How To Make and Sell Printables: Start a Passive Income Side Hustle

Ever scrolled through Etsy or Pinterest and seen gorgeous planners, checklists, or art prints?

Guess what – those are printables, and they’re an amazing way to earn passive income!

If you love designing or just want to start a fun and creative side hustle, selling printables can be a fantastic way to make money online.

And the best part is that you don’t need to be a graphic designer to get started! I know this because I’ve created many printables myself and I’m definitely not trained in graphic design.

Here, I’ll walk you through the main steps to create and sell your own printables, but if you want a more in-depth, comprehensive guide, then watch this free workshop.

Step 1: Choose Your Printable Niche

Before you start designing, you need to decide what kind of printables you want to sell. There are SO many options!

Some of the most popular niches include:

Planners & Journals (daily planners, budget trackers, meal planners)
Educational Printables (kids’ learning worksheets, homeschool resources)
Wall Art (motivational quotes, minimalist designs, nursery prints)
Checklists & Guides (wedding planning, travel packing lists)
Business Templates (social media templates, invoices, pricing sheets)

💡 Tip: Browse Etsy and Pinterest to see what’s trending. Pick a niche that excites you and has demand, but is also not over-saturated!

Step 2: Plan Your Printable Designs

Now that you’ve chosen a niche, it’s time to plan out your designs. Ask yourself:

What problem does this printable solve?
Who is my target audience?
What style will I go for (minimalist, colorful, elegant)?

Tools like Pinterest and Etsy are great for inspiration!

💡 Tip: Keep a folder of ideas to reference later.

Step 3: Create Your Printables

Time to bring your ideas to life! Don’t worry if you’re not a design pro—there are beginner-friendly tools that make this super easy.

Best design tools for beginners:

Canva (easy-to-use and free!)
Adobe Illustrator (for more advanced design work)
Affinity Designer (affordable and professional)

When designing, make sure to:

✔ Use high-resolution settings (300 DPI for print quality)

✔ Keep margins in mind so nothing gets cut off when printed

✔ Save files in PDF format for easy printing

Step 4: Test Your Printables

Before you start selling, test your printables!

Print them out to check for formatting issues.
Try different paper types to see how they look.
Ask a friend or family member for feedback.

You want to make sure your product looks professional and polished before putting it out there!

Step 5: Set Up Your Online Shop

Now for the fun part—selling your printables! You’ll need an online platform where people can buy and instantly download your designs.

Best places to sell printables:

Etsy (great for beginners, built-in audience)
Shopify (if you want your own website)
Creative Market (for high-end design assets)
Gumroad or Payhip (for digital downloads)

💡 Pro Tip: Use high-quality mockups to showcase your printables. Websites like Placeit and Canva offer great mockup templates!

Step 6: Promote Your Printables

Now that your shop is live, you need to drive traffic to it!

Ways to market your printables:

Pinterest – Create eye-catching pins that link to your shop.
Instagram & TikTok – Share behind-the-scenes content.
SEO – Use keywords in your Etsy listings so people can find you.
Facebook Groups – Join communities where your target audience hangs out.

💡 Pro Tip: Offer a freebie in exchange for an email address. This way, you can build a list of potential customers!

Step 7: Automate and Scale Your Business

The best thing about printables? Once you create them, they can sell over and over again without extra work – this is what I mean by having a passive income side hustle.

But to grow your business, consider: