Etsy Print on Demand

One stream of passive income that we love is another drop in the bucket of digital content creation: Etsy Print on Demand. As professional therapists who moved into the online space many years ago, we’ve tried many of the tried and true strategies to support other therapy providers by selling our digital content creations in various places. One passive income stream is using Etsy print on demand as a way to get your products in front of another audience.

You may be familiar with Esty as a customer looking for crafts, hand-created projects, and even craft templates. But have you ever thought about selling products on the platform?

In fact, Etsy is a great way to sell digital products and it’s just one more stream of income, making it a nice source of online income for teachers, professionals (OTs, PTs, ST, etc.) and anyone who is capable of educating others in their space of knowledge. For those looking for remote or online work during the Summer months, creating resources to sell on Etsy is a nice Summer job for teachers and other school-based personnel.

What is Etsy Print on Demand?

Etsy Print on Demand (POD) is a service that allows Etsy sellers to offer products with their designs printed on them, such as t-shirts, mugs, and tote bags, without having to handle the production and shipping themselves.

As a professional who has worked with others before, you’ll want to think about what’ve commonly taught others. This is the “sell what you know” concept we talk about in the Digital Product Creation Program. As a professional of any type, there are typically topics or themes that you teach your clients/students about over and over again. If you’ve ever wanted to make extra money on the side, thought about starting side hustle, or just want a creative outlet, this is your ticket to take thinking bigger from a dream to an actual strategy.

These might be common issues that come up, topics that your clients “pick your brain” over, or areas of expertise that you know a lot about. Think about those areas of knowledge and then use those items to create tote bags, cups, shirts, stickers, and other materials that your audience my enjoy.

This is a great side job for teachers, professionals, and an income source for students. In fact, many students generate a passive income while still in school using Etsy to sell print on demand products. Check out our full list in our resource on How to Earn Money Online as a Student.

Just like selling items directly through a drop shipping company, or a website shop, selling Print on Demand products on Etsy is just one way to put your products in front of another audience. A a related resource, read about taking print on demand to a different level with our article on selling digital products on Amazon.

Tips for getting started with Etsy Print on demand

You’ll want to start by creating an Etsy account if you don’t already have one.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up an Etsy account in order to print on demand:

Go to www.etsy.com and click on “Sign in” in the top right corner of the page.
Click on “Register” and enter your email address or sign in with your Google or Facebook account.
Choose a username and password for your Etsy account.
Click on “Register” and Etsy will send you a confirmation email.
Open the confirmation email and click on the link to verify your email address.
Once you have verified your email address, you can start setting up your Etsy shop.
Click on “Sell on Etsy” and choose your shop language and country.
Fill in your shop name, which will appear on your shop’s URL and your public profile.
Upload a profile picture and banner for your shop.
Choose a payment method for your Etsy shop, such as PayPal or credit card.
Set up your shop policies, including your return policy, shipping policies, and shop announcement.
Add your first product listing by clicking on “Add a listing” and filling in the required information, such as the title, description, price, and photos.

Once you have completed these steps, your Etsy shop will be live and ready for customers to browse and purchase your products. Remember to regularly update your shop with new listings, respond promptly to customer inquiries, and provide excellent customer service to help your shop grow and succeed.

How to Start an Etsy Print on Demand Shop

When you sell as a print on demand shop on Etsy, otherwise known as drop shipping, you’ll use Etsy shop as the shop listing to describe your product’s features and really sell the item. However, once a buyer purchases your POD item, the next steps are up to you.

You’ll need a print on demand company or drop shipping company that integrates with Etsy. There are many out there, and you’ll need to look at the ones that work for your products, the pricing, and the shipping fees that are based on the item you’ve created.

Essentially, when a person buys the item on Etsy, you’ll receive a notification and the drop shipping company then creates the product and ships it out. Depending on the size and type of product, as well as shipping fees, this can vary in regard to profit.

Another option if you have the time is to manually ship out the products through the print on demand company, however, if you’re crunched for time, this can delay the shipping process. It might be better to work with a drop shipping company that integrates directly though Etsy.

Here are some drop shipping companies that integrate with Etsy:

Printful – offers printing and shipping of custom designs on products like t-shirts, mugs, and phone cases.
Spocket – offers a wide range of products from EU and US-based suppliers, with automatic order fulfillment and tracking.
Oberlo – offers a range of products, primarily from AliExpress, with automatic order fulfillment and tracking.
Gooten – offers printing and shipping of custom designs on products like t-shirts, mugs, and phone cases.
Printify – offers printing and shipping of custom designs on products like t-shirts, mugs, and phone cases.
Modalyst – offers a wide range of products from US-based suppliers, with automatic order fulfillment and tracking.
Dropified – offers a range of products from AliExpress and other suppliers, with automatic order fulfillment and tracking.

Please note that these are just a few examples of drop shipping companies that integrate with Etsy, and there may be others available as well.

A final note on Selling Etsy Print on Demand

To sell on Etsy Print on Demand, sellers must have the right to use the designs they want to print on the products. This means that the designs must be original or licensed from a third-party source. Sellers cannot use copyrighted or trademarked designs without permission.

Once you’ve got your Etsy shop up and running, the last step would be ongoing marketing. That’s where content creation in digital marketing comes into play. This process will continue with more content being created to market your products.

For more information on copyright, creating products based on what you know as a professional, check out Digital Product Creation Program.