After one month of creating a POD t-shirt business on Etsy, I have 13 products, no sales, no favorites, and only a few clicks, but at least I have come to grips with the Printify and Etsy software. Month two of my POD t-shirt side hustle went like this.
It was time to push on and create more desperately needed products for my store. With Christmas approaching, I decided to make some Christmas-themed products, but first, I needed to understand what these might be, so I researched the competition.
This is how the FIRST NIGHT of month two progressed.
I started at Etsy and tried a few keywords in the search bar. Things like “Christmas t-shirts.” Some clear themes began coming through. Shirts with images like “Farm Fresh Christmas Trees” appear often, and many stores seem to have them. I’m no designer, and I won’t be able to draw this, so what will I do?
Fortunately, an ad at the bottom of the screen provided a solution. You can buy these popular images from graphics artists selling on Etsy. They only cost a few dollars, and having no other options, I buy this one and a group of others – “Merry Christmas Gnomes”, “North Pole Brewing Company,” “Merry Bright,” and “Merry” – spending about $10.
While scanning the competition, I noticed some other things that were of immediate concern.
I need to up my product presentations.
Compared to the displays of my products, the polished displays of the opposition tended to make my offers look amateurish. I did some research and learned the secret to their success is the ability to create quality mockups.
This is a term new to me. I needed to learn another new skill.
Starting with Google, I typed in “How do POD sellers create mockups?” and quickly found a tool called “Placeit.” That rang a bell, and I realized I had seen it in Printify. Returning to Printify, I located the Placeit link in the product editing section. This led me to a dedicated site offering mockups where you can embed your designs and adjust the t-shirt color. It’s an impressive tool, and of course, it costs. Only $5 a month, so I sign up, and I’m ready to up my display game.
An hour later, I’ve nailed choosing mockups, uploading designs to Placeit, and tweaking shirt colors.
I need to offer Sweatshirts
I also noticed while looking at my opposition that, being winter, these Christmas designs are offered on sweatshirts. I think I will follow their lead and create sweatshirts for winter.
Ready to start
I decided on the Farm Fresh Christmas Trees on a sweatshirt as the new product for tonight and headed back to Printify. I selected the Gildan 18000 sweatshirt from the product selection menu as it seems to be the go. I added my design to this shirt in the edit section and chose the sweatshirt colors carefully.
Then, I noticed that the dark-colored shirts needed a white version of the image. So, I went back into Adobe Illustrator to produce a second version of the image, then back to Printify, where I learned how to vary designs across the colors in the product range. It’s tricky but doable.
With the product produced, it was over to “PlaceIt” to create the mockups. I selected some mockups featuring women in sweatshirts, produced several in different colors, and downloaded them in jpeg format.
Back in Printify, I gave my product an appropriate name, scrolled to the bottom, and turned off the upload mockups button. This will publish my new design but without the default mockups. Then I press “Publish” and wait till the product is uploaded to Etsy.
Now, over to Etsy, where I learn how to delete the default mockup and upload the new, improved ones from PlaceIt. I press publish, check my store, and there is my new Christmas sweatshirt. I go to my store to see what it looks like. Yep, it looks good. I click on it and scroll to the bottom of the screen to check on the other offers.
Wait a minute!
Half a dozen different stores have the same or similar designs for sale, but they are all much cheaper. They are all on sale, ranging from 20% to 45% off.
Oh well. I need to be competitive, so it’s over to Google Sheets to determine a competitive price. I calculate what I can charge to be competitive, then increase it by 40%. This is the size of the sale I will need to run.
Back to Printify. Adjust the prices. Scroll down the bottom of the screen, select to update the prices only, and hit the “Publish” button.
Back to Etsy. Now, I need to figure out how to put something on sale. Look up Google – pretty simple, so I do the simple thing and put my whole shop on sale for 40%.
Check my new product – that’s better. It’s not the cheapest, but it’s still competitive. Make a note to find out how some of these are so cheap.
Check the time.
OMG – It’s 3 AM. Exhausted, I realize this much. This much-advertised simple way of making extra income as a side hustle is turning out to be a magical journey, if by magic you mean pulling 16-hour days out of a hat. (That includes my full-time job)
Embracing the Grind
I dragged the previous passage out a bit on purpose. Starting this side hustle is a grind to begin with. There is a lot to learn and several skills to acquire. Much of month 2 went this way, but I did get better and faster at creating new products, even if they were just purchased images. I finished the month with nearly 50 separate products.
With years of experience in marketing and a background as a product manager for international brands, I know it’s time to reflect on the product I have built so far and ask myself:
“Why would anyone buy from me?”
My product is the same as many others, it’s still not as well presented, it’s still not as cheap, and I have no social proof yet (sales and reviews). On top of that, I have a less-than-acceptable storefront, a shop name I’m not overly happy with, no unique selling point, too few products to be taken seriously, and a great deal still to learn.
It’s clear that after two months of following the rules I set for side hustle evaluation (2 hours every night and 6 hours on the weekend), I will have to change if I’m going to make this a thing. I’ll need more like 4 hours every night and 10 hours on weekends to get this operation off the ground.
That’s the first big lesson from all side hustle sales hype. They are always a lot more work than what you are led to believe.
What have I learned so far?
Do as I say and not as I do is ringing in my brain loud and clear. I failed to do the very things I recommend in the System 6 course.
Do your research, begin with a plan, and get some education upfront.
I’m too eager to just get started, I guess.
So before you start a blog, do this:
STOP – THINK – ACT.
These were the three things I was taught when I worked as a scuba diver in my youth. If you get into trouble, DON’T PANIC. Stop, think, act.
In marketing, that translates into:
Stop – take a breath and slow down. Don’t just dive in. You need knowledge and a plan to succeed in blogging. Without one, your first year will be spent fluffing around.
Think – What is your blog REALLY going to be about? Can it keep you motivated? Do you have a unique selling proposition? Is there money in it? How will you position your blog amongst the plethora of opposition you will inevitably face? WRITE A PLAN. Even a one-pager will do to start.
Act – once you know where you are going, GO HARD. Only the strongest win in the game of blogging.
Month Three
This is how I am going to start month three. First, I will spend some time reviewing the whole market, and then, armed with more knowledge, I will create a plan. Just a one-pager, but I will need to create something unique; otherwise, the competition will just kill me. Then, some education might be in order. Maybe some quick YouTube video will wise me enough to power me forward.
So, return next time when I reveal my one-page marketing plan, what I learned from snooping around, and how I went during December.
Till next time.
Happy blogging
Regards, John
PS: I made my first sale in the last week of month two. Hooray! It’s actually a pretty cool feeling, especially when you get a really positive review as well. I don’t think I made much profit, though. I’ll review it in the next update with a look at the Etsy fees in some detail.
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