Imagine your list growing, making extra money and still having time to play with your kids!

You can do that by creating printable products…

I know you may be thinking that would be great but I’m not creative or I don’t want to learn a complicated design program. 

I hear untrue statements like that everyday and yes you read that right… If you are thinking you are not creative and you need to learn a complicated design program that is just not true and I will tell you why.

But first, let’s talk about how Printables can help your business.

What is a Printable Product?

A Printable Product (or a Digital Product) is a wonderful way to grow your list and make extra money because essentially it is a passive product, meaning you create it once and can reap the benefits again and again with little maintenance. They are easy to deliver to your audience and can be used in any niche. 

They actually don’t have be printed at all, for example it could be an e-book or a digital planner. 

What are Printable Opt-ins? 

When I say opt-ins I’m encompassing content upgrades, freebies and any other word you use to describe something you give in exchange for an email address.  Opt-ins should provide a small win for your audience. Create something simple that saves them time, helps them learn a new tip, keeps them organized or saves them money. It should be short and sweet and take no longer than an hour to consume.

Make Money with Printable Products

Printable (and downloadable) Products are a great way to earn extra money, or even start an entire printable shop. You can create great intro products for your courses such as e-books, and workbooks or stand alone products.

Or you could create an entire Printable Shop and make residual income off something you created one time! DREAM JOB, Am I Right! Don’t get me wrong, it will take some work and setup time but the best part is the work can be done in a time that fits into your busy schedule.

Another option is to design printables as a service and help other entrepreneurs have beautiful opt-ins, e-books, workbooks and other printable products.

In a nutshell, creating printables is awesome for your business because: 

1. They make great freebies, opt-ins, lead-magnets (whatever your favorite term is)
2. You can create money-making printables to sell on various platforms. 
3. You can create them in a time that fits into your busy schedule and reap the benefits over and over. 
4. They make great additions to courses or great entry point products. 
5. Lastly, you can design printables like workbooks and ebooks as a service. 

I have a secret for you… Design Doesn’t Have to be Complicated

Since you are here, I’m betting you are an entrepreneur (or have an interest in making money online) and friend let me tell you I know people with the entrepreneurial bug are creative.

Creativity is much more than Pinterest perfect DIY projects. There is creativity in so much that you do trust me. 

You can learn to tap into that creativity but also your printable designs do not have to be complicated to look good nor do you need some big fancy design tool.  You can get started with simple clean lines, clear fonts and a free design tool. The biggest mistake I see with printables is what I call “over-design” so you are off the hook. Less really is more! 

How to Design Printables that will Grow Your List and Make Money

1. Brainstorm what type of printable your audience wants. Think about the questions people have in your niche and how you can help them. Is there a quick one-page resource you can create? Is there a system you use that you could share in an ebook or workbook?  Get over 60 more ideas in my guide.
2. Get Feedback: After you come up with some ideas you can share them with your audience and see if which one they get most excited about. If you don’t have an audience to ask, come get feedback in my group. This can be really helpful to make sure people resonate with your ideas. 
3. Plan it out! Once you know what you will be creating it is best to make an outline for your project (especially if it larger like a workbook) and prepare all of the text. I won’t lie sometimes I skip this step but it ALWAYS makes the design process harder because I’m trying to do too many things at the same time… write, edit and design.
   

4. Layout your printable in Canva (a free design tool) keep the design simple with clean lines and a sans serif font like Monserrat  (SHOW EXAMPLE and VIDEO). 
5. Create promo images for social media, Pinterest, your website and shop. If you want to show a page from your printable you will need to download it as a PNG and re-upload it to Canva. I often use SmartMockup.com in conjunction with Canva to create Mockup Images.
6. Write content that leads people to your opt-in or product. Here is the key part, you can’t just list your opt-in or product and expect people to grab it. You have to tell them about it, create content thats leads them to it. Some shop sites like Etsy do have their own SEO which can play in your favor but it is still a great idea to make a content plan around promoting your printables. 

Places to Sell Downloadable Products:

SendOwl: This is what I use to sell things from my own site

Etsy: fast to set up and you can tap into the already established audience. Get 40 free listings when you open a shop with my link.

Creative Market: fast to set up and you can tap into the already established audience

Gumroad: I don’t have much experience with this one but it could be a great option. 

But Here is the Honest Truth…

Now I don’t want to lead you to believe that once you get your printable out into the world that your work ends. It will take some time to get traffic to it, there will be marketing tasks and possibly some maintenance tasks. 

But the awesome thing is you get to be in charge of your time and unless you are going the service route (which is a great option too) as you grow your list and make money that doesn’t mean you have more work to do! This means more time for the other important things in your life like saying yes to spontaneous dance parties with your kids and playing Candy-Land one more time!

Before you head off to love on your kids start brainstorming all the AWESOME Printables you can create! 

Let’s Recap How to Make (and Sell) Printables

This post may contain affiliate links with my honest opinion.