The Path to $1k/mo with Mini Digital Products

Cody Berman is no stranger to selling digital products.

He’s known in the side hustle world as the “printable guy” and co-founder of Gold City Ventures, but when Internet skeptics told him the Etsy market was “too saturated now” compared to when he started in 2018, Cody accepted the challenge.

And proved them wrong.

From zero to $1,000/month in 116 days with a brand-new Etsy shop, with no followers, no email list, and no marketing. Just skill and data-driven decisions.

(If you want to shortcut the learning curve, check out his course: sidehustlenation.com/etsyprintableslaunch)

Tune in to Episode 665 of The Side Hustle Show to learn:

• how Cody launched a brand-new Etsy shop to $1K/month in just 116 days
• keyword research strategy behind finding low-competition, high-demand niches
• why printables aren’t just for passive income but powerful marketing tools too

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Round 1: Printables

Where the Digital Product Ideas Come From

“Look at what you already have and what you’re already using,” Cody shared his piece of advice.

If you’re in personal finance, maybe you’ve already created a debt payoff tracker, net worth spreadsheet, or maybe side hustle income log.

Templatize that thing and list it on Etsy.

Cody has done this with his podcast’s media kit, built initially in Canva. Becky’s done it using AI, and Debbie’s with her home decor plans.

A one-time use printable turned into a repeatable income stream. And there are thousands of similar opportunities hiding in plain sight.

Spreadsheets vs. Printables

Spreadsheets often have a higher perceived value, but Cody leans toward simpler printables.

They’re easy to produce quickly, create variations, and perfect for the “throw spaghetti at the wall” numbers game.

But what if you’re starting from zero with no tools, no templates, no idea what to sell?

Don’t sleep on ChatGPT. Cody used it to help brainstorm 250 product ideas. It was a hit or a miss, but it helped build the momentum.

Keyword Research for Digital Products

Cody didn’t start building anything until he ran those 250 ideas through keyword research tools.

You don’t have to be amazing at graphic design.  ”You can be a 5/10 graphic designer as long as you understand keyword research and SEO and you go after those,” he admitted.

For Etsy, his go-to platforms were eRank and EverBee. Think about the question, “Are people actually searching for this product, and how much competition is there?”

eRank in particular gives you a super helpful color-coded view:

• Green: high search volume, low competition (unicorns!)
• Yellow: moderate demand, still promising
• Red: not many search, too much competition

Cody typically targets: minimum 50 searches/month and yellow demand + Green competition

The Riches Are in the Niches

This is where the strategy gets fun. Generic printables are brutally competitive, so how do you avoid coming up with something generic?

Instead of selling a typical “thank you card,” how about:

• Thank you card for a first grade teacher
• Thank you card for a soccer coach
• Thank you card for a ballet instructor

These micro-niches aren’t just easier to rank for — they convert better too.

If someone’s shopping for a gift for their kid’s ballet teacher and your product says “Ballet Teacher Thank You Card,” that’s the one they’re buying.

It’s more specific, more relevant, and you’re not fighting with thousands of other sellers.

Why People Buy: Convenience > Skill

Even as tools like Canva get easier, people still pay for done-for-you templates.

They’re paying for convenience. They’re paying to save time. And a lot of them don’t even know how to use Canva.

Sure, they could create their own printable, but just like mowing the lawn or assembling IKEA furniture, most people would rather pay someone else to do it.

That’s your opportunity.

For Cody, it was a numbers game. He was uploading 20 to 30 new products a week. His first sale came on day three — with just 5 or 6 products live in the shop. And it just kept going from there.

Deliverables: What Do You Actually Sell?

Your product is often a PDF, but editable options are more valuable.

Cody’s tip: Include a link inside the PDF to an editable Canva template. That way, the buyer gets both a ready-to-go version and the flexibility to customize.

And bundles are great. You can charge more for a set of related printables than for individual items.

Customers love value packs, and you increase your average order value without increasing your effort by much.

Marketing for Digital Products

Cody didn’t spend a dime on ads in the beginning, but relied entirely on search traffic and Etsy’s algorithm.

Only after he had proven products did he start running Etsy ads. And even then, he was smart about it.

He scaled slowly, up to about $100 a day in ad spend, but only on listings that were already converting.

He aimed for a 3% to 5% conversion rate on product views. If a product wasn’t hitting that? No ads.

The Etsy listing process itself was also systematized. Eight product images per listing, clean mockups, and clear “thumbnail” visuals that explained what the buyer was getting.

He kept the messaging simple and direct without clever copywriting tricks added.

Tech & Tools

• Canva (design)
• eRank & EverBee (keyword research)
• ChatGPT (idea generation)
• Google Sheets / Docs (planning)
• Screen recording tools (to document the journey)

Round 2: Donate a Business Idea

Cody shared his pain point of finding a solid accountant, legal advisor, developer, or marketing pro as an entrepreneur… and he wants someone to steal his idea of The Hub — an all-in-one business solution for legal, accounting, development, HR, and everything an entrepreneur needs.

So this isn’t just a directory nor a list of random freelancers or service providers you still have to vet yourself.

It’s a reliable team of people that you can access without the hassle.

He’s even got the pricing structure in mind: new entrepreneurs might pay $100 a month, more established businesses could pay $5,000 or more. Fractional support at scale.

“People would pay a lot of money for this if it was done well.”

Round 3: The Triple Threat

Marketing Tactic: Digital Products as Lead Magnets

Digital downloads make perfect low-ticket offers or free lead magnets. These products serve as a powerful way to get new people into your ecosystem.

Cody and his team at Gold City Ventures use this strategy across their entire business. They drive traffic through SEO, YouTube, paid ads, and affiliate promotions. The printable is just the first step on the value ladder.

It’s the same thinking behind Pete Boyle’s $1 product challenge: if you can wow someone for $1, they’ll be back for more.

Favorite Tool: Custom GPTs

Cody’s loving Custom GPTs via ChatGPT Pro. He’s built tailored bots for writing in his voice, researching podcast guests, and generating Etsy product ideas.

You’ll need the $20/month ChatGPT Pro plan, but once you’re in, you can build as many of these as you want.

Favorite Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow

Cody says it’s dense, but impactful. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman reshaped how Cody views decision-making and marketing.

The book dives into how people actually think and why we often make irrational choices.

Episode Links:

• Cody Berman
• Gold City Ventures
• Sidehustlenation.com/etsyprintableslaunch
• The Financial Independence Show
• How to Use AI to Create Digital Products: $30k a Month
• $1000 a Week Selling Digital Products
• $250k Selling Spreadsheets on Etsy in Under 2 Years
• Pete Boyle’s $1 product challenge:
• eRank
• EverBee
• ChatGPT
• Google Sheets
• Google Docs
• SEO
• YouTube
• Paid ads
• Affiliate promotions
• Custom GPTs via ChatGPT Pro
• Thinking, Fast and Slow

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