How I hit my first $1,600 on Etsy selling Swimwear
Ready to read my unfiltered story? let's go!
How my journey started
Like many people, I always wanted to sell on Etsy and make a side income. I’d been a regular customer for years, mostly browsing for printables and gifts.
Then one day I took a look at the number of sales on one of my favorite shops. 22,478 sales! I will never forget that day because after doing the maths to estimate her potential revenue, I knew I had to start selling on Etsy straightaway.
To start my journey, I watched every YouTube video on Etsy I could find. This one was my favorite. No fluff, straight to the point. If you hang around this blog long enough, you’ll see I go straight to the point so I enjoy writers or content creators who do same.
Many videos recommended Everbee as a great resource for knowing what to sell on Etsy. I learnt that when you are selling online, you don't go in blind. You do some research to know what is in demand. Made sense. So I downloaded Everbee and started looking at the best selling and in demand products in every niche.
I saw so many great products and at this point I didn’t know what niche to focus on - so I took a couple of random find your niche quizzes and spoke to family for ideas. Eventually I landed in the holiday/bridal niche - so I decided I was going to sell customised swimsuits for bachelorette parties.
How did I get my first Sale
After researching for almost a month, I used Canva to create a couple of swimsuit mockup designs and listed them on Etsy. Finally I did it! and i'm so glad i did because the response was insane! After 24hrs I got my first sale - ‘cha-ching!!!!’
I was shaking in excitement! Understandable. This was the first time I had successfully sold something online.
Some people might say my first sale was pure luck since many people have 0 sales on their Etsy stores. But I totally disagree. When you put in the research, you get to know what sells and what is in demand - so you create similar products and buyers will find you (don’t copy someone’s product though, the key is to just take inspiration).
"Don't start blind, do some research on demand and competition before creating any product!''
How do I get my first boost in Sales
Exactly 6 days after my first order, I received an order for 8 more swimsuits for a bride and her bridesmaids!. What???!!!
In that same week my first client returned and ordered for 5 more for her bridesmaids (clearly she loved what she received).
Here is what I love about this niche that nobody tells you. You get orders in multiples and so the revenue stacks up pretty quickly. At this point I was already looking at a revenue of $350 from 14 swimsuit orders within 2 weeks.
How I hit > $1,000
I didn’t do anything different, I just kept on researching for slogans that bridesmaids love and adding new design mockups to my shop. Nothing different from how I started, it was really all about looking into everbee, researching my competitors and creating new products. As spring and warm weather came around, I started getting several orders every week, and that was it, in few weeks I had made my first $1,600 and beyond on Etsy.
My key takeaways from this experience
Want to sell something online? Don't over think it, just do your research and put your products out there!
Make sure your product is of good quality. I had several returning customers and that was proof they liked what they received.
Ready to give a chance to that idea you've been nursing for a while?
Good luck as you begin your side hustle journey.
Thaks for stopping by! I release new inspirational no-fluff posts every week so be sure to get on the list!