I've made $126,000 in sales so far in 2023 on Etsy. Here's how I set up this additional income stream that takes 3 hours a week. (2024)

I started freelancing as a social-media manager for brands straightaway. I used Upwork and networked locally to find clients. I manage their Pinterest and Instagram accounts. I have a full-time clientele, but I work flexible hours.

I was looking to start an online business on the side that I could scale to create passive income

I was out of college and didn't have a lot to put into a side hustle. But it was really important to me to have a passive income alongside my social-media freelancing.

I researched entrepreneurial opportunities with low starting costs and came across Printful, which prints designs on clothes. Because I work in digital marketing, I have experience with graphic-design software, so I was able to easily start creating designs.

I created a Printful account and linked it to an Etsy shop I'd started in November 2021.

At first, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to sell and I didn't do anything for a few months. I tried baseball caps in April and made my first sale, then I tried T-shirts and sweatshirts. Sweatshirts were a happy medium between selling a quality product that made customers happy and making a good profit.

I tried a few different designs using Adobe Illustrator. I opted for my designs to be embroidered rather than sprayed on in ink because it felt like a better-quality product.

Once an order is placed through Etsy, Printful automatically embroiders the sweatshirt with my design and sends it to the customer.

I tried embroidering different designs on sweatshirts in November, and I started getting consistent sales. My revenue for last year from the Etsy shop was about $71,000, after Etsy's 9.5% transaction and processing fee. Most of that was from November onward. I took home $24,000 in profit from June to December, after paying Printful for the products and shipping.

I landed on a price of $41.62 for a sweatshirt, which felt competitive but reasonable

I didn't want to mark the price up to the point where I wasn't competitive — or to sell the sweatshirts for more than they were worth.

I could get sweatshirts for a cheap enough price on Printful; each one costs me about $22.

I spend about $40 a day on ads on Etsy. I also pay for ads off-site, where Etsy advertises the item on other websites such as Google and Pinterest.

Most of my sales don't come from off-site ads, but for those that do, Etsy takes up to 12% of the sale price. The ads are profitable because Etsy doesn't charge me until someone clicks on them.

People sometimes say Etsy is an oversaturated market. But if you're bringing unique ideas to the table, you'll be successful.

I look at trends for my designs, whether it's pop culture or holidays. But I try not to focus on what's doing well on Etsy. Lots of people just copy other people's designs.

I found the best way is to make designs that no one else is doing yet. One design really took off in late November. My revenue shot up from $2,800 in October to $55,200 in December. I never thought that would happen.

I've now sold more than 3,700 sweatshirts with that design. Those alone have brought in $157,000 in revenue to date.

I could be making more profit

A lot of Etsy sellers make their products by hand, which can mean a higher margin. I pay more to have my items made and shipped by Printful, but that's what keeps my shop passive.

I've made $48,000 in profit in the first five weeks of 2023 — and my revenue over this time was $126,000. I think the influx of sales and positive reviews from my best-selling sweatshirt has helped boost my shop's credibility for potential customers.

My Etsy shop wasn't passive at all in the beginning

At first, I'd spend 5 p.m. to midnight working on my Etsy shop, after I finished my social-media work each day. I was doing that until November, but I was prepared to keep doing that for much longer.

It was so exciting when it started working out a lot sooner than I'd originally thought it would.

Now I spend about three hours a week on it. Mostly I use that time to answer customers' questions, and I upload one new design every other day. It's important to be consistent — otherwise Etsy will see you as inactive and won't prioritize your designs.

I don't spend a lot of time pushing sales — and I don't even use social media to promote the business

Other factors, such as the purchases and the reviews, are already driving my sales a lot. I've sold about 4,560 items, and I became a star seller in November. I didn't really aim for that specifically, though, as I try to focus on keeping my customers happy.

I lost star-seller status in December because of delays in shipping around Christmas. It was frustrating, but I tried not to be too hard on myself about that because it was out of my control.

One day I'd like to sell the sweatshirts on my own website as well. But I like that for now, Etsy does the marketing for me.

Eventually, I plan to make all my income passive in order to spend more time with family and friends

I'd envisioned the shop would make me an average salary. I didn't picture myself making six figures from it, especially not as soon as I have.

I'm making enough now from Etsy to be passive full-time, which would mean I could spend more time with friends and family. But it still feels like a gamble to quit my social-media business at this point. As a young person, I'd like to build up my credibility a little first. I want to keep doors open.

This story was originally published in February 2023.