How to create printables for online sales using Google Slides

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Lots of people are looking for a way to start their own online business – many not knowing the first steps. People can choose from a wide variety of options – from promoting someone else’s products to providing services such as ghostwriting to creating and selling printables online.

Let’s look closer at the printables industry and how you can also sell printables online.

1. This can be used as extra income to supplement your financial needs, but you can also turn it into a full time career like me and millions of others.
2. You don’t have to be a graphic designer. All you need are some free or paid tools and the desire to get into this niche.
3. Selling these products doesn't even require you to have your own site, so the costs are low to non-existent once you start.

Why Create Printables?

You are in charge of your own goals. Some people want to do it to make money, some want to change their lifestyle for health reasons, and others may just enjoy creating content as a side hustle. Having an interest of any kind will help you stay focused, engage your audience and build your business.

You also can’t expect overnight success. This isn’t a get-rich quick niche, though it can be lucrative after you get started selling. You will need some skills, but it’s nothing complex or with a big learning curve.

There are a lot of resources out there to teach you how to start selling printables. It's not hard if you know where to start. Plus, it can't be more daunting than other things you do for work already, right? I mean, there are people in this market of all ages and abilities.

They may not know where to start, but it really is simpler than people think. Selling printables online is no different from selling any other product. You need a product idea and a platform to sell them on.

Anyone can have success by following these 3 key steps:

1. You need a strategy for selling these items.
2. You need to know how to set up your downloads and
3. how to attract customers.

Those are the three basics involved with how to create printables for online sales.

Do you recall the exact moment that made you think about creating printables in the first place? This can be a good place to start if you want know if you’ll be able to follow through on this type of business for the long haul.

There’s a lot of variety, so there are niches that appeal to all kinds of interests - from the serious to funny side.

While I hope you know all about the benefits of printables, I know that others may not understand why they're a good idea to create and sell. One reason is because they provide a great passive income. Creating and selling printables is a fantastic money-making way to put your creativity skills to work for you.

It’s one of the fastest growing ways to make money online today, which is why there are more & more people getting on board. Having a passive income means that once you’ve created the product, you won’t put in a lot of time or energy into upkeep on your products or customers.

These products can keep generating money, and you don’t have to continue to do the same thing over and over again. You can create even more content or put time into other sources of income.

But, you could build it into something that can help you be your own boss and leave the job you don’t like. There's no such thing as an easy road to success, so don't expect this to be a lazy or easy way to make money.

Learn the platforms to sell your printables online

You'll have to go through the steps of setting up to sell your product wherever you upload it. Depending on the type of printables you sell, you may need to make changes like updating dates, and socially accepted terms.

You may need to discontinue some printables based on changes in the environment, but it's worth it if done properly. You may be putting in more work at first, but once people catch on and start buying, you'll have a lot more free time.

Once your brand and store are set up and the printables are listed, you'll make money on these at all hours of the day - including when you sleep - because they're in high demand and this demand hasn't shown any sign of slowing down.

In fact, printables continue to grow as new ideas are developed. Another reason why you would want to sell them is that they have a big audience appeal. These consumers keep coming back for more.

Learn how to create printables for online sales

It's worth taking a break to make sure you know how to do everything properly from the start of the project no matter what software or platforms you are using. Taking a few minutes up front will save you many hours later on.

Whatever you create, you can't just stick it at the back of your shop and hope customers find it. You need to make sure that what you've created is up to standard so people will love it and this means you’ll have to put in the work to create whatever printable product you’ve decided on.

You may or may not have a lot to learn. It depends on what your skills currently are. Maybe you already know a software to create printables with, like Powerpoint or Photoshop. However, those cost money, and there are some great free alternatives to those paid platforms. 

I've personally been using Google Slides since I started in 2017. Check out the video below, where I showed a group how to use Google Slides to edit and repurpose a printable planner. 

This video is from early-on in my knowledge and understanding, so I've learned more tricks since then, but it's a great how-to for beginners. 

Narrow down which printables to create online

I’m sure you still have questions…

Well, what should I make? Think about your life! 

What would you want, need & enjoy? Those are great things to make.

Using your own wants and needs as a starting point is what launches millions of new businesses every year. 

I started creating printables online because I had a special needs daughter to keep track of. There were doctors and medicine, treatments and therapy to keep track of, but at the time, I couldn't find the kind of trackers I needed. So, I learned how to make them myself. Then, I turned that new knowledge into something I could monetize and help other special needs moms to do. 

Spy on your competition and see what they’re up to and what is selling well on sites like Etsy. It’s possible that anything that is selling well might be worth putting into your own business.

Just think about the paper products that you need to maintain your schedule. Everything from recipes to uplifting images and more are part of the printable world.

When you’re thinking about whether or not to start something, don’t get too bogged down in the details. It's easier than it seems. Once you know what you’re doing, printables can be made and set up in a few hours. So if you’ve been thinking about creating them, don’t wait!

Creating them is even faster once you master the type of printable you’ve chosen for your niche. Plus, the more of them you make, the faster you’ll get at it.

You can have designs done in a short amount of time that are not too difficult. It could be several minutes or it could be a day depending on your project's scope.

You can create templates and tweak one element, like the design or image on the page, in mere seconds. Because they’re quick to make, this means that you can have a large product inventory quickly, which translates into more money for you.

When you get used to the process, you can create and upload 5 printables a day. After a week, you'll have amassed 35 of them ready to sell. You could make a few printables per day or create some individual sheets in various niches, depending on what works best for you. 

Benefits of selling printables online

You get to enjoy all the benefits of selling a digital product, like avoiding shipping hassles, inventory issues and more. 

There won’t be a backlog of tangible products and shipping envelopes or boxes cluttering up your home waiting to be sent or stored in your garage hogging all the space. 

There’s very little hassle whatsoever involved when you get into making printable items. Plus, this is a great creative outlet as well as being a money maker.

You won't have to worry about your home being cluttered product backlogs, shipping envelopes or boxes. With printables, there’s no actual storage involved other than for digital files.

Another thing I like is how starting this business doesn't require a lot of money. You could actually get started for free.

1. Use design software like Google Slides and Canva.
2. Use Etsy for free to start. There are fees, but not right away. There are other sites like Gumroad as well. They’ll take fees out of whatever you sell, but nothing to get started.
3. And, you can download free templates with private label rights that allow you to edit and even add your own branding, then sell them. Check out the list of places to get a free template with PLR (private label rights).

I'm guessing you are ready to try to create printables for online sales using Google Slides if you got the bottom of the page! What platforms will you use? Weigh the pros and cons of each if you're trying to decide between a few, then just do it!