Thanks to the internet, there are so many ways to make money from your art. One of the most flexible ways to start making money from home is by selling print publications online. You may have already seen the prints on your favorite websites, or even bought them yourself.
A printable is an image or text that is downloaded and printed for use. The most common types of printed forms are worksheets and graphics.
What’s great about selling your printable forms online is that they are easy to design and your costs are limited as no shipping or inventory is required. If you’ve ever thought about making money from home selling print publications online, here’s what you need to get started.
Idea or niche
Start by identifying the type of downloadable print media you want to sell. I recommend choosing a niche that you like. Chances are, if you’re interested in something, other people will too.
For example, if you love to travel, you can create printed travel lists. If you are teaching, you can create printable worksheets and lesson plans for other teachers to use. Consider creating downloadable planners and weekly lunch organizers if that interests you.
If you see someone selling print in your niche, that could be a good sign. It is important to choose a niche that is in demand, but not too wide or narrow. You want your print materials to stand out but still be a product people want and are looking for.
Design tool or software
Once you’ve narrowed down your niche and know what you want to create, the next step is to choose the design of your download for printing. The good news is that you don’t need expensive software to get started creating printable forms.
You can always update the software you are using later when you start selling. Here are some of the best tools to choose from when creating downloadable files for printing.
Canva has a free basic version where you can create beautiful digital designs using drag and drop functionality. You don’t need to be a design expert as Canva has a variety of templates to choose from and can be easily customized. Canva also allows you to properly position and align your design elements for a polished, professional look. You can upgrade to Canva Pro for an additional fee if you need more features, but the basic features may be enough to get you started.
Picmonkey is another platform that helps you edit photos and create digital graphics. PicMonkey offers over 1000 different templates and fonts to choose from. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial and then membership starts at $ 7.99.
Pixlr it is a free photo editing site. They also have premium features such as text overlays, icons, and various fonts. Pricing starts at $ 3.99 per month for premium editing and design features.
Photoshop – an option to consider when designing downloadable files for printing. Photoshop software can provide the most design options of all, but learning to understand all of the features is required. Adobe products start at $ 20.99 per month for select programs, or you can get them all for $ 52.99 per month. Most programs can also be downloaded to your iPad.
E-commerce platform
To sell your prints online, you need to set up an online store so you can display items and receive payments securely. Shopify is one of the best platforms for selling print materials on the internet.
Shopify has been around since 2004 and they serve over 500,000 ecommerce sites around the world. Sarah Titus is a mom and online entrepreneur who has made over $ 1 million in online print sales, and she teaches others how to do the same. It’s easy to create a store on Shopify. Use their drag-and-drop store function and your website will be automatically designed for mobile, helping you reach more customers.
Another thing I love about Shopify is that you can accept multiple forms of payment, including credit card payments, without a third party provider. Right now, you can try Shopify for free for 90 days, and then it will cost $ 29 per month to use the basic store features.
Digital storage
The higher quality printing plates you create, the more you will need to store digitally. Consider purchasing a hard drive for your computer or using a digital cloud storage like Dropbox or Amazon Simple Storage.
Be sure to give customers instructions on how to download the digital file when they buy it from you.
Tips on how to make money from home selling print publications online
Prioritize your presentation: Your printed materials should stand out and be fully functional. Be sure to test them yourself by creating samples that you try from the user’s point of view. When designing your store page, be sure to use crisp images to preview what your printable forms will look like. Also, consider taking a few extra minutes to create your cover page.
Write detailed descriptions: Be specific when describing your printable and how you can use it. Describe the different ways customers can use it, be it sticking a document on the refrigerator, placing it in a frame, or creating a binder with printed materials.
Create multiple products: You will want to create several different printable forms so that you have a variety of items to sell online. Create different variations of your product, even if it’s as easy as changing a color variation. Understand that print is often cheaper than physical products, so if you want to increase your income, you will need to diversify what you offer;
Get feedback: Consider offering your prints for free or at a discount to a few people first in exchange for an honest review. Reviews and testimonials will help improve your sales page as well as provide social proof that your products are useful.
Get professional training: If you are still unsure of how you will get started or build your store, consider getting training or advice from the experts who have been in your place. This way you can implement their strategies, avoid common mistakes, and achieve success faster. Sarah Titus has a comprehensive program called The Million Dollar Store in which she teaches people how to make money from home selling print online. It offers a variety of templates and product layouts to help you quickly launch your own store.
Output
If you want the flexibility to work from home but are unsure of where to start, consider designing print materials to sell online. There are several tools to help you get started on a tight budget, and all you have to do is come up with a good idea that people will want to buy and download. Test different approaches to see what sells best and offer a variety of products in your store to boost sales.
