Selling digital products on Etsy is a very easy and lucrative way to sell your creations, but you may run into problems when you try to upload a large file. Unfortunately, there are size limits as well as quantity restrictions on each listing. But don’t worry, It’s totally possible to sell these products! This post will walk you through a few different options for uploading large digital files to Etsy.
How To Upload Large Digital Files To Etsy
Split One Large File Into Smaller Files
While there is a 20MB limit for each file, you do have an option to upload up to 5 separate files to a listing on Etsy. So one simple way to upload a larger file is to split it up into smaller files.
This method is not really possible for large image or video files, but it may be a good option if you are selling a bundle of digital goods that are in PDF format. Split the files up by topic, tutorial, pattern, etc.
You should only do this if there is a logical way to split up the file without confusing or inconveniencing your customers. People may find it inconvenient to have one large eBook split into 3 files.
Compress The Files
You can always make files smaller by compressing them. You can create a zip file on your computer, but from my experience it usually won’t reduce a file by much. Instead, there are many free tools online that are capable of significantly reducing the size.
Here are a few helpful tools:
- My favorite PDF compressor is PDFcompressor.com. This free tool does a very good job of preserving the quality of the PDF and I haven’t had any issues with it scrambling the PDF or making it hard to read.
- Design tools such as Canva and Photoshop have download quality settings and image dimensions. You can play around with these to see if you can get the file smaller.
One thing to keep in mind when you are compressing files: it will reduce the quality of the file. It may not be the best solution if you sell digital art or printable products where image quality is important!
Upload A File With A Link To The Product
If you can’t find a good way to compress the file or upload it into smaller files, the last option is to upload a PDF that contains a link to the actual file you are selling.
First, you’ll need to find a place to upload and host the file.
There are many options for this, for example:
- Google Cloud
- Dropbox
- Canva
- upload videos to Youtube and set them to private
After you’ve uploaded the file somewhere, it’s time to create a one page PDF with the link to the file. You can easily create one in Canva. Get creative with it and don’t forget to add your branding to make the PDF look professional!
Finally, you’ll want to make it very clear to the customer what to expect so they won’t be surprised. It’s a good idea to mention in the description of the listing that they will be provided with a PDF that contains a link to the file upon purchase.
I hope these tips helped. There are plenty of options out there; sometimes you just have to get a little bit creative!