Why am I getting almost no Etsy sales for digital planners after daily listings and SEO?

Hi! What you’re describing is usually a mix of two things: (1) Etsy is showing your listings a bit, but the listing isn’t converting well enough to earn more visibility over time, and/or (2) you’re in very competitive “broad keyword” territory (digital planners + printable wall art) where the winners have stronger differentiation, stronger thumbnails, and more trust signals (reviews, brand recognition, proven conversion). Daily listing helped you get the short “new listing” testing window, but if Etsy doesn’t see solid click-to-buy performance, that boost fades and the listing stops getting pushed.

Here are the most common issues that stop digital downloads from getting shown or stop shoppers from buying:

• Keyword relevance mismatch (traffic, but not buyer-intent traffic): Your tags/title might match what people type, but not what they mean (example: “digital planner” can mean Goodnotes, iPad, Canva template, printable PDF, dated/undated, A4/Letter, etc.). If you’re getting broad searches, you’ll see visits/favorites but weak sales.
• Weak thumbnail/first photo for the niche: In digital products, the thumbnail is basically the product. If it doesn’t instantly communicate “what it is + who it’s for + what’s included,” people click less, and even if they click, they hesitate.
• Unclear “what’s included” + format confusion: This is the #1 conversion killer for planners. Shoppers fear buying the wrong file type. If they can’t tell in 5 seconds whether it works for iPad/GoodNotes/Notability/print/Canva (and what size), they leave.
• Not enough perceived value vs price: In crowded categories, buyers compare fast. If your preview doesn’t show “this is bigger/better/more unique,” they favorite it and keep shopping.
• Lack of differentiation (looks like everyone else): “Minimalist neutral planner” and “boho wall art” are saturated. If your style and features are similar to bestsellers, Etsy shoppers often wait for a sale, buy from the shop with more reviews, or pick the listing with the clearest preview.
• Trust gap (newer shop + few reviews): With instant downloads, buyers can’t “test shipping speed,” so reviews and clarity do a lot of heavy lifting. A shop with 5–20 strong reviews will usually beat a shop with none at the same price point, even if the design is similar.
• Etsy Ads amplifying the wrong problem: Ads can get you impressions/clicks, but they don’t fix conversion. If the listing doesn’t convert, ads often just confirm the issue faster (money spent, no sales).

Now, for your “favorites but no sales” listing, here’s the most practical way to troubleshoot it without guessing:

1. Treat favorites as a signal, not a goal.
   Favorites often mean “cute, maybe later,” “waiting for a discount,” or “comparing options.” It’s only a buying signal if you’re also seeing add-to-carts and purchases.

2. Check if the listing is attracting the wrong shopper.
   Open your listing and ask: in the first 2 lines of the title + first photo, is it painfully clear:

• what device/use case it’s for (iPad/GoodNotes vs printable),
• the file type (PDF / PNG / Canva template, etc.),
• the size (Letter/A4/A5, GoodNotes page size, etc.),
• and what they actually receive (page count, sections, links/tabs, versions)?

If any of that is “somewhere in the description,” many people will favorite and leave.

1. Upgrade the first 3 photos to “conversion photos,” not pretty mockups.
   A good digital planner photo set usually includes:

• Photo 1: clean hero + 3–5 feature callouts (dated/undated, hyperlinks/tabs, #pages, iPad/printable, etc.)
• Photo 2: “What you get” overview (a simple grid of included pages/sections)
• Photo 3: compatibility + instructions snapshot (apps supported, how download works, what’s editable/not editable)

Pretty lifestyle images are fine later, but the first images must answer objections.

1. Run one controlled test at a time (7–14 days each).
   Don’t overhaul everything at once. For example:

• Test A: new thumbnail + clearer “works with GoodNotes / printable PDF” wording
• Test B: new price/value (either a small drop, or add more value and keep price)
• Test C: change keywords to more specific intent (“teacher planner iPad goodnotes”, “ADHD weekly planner printable”, “wedding planning binder printable,” etc.)

1. Compare your offer to the top 10 listings for the exact keyword you want.
   Not “digital planner” in general—your exact phrase. Look for the pattern in:

• number of preview pages shown,
• how they communicate what’s included,
• whether they include bundles/bonuses,
• their price point relative to page count/features,
• and how fast you can understand the product from the first photo.

If your listing looks even slightly more confusing, it’ll lose conversions.

1. If it’s getting traffic from Ads, check the search terms.
   If the clicks are coming from vague terms (or terms that don’t match your format), pause Ads on that listing until the listing converts organically a bit better. Etsy Ads work best when a listing is already converting and you’re scaling it.

If you want, paste the text of your best-performing listing’s title + the first photo (or a screenshot of your first 3 images) + what format it is (GoodNotes/printable/Canva). I can tell you the most likely conversion bottleneck and what I’d change first without turning it into a huge project.