How TheDesignTemplateCo 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?
Hello! I am the founder of TheDesignTemplateCo., a company that provides digital marketing templates to help your company or personal brand grow.I started the shop in Q3 2021 to help even more clients, businesses, social media marketers, bloggers, and more with my easy-to-use marketing templates, planners, and worksheets! Nothing makes me happier than assisting business owners in reducing the overwhelming feeling of marketing.
I started out in event planning, believe it or not, and realized after 6 years or so that I was getting burned out from the emotional stress that comes along with planning a large event from start to finish. However, I did discover my love for marketing the events to get people to attend or vendors to sign up to work the events. TA DA! My love for marketing took off! I landed my first marketing job back in 2007 with a local mom-and-pop shop to help them market their "1 Stop" gift shop. I have been with them ever since. I've assisted countless clients and businesses in translating their marketing efforts into custom, well-thought-out strategy plans.
Along the way, I found myself constantly creating templates and worksheets that I used with almost every client. So I ended up taking my library of items and turning them into customizable templates for all marketing and small business professionals. So let’s get the conversation started and see how we can collaborate and crush your 2023 business goals.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
My personal favorite is the 90+ Email Sequence Scripts bundle. The value of this packet alone is insane! You can take these email campaigns, email series, newsletter style, or even one-off email send scripts and edit them to fit anything and everything you are looking to do, with the ability to re-use them over and over again. They were built over time with open rates and conversion rates in mind. The best part is that they are almost always on sale, and they are even a steal at a full price of under $20.
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 made my first sale within month 1, which was super exciting. They did trickle in the first 1–3 months as I was adding my templates to the shop, digging into keyword research, and eventually promoting on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok what my shop had to offer. I use a lot of lead magnets, free tips, free templates, promo codes, and just showcasing the value of a digital download to small business owners on social media and email.
Managing TheDesignTemplateCo
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?
Yes, I am a one-man band when it comes to creating templates and listing them on Etsy. The tools I use and love the most are:
Copy.Ai
Alura
SaleSamurai
FloDesk
SnipFeed
Tailwind
The future of TheDesignTemplateCo
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
My personal goal is to have over 500 marketing templates listed in the shop by 2025. I'm currently at 130+, so I think I can get there if I compartmentalize some more time in research and generate the templates that small business owners need and can actually use to help scale their brands.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Do the research first! I started out wanting to dive into the wedding industry as I had a background in event planning and was planning my own wedding at the time. I wasn’t finding exactly what I wanted at that time, so I created a lot of my own items. However, I quickly ran some searches on keywords and how saturated the market was and realized I’d never be able to sustain the monetary goals I wanted to be at as there are some key players in that market on Etsy.
To piggyback on doing the research, do it often! Keyword research should be an evolving task on your monthly or quarterly to-do list, as they are constantly changing and rotating up and down. So stay on top of that by making a list. Remember that your first photo, title, tags, and the first 150 characters of your description are critical to being seen and clicked on, so use them wisely!
Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.
Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: Fluctuates on time of year but $500-$1600/mo
Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: The average is 6%
TheDesignTemplateCo
Marketing Templates for Small Business Owners
