How To Sell Digital Files On Etsy – Step By Step Guide For Beginners

I’m doing it, finally! Today, I’m starting to write a complete step by step guide on how to sell digital files on Etsy.

There will be a number of posts on this topic, because there is quite a lot of information and I want to make it as detailed as possible.

And for the ones who’ve been waiting, waiting… and waiting again for this guide, I’m so sorry I didn’t make it in time. The reason I’m so late is because I had some issues with my website hosting, but now, fortunately, everything is fine, so we can start!

What Is Etsy?

I guess most of you already know what Etsy is, but for the ones who don’t, I will shortly define it.

Etsy is a huge online platform, where people from all around the world can independently open their shops and sell handmade, vintage and craft supply items.

It is the best place if you’re looking for unique items or unique gifts. Personalization is also very common on Etsy shops and people love it!

What You Can Sell On Etsy

Basically, everything that is handcrafted or vintage!

They have 8 big categories (for now):

• Jewelry & Accessories (earrings, bracelets, body jewellery, bags and purses etc.)
• Clothing & Shoes (women’s, men’s, kids’ and baby)
• Home & Living (wall decor, vases, furniture etc.)
• Wedding & Party (invitations and paper, wedding clothing, wedding gifts, wedding jewellery etc.)
• Toys & Entertainment (slime and foam, electronics and accessories, books, movies and music etc.)
• Art & Collectibles (prints, sculpture, collectibles etc.)
• Craft Supplies & Tools (papercraft, visual arts, sculpting and forming etc.)
• Vintage

You can have a look by yourself here if you want to see how wide is the range of items on Etsy. And it is always growing, because people keep coming with new great ideas.

What To Have In Mind Before Deciding To Open An Etsy Shop

It is very important to have a little plan before you start and I guess this is available in any field.

I am going only to list the steps and, after that, I will guide you on how to do everything I list, so don’t panic if you don’t know how to actually do all this.

So, before you open your shop, you should:

1. Think about what you want to sell.

Seen that now we talk about digital items, I can offer you a list from which you can choose what suits you best:

SVG files (one of the most popular) – read my post where I explain what SVGs are

Wedding invites

Clipart and Photography

Party decorations

Coloring pages

Printable artwork

Collage sheets

Iron on transfers

Gift tags

Printable stickers

Printable wine labels

Stationery items

Boxes and packaging

Editable flyers

Blog or logo designs

Scrapbooking papers

Printable planners

Patterns

Birthday invites

You can always use your imagination and add something new to this list, but if you’re just getting started and you have no idea of what to sell, this list will be more than helpful.

2. You will need at least 10 designs ready to upload when you open your shop, so make sure you will have your work done before you start.

3. Think about a shop name that will describe what you sell.

It has to be an interesting or a catchy name and also make sure it is not already in use.

To do that, go to Etsy and type your shop name in the search bar.

The option “find shop names containing shopnameexample” will show up.

Click on it and a list with how many shops already contain or have this name will show up.

If the number is 0 (as it shows in the example), it means that you can use the name.

If it’s taken, then think about another one or add a word to your shop name. Keep doing this until you find an unused name that you like.

Also, make sure you don’t choose a too long name. It is up to you, but with a short name it will be easier to create a logo, I guess.

4. Create a beautiful shop icon/logo (500 x 500 px) that represents your shop and also a high quality cover for your shop (1200 x 300 px) that can have some of your designs on it, your formats, a slogan if you like, or anything you feel will look good and will also make people understand what is all about.

Here is a video made by Holly. She uses Canva to create an Etsy banner. It’s easy and free and you can use it also to create your shop icon, which is a square image.

5. Create an About post for your shop, where you will describe how you started, why you are passionate about creating digital files, how you started or anything that makes you comfortable to talk about.

You don’t have to think too much about it. Write it as if you were talking to a friend. This will help you gain trust.

6. Create a Privacy Policy post.

Here is a guide made on Etsy that you can use as a template. Just make sure that you modify it so as it suits your shop privacy policies.

7. Add your listings.

That implies:

• Uploading a mockup photo with your design (so people can see how it would look like)
• Uploading your designs with your watermark on them (I will show you step by step how to create watermarks and mockup photos)
• Putting a title to your design. You will have to use all the characters allowed with specific keywords, so your design can be easily found.
• Adding a detailed description of the product (what formats includes, dimensions, use etc.).
• Setting up a price. As a starter, you should keep your price low and once you will start having a good number of sales, you can increase it. The price depends on how much effort you put to create the item, but also on what type of digital file you make (and again, I will bring all the details you need later).

8. OPEN YOUR SHOP.

So, basically this is all you will have to do, to create a shop on Etsy.

Do I Have To Be Arty To Create Such Designs?

I’m sure some of you will think: “Well, fine, but I’m not an arty person, I don’t have the skills.”

The truth is that you don’t have to be arty, because those designs don’t necessarily imply any dexterity, but the ability to use some programs, like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Corel Draw or even some easy and free online programs.

To learn how to use them, you will have to watch tutorials on youtube. Today you can learn almost anything for free on youtube and you should take advantage of that. Also, be persistent and patient.

If you want to design like a pro, you will have to learn how to use at least one of the 3 payed softwares that I mention below (to create vector graphics), but this doesn’t mean that the free websites and softwares don’t do a great job, as well (you will find some good ones below, as you go with the reading).

The payed ones are:

• Adobe Illustrator (7 days free trial) – it is the best one for logos, graphics, icons, cartoons and other similar designs. It takes time to master it, but once you learn how to use it, you will be able to create professional designs.

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• Corel Draw is much more easy to use and it does quite the same things as Adobe Illustrator. Actually, I personally prefer this one and it is also the software I recommend to beginners. It’s very user friendly and the results are also very professional.

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• If you are going to work with photographs a lot, then Photoshop is the best one to use.

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Free Alternatives

There are also some free alternatives that you can use to create awesome designs.

Those can be softwares that you can download for free or programs that you can use online for free:

• Inkscape – (free download) this is the best one and, even if it’s free, has great features and you can easily create professional designs.
• Alchemy – (free download) this is a good software as well; unfortunately it can be used only with a Windows computer.
• Fatpaint – nothing to download, you also don’t even have to register, just hit Start Fatpaint; it is great for t-shirt designs.

Other good and free websites to use to create logos or designs (but not vectors) are:

• Canva.com – this has some useful templates that you can use to create logos, posters, comics, social media photos.
• Ipiccy.com – this is the one I used a lot and I still use, especially when I create watermarks or different types of labels that I want to put on my photos. You can also create stunning designs with it. Maybe the only thing I don’t like is that it has limited dimensions (up to 14 x 14 inches), but usually, you don’t need huge designs, so it can be great, especially for beginners.
• Fotor.com – I think this has almost all the templates that you will ever need to create banners and social media posts (even Etsy cover shop templates and Etsy shop icon templates).

What To Do Now

The first things I recommend you to do are:

• download Inkscape (which is free) and, if you don’t know how to use it, watch some tutorials and learn

This is a great tutorial for beginners that I found on Youtube. Watch all the videos.

• after you play around and understand how it works, you should choose a niche or a theme and start creating some designs

• you should save your designs in 3 basic formats:

SVG – vector; cut file for cutting machines (ex: Cricut – read my post about Cricut machines)

PNG – transparent background; for printables and iron on transfers

JPG – for printables and digital use

If your designs are made to print, then you should have also a PDF format.

To set your own dimensions, go to File => Document properties.

You have templates or you can set custom dimensions. You can also choose the units due to your preferences.

I also recommend you to read The Etsy Seller Handbook. You will find everything you need to know as a seller.

So, watch the tutorial, learn how to use Inkscape, create some designs, export them in the 3 basic formats and read The Etsy Seller Handbook.

In the next post I will show you how to create mockup photos and watermarks, so stay tuned.

UPDATE: Read The How To Create Mockup Photos And Watermarks Post

I hope you found my guide useful and if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment bellow. I will be more than happy to help you out. Have fun learning and creating!