want to make passive income by selling Canva templates on Etsy Here's exactly how I started from zero experience to a full six-figure business And in this video I'm going to show you how to do it step by step Here's what we'll cover Create a simple business plan design your branding materials set up your Etsy shop do effective product research design your Canva templates create your product mockups in PDF write a strong title description and pick the right keywords Upload your listing to Etsy and promoting your shop We've got a lot to talk about so let's get into [Music] it Okay step one is creating a business plan And I know that might sound super serious or overwhelming but I promise it doesn't have to be I always like to start here because if you don't have your thoughts organized and you don't know where you're going with your business you're going to end up running it blindly And that usually leads to wasted time burnout or just giving up entirely Having an overview even just a simple one helps you stay focused and actually reach your goals Think of it like a mini road map You don't need a 10-page document Just knowing the basics will do the trick So here are a few things to include when writing your beginner-friendly business plan First are your goals What do you want this business to do for you Are you hoping to make an extra $200 a month or turn it into a full-time income like I did Knowing your end goal helps guide how much effort you put in Like if you're trying to turn this into a full-time thing you'll probably treat it more seriously But if it's just a side hustle for now you might move a little slower and that's totally fine Either way it's just helpful to be clear on what you want so you can take steps that actually move you in that direction Number two your target market So ask yourself what kind of templates do I want to sell Who am I selling to What problems am I helping them solve For example are you creating templates for small business owners Maybe for content creators or brides to be Knowing your niche helps you design more intentionally and connect with your audience faster Now don't stress if you're not 100% sure yet You can always validate this with research later For now having just a general idea is a great starting point Third is your business name You'll need this for your Etsy shop and your brand identity Don't overthink it Something memorable simple and related to your niche works great You can even use your name plus studio or designs to start Number four is your branding And this includes your colors your fonts and your overall vibe So ask yourself do I want my brand to feel fun and playful minimal and modern elegant and feminine What colors and fonts represent that You can even create a simple brand board in Canva And you know I like to spend a little extra time on this part because you got to remember you're selling Canva templates The first thing people see is your branding and that's what they'll use to judge whether your products are any good If your branding is all over the place they might wonder if your templates are worth buying So it's definitely worth getting this part right from the start And number five create a schedule Now that you've got the basics mapped out create a simple to-do list and schedule your tasks You know one mistake I made early on was trying to do everything in one sitting That's a fast track to burnout What helped me so much was breaking the process down into small manageable steps and assigning days to each one Trust me this will save you from overwhelm later on For example Monday finalize business name and brand board Tuesday set up Etsy shop Wednesday start your first template design Even if you have only 30 minutes a day showing up consistently adds up fast So before you jump into designing templates or opening your shop take a moment to map this out Write it in a notebook type it in your notes app whatever works for you this will be your foundation Now that you've got your business plan and direction it's time to make it look legit with some branding materials These are the little things that make your shop look put together when someone clicks on your listing Now here's what you'll need at the very least Number one a logo Number two a shop cover that banner across the top of your Etsy shop And number three an order receipt banner and this shows up in the email your customers get when they purchase something Optional but nice to have You can create all of these using Canva Now a few tips when creating your branding Number one keep it consistent Use the same fonts and colors you picked in your brand board This helps people recognize your brand across your products and your listings Number two think about how you want people to feel Branding isn't just visuals It's also the vibe Do you want people to feel inspired maybe empowered organized fun calm Whatever it is make sure your visuals reflect that consistently across your shop And lastly don't overthink it You can always rebrand later The goal right now is to look clean and cohesive not perfect If you're not sure where to start search logo or Etsy shop banner in Canvas template library and start from there Customize it download and you're done This is the part that really makes your shop feel real so have fun with it This one's actually my favorite part But don't let yourself get stuck here for too long Remember done is better than perfect All right now let's get your Etsy shop up and running So here's a step-by-step breakdown of what you'll need to do Before you even click open a shop make sure you have these things ready your bank account information your credit or debit card your ID and the branding materials you just created Having this all prepped will save you time Now go to etsy.com/sell and click open your Etsy shop You'll be asked to create an account if you don't have one yet And you can skip all these questions for later Now choose your shop language country and currency Create your shop name This can be your brand name Don't worry you can change this later on Now Etsy requires you to create at least one listing before your shop can go live Even if you're not ready with your actual product yet you can just upload a dummy listing So go to Canva and download any template For example let's go with an Instagram template Choose a category Select digital files Who made it Select I did What is it A finished product When was it made 2020 to 2025 Choose created by me Hit save and continue Then write Instagram template as the title Upload the photo you downloaded in Canva You can also upload that same photo here on the digital files Write a short description set a price and quantity and you can leave the rest empty Just make sure to deactivate this listing right after you open your shop so no one accidentally buys it You'll be charged 20 cents for this and this is a onetime listing fee for that first product Next is to set up your payment and billing information To choose which country you're located for tax purposes what type of seller are you If you are just starting out you're most likely under individual or sole proprietor unless you already set up a corporation for your business in which case you select the second option Then it'll ask for your personal details like your name date of birth address and phone number Enter your bank account where you want your earnings to go Then it'll ask you to verify your identity by uploading a piece of your identification and doing a selfie to match the photo in your ID Once your identity is verified provide your card details to cover listing fees transaction fees and any other charges you might incur In Canada the setup fee is $29 which covers the cost of opening your shop But this fee may vary based on your location and currency And the last step is setting up your shop security like two-factor authentication Then you can finally open your shop Now you can upload your branding materials Now you might be wondering why I'm telling you to set up your Etsy shop before you even have all your products ready And here's why Etsy needs to verify your bank account first by sending a tiny deposit to it just to make sure that it's really you and that everything's connected properly This can take up to five business days so it's better to get it out of the way early rather than waiting around later Also a little heads up Etsy sometimes randomly suspends new shops Yes even if you didn't do anything wrong Super annoying I know but don't freak out You can file an appeal and explain you're a brand new seller just getting started In my experience as long as you didn't break any rules like using copyrighted stuff Etsy usually reinstates your shop within a few days This is why I like to handle all of this first It gives you a time to fix any issues whether it's verifying your bank or dealing with a random suspension before you've spent all this time prepping your products Trust me the last thing you want is to be ready to launch and then realize you can't even open your shop yet Now let's talk about product research This is where you want to go back to your business plan and revisit the questions What kind of templates do I want to sell Who am I selling to What problems am I helping them solve Because when you know who you're creating for it makes choosing what to sell so much easier I always say this tip in my videos the best way to pick a product is to ask yourself what problems can I solve for people That's where the magic happens Because when you focus on solving problems you start thinking of products as solutions And that's exactly what people are looking for on Etsy Let me give you a few examples Let's say the problem is I can't stay organized The solution is to create digital planners to-do lists or habit trackers These help people stay on top of their day whether it's for work school or just life in general Now let's say the problem is I don't know how to make my business look professional Your solution is to sell branding kits business card templates logo templates or thank you card templates Small business owners love these because they save time and make their shop look legit instantly Now another problem could be "I want my wedding to look cute but I can't afford a designer." Your solution could be create wedding signage invitations save the date or seating chart templates Brides love diying with Canva because it's cheaper and it still looks amazing At the end of the day people aren't just buying a cute Canva template They're buying a solution to a problem So don't just choose what you think looks nice Choose with purpose Another really solid strategy is to look at what's already selling well on Etsy Like I always say success leaves clues You don't have to start from scratch or invent something totally new In fact some of the best performing shops are simply putting their own spin on proven ideas If you already have a product idea in mind head over to Etsy and do a quick search See if other sellers are offering something similar and take note of the ones with a bestseller tag or lots of reviews That's your confirmation that there's already a demand for it Now I'm not saying copy anyone okay But use what you find as inspiration Look at their listing photos their keywords their mockups their reviews everything Then ask yourself how can I make this even better Maybe you can simplify it add more value improve the design or bundle it differently Your goal is to stand out while still tapping into what's working So no you don't have to reinvent the wheel here Just find a wheel that's already rolling and make a smoother cuter or more helpful version of it You know product research is a whole topic on its own Seriously I could talk about it for hours So I actually have a dedicated video on product research I'll leave the link down below if you want to go deeper You can use tools to help you speed up your research I recommend Sales Samurai to find keyword data trending products and even track your competition It's super beginner friendly and I'll leave a link below in case you want to try their free trial But at the end of all this just remember one thing Don't get stuck in analysis paralysis A lot of people never get started because they're waiting for the perfect product idea But the truth is the best way to figure things out is to start with one product and learn as you go The beauty of selling digital products is that there is little to no upfront cost so you can pivot anytime If a product doesn't sell well tweak it or try something new You are not stuck So don't overthink this part Get your first product out there and see what happens You can always evolve later Okay now comes the fun part actually designing your templates in Canva Now I have a dedicated video for this as well because honestly this step is a whole beast on its own and deserves way more attention I'll leave a link in the description box if you want to go deeper But for now let me walk you through the basics so you can get started First is find inspiration One of the best ways to get ideas for design is to see ideas So start exposing yourself to good design not to copy but to spark creativity Scroll through Pinterest Check out what's trending on Instagram or Tik Tok Peek at what's selling well on Etsy Flip through magazines or even walk around a museum or bookstore Design inspiration is literally everywhere When you consume more creative content your brain starts to pick up what looks good Layouts colors font spacing all the little things that make a big difference The goal is to gather as many ideas as you can and put your own spin on them Next is to create different products Don't put all your hopes on one template and expect instant sales Etsy usually doesn't work like that You need to experiment with different types of products Maybe you launched a business card template and it flops That doesn't mean it's a bad idea It might just need a new spin Or maybe it's not your winning product Try something else Maybe a link in bio a social media kit or a thank you card Keep testing and putting new things out there You honestly never know what's going to take off So just keep creating and let your shop evolve Variations equals volume Here's a little trick Once you have one product don't stop there Let's say you design a cute business card template Now make four to five variations of that same thing You know change the font try a minimal version switch up the color palette You don't need to reinvent the wheel every single time This is how you go from one product to 10 fast And the more listings you have the more chances you have to show up in search and make sales So yeah one idea can turn into a whole little collection Next is to set the right dimensions So once you know the type of product you're creating go into Canva and search if they already have a set dimension for that product Or you can also set custom dimensions if needed I'll put some examples here for you A quick Google search will usually tell you what the right dimensions are for a product Next is to design cohesively So try to keep things visually cohesive Stick to two to three fonts a simple color palette and clean layouts Less is more especially if you're designing for someone else to customize Pro tip always use free fonts and elements inside Canva If your customer doesn't have Canva Pro you don't want them to open your template and get frustrated that they can't access half the design And lastly test it before you call it done Test your own template like a buyer would You know open the link try editing it see how easy it is to use You want to make sure the customer experience is smooth and frustrationf free One thing I always remind people is design is just like a muscle The more you use it the stronger it gets When you're first starting out your Canva templates might feel super basic or you might doubt if your stuff even looks good enough to sell That's normal But just like going to the gym the more you show up and practice the more your eye for design improves You know you start noticing better font pairings You get faster at layouts you understand what looks professional versus what feels amateur All of that comes with repetition So don't wait until you feel like a designer to start The only way to get better is to keep creating Your first few templates aren't supposed to be perfect They're supposed to get you in the game So keep flexing that design muscle and I promise you'll surprise yourself with how good you get Now that your Canva template is ready it's time to make it look good in your Etsy listing And I'm going to be real with you here Your product photos can make or break your shop You could have the most amazing template ever but if your listing photos look meh or confusing people won't click And if they don't click they won't buy So here's what I recommend to make your product stand out Number one use mock-ups Canva has tons of free mockup frames or you can search for iPad mockup desktop screen paper mockup Make your template look like it's being used in real life Next is to highlight features Don't make buyers guess what they're getting Use additional slides to break down the benefits and contents of your product For example you can create product images with text overlays that highlight This includes 15 editable pages Fully customizable in Canva Perfect for creators small business owners or coaches etc Next is to add a video This is such an underrated feature but adding a quick video can seriously boost your conversions People love seeing a product in action especially if they're not sure how it works or what they're getting Now you might be thinking "How do I make a video for a digital product?" Here's how Record a screen recording of you scrolling through the template or customizing it quickly in Canva Keep it short Around 5 to 15 seconds is enough Add text overlays if you want to highlight features like fully editable or instant download Once your product photos are done time to work on your PDF And you might be asking what the PDF is for Well this is how you deliver your product You'll attach a PDF file that your customer will download after purchase And that PDF will contain the template link and any instructions you want to include This is also your chance to look professional You know maybe make the PDF match your brand add a thank you note and maybe even offer a little discount code for their next purchase You can also include a quick FAQ or basic tips on how to use your product Here's how to turn your design into a sharable template So in your Canva file click share in the top right corner Click see all and click template link Click create template link and copy that link Oh my gosh I said link so many times Now paste that into your PDF along with your instructions When you're done save your PDF as a high-res file PDF standard is fine And this will be your digital delivery file that you upload to your Etsy listing The title description and keywords are basically how people find your product on Etsy So we want to make sure we're speaking Etsy's language here Here's how I like to go about it So use keywords you found during research Remember when you did your product research This is where those keywords come in You can grab keywords from Sales Samurai keywords you've seen other successful sellers use or even just type into Etsy search bar and see what comes up Those auto suggestions are gold If you're not confident with writing titles or descriptions you can absolutely use chat GPT to help Just make sure you include the keywords you already found so that it knows what to prioritize Here's a sample prompt you can use Can you help me write a strong Etsy title product description and a list of 13 tags for this template Please make sure to include the following keywords I found during research So insert your list of keywords here Keep the tone clear and optimized for Etsy search You can tweak the prompt to fit whatever product you're creating It works like magic and saves a lot of time This is actually what I use Now quick tips for the title Use the most relevant keywords at the beginning Etsy favors front-loaded keywords For the description be clear and informative Tell buyers what they're getting who it's for and why it's useful You can also include basic instructions on how to use the template here Now for the tags you get 13 tags Please use all of them Now that your product is ready it's time to officially list it in your Etsy shop This is one of the most exciting parts because it finally feels real Here's a simple step-by-step breakdown of what to do when uploading your product Go to your Etsy dashboard click on listings and click add a listing and get ready to fill in the details Select the right category So for example if you're selling a planner type digital planner and Etsy will suggest the best category for this Select digital files Who made it I did What is it A finished product When was it made 2020 to 2025 Created by me And hit continue Use the optimized title you created earlier with your keywords Upload your product photos Make sure to use your best photo as the first one because it's your thumbnail Also upload your product video if you created one And upload the PDF file you created earlier that contains the Canva template link This is what your customer will download upon purchase Now paste in the description you wrote Make sure it clearly explains what the customer is buying and how to use it Set your price You know look at what similar products are charging to get a feel Don't underpric just because you're new Price with confidence Set the quantity to $999 You can add the templates colors here if applicable Enter your tags Again you get 13 Use all of them These are super important for SEO Create a section for your product Think of sections as categories that help customers quickly find what they're looking for It makes your shop easier to browse especially once you have lots of products already You also have the option to feature a listing which means it'll show up at the very top of your shop I recommend saving this spot for your best performing or most eye-catching products Something that represents your shop well and could draw people in right away Set the renewal options to automatic Once everything is filled out hit publish And just like that your product is up Now you're officially in business All right let's talk about marketing aka getting eyes on your product You can have the best product in the world but if no one knows it exists no one's going to buy it Period This is why I believe selling well comes down to visibility Yes of course your product has to offer value but value alone isn't enough if people don't see it And that's where promotion comes in Let's break it down On Etsy your goal is to get your listings seen Ideally you want your product to appear in the first few pages of search results because let's be real most people don't scroll past page three Now Etsy uses SEO search engine optimization to decide which listings show up first So your title tags keywords all of that stuff matters But when you're just starting out and don't have sales or reviews yet your visibility is naturally lower So here's what I recommend Option one Etsy ads If you have even just $1 a day you can start running Etsy ads Etsy will prioritize showing your product to more people based on your keywords and product relevance And as you start to get clicks and sales Etsy's algorithm picks up that your listing is performing well And it helps boost your organic ranking too And once you have more data like which listings are converting you can scale your ads accordingly You don't need a big budget to start Just a little bit helps you get seen while you're new Now option two is free marketing with Pinterest Now if you're not ready to spend money on ads that's totally fine You can still promote your listings for free And one of the best ways to do that is through Pinterest Pinterest is basically a search engine for ideas and people there are already looking for digital products That's why it works so well Here's what to do Create eye-catching pins using Canva Then add your keywords to your pin title and description Link your pins directly to your Etsy listing or your shop And the great thing about Pinterest is that your pins can keep getting seen for weeks or even months Unlike social media posts that disappear in 24 hours Pinterest is long game marketing Bottom line is visibility plus value equals sales Okay we've made it to the final part And if you're still here I just want to say you're already ahead of 90% of people who say they want to start but never actually do anything about it So before we wrap up I want to leave you with a few final tips and some encouragement especially if you're feeling a little overwhelmed Number one start messy but start anyway Done is better than perfect Your first product won't be your best and that's okay Mine definitely wasn't You'll get better as you go and you can always update your listings later The most important thing is to get that first one up Number two be a learner This digital product world is always evolving so keep learning You know watch tutorials take notes test new ideas You don't have to know everything to get started but staying curious will take you far Number three treat it like a business not just a hobby Even if you're just starting out and you're unsure where this will go show up for it like it matters Because if you treat it like a side hustle that could change your life it just might And lastly believe in yourself I know that sounds cheesy but trust me this matters You're going to have days when you doubt yourself or wonder if it's worth it But if you stay consistent and keep showing up you'll be shocked at where you could be just a few months from now Just remember the only way to truly fail is if you give up So don't I hope this breakdown helped you see that starting your own digital product business on Etsy is very possible I started from zero to you know just figuring it out as I went And if I can do it and so many other regular people can too then why not you Before you go if you need a little help getting started I'm giving away 10 resellable Canva templates you can download for free in the description box These are perfect if you want to see how selling templates works or if you just need a head start And I have to tell you something I'm very excited about I'm building something called the vault and it's going to be a total game changer think instant access to over 1,000 ready to sell digital products all based on products that have actually sold well in my own Etsy shop But that's not all I'm also including Etsy shop branding materials product photo templates keyword research and step-by-step training to help you hit the ground running Basically everything I just talked about in this video done for you I'll be sharing more details in my upcoming videos but just know the whole point of the vault is to help you skip the overwhelm and start making sales way faster When you download the free templates in the description you'll also get added to my email list so you'll be the first to know the second the vault goes live So don't miss out Thank you so much for being here Seriously it means the world And if you haven't yet don't forget to subscribe It really really helps me out And I'll see you in the next video Bye [Music]