3 Steps to Grow Your Digital Planner Business
In mid-2018, I made the life-changing decision to start an Etsy shop designing and selling digital stationery. Though I was merely testing the waters to see if I could actually make a living doing something I loved, I was surprised that I was able to make a full-time income within the first three months. With this success under my belt, I decided to expand my business beyond Etsy so that I could build resources and blogs that would help and inspire people to start digital planning.
Having my own website has been a game-changer- it allows me to build a brand, a community and scale my business like I never imagined. Now I’m able to do things I could never do with Etsy like nurture my hard-won leads, build my email list and express myself through my personal branding. I have full control over my business, more contact with my clients, and the ability to offer my branded, personal style. Not only that but unlike with Etsy, all the traffic I bring in is for me. On Etsy, it’s all too common for someone to click on your store and then end up buying from one of your competitors! That doesn’t happen anymore when you scale your business beyond Etsy.
Are you looking to scale your digital product business beyond Etsy? Then read on.
So, how do you make the transition and upscale your passive income business? Here are the 3 steps you need to take to grow your digital planner business:
Step #1 - Move off Etsy and sell on your own website
Etsy is a great place to start, but you have so much more control over your own website. From the look to the contact with your customers, when you have your own website, you’re in the driver’s seat.
You can nurture your leads and take them through a sales funnel. This is a huge difference between having your own website and having an Etsy shop. This will help you capture more customers and turn them into loyal ones.
You can offer a more branded experience. This is one of the greatest joys of starting my own website- the ability to create the look and feel that reflects my personal brand and tastes.
Here are two website options to expand beyond Etsy:
Shopify - Shopify is an eCommerce veteran and has a lot of benefits for digital product sellers, such as limitless digital product exporting and allows you to upload files of up to 5GB vs. Squarespace’s 300MB. Shopify allows you to make sales in a variety of currencies, so if you have a global customer base, this is a huge benefit. Shopify also allows you to see more complex analytics like financial reports, sales reports, customer reports, and more so you can perfect your sales approach to gain more customers.
Cost:
Shopify Lite - $9/mo.
Basic Shopify - $29/mo.
Shopify - $79/mo.
Advanced Shopify - $299/mo.
Squarespace - Squarespace has a more streamlined sales platform that wins with its beautiful templates and product images. That being said, most of their beautiful templates are not geared towards online sales but rather towards bloggers or artists and their product images are most effective for physical products rather than digital ones. Squarespace’s biggest draw is its beautiful and user-friendly interface.
Cost:
Personal - $16/mo.
Business - $26/mo.
Basic Commerce - $30/mo.
Advanced Commerce - $46/mo.
Step #2 - Start email marketing:
A great way to build relationships with your customers.
Helps you make consistent sales through email automation.
Supports you to nurture every lead, introduce your business and offer value in automation.
Promotes your product/business.
You own your email list, unlike with social media platforms.
Here are some options to start Email Marketing:
Flodesk - Flodesk attracts users with its beautiful templates, intuitive interface, and design-friendly emails. However, their landing page features are not very customizable. Though they have no free tier, their flat-rate beats the competition for accounts with a large number of subscribers.
Price- $38/mo. flat rate (use my code ‘THEPINKINK’ to get 50% off forever)
Converkit - Converkit’s greatest features are that it supports a lot of tagging and segmentation which allows you to offer more targeted marketing. They also integrate with a lot of other software. They allow for the free use of up to 1,000 subscribers with limited capability.
Creator - $29/mo.
Creator Pro - $59/mo.
Mailerlite - Their email editor has a lot of features and customization options and their Landing Page is fully customizable so if it’s important that you’re able to create your own branded Landing Page, then this is the one for you. They allow for up to 1,000 subscribers with nearly full capability.
1001-2500 subscribers - $15/mo.
2501-5000 subscribers - $30/mo.
5001-10,000 subscribers - $50/mo.
If you’re ready to scale your digital planner business, my Digital Planner Academy will give you the support you need with ready-to-use systems, products, templates, and marketing strategies. It will help you gain clarity about your business direction so you can work towards your goals with confidence. You’ll learn how to turn your passion for digital planning into a full-time business. If you’re not sure where to start, start here.
Step #3 - Start taking custom orders
- Offer to make customized orders for special customers or special occasions.
- Offer custom design services for brands. You could charge from $500 to $2000+
- Offer personalized services for customers. Not all of your planners will cater to the needs of all of your customers. You could offer personalized service on already-designed planners for an extra customization fee.
Final thoughts!
If you make digital products to sell on Etsy but you’re looking to scale your business beyond Etsy, rest assured I did the same and my business has skyrocketed. With your own website, you can have better contact with your customers, create a sales funnel, nurture leads, and have a branded site that is 100% you. Building your own website and starting an email marketing campaign are two essential steps to make your digital planner business successful by bringing in more business. Offering customizable products will help you court your customers with products that are made especially for their needs, helping you to stand out as a designer with greater versatility and skills.
Ready to scale your digital planner business? Join my Digital Planner Academy so you can learn from an industry expert how to build a brand that stands out from the competition. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, you can learn the secrets of my success in building your own successful digital planner business. With my easy step-by-step process, you’ll be ready to make your first digital sale in just a few weeks and best of all, you’ll have access to full support as you launch your own business.