Welcome to Day 2 of my series on gifts you can DIY for your loved ones for V-day that can also make you a profit if you sell them. Whether you want to keep them as digital goods like me, or go into the physical realm, there are tons of ways to create gifts for everyone on your Valentine’s list.
Last time, we talked about digital products and how you can find – or create – a massive range of designs to use on literally anything. If you’re participating in the 7-day Stock Your Store Challenge, you should already have ten digital product designs in your inventory from Day 1’s activities and FREEBIEs.
Today, we’re going to talk about another product that comes in a massive range of styles and themes – digitally or physically. Planners and printables.
What are Printables and Planners?
Printables are digital files that you create one time and then upload. Once a customer purchases your printable, they get a digital file. Then, they can use this file to print out
Why Sell Planners?
Anyone who has a schedule has used a planner at some point or another. A planner makes it easy to keep track of your day, the things you need to do, give you an overview of your week, month, and year, and a host of other benefits, depending on the planner type. You can find or create a planner for literally anything!
You can design anything from simple daily planners to complex systems with multiple components. Here are some of the most popular types of planners:
- Daily Planner – A daily planner is a simple and straightforward way to help people stay organized and track their schedule, to-do lists, and other important tasks.
- Weekly Planner – A weekly planner allows people to see their schedule and tasks for the week ahead, and can include additional features such as meal planning, habit tracking, and goal-setting sections.
- Monthly Planner – A monthly planner gives people a broader view of their schedule and can be used to track appointments, deadlines, and long-term goals.
- Goal-Setting Planner – This type of planner is designed to help people set and achieve their goals, and typically includes sections for setting and tracking progress towards specific goals.
- Budget Planner – A budget planner is a specialized type of planner that helps people manage their finances by tracking their income, expenses, and budget.
- Meal Planner – A meal planner is a tool that helps people plan and track their meals, including grocery shopping lists and recipes.
- Student Planner – A student planner is designed specifically for students and can include features such as assignment tracking, exam schedules, and class schedules.
- Wellness Planner – This type of planner is focused on promoting self-care and wellness, and may include sections for tracking exercise, sleep, and other healthy habits.
Why Create Printables?
Printables are an easy source of income with minimal effort. There are a ton of templates that make it easy to create a custom printable in mere minutes.
The best printables to sell for income will depend on several factors, including your own skills and interests, as well as current market trends and consumer demand. However, here are some popular printables that have a high potential for generating income:
- Planner pages and inserts – people are always looking for ways to stay organized and get more out of their planner, so there is a constant demand for planner pages, daily and weekly spreads, goal-setting pages, and more.
- Wall art – people are constantly looking for ways to decorate their homes and walls, so high-quality and stylish wall art printables can be a popular item for many customers.
- Invitation templates – birthdays, weddings, and other special events are always happening, so there’s a consistent demand for invitation templates that are customizable and easy to print at home.
- Party decorations – like invitations, there’s a demand for party decor, such as banners, centerpieces, and photo props, that are both affordable and customizable.
- Educational worksheets for kids – with many parents homeschooling their children or supplementing their education, there is a growing demand for high-quality educational worksheets, particularly for younger children.
- Budgeting and organization tools – these printables can include templates for tracking expenses, setting financial goals, and creating a budget.
- Business marketing materials – small business owners are always looking for affordable and customizable marketing materials, such as business cards, brochures, and flyers
Best Tools for Designing Printables and Planners
You can use any graphic design program to create digital resources like printables and planners. As long as your customer has a printer, they can create copies of your goods repeatedly without any future work from you.
Canva is one of my favorite design tools to use for every graphic I use or sell with all of my brands. It’s so easy, even an illiterate designer like myself can create beautiful custom products with a few mouse clicks. And there are free and paid versions if you’re on a budget!
Some designers also like using Adobe, which does give you a greater range of tools. But I’m not as familiar with the more advanced settings of this program, so I can’t offer much advice.
Inkscape is a free tool used by designers that allows you to create SVG format graphics, like you use for clothing designs. Again, I have little experience with this tool but I have it on wonderful authority that it’s top of the best tools to create graphic designs.
Free Resources for Stocking Your Store with Printables and Planners
I can’t scroll through more than five emails at a time without encountering a brand or company that’s offering a free resource with a PLR license that allows for commercial redistribution.
PLRs – Private Label Rights – have become some of my favorite ways to stock my inventory with FREE tools and inspiration for new items to put into my store. I’ve amassed quite a selection of templates that allow me to create new products in a short amount of time.
Some of my favorite PLR providers include:
- Piggy Makes Bank
- EKitHub
- Color Monthly PLR
Other resources I use for my online store are graphics and SVGs. There are a ton of brands that offer bundles of themed graphics in exchange for joining their email list. That’s how I ended up hooking up with so many amazing and similar freelance mompreneurs who are making money with online stores, digital courses, and running a blog.
If you’re just starting out with your business and you don’t have the money to invest in paid offers yet, start with FREEBIES that you can use to create paid products. A few of the top places to get commercial license graphics that you can use as a free or paid offering for your customers include:
- Creative Fabrica
- Design Bundles – Try your first month for only $1! It’s an investment you don’t want to pass up.
- The Hungry JPEG
- Creative Market
How to Start Selling Planners and Printables
Once you’ve collected a selection of different designs, you’re ready to sell them to your audience. Creating an Etsy store is a great way to get access to a large audience if you don’t already have a following. Otherwise, you can sell on your website or create a Shopify e-commerce store. You can even get into POD – no, not the amazing 2000s rock band!- but Print On Demand. Stick around as I get into all of that fun stuff next time around!