Stay Consistent in Your Shop for Success - Module 5: Mastering Etsy Print on Demand (FULL COURSE)

Welcome back to mastering, as the print on demand, the completely free course that I've created to help you be your own product boss from anywhere, in just pockets of time, grounded by years of Show more

small business experience, expert testing- because I never preach what I haven't practiced and crafted to suit anyone. No matter what part of the journey you're on, my goal is to show you the ropes, help you build out a strategic approach for print-on-demand success and give you a results-based grip on driving sales, using the simply pod framework that I've developed and that this entire free course is based off of. In case we Show more

haven't met yet, hey there, friend, my name is Mandy. I'm a busy Midwest boy, Mama, former HR Director turned full-time handmade small business entrepreneur and builder of print on demand shops that, all together, have reached almost six figures in less than a year, all while not having to touch a single product or ship anything out to a customer myself. I'm obsessed with sharing knowledge that simplifies the Etsy print on demand process so that truly anyone can feel empowered to start their own Journey. Show more

We're deep into the course now with module 5, and this time we'll be moving to the center of the triangle and starting with consistency. So we'll be talking about success versus failure and what that looks like, setting goals, planning out your products, the path to consistency and, of course, our favorite time of homework. We're deep into the course now with module five, and this time we'll be moving into the center of our foundational triangle and starting with consistency. In this module, we'll be talking about what separates success versus failure. We'll talk about setting goals and planning out your products and, of course- my favorite- and yours- homework at the end. So this module will be a Show more

little bit different than some of the previous ones, and that's because it's going to be a little bit more of a pep talk. One of the biggest differences between those who are successful and those who aren't in this business is consistency. Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. You need to be consistent and keep going, even on the Show more

days when it's hard or where you're not seeing the fruits of your labor. Success in this business comes to those who kept going even during the days and weeks with no sales, especially in the beginning or in slow times of the year. Success also comes to those who didn't give up after their first one star review. It's inevitable. It will happen at some point. It doesn't mean you failed, but it doesn't mean you should give up either. It will happen and you just need to know how to move through it. Success also comes to those who didn't get hung up on their print provider over one or two quality issues, because they know that millions of perfect products go out to happy customers every day. Humans are involved in this entire process and we need to know again how to navigate that and move through that to continue to be successful. And success comes to those who were willing to look at their designs and ask themselves: is this really something someone would buy? Or we're honest with themselves and said: you know what? Maybe this design isn't so good and that is okay. As we talked about in the design module, early designs may not be our best. That is what practicing is for and it will come with time and we need to be okay with failing on those first few, as long as we can be honest with ourselves that it didn't go the way we planned and have a plan and steps from moving forward and through that and not giving up along the way. And success also comes to those who were willing to invest their time up front because they saw the potential in their future. Show more

This is a business. We are entrepreneurs. Success does not happen for you. You have to be able to make it happen. It comes to those who fight for it, who stay consistent, who keep improving and learning and, above all, those who don't give up. So here's my Show more

challenge to you in this journey of being consistent: set goals for yourself. Start with the goal of getting 200 listings. If you're just starting out. This is when a lot of stores start to see Traction in the beginning, because it shows Etsy that you are being consistent and that you are active and engaged in your shop. Set a goal of four listings per day and guess what? You'll be at 100 in less than 30 days. And if you're using my batching method that we talked about in the design module, you'll get there faster than you might think. Hold yourself accountable and keep going in doing this. Show more

It's also important to plan out your products when you can. You have the right framework now. Use it. You can plan out your products now based on the principles that we have talked about for keywords and Niche, and identifying your target audience and thinking about what they would like to buy and what would resonate with them and designing for them, which will make this whole process much more strategic, versus feeling like you're just throwing spaghetti at a wall. And the other tip that I have for Show more

planning out your products and being able to add new designs in different ways: go grab calendar and look 8 to 12 weeks out, find a holiday in that time frame and add holiday versions of whatever Niche you're designing in: Evergreen designs, meaning designs that you're making for a niche, that aren't specific to Seasons. Those may be your bread and butter designs that will sell all year, but being able to layer in Holiday versions for those Target audiences and ideal buyers that are in that Niche are again another way to grab the attention of buyers who are searching for products and listings like yours if you're finding yourself feeling Show more

discouraged, especially in the beginning, where growth can feel really slow at first. I am here to remind you to trust the process. Those moments of discouragement are going to be crucial because they can either be the point where you give up or they can be the point where you choose to keep moving forward the path to consistency. And moving forward means to be patient. Those first few sales can take a while and there are so many factors that can contribute to that. You have not failed. It just takes time and focus on continuing to grow. As sales do come in, evaluate the designs and styles that are working so that you know where to prioritize your attention. And if you really feel like things aren't working, then start looking at potential fixes. I'll link to one of my favorite videos on three fixes for your shop that can help you resolve areas that are prone to issues. Show more

Continue researching and being a student of etsy, that means exploring new niches or sub niches that could fit within your shop, analyzing potential new keywords or long tail combinations for keywords to Target different audiences. Data-driven decisions and research will be a much more productive use of your time than simply taking wild guesses at what you think will work. Stay connected with your printing partner so that, when you do have winning designs, you can discover new ways of using them on unique products for your audience. And, finally, trust the process- your shop will evolve over time as you learn. That is a natural part of your growth. Continue repeating the methods that are working, correcting mistakes as you identify them and setting goals to continue expanding your listings and, at Show more

the end of the day, remember the only way to fail is to not start. So here's your sign to start. Success does not happen overnight, and so you have to be patient, especially if you are building a new shop. Success is also not Out Of Reach, so start believing in yourself. Don't believe the lie that the market is over saturated. You just have to know how to navigate it. I started a shop less than a year ago, passed all of the pandemic craziness in the e-commerce boom well into a Time or the economy started to slow way down, and I am still hitting almost six figures in less than a year. By the time I get a year, I will be past that six figure mark. It is not out of reach, my friend. So start believing in yourself that you can do this too, and, above all, choose progress over Perfection. Keep going, be willing to fail at first, it's okay. Keep learning, keep building your knowledge and keep going. Done is better than perfect sometimes, and so you just need to start and always remember I am here cheering you on, Friends, Show more

and so, as we start to round out our full framework, we've covered product and SEO and design. That gave us the foundation for becoming confident with the basics and to give us a road map for building our shop and creating listings that will ultimately be successful and have the best chance of ranking higher in Etsy search results for our Target buyer. And now, as we're navigating through these sustaining activities that are integrated supports as part of our business, we've just navigated through consistency, and so that is where coming up with new listings and new products and continuing research is going to be so important, and then we'll start adding in value as well as driving traffic. And, Show more

of course, I haven't forgotten about our favorite activity of homework: time. And this one is really just all about staying accountable. I can't teach you ambition- you have to find that within yourself- but I can help you find accountability. I've Linked In the description below a road to 100 accountability worksheet, so, whether you're already 100 listings in and want to add a hundred more, or if you're a brand new shop, this is a quick road to 100 accountability worksheets so that you can stay accountable, set a daily goal and work towards 100 listings getting added to your shop and don't just throw up 100 random listings. Use the framework that we've talked about by establishing what type of product you can use for your target audience, who is your ideal buyer, figuring out and using the keywords that are going to resonate with that target audience, creating designs that are going to match within that Niche and be desirable for that ideal buyer. Once you hit 100, check in with yourself, check in with your goals, repeat what is a working and helping you achieve those goals. And Show more

that brings us to the end of this module. We've got a few more coming up that will continue to build on sustaining your long-term shop success by adding in the value and driving in traffic to your shop, as well as one more bonus of video on a little more advanced technique around adding personalized products. So stay tuned, make sure you're subscribed Show more

and I'll see you on the next one Show more