When I started selling on Etsy 18 months ago, I thought the hard part was making good products.
It wasn't. The hard part was understanding the economics.
I kept hearing "Etsy fees are high" but nobody could tell me how high. So I did what any developer would do: I built a calculator.
That calculator became my first tool. Then I built two more. Here's what happened.
Tool #1: Etsy Fee Calculator
The problem: Sellers were pricing products based on revenue minus cost of goods. But Etsy's fee structure is a stack that most people don't fully calculate:
- $0.20 listing fee per item
- 6.5% transaction fee
- 3% + $0.25 payment processing
- 15% offsite ad fee (if triggered)
That last one is the silent killer. It can turn a comfortable margin into a loss overnight.
What I built: A free calculator that shows every fee, your real profit, and your actual margin — with color coding so you know instantly if you're in the red.
What I learned: The most common mistake is underpricing. Many Etsy sellers I've talked to have never calculated their margin at all. After using the calculator, most realize they need to raise prices to stay sustainable.
Tool #2: Podcast Title Generator
The problem: I started a podcast about indie business (meta, I know). I spent 20 minutes per episode just thinking of titles. Most of my titles were... fine. Not great. Not clickable.
What I built: An AI-powered title generator that takes your episode topic and gives you multiple optimized title options — optimized for clicks, SEO, and listener curiosity.
What I learned: Podcast titles follow patterns. "How I..." works. Numbers work. Contrarian takes work. The generator uses these patterns to suggest titles that are more likely to get clicks.
Tool #3: SEO Checker for Landing Pages
The problem: I launch a lot of landing pages. Each time I'd forget something basic — OG tags, canonical URL, meta description. Stuff I knew I should check but never did systematically.
What I built: A free SEO checker that scans your URL and scores it with a prioritized fix list.
What I learned: From the sites I've scanned, the most common issues are missing OG images (social sharing cards break), generic or missing meta descriptions, and poor heading structure. These are easy fixes that make a real difference in how your site appears in search results and social shares.
The Common Thread
All three tools solve the same meta-problem: indie operators flying blind on basics.
Etsy sellers don't know their real margins. Podcasters don't optimize titles. SaaS founders launch without checking SEO.
The tools are free because I built them for myself first. I just happen to use them every day, and figured others might too.
What's Next
I'm looking at two more tools:
- A competitor pricing tracker for digital products
- A launch readiness checklist that combines SEO + social + analytics
Both in "built it for myself" phase right now.
If you're an indie seller, podcaster, or SaaS founder — what's a basic thing you wish you had a tool for? Drop it in the comments. I might build it.
All three tools are free, no account required. Built by an indie maker solving his own problems.
Links:
- Etsy Fee Calculator: https://thesellermind.com/tools/fee-calculator
- Podcast Title Generator: https://podcrisp.com/free-tools/title-generator
- SEO Checker: https://saaslaunch.dev/free-tools/seo-checker
Full disclosure: I'm the developer of SellerMind, PodCrisp, and SaaSLaunch. I built these tools because I needed them myself. All features described in this article are real and currently available.
Top comments (0)