February 23, 2025 • 32 mins
In this interview with Whitney, you are bound to leave with so many good takeaways. Whitney met with me a year ago as a new shop owner making $500/month a few months after launching. Now we reconnect with her to see where she's at, what has helped and how she's been able to see significant growth in just one year in her digital download shop.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, hello Kasey here, welcome to this week's
episode.
In this episode I bring onWhitney, and Whitney we actually
had on back in episode 124,which landed about a year ago.
So this is we're just going tocall it our annual follow-up
with Whitney.
(00:21):
Whitney has been a longtimelistener of the podcast.
She follows me and my teachingsto a T and not to be all like
nah, nah, I told you guys, butshe is living proof that this
process works.
I wanted to bring her onbecause we have Etsy Digital
(00:41):
Success.
That is open for enrollment andI didn't plan on this episode
in particular falling at thistime, but it has and I feel like
it is a great segue into theprogram, into Etsy Digital
Success.
I have it open right now for alimited time.
(01:02):
I also have a free EtsyMasterclass coming up.
So if you're interested injoining that, go to
pinandposhcom.
Forward slash Etsy masterclass.
You can go and sign up there orjust go to pinandposhcom and
you can sign up for Etsy digitalsuccess too.
But I wanted to bring Whitneyon because a few months back she
(01:25):
sent me a screenshot of herstats.
Oh, my goodness, you guys soexcited for her.
She has been killing it.
She is seeing four, five,$6,000 on average each month
coming in through her digitaldownload shop.
You guys, this process, Ibelieve in it so hard.
It's worked for me, it's workedfor my other students, it's
(01:47):
working for Whitney and I knowthat it can work for you too.
I hear so many people out therewho are just feeling really
overwhelmed right now, who wantthe additional income or to
replace their income throughdigital sales, through passive
income sales.
That doesn't mean that there'snot work involved.
That means that the work isjust done up front and then
(02:10):
after that, you can sit back andwatch the sales, come in and go
live the life that you want tolive.
I've been able to do all of thedifferent things that I do now
the podcast, the education sideof my business because of my
passive income side of mybusiness, which is Etsy Etsy
selling digital downloads and Iwas thinking about this this
(02:34):
week as I was driving around,which I do a lot, so I'm in my
car a lot and I was thinking.
And I was thinking, you know,svg sales really hit home for me
because they are these short,little, quick wins, and that's
the case with many digitalproducts that you can sell on
(02:55):
Etsy that are trending right.
Like you, many of you guys havevoiced to me that you also have
ADHD or have that squirrelsyndrome, right?
Well, the way that we set upour businesses and for handmade
(03:19):
creatives, that's much the case.
That's why we are these type ofentrepreneurs, these handmade
entrepreneurs, handmadeentrepreneurs.
Well, digital sales anddesigning these digital products
fits in really well with thehandmade creatives, because it's
a quick win, because it'ssomething that you can do, that
you can create quickly.
You get that immediatesatisfaction because it hasn't
(03:41):
taken you very long to createright.
And so then you see not onlyjust you know a sale here and a
sale there at a higher pricepoint.
You see these smaller, lowerprice products that come in more
frequently and they give usthat reward, that more immediate
(04:02):
reward that us ADHDers andsquirrel syndrome people we need
that.
We need that quick win and weneed that to stay focused on our
business.
So that was a little sidethought that I had this week
that I wanted to share.
But believe in this process,stick to it and I promise you it
(04:22):
works.
It's worked for so many people.
Go and sign up pinandposhcomand you can sign up for Etsy
Digital Success immediately andget started right away.
We have Black Friday pricinggoing on for a few more days, so
if you're listening to thisright after it airs, you'll have
an opportunity to enroll duringthat discount period and if not
(04:43):
, it will still be open beyondthat.
So let's go ahead and tune intothis episode with Whitney.
As natural creatives, we loveour projects, we love our craft
time and we'll never say no to aquick trip to Michael's.
Although running a handmadebusiness is rewarding, it can
also be overwhelming.
Hey, creative mamas Caseyaseyhere, and as a mother of two
(05:07):
feisty toddlers and a businessowner myself, I get the nap time
hustle and live it daily.
Managing the house, jugglingthe kids and getting those
orders out on time can train thelife right out of us.
But what if there was a way toconvert that business of yours
into an online passive incomegenerating machine?
Well, I'm here to tell you it'snot only possible, but
(05:29):
completely yours for the taking.
I'm on a mission to give all ofthe naptime hustling crafty moms
out there the right tools,systems and strategies needed to
convert your own businessesinto consistent yet flexible
income online, all while doingwhat you do best creating.
So put those kiddos down fortheir nap, pop in some earbuds
(05:51):
and kick back.
This is where you stop tradingtime for dollars.
This is where you claim yourlife back.
This is the Naptime Hustlepodcast.
Hey, whitney, welcome back ontothe podcast.
I'm so excited to have you on.
I was just looking it wasepisode 124 back in January, but
(06:13):
we were talking we recordedthis in December of last year.
So we're coming up on ourannual one year, one year return
to the podcast.
So welcome back on, thank you.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
So excited to have you yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
I know We'll just make this like an annual thing.
Um, so let's go ahead.
And for those people whohaven't listened to that episode
yet, and episode one 24, againyou guys, um, for those people
who haven't listened to it, whydon't you tell them just a
little bit real quick about you,your business and what it is
(06:51):
that you do?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah.
So I went through a whole slewof business ideas that I tried
and finally I landed on.
I had a print on demand shopthat I started actually
generating some income but Ineeded some mock ups.
And I'm a print on demand shopthat I started actually
generating some income but Ineeded some mock-ups.
And I'm a photographer as wellas my husband.
So we had all the equipment.
So I opened the mock-up shop.
(07:13):
My conversion rate was a wholelot higher than my t-shirt shop
so I didn't jump ship, but Ikind of jumped ship on my
t-shirt shop.
It's still making sales.
I don't work in it a whole,whole lot, but 98% of my energy
is focused in my mock-up shop.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Okay, so what type of mock-ups Are you still doing?
The same kind, just like mainlyfor t-shirt creators?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
So the audience that I serve is mostly people who
have like print on demand shops,so you might have t-shirts,
mugs, bags, things like that.
So, yeah, that's definitely theaudience I serve, or people
like us naptime hustlers oranyone who has like a print on
demand or like a cricket shop oryou print your shirts yourself.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
So in that episode you were saying that 80% of your
income has come from this shopand before we hit record, we
were just talking about likeyour new numbers.
So why don't you share with usjust kind of where you're at now
?
Is that percentage?
(08:26):
Has that percentage grown orincreased or completely replaced
, like your, your income thatyou had before, or where you at?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Oh yeah, the the mock-up shop alone has replaced
my professional income, likebefore Um.
So for anybody who didn'tlisten to that episode, I used
to teach and um, I quit to starta family and I really wanted to
feel more fulfilled and to havemy own thing.
So I wanted this mock-up shopto replace my professional
income, and it definitely hasreplaced my income.
(08:58):
Etsy brings in 84% of mytraffic and then I bring in
about 16% of that traffic, butthe income alone in this shop
has replaced and then almostdoubled my professional income.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
So what are you at like this month, or what's like
a consistent like revenue foryour Etsy shop now, do you mind
sharing that?
Speaker 2 (09:20):
No, I don't mind at all.
So in our last episode it was anew shop.
I'd only been open a few monthsand I was making about 500 a
month, which I would celebrate.
That Obviously that's something.
And now I would say I landedabout 5,000.
On a low month it's about fourand that 40, I would say it's
(09:43):
about 4,000 and on a high monthit's over 6,000.
So, but in general I'm landingat about 5,000.
And on a high month it's over6,000.
But in general I'm landing atabout 5,000 a month in just this
shop.
But I have a few other things.
We're really entrepreneurial,so we have a few other streams
of income, but this is where Ifocus most of my energy.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Oh my gosh, I was trying to bite my tongue as you
were talking, so I didn'tinterrupt you.
That is so exciting.
So last time you're on thepodcast $500 a month and you're
only open, you know, a fewmonths at that point in time was
it like last?
Um, well, not last, cause thatwould only be like two months
(10:21):
ago, but in 2021, you opened inSeptember, ish.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
I want to say yeah, around September.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah, and then we did that interview and you were at
500 in revenue and now, justlike a year later, more or less,
you are at 6,000 a month.
You have been hustling girl andthese are all automated digital
downloads.
So what are you able to go outand do now that you weren't able
(10:52):
to do just like a year ago?
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Well, it's given me a lot of flexibility in terms of
I could let some things go thatI was kind of doing, that I
didn't love to do.
So some contracts I've been afreelancer for a while, so some
contracts I didn't love I wasable to put to the side and do
what I really really love.
But it's also opened up a lotof opportunity to do, like, some
side projects that I'm reallyreally passionate about.
(11:16):
So I love my shop, obviously,like it's my baby.
I weirdly like mock-ups.
You don't go to school anddecide you want to open up a
mock-up store, like wheneveryou're um, whenever you're like
(11:37):
in second grade I don't eventhink that they exist, I know,
but like I, weirdly I really dolove it.
I know it's just a reallystrange thing to love, but I
love it, um, but it.
I also love helping people, andnot that this, a mock-up shop,
does help people and um, anddefinitely naptime hustlers and
anybody who's entrepreneurialand I'm serving that audience.
But I can pursue some passionprojects where I really feel
(11:58):
fulfilled, and so that'sdefinitely opened up a lot of
opportunities for that.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
And we were checking out your analytics.
You sent me a screenshot, soyour increase in visits to your
shop was up like 1,660%, whichis crazy.
Like that is so much higherthan any other shop that I've
(12:27):
ever viewed before.
What has helped increase thosevisits, would you say.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
I would say, okay, so the analytics that I look at is
revenue and my conversion rateare the analytics that I really
really look at, because that istelling me a lot.
So even in my months that I'mlower like if I have a $4,000 a
month or somewhere around thatmy conversion rate is still
(12:59):
pretty high.
It's over 10% almost everymonth, and so that normally
tells me that, okay, my incomeis lower but my conversion rate
is still high.
So I have good products there,it's still converting, but I
just don't have enough productsfor that time, like that month.
So there must be a void.
My customers are looking forother products.
So I try to problem solve.
(13:21):
So I do a whole lot of marketresearch and I mean that could
be a whole episode in and ofitself and I mean that could be
a whole episode in and of itself.
But market research, good SEO,I would say the most important
thing is working consistently,and everybody says that.
But that's the truth and Etsyloves when you work consistently
(13:44):
.
So I'm in my shop and I'mworking five days a week.
I treat it like a real job,even though I don't have to go,
I'm my own boss.
I try to work at least three orfour hours a day, which doesn't
sound like a lot and it's not alot, but I'm still a
stay-at-home mom.
That's the reality.
My kid goes to Mother's MorningOut, but I'm still the primary
caregiver for my kid.
So consistently working atleast three or four hours a day
in my shop.
(14:05):
And there's a few things that Ido to kind of trigger Etsy, to
tell Etsy like hey, I'm stillhere, I'm still working.
That I do almost every singleday, kind of like a ritual, like
when I wake up and I brush myteeth.
It's kind of the same thing,like I always go to my messages,
I answer any messages, I makesure it's automated.
And then there's I don't knowif you do this in your shop, but
(14:30):
I always keep an automatedmessage going.
Do you do that?
Yeah, I just saw that.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah Well, we've done it more over on like Instagram,
but we have I mean, lindsay'sthere just replying back.
So no, we don't have anautomatic message that goes out.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Oh, okay, Well, that's nice.
I need a Lindsay.
You know they won't let you be astar seller if you you won't be
a star seller, if you like missany messages, so I always make
sure my automated message is on,but I always respond within 24
hours.
It's very rare that I don't dothat, but I also something
unique that I do is I respond toreviews.
(15:08):
I try to respond to all myreviews, which is a lot to keep
up with, but I try to respond toreviews.
I try to edit something everyday and I try to add a new
product every day, but I do not.
I do not always add a newproduct.
That's always the goal and Idon't always do all of those
things, but I try to always letEtsy know that I'm working, not
(15:29):
just that I'm working at mycomputer.
I want Etsy to know I'm on myplatform and I'm working, and so
I've noticed that it reallydoes make a difference if you're
not consistent with being onthe platform regularly.
I always take off Sundays and Idon't work most Saturdays, but I
(15:49):
try to be consistent throughoutthe week and, for example, the
month that we were doing the bigportion of our crowd funding.
One of the projects I'm workingon right now is a documentary.
I know that's really likedifferent than a mock-up, but
we're crowdfunding for it.
It's a big deal.
(16:10):
It's a true marketing campaign.
So I spent a whole lot of timedoing that and I knew I was
going to have to step away frommy shop Not completely, but I
was spending more time elsewhereand my conversion rate went
down 1%.
That's a big deal and I saw adip in income, but I was able to
get it back up within likethree or four weeks.
(16:32):
But I would say beingconsistent is the biggest thing.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
So, going back to being consistent, Okay, all
right, yeah, and and I assumethat.
But I know like there's um,there's listeners here that are
like wait, how did you get itback up after the slump?
Because I hear that question somuch.
It's like my sales have gonedown, Casey, I don't know why.
(16:57):
How do I get them back up?
Speaker 2 (16:59):
And you, you just got back to doing what you've been
doing, yeah do what works, and Imean there are going to be
peaks and valleys and before westarted the podcast, we were
talking about how, even in yourshop, there are some months
where you make a lot more thanother months and you kind of
have to know the natural rhythmof your shop and I'm still
learning that, since it's justyou know, I'm a little bit over
(17:21):
a year old.
But there are some months thatare going to be less and that's
okay.
And I try not to freak out,even though inside I'm like wait
a second, it's going down,what's going on?
But it's okay.
And just to try to figure outif my conversion rate is where I
want it to be, I try to focuson that and to try to fill the
(17:41):
void with other like productsthat my audience needs and
focusing on my avatar.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
So we kind of breezed over it.
But I heard you say somethingthat piqued my interest.
You said that you problem solveand correct me if I'm wrong,
but you said that sometimes yoursales will dip.
And so you look at youranalytics and you problem solve
(18:12):
and you find out why.
And was it that you said thatthere was a lack of inventory
during certain holidays orseasons and that was why your
sales went down was because youdidn't have enough inventory?
How were you able to figurethat out?
Or, I guess, what was yourprocess to solving that problem?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Well, for instance, a month where I noticed my sales
went down, I started out with alot of evergreen products, so
products that sell all yearround, rather than just seasonal
products.
So I noticed when I firstopened my shop that my sales
would dip around holidays andI've assumed that it's for a few
(19:01):
reasons.
One maybe you're spending moretime with your friends and
family.
But I have now since learnedthat people want mock-ups for
the holidays, like that's whatthey're putting money in.
So when I saw my sales diparound the holidays, I noticed
it happened two or threeholidays.
I was like what is going on?
And then I realized I didn'thave enough products for that
(19:24):
holiday.
So I've tried to find a balancebetween having enough evergreen,
because I'm really passionateabout having evergreen.
I want my income to be asconsistent as I can make it and
not have these huge peaks duringthe holidays and then go back
to living like a pauper, youknow, in the rest of the months
and feel like really downbecause my sales are really low,
(19:44):
because my sales are really low.
So another way that I problemsolve is just looking at like my
do really good market research.
Not to say I would never copy acompetitor.
I'm not saying that, but seeingwhat is selling, if it's
holidays, if it's a particularshirt, like I noticed my
initially like even in thepodcast that I have with you, I
(20:06):
said I wanted to purchase all ofthe Gildan, all of the Bella
and Canvas, which these arebrands of t-shirts.
I want to purchase all of themand have it available.
I would like to do that, but Inoticed that the colors the
black, white and gray sold themost and it's like 80%.
(20:27):
So I was like maybe I need tofocus on making more of those.
So good market research reallyhelps with that too.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Like the color of your shirt was black, white and
gray.
Okay, yes.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
And so then, like you're an SVG, like are colored
SVGs more popular or are black,where you take in like pictures
of like eight different colors,or what did it look like?
Speaker 1 (20:50):
before yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
So before it was just it wasn't really well thought
out, I hadn't done marketresearch, so I was just taking
photos of shirts that hadinventory of and was just kind
of placing them.
But I do my market researchbeforehand before I do anything.
Do my market research, I keep alittle tally chart.
Okay, these are the shirts thatare selling right now, both in
(21:33):
t-shirts and in mock-ups, so youcan tell if a shirt is selling
really well by how it'sperforming, like if it has 20 in
the car.
But anyway, I keep a list likethat and I just make notes,
anecdotal notes, and I'm nottaking photos of competitors or
anything like that, but I'm justanecdotally noticing okay, this
, this setup is working.
(21:56):
Or like lifestyle photography um, does really well during this
period.
Or kind of like the cheesyValentine's Day photography,
which I don't love but a lot ofpeople love it.
And then getting outside ofwhat I love and figuring out
what my customer likes.
So that has been a good balancefor me.
(22:16):
Or like figuring out thatbalance has.
I've really learned that thisyear because I was really more
egocentric.
I guess in what I love anddoing market research, it really
helps you figure out what youravatar wants and what your
customer wants.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Oh my gosh, I'm like taking notes.
So one you did your marketresearch, and then a part of it,
too, was looking at what peoplewere buying on your shop.
And then another part which Idon't hear too many people talk
about, it's just common sense.
You know like, oh, I'm seeingmore of these sales in this
(22:57):
particular color, or peoplelooking at this, or, like you
said, you know your customersand your ideal customer avatar,
and you know you.
And so what would you like?
Do you feel like those are likethe three reasons why you've
been able to grow and increaseyour profit, your revenue?
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Definitely a big part of it, I think one.
You have to offer a really goodquality product as well, and I
think we're really set apart inthat I married a commercial
photographer, so he's a reallygood photographer and so we
already had, you know, thousandsof dollars in equipment.
So we're set apart in that way.
(23:37):
I do some of the hanging photos.
Hopefully the quality isn't aslike, hopefully you can't tell a
big difference.
But I think having a really goodproduct is number one, because
in my other shop and I've had afew other business ventures I
had to chase a whole lot and Ihad to like, do things like okay
, I'll give you a 30% coupon ifyou leave me a review, and none
(23:59):
of those things are bad.
But I haven't had to do that inthis shop because my customers
had a need and I met that need,and so I'm not having to chase
reviews and sales as much as Ihad in my other shops because
I'm filling a void in the market.
I think having a really goodquality shop and then also being
consistent I would say thoseare the two big pieces of the
(24:22):
puzzle, because if my qualitygoes down, my sales go down, and
if I work in my shop, less mysales go down.
Those two pieces of the puzzleare really important.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Okay, so that is going to be a wrap for this
week's episode.
I decided to chop this episodeinto two parts.
There's so much goodinformation in here, and one
thing that Whitney has reallydone well and she spoke to this
is consistency.
She has contributed a lot ofher success to being consistent.
She has contributed a lot ofher success to being consistent,
(24:55):
and that is one of the thingsthat we talk about inside the
program.
Eds is forming those habits, isgetting into your etsy shop
regularly and setting time asideto do that, and it's not only
just a habit, forming reason,it's reason.
It's also helping the Etsyalgorithm and allowing them to
notice you getting on theirradar, and so there's multiple
(25:19):
reasons why this is good.
So be sure to check back.
Next week we're going to haveour part two, where Whitney
dives in a little bit more andwe talk more about these things,
and a big one is.
Another thing that we talk alot about are our customers and
putting them as our main focusand how she's been able to do
this to not only increase hersales but to keep that
(25:41):
consistency in her business.
So be sure to check back nextweek in part two, where she goes
over how she's been able tostay consistent and another
thing that has really helpedaccelerate her growth.
And before we head out, just alittle bit about Etsy digital
success.
I really don't talk too muchabout the specifics of what is
(26:03):
inside the course and you'll seeif you join that program that
I've divided the course intofour phases and these are the
four phases of our Etsy business, of our Etsy shop.
It's phase one is thepre-launch phase, where you dig
into the foundation of what'sgoing to make you passive income
(26:26):
moving forward, that is,choosing the right product.
How to do that, how to find aproduct that not only aligns
with what you are good at butalso what you gravitate to, what
speaks to you, what gives youpassion.
It's so important to choose theright product in the beginning,
(26:48):
and not only you know in thosetwo areas of whether or not
you're proficient in it, whetheror not you have a passion in
this area, but also is it atrending product, a product
that's already proven itself tosucceed on the market?
(27:08):
So I go over how to choose thatmarket.
So I go over how to choose that, how to find hard data showing
this, and then we allow that tonavigate our business moving
forward, and so it's acombination of and the research
that I've done shows that thesecombinations and choosing the
(27:30):
right product accelerate yourlevel of success but also allows
you to do it long term, andthat is the key here, like I
hope that each of us is lookingat our business 5, 10, you know,
maybe even 20 years down theroad.
(27:52):
Right, we have this vision ofour life and our goal and what
that is, and choosing a productthat complements it.
So, so important.
And so that's the pre-launchphase.
But the next is the launchphase actually getting in,
launching your Etsy shop usingthe SEO keywords, knowing how to
(28:15):
do that and just what you need.
Only focusing on the parts oflaunching your Etsy shop so so
important, because a lot ofpeople get hung up here, they
focus and they worry too muchabout this phase.
So I tell you in this modulemodule number two, phase number
two what to focus on and justthe parts that you need to focus
(28:38):
on, because then the next phase, which is the post launch phase
, is, I would say, mostimportant and also the phase
that a lot of people get wrong.
They think that a lot of thework and a lot of the thought
goes into launching the Etsyshop, and that's not the case.
You guys, throw your Etsy shopup and be done.
(28:58):
No, don't be done, sorry, butthrow your Etsy shop up.
Don't worry about the specifics, don't worry about the
perfection, don't worry aboutthe brand, don't worry about the
logo.
Like, all of this is just fluff, that's all that it is.
Just get your Etsy shop up andout the door.
So done with people focusing on.
(29:20):
I have a lot of people thatthat come and they're just like
oh, you know my logo, like I getit, I get it, I get it, I get
it.
We want things to be perfect.
People are going to be lookingat it.
But hear me out, it is betterto hurry up, push that bad boy
out, not have things perfect,and to have people looking at
something that you know maybe itcould use a tweak here and
(29:43):
there, but to have peoplelooking at it period Rather than
not launching, spending months,days hopefully not years not
having that item up, not havingyour shop up and not having
anybody look at it because youaren't making sales.
It's a lot better and a lotmore satisfying to be making
(30:06):
sales after you have it up.
Okay, so get it up, get thatout the door.
Then use the data after thelaunch.
You know, have the sales comingon?
Have that data coming in andlearn about your customers
sooner so that you can makethose changes that I know you
(30:26):
guys really want to make thebranding the pretty part.
Use data to navigate all ofthat.
After you have sales coming in,after you have that data coming
in, and that is where the truehustle and work begins.
It's building up your inventory.
It's fine-tuning that SEO,fine-tuning that branding.
That is in the post-launch phase.
(30:48):
So that's phase number three.
Phase number four is buildingyour brand off Etsy, which will
enable you to continue doingthis long term down the road.
It will add the consistency toyour sales, it will increase
your presence in the algorithm,and so those are the four phases
that I teach people.
(31:10):
These are also the phases thatWhitney is going through, and
this is what will enable you tocontinue moving forward long
term.
So go check that out.
Penandposhcom it's right thereon my website.
You'll go and see it and youcan get started immediately.
And again, there's just a fewmore days left of the Black
(31:31):
Friday pricing, so I only offerdiscounts on my trainings once a
year.
This is it All right.
Okay, see you guys next weekfor part two with Whitney.
Thank you.
Hello, hello Kasey here, welcome to this week's
episode.
In this episode I bring onWhitney, and Whitney we actually
had on back in episode 124,which landed about a year ago.
So this is we're just going tocall it our annual follow-up
with Whitney.
(00:21):
Whitney has been a longtimelistener of the podcast.
She follows me and my teachingsto a T and not to be all like
nah, nah, I told you guys, butshe is living proof that this
process works.
I wanted to bring her onbecause we have Etsy Digital
(00:41):
Success.
That is open for enrollment andI didn't plan on this episode
in particular falling at thistime, but it has and I feel like
it is a great segue into theprogram, into Etsy Digital
Success.
I have it open right now for alimited time.
(01:02):
I also have a free EtsyMasterclass coming up.
So if you're interested injoining that, go to
pinandposhcom.
Forward slash Etsy masterclass.
You can go and sign up there orjust go to pinandposhcom and
you can sign up for Etsy digitalsuccess too.
But I wanted to bring Whitneyon because a few months back she
(01:25):
sent me a screenshot of herstats.
Oh, my goodness, you guys soexcited for her.
She has been killing it.
She is seeing four, five,$6,000 on average each month
coming in through her digitaldownload shop.
You guys, this process, Ibelieve in it so hard.
It's worked for me, it's workedfor my other students, it's
(01:47):
working for Whitney and I knowthat it can work for you too.
I hear so many people out therewho are just feeling really
overwhelmed right now, who wantthe additional income or to
replace their income throughdigital sales, through passive
income sales.
That doesn't mean that there'snot work involved.
That means that the work isjust done up front and then
(02:10):
after that, you can sit back andwatch the sales, come in and go
live the life that you want tolive.
I've been able to do all of thedifferent things that I do now
the podcast, the education sideof my business because of my
passive income side of mybusiness, which is Etsy Etsy
selling digital downloads and Iwas thinking about this this
(02:34):
week as I was driving around,which I do a lot, so I'm in my
car a lot and I was thinking.
And I was thinking, you know,svg sales really hit home for me
because they are these short,little, quick wins, and that's
the case with many digitalproducts that you can sell on
(02:55):
Etsy that are trending right.
Like you, many of you guys havevoiced to me that you also have
ADHD or have that squirrelsyndrome, right?
Well, the way that we set upour businesses and for handmade
(03:19):
creatives, that's much the case.
That's why we are these type ofentrepreneurs, these handmade
entrepreneurs, handmadeentrepreneurs.
Well, digital sales anddesigning these digital products
fits in really well with thehandmade creatives, because it's
a quick win, because it'ssomething that you can do, that
you can create quickly.
You get that immediatesatisfaction because it hasn't
(03:41):
taken you very long to createright.
And so then you see not onlyjust you know a sale here and a
sale there at a higher pricepoint.
You see these smaller, lowerprice products that come in more
frequently and they give usthat reward, that more immediate
(04:02):
reward that us ADHDers andsquirrel syndrome people we need
that.
We need that quick win and weneed that to stay focused on our
business.
So that was a little sidethought that I had this week
that I wanted to share.
But believe in this process,stick to it and I promise you it
(04:22):
works.
It's worked for so many people.
Go and sign up pinandposhcomand you can sign up for Etsy
Digital Success immediately andget started right away.
We have Black Friday pricinggoing on for a few more days, so
if you're listening to thisright after it airs, you'll have
an opportunity to enroll duringthat discount period and if not
(04:43):
, it will still be open beyondthat.
So let's go ahead and tune intothis episode with Whitney.
As natural creatives, we loveour projects, we love our craft
time and we'll never say no to aquick trip to Michael's.
Although running a handmadebusiness is rewarding, it can
also be overwhelming.
Hey, creative mamas Caseyaseyhere, and as a mother of two
(05:07):
feisty toddlers and a businessowner myself, I get the nap time
hustle and live it daily.
Managing the house, jugglingthe kids and getting those
orders out on time can train thelife right out of us.
But what if there was a way toconvert that business of yours
into an online passive incomegenerating machine?
Well, I'm here to tell you it'snot only possible, but
(05:29):
completely yours for the taking.
I'm on a mission to give all ofthe naptime hustling crafty moms
out there the right tools,systems and strategies needed to
convert your own businessesinto consistent yet flexible
income online, all while doingwhat you do best creating.
So put those kiddos down fortheir nap, pop in some earbuds
(05:51):
and kick back.
This is where you stop tradingtime for dollars.
This is where you claim yourlife back.
This is the Naptime Hustlepodcast.
Hey, whitney, welcome back ontothe podcast.
I'm so excited to have you on.
I was just looking it wasepisode 124 back in January, but
(06:13):
we were talking we recordedthis in December of last year.
So we're coming up on ourannual one year, one year return
to the podcast.
So welcome back on, thank you.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
So excited to have you yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
I know We'll just make this like an annual thing.
Um, so let's go ahead.
And for those people whohaven't listened to that episode
yet, and episode one 24, againyou guys, um, for those people
who haven't listened to it, whydon't you tell them just a
little bit real quick about you,your business and what it is
(06:51):
that you do?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah.
So I went through a whole slewof business ideas that I tried
and finally I landed on.
I had a print on demand shopthat I started actually
generating some income but Ineeded some mock ups.
And I'm a print on demand shopthat I started actually
generating some income but Ineeded some mock-ups.
And I'm a photographer as wellas my husband.
So we had all the equipment.
So I opened the mock-up shop.
(07:13):
My conversion rate was a wholelot higher than my t-shirt shop
so I didn't jump ship, but Ikind of jumped ship on my
t-shirt shop.
It's still making sales.
I don't work in it a whole,whole lot, but 98% of my energy
is focused in my mock-up shop.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Okay, so what type of mock-ups Are you still doing?
The same kind, just like mainlyfor t-shirt creators?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
So the audience that I serve is mostly people who
have like print on demand shops,so you might have t-shirts,
mugs, bags, things like that.
So, yeah, that's definitely theaudience I serve, or people
like us naptime hustlers oranyone who has like a print on
demand or like a cricket shop oryou print your shirts yourself.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
So in that episode you were saying that 80% of your
income has come from this shopand before we hit record, we
were just talking about likeyour new numbers.
So why don't you share with usjust kind of where you're at now
?
Is that percentage?
(08:26):
Has that percentage grown orincreased or completely replaced
, like your, your income thatyou had before, or where you at?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Oh yeah, the the mock-up shop alone has replaced
my professional income, likebefore Um.
So for anybody who didn'tlisten to that episode, I used
to teach and um, I quit to starta family and I really wanted to
feel more fulfilled and to havemy own thing.
So I wanted this mock-up shopto replace my professional
income, and it definitely hasreplaced my income.
(08:58):
Etsy brings in 84% of mytraffic and then I bring in
about 16% of that traffic, butthe income alone in this shop
has replaced and then almostdoubled my professional income.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
So what are you at like this month, or what's like
a consistent like revenue foryour Etsy shop now, do you mind
sharing that?
Speaker 2 (09:20):
No, I don't mind at all.
So in our last episode it was anew shop.
I'd only been open a few monthsand I was making about 500 a
month, which I would celebrate.
That Obviously that's something.
And now I would say I landedabout 5,000.
On a low month it's about fourand that 40, I would say it's
(09:43):
about 4,000 and on a high monthit's over 6,000.
So, but in general I'm landingat about 5,000.
And on a high month it's over6,000.
But in general I'm landing atabout 5,000 a month in just this
shop.
But I have a few other things.
We're really entrepreneurial,so we have a few other streams
of income, but this is where Ifocus most of my energy.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Oh my gosh, I was trying to bite my tongue as you
were talking, so I didn'tinterrupt you.
That is so exciting.
So last time you're on thepodcast $500 a month and you're
only open, you know, a fewmonths at that point in time was
it like last?
Um, well, not last, cause thatwould only be like two months
(10:21):
ago, but in 2021, you opened inSeptember, ish.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
I want to say yeah, around September.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah, and then we did that interview and you were at
500 in revenue and now, justlike a year later, more or less,
you are at 6,000 a month.
You have been hustling girl andthese are all automated digital
downloads.
So what are you able to go outand do now that you weren't able
(10:52):
to do just like a year ago?
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Well, it's given me a lot of flexibility in terms of
I could let some things go thatI was kind of doing, that I
didn't love to do.
So some contracts I've been afreelancer for a while, so some
contracts I didn't love I wasable to put to the side and do
what I really really love.
But it's also opened up a lotof opportunity to do, like, some
side projects that I'm reallyreally passionate about.
(11:16):
So I love my shop, obviously,like it's my baby.
I weirdly like mock-ups.
You don't go to school anddecide you want to open up a
mock-up store, like wheneveryou're um, whenever you're like
(11:37):
in second grade I don't eventhink that they exist, I know,
but like I, weirdly I really dolove it.
I know it's just a reallystrange thing to love, but I
love it, um, but it.
I also love helping people, andnot that this, a mock-up shop,
does help people and um, anddefinitely naptime hustlers and
anybody who's entrepreneurialand I'm serving that audience.
But I can pursue some passionprojects where I really feel
(11:58):
fulfilled, and so that'sdefinitely opened up a lot of
opportunities for that.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
And we were checking out your analytics.
You sent me a screenshot, soyour increase in visits to your
shop was up like 1,660%, whichis crazy.
Like that is so much higherthan any other shop that I've
(12:27):
ever viewed before.
What has helped increase thosevisits, would you say.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
I would say, okay, so the analytics that I look at is
revenue and my conversion rateare the analytics that I really
really look at, because that istelling me a lot.
So even in my months that I'mlower like if I have a $4,000 a
month or somewhere around thatmy conversion rate is still
(12:59):
pretty high.
It's over 10% almost everymonth, and so that normally
tells me that, okay, my incomeis lower but my conversion rate
is still high.
So I have good products there,it's still converting, but I
just don't have enough productsfor that time, like that month.
So there must be a void.
My customers are looking forother products.
So I try to problem solve.
(13:21):
So I do a whole lot of marketresearch and I mean that could
be a whole episode in and ofitself and I mean that could be
a whole episode in and of itself.
But market research, good SEO,I would say the most important
thing is working consistently,and everybody says that.
But that's the truth and Etsyloves when you work consistently
(13:44):
.
So I'm in my shop and I'mworking five days a week.
I treat it like a real job,even though I don't have to go,
I'm my own boss.
I try to work at least three orfour hours a day, which doesn't
sound like a lot and it's not alot, but I'm still a
stay-at-home mom.
That's the reality.
My kid goes to Mother's MorningOut, but I'm still the primary
caregiver for my kid.
So consistently working atleast three or four hours a day
in my shop.
(14:05):
And there's a few things that Ido to kind of trigger Etsy, to
tell Etsy like hey, I'm stillhere, I'm still working.
That I do almost every singleday, kind of like a ritual, like
when I wake up and I brush myteeth.
It's kind of the same thing,like I always go to my messages,
I answer any messages, I makesure it's automated.
And then there's I don't knowif you do this in your shop, but
(14:30):
I always keep an automatedmessage going.
Do you do that?
Yeah, I just saw that.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah Well, we've done it more over on like Instagram,
but we have I mean, lindsay'sthere just replying back.
So no, we don't have anautomatic message that goes out.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Oh, okay, Well, that's nice.
I need a Lindsay.
You know they won't let you be astar seller if you you won't be
a star seller, if you like missany messages, so I always make
sure my automated message is on,but I always respond within 24
hours.
It's very rare that I don't dothat, but I also something
unique that I do is I respond toreviews.
(15:08):
I try to respond to all myreviews, which is a lot to keep
up with, but I try to respond toreviews.
I try to edit something everyday and I try to add a new
product every day, but I do not.
I do not always add a newproduct.
That's always the goal and Idon't always do all of those
things, but I try to always letEtsy know that I'm working, not
(15:29):
just that I'm working at mycomputer.
I want Etsy to know I'm on myplatform and I'm working, and so
I've noticed that it reallydoes make a difference if you're
not consistent with being onthe platform regularly.
I always take off Sundays and Idon't work most Saturdays, but I
(15:49):
try to be consistent throughoutthe week and, for example, the
month that we were doing the bigportion of our crowd funding.
One of the projects I'm workingon right now is a documentary.
I know that's really likedifferent than a mock-up, but
we're crowdfunding for it.
It's a big deal.
(16:10):
It's a true marketing campaign.
So I spent a whole lot of timedoing that and I knew I was
going to have to step away frommy shop Not completely, but I
was spending more time elsewhereand my conversion rate went
down 1%.
That's a big deal and I saw adip in income, but I was able to
get it back up within likethree or four weeks.
(16:32):
But I would say beingconsistent is the biggest thing.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
So, going back to being consistent, Okay, all
right, yeah, and and I assumethat.
But I know like there's um,there's listeners here that are
like wait, how did you get itback up after the slump?
Because I hear that question somuch.
It's like my sales have gonedown, Casey, I don't know why.
(16:57):
How do I get them back up?
Speaker 2 (16:59):
And you, you just got back to doing what you've been
doing, yeah do what works, and Imean there are going to be
peaks and valleys and before westarted the podcast, we were
talking about how, even in yourshop, there are some months
where you make a lot more thanother months and you kind of
have to know the natural rhythmof your shop and I'm still
learning that, since it's justyou know, I'm a little bit over
(17:21):
a year old.
But there are some months thatare going to be less and that's
okay.
And I try not to freak out,even though inside I'm like wait
a second, it's going down,what's going on?
But it's okay.
And just to try to figure outif my conversion rate is where I
want it to be, I try to focuson that and to try to fill the
(17:41):
void with other like productsthat my audience needs and
focusing on my avatar.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
So we kind of breezed over it.
But I heard you say somethingthat piqued my interest.
You said that you problem solveand correct me if I'm wrong,
but you said that sometimes yoursales will dip.
And so you look at youranalytics and you problem solve
(18:12):
and you find out why.
And was it that you said thatthere was a lack of inventory
during certain holidays orseasons and that was why your
sales went down was because youdidn't have enough inventory?
How were you able to figurethat out?
Or, I guess, what was yourprocess to solving that problem?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Well, for instance, a month where I noticed my sales
went down, I started out with alot of evergreen products, so
products that sell all yearround, rather than just seasonal
products.
So I noticed when I firstopened my shop that my sales
would dip around holidays andI've assumed that it's for a few
(19:01):
reasons.
One maybe you're spending moretime with your friends and
family.
But I have now since learnedthat people want mock-ups for
the holidays, like that's whatthey're putting money in.
So when I saw my sales diparound the holidays, I noticed
it happened two or threeholidays.
I was like what is going on?
And then I realized I didn'thave enough products for that
(19:24):
holiday.
So I've tried to find a balancebetween having enough evergreen,
because I'm really passionateabout having evergreen.
I want my income to be asconsistent as I can make it and
not have these huge peaks duringthe holidays and then go back
to living like a pauper, youknow, in the rest of the months
and feel like really downbecause my sales are really low,
(19:44):
because my sales are really low.
So another way that I problemsolve is just looking at like my
do really good market research.
Not to say I would never copy acompetitor.
I'm not saying that, but seeingwhat is selling, if it's
holidays, if it's a particularshirt, like I noticed my
initially like even in thepodcast that I have with you, I
(20:06):
said I wanted to purchase all ofthe Gildan, all of the Bella
and Canvas, which these arebrands of t-shirts.
I want to purchase all of themand have it available.
I would like to do that, but Inoticed that the colors the
black, white and gray sold themost and it's like 80%.
(20:27):
So I was like maybe I need tofocus on making more of those.
So good market research reallyhelps with that too.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Like the color of your shirt was black, white and
gray.
Okay, yes.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
And so then, like you're an SVG, like are colored
SVGs more popular or are black,where you take in like pictures
of like eight different colors,or what did it look like?
Speaker 1 (20:50):
before yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
So before it was just it wasn't really well thought
out, I hadn't done marketresearch, so I was just taking
photos of shirts that hadinventory of and was just kind
of placing them.
But I do my market researchbeforehand before I do anything.
Do my market research, I keep alittle tally chart.
Okay, these are the shirts thatare selling right now, both in
(21:33):
t-shirts and in mock-ups, so youcan tell if a shirt is selling
really well by how it'sperforming, like if it has 20 in
the car.
But anyway, I keep a list likethat and I just make notes,
anecdotal notes, and I'm nottaking photos of competitors or
anything like that, but I'm justanecdotally noticing okay, this
, this setup is working.
(21:56):
Or like lifestyle photography um, does really well during this
period.
Or kind of like the cheesyValentine's Day photography,
which I don't love but a lot ofpeople love it.
And then getting outside ofwhat I love and figuring out
what my customer likes.
So that has been a good balancefor me.
(22:16):
Or like figuring out thatbalance has.
I've really learned that thisyear because I was really more
egocentric.
I guess in what I love anddoing market research, it really
helps you figure out what youravatar wants and what your
customer wants.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Oh my gosh, I'm like taking notes.
So one you did your marketresearch, and then a part of it,
too, was looking at what peoplewere buying on your shop.
And then another part which Idon't hear too many people talk
about, it's just common sense.
You know like, oh, I'm seeingmore of these sales in this
(22:57):
particular color, or peoplelooking at this, or, like you
said, you know your customersand your ideal customer avatar,
and you know you.
And so what would you like?
Do you feel like those are likethe three reasons why you've
been able to grow and increaseyour profit, your revenue?
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Definitely a big part of it, I think one.
You have to offer a really goodquality product as well, and I
think we're really set apart inthat I married a commercial
photographer, so he's a reallygood photographer and so we
already had, you know, thousandsof dollars in equipment.
So we're set apart in that way.
(23:37):
I do some of the hanging photos.
Hopefully the quality isn't aslike, hopefully you can't tell a
big difference.
But I think having a really goodproduct is number one, because
in my other shop and I've had afew other business ventures I
had to chase a whole lot and Ihad to like, do things like okay
, I'll give you a 30% coupon ifyou leave me a review, and none
(23:59):
of those things are bad.
But I haven't had to do that inthis shop because my customers
had a need and I met that need,and so I'm not having to chase
reviews and sales as much as Ihad in my other shops because
I'm filling a void in the market.
I think having a really goodquality shop and then also being
consistent I would say thoseare the two big pieces of the
(24:22):
puzzle, because if my qualitygoes down, my sales go down, and
if I work in my shop, less mysales go down.
Those two pieces of the puzzleare really important.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Okay, so that is going to be a wrap for this
week's episode.
I decided to chop this episodeinto two parts.
There's so much goodinformation in here, and one
thing that Whitney has reallydone well and she spoke to this
is consistency.
She has contributed a lot ofher success to being consistent.
She has contributed a lot ofher success to being consistent,
(24:55):
and that is one of the thingsthat we talk about inside the
program.
Eds is forming those habits, isgetting into your etsy shop
regularly and setting time asideto do that, and it's not only
just a habit, forming reason,it's reason.
It's also helping the Etsyalgorithm and allowing them to
notice you getting on theirradar, and so there's multiple
(25:19):
reasons why this is good.
So be sure to check back.
Next week we're going to haveour part two, where Whitney
dives in a little bit more andwe talk more about these things,
and a big one is.
Another thing that we talk alot about are our customers and
putting them as our main focusand how she's been able to do
this to not only increase hersales but to keep that
(25:41):
consistency in her business.
So be sure to check back nextweek in part two, where she goes
over how she's been able tostay consistent and another
thing that has really helpedaccelerate her growth.
And before we head out, just alittle bit about Etsy digital
success.
I really don't talk too muchabout the specifics of what is
(26:03):
inside the course and you'll seeif you join that program that
I've divided the course intofour phases and these are the
four phases of our Etsy business, of our Etsy shop.
It's phase one is thepre-launch phase, where you dig
into the foundation of what'sgoing to make you passive income
(26:26):
moving forward, that is,choosing the right product.
How to do that, how to find aproduct that not only aligns
with what you are good at butalso what you gravitate to, what
speaks to you, what gives youpassion.
It's so important to choose theright product in the beginning,
(26:48):
and not only you know in thosetwo areas of whether or not
you're proficient in it, whetheror not you have a passion in
this area, but also is it atrending product, a product
that's already proven itself tosucceed on the market?
(27:08):
So I go over how to choose thatmarket.
So I go over how to choose that, how to find hard data showing
this, and then we allow that tonavigate our business moving
forward, and so it's acombination of and the research
that I've done shows that thesecombinations and choosing the
(27:30):
right product accelerate yourlevel of success but also allows
you to do it long term, andthat is the key here, like I
hope that each of us is lookingat our business 5, 10, you know,
maybe even 20 years down theroad.
(27:52):
Right, we have this vision ofour life and our goal and what
that is, and choosing a productthat complements it.
So, so important.
And so that's the pre-launchphase.
But the next is the launchphase actually getting in,
launching your Etsy shop usingthe SEO keywords, knowing how to
(28:15):
do that and just what you need.
Only focusing on the parts oflaunching your Etsy shop so so
important, because a lot ofpeople get hung up here, they
focus and they worry too muchabout this phase.
So I tell you in this modulemodule number two, phase number
two what to focus on and justthe parts that you need to focus
(28:38):
on, because then the next phase, which is the post launch phase
, is, I would say, mostimportant and also the phase
that a lot of people get wrong.
They think that a lot of thework and a lot of the thought
goes into launching the Etsyshop, and that's not the case.
You guys, throw your Etsy shopup and be done.
(28:58):
No, don't be done, sorry, butthrow your Etsy shop up.
Don't worry about the specifics, don't worry about the
perfection, don't worry aboutthe brand, don't worry about the
logo.
Like, all of this is just fluff, that's all that it is.
Just get your Etsy shop up andout the door.
So done with people focusing on.
(29:20):
I have a lot of people thatthat come and they're just like
oh, you know my logo, like I getit, I get it, I get it, I get
it.
We want things to be perfect.
People are going to be lookingat it.
But hear me out, it is betterto hurry up, push that bad boy
out, not have things perfect,and to have people looking at
something that you know maybe itcould use a tweak here and
(29:43):
there, but to have peoplelooking at it period Rather than
not launching, spending months,days hopefully not years not
having that item up, not havingyour shop up and not having
anybody look at it because youaren't making sales.
It's a lot better and a lotmore satisfying to be making
(30:06):
sales after you have it up.
Okay, so get it up, get thatout the door.
Then use the data after thelaunch.
You know, have the sales comingon?
Have that data coming in andlearn about your customers
sooner so that you can makethose changes that I know you
(30:26):
guys really want to make thebranding the pretty part.
Use data to navigate all ofthat.
After you have sales coming in,after you have that data coming
in, and that is where the truehustle and work begins.
It's building up your inventory.
It's fine-tuning that SEO,fine-tuning that branding.
That is in the post-launch phase.
(30:48):
So that's phase number three.
Phase number four is buildingyour brand off Etsy, which will
enable you to continue doingthis long term down the road.
It will add the consistency toyour sales, it will increase
your presence in the algorithm,and so those are the four phases
that I teach people.
(31:10):
These are also the phases thatWhitney is going through, and
this is what will enable you tocontinue moving forward long
term.
So go check that out.
Penandposhcom it's right thereon my website.
You'll go and see it and youcan get started immediately.
And again, there's just a fewmore days left of the Black
(31:31):
Friday pricing, so I only offerdiscounts on my trainings once a
year.
This is it All right.
Okay, see you guys next weekfor part two with Whitney.
Thank you.
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