Is there really a market for selling digital download recipes on ETSY

newowner456

So I am a massive foodie and over the years I have developed a number of dishes some I have invented and others are based on recipes I have tweaked from books. Someone has suggested I could sell these on ETSY as PDFs. Doing a bit of research some single recipe cards are selling for 99p and others for a couple of pounds and bundles of PDF recipes for more. I find it amazing people pay when you can get so many for free. 

• Did you know you could buy single recipes on ETSY ?
• Would you buy a recipe on ETSY? 
• Thinking once I have created the PDF they could become a passive income as they would need updating and I could add PDF recipes every now and then to top it up with more? Listing fees are minimal 20p each so would only need low volume sales.
• Has anyone done this and what income did you get? Thinking I will need to use pintrest and Insta to build up flow to the shop. 
• Also I will need to make the recipe cards look nice possibly using free stock photos etc.  

Food is a passion so creating the cards would be enjoyable for me, even if they ended up being created just for my family 

praisedlily

Give it a try!

Another way would be to make an e-cookbook, you can sell it on Amazon, Etsy, and more categorised in different ways. Perhaps you could put all your dessert recipes together, then offer one free on Etsy or a blog and push people towards purchasing the full cookbook. Keep collecting and tweaking recipes and expand from there.

Similarly, YouTube recipes - you can record yourself making the recipes and annotate or commentate over it, then package the video as an Instagram Reel and a TikTok to push people towards looking at your YouTube videos or to buy the recipe card or cookbook.

goldfinches

@newowner456 - I'm also a massive foodie but hadn't come across this idea before. Like you, I was initially sceptical, but realised that I have bought some e-cookbooks on Amazon over the last couple of years so think it might be worth your trying.  I've tended to buy themed books e.g. veggie slow cooker recipes or small batch baking and so on. 
I might buy a recipe from Etsy.
Yes, I think they would need updating periodically but that you're right that they might make a passive income.
I'm not sure how you could attract customers but think that good reviews would help attract people and that some would revisit. You might look at the website Eat Your Books, they run various giveaways and other types of promotions too.
I would avoid stock photos as for me the photos showing the progress of the recipe through its various stages are really helpful plus readers always notice if the photo doesn't match the recipe method. I also find having a space for my notes very useful. 
A standardised format for the ingredients and the method plus giving quantities in metric/imperial/cups and so on is helpful.
I wonder what you think about having a recipe tester?

mikep22

newowner456 said:

So I am a massive foodie and over the years I have developed a number of dishes some I have invented and others are based on recipes I have tweaked from books. Someone has suggested I could sell these on ETSY as PDFs. Doing a bit of research some single recipe cards are selling for 99p and others for a couple of pounds and bundles of PDF recipes for more. I find it amazing people pay when you can get so many for free. 

• Did you know you could buy single recipes on ETSY ?
• Would you buy a recipe on ETSY? 
• Thinking once I have created the PDF they could become a passive income as they would need updating and I could add PDF recipes every now and then to top it up with more? Listing fees are minimal 20p each so would only need low volume sales.
• Has anyone done this and what income did you get? Thinking I will need to use pintrest and Insta to build up flow to the shop. 
• Also I will need to make the recipe cards look nice possibly using free stock photos etc.  

Food is a passion so creating the cards would be enjoyable for me, even if they ended up being created just for my family 

I love cooking - I find the idea of paying 99p for a 1 pdf receipe very expensive, you would need to make that pdf extremely attractive, lots of clear pictures - maybe even QR codes of short videos. You gotta remember how much there is available online for free (basically everything).
The PDF book is probably a better idea as people will see it as better value for their money, but like the above you will need to make it stand out. Consider giving away some copies as freebies to get some reviews and help to build your audience.
But creating a pdf itself costs nothing and if you enjoy it then give it a go and see what happens, the worst that happens is they dont sell and youve had a good time making them!