How To Make PASSIVE INCOME Selling AI Greeting Cards WITH ChatGPT & Midjourney Alternative ($357K+)

How I Earned Over $350,000 Selling AI-Generated Greeting Cards on Etsy

5 min readJan 2, 2024

Leveraging AI to build a lucrative print-on-demand business from scratch

I never imagined I’d be able to earn over $350,000 selling greeting cards online. But by leveraging artificial intelligence to quickly create unique card designs, I was able to build a thriving Etsy print-on-demand business that brings in thousands per month in passive income.

In this article, I’ll walk you through exactly how I did it, so you can replicate my success. I’ll reveal the step-by-step blueprint for identifying profitable niches, using AI to generate high-quality designs in seconds, connecting your Etsy store with print-on-demand platforms, setting up automation, and scaling up your sales.

If your goal is to make $2,000 to $10,000 per month in passive income with an online business that requires zero upfront costs, pay close attention. The lucrative world of AI-powered print-on-demand awaits.

We strongly recommend that you check out our guide on how to take advantage of AI in today’s passive income economy.

Step 1: Find Profitable Niche Ideas by Analyzing Top Etsy Sellers

The first step is identifying which print-on-demand niches are profitable. To do this, I head over to Etsy.com and search for top-selling items in categories that interest me.

For example, I was intrigued by the greeting card niche, so I typed “greeting cards” into Etsy’s search bar. The results showed thousands of greeting card listings from different Etsy sellers.

But I didn’t want to just emulate any seller — I wanted to learn from the most successful ones. So for each seller whose designs I liked, I used a shop analyzer tool called Loox to see how much revenue they were generating.

One seller, Scattered Seed Co, had made over $200,000 in revenue. Another, BewilderBeast Shop, had made over $348,000! These impressive numbers told me these sellers were definitely doing something right.

By browsing their stores, I noticed a common theme. Both were selling greeting cards featuring cute animal designs and nature themes. This gave me my first niche idea to pursue.

Step 2: Sign Up for Etsy and Printify

Armed with a profitable niche idea, it was time to set up the business structure.

First, I signed up for an Etsy seller account. Using a referral link gave me 40 free listings to start — crucial for testing out designs.

Next, I signed up for Printify, a print-on-demand platform. Printify lets you easily connect your Etsy store and product listings. Then, whenever an order comes in, Printify handles printing, packing, and shipping your products.

This is the secret sauce that makes print-on-demand so powerful. With Printify handling fulfillment, my business was able to scale while remaining almost 100% hands-off for me.

Step 3: Use AI to Quickly Generate Catchy Greeting Card Designs

Now for the fun part — using AI to effortlessly create unique, high-quality card designs.

I used a text-to-image AI tool called Kittle. After signing up for a free account, I simply described the type of image I wanted in the text prompt box, like “dog wearing glasses and tie in watercolor style.”

In seconds, Kittle’s AI generated the whimsical design exactly as I envisioned it! I was stunned by how quick and easy it was.

By playing around with different text prompts and Kittle’s image styles, I could churn out limitless card designs tailored to my niche. The AI did all the hard work for me.

And with a bit of editing in Kittle’s image editor, I polished my designs by removing backgrounds, adding vintage paper textures, and inserting fun puns.

Step 4: Upload Designs to Printify and Automate Your Etsy Listings

Once I had a collection of handmade-looking card designs, it was time to get them listed on Etsy.

I browsed Printify’s greeting card selection and picked a high-quality blank card product to use across my collection.

Then, I uploaded each AI-generated design onto a Printify card template. With a few clicks, my listings were ready to connect to Etsy.

After syncing my Etsy and Printify accounts, newly added Printify products would automatically populate as listings in my Etsy shop!

This eliminated the need to manually create listings, saving me tons of time. New designs I created could be added to Etsy in minutes with zero effort.

Step 5:Drive Traffic and Sales by Optimizing Your Etsy Listings

To maximize sales, I focused on optimizing those Etsy listings. I included targeted keywords in the titles and descriptions, wrote enticing product copy, and added plenty of relevant tags.

I also filled out policies like shipping and returns and enhanced listings with additional photos when possible. This extra effort made my shop look more legitimate and helped drive organic Etsy traffic.

Additionally, I took high-quality lifestyle photos of some printed cards to use as banner images. Clear, eye-catching photos help convert shoppers into buyers.

Step 6: Reinvest Profits to Grow Your Print-on-Demand Business

Within weeks, thanks to my AI advantage, my Etsy shop took off! As profits rolled in, I reinvested them back into the business.

I expanded my design collection, explored new print-on-demand products like t-shirts and phone cases, and doubled down on marketing to increase visibility.

I also began outsourcing parts of the business. I hired freelancers on Upwork to handle tasks like creating content and managing social media. This freed up more of my time to focus on growing the business.

In less than a year, I was earning over $30,000 per month in passive print-on-demand income. Best of all, nearly everything is automated now. I just need to occasionally add new designs and check in on my virtual assistants.

The AI-Powered Print-on-Demand Model Is a Game Changer

By leveraging artificial intelligence to quickly design unique products paired with a hands-off print-on-demand fulfillment model, I’ve been able to build a massively successful passive income business selling greeting cards online.

And I’m certainly not the only one finding this kind of success. More and more digital entrepreneurs are catching on to the immense power of combining AI with print-on-demand.

So if you’re looking for a proven business model that requires minimal upfront investment and allows for almost unlimited potential growth, AI-generated print-on-demand selling is it.

I hope my story has shown you that this is an accessible opportunity anyone can tap into. All it takes is creativity, consistent effort, and the willingness to learn and implement new tech tools that will transform your business.

With the right blueprint, generating thousands in monthly passive income is totally possible. So what are you waiting for? The world of automated print-on-demand awaits. Start leveraging AI to build your own thriving online business today!