremely high. There is no physical inventory to purchase and no fulfillment or shipping cost every time you make a sale.

Your biggest investment is usually the time it takes to create the product, along with a few inexpensive software tools. For example, I spend around $12 per month on Canva and about $20 per month on keyword research tools. But I started using the free versions of both.

Compared with my early months selling on Etsy, the biggest difference now is that I have a much better idea of what to look for. When I first started, I was throwing products at the wall and hoping something would stick. Today, I do much more keyword research upfront, niche down each product, and pay close attention to what starts gaining traction.

And once I find something that works, I lean into it. Instead of constantly trying to come up with a brand-new idea, I create as many relevant variations as I can and try to recreate that success.

Once a printable is created, how much work is still involved? What ongoing tasks take the most time, such as keyword research, listings, customer service, updating products, or marketing?

Once a printable is created and listed, the ongoing work is pretty minimal compared with most side hustles.

That is one of the biggest reasons I like this business model. You’re not recreating the product every time someone buys it, packing boxes, or dealing with shipping. Etsy automatically delivers the digital file to the customer, so the fulfillment side is basically hands-off.

Most of my time goes into creating new products, researching keywords, and improving listings.

Keyword research is especially important because I want to make sure I am creating products people are actually searching for. I will also go back and tweak titles, tags, listing images, or descriptions if I think a product could perform better.

Customer service is usually pretty light. You might get questions about downloading a file, printing, or editing a template, but it is nowhere near the level of support you would expect with a physical product business.

Marketing can also be pretty minimal, especially when you are first starting. You do not need a huge Instagram following or an email list to make sales on Etsy because the marketplace already has buyers searching for products every day.

The biggest ongoing task, honestly, is just continuing to create. Once I find a product type or niche that is working, I want to keep building on that success and adding more variations.

That is where the business becomes really scalable. You can spend a few hours creating a strong base template, then use that template to create multiple new products much faster.

But the nice thing is that creating new products is optional. If you hit a busy season and need to take a break, your existing listings can continue to sell in the background.

At this point, it only takes me a few hours per week to manage the shop, which is a big part of why I still love the business model.

What expenses should a beginner realistically expect, including Etsy fees, software, design tools, advertising, or anything else people tend to overlook?

One of the things I like most about selling digital products is how inexpensive it can be to get started.

Etsy charges $0.20 to list a product, and then takes a 6.5% transaction fee when you make a sale. There are also payment processing fees, so you should expect Etsy to take a tiny portion of every transaction, but you’re not paying for inventory, packaging, or shipping like you would with a physical product business.

Software can also be really inexpensive. Today I probably spend around $30 per month on software for my shop, including Canva and keyword research tools. But I definitely did not start there. When I was getting started, I used the free versions of the tools whenever possible.

I actually think that is what most beginners should do. You do not need to subscribe to five different pieces of software before you have made your first sale. Start simple, prove that you enjoy the business model, and upgrade your tools when they actually save you time or help you make better decisions.

The same goes for Etsy Ads. I would not recommend that a brand-new seller immediately start throwing money at advertising. We tell our students this all the time:

Ads buy eyeballs. They do not buy sales.

If people are already clicking on your listing and buying your product, ads can potentially help you put that listing in front of more people. But if your design, listing images, pricing, or product idea are not converting organically, paying for more traffic usually will not solve the problem.

So for a beginner, I would keep expenses as low as possible. Spend a few dollars getting your listings live, use free software where you can, and focus your energy on creating products that people actually want to buy.

If someone started a printable shop today with no audience and no Etsy experience, what would you consider a realistic timeline and income expectation for the first 6 to 12 months?

This is always a tough question because the range is huge, and I never want to tell someone, “You’ll make $1,000 per month by month six.” There are just too many variables.

I’ve helped thousands of people start Etsy shops through our E-Printables program, and I’ve seen everything from someone making a sale on their very first product to someone needing months of creating, testing, and learning before things start to click.

For example, one of our students, Sam, had three sales within about a week and a half of starting. Jennifer reached 100 sales in her first 49 days. We’ve also had students like Naomi go on to consistently make $3,000 to $5,000 per month. Those are obviously great results, and they are not a guarantee of what everyone will experience, but they show what is possible.

In my own experiment with a brand-new shop, it took me 116 days to reach $1,000 per month.

So if you’re starting from scratch, I would not obsess over hitting a certain income number by a certain date. I would focus first on getting your shop open, making your first sale, and then building from there. Maybe the first milestone is $5. Then $100. Then $500. Then $1,000.

The good news is that you do not need an existing audience. Etsy already has millions of people coming to the platform looking for things to buy. Your job is to learn how to create products they want and use keywords that help those buyers find you.

I think six to twelve months is plenty of time to learn a ton, build a meaningful catalog of products, and figure out what is working in your shop. Some people will move much faster than that, and others will take longer. The people I see do best are usually the ones who keep creating, pay attention to the data, and lean into the products that start getting traction.

What are the biggest mistakes you see beginners make, and what kind of person do you think this business is a good fit for or a poor fit for?

One of the biggest mistakes I see beginners make is overthinking everything.

They’ll spend weeks choosing a shop name, designing a logo, setting up social media, or trying to make their first product perfect. Meanwhile, they still haven’t actually listed anything.

I’d much rather see someone get a decent product live, learn from the data, and improve as they go.

Another big mistake is creating products without doing keyword research first. Just because you think something is a good idea doesn’t mean people are searching for it. I’d rather spend 20 minutes researching demand and competition before I spend hours creating the product.

I also see people give up too quickly. Sometimes their first few products don’t sell, so they assume Etsy “doesn’t work.” My first 20 or so listings basically went nowhere, and if I’d quit then, I never would’ve had that first $718 week a few months later.

And probably the biggest mistake once someone does start getting traction is failing to lean into what’s working. If one product is getting way more clicks, favorites, or sales than everything else, that’s a giant clue. Make more versions of it. Don’t feel like you need to constantly reinvent the wheel.

As for who this business is a good fit for, I think it’s great for someone who’s willing to learn, experiment, and be a little patient. You don’t need to be a graphic designer, and you don’t need an audience. But you do need to be willing to create products, research what people want, and make adjustments when something isn’t working.

It’s probably a poor fit for someone who wants guaranteed income immediately or who gets discouraged if the first few listings don’t sell. There’s definitely a learning curve.

That said, I think it’s one of the most beginner-friendly online business models out there because the startup costs are low, the margins can be really high, and you can build it around your schedule. And once you’ve got products selling, they can continue earning without you having to recreate them every time someone buys.

My Thoughts on Selling Digital Printables

I really appreciate Cody taking the time to answer all of these questions in so much detail! I in particular appreciate that he shared how some of this process isn't just “instant success.” Some things simply do take patience and effort.

Personally, I love the idea of printables. I've wanted to try selling them myself for a while, but I just haven't had time to try because so much of my work time goes into running this website and keeping the blog updated.

But, maybe it could be something that works out for you if you try it!

If this sounds like something you’d like to explore further, Cody and Julie are currently sharing more about how the process works in their free workshop, you can sign up to see it here!

Good luck to you!