If you’ve been following along in our series of posts on selling digital products on Etsy, you may have decided what kind of digital downloads you’d like to sell and figured out how to create them. But for a lot of categories of digital downloads, that still leaves a huge selection of what specifically to make right now.
There are 3 main things that you should consider making at any given time. Assessing each of these three areas will help you decide what to work on at the moment.
Seasonal Items
Depending on what type of digital download you are making seasonality and holidays can have an impact on what you should create. For example, if you create wall art, you may want to create holiday decor. If you make invitations, you can make holiday party invites.
If you are making a product that can capitalize on different holidays or seasons, it’s important to start early. For example, now is the time to be posting your Halloween items for sale. It can take a little time for the Etsy algorithm to place items correctly, so you want plenty of time before the actual holiday arrives.
My goal is usually about 4 months out. Since items renew at 4 months, it gives me that whole period to get my item seen and make sales. I then allow seasonal items to expire and I set reminders to re-list them the following year.
Therefore, since tomorrow is August, you should be finishing up your Halloween items and it’s time to start getting your Thanksgiving items created and listed.
What’s Trending
When you are a seller on Etsy, they want you to succeed as much a you do. I mean other than the 20 cent listing fee, they don’t make money until you do. Therefore, they offer a lot of assistance to their sellers regarding SEO, product listings, legal and more.
One of the things they provide sellers are regular articles on what is trending throughout the year. You can find these articles under the seasonal tips in the Etsy Sellers Handbook. The latest post is all about the everyday items that are trending on Etsy.
Now of course not all of these trends will apply to digital downloads or print on demand products, but they can be helpful in inspiring your product creation choices.
For example, the self-care items on the list are not very passive, but you can use print-on-demand sites to create unique mugs and linens that are also on the list. Also, home decor is also trending which means you can create printable signs or again use print-on-demand sights to create canvases and other wall art items.
At home activities are trending for adults and kids. This can include worksheets, coloring pages, games, craft projects and other printable products. You can make a downloadable craft book or a coloring book or worksheets to prevent the summer slump.
It’s great to regularly check in on whats trending on the site so you can remain inspired on what you should create that people are already buying or wanting to buy.
Evergreen Products
The last category of products to consider are evergreen products. These are products that can sell all year round no matter the trend or the season. This can be things like logos, IG Stories templates, photo editing presets, birthday invitations, home organization binders, self help worksheets, and so much more.
If you have create items to match whats trending and what is about to be in season, then creating products that can be sold year round is your next best move. The seasonal and trending items can give you a big boost in the moment, but the evergreen items will be what carry you through the rest of the year.
So, when in doubt, it’s always great to add more of these types of items to your shop.
What kind of items will you be creating for your shop? Let me know in the comments!
Cheers,
Emily
