Are you a digital artist or a user of the Procreate app looking to turn your passion into a profitable side hustle? Look no further than selling printables on Etsy! Etsy is a marketplace that allows artists to easily sell their digital creations, such as templates and printables, to a large audience.
The best part about printables, once you have created the listing and made it public, it is passive income coming in! You don’t have to create something new every time you get an order (unless they are personalized). This means that you do the work once, and it is all profit every time an order comes in!
Not sure what printables are or how to get started? Keep reading for our guide on how to make money selling printables on Etsy.
What are printables?
Printables can be anything from templates and digital planners to wall art and party decorations. They are digital files that customers can download and print themselves. Due to the convenience of digital downloads, printables are becoming increasingly popular on Etsy, with many artists making a substantial income from them.
You might also see them advertised on Etsy as digital downloads, digital prints, or printable wall art.
How to Sell Printables
To start selling printables on Etsy, you’ll need to create your designs and save them as high-quality digital files, such as PNG or JPEG. To make sure that you are providing them with high resolution, you’ll want to make sure you artwork is at least 300 dpi.
When creating digital art prints, it is best to create the design at the largest dimension you would want to sell. For example, if you are going to offer a 30×24 art print, you will want to create your art at that dimension. Then, when you scale down to 20×16, 10×8, etc. sizes, the 5:4 aspect ratio will still have the same resolution.
Don’t feel like you need to offer every printable size, look at the popular sizes and offer those. Think about which sizes work best for your artwork.
For a handy reference page, I’ve made a printable of the most popular aspect ratios to offer in your shop. You can grab the ratio list printable below.
So, how do you price your printables?
Many Etsy sellers use a formula based on the time and materials it takes to create each design. This includes any software or tools that you use, as well as the time you spend designing, editing, and formatting each printable. You’ll also want to consider the market and what other sellers are pricing similar products at.
One thing to keep in mind is that while printables require upfront work to create, they can sell indefinitely without any additional effort. This means that you can potentially earn a passive income through your designs if they are popular and in demand.
Typically, printables (or digital downloads) sell for anywhere between $2-$5 with the sweet spot right around $3.99 depending on your niche, customers, and quality. Play around with the price until you find your sweet spot!
Promoting Your Printable
When it comes to promoting your printables on Etsy, there are a few strategies you can use. For starters, make sure your shop looks professional and user-friendly, with clear descriptions and high-quality product photos.
You can also use social media to promote your designs, with platforms like Instagram and Pinterest being great for showcasing your printables in use. Show your printable in various settings, angles, and lighting so that people can really get a sense of your artwork.
Custom Printables
Selling custom or personalized printables on Etsy is a fabulous idea! This can be a great way to increase your income, as typically custom orders will pay more than pre-made printables.
Think about what type of custom printables you could offer; this could include anything from birthday invitations to wedding signage. You can also offer personalized art prints – simply provide customers with the option to add their name or a special quote at checkout.
It definitely is an extra step for you, but you’ll tend to get more orders this way!
How to Create Your Listing on Etsy
Selling a digital download is a bit different than selling a physical product. You will have to choose ‘digital’ as your product type. This will allow you to upload a file that your customers can download.
Once it has changed to a digital listing, there will be a box for you to upload up to 5 files. If you are selling a personalized print, you can upload a document that just explains your process of how long it will take and how they will get their downloads. This is also a great place to give directions on how to print their file.
So that’s it! Selling printables on Etsy is a great way to make money and provide customers with unique, high-quality artwork. Have you tried selling printables on Etsy? What tips do you have for getting started? Let us know in the comments!
And if you’re looking for a list of the top selling products on Etsy (hint, hint…there might be printables in there), check out this post!
Happy Selling!