How to Make Money with Printify and Etsy in 2026 (Updated Tutorial to Start Print on Demand)

[00:00] In this video I'll show you how to sell  print-on-demand products on Etsy. It is   not as easy as just upload a random picture to  a t-shirt and boom, thousands of sales. There’s  

[00:13] a process behind it. And if you follow it, you  can make sales — whether it’s an extra $200 a   month to cover groceries, or a full-time income. This will be the full, updated step-by-step for  

[00:28] this year. We’ll set up an Etsy shop and  connect it to a print-on-demand platform,   choose products that actually sell, show you how  to create designs even if you’re not a designer,  

[00:42] publish listings that get found, and  get real traffic that turns into sales.  Step 1: Niche and Design Research Before we jump into creating designs,  

[00:55] I always start with research. And not just “look  around Etsy for five minutes” research — I mean   real digging into what’s selling right now. Let’s say I’m thinking of making products  

[01:08] for an upcoming holiday — for example, Halloween  or Thanksgiving. It's already time to list your   products for this holiday season. If you check  Google Trends, Halloween spikes start already  

[01:21] in August and reach the peak in the last week  of October. It’s a huge gift-giving season, and   people buy a lot of mugs, shirts, and tote bags. So I’ll type “Halloween shirt” into Etsy search.  

[01:36] Then, over on the filters, I’ll select Physical  products - we don't want any digital products now   since we are doing research for print-on-demand.  Then select “Star Seller” — that helps me narrow  

[01:51] it down to shops that are already doing well. But  we’re not stopping there — because Etsy doesn’t   let you directly filter for “Bestsellers” anymore. Here’s a little hack: up in the search bar URL,  

[02:06] where it says “star”, I delete that and type  “best”. Hit enter, and now Etsy is showing me   bestselling listings for that search term. Straight away, I can see which designs are  

[02:18] trending. The first thing you'll see is a higher  number of reviews on some listings. But if you   use Everbee Chrome extension like I do, you can  also see additional data - like the number of   recent sales. For example, this listing with  cute ghosts had over 60 sales but the season  

[02:36] is just starting this year. And if we click on  the Everbee icon we can see that this store sold   this particular halloween shirt over 2000 times  and the listing is only 13 months old. So it  

[02:48] was created before the Halloween last year and  got trendy and the majority of these 2000 sales   probably happened before the previous Halloween. From my research, it looks like designs with  

[03:01] cute ghosts are always trendy. And don’t  worry — I’m not going to sell these exact   designs. This research is just so I can  reference the style and the vibe when I   try to create similar images in Canva. I think the easiest way to get started  

[03:17] for beginners these days is with AI-generated  designs. Especially because Etsy publicly said   they will continue to allow sellers to use AI  tools. You are only required to disclose it in  

[03:32] the listing description but it is NOT against  Etsy's policies to use AI image generators.  I find Canva AI very helpful. Let's try to  generate something like this. Now I can choose  

[03:44] one of the images, then increase the resolution  with one click. I can also use Canva AI background   remover like this. And in just a few clicks  I've generated a NEW image with cute ghosts.  

[03:58] I can download it as a PNG image in the best  quality. I will get back to image size a little   later in the video because this size will depend  on the product on which you will print the design. 

[04:12] And here's an extra tip on choosing the  designs. Look for niches within niches.   Instead of just “funny mug,” think “funny  mug for nurses” or “cat lover mug.” The  

[04:27] background so it’s ready to upload to Printify. AI is just one option for making designs. You can   also keep it super simple with text-only designs,  use ready-made graphics from Canva library,  

[04:41] or even mix things up by combining AI artwork  with your own fonts or hand-drawn elements. These   approaches can make the whole design process a lot  easier — which is usually the part where beginners  

[04:54] get stuck. For today though, we’ll focus on AI. Step 2 - Setting up your POD Store on Etsy  If you want to start an Etsy account with 40 free  listings, you can use my link below and sign up  

[05:10] with your email. After these first 40 listings, it  only costs 20 cents to keep a listing active for   4 months. When I try to start a new store here in  Portugal, it tells me there is a $19 fee to start  

[05:25] a shop. The base rate I believe would be $15,  but then local taxes are automatically added.  Choose your store language, country  and currency and set your store name. 

[05:37] Once your Etsy account is ready, use the first  link below and sign up for Printify. I partnered   with them in this part of the video to  show you can create a free account and  

[05:49] run your print-on-demand business on Etsy. You can use Printify on their free plan for   as long as you wish, you only pay when  someone makes a purchase in your store. 

[06:02] In your Printify dashboard: “My Stores”  → “Connect” → choose Etsy → sign in and   Grant Access. That’s it — orders will  go from Etsy to Printify automatically. 

[06:14] Here's a quick pro tip: In Etsy’s settings,  check your shop currency now. This saves you   from awkward pricing later, this is especially  important if you are not based in the United   States. In your Etsy store find Finances tab,  then click Currency and select US dollars. 

[06:32] Printify offers a huge catalog of products:  t-shirts, sweatshirts, blankets, mugs,   and more. For apparel, sweatshirts and  t-shirts are usually the go-to products. 

[06:45] For today's Halloween example, I'll show  you sweatshirts. When you choose a product,   Printify will give you “Printify Choice,” which is  basically their top-rated recommended suppliers. 

[06:58] What’s important to know is that Printify  works with many different fulfillment   centers — so you’re not stuck with one printer.  Depending on where your customer is located,  

[07:10] Printify can route the order to the  closest provider for faster shipping.  If you want, you can manually select your  supplier. My personal favorite is Monster   Digital. They have fast shipping, good  quality, and a wide range of color options. 

[07:27] But getting back to that Bestseller Printify  Choice. Click start designing and then just   drag and drop the file you created earlier,  and it will appear on the shirt. From there,  

[07:39] you can resize and position it however you like. What's important here is to check the print area   size. For sweatshirts, it will be often - not  for all products, but often - 3852 × 4398 px. 

[07:56] So here's what happens if I upload the  image from Canva - it will be ok but   this resolution is considered only medium  quality. Not great for printing. We need to  

[08:08] get this to 300 DPI. So I have to increase  the image resolution in Canva even more.  I'll go back to Canva, click Resize - by the  way these features are available on Canva's  

[08:20] paid accounts only but Canva is really  affordable, definitely worth the fee.   So I will change it to 3852 and since our  image was square I will keep the height the   same. Then I'll reupload this bigger image on  Printify and see now we have HIGH resolution. 

[08:42] Next, you’ll set up your variants — which are  simply the colors and sizes you want to offer.   On Etsy, buyers can choose their size and color at  checkout, so you decide which options to include. 

[08:58] Once you’ve selected your variants, you  can preview your design on each shirt   color. This is where you’ll see how the  artwork looks on different backgrounds.  One tip here: don’t overwhelm buyers  with too many choices. Offering up  

[09:15] to five colors works best — otherwise,  people get confused and hesitate to buy.  After everything looks good, your sweatshirt  design is ready to go live in your store. 

[09:30] Step 3 – Create Mockups Once your product and colors   are lined up, hit Save Product and Printify  will take you to the mockup stage. Here,  

[09:42] Printify gives you a variety of mockups plus a  size chart. Always include the size chart when you   can — it reduces unhappy customers and returns. I recommend showing a mix: one or two flatlays,  

[09:59] and at least one lifestyle mockup with  someone actually wearing the sweatshirt.   This helps buyers imagine themselves in the  product, which usually boosts conversions. 

[10:12] And one of my favorite platforms  for mockups is Placeit. Luckily,   Printify recently made a smooth  integration with it, so you can   add Placeit mockups directly in Printify  during the upload process. Huge time saver! 

[10:28] With Placeit, you can pick your shirt color and  filter by age, gender, and even ethnicity to find   mockups that best match your target audience.  Lifestyle mockups like these usually look more  

[10:42] natural and tend to sell better than plain  flatlays, so it’s worth taking the extra step.  Once you’ve chosen your mockups, hit  Save Selection and they’ll be ready  

[10:55] to publish with your product. Step 4: Pricing Your Products  Once your product is ready, you’ll move on to the  listing details — title, description, and price. I  

[11:10] usually tweak titles and descriptions later after  some SEO research, but let’s focus on pricing,   since that’s where many beginners get stuck. The best option is to offer free shipping - Etsy  

[11:25] will prioritize your listing based on free  shipping. Yes, it cuts into your profit a little,   but in my experience, free shipping badges help  listings sell better. Customers hate surprise fees  

[11:39] at checkout, so I prefer to build shipping costs  into the product price. I will toggle this option   to make shipping free for the customers. Printify shows you the base cost plus  

[11:52] shipping. This pricing calculator is  so helpful, especially for beginners!  You can see here Etsy’s fee (around $3).  Now you need to price your sweatshirt above   $37 to get a 19% profit on it which  will be about $7 per sweatshirt.

[12:11] Don’t stress too much about the exact  dollar amount — what matters most is your   design research and the value of your product.  People will pay for something they really want,  

[12:24] especially if it’s unique or fits a trend. As a general rule in print-on-demand,   aim for a 15–20% profit margin. Step 5: Publish to Etsy 

[12:38] Once I’m done with my Halloween sweatshirt  design — let’s say a cute ghost graphic — I’ll   go down to Publish Settings and select Hide  in Store. This makes sure the listing goes  

[12:50] to my drafts instead of going live right away.  That way, I can finish the title, description,   and keywords properly before customers see it. After publishing from Printify, the product will  

[13:03] show up in my Etsy drafts within a few minutes.  From there, I can start polishing my listing.  The first thing I do is work on SEO, starting  with the title. SEO simply means search engine  

[13:17] optimization — adding keywords that  people are actually typing into Etsy.  Tools like EverBee or Alura help  me check which search terms have  

[13:29] high volume and reasonable competition. For this sweatshirt, my main keyword might   be something like Halloween sweatshirt.  I’ll combine it with other related terms,   like cute ghost sweatshirt, cozy Halloween  top. The key is to mix popular keywords  

[13:47] without repeating the same phrase over and over. Next, I update the description. Printify provides   a product template, but I like to rewrite it  so it’s structured better and includes some  

[14:00] of my title keywords. For example: “This cozy  Halloween sweatshirt with a cute ghost design   makes the perfect fall outfit or gift. Soft cotton  blend, available in multiple colors and sizes.” 

[14:13] Then, I add tags. I’ll usually take  inspiration from several best-selling   listings — not just one — so I get a  variety of keywords. For this sweatshirt,   I might add tags like ghost shirt,  fall sweatshirt, Halloween gift. 

[14:30] Finally, I preview my listing, double-check  the mockups, pick my main photo, and make   sure everything looks good. And that’s it  — my Halloween sweatshirt design is ready  

[14:42] is marketing. My strategy has three main parts: Getting your listings to rank on Etsy.

[14:54] Making those listings convert into sales. Optionally adding ads once  you know what’s working. I've already talked about SEO earlier in this  video. Now, conversion is about presentation.  

[15:13] Your photos and mockups are the most important  part. Default mockups from Printify are okay,   but if you want premium, Etsy-style vibes,  use higher-quality mockups from Placeit  

[15:27] or Etsy mockup shops. Buyers need to picture  themselves wearing your sweatshirt or drinking   from your mug. Lifestyle photos almost  always convert better than plain flatlays. 

[15:39] Now, let’s talk about free traffic outside of Etsy  — and my favorite place for this is Pinterest.   Pinterest is basically a visual search engine,  and it works beautifully for print-on-demand. 

[15:54] You can take the same lifestyle mockups you  uploaded to Etsy and pin them on Pinterest   with links back to your shop. Since people use  Pinterest to search for holiday gifts, seasonal  

[16:10] clothing, and home decor, your designs can get  discovered by buyers who weren’t even on Etsy yet.  For example, if you’re selling a Halloween  sweatshirt with a cute ghost design,  

[16:23] you can create pins with titles like “Cozy  Halloween Sweatshirt – Cute Ghost Fall Outfit”   or “Spooky Season Sweatshirt Gift Idea”. Add  trending keywords in your pin description,  

[16:37] link directly to your Etsy listing, and those  pins can send you free traffic for months. The  

[16:51] best part is that Pinterest content has  a long lifespan — a pin you post today   can still bring you sales a year from now. If you want to learn more about Pinterest   marketing, I'll link my free on-demand  class in the description below. I also  

[17:07] have a paid course linked but you can  check the free one to get started.  Do you need Etsy Ads? They are not a must, they  are optional. If you already have a listing  

[17:19] that’s making organic sales, turning on Etsy ads  for that product can give it a boost. But don’t   waste money advertising designs that haven’t sold  yet — start with organic SEO and Pinterest first. 

[17:34] And if you are still in doubts, check my recent  video on Why Etsy Print-on-Demand is Actually   Easier this year than ever before. I'll link the  video up there, I'll see you in the next one!