Creating and Selling Designs - For Absolute Beginners!
If you are looking to explore your creative side while making a little bit of income. Here are some tips to help you get started. ( This article is especially for those absolute beginners, who might not yet be skilled at using design software like Adobe. )
Now, bear in mind, it probably won't make you rich overnight. However, if you put effort, not only into designing but also on marketing, it could become a nice passive income. Maybe even becoming a full-time job!!.
First: What kind of designs are you interested in creating?
You might have already researched about this. But here is a small list to help you with some ideas just in case.
- Graphic designs to sell on merchandise (Or just as digital graphics: wallpapers, SVG, etc.)
- Social media marketing templates
- Personal templates (resumes/ cv, cover letter, references sheet, etc)
- Printable (Planners, games, invitations, etc)
- Journals, educational books, etc.
Second: How to create all of these designs?
I personally use the Adobe programs or Canva. Since this article is for absolute beginners, I will just explain how you can use Canva to create all these designs.
I am currently using Canva for creating designs, templates, social media marketing, and more. (You could also find more programs. I love Canva because it is really easy to use and it has a FREE subscription.)
For graphic designs:
Canva free subscription comes with a lot of graphics and fonts that can be used to create your designs. It is possible to use Canva graphics for commercial use but graphics should always be altered. (I am not a licensed expert, so please read their license before selling your designs)
If you don't want to use graphics or icons, you can also create text designs!. There are many t-shirts or products that only have text.
And YES! You can even create Mockups with the FREE account.
However, with the Free Version, you can't download Transparent PNG, but there are free websites that will remove the white background from your images, making them transparent.
Note: Canva has a size limit of a maximum of 8000 pixels. So for example, you would be creating your design in a Canva Square of 4000 x 4000. That is enough if you aim to design t-shirts, mugs, etc. But if you would like to see your designs on big products such as duvet covers, it may not be enough.
Note 2: If you want to sell designs with some kind of imagery, I would recommend starting learning programs such as Illustrator to create your own graphics. Using free graphics means that just like you, other people would be able to use the same design.
For Editable templates, printable (Digital download):
Apart from the amazing graphics that you can find on Canva. There are also a lot of templates that could be used as references. Please, do NOT just sell one of the existing templates.
Tip 1: If you want to sell printable. (Not editable) You can take advantage of the hundreds of graphics and fonts available for Pro users. However, if you want to sell editable templates, then you may want to consider using only free graphics and fonts, since your clients may not want to purchase a Pro Canva subscription or pay a one-design-use license for each pro graphic.
Tip 2: When sharing your editable templates, please remember to share them as a template. That way your original file won't be edited by someone else, and each client would get their own copy of the template. This feature is also available to free users!.
Third: Where to sell?
If you are looking to sell POD, here is another article where I tell you about Best FREE Print-on-Demand Websites to Start Selling Right Away.
For editable, printable, and basically any other digital download design you can sell on:
- Etsy (Etsy is amazing for selling digital designs, printables, etc). However, it is only available in countries eligible for Etsy Payments)
- Creative Market
- KDP (Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing)
- Spring (Former known as Tee Spring - Although it is usually known for selling t-shirts and other products, they also added a digital product feature that allows you to sell your digital designs!) (Actually this is where I have my shop, you can check it out 😁 My Shop )
These websites are free to get started and you don't have to pay a subscription. They usually just take a percentage of each item sold. There are a lot of other websites as well but these are some of the most popular ones.
Otherwise, if you want to invest a little bit of money to have full control over prices, client's information for marketing, etc. You could also create your own e-commerce website.
Fourth: Marketing
Depending on where you will be selling you might already get a little bit of traffic to your shop. However, you might still want to consider promoting them through social media.
You can even use the mockups created in Canva to post your designs on different products.
