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How to Generate Monthly Income by Designing and Selling Printables from Home

Last Updated on October 4, 2024 by Arif Chowdhury

The idea of earning $6,000 a month from the comfort of your home may sound like a dream, but with the booming digital market for printables, it’s entirely possible.

Whether you’re a skilled designer or just someone who loves creating fun and useful digital products, selling printables offers a flexible, scalable, and low-cost business model.

This guide will walk you through the steps to create and sell printables, with the goal of reaching that $6,000 monthly income target.

What Are Printables?

Printables are digital files that customers can download and print themselves. They can range from planners, calendars, and to-do lists to art prints, invitations, or educational worksheets. Printables have become incredibly popular in recent years, with sites like Etsy and Creative Market filled with these digital products.

According to Statista, the global online shopping market was valued at around $4.9 trillion in 2021 and continues to grow, creating a prime opportunity for selling digital products like printables.

Why Printables Are a Great Business Opportunity

There are several reasons why creating and selling printables can be a lucrative business model:

  • Low overhead costs: You don’t need to worry about physical products, shipping, or storage.
  • Scalability: Once you create a printable, it can be sold an infinite number of times.
  • Flexibility: You can work from anywhere and set your own hours.
  • Evergreen potential: Many printables can be reused year after year with minor adjustments.

If you’re ready to tap into this market, let’s dive into the steps you can take to earn $6,000 a month by designing and selling printables from home.

Step 1: Choose a Niche

The first and most crucial step in building your printable business is to pick a niche. This will help you focus on a specific audience and allow your designs to stand out in a crowded market.

Here are a few profitable niches you could explore:

  • Planners and Organizers: Daily, weekly, and monthly planners are always in high demand. People love using printables to stay organized.
  • Educational Worksheets: Parents and teachers often buy printables for homeschooling or supplemental learning.
  • Home Decor Art Prints: Designing wall art with motivational quotes, minimalist designs, or themed artwork can be a big seller.
  • Budgeting Tools: Financial planners, budgeting worksheets, and expense trackers are popular among money-conscious buyers.
  • Party Printables: Invitations, thank-you cards, banners, and other party accessories are a hit, especially for weddings, birthdays, and baby showers.

Once you’ve chosen your niche, do some research to check out the competition and understand what kinds of designs are trending.

Step 2: Develop Design Skills (Or Outsource!)

If you’re a beginner, you don’t need to be a professional graphic designer to create printables. Tools like Canva, Adobe Spark, and even PowerPoint offer easy drag-and-drop features that allow you to design high-quality printables.

However, if you feel your design skills are lacking, consider the following options:

  1. Take a design course: Platforms like Skillshare or Udemy offer affordable courses on graphic design.
  2. Use templates: You can buy pre-made templates and customize them to fit your style.
  3. Hire a designer: If design isn’t your strength, hire a freelancer from platforms like Fiverr or Upwork to bring your vision to life.

While professional design skills can give you an edge, what’s most important is creating a product that’s useful and aesthetically pleasing for your customers.

Step 3: Create a Collection of Printables

Once you’ve honed your design skills or hired a designer, it’s time to create a collection of printables. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Start small but focused: Create 5-10 printable designs to start. This could include a collection of related products, like a 12-month planner or a set of wedding invitations and thank-you cards.
  2. Use appealing fonts and colors: Make sure your designs are visually appealing. Use color schemes and fonts that are appropriate for your niche.
  3. Consider different sizes: Some customers may prefer printable designs in different sizes. For example, offer planners in both letter-size (8.5 x 11 inches) and A5 sizes.
  4. Add value: Include features that add value, such as customizable fields, editable PDFs, or a digital bonus (e.g., a matching wallpaper for their phone).

Remember that quality over quantity is key when you’re just starting. Focus on creating printables that people will find genuinely useful or beautiful.

Step 4: Set Up Your Sales Platform

Next, you need a place to sell your printables. Here are some of the most popular platforms:

1. Etsy

Etsy is the go-to marketplace for printables. It has a massive customer base that’s actively looking for digital products. Setting up an Etsy shop is easy, and the site only charges a small fee per sale.

2. Creative Market

This is another popular platform for selling digital products, especially if your designs are more artistic or aimed at designers.

3. Your Own Website

Using platforms like Shopify or WordPress (with WooCommerce), you can set up your own e-commerce store. While this requires more upfront effort, you’ll have full control over your branding and won’t have to pay marketplace fees.

4. Gumroad

This platform is perfect for selling digital products. It offers an easy way to list, market, and sell printables with minimal fees.

Whichever platform you choose, make sure your product listings are optimized with the right keywords, professional images, and clear descriptions.

Step 5: Price Your Printables Correctly

To reach a monthly income of $6,000, pricing your printables correctly is critical. Here’s a basic pricing strategy:

  1. Evaluate the competition: Look at similar products in your niche. If most printables are selling for $5, you’ll need a good reason to price yours significantly higher.
  2. Consider bundling: Offering bundles of printables (e.g., a set of budgeting worksheets or a full wedding suite) can increase your per-sale earnings. Bundles can be priced between $10 and $25.
  3. Experiment with different price points: Start with lower prices to build momentum, and as you gain more reviews and traffic, gradually increase your prices.

Assume your average price per sale is $10. To make $6,000 a month, you’ll need to sell about 600 printables. Selling bundles and upsells can help you reach this target faster.

Step 6: Market Your Printables

Creating beautiful printables is only half the battle. You’ll need to market them effectively to reach your sales goal. Here are some strategies to get started:

1. Use SEO

Make sure your product listings are optimized for search engines. Use relevant keywords in your titles, descriptions, and tags. For example, if you’re selling wedding invitations, include terms like “printable wedding invitations,” “DIY wedding invites,” or “rustic wedding invites.”

2. Leverage Pinterest

Pinterest is one of the best platforms for driving traffic to your printables. Create eye-catching pins for each of your products and link them back to your store. Many printable sellers get the majority of their traffic from Pinterest.

3. Build an Email List

As you grow your business, consider creating an email list. You can offer a free printable in exchange for a signup, and then market your paid products to your subscribers.

4. Collaborate with Influencers

Reach out to bloggers, YouTubers, or Instagram influencers in your niche to promote your printables. A simple mention or feature in a blog post could generate hundreds of sales.

5. Run Paid Ads

Once you have a few successful products, consider investing in Facebook or Instagram ads to scale your business. Even a small ad budget can generate a significant return if your targeting is right.

Step 7: Track and Optimize Your Sales

To ensure you’re on track to hit $6,000 a month, regularly track your sales and performance. Here’s how:

  1. Use analytics: Platforms like Etsy and Shopify offer built-in analytics tools that let you monitor traffic and sales. Look for trends in your most popular products.
  2. Adjust your pricing and marketing strategies: If one of your products is underperforming, tweak its design, description, or price. You can also experiment with different marketing strategies, like changing your Pinterest keywords or adjusting your ad targeting.
  3. Scale up: Once you have a few successful products, create more related printables to upsell or bundle together.

According to a report by Statista, the digital product market is expected to grow by over 9% annually, meaning that demand for printables is likely to rise, giving you more opportunities to scale your business.

Conclusion

Generating $6,000 a month by designing and selling printables from home is a realistic and achievable goal if you follow the right steps.

From choosing the right niche to marketing your products effectively, the key is to be consistent, creative, and strategic.

With the low upfront costs and the flexibility to work from anywhere, selling printables offers an excellent opportunity for those looking to build a sustainable online business.