DON'T Sell on Etsy. Do THIS Instead and Make $15,000 Per Month
TLDRThe video script warns against the risks of solely relying on platforms like Etsy for selling digital products. It highlights three major issues: platform risk where an account can be suspended without warning, price wars due to low barriers to entry, and limited scalability. The speaker suggests leveraging social media and creating a website to gain control over the customer experience, avoid Etsy's fees, and build a brand. They present the example of 'Etsy Happy Downloads,' which successfully drives traffic to their website and earns substantial income from YouTube AdSense. The summary advises creating content for social media to increase traffic and suggests that with a solid business model, one could sell their online business for a significant profit. The speaker also provides a free cheat sheet with tools and strategies to scale a digital product business.
Takeaways
- 🚨 The risk of relying solely on a platform like Etsy includes the possibility of account suspension without clear reasons, leading to loss of income and business momentum.
- 📈 To mitigate platform risk, consider diversifying your online presence with a personal website and social media channels to maintain control over your business.
- 💰 Selling on your own website allows you to avoid price wars common on marketplaces like Etsy, enabling you to set your own prices and earn a healthy margin.
- 🌐 Building a brand and trust through free content on social media can help you charge higher prices for your digital products without being undercut by competitors.
- 📊 Scalability is limited on marketplaces; to grow your business quickly, you need to focus on direct traffic to your own website rather than relying solely on Etsy's traffic.
- 💌 Not having access to customer emails on Etsy means you can't promote your products directly to them. Owning a website gives you full control over customer data and relationships.
- 🌟 Successful businesses often use multiple revenue streams, such as affiliate marketing, YouTube AdSense, and direct product sales to diversify income.
- 📈 Driving traffic to your own website can significantly increase sales without the limitations of marketplace competition, allowing for higher prices and better profit margins.
- 📝 Investing time in creating content for social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram can yield higher traffic and better business growth opportunities than optimizing Etsy listings alone.
- 💼 Having a solid online business with consistent traffic and profits makes it a valuable asset that can be sold for a significant multiple of its monthly profit.
- 🎯 For sustainable growth, use Etsy as a starting point but plan to expand your business beyond the platform to ensure long-term success and stability.
Q & A
What is the potential risk of relying solely on a platform like Etsy for your business?
-The potential risk includes the possibility of your account being suspended without a clear reason, leading to a loss of both job and business, as well as the inability to control your customer data.
Why is it challenging to charge a fair price for digital products on Etsy?
-The barrier to entry is low, and the platform is flooded with sellers offering similar products, which leads to price wars and the need to lower prices to compete.
How does having a strong social media presence help in mitigating the risks associated with selling on Etsy?
-A strong social media presence provides an alternative source of traffic and potential customers, reducing reliance on a single platform and offering more control over the customer experience.
What are some of the benefits of selling digital products on your own website?
-Benefits include having complete control over the customer experience, avoiding Etsy selling fees, and the ability to charge a higher price for products without direct competition.
How can creating content for social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram help in scaling a digital product business?
-Creating content for social media can drive more traffic to your website, as these platforms are currently boosting the reach for new accounts, allowing you to leverage trends and momentum to grow your business.
What is the significance of having an exit plan for a digital product business?
-An exit plan allows for the potential sale of the business at a multiple of its monthly profit, providing a significant financial return on investment and a way to cash out of the business when desired.
Why is it important to build an email list when running a digital product business?
-Having an email list allows you to promote your products directly to customers, independent of any marketplace, and is crucial for building a sustainable business that is not solely reliant on a platform like Etsy.
What is the recommended approach to building a sustainable business if you start on Etsy?
-The recommended approach is to use Etsy as a starting point to get initial traction, but then diversify by building a website, leveraging social media, and creating an email list to reduce platform risk and increase scalability.
How much revenue might one expect from YouTube AdSense if they have a popular channel with 80 million views per month?
-According to the script, one might earn between $4,000 and $74,000 per month from YouTube AdSense, depending on various factors such as niche and engagement.
What are some strategies to stand out in a competitive digital product market?
-Strategies include creating unique and high-quality products, building a strong brand, offering excellent customer service, and utilizing social media to drive traffic and establish a loyal customer base.
How can one leverage the traffic from a successful Etsy store to build a more robust business?
-One can direct traffic from the Etsy store to their own website, create content on various social media platforms to drive more traffic, and use multiple revenue streams such as affiliate marketing and YouTube AdSense.
What is the potential multiple on monthly profit when selling an online business that is not solely reliant on a marketplace like Etsy?
-The potential multiple on monthly profit when selling such a business can range from 30 to 40 times the monthly profit, depending on the niche and the health of the business.
Outlines
🚨 Risks of Relying Solely on Etsy for Your Business 🚨
The first paragraph emphasizes the potential risks of building a business solely on the Etsy platform. It tells a cautionary tale of an Etsy seller who, after achieving significant daily earnings, decides to go full-time only to have their account suspended without clear reason or recourse. This scenario highlights the lack of control sellers have over their business's future on such marketplaces. The speaker then contrasts this with the potential for substantial earnings through digital products but warns that these earnings can vanish quickly if not managed correctly. Three major problems with selling on Etsy are identified: platform risk, price wars, and scalability issues. The paragraph also introduces the idea that the speaker will share solutions to these problems.
🌐 Diversifying Your Online Presence for Business Sustainability 🌐
The second paragraph provides a strategy for mitigating the risks associated with relying on a single platform like Etsy. It discusses the importance of diversifying an online presence to include a personal website, social media channels, and other online marketplaces. The example of a successful Etsy store, 'Etsy Happy Downloads,' is given, which also has a substantial following on YouTube and other social platforms, thus securing a steady flow of traffic and income even without Etsy. The paragraph also touches on the benefits of owning a website, such as having full control over the customer experience and avoiding selling fees. It concludes with the idea that a diversified online presence not only reduces platform risk but also allows for setting one's own prices and easier scalability, leading to a more sustainable and profitable business model.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Etsy
💡Account Suspension
💡Digital Products
💡Platform Risk
💡Price Wars
💡Scalability
💡Customer Email List
💡Social Media Marketing
💡YouTube AdSense
💡Branding
💡Exit Plan
Highlights
The risk of relying solely on Etsy for your business includes the possibility of account suspension without clear reason, leading to loss of income and business momentum.
The video suggests that selling on Etsy can be profitable, but it's crucial to diversify to protect against platform risks.
A major issue with selling on Etsy is the threat of copyright strikes from competitors, which can deactivate listings and disrupt sales.
Etsy's low barrier to entry can lead to price wars, making it difficult to sell digital products at a fair price.
Digital products are easily replicable, which can lead to commoditization and difficulty in maintaining a healthy profit margin.
Scalability on Etsy can be challenging, requiring a high volume of sales to achieve significant revenue, which may not be sustainable.
Having a customer email list is crucial for promoting other products, but on Etsy, the seller does not have access to customer information.
The video introduces the successful Etsy store 'Etsy Happy Downloads' as an example of leveraging social media and a website to drive traffic and sales.
Etsy Happy Downloads uses their YouTube channel with over 300,000 subscribers to direct traffic to their own website, avoiding reliance on Etsy alone.
Having a website gives complete control over the customer experience and eliminates Etsy selling fees.
The video suggests that by driving traffic to your own website, you can avoid competition and set your own prices for your products.
An example is given of an individual who made $70,000 in a month by selling motion templates on their own website without an Etsy shop.
Creating content for social media can yield more traffic and is more scalable than improving Etsy listings alone.
The video emphasizes the importance of building a solid business with consistent traffic and healthy profits for long-term success.
An online business with consistent revenue can be sold for a significant multiple of its monthly profit, providing an exit strategy.
The presenter offers a free cheat sheet with tools and strategies to scale a digital product business beyond Etsy.
Etsy is recommended as a starting point for beginners, but the presenter advises against relying on it as the endpoint for a sustainable business.
The video encourages looking for new digital product ideas and applying the strategies shared to scale even further.