Canva is a platform where digital creators ranging from beginners to experts can create beautiful designs. It can be done from a phone, on a laptop, sitting at a desk, on a couch, or even on the go.
Canva gives you such a huge opportunity to create unique designs. You can even sell these designs.
But where do you sell these designs? The best answer is Etsy! Here’s what you need to know about using Canva to sell on Etsy.
Selling Canva Designs on Etsy
Have a love for using Canva and want to turn this into an income? That is completely possible! Canva is a great way to create products easily and turn them into an income.
And Etsy is the place to do this! Etsy has a large digital products marketplace, where buyers specifically seek out the type of digital product they need. It is an easy way to create an item, list it instantly, and make a sale, without having to physically create a product and ship it out.
So how do you create designs in Canva to sell on Etsy? And what should you create? We will cover everything you need to know!
Can you sell Canva designs on Etsy?
The answer is yes! But, Canva does not allow you to sell their pre-made templates. You cannot sell this type of product and then consider it as your own work.
To get around this, Canva allows you to create your own original designs with their free content that you can use for resale! You can use all free photos, music, fonts, colors, etc. on Canva for commercial and noncommercial use.
You will need to create everything from scratch by taking their free elements, fonts, etc., and turning them into a new end product.
Etsy is a great marketplace to sell your handmade Canva designs! As long as they fit the terms and conditions of Canva, you can sell them on Etsy. Digital downloads are extremely popular on the platform and this includes designs created on Canva.
Can I use Canva to sell printables on Etsy?
Canva is a platform made for creating a wide range of designs, and that includes printables! These printables can easily be sold on Etsy, which has a large quantity of printables already on the platform.
What kinds of things can you create using Canva to sell on Etsy? Here are a few ideas:
- Invitations
- Greeting cards
- Workbooks
- Coloring pages
- Stickers
- Planners
- Templates
There is such a wide range of design ideas you can create on Canva to sell on Etsy! Just be sure to keep your design completely unique and follow the conditions that Canva has set.Want more ideas on what to sell? Here are 35+ printable ideas you can make to sell on Etsy!
Can I use Canva for my business logo?
Creating a logo on Canva becomes a little more tricky. The licensing agreement from Canva states that logos can’t contain any type of elements from Canva’s image library, even if it’s a free image. The only elements that you can use are simple shapes and lines, free fonts, and pre-made logo layouts.
But why should you maybe not use Canva for your logo? Canva is more of an amateur design platform, and therefore cannot be exported in a vector format. This means that when you want to scale your logo and enlarge it, it may become blurry or completely illegible.
So if you want a more professional logo, choosing another route would be a better option!
Creating and Selling Digital Downloads Using Canva
Selling digital downloads is a great way to make a passive income. You can create a design just one time, and sell it over and over again.
Digital downloads give you an endless amount of opportunities to create and find a way to make an income on the side. And Canva is the way to create one!
What needs to be done first to start creating a digital download to sell on Canva?
Research and Brainstorm Your Product
The very first thing you need to do is decide on what type of digital download you want to create and sell. Which niche are you heading towards? Bachelorette parties? Children’s parties? Marketing materials?
Take time to think about what you’re most interested in and what you can do to make your product stand out in the crowd. Digital products on Etsy can be saturated, so it’s important to make sure your product is completely unique and will bring in buyers.
Start Creating
Now that you know which type of product you want to create, it’s time to start making it in Canva! Remember not to start with a pre-made template, as you plan to sell this product and this is against the terms of Canva.
Use a completely blank design page with the correct dimensions of your product and get started adding your own clipart or free Canva images! Find ways to make your design look professional, unique, and high-quality.
Once you’re finished, export your design. Test it to make sure it works as designed.
Now you are ready to list it and start selling!
Get Ready to Sell
The next step is preparing your product to start selling! The first thing to start considering is your listing images. How are you going to display your product to best capture the eyes of your buyers?
Find a great mockup to use that makes your design look most professional, rather than a simple image of just your product. A mockup will make it stand out and look more uniform to other digital downloads on Etsy.You can also create your own mockup templates in Canva.
You will also need to consider the pricing for your digital download, so do some research on other similar products and price accordingly.
Want to learn how to make your own printables to sell on Etsy? We cover everything you need to know in our E-Printables course!
How to Create Canva Templates to Sell on Etsy
So what about Canva templates? These are a great option to sell on Etsy! Let your buyers customize their own design but have a fresh and ready template to use.
Templates created in Canva that you can sell on Etsy include:
- E-books
- Business Cards
- Flyers
- Invitations
- Forms
In order to create templates to sell on Etsy, you need a Canva Pro account. This is because the feature to share a template link is only available on the Pro version. Otherwise, you only have the option to share an “edit” link, which would mean they would be changing your actual design.
So to sell Canva templates, it’s absolutely necessary to have Canva Pro.
Next, what type of template are you wanting to sell? Do you see a need for this product? Is it in demand? What do you want to include?
Have an idea of this before you create. You don’t want to spend time trying to create when you don’t have a clear direction.
Check out some other templates on Canva, or Etsy, to grab some ideas, but do not steal any ideas. Make it your own and add your own spin to it!
Once your template is ready, you can start getting it ready to sell on Etsy! Here are a few things to consider:
File delivery
When someone purchases a digital printable from you, the files are automatically available to them to download in their account. You don’t have to worry about sending them anything, which is what makes it such a great passive income!
But for a template, you don’t have anything to upload since it is a link. This means you’ll need to create something! Use Canva to create a PDF or even a PNG file that can include the link to your template.
This graphic can include instructions for using your template as well since there will be buyers who don’t understand the fact that it is a template. So include some basic instructions, along with the link to your template.
Add your branding and then use this for each template that you can easily customize and upload to Etsy!
Naming your files
When you finished creating your file and are ready to upload it to Etsy, be sure to name it correctly so it is easily identifiable for your customers.
You want it to be simple for your customers to find it after they download it. For example, if you are selling a Pinterest PIN template, then when you go to download your file, name it “PINTEREST-TEMPLATE-1”.
You can even add a more specific identifier if you sell multiple pin templates, so you can easily identify the file for yourself as well. Just make it as simple as possible!
Include detailed download instructions
Besides adding detailed instructions in your graphic to download, you can also have instructions in your listing description. Include everything that your customer needs to know. Here are a few things to include:
- That it is a TEMPLATE, not a download
- That it is not a physical product
- It is for Canva use specifically
- The ideal printing size if applicable
- Details on refunds
- Commercial use details
- Printing suggestions
There may be other details you want to include so just take time to think of anything your customer may want to know!
Use mockups
Selling a template should not mean simply uploading the PNG file and using it as your listing photo. You need to best display your product, and a mockup is how to do that.
You can find mockups on different platforms like PlaceIt, Creative Market, and even on Etsy. But for your template, you may need to create one yourself or modify one to really fit your design.
Find one that best displays your product and use this for your listing on Etsy!
How to Sell Canva Templates and Make Money
Now it’s time to sell your templates! Once it is on Etsy, you may wonder how you can start driving traffic to your shop or bring in those sales. One way to do this is through marketing! And one of the best ways to market for an Etsy shop is on Pinterest.
Getting attention on Pinterest does mean having quality pin graphics. So take time to create beautiful pins for your templates that users will want to click on and learn more.You can create your pins in Canva.
You should also be sure to regularly pin your products, which can range from a few times a day to a few times a week depending on the amount you want to put into it. Rotate which products you are sharing so that you are not spamming with the same link. But the more you can share the better!
You can also promote on other social media platforms of course, as well as an email list if you have one.
Etsy does bring a lot of traffic for your shop on its own, as long as you prioritize learning how to use SEO for your shop. So take time to research how to best optimize your shop to find your products in the search more easily.
These are just a few free ways you can promote your shop and bring in some more traffic to your templates!
Licenses to Using Canva Content in Your Designs
When you use Canva, you can either choose to use free or Pro content. Obviously, the free content is able to be used at no cost. So if you have the Free account, the Pro content will be watermarked, and buy a license for $1 if you want to use it.
Otherwise, you can subscribe to Canva Pro to be able to use this content for free.
Getting a license
You are issued a license when you use content in a design. So free content is issued at no cost, while a Pro content license is given with payment, or at no additional cost if you pay for a subscription.
The Pro content license allows you to use the content in one design, which means you would have to pay each time you want to use that same piece of content. If you have a Canva Pro account though, this is automatically issued to use in each new design.
Note though that you cannot use Canva Pro elements in a printable that you sell on Etsy. You can use Pro elements in a Canva template that you sell on Etsy.
What’s allowed?
So what exactly is allowed on Canva? You can use the content in a Canva design for a wide range of personal and commercial uses. But if you are using pre-made designs from Canva, you are not allowed to resell or take credit for these designs.
By making your design unique, then you have very few restrictions on what you can do with them! However, a piece of content from Canva on its own, like a single image, has restrictions. For example, you can’t use it to be printed on products for sale.You have to turn each Canva-free element, or font, into a unique end product that you created yourself.
So you need to be sure to take the content and make it completely your own and add your own designs.
Canva’s rules for how creators can use their platform can change. We recommend visiting Canva’s terms of use page regularly to get further clarification.
Selling templates
You can only sell Canva templates if they are specifically created for use on Canva. A template needs to bring your customers back to the design on the platform.
You can’t use Canva Pro content to sell templates for design on websites, documents, or other ways to use on a third-party platform.
So if you want to sell templates made on Canva, you can only lead the customer back to Canva!
Final Thoughts
Using Canva to sell on Etsy is a great way to start a side hustle that can earn you great passive income! Launch your Etsy shop and start creating products to sell on Etsy today with Canva.
