How to Prep Your POD and Etsy Shop in the Summer/Early Fall to Maximize Q4 Sales

Written By Shay Lynn

Well hey there fellow designer!

The time has finally come! The end of summer/early fall means one thing and one thing only… IT IS OFFICIALLY Q4 PREP TIME! As a print-on-demand and Etsy business owner, the summer and early fall months are your golden opportunities to prepare for the crazy Q4 sales season. And I know what you're thinking….

Isn’t July, August, and September super early to be thinking about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas sales?

ABSOLUTELY NOT! This is actually the perfect time of the year to strategize, get your designs and products up, and to start prepping your shop up for success.

Take it from me, prepping during these months can make a significant difference in maximizing your sales during Q4, the most lucrative time of the year for many Etsy sellers.

Did you know?

1) Early September/October has the highest search volume spike out of the entire year on Etsy

2) The month of November has the highest search volume and sales on Etsy out of the entire year!

3) The end of Q3 and all of Q4 are the highest times of the year for potential sales on Etsy

So in this blog, I’ll be covering products and niches that I sell in my shop during this time of year and what you should focus on as well! So buckle up, get a glass a wine (or whatever you’re into 😉), and get ready to jot down these tips, tricks, and strategies so that you can make the most of the upcoming wild Q4 season!

But, before we dive in and get into the meat and potatoes of this post let me introduce myself

Hi there! I’m Shay Lynn

If you had told me that a few years ago when I was pregnant that I would be running my own multi 6 figure print on demand buisness, I would have outright laughed in your face! And then would have asked, “What the heck is Print on Demand?”

I’m a proud Mom, Etsy shop owner, Print on Demand business owner, and POD educator. I help women (and Mom’s like myself) start their own Print on Demand businesses and gain financial freedom so they can ditch their 9 to 5 grinds! Check out my course and blog to learn more!

Now that we have our pleasantries out of the way, let’s dive right in and get into the meat and potatoes of this post!


Top 3 Niches, Subniches and Products to Focus on for Q4

1) HALLOWEEN: I LOVE designing products for Halloween because it is one of the top 10 shopping holidays for all retailers/e-commerce businesses! This is such a fun holiday to make designs for so many different types of individuals because people are looking for all sorts of fun gifts and products to show off their spooky vibes. And don’t just think about Halloween shirts and sweaters, think outside of the box. Some things to help get your creative juices flowing are Halloween tote bags, Matching Couples Halloween outfits/costumes, Matching Family Halloween attire, Halloween pet costumes, Horror/Scary movie gifts, Spooky Season gifts, “my first” Halloween baby gifts, maternity Halloween gifts, Halloween decorations, Death Do Us Part gifts, and Halloween Party gifts. For these designs, be sure to incorporate some fun and/or spooky design trends to really make your designs pop. Some design elements you should consider would be: cute ghost elements, black cats, retro witches, creepy fonts, old English spooky fonts, spiderwebs, bats, witchy aesthetic, moon phases, jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, and spiders.

Outdoor and Indoor Decorations do really well in this category. Some of my personal favorites are doormats, garden flags, yard signs, or die-cut metal signs, candles, blankets, and posters, kitchen towels, and cutting boards. Some other great product ideas for this niche are family/group outfits, pet bandanas, kid costumes hoodies/onesies, adult hoodies, leggings, sweaters, journals, phone cases, wine glasses, pint glasses, tumblers, mugs, and tote bags.


2) FALL/THANKSGIVING: The Fall and Thanksgiving niche is a wonderful niche to get into in late summer! I suggest starting to get designs up for this niche starting in August to really maximize your sales Sept through early November. To stand out, think creatively and do thorough product research—shoppers are looking for fun unique and diverse gifts for themselves and their loved ones during this time of year.

Here is a list of ideas to get your creative juices flowing and to get you pointed in the right direction:

Fall quotes products/gifts (think happy fall y’all), baby’s first Thanksgiving gift, thanksgiving table decor, fall decor, personalized family Thanksgiving decorations, Gratitude gifts, Thankful gifts, matching family gifts, coffee season gifts, football season gifts, and Friendsgiving gifts.

Personally, I have found success selling the following products in this niche: Hoodies, Sweaters, Group t-shirts (think for Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving), cutting boards, aprons, candles, wine glasses, pint glasses, beer koozies, coaster sets, tumblers, mugs, baby attire, cards, posters, yard signs, doormats (fall sayings or personalized family names).

3) CHRISTMAS:

The mother of all holidays! Christmas during Q4 is a complete whirlwind, and if you're new to the POD industry, you better buckle on up. Christmas is the number one shopping season holiday for e-commerce and retail businesses, and approximately 80% of Etsy sellers see do the bulk of their sales during this time. Believe it or not, people start buying Christmas gifts as early as July! Yes, you read that right, JULY!!!!

Unlike me, these early birds begin their holiday shopping in the summer, however, the peak sales period on Etsy for Christmas is in November and starts to cool off about 10 days into December. However, the Christmas mayhem doesn’t stop 10 days in. You will literally have last-minute shoppers contacting you on Christmas Eve, hoping Santa can magically deliver their gifts overnight by some Christmas miracle (haha)!

There are so many directions you can take for this holiday! Personalized ornaments, Christmas in our first home gifts, baby’s first Christmas, Christmas gifts for pet owners, matching “Christmas morning” outfits, personalized stockings, stocking stuffers, holiday themed home decor (think family names), festive Christmas drinkwear, holiday-themed Christmas gift bags, Christmas kitchen decor, and Christmas party decorations, do really well this time of year!

It truly is the wild wild west out there this time of year! Practically ANY AND ALL POD products will sell! I have had success with the following: ornaments, aprons, kitchen towels, drinkware of all kinds, stockings, doormats, garden flags, candles, metal signs, posters, journals, sweaters, shirts, sweatpants, cutting boards, cards, gift wrapping paper, hats, pet bandanas, pet dog bowls, pet leashes, baby onesies, stockings, tote bags, and weekender bags.

Need a little extra holiday help?

Want more Niche, Design, and Product Ideas for Q4?

I got you covered! Check out my Holiday Hustle Playbook! This guide goes into CRAZY detail on what you should consider designing for in Q4. In this video course, I go over how to prep your shop for the influx of customers in Q4, and holiday listing timelines to let you know when to post to maximize sales. Each season is covered extensively with a deep dive into niches, subniches, product selection, mockups, and sales tactics during Q4! Level up your Etsy store with the most profitable niches and products to design for during the holiday season! Click the link above or the image below to check this out while it’s on sale for only 17$!

Conclusion

Phew! I think I covered everything I wanted to get to in this post! 🎉 Designing and product hunting can be a lot of work and time, but that's exactly why you should be focusing on creating your Q4 products now in the summer. This way, when customers start searching for products/gifts in Q4, you, your business, and your shop will be prepped and ready to go for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! 🎃🦃🎄 So be sure to start strategizing and prepping to get ahead to make this Q4 the best one yet! 🚀

I hope this post helps you on your Print on Demand journey! If you are completely new to print on demand, curious about selling products online, want to make your first best-seller, and want to learn how to start your Etsy business the right way in 2024, then check out my course The Print On Demand Playbook. I have over 30 videos and 8 hours of Print on Demand video tutorials and information on how to start your very own shop, Keywords/ Etsy SEO, product selection, research validation, design tutorials, content calendars, customer service templates, and so much more! 👇👇👇👇

Shay Lynn
Previous

The Top 4 Niches and Products to Sell for Christmas in Your Print on Demand and Etsy Shop
Next

The Only 2 Research Tools You Need for a Successful Print on Demand and Etsy Business: Sales Samurai and EverBee