You’ve probably dreamed of making passive income on the side. An extra income stream that will earn you money even when you sleep. It gives you more time, flexibility and freedom.
Etsy is a surprisingly good way to earn side income from printables. I've been selling digital products on Etsy for years across multiple shops, including the Growing Your Craft shop, and this guide covers everything I've learned.
Whether you're looking to start with minimal investment or explore free tools to create your printables to sell, this is the guide for you. We will go through the step-by-step process of how to create and sell digital products and printables on Etsy.
Let’s get started!
What Are Digital Downloads?
Before we talk about printables, let's look at digital downloads as a whole.
If you have been on Etsy for a while, you probably have seen digital products & digital downloads. They are designs that the customers can download without a physical printed product. Some examples include planners, cards, logos, photo presets, etc.
One of the biggest advantages of selling digital products is that you only need to make it once, and the product can technically be sold forever. Also, Etsy helps you deliver the digital products so you don’t have to spend time handling delivery.
Benefits Of Digital Downloads
- Make once and sell forever
- No need to physically ship the product when it’s sold. Etsy handles the delivery.
- Low cost in producing the digital product - Takes less than $50 to start
- Easy refund if customers are unhappy
- Larger margin because of the low production costs
Even though the costs of digital products are usually low, there are some Etsy fees that you should keep in mind that would affect your profit margin:
- $0.2 listing fee for every item
- 6.5% transaction fee to the final price (after any discounts)
- 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee per transaction for US sellers (fees vary by country)
What Are Printables?
Printables are a type of digital products that is intended for the customers to print out themselves at home or using a printing service. It gives customers the convenience of choosing their favourite design and printing it out at home on the same day, which saves them time and money. For example, printable party invitations, printable planners, printable colouring pages.
Some printables are also editable. They are templates that customers can edit themselves, including text, colours and layout. For example, a wedding invitation card which the couple can change the date and names. This customisation means that customers can adjust the templates to their requirements on a budget. It saves them time and money as they don't need to hire a designer to create a custom design.
Isn’t Etsy Saturated With Printables?
It’s true that the quantity of printables has exploded, largely due to AI tools. However, the market is saturated with mediocre products, not great ones.
In 2026, the strategy isn't just to "niche down" (e.g., "fitness planner for moms"), but to "Bundle Up".
Shoppers are looking for value. Instead of selling a single "Grocery List" for $3, successful shops now sell a "Complete Home Management Binder" with 50 pages for $12.
By creating comprehensive bundles and maintaining a high-quality, cohesive aesthetic that looks human-curated, you can easily stand out in a sea of generic, low-effort listings.
How Much Can I Make Selling Printables On Etsy?
You can expect to earn about $10-100 a week at the start. Usually a shop that is set up correctly (good quality products in a niche that's not overly competitive) can make one sale per day pretty early.
A shop with stable sales can earn about $1,000 or more, which could be quite profitable. The money you can earn depends on your niche, price point, how well your products rank, etc.
My shop - Growing Your Craft - made about 5,000 sales in a year. The average price of product is about $5, which means on average I get almost $2,000 extra every single month. Pretty good for a passive income side-hustle!
The best thing is, the income is pretty passive other than answering customer questions and creating new products from time to time.
That being said, you still need to put in a significant amount of upfront work to build up a strong foundation for your printable Etsy shop, including product creation, shop set up, listing optimisation and more. Initial traction for a new Etsy shop is important. If you already have a full time job, it would be the best if you can work as much as you can on your shop after work and on the weekend.
Examples Of Best Selling Printables On Etsy
Printable Planners
Wedding Stationery Printables
Printable Invitations
Printable Wall Art & Posters
Checklist, To-Do Lists & More
How To Choose Your Printables Niche
Go Deep, Not Wide
Pick one type of product and cover it really well, instead of selling a bit of everything. For example, if you make digital invitations, offer invitations for lots of different events and in lots of styles. Shoppers will see you as the go-to shop for that product, and all your listings will help each other rank.
Study Shops With 1,000+ Sales
Shops with more than 1,000 sales have proven that their products are in demand. Look at what they sell, how they present it and what their reviews say, then find your own angle.
Mix Evergreen And Seasonal Products
Seasonal designs (like Christmas or graduation printables) can sell very well at the right time of year, then drop off quickly. Evergreen products (like home decor or year-round planners) bring in steady sales. Start with evergreen products, then add seasonal designs once your shop is established.
More Printable Niches To Explore
- Educational worksheets and flashcards
- Printable party games
- Digital papers and clipart
- SVG files for crafters
- Lightroom presets
- Social media templates
- Digital scrapbooking kits
For more inspirations, read this article - 38 Most Popular Digital Products On Etsy
Step 1 - Creating Your Printables
Best Free Design Tools To Make Static Printables
For most designs, I would recommend Canva because it’s:
- Fast and easy to use
- Lots of assets and fonts to use in designs especially in their pro plan
- Free to use - Even their free plan has almost everything you’d need to start
I personally use Canva frequently for creating printables quickly. They have a large selection of fonts and assets even for their free plan so you can easily mix and match to create high quality printables.
One thing to keep in mind is that you can’t sell Canva assets by themselves. As long as you use them in your own design with other elements (instead of selling them as standalone elements), then you will be ok.
You can include Canva Pro elements as long as the template you sell bring customers back to Canva. However, if your customers don’t have a Canva Pro account, they will need to pay $1 to unlock each of the Pro elements. This unexpected fee may cause dissatisfaction in customers. That’s why I recommend using only free Canva elements in most cases.
Other than making printables to sell, Canva is also a great place to create Etsy shop banner, Instagram post template and other branding assets for your new shop.
Click here to follow my tutorial of how to create and sell templates with Canva.
Practise By Recreating Designs You Admire
Before you design your own products, study bestselling printables on Etsy and design inspiration sites like Dribbble and Pinterest. Pay attention to layouts, colours and fonts.
Then try recreating a few designs you love, for practice only, never to sell. It's the fastest way to learn your design tool and train your eye for quality, so your own designs look professional.
Aim to have 10-20 designs ready before you open your shop. When I started, I had just 5 designs across 4 product types, so you don't need a huge range on day one.
Best Design Tool To Use For Editable Printables
If you are making editable printables, then I would recommend Corjl. It’s the platform I use personally for Growing Your Craft. Another alternative for this is Templett. They offer similar functionalities.
However, I find Corjl better than Templett in these few areas:
- Cheaper
- Can edit on mobile
- Load faster in general (unless designs have too many layers)
JetTemplate is another good option if you want to start for absolutely free. I've compared all 3 of these options in this article.
Instead of downloading the printable and upload the finished design to Etsy, you can put your printable design on Corjl.
Customers who buy your design will be able to access the design, edit and download the printable template themselves. All of that is done by Corjl without involving you.
What About AI Tools (Midjourney & ChatGPT)?
You might be wondering if you can use AI to make your printables. The answer is yes, but with rules.
- ChatGPT is excellent for brainstorming planner sections, writing quotes for wall art, or generating general design layouts for inspirations.
- Midjourney/DALL-E can create clipart and backgrounds.
Important: As of 2024/2025, Etsy requires sellers to disclose if an item was created using Artificial Intelligence. If you use AI to generate the core design, you must tick the "Created with AI" box in your listing details. Transparency builds trust, and trust is what sells in 2026.
Step 2 - Open Your Etsy Shop
Follow these simple steps to set up your shop efficiently:
- Create an Etsy Account
- Set Up Your Shop Preferences - Choose your shop language, country, and currency. These settings will determine how your listings are displayed to potential customers.
- Name Your Shop - Select a unique and memorable shop name that reflects your brand and the products you offer. Read my guide for shop name inspirations.
- Design Your Shop Banner and Logo - Create a cohesive brand identity by designing a professional-looking banner and logo. A simple text-based logo made with tools like Canva would be good enough to start.
- Add Shop Policies - Use the Etsy simple policy template to set up the policy quickly as it helps with the search ranking of your listings. It's normal to not accept returns and exchanges for digital products.
Step 3 - Pricing Your Printables
How much you should charge for printable designs depends on two major factors:
- Complexity of your design
- Pricing of your competitors
In the past, the advice was to undercut competitors to get sales. However, in 2026, "race to the bottom" pricing often signals low quality to buyers.
Instead of lowering your price, increase the perceived value. If your competitor sells a planner for $8, sell yours for $8 but include a free "Sticker Pack" or "Instructional Guide."
I think about pricing in three tiers:
- Entry ($1–5): Simple, quick-to-make products like a single quote print or a one-page checklist. Easy impulse buys that bring in new customers.
- Mid-range ($5–15): Most of your listings will sit here, like a 10-page planner kit or a set of three coordinated prints. Show clearly how much buyers get for the price.
- Premium ($15+): Large bundles, personalised designs or complete kits, like a full wedding signage suite. Premium products need to justify the price with quantity, quality or personalisation.
To move more of your products into the higher tiers:
- Bundle related items. Ten $4 prints can become a $20–25 bundle that still feels like a good deal.
- Offer premium personalisation. A standard print might be $5, while a version customised with the buyer's names could be $15.
- Sell a commercial-use license. Some sellers charge more for buyers who want to use a design in their own business.
- Improve your presentation. Professional mockups and a clear preview of everything included make higher prices feel fair.
Step 4 - Creating Clickable Product Photos
Product photos can make a big difference for your click-through rate of your listings. It can also make your designs look more desirable, and therefore easier to sell.
For printables, we don’t need to actually print out the design and take photos ourselves. We can use mockup to make product photos. Artboard Studio is what I use to create mockup product photos. Canva also has basic mockups, and Placeit has a large library of ready-made mockup templates if you want something quick.
Using mockups is a great way to showcase your designs in a realistic setting, which allows customers to picture themselves using the design more easily. Here’s the process overview of creating product photos with Artboard Studio:
- Choose a template or start from scratch
- Replace their design with your design
- Edit the mockup like add/delete element, change colour, etc
- Export your product photo
Don't Forget The Listing Video (The "Scroll-Stopper")
In 2026, a static image isn't enough. Buyers want to see the product "in action" before they download.
You don't need a camera for this. Since you are selling a digital file, use a free screen-recording tool (like Loom or QuickTime) to record your screen while you scroll through the PDF or edit the template in Canva. Or simply point your phone to the computer when you're editing the design for a quick 10-15 second video. Listings with videos are prioritised in Etsy search results and have significantly higher conversion rates.
Step 5 - Optimising Etsy SEO For Your Printable Listings
Etsy SEO (search engine optimisation) is the main way that your printables will get found on Etsy. If done right, it will be the only traffic source that you need and the best thing is that it’s free.
Keyword research is one of the most important aspects to ranking well on Etsy search. You want to use keywords that are long-tail and descriptive. As we talked about before, longer keywords can help you find niches that are less competitive, which means it will be easier for you to rank higher.
To come up with descriptive keywords, think about your printable's:
- Style (minimalist, boho, rustic)
- Colour
- Size (A4, 8x10)
- Tool (Canva template, Corjl, PDF)
- Target user (toddler, university student, teacher)
- Occasion (Valentine's Day, baby shower, Halloween)
Also use terms that tell shoppers it's a digital product, like "printable", "instant download" and "editable template".
Here's the difference between a general and a long-tail keyword:
- "printable planner" → "weekly meal planner printable A4 PDF"
- "nursery prints" → "boho floral nursery wall art set of 3"
- "wedding template" → "pink peony wedding invitation template"
- "wall art decor" → "vintage botanical illustration printable wall art"
The long-tail versions face less competition, and the shoppers searching for them know exactly what they want.
Another way to find targeted keywords that your customers will use is to look at your competitors’ product listings. The chance is that they have already done the keyword research. You can use the relevant keywords for your own printable listings. While you can see the competitors' keywords in the title, the listing tags are hidden by Etsy unless you use a market research tools like Alura.
Tags are also important in improving your Etsy search ranking. Be sure to use all 13 tags and use multi-word phrases to maximise your reach.
SEO is a big topic. If you want to know more, click here to read our SEO guide.
Step 6 - Writing Etsy Printable Product Description
Product description is often where customers find the information they need when they are interested in your printables.
So make sure you have all the information there so they can make the decision to buy from you. Here are some of the things you can include in your description:
- Dimension
- Format
- Number of pages
- Order process
- Printing information
Read this free guide for my Etsy product description templates.
Step 7 - Delivering Printables To Customers
Etsy helps you deliver your printables to customers after they purchased. You can upload your design on the listing edit page. You can upload up to 5 files at 20mb each.
Instead of uploading the massive design file directly, most sellers now upload a simple one-page PDF named "CLICK_HERE_TO_DOWNLOAD.pdf". Inside this PDF, put a hyperlink that leads the customer to:
- The Canva Template link (if it's editable).
- A Google Drive or Dropbox folder (if it's a large set of high-res files).
This also allows you to brand the delivery experience, thank the customer, and even include a link to join your email list for a discount on their next order.
When a customer places an order for that product listing, Etsy will immediately send them the link to download the file. They can also access the download page at a later time in their ‘Purchases and Reviews’ page.
It's also a good idea to include a short instructions guide covering how to download, print and edit your files. Add it to your download PDF, as a listing attachment, or as one of your listing photos. It gives customers a better experience and cuts down on support messages.
Step 8 - Market Your Printables Etsy Shop
Marketing your Etsy shop is crucial to driving traffic and increasing sales. Keep in mind these steps should be done AFTER you've optimised your listings (i.e. Listing titles with descriptive long-tail keywords, clickable mockup product photos, scannable product description, etc.)
Use Social Media Platforms
Leverage platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Tiktok to market your printables shop. Don't just post product photos; Instead, create visually appealing posts and share behind-the-scenes content to engage your audience, like posting your design process.
Invest in Etsy Ads & Take Part In Etsy Promotion Events
Etsy offers advertising options that can help your listings appear at the top of search results. Start with a modest budget to test which ads perform best for your products. Also, take part in Etsy's seasonal promotions or discounts to attract new customers and encourage repeat purchases. You should be able to see the prompts to take part on your shop's dashboard. Usually they require a minimum discount percentage to take part.
Build An Email List
Etsy doesn't allow you to add buyers to your email list without their permission, but you can invite them. Add a link to your email list in your download PDF, and offer a discount code on their next order for signing up. When you launch new designs or run a sale, you can then reach your past customers directly.
Step 9 - Grow & Automate Your Printables Shop
Once your first products are live, keep adding new designs consistently. Aim for around 5 new listings a week when you're starting out, and create variations of your bestsellers in new themes and seasons.
When you reach about 50–100 products, start combining them into bundles for specific customers. Bundles increase your average order value and your profit.
To avoid getting overwhelmed as you grow, save time with templates:
- Description templates for each product type, so every new listing starts from a strong draft.
- Master design templates with the layout and text already done, so you only change colours and fonts for new designs.
- Saved replies in Etsy Messages (or an FAQ section) for the questions customers ask most.
Finally, check your Etsy stats every month. If a listing gets lots of views but few sales, improve its photos or offer. If a listing converts well, bring more traffic to it with ads or social media.
What's Next
Now that you have a good idea of how to start your very own printable shop on Etsy to earn passive income, it's time to dive in and actually do it. Here are some resources that I have to help you get started:
For more on digital products, read:
- 38 Most Popular Digital Products On Etsy
- 13 Profitable Niche Digital Products On Etsy
- How To Sell Canva Templates On Etsy
If you want to go more in-depth in setting up your shop for success, consider joining the GYC Etsy Academy.
