Top Sites for Selling Printables: Etsy, Creative Market and Beyond

Are you an artist or designer looking to monetize your creativity? If so, selling printables online can be a great way to earn income. In this article, we will explore two of the top sites for selling printables – Etsy and Creative Market, and discuss the advantages, target audience, and how to get started. We will also cover alternative platforms and tips for success.

Selling digital printables and templates can be a lucrative business for designers, artists and creatives. But where should you sell your printables to maximize exposure and profit? Here is an in-depth look at the top marketplace options, from big names like Etsy and Creative Market to niche sites to consider.

What is Etsy and why is it a popular platform for selling printables?

Introduction to Etsy

Etsy is an online marketplace that connects artists, designers, and creators with buyers all around the world. It has a strong community of sellers and offers a wide range of products, including printables. The platform is known for its user-friendly interface and features that make it easy to set up and manage an online shop.

Advantages of selling on Etsy

There are several advantages to selling printables on Etsy. Firstly, it provides a ready-made audience of art and design enthusiasts who actively search for unique and creative products. The platform also offers features such as customizable product listings and marketing tools that help sellers showcase their work effectively. Additionally, Etsy has a strong sense of community, with forums and groups where sellers can interact and learn from each other.

Target audience on Etsy

The target audience on Etsy consists of individuals who appreciate handmade, unique, and artistic products. They are often looking for items that reflect their personal style and allow them to express their creativity. Printables on Etsy can range from digital art prints, planners, invitations, and more, catering to various interests and preferences.

How to sell printables on Etsy?

Setting up an Etsy shop

To start selling printables on Etsy, you need to set up an Etsy shop. This involves creating an account, choosing a shop name, and providing relevant information such as shop policies and payment methods. Once your shop is set up, you can start listing your printables and managing orders.

Creating and listing printables on Etsy

When creating printables for Etsy, it is important to focus on high-quality designs that cater to the preferences of your target audience. You can create digital art, printable planners, wall art, and more. To list your printables on Etsy, you will need to write enticing product descriptions, set a price, and upload high-resolution images.

Marketing strategies for selling printables on Etsy

To increase the visibility of your printables on Etsy, it is important to employ effective marketing strategies. This can include optimizing your product listings with relevant keywords, promoting your shop through social media, collaborating with influencers, and participating in Etsy’s advertising programs. Building a strong brand presence and providing excellent customer service are also essential for success.

Are there alternatives to Etsy for selling printables?

Introducing Creative Market

Creative Market is another popular online marketplace for selling digital products, including printables. It offers a wide range of design assets such as fonts, graphics, templates, and more. Creative Market has a large user base and provides sellers with a platform to showcase their work to a global audience.

Comparison of Etsy and Creative Market

While both Etsy and Creative Market offer opportunities to sell printables, there are some differences to consider. Etsy has a strong community and is known for its handmade and unique products, while Creative Market focuses more on design assets. The target audience on Creative Market includes designers, businesses, and individuals looking for ready-made resources to enhance their projects.

Other alternatives for selling printables

In addition to Etsy and Creative Market, there are several other online platforms where you can sell printables. Some popular alternatives include Gumroad, Society6, Redbubble, and Shopify. These platforms provide different features and cater to various types of sellers and products. Researching and experimenting with different platforms can help you find the one that best suits your needs.

How much money can you make by selling printables on Etsy and other platforms?

Potential earnings from selling printables

The amount of money you can make by selling printables on Etsy and other platforms depends on various factors such as the quality of your products, pricing strategy, marketing efforts, and demand for your niche. Many sellers have reported earning a significant income from selling printables online, but it requires dedication, marketing skills, and continuous innovation.

Factors influencing profitability

Factors that can influence the profitability of selling printables include the competition in your niche, the size of your target audience, the uniqueness and quality of your designs, and your ability to effectively market your products. It is important to continuously analyze and adapt your strategies to maximize your earning potential.

Success stories of sellers on Etsy and other platforms

There are numerous success stories of sellers who have built thriving businesses by selling printables on Etsy and other platforms. These individuals have honed their skills, created in-demand products, and effectively promoted their work to reach a global audience. They have proven that with the right approach and dedication, it is possible to make a substantial income by selling printables online.

Tips for selling printables on online marketplaces

Creating high-quality printables

Investing time and effort in creating high-quality printables is essential for attracting buyers and standing out from the competition. Ensure that your designs are visually appealing, well-designed, and cater to the preferences of your target audience. Continuously improving your skills and staying up-to-date with design trends can also help you create marketable products.

Optimizing product listings for better visibility

Optimizing your product listings with relevant keywords and tags is crucial for improving visibility on online marketplaces. Conduct keyword research to understand what search terms your target audience uses and incorporate them strategically in your product titles, descriptions, and tags. This will help potential buyers find your printables easily.

Building a strong brand presence on online marketplaces

Building a strong brand presence is important for establishing trust and loyalty among your customers. Consistency in your branding, including your shop name, logo, and color palette, can help buyers recognize your products. Providing excellent customer service and promptly addressing any queries or issues can also contribute to a positive brand image.

Etsy – The Massive Handmade Marketplace

With over 60 million active buyers, Etsy is hands-down the largest global marketplace for printables and digital files. It’s best suited for selling artistic printable designs, templates, planners, illustrations, and fonts.

Pros of Selling on Etsy

• Huge existing buyer traffic – Etsy drives millions of buyers each day specifically searching for items like printables. Easy exposure to the biggest base of buyers.
• Known for handmade and vintage – Buyers come to Etsy expecting to find artistic and craft-related digital items like yours.
• Recognizable brand name – Widely-known by consumers compared to other printables marketplaces. Provides buyer trust and confidence.
• Mature platform with many features – Listing management, shop stats, promotion tools, integrated payment processing, and more built-in.
• Active discussion forums – Ability to connect with other Etsy sellers in vibrant community forums for advice and inspiration.

Cons of Selling on Etsy

• Very competitive – The massive amount of sellers means you have to work hard to stand out in busy categories. Expect lots of competition.

-Requires creative designs – Buyers expect artistic, handmade and trendy designs rather than functional or basic templates.

-Fee structure takes cuts – Between listing fees, transaction fees, and payment processing fees, Etsy’s cuts can reach 15% of sales.

-Managing high volumes – Requires efficient processes to manage a high volume of orders, listings, renewals, customer communication, etc that come with scale.

-No control over buyer data – You don’t own the relationship with your Etsy buyers. Harder to market to them directly outside of Etsy.

Tips for Selling Printables on Etsy Successfully

• Study top sellers in your niche and recognize what sets them apart
• Use all 13 tags, longtail keywords, and rich listing descriptions
• Refresh designs frequently to capitalize on trends
• Promote listings with Etsy’s on-site and off-site ads
• Provide commercial and extended licenses to upsell business buyers
• Offer bundled deals of your most popular items
• Stay on top of renewing evergreen bestsellers
• Reply quickly to buyer questions and convos
• Get reviews early and maintain 5-star shop rating

Creative Market – Popular with Design Professionals

Creative Market focuses on design assets like fonts, templates, graphics, and illustrations. It attracts over 5 million professional creatives and web developers.

Pros of Selling on Creative Market

• Made for commercial buyers – Caters to professionals who pay for quality, saving them time. Higher average order values.
• Popular with designers – Established platform many designers already frequent and trust for assets.
• Useful seller tools – Nice dashboard for managing items and orders. Automated tax calculations.
• Item bundles – Ability to bundle multiple printable products together into packages.
• High commission rates – Up to 70% minus small transaction fee on each sale. Very seller-friendly terms.
• Opportunity for exclusivity – Option to sell printables exclusively through Creative Market for 60 days for higher promotion.

Cons of Selling on Creative Market

• Caters to mid-high end – Not ideal for budget templates and prints. Lower volumes than mass-market places.
• Very curated selection – Just 35% of seller applications accepted. High bar for quality.
• Long review process – Listings can take weeks to get approved. Slower time-to-market for new assets.
• Relies heavily on search – Buyers must be looking specifically for your printable already. Less serendipitous discovery.
• Smaller audience than Etsy – While growing, overall shopper base is still just a fraction of Etsy’s.

Tips for Selling Printables on Creative Market Successfully

• Cater to professionals – Include commercial licenses and enterprise pricing.
• Highlight technical features like easy layer organization, edits, customization in descriptions.
• Use detailed keywords and descriptive titles professionals search for.
• Promote new launches in your seller profile, social channels, email lists.
• Participate in forums and Facebook groups to get to know the community.
• Use analytics to optimize listings and pricing over time.
• Curate your shop with just your very best work. Quality over quantity.

GraphicRiver – Popular Templates and Graphics Marketplace

Owned by Envato, GraphicRiver sees over half a million visitors daily searching for graphics, templates, fonts, add-ons, and more.

Pros of Selling on GraphicRiver

• High shopper traffic – Very large buyer base actively searching for graphics, templates, and creative assets.
• Trusted by creatives – Well-established and respected brand in the space. Recognized by many buyers.
• Items keep selling over time – Ability to earn passive income on items that continue generating sales months later.
• Simple approval process – Fairly easy and fast approval for most listings that meet guidelines.
• Useful seller resource hub – Good knowledge base, community forum, and support center.

Cons of Selling on GraphicRiver

• Very competitive – Fight for attention among 1.5 million items across 53 categories.
• Lower royalties – Just 40% commission on sales. Lower profit margins than other sites.
• Detail-oriented process – Lots of required fields and specifics when submitting an item listing.
• Mandatory non-exclusive license – Unlike Creative Market, no exclusive sales option.items for better promotion.
• Harder to differentiate – Massive selection makes it harder for sellers to stand out from the pack.

Tips for Selling Printables on GraphicRiver Successfully

• Nail the preview image, title, and description to capture attention quickly.
• Draw inspiration from best-selling items in your category.
• Participate in forums to understand buyer needs better.
• Maximize keyword optimization opportunities in all listing fields.
• Add your brand name in the filename of printable files.
• Promote new launches and bestsellers elsewhere to your audience.
• Analyze sales data regularly to refine listings.

Printable Creations – Printables Market with White Label Options

Printable Creations offers printables creators both a standalone marketplace and white label fulfillment. Sell directly or through your own storefront powered by their platform.

Pros of Selling on Printable Creations

• 70% commission on each printable sold
• Ability to set own prices and discounts
• White label fulfillment option to retain branding
• Sell printables under your own domain using their platform
• Built-in bundling options
• Stripe payments integration
• Sell commercial licenses
• Simple signup process

Cons of Selling on Printable Creations

• Have to market own storefront outside their marketplace
• Smaller audience than other heavyweight platforms
• Just PDF and PNG file support
• Limited product description formatting
• Fewer bells and whistles than some platforms

Tips for Selling Printables on Printable Creations Successfully

• Enroll in their Partner Program at higher tier for more visibility
• Use SEO research to optimize printable titles and descriptions
• Promote storefront and printables across social channels
• Run sales, bundle deals, coupons to incentivize buyers
• Provide excellent customer support
• Analyze sales reports to refine product offerings
• Send post-purchase emails to buyers to cross-sell more

Printify – Print-on-Demand Marketplace with Global Reach

In addition to selling printables directly, Printify lets you sell printed products worldwide utilizing a dropshipping model.

Pros of Selling on Printify

• Global production and shipping covered – They produce and ship printed items on-demand. No inventory or fulfillment needed from you.
• Broad range of products – Sell posters, phone cases, stickers, apparel, home decor, and way more printed with your designs.
• High quality manufacturing – Top-notch printing facilities screen printing, dye sublimation, offset, and digital based on product type.
• Integrated with Etsy, eBay, Amazon – Automatically sync Printify orders from these channels for seamless workflow.
• Print-on-demand model – Designs only produced when customer orders to minimize waste and upfront costs.
• Minimal risks – No need to carry inventory. Easy to test lots of designs.

Cons of Selling on Printify

• Lower profit margins – Commissions around 25% after their production and shipping markup.
• Limited design customization – Only modify templates within their constraints.
• Several days production time – Buyers must wait longer to receive items.
• Additional costs – Small monthly fees, shipping labels, bulk order discounts affect bottom line.
• Very light marketing – Success relies heavily on your own marketing of listings.

Tips for Selling Printables on Printify Successfully

• Tap into trending interest for printables like wall art, apparel, home decor.
• Offer premium, thick paper stock and framing for art prints.
• Optimize titles and descriptions for Etsy search visibility.
• Share customer photos of purchased items in marketing.
• Run promotions and sales on your top products.
• Integrate your Printify and Etsy shops for easy multi-channel selling.
• Use mockup generator to showcase products attractively.

Gumroad – Direct-to-Consumer Printables Sales

Gumroad provides a complete shop system for selling digital and physical products directly to customers. Popular for selling printables.

Pros of Selling Printables on Gumroad

• Simple setup – Create a storefront in minutes by adding products, setting prices, uploading files.
• 80% commissions – Keep the vast majority of revenues from each printable sale.
• Direct customer relationships – Collect emails and market to buyers directly later.
• Custom domains – Use your own branding and domains. No Gumroad branding required.
• Flexible products – Sell one-off printables, subscriptions, memberships, services, physical orders.
• Built-in promos – Easy capability to set up coupon codes, free samples, product variants.
• Creator communities – Opportunity to connect with other sellers in online groups.

Cons of Selling Printables on Gumroad

• Self-promotion required – No marketplace traffic. You must drive your own customers to your Gumroad store.
• Light on advanced features – Less robust than some ecommerce platforms. Simple checkout flow.
• Manual order fulfillment – You handle delivering each digital file or physical good sold.
• Transaction fees – Small fees on purchases and refunds that add up.
• Less established brand – Lower awareness with buyers compared to Etsy and Creative Market.

Tips for Selling Printables Successfully on Gumroad

• Build email lists and Facebook follower bases to market store to.
• Partner with influencers and cross-promote complementary creators.
• Master email sequences and funnels to convert followers into buyers.
• Make limited-run exclusives to incentivize purchases.
• Offer bundles and memberships for additional customer value.
• Share behind-the-scenes and educational content to engage followers.
• Participate in Facebook Gumroad seller groups.

Teachable – Creating and Selling Online Courses

In addition to individual printables, creators can sell online courses teaching skills related to their templates on Teachable.

Pros of Selling Courses on Teachable

• Custom branded course site – Host all your courses under your own domain and branding.
• Easy course creation – Their course builder makes it fast and simple to create, organize, and update course content.
• Marketing tools – Email marketing, coupons, bundles, affiliate programs built-in to promote your course.
• Analytics – Useful stats on course views, enrollment, engagement, and revenue.
• Mobile apps – iOS and Android apps so students can complete courses on the go.
• Security – Control access with passwords, SSL encryption, watermarking.

Cons of Selling Courses on Teachable

• Transaction fees – 9.9% + $0.99 per student payment.
• Monthly fees – Between $29-$59/month for various feature tiers.
• Self promotion – You market courses yourself other than some internal cross-promotion.
• Steep learning curve – Takes work to determine pricing, structure, marketing recipes.
• No audience provided – Must drive own students to your courses.

Tips for Successfully Selling Courses on Teachable

• Offer limited-time discounts and coupon codes to boost enrollments.
• Break course up into small modules for easier learning.
• Add on-demand office hours and Q&As.
• Reward students who promote your course with referral incentives.
• Automate post-course completion email sequences.
• Analyze metrics to see which lessons and topics resonate best.
• Encourage students to share their course projects on social media.

Build Recurring Revenue With Memberships

passive income, look beyond one-time printables sales. Offer memberships that provide ongoing access and exclusive benefits.

Ways to Offer Printables Memberships

• Monthly or annual plans with access to your back catalog of designs
• New designs delivered monthly
• Access to educational content like tutorials and videos
• Entry into member-only giveaways and contests
• Ability to vote on upcoming templates and assets
• Early access before public release
• Commercial licensing for all designs
• Private online community and networking

Top Membership Platforms

• MemberStack – Robust memberships on your own site
• Patreon – Media creators offer exclusive tiers
• Mighty Networks – Community-centered memberships
• Circle – Group memberships with one-click joins

Benefits of Printables Memberships

• Predictable recurring revenue you can count on
• Build deeper relationships with your biggest fans
• Reward loyalty with additional value over time
• Higher customer lifetime value from retained users
• Lower costs to acquire members vs. one-time buyers
• Easier forecasting and financial modeling

Which Platform is Best for Selling Printables?

There are pros and cons to each major marketplace, along with factors unique to your specific business. Here are key considerations when choosing printables sales platforms:

• Your target audience and buyers – Who do you want to reach? What platforms do those buyers frequent?
• Types of printables – Some cater to more hobbyists (Etsy) vs. professionals (Creative Market).
• Exclusivity preferences – Do you want to sell exclusively for more visibility before wider distribution?
• Desired profit margins – Rates vary across sites, from 20-70% commissions.
• Volume expectations – Some sites support high order volumes better than others.
• Marketing capabilities – Will you rely on the platform’s traffic or market externally?
• Branding flexibility – Can you customize branding or sell white label?
• Other monetization goals – Like memberships, online courses, licensing, etc.
• Features needed – Reporting, order fulfillment, promotions, etc.

Weigh your monetization goals, audience, and strengths to decide on the best sales channels for your printable shop. Many sellers find success combining a few strategically selected marketplaces, their own storefront, and diversified offerings. Don’t be afraid to test various options and double down where you achieve traction.

Promoting and Growing Your Printables Shop

Once you start selling your printables, the real work begins. Consistently promote your shop and new products across several channels:

Marketing Your Printables Shop

• Build an email list and send promotions, new releases, sales.
• Create social media graphics and videos to showcase products attractively.
• Write blog posts and tutorials related to using your printables.
• Run occasional sales, coupon codes and product bundles.
• Collaborate with complementary brands for cross-promotions.
• Build relationships with influencers and bloggers to share your products.
• Purchase targeted ads to reach potential buyers (Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc.)
• Analyze your listings’ SEO keywords and optimize based on search volume.
• Participate in relevant communities like subreddits, Facebook groups, forums to get known.
• Send previous buyers cart abandonment and browsing retargeting emails.
• Create lead magnets like freebies, samples, and resources to build your list.
• Automate post-purchase review requests and referral reward programs.

With consistent promotion and continually adding value for your audience, your shop can steadily grow over time.

Conclusion

Exploring the potential of selling printables on Etsy, Creative Market, and beyond

Selling printables on online marketplaces such as Etsy and Creative Market is a comprehensive exploration for artists and designers to monetize their creativity. These platforms offer a global audience, market reach, and community support. By showcasing your talent, marketing effectively, and delivering high-quality products, you can tap into the potential of selling printables and generate income.

Monetizing your creativity through the online marketplace

The online marketplace provides artists and designers with a unique opportunity to monetize their creativity by selling digital products. Printables offer a flexible and scalable way to reach a wide audience and generate income from your artistic creations. With the right strategies and dedication, your creativity can become a sustainable source of revenue.

Expanding your reach and targeting a global audience

One of the advantages of selling printables on platforms like Etsy and Creative Market is the ability to reach a global audience. These marketplaces connect you with buyers from around the world who are interested in unique and creative products. By leveraging the power of the internet, you can expand your reach and find customers who appreciate and value your work.

Selling printables, templates, and digital products is a great business model for creatives to earn income utilizing their skills and passion. But to maximize earnings and audience reach, it pays to be strategic about which platforms you sell through. Consider both mass-marketplaces like Etsy and Creative Market for visibility alongside your own storefront for exclusivity and higher margins. Use this guide to identify and evaluate the pros and cons of each major printables marketplace. Find the right sales channels for your specific audience and printable products. Combine multiple options to diversify your earning potential.