How To Make Money On Etsy Without Making Anything: 15 Tips!

You might know Etsy as an online marketplace that specialises in handmade and crafted items, but don’t worry if you’re not able to do any of this as I’m here to teach you how to make money on Etsy without making anything.

Yes, you read that right. You can earn money on Etsy and learn how to sell on Etsy without inventory.

Etsy is a great place with many things for sale and there are opportunities for every seller, but sometimes your life situation might not allow you to keep an inventory of items to sell.

I’m here to show you how to make money on Etsy in 2023 without needing to make anything, and without having to have an inventory. It’s completely possible.

I’ll delve into the ways to make money on Etsy, but here’s the quick low-down on what you can consider selling without making anything and how to get started:

1. Art Prints

2. Clip Art

3. Digital Announcements

4. Digital Invitations

5. Digital Planners

6. Lightroom Presets

7. Label Templates

8. Learning Materials

9. Patterns For Knitting, Crocheting or Sewing

10. Journals

11. Social Media Graphics

12. Stickers

13. Stock Photos

14. SVG Files

15. Wallpapers

how to make money on etsy without making anything

Affiliate Link Disclosure

This article contains some affiliate links which means that I may earn a small commission when you click on them, at no additional cost to you. I do hope you find the information in this article helpful!

Related Posts

If you are super busy and you want to start making money selling digital products on Etsy asap, you can check out this and this Etsy course, that will step up your Etsy game and start earning within 3 months!

Alternatively, you can also check out this free Etsy Ebook that will share a list of best-selling products by month and teach you how to capitalize on seasonal trends to make sales.

15 Ways On How To Make Money On Etsy Without Making Anything

The shortcut on how to make money on Etsy without paying anything or making anything is simply to sell digital items.

And the best way to do this without making anything is by purchasing private label rights (PLRs).

Private Label Rights (PLRs)

Now, this is my absolute top way on how to make money on Etsy without making anything. Especially if you don’t have a creative bone in your body like me!

What exactly are private label rights products? Bear with me – I shall explain – and then you’re gonna love me!

Okay – here goes.

Private label rights are where you buy the rights to existing content or physical products and then you modify and customize them to display your own branding.

Essentially, private label rights allow you to purchase generic content or templates and make them your own.

What you’re doing is purchasing a license which includes the right to modify the content or templates.

Once you have customized them, you then own all the rights to the modified product.

This means you can now do with them as you please, including sell them on Etsy!

For Etsy, you can purchase private label rights for things like:

Templates
Graphics
Video content
Stock Photos
Art Prints

There are tons more ideas that I will go into more detail about below.

But first – what are the pros and cons of using Private Label Rights?

Pros of Private Label Rights

PLRs are affordable. Each piece of content usually costs a few cents and most PLR sellers sell them in bundles or packages. This also means that it is going to be easier for you to make a profit! Woohoo!

PLRs save you time, energy, and effort. You don’t have to crack your head about how to design your content or what should go it. It’s all there for you. Just make it your own and start selling!

PLRs give you complete control over the content once you purchase it. This is probably the best advantage. It is completely yours. You get to decide how and when you want to update your product. And you don’t have to wait for anyone to do it for you!

Cons of PLRs

Your products and/or content may not entirely be unique. This probably goes without saying but you will probably see a lot of similar content out there on the Etsy platform as PLRs are sold openly.

The quality of the content may not be very high. Since the content is generic, you may need to spend some time to enhance the quality of the content on your own.

You will need to be on the lookout to ensure that the content is not duplicated or plagiarised. Again, this goes back to the generic nature of the content that is produced.

If you’re curious about the details of how PLRs work check out this article!

Now that you’re familiar with PLRs, let’s take a look at some of the things that you can purchase and sell on Etsy using this concept!

1. Art Prints

If you’re creative then you should definitely make selling prints on Etsy a priority! One of the ways to make money on Etsy fast is to combine your passions and interests with the resources you have, coupled with the demand on Etsy.

Art prints are very popular on Etsy, with over 6 million listings as shoppers can buy artwork and choose to print and frame them in whichever way they want. This also saves a lot on shipping costs on both ends.

2. Clip Art

If you’re not so creatively blessed but can do some simple images, you could also consider making clip art digitally to sell.

There are people who may require clip art to spruce up an invite, a presentation, or just something they’re making, and the very clip art you’re making could be the cherry on top of the cake.

3. Digital Announcements

Digital announcements are all the rage now given that we’re all busy people. Announcing something online is so much quicker, and fuss-free, and it reaches more people, whether it’s a wedding, engagement, pregnancy, or birth.

4. Digital Invitations

In the same vein, digital invitations are also highly popular as they are convenient and allow the inviter to send multiple invites to their loved ones and friends in one go.

Of course, depending on the occasion, the digital invitations would need to be customized accordingly.

So if you’re able to provide templates across different types of occasions like parties, weddings, and anniversaries, you’d be sure to command a good amount of sales.

5. Digital Planners

As everyone strives to be more organized, they might want to look for digital planners to help them out – meal planners, workout planners, daily planners, monthly planners, the list goes on, really!

You can even have a planner in the form of a checklist if it’s something you’re familiar with, like a party planner or a wedding planner. If your list is comprehensive enough, you’ll definitely help out a lot of frazzled party or wedding organizers.

6. Lightroom Presets

Lightroom presets are popular to sell and easy to make – they are customized filters that you can apply to photos when you use the app Adobe Lightroom and Lightroom Mobile.

These presets are highly sought after by those who want consistently edited and filtered photos but don’t want to go through the hassle of editing each image individually, through every step.

7. Label Templates

For anyone who loves getting organized, label templates are a huge help because they look nice and you can just buy a design you like, print them on your sticker paper and sizes of choice, and then use them to get organizing. It’s fuss-free and quick!

8. Learning Materials

Learning materials are very sellable items on Etsy as teachers and mothers are on the constant lookout for items to educate and entertain their children with.

If you provide educational and exciting content across different age groups, you have no worries that your Etsy shop will surely be a hit as parents and teachers would then share them with other parents through word of mouth!

9. Patterns For Knitting, Crocheting, or Sewing

Anyone who’s done knitting, crocheting, or sewing knows how much of a godsend patterns are when it comes to these crafts. A pattern provides you with steps on a template, which you can print or refer to, to make your knitting, crocheting, or sewing a lot easier.

If you’re good at either of these and excel at guiding people on how to knit, sew or crochet, then making patterns will help you get those sales from budding crafters!

10. Journals

On Etsy, you’ll find thousands of digital journal templates that can be applied to GoodNotes, the digital note-taking app for iPad.

Yes, you can always write in a physical journal, but digital journals provide one with the flexibility to always undo and edit easily, which is why digital journals have been gaining popularity among the journal-writing crowd. If you love creating templates for others, you might want to consider this!

11. Social Media Graphics

Anyone who’s been a social media manager or community manager knows this – good and consistent content is a pain to generate and if you have help in the form of templates or preset graphics, it makes your job so much easier.

If you’re good at Canva and good with words, you can consider developing social media graphics for time-pressed social media managers looking for some help!

12. Stickers

Similar to labels, digital stickers work great for those who love stickers but want the ability to customize their stickers according to size and the type of paper they might want to print them on. Sticker templates are also great because you can choose which stickers you want to be printed.

13. Stock Photos

Stock photos are highly sought after by business owners as they might need them for advertisements or just for marketing purposes. Purchasing them individually on stock photo websites can be cumbersome as they would need to search and curate a set of photos they need.

By selling a set of stock photos relevant to, say a floral shop or a hardware store, you’d save these business owners a lot of time.

14. SVG Files

In short, SVG files stand for scalable vector files and are a type of standard graphics file type used for icons, logos, illustrations, and animation. If you’re great at creating graphics, then instead of selling them as individual artwork, you can sell them as SVG files so they can be utilized across other mediums.

15. Wallpapers

For those who love sprucing up their desktop wallpapers or Zoom backgrounds, you’d be doing them a huge favor by selling them sets of wallpapers for their use. Sure there are lots of free wallpapers online but nothing quite beats having someone curate a set of wallpapers, for example, vintage wallpapers for you.

If you’re great at designing or editing images and want to create simple composite backgrounds, this might be the item for you to sell.

Things To Know About Before Selling On Etsy

You might be really excited to sell on Etsy after reading this article and after learning how to make money on Etsy without making anything. But before you do so, here’s a quick checklist of things to know before you start selling:

Decide On What You Want To Sell

You can sell a number of things but make sure they should be in a particular product niche and they should meet a need by Etsy buyers. You can see what’s trending on Etsy by using keyword research tools like Sale Samurai.

Define Your Target Audience

Once you know what you want to sell, you should be able to define your audience pretty easily. Defining your target audience helps you decide how you want to price your products, how you want to name your products, and what sort of marketing you’ll use to reach them.

Pick A Good Shop Name

It’s good to have a good name that reflects what you’re selling and your purpose. But if you do decide you want to change it eventually, don’t worry it’s difficult to change your shop name on Etsy.

Make Sure The Item Is Of Good Quality

This is important even if it’s a digital copy. You don’t want someone complaining because you sent them a broken link or a low-resolution digital product.

Make Sure You Can Meet The Demand

If customers buy from you, make sure you address their queries and send them the product on time. If you delay sending them the product, they might write you off as a fraud or scam which could affect your shop’s performance.

Have Solid Store Policies

Having solid policies helps you decide how you want to handle returns, exchanges, payments, shipping, and handling, which will prove helpful in the long run as your customer base grows.

Make Sure You Have Your Payment Methods Set Up

Not just for people to pay you, but for you to get paid by Etsy. You have several options on Etsy like PayPal, Google Wallet, Apply Pay and so on, so sort that out before you begin selling on Etsy else where’s all that money going to go?

A Guide On How To Get Started Selling On Etsy

Now that I’ve gone through the various types of items you can sell on Etsy without making anything physically, you might wonder, how do I get started? I have a full-on guide here for you on how to sell digital downloads on Etsy. But in gist, you’ll just need to follow these steps:

1. Do Your Market Research In The Digital Downloads Category

Have a look at what others are selling, and what digital downloads are popular. You wouldn’t want to launch a product that doesn’t help others.

One way to speed up the market research process is to use a keyword research tool like Sale Samurai. Guess what? Using my code outandbeyond gets you a nifty 20% off!

2. Create The Digital Product

You have many ways to do this, through free or premium design software. My personal favorite is Canva because it’s free (and it’s for me!). There are a ton of free templates on Canva that can get you started.

3. Set Up Your Shop On Etsy

This is a no-brainer. Just go to Etsy, and click “Open Your Shop” to get going! You can spend some time thinking about a shop name, but even if you do and want to change it eventually, it’s fine!

4. List Your Product

Having a shopfront isn’t enough. You’ll also need to list your products and use the right keywords, tags, and descriptions so people know what they’re getting. Then you need to make sure you price it suitably and have sound policies.

Always make sure you use high-quality photos or images to showcase what you’re selling so you don’t get accused of misrepresenting your products after.

5. Market Your Shop And Products

Having your shop and products up isn’t enough, you need to get the word out about your shop if you want people to come and buy from you. There are just so many shops on Etsy that not marketing yourself will get you nowhere.

You can use social media like Facebook and Instagram or Pinterest to help with marketing.

6. Get Those Reviews Going!

As soon as you get your first few sales, do encourage your customers to leave you reviews. These first few reviews help draw other potential customers as they can tell that you’re a reliable seller.

The reviews also help you know what you’re doing good at and what you could improve on.

If you receive a query, respond to it quickly. If you do get a negative review, do take the time to understand where the customer is coming from and see whether their point is valid, and improve from there!

That’s about it, really. Once you’ve gotten started selling on Etsy, always remember to review your shopping stats to see what you can do better and tweak it from there.

How Much Money Can You Make On Etsy?

If you’re working can I make a lot of money on Etsy or can you make millions on Etsy, well, yes you can make money, but you shouldn’t expect to make millions in your first year.

A good gauge would be about $5,000 to $50,000 in your first year depending on the work you put in and the demand for your products.

So yes, selling on Etsy can be profitable but you need to be prepared to put in the work and the time to make your shop a success.

FAQs

What Is The Easiest Way To Make Money On Etsy?

The easiest way to make money on Etsy is to sell these digital items:

Baby Items
Craft Supplies
Home Decor
Invitations
Jewelry
Mugs
Party Decorations
Pet Supplies
Personalized Clothing
Printables
Stickers
T-Shirts
T-Shirt Mock-Up Templates
Bags & Purses
Vintage Items And Collectibles
Wedding Decorations

Can You Sell Things On Etsy That You Didn’t Make?

If you’re wondering can you sell things on Etsy you didn’t make, unfortunately, you cannot resell things that you did not make or design. However, you can sell things on Etsy that you did not physically make, like the digital items we’ve mentioned above!

What Sells The Easiest On Etsy?

There are a number of things that sell the easiest on Etsy, due to their demand and due to ease of making or sourcing for them. These items are:

Candles
Digital Prints And Downloads
Home Decor
Jewelry
Notebooks And Journals
Organic Cosmetics
Paper Crafts
Phone Cases And Small Goods
Sewing And Crochet Patterns
Stickers

Conclusion

Now that you know how to make money on Etsy without making anything, your next step really is to just get started. There is never a good time or a bad time to try selling on Etsy.

Once you’ve mastered the skill of selling digital products on Etsy, you’ll realise that it’s not too difficult to know how to create passive income from Etsy digital products because all you need to do is create the products once, and sell them repeatedly.

Of course, they should be quality products. Else you can always review your sales performance, and feedback and then refine your products from there. Once you have a good digital product going, the passive income will stream in.

Don’t believe me? I’ve been there and I’ve tried it, so I’m here to help answer any questions you might have if you’re stuck selling digital items on Etsy. Drop me a DM on Instagram or just leave a comment!

I’m so excited for you to start selling on Etsy!

Related Posts

How To Make Money On Etsy Without Making Anything: 15 Tips!

15 Ways On How To Make Money On Etsy Without Making Anything