How HappyDownloads got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

I sell digital planners and stickers in my Etsy shop, for a variety of apps on iPad and Android.

I’ve been passionate about planners, diaries, journals and organisers for as long as I can remember! Back in 2018, I discovered digital planning. Digital planners are digital documents that you can write in, take notes and add images to using a digital planning app. I looked for a digital planner to try out on my iPad but the options were limited and fairly expensive.

So I decided to create my own digital planner to use and it really helped me be more productive and allowed me to express my creativity. I was really happy with the planner that I had created so I wanted to share it with others. I started HappyDownloads and sold the planner through my Etsy shop.

My husband and I make the digital planners ourselves using a variety of graphic design tools. We also make instructional videos to help people new to digital planning use our planners.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

My favorite items listed in my shop are my digital planner bundles: Digital Planner 2021 and Black Paper Digital Planner

These are my favorite because they include many different planner variations for customers to choose from and additional items such as stickers and covers. I love seeing my customers use and decorate their planners in different ways using my digital planner stickers.

These have sold well over the last twelve months due to increased working from home and more powerful tablets available providing an improved digital planning experience.

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?  

It took over a month before I received my first sale and progress was initially slow but I continued to refine our product and listing descriptions. Once we received a few sales and positive reviews, the sales became more regular.

I attract customers by ensuring my product remains competitive and learning from customer feedback and listening to suggestions to consider potential improvements. Providing great customer service also helps to ensure customer ratings remain high and increases the chance of return customers.

I currently rely on Etsy SEO to bring most of the traffic but I also utilise the Etsy marketing function to promote my best listings. Ranking on etsy is really competitive so it’s important to remain on the first few pages of the search results. 

Managing HappyDownloads

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

My husband and I manage the shop together to deal with orders and customer queries. As digital downloads are automated on Etsy we don’t have shipping considerations but do need to respond promptly to customers if they have any issues or if they’re unfamiliar with digital downloads.

The future of HappyDownloads

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

I’m in the process of making improvements to our planners so customers have even more options and I’d also like to expand the range of digital planners and stickers available. I’m aiming to increase traffic to the HappyDownloads website as I believe it is important to have multiple streams of income and not rely on Etsy alone.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

I’d say that passion is really important! Running a business is hard work so it totally helps that we enjoy what we do. Research and competitor analysis is essential because you will want to stand out from the competition and give customers a reason to choose your shop.

Good customer service goes a long way and don’t take it personally when you get your first negative feedback! It happens to all sellers so just keep calm and respond in a professional manner.