How To Start A Printables Business

Have you ever googled how to start a printables business? Then, you must have come across Sarah Titus.

Hers is a single mom’s story of reaching super riches from being homeless with two kids.

Printables are the biggest hero of her journey. It is because of her I gave the printables business a try.

It has been a few years for me to create and sell planner printables. 

The experience has been rewarding since I enjoy the process and the money that comes along.

Suppose you wish to start a digital business that brings in passive income. Then, a printables business is the answer.

Read more to know more about it.

How To Start A Printables Business In 11 Steps

1. Excel In Creating Printables  

It would be best if you had printables to start selling them. Thus, you should know how to create a printable to start a business of printables.

There is no set rule in black and white to create Printables. If it were that way, then I would have never made more than 500 sales.

Most handmade artists feel discouraged by designing Printables because of the learning curve. 

Trust me, a course/degree in design is not mandatory.

Instead, the single-most element to excel in printables business is empathy for users.

If you have that, then you can design the printables in the best way possible.

Adobe Suite has a range of software to create printables. They are Photoshop, Illustrator, and Elements. These are the top-notch ones.

Other popular ones are Affinity Designer and Canva.

My design skills are zilch. Thus, I do not use any of the above. 

Google Slides is my go-to tool for creating Printables.

If you cannot create Printables on your own. Then, do not think of quitting yet.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase any of the products mentioned in this article through routing via the links in this post. Then, I may end up receiving a certain monetary percentage from the sale. Though the one who purchases through the link does not end up paying anything extra apart from the mentioned MRP on the product. Full disclosures on the Affiliate Page.

There are tons of options for buying PLR printables and templates. Consider them as buying no copyright-owned generic printables. You then have the choice to modify them with your branding and preferences.

Moreover, you can commission an artist to create Printables for you. You can source creatives on sites like Fiverr and Upwork.

No matter how you source the Printables to sell. The significant points for the Printables must be:

High On Utility – 

If the Printable does not solve the purpose. Then, it is of not much use. The design should be such that the end user keeps printing it again and again.

Attractive – 

It may not seem like a necessary function. But it differentiates a printable from its competition.

Legible – 

The elements of a printable should be clutter-free. There should not be a lot of data crammed on a single page. The fonts and sizes must be clear to read.

2. Identify Who Buys Printables

I have been consuming Printables for a few years. Now I am addicted to them. 

My handmade business involves using them all the time. Apart from that, I use them for various purposes:

• Managing Household Chores
• Organizing My Airbnb Business
• Planning My Travel Itineraries
• Consolidating My Diet
• Tracking My Gym Schedule
• Tracking Body Weight And Statistics
• Managing Finances And Investments

Since Printables are part of almost every aspect of my life. Thus, it is safe to assume that everyone needs them.

But that does not confirm that everyone will use/buy them.

Thus, to make a printables business a hit, you must know who buys printables online.

For the same, you must niche down your user base. The narrower it is, the better it is for your Printables business.

For instance, my niche is “beginner creative solopreneur”. Thus, my printables revolve around starting/managing/optimizing various handmade businesses.

Thus, identifying the niche is crucial in making the printables business successful.

3. Good Name For Printables Business

The name carries the identity. It is crucial for branding.

Also, it is not feasible to change the name of an enterprise once it gets popular. 

Thus, you put thoughts and planning before naming your Printables business.

My Printables business is Lipai. It is a Hindi word that means “Script” in English.

Likewise, you can pick up yours. 

If the naming process overwhelms you. Then, the best solution is to name it after you. That way, your persona rubs off on your printables business. Hence, you and your business become synonyms. 

4. Track Down Ideas For Printables

This one is a complete must to run a thriving Printables business.

The truth is that you cannot build a thriving business on a single product. To keep your printables business running requires an offering of printables. Thus, you offer a bouquet of printable products to your customers.

For the same, you must have a lot of ideas to create Printables. 

My handmade business started with a single printable of 2 pages. Now my online shop retails more than ten printables.

Having a lot of printables to sell may seem overwhelming for a newbie. But it does get a lot easier with time and effort.

Most of my products are manifestations of the email newsletters that I send. Subscribers respond to my emails with concerns, doubts, and general chit-chat. Those conversations give me ideas for creating new printables.

Likewise, you can also build from your first product. Most of the first printable products come from successful lead magnets.

Hence, if you align your basics. Then, the growth is organic and built on a stable foundation.

The key areas to look for ideas are –

• Needs And Wants
• Challenges
• Problem Areas And Bottle Necks
• Areas Of Struggle
• Hacks For Improvement

5. Price Them Right

At times the correct price makes all the difference. With printables, pricing seems complicated because the product is not tactile.

That is why it could be as good as giving away for free. 

I got stuck in this dilemma for a long time. That is why I did not charge a single penny for my products earlier.

It might surprise you that one of my best-selling products was once a free lead magnet for artists.

I would doubt why anyone would pay to use it. I was fortunate after a year of giving it away for free, someone left a tip for it. They also left a comment letting me know how helpful the printable was.

That was my day of epiphany. Since then, I have been putting a monetary value on each printable. You cannot waste your time and energy waiting for someone to leave you a tip. Instead, you start charging from Day 1.

If you are not confident, you can start from $1 since there is no harm in charging less. But other than a freebie, every product must require an upfront payment.

You can increase the prices once you cross certain thresholds of sales. Also, the more pages your offer has, the more you can charge.

As a rule of thumb, 100+ pages sell in the range of $25. While 500+ pages can even cost $57. 

6. Dress Them Well 

The first impression makes a massive difference in making money with printables.

That is why you need a beautiful design and cover. 

I lack professional design skills. That shows in my printables. But that does not make my printables non-functional. I hear from my customers that I create simple, no-nonsense products.

That works for me since my business involves an effective inbound marketing strategy. But if your business runs in storefront format, a good design is a must.

Loyal customers can do repeat purchases based on the quality you provide. But to lure window shoppers, design is the best hook.

You can learn design software or outsource the printables designing job.

Your design principles must stick to a branding guideline to maintain consistency.

7. Identify The Best Places To Sell Printables

The platform is a crucial aspect of selling printables. A quick search on Etsy will give you thousands of printables. That indicates the stiff competition in this sector.

This data must not discourage you from starting a printables business. Instead, it should make you ask is selling printables on Etsy profitable.

The answer to that question is complicated. That is because your approach towards business will decide the course.

Printables lack physical products or an inventory or recurring making and shipping costs. Thus, you are bound to make profits on any platform provided you market well.

But if you want to have control over prices, margins, and running the show on your terms. Then, you can move out of marketplaces like Etsy and Amazon.

Starting a self-hosted online store seems like the obvious option. But it can get daunting if technology is not your forte.

In that case, you can start with Gumroad. It is an online selling app that will prepare you to run an online store bypassing Etsy. You can compare Gumroad with Etsy before taking the plunge.

8. Comply With Regulations  

You would not require any legal formalities for selling printables. But if you end up incorporating your business. Then, you would need to comply with laws regarding running a business.

Moreover, you should not copy anyone else’s designs/work. Also, to deter others from copying your work, you should apply for copyrights.

9. Keep Marketing

I am sure you must have heard this umpteen times. It is true that is why it keeps repeating all the time.

No matter how good your printables are, they will never sell without marketing.

That is why marketing is necessary to keep the business operational. But it has to be effective and customized for your business. 

SEO and emails helped me sell hundreds of printables.

Though you can start with whatever social media you are comfortable with. The point is to begin and keep doing it with consistency.

If you have a business plan set up for your handmade Printables business. Then, the marketing plan will be easier to devise.

10. Stick To A Business Plan 

A plan is necessary to go from 0 to success in a handmade business.

A business plan keeps a note of every element needed for growth. It also tracks the challenges, shortcomings, and bottlenecks that prevent success.

Therefore, it also keeps a column for steps to overcome the issues. 

A business plan is essential because it lets you know how you are faring in your printables business. Without it, you will never know how and when to scale the business. 

Depending upon what kind of business plan you use. It should also maintain a customer database. That way you will know what bucket your customers fall into. It will help design ads and content to target more customers pertaining to that bucket.

11. Keep Moving

I am still learning after selling hundreds of printables for thousands of dollars.

Every day I learn more about how to start a printables business.

Before selling my first printable, I did not know how to create one. Many years before that, I had no idea that printables existed.

The point I am making is that you have to keep moving. If you get stuck with satisfaction, then you will never grow.

Always think about what more you can do to make someone’s life a little better. Or, what can you do so that customers can save at least 1 step in their struggles?

If you keep pushing the approach of expanding avenues, you will never fall short of new ideas.

There are options in various stages of business, such as:

• Market Expansions
• Different Product Categories
• Various Channels To Propagate

That is how I started with one printable and expanded to about ten as of today.

Conclusion

A printables business is on the rage these days. They are like apps in a printed format.

Much like apps, they help to track, organize, and achieve goals.

If you empathize with your audience, you can serve them printables. 

This article lists all my learnings in creating and selling printables.

Do share your learnings as well. Also, send this article to anyone wanting to know how to start a printables business.

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