How Plantbasedcards 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?

Hi, I’m Dan Cook, owner and creator of Plant-Based Cards on Etsy. I create a variety of illustrated gifts, such as greeting cards containing funny puns, card games, and eco-friendly badges. My store is particularly themed around encouraging a healthy plant-based lifestyle, using recycled materials, and aimed at the vegan audience. I began Plant-Based Cards in 2017 as a hobby to develop my passion for drawing and show others the benefits of plant-based foods. I was actually inspired to open an Etsy shop when my sister asked if I would draw her an avocado Christmas card. After creating the avocado character and Christmas pun, I thought, "Why not see if anyone else would like it?" This spurred me to create a set of six Christmas cards. At the time, the avocado was only just starting to trend online, and the vegan movement was quite small. So it came at a great time.

Back then, I was getting my greeting cards printed in bulk, so I had to be quite selective over what to make, and this meant I had a limited amount of designs available. After a few years, I decided to buy my own printer. This enabled me to expand my designs significantly, as well as reduce the amount of waste as all of my cards are now made to order. This also means I have control over the materials I use. With my greeting cards, I only use a recycled cards, envelopes, and paper tape. My plant-based "Top Trumps" style card game has been a huge success for my Etsy business, and it inspired me to create more food-themed games, which have also proven very popular.

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I have created all my games from scratch, initially with a pencil, a sketchpad, and lots of research! As I used to be a graphic designer, I was able to source the best places to get my card games printed using environmentally friendly FSC cardstock.

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 have to be both my vegan card games and my plant-based jigsaw puzzle. They are totally unique and educational, and I receive lots of positive feedback about them. For example, the jigsaw is actually designed to look like a vegan food pie chart showing all the different foods in each group!

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These products are my favorites because of the amount of effort I put into coming up with the ideas and designing the games. They have also gained great online attention, featuring on very popular vegan sites such as The Vegan Society, Plant-Based News, and Vegan Food & Living.

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?

I had my first sale within a couple of days of opening my Etsy shop, and as it was the Christmas period, it was a great time to test the market. I had also initially set up an Instagram and Facebook account to raise awareness and start growing my brand. Nowadays, I mainly attract people to my shop with SEO searches on Etsy and Pinterest, occasional Instagram posts, and email marketing. Other blogger roundup posts and sharing the Etsy shop on other websites and directories also help to raise the profile, which also happens organically over time.

Managing Plantbasedcards

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?

As I have a full-time career in digital marketing, I manage my shop fully in my own time. I usually spend an hour or so in the morning and evening creating, printing, and packing orders for posting out on my dog walk or at lunch time. I also have a few wholesale companies that order larger quantities a few times throughout the year, which I fit in throughout the week. My plastic-free badge orders take longer to make depending on the quantity, which I usually fit into an evening, and I often have to turn down large orders due to the time it takes to make them. There is potential to upscale my business, especially with more games and badge inquiries, but at the moment I do enjoy it as a side hobby that brings in some extra money to enjoy or save. I use the Etsy Shop app, which is good for tracking what products are being searched for and comparing sales from previous months and years. I use the main Etsy website on my laptop when processing orders and printing out postage labels. I offer shipping all over the world using Royal Mail and post out on most days of the week; I receive quite a lot of international orders, which I really appreciate. It amazes me the amount of support and positive feedback I receive.

The future of Plantbasedcards

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

I would like to grow my product line with more card games and possibly a board game. I have a few ideas; I just need to start creating them! Etsy is my main platform, although my website plantbasedcards.com, which I’ve had for about 3 years, brings in most of my business badge orders and wholesale inquiries, which I would also like to develop further. I would also like to attend more events to promote my brand and raise awareness about eating healthier.

Advice for new sellers

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

I would recommend learning about SEO and keywords to ensure your listings are effectively seen. Also, look for similar stores to your product idea for inspiration, and don't be afraid to ask other store owners questions. Do what you enjoy most. If you find yourself chasing a trend to make money, then you might end up getting stressed and not enjoying it. Be prepared to initially put lots of time into Etsy and online marketing through social media. Also, don’t be afraid to write blog articles that can be published on your own blog or website and link back to your products; this is a fantastic way to increase traffic from Google searches. Lastly, I recommend being creative and experimental. This could be done with photography, video, or digital imagery to make your listings stand out.