Easily Start a Profitable Side Hustle Selling Printables on Etsy

Looking for a profitable side hustle that could easily turn into a full-time income?

Selling printables online might be a wonderful option for an educator – AND – this is a side hustle that can be very easy to start in a weekend.

Building a business in the printable market can be fun and easy, as well as incredibly profitable.  Printables are continuing to grow in popularity and regardless of the industry, chances are you’ll find printables are being used.

From goal settings, time trackers, organizational charts, productivity planners to simple calendars and journal-style layouts, there is an endless demand for well-designed printables.

So why are printables so popular: 

– Printables offer an easy way to get organized, set goals and stay on track.

– They’re designed to help people improve the quality of their lives.

– They offer a workable system to organizing the chaos.

Do you need design experience? Is there an extensive learning curve in order to create beautiful printables that people will love?

No. A free account on Canva will do! You can get started creating your first printable this afternoon.

If you prefer to outsource the creative process, you can use freelance marketplaces such as Upwork.com or Fiverr.

Another option is to purchase done-for-you printable design packs that come with source files (for easy editing) as well as commercial-use rights.

Note: I’ve used printable design reseller packs from Niche Raiders and her products WILL save you a lot of time by eliminating the work involved in CREATING a printable design! The speed at which I can post new shop products is worth the purchase price (which is not expensive by the way, especially given the time you will save).

My only caution with reseller packs is to make sure you proofread the document so you can make changes that ensures it is written in your “voice”. Also, make sure you proofread for misspelled words, run-on sentences, dialects, etc. The content I ordered from Niche Ideas was solid. The most I had to do was change the fonts and colors to my brand.

So how can you set up a printable business in a matter of days?

There are many ways to create an online shop, but the easiest way to get started is with Etsy.

Here are just a few reasons:

With an Etsy shop, you can easily build a mailing list of buyers and maximize your income faster and easier than ever before because you are in direct contact with your customer base.

ETSY offers stats that show where your buyers come from and what they’re interested in.

People are already searching for printables on Etsy, so there’s already an active customer base.

Is it easy to get started?

Yes! And here is a free option that I hope you will consider:

It’s a free workshop that will give you more than the basics to get started.

You’ll learn:

How to pick the best printables to sell for maximum income

How to 10x your sales to hit five figures in revenue

Their seasonal product secret strategy for selling printables & how to manifest your online business goals this year

It was created by Cody & Julie with Gold City Ventures. They will share case studies of new printable sellers who hit 5-figures in revenue, they explain the massive opportunities in the printables space right now, and show how to get started with little money spent.

They also talk about the importance of manifesting your dreams and goals. They both created vision boards this year and are super into the power of manifestation.

In 2020, Julie Berninger was a working Mom juggling corporate America plus an online business with spotty childcare. Now in 2023, she is making more money online than she could ever imagine (more than even her old day job).

It all started selling printables on Etsy.

So Julie is someone who has “done it” while extremely stretched for time and with way too much on her plate like many educators.

She’s also someone who has come out the other side with her dream lifestyle.

Just check out her FREE workshop (using my affiliate link) called “Manifest Passive Income with Printables” Workshop” and get started right away.

It’s free, it’s available instantly if you register now, and can be played with just the audio if you’re on the go.

I started with the workshop and went straight on to the printables course where Julie gives you valuable info about how to set your ETSY store up to be successful from the start.  The course also includes templates for you to upload to your new ETSY store.

What else do I want you to know going in?

Keep it simple and use a free account on Canva to create your shop graphics.

Create evergreen printables then add your own unique twist on each product so you’re offering something fresh and new.

Focus on a single keyword that will target the customer you want to reach. There are SEO companies that are designed specifically for Etsy stores such as Marmalead and Erank.

Use Pinterest! It’s an amazing resource for driving targeted traffic to your Etsy shop because Pinterest is designed to perform like a search engine. Pins don’t expire or disappear in a sea of posts like most social media platforms. So pins are always visible and can end up going viral at any time – even months later!

Use a Pinterest scheduler like TailWind (I use Tailwind in my business) that will allow you to set up bulk pins so that they go out automatically at pre-determined times. This keeps you from having to spend hours a day updating your Pinterest account, when you’re already tasked with school related items.

Choose a specific niche and create printables that cater to the needs of that particular audience such as fellow educators who need ready-made instructional worksheets, fitness buffs who need trackers for their weight loss progress, or moms who love to stay organized so their households run smoothly.

Then branch out by focusing on ideas for additional types of printables that interest your niche the most.

As you grow, you can build a targeted mailing list by offering coupon codes that are exclusive to your newsletter subscribers or free printables to existing customers so you nurture your relationships while solidifying your brand.

Always work towards building your printable inventory. The more products you have available on your shop, the more money you’ll make: it’s as simple as that.

Every new product opens the doors to additional traffic, ranking and optimizing for other prime keywords that people are using when searching for products like yours.

Yes, it’ll take work, but the great part about it is that once you’ve established a decent-sized inventory on Etsy, you’ll be able to consistently make passive income without minimal effort.

You don’t have to have a zillion printables to have a viable side hustle. I’ve seen shops with less than 20 products that have thousands of sales.

Just consistently update your shop, weekly or monthly, with fresh offers so your storefront stays active.

Stay the course, it won’t happen overnight.

Stay focused, keep increasing your exposure and watch your sales increase over time.

Stay positive, your store will grow, exposure will increase, and your sales will help you reach your side hustle goal of supplementing your income.

To your success!