There is obviously a market for selling printables. But how do you go about creating printables to sell? Let's take a look.
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Choose the Easiest Format for Your Printables
First you need to decide what kind of format you’ll use for your download. It’s standard to use the “save as” feature and save your work as a PDF. Make it easy to sell these online, regardless of whichever platform you decide to use.
Make Sure Your Product is Easy to Use
Don’t forget to make sure your product is easy to use. While it might seem like common sense and easy to you, not every customer will understand how to put your product together or how to use it. So make sure that your instructions are clear.
Some sellers put these up with each listing. You can do that. Or, to save time, you can write out the instructions so that they’re part of the download for each printable you sell.
This makes it easier for the customer.
Your Products Should Be Easy For You To Manage
This might seem like a no-brainer, but when you upload your product to Etsy or wherever, you need to differentiate the names of the files.
If you don’t, you’re going to have trouble knowing which product is which. For example, if you have seven printable journals along with various other products and you label your journal files as journal 1, 2, 3, etc. then you’re not going to know which journal that file is.
That will make it hard for you to upload the correct file. Even better is to be as specific as possible when naming your products and saving them as a file. For example, A4_journal_lined_unicorn_blue would be a specific file name that told you what it is.
Printables Are Simple to Sell Online
Because they’re a simple download, you can sell printables in a variety of virtual places. Some sites, such as Etsy, already have a huge platform for this along with many sellers that are doing very well. For ease, Etsy is probably the simplest place to start. Etsy is set up to allow and help people to sell on their site.
Selling Printables on Etsy
To get started on Etsy, figure out what kind of printable you want to sell. Then decide how many of these printables you’re going to need. This will help you get your files ready and edited before you set your shop live.
Not every customer will have a printer at home. So they’re going to need to go get whatever they download printed off elsewhere. Make sure you have some kind of disclaimer giving the customer the okay to have your product printed elsewhere.
Questions arise sometimes about the copyright when it comes to uploaded printables. You may want to know if you should copyright the product or if that’s the platform’s responsibility.
It’s yours. That doesn’t mean that you must pay the Copyright Office each time you create a printable. When you create something, you automatically own the copyright. An unregistered copyright just means that in the event of a lawsuit if someone steals your product, you may have a harder time proving ownership.
Give a copyright notice about each of your printables on the sites that you use. Mark your products with a copyright notice and the name of your business or website. Doing this can also help customers remember where they bought the printable and when it’s time to buy again, they know just where to look.
Creating Printables to Sell on Amazon
Amazon is another platform where you can sell printables. What works best on this site is to create your printable in a bigger form. Instead of selling a printable page for a journal, you’ll want to sell the whole journal.
Instead of selling a teaching worksheet, you’ll want to sell a package of worksheets in a bundle. Amazon has strict rules on what it will and won’t allow in this category so you’ll have to be sure you’re following the TOS correctly.
Printables Sell on Ebay Too
You might think of Ebay as a huge auction site. Maybe you’ve never considered that it’s also a popular site for digital goods. There’s been some confusion about the ability to sell digitally on Ebay that led some to believe that it was a problem on the site, but that’s not true.
You just have to get it in the right category when you list. However, Ebay does also have rules that must be followed when it comes to this category. You must be an approved seller on the site.
If your product violates any kind of copyright, such as you using artwork that’s not for commercial use, then you can’t sell it on the platform. When you submit your printable for approval, you’ll need to list it under an information product as the category.
Once Ebay approves your listing, you’re good to go.
Sell Printables From Your Blog
Many people create and sell printables on their own website or blog. With low cost domains available, you can get started this way and not break your bank account.
If you are someone who has a following for financial learning, you might upload printables on how to get out of debt or how to invest in savings.
If you’re part of an online professional group in a certain niche and they have a file section, you might want to check to see if you can sell your printables within the group. What you can also do is start your own group as a way of selling your printables.
Do this by creating the group based on information that you share from your niche. If you’re in fitness, share fitness tips and advice along with selling your printables. This builds your audience at the same time it grows your sales.
Use a Professional Site to Sell Your Printables
Sometimes, printables can be sold within a certain industry on like-minded sites. For example, you might be someone who wants to create educational printables. These sell well on many platforms, including teaching platforms such as Teachers Pay Teachers.
Research Where to Sell Your Printables
One of the best ways to research where to sell your printables is to use whatever niche you’re in to find platforms. If you’re into creating weight loss printables, then look for platforms catering to a weight loss audience.
The same with things like planners, worksheets, etc. To find out where to sell printables, target your competition. Find out where they’re selling and to which audience. You can find this information out just by doing a search online for printables. To narrow it down, search for your specific printable.
Now Start Creating Printables to Sell
Now that you have a better understanding of where you can sell your printables, could you create them? Can you see yourself creating printables to sell?
Do you already sell printables? Let us know in the comments box.
Penny xx