If you’ve ever dreamed of making passive income online but felt overwhelmed by the process, you’re in the right place. Today, we’re breaking down the exact steps Emily Odio Sutton used to go from an educator to a full-time entrepreneur making over $530,000 in just two years—selling print on demand and digital products on Etsy.
Print on Demand is my 2025 new income stream project, so this interview by The Doug Show appeared just in time! In this guide, you’ll learn the step-by-step process to launch your own print on demand Etsy shop, even if you have no prior experience in business or design.
Tools You’ll Need (With Links)
Before we dive in, here are the tools mentioned in this guide that will help streamline your Etsy journey. These are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase.
How Emily Started Selling on Etsy (And Made Over $500K!)
Emily Odio Sutton started selling on Etsy in January 2023 while still working a full-time job in education. Like many, she stumbled upon print on demand through Instagram doom scrolling and decided to give it a shot.
Within three weeks, she made her first sale. Within two years, she hit over 27,000 sales across two Etsy shops, generating more than $530,000 in revenue. This allowed her to quit her job and gain complete financial and time freedom.
Why Etsy and Print on Demand?
Emily tested various online income streams before settling on print-on-demand (POD) for a few key reasons:
- No inventory to manage
- Etsy brings in organic traffic (so no need to run ads or use social media)
- Simple text-based designs sell well
- Great for selling giftable products (which sell year-round!)
Step 1: Finding Profitable Product Ideas on Etsy
The key to success on Etsy is understanding what buyers are already looking for. Instead of guessing, use EverBee to find trending products with high sales volume and low competition.
How to Find Winning Product Ideas:
- Search Etsy for niches like “personalized gifts” or “funny candles.”
- Use EverBee to analyze competitors’ best-selling products.
- Look for high-demand, low-competition opportunities.
- Think about giftability—products that people buy for others sell best!
Step 2: Designing Your Products (Even If You’re Not a Designer)
You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create best-selling Etsy products. Emily’s top-selling product has only three words on it!
How to Create Designs Easily:
- Use Canva Pro to design simple text-based products.
- Keep it minimal—black or white text on a candle, journal, or mug works well.
- Test different phrases based on what’s trending on Etsy.
Step 3: Uploading Your Designs to Printify & Connecting to Etsy
Printify is the easiest print-on-demand provider to use for Etsy sellers.
Steps to Upload & Sell:
- Sign up for Printify and connect it to your Etsy shop.
- Choose a high-margin product (candles, journals, tote bags, or mugs).
- Upload your design and create a mockup for your listing.
- Set competitive pricing—Emily suggests 30-50% margins.
- Write a keyword-rich product description and publish your listing.
Step 4: Optimizing Your Etsy Listings for Sales
Your listings should include:
- A compelling title with high-search keywords (use EverBee!)
- High-quality mockup images (Canva helps with this!)
- A detailed description answering common customer questions
- SEO-rich tags to help Etsy’s algorithm find your product
Step 5: Scaling Your Etsy Business to Full-Time Income
Once you start getting sales, it’s time to scale up.
Emily’s Scaling Strategy:
- Upload new products consistently (she has 800+ active listings!)
- Focus on giftable products (holidays, birthdays, anniversaries)
- Customize listings based on customer requests
- Test different price points to maximize profit margins
Step 6: Handling Customer Service & Shipping
Most Etsy customer service involves:
- Answering pre-sale questions (customization, bulk orders, etc.)
- Handling shipping delays (Printify manages replacements!)
- Responding to occasional damaged product complaints
The good news? Once you set up a system, customer service is minimal (Emily spends just 10 hours per week running her shop!).
Final Thoughts: Should You Start an Etsy Print-on-Demand Business?
If you’re looking for a beginner-friendly way to make passive income, Etsy print-on-demand is one of the best business models out there.
Emily went from zero experience to over $530,000 in two years, all while balancing a full-time job and parenting. If she can do it, so can you!
Get Started Today!
By following these steps, you can start your own profitable Etsy print-on-demand business today!
