Earlier this year I decided to start selling stickers in my Etsy shop. I’ve been selling printables and print-on-demand products on Etsy for several years, which has been a great source of income and has given me an idea of what designs my customers want to buy. Since printables and POD are both very hands-off in that I don’t have to make, package, or ship anything, I’ve been wanting to connect with customers and try something new by selling products that I could ship from my own home. I decided on stickers because they’re a low-cost item to start selling, they’re a common impulse buy (especially for collectors), and the storage wouldn’t take up much space in my office. If you’ve been thinking about starting a sticker business, this is everything you need to know to get started.
(This post contains affiliate links, so I may receive a commission if you click a link and buy something. A girl’s gotta eat.)
How to Create Sticker Designs
It doesn’t take a master designer to create sticker designs that sell. All of my designs are created in either Canva or Inkscape. Canva is a simpler design program but has more limitations with what you can do. Inkscape has more of the capabilities of Adobe Illustrator, but there’s more of a learning curve. Canva also recently launched a sticker printing service, so one way to get started is to check out their sticker templates and order some sticker sheets right from Canva.
If you’re not drawing your own stickers, you’ll probably want to download some fonts and graphics for your designs. If you’re selling stickers, make sure all the fonts and graphics you’re using are permitted for commercial use and not personal use only. I get most of my design elements from Creative Fabrica; everything on their website includes a commercial use license. I then upload them to Canva to add them to designs. Make sure to sign up for their email list for weekly freebies and discount bundles.
I’ve also created a few sticker designs on PlaceIt. They’re always adding new design templates that you can customize with your own colors and phrases.
How to Print Vinyl Stickers
Once you have some designs made, it’s time to print your stickers. There are a few ways to do this:
Vinyl Cutting Machine
The best way to have the most control over the outcome of your stickers is to print and cut them yourself. You can do this with a cutting machine such as the Cricut or Silhouette Cameo. These are two of the most common machines for vinyl crafters, so there are hundreds of tutorials on YouTube that will walk you through how to do everything that’s possible with a cutting machine.
For an in-depth tutorial on how to make and sell stickers on Etsy using a cutting machine, be sure to check out Mim Jenkinson’s eCourse, The Sticker Plan. She also has a free masterclass with tips for creating stickers that sell which offers some beginner tips and will help you decide if the full course is right for you.
Outsource Your Sticker Printing to Sticker Mule or STICKER BLITZ
If you’re not quite ready to invest in the tools needed to print and cut your own vinyl stickers, you can always outsource the printing. This is a good option when you’re new to selling stickers and not sure which designs will sell. It costs a little more upfront and will typically cost more per sticker than what it costs to do it yourself, but remember that you can always do this to get started, then once you get a feel for what your customers like and you’re ready to take it to the next level, you can invest in your own machine and learn how to make them yourself.
I outsource all my sticker printing to either Sticker Mule or sticker Blitz because their quality is excellent and they have discounts almost every week on different products, which makes it affordable to sample their stuff.
When I need something in a rush, I use Sticker Blitz because their products can arrive as quickly as 3-4 days after you purchase and they’re identical to Sticker Mule. However, they are newer and smaller so they do not have as extensive of a product selection. Visit StickerBlitz.Com and use the code SBAA573 at checkout to get 10% off your first order.
Print-On-Demand Sticker Printing
Another option that’s even MORE hands-off than outsourcing to Sticker Mule is print-on-demand (POD) stickers. With this option, there are no order minimums and the supplier (Printful is my preferred POD supplier that happens to sell stickers) also ships the products to your customer for you with your branding, so you don’t have to store the stickers or package and ship them. However, it does cost a bit more which is why I don’t use this method for stickers. It’s much better for products with a higher profit margin, such as wall art or apparel.
Packaging and Shipping Your Stickers
The most costly part of this whole thing is shipping. I know a lot of sellers will just send stickers in a letter envelope with a regular postage stamp and hope for the best, but I didn’t want to take that risk and also wanted my packages to look a bit more professional.
I like to use a rigid paperboard mailer for my sticker orders. They’re not plastic, which I prefer, and they’re rigid so you don’t have to worry about the stickers folding or crinkling in the package. They’re also super cheap at less than 20 cents per piece.
Since the paperboard is not waterproof I protect the stickers by putting them in a small plastic envelope like this, which cost about 5 cents each. I mostly sell 3×3” stickers, so the 6×6” mailers and 4×5” envelopes are the perfect size.
Packaging Inserts
Aside from stickers I also include a business card (VistaPrint has some of the cheapest) with a discount code on the back to encourage repeat business. You could print any sort of marketing material to add to your packages like a postcard or flyer advertising your latest products.
Whenever Sticker Mule has a sale – especially when they have a sale like 50 stickers for $9 – I’ll order a bunch to add to my orders as freebies. People love free stuff and this is an easy way to get people to remember you and come back next time they’re shopping.
Shipping Labels
Whenever someone orders a sticker on Etsy, I order and print the shipping label for a flat parcel through their dashboard, which comes out to $1 per envelope. I include the cost of shipping in the item price so that it shows up with free shipping in search results.
I used to print the shipping labels on regular printer paper. Cutting and taping the labels to the envelope was by far the most time-consuming part of this whole process, so it didn’t take long before I ordered a thermal Rollo printer. This thing is AMAZING. It spits out dozens of labels in less than a minute and requires no cartridge – LIFE CHANGING. Can’t recommend this thing enough. The other popular label printer out there is the Dymo, which I’ve heard great things about but haven’t tried.
Organizing and Storing Your Stickers
I store all my stickers and supplies in a parts tray. Make sure to get one with drawers wide enough to hold your stickers without bending them at all. Make it even easier on yourself with a handheld label maker so you can quickly find the drawer you need.
Boost Your Profit Margin With Sticker Packs
The biggest downside to selling stickers on Etsy is that the profit margins are low when each product is only a couple dollars. You’re paying the same for a shipping label and envelope whether there’s one sticker or 10 stickers in there, and the least profitable packages you’ll send out are those with only one sticker in them.
The easiest way to do this on Etsy is by creating sticker pack listings. If your stickers are all a similar niche, you can offer a pack of 4-10 stickers for a lower price than what they’d all cost individually. You can even get rid of slow-moving inventory by offering “surprise packs” where they buy 5 stickers and you decide which ones go in there.
I hope this makes it easier for you to get started with your Etsy sticker shop! Ready to open your store? Use my seller referral link for 40 free listings ($8 value).
Check out more of my online business posts to see what else you can sell in your store:
Everything You Need to Know About Etsy SEO (essential reading if you’re new to Etsy selling and want to make money at it)
How to Make and Sell Printables on Etsy
How to Sell Your Designs on Apparel, Home Goods, and Other Types of Merch With Print-On-Demand
How to Make Creative Dictionary-Style Designs and Sell Them on Etsy
Tiff says
This is a very helpful article! I have a number of friends who are looking to start selling their art, I look forward to sharing this with them.
Dien says
Hey
Whats you etsy shop name?
I can’t find it 🥺
Mandy says
I don’t share it here for obvious reasons but it’s not that hard to find if you’re determined.
Sune says
Do you think an HP printer could be able to print? And if so, what sticker paper do you use? I am thinking of printing my designs onto the paper and then cutting them out which shouldn’t be very hard considering my shop is very dead and small.
Mandy says
I can’t say for sure but I would assume it’s fine as long as it’s capable of printing on vinyl sheets.
ritzy designs says
How do you mock up stickers for Etsy? Do you print and cut a set of all the stickers you sell and photograph them? Wondering if there is another way to market them without cutting all sets
Mandy says
I take my own photos of stickers, it’s the easiest way for me as long as there’s natural lighting.