How To Make $1,000+/Month Selling Printable Planners On Etsy

Written by: Alexis Schroeder

Publish Date: January 2, 2023

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I receive a commission for purchases made through these links, at no cost to you.

One of the best side hustles is selling printable planners on Etsy.

This is because you can create printables from home on your own schedule, and you can put as little or as much time as you want into this side hustle.

In other words, it’s one of the most flexible side hustles out there.

By the end of this post, you’ll learn:

  • How to make money selling planners on Etsy
  • Types of planners you can make
  • Examples of Etsy shops selling printable planners 
  • What you can earn with this side hustle
  • How to get started selling printables
  • and how to set yourself up for success

What is a printable?

A printable is a digital file that a customer can purchase and download right from home.

 This is a great sell because people get their purchase immediately and can download the printable as many times as they want.

I personally use printables and one is hanging on our fridge right now. It’s a debt thermometer and every time we pay off students loans, more of the thermometer gets filled up. It’s really motivating to see the students loan debt almost gone.

Besides selling digital planners, you can also branch out and create checklists, calendars, games, worksheets, and even art that can be printed and framed at home by the customer.

Types of planners you can make

  • Wedding planners
  • Budget planners
  • Life planners
  • School planners
  • Home management planner 
  • Vision board planner
  • Fitness planner

Examples of Etsy shops selling digital planners

How much money can people make selling printables?

This depends on the time you want to put into this side hustle.

There are printable shops on Etsy making $50,000 a year, and there other people that use this as a 3 hour a week side hustle who earn $1,000 a month.

Related: How Julie Made $1,700 Selling One Printable On Etsy

Tips for selling printables successfully 

  • Make your shop name easy to remember
  • Listen to your customers
  • Change what isn’t working
  • Always edit and proofread printables

How to find out what printables to make

  • What do people need?
  • What printables are people asking for?
  • What kind of printable would help me in my life?

How to get started creating printables

The easiest way to make a printable is by using Canva or PicMonkey, with Canva being my personal favorite.

Another popular method is Microsoft Word. If you’re already familiar with one of these, choose the software you’re familiar with to make printables.

Some key tips to keep in mind are:

  • Have a friend check for grammar mistakes 
  • Never copy other Etsy shop owners
  • Ask yourself, “would I buy this printable?” if not, time to change it up
  • Make your email contact info easily visible in case a customer needs help using the printable

Free guide: Download this free guide that includes a list of the best types of printables to sell to help you earn the most money.

How to make a printable with Canva

Here’s an easy step-by-step process for creating printables on Canva.

  1. Create a Canva account and type in Letterhead in the search bar. Click the first Letterhead templates that pops up (it’s the blank template).
  2. Add texts, elements, backgrounds, etc. to create your printable.
  3. Create the printable to your liking and export as a PDF.

Canva has some murky legal writing about creating printables on Canva and selling on Etsy.

For example, Canva has certain elements and fonts that require special licensing in order to use and resell. Tricky and confusing, I know. I recommend reading Canva’s policy.

If you’re ever in doubt, contact Canva and they will get back to you ASAP. You cannot use any of Canva’s premade templates and sell them as your own. 

Are other people successful selling printables?

Yes. You can do a quick search on Etsy and see all of the Etsy shops selling printables and how many orders they’ve had. Many shops have over 1,000 orders and with the average printable costing $3, that’s well over $3,000. 

There are also many students of the E-Printables Side Hustle Course now selling printables successfully.

Here are a few students making money after taking the E-Printables Course: 

  • Rachel at Propserous Printables which has over 62 sales
  • Jen at Edenwood Paperie. A printable event template that is totally customizable

How much to charge for a printable

The going rate for printables varies, with individual printables going for roughly $2-$5.

You can make a lot more money if you create a bundle pack, which can include anything from 5-20 printables.

There are printable bundles out there that have 100+ pages included and these can go into the $50-$100 range.

Ways to make money selling printables

A great way to make money with printables is freelancing your services.

I’ve hired multiple people to make printables for me. Bloggers are always looking for people to make printables for them because it saves them time. Printables are also a great freebie if you have a free resource library.

How to get started right now

You can get started selling printables right now. If you need more help and want to take this seriously, I recommend signing up for the E-Printables Side Hustle Course.

You learn everything you need to know step-by-step to make money selling printables. 

The E-Printables Course includes:

  • 12 modules with text and video lectures
  • 12 templates for making printables faster
  • 13 bonus lessons contributed by printable experts
  • Free Facebook support group (I’m in it and it’s very active!)

And if you’re not very creative, don’t worry. The E-Printables course goes over 55 different printable ideas to get started with.

You could always start creating printables now and list them on Etsy without buying a course, but I find that there’s so much to know to turn this into a money-making side hustle.

Any time I buy a course, I ask is it worth it to spend a couple hundred if I can make few thousand. Yes!

You can check out the E-Printables Course here.

P.S. The E-Printables course has a private Facebook group for printable side hustlers. You can ask each other questions and get support from other people who are selling printables part-time or even full-time.

I love Facebook groups for business because I can get feedback on things [in this case, feedback on printables]. 

The E-Printables Side Hustle Course will also teach you

  • How to make printables that will sell
  • How to set up your Etsy shop and list products
  • Create Pinterest pins to start driving traffic to your Etsy shop
  • Learn about keyword research so you can get more eyes to your products
  • How to select a product that will sell each month

Final note

I love printable side hustles because you can do this directly from your laptop, which means it can be done anywhere. You can earn $1,000 a month or much more depending on how much time you put into this side hustle.

Even just earning $500 a month can pay for groceries or a couple of house bills, which is a big deal.

If you’ve been wanting to start a side hustle, take this as a sign to start today. Start playing around with printables on Canva or Microsoft Word and start your Etsy shop.

Do you want make money selling printables planners on Etsy?

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Don’t forget to sign up for the free resource library and get exclusive access to free printables & planners related to saving and making money, meal planning, and more!

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