When I was new to Canva, I used it only to create pins for my Pinterest account. At that time, I had no idea that it could be used for more than just creating graphics. While I was using it to design graphics, some people were using it to make money. Not just a few hundred dollars, but a full-time income.
One day, while browsing on Pinterest, I stumbled upon an advertisement that was selling Canva templates on Etsy. I checked their Etsy store and was shocked to know how many sales they had. They had over 7,000 sales and they were selling a bundle of Canva templates for $29. After seeing those numbers, I immediately got hooked into it because they were selling something so basic like Canva templates. At that moment, I realized that Canva isn’t just a graphic design tool, but it’s a printer that can print money if you know how to use it. Using Canva, you can create various digital products and sell them to make money. You can create products like printables, social media templates, stickers and so much more.
The best part about Canva is, it’s so easy to use that even a complete beginner can use it to create digital products that is ready to sell. If you don’t know even “C” about Canva, then you can watch a short tutorial video on YouTube about it and you’ll easily understand most of its basic concepts.
In this post, I’ll show you how you can create your first-ever Canva template and make money selling it, step-by-step. I’ll keep it as simple as possible so you can easily understand every step, clean and clear. By the end of this post, you’ll have a clear roadmap to launch your own Canva template business today itself.
What Actually is a Canva Template?
Before we begin our tutorial, let’s understand what a Canva template actually is. A Canva template is a pre-designed layout/design that others can customize and use for their own purposes. For example, you can create a resume template where people only have to change the name and details to make it theirs. Or you can make social media post templates where people can just replace the text and images to make it their own unique social media post.
The main reason templates are so valuable is because they save time and by using them even beginners can create professional-level designs. Many small business owners, students, and content creators want designs for various purposes, but they don’t want to start designing from scratch. That’s where Canva templates come into play. They would rather buy a ready-made design that looks professional and only takes a few minutes to edit than create themselves from scratch.
Step 1: Choose the Type of Template You Want to Create
This is the very first and the most important step in the process because the type of template you create will decide how much money you’ll make. If you create a template about such topic that has less demand, then you’ll have problem selling it. But if you create your template about a topic that has high demand, then you’ll get more sales and make more money.
There are many options you can choose from. I’d suggest you to pick something that excites you. Some popular templates include resumes, planners, business cards, Instagram posts, Pinterest pins, eBooks, invitations, and workbooks.
When I first started, I picked social media templates because I was already creating pins for my Pinterest account. So, it was a lot more easier for me to create Pinterest pin templates. While choosing a template to create, make sure that it has high demand in the market and people are ready to pay for it without hesitation. If you’re not sure what to create, then just go on Etsy and type “Canva templates” in the search bar. You’ll get a lot of ideas to create your own template.
Check This Out: 16 Best Digital Products to Create & Sell in 2026.
Step 2: Start Designing Your Template
Now comes the fun part, which is actually designing the template. Just go to Canva and create a free account if you don’t already have one. You can do various things on Canva for free, but to share your design as a template, you’ll need to have its paid plan. At this time of creating the post, Canva Pro costs $55/year, which is not bad if you’re serious about making and selling templates.
After you sign up for Canva, you’ll get an option named “Create” on the left-hand side of the screen (if you’re on a computer). Then, choose the size you want depending on your template. For example, if you’re making Instagram posts, then choose the square size empty template or just search “Instagram post” and you’ll get the size you want. If you’re making a resume, pick the letter size. On the home page of Canva, you’ll get a search bar. You can type whatever you want to create and you’ll get an empty template with the exact size you’re looking for.
After that, you’ll be taken to Canva’s design tab. There you can start designing your template using Canva’s drag-and-drop tools. You can add text, shapes, images, and colors as you want in your template. Don’t make your design overcomplicated. try to keep it simple, clean, and easy to edit because people will buy your template just to make their work faster. And if it’s overly complicated, they will need to spend more time editing it.
When I made my first template, I spent hours trying to make it perfect. Later I learnt that simple designs often sell better because they are easier for buyers to edit.
Check This Out: 9 Simple Ways to Make Money with Canva.
Step 3: Save and Turn It into a Template Link
Once your design is ready, you need to make it shareable. To do that, just click on the “Share” button at the top right-hand side of your screen. Then click on “Template link”. If you don’t see the Template Link option, then just click on the “See All” option and you’ll get it. This is the exact link your buyers will use to access and use your template. When they open the link, Canva will create a copy of your design in their account. That way your original design will stay as it is no matter how much they edit and use it.
Step 4: Creating a Listing for Your Templates
Now that you have your template, you need to list it for sale to make money. This is where you show off your template to potential buyers and explain why they should buy it.
To list your templates for sale, first you need to make preview images for the buyers to see. To create preview images, you can just export (save) your designs and show them as preview images. You can show your designs as it is or place them on mockups to make them look professional. For example, you can show your resume on a laptop screen or your Instagram post on a phone screen. Don’t worry, you can easily create such mockups for free on Canva.
Then, you need to write a simple description explaining what your product is and what it includes. For example, “This is a set of 20 Instagram post templates for Canva. You can easily edit colors, text, and fonts. Perfect for small business owners and content creators.” This is just an example. You need to create something similar to this for your template. You can even use AI tools like ChatGPT to create simple and catchy description for your listing.
At the end of your description, don’t forget to add instructions for buyers. You need to tell them that after purchase they will receive a PDF file in their email with links to the templates. (You can easily create a PDF using Google Docs.) This is how you deliver your templates to your buyers. You can easily set up this process on any site you want to sell your templates on, whether it’s Etsy, Gumroad, or something else.
Selling Your Templates (Two Options to Choose From!)
You can either sell your templates on marketplaces like Etsy, Gumroad, Redbubble or you can sell them by creating your own storefront on sites like Payhip or WordPress. Here I’ll tell you about selling on Etsy and Payhip.
Check This Out: Best Platforms to Sell Digital Products.
1. Etsy
Etsy is one of the best marketplaces for selling Canva templates because there are millions of people ready to buy your designs.
To get started, open an Etsy seller account. Then, create a listing for your templates, set your price and you’re ready to go. Most Canva templates sell in bundles. Normally, in a bundle, you can find 5-50 templates. You can sell those bundles for 5 to 40 dollars depending on how many templates are in the bundle. The more templates you have, the more you can charge.
To make sure your listing stands out and reaches more people, create a catchy title and add tags throughout your listing. By adding keywords in your listing, people can find your templates in search results. Use keywords like “Canva template”, “Pinterest Pin Design” or whatever your template is about.
2. Payhip
If you want to create your own store instead of selling on marketplaces like Etsy, then Payhip is a great option. The best part about it is, it’s 100% free. On Payhip, you can set up your store in just a few minutes and start selling your templates. While selling on marketplaces like Etsy, you need to pay a fee to Etsy for each sale. So, if you create your own storefront and sell your templates through it, then you don’t have to pay such fees.
To create your store on Payhip, just go to Payhip and create an account. As I said it’s completely free. Then, upload your PDF file with the Canva templates link. After that, add your product title, description, and preview images. Once this process is completed, you’ll have your own store link that you can share with anyone and anywhere you want.
Step 5: Promoting Your Templates
Listing your templates for sale is just the first step. You also need to promote them in order to get sales. You can share it on Pinterest, TikTok, Instagram or through your blog. I personally sell my designs through my blog and I get a good amount of sales doing it.
If you have some money to spend, then you can even try running paid ads to promote your templates. If you’re selling pin design templates, then run ads on Pinterest. If you’re selling resume templates, then running ads on LinkedIn and Facebook would be much better.
Check This Out: 5 Most Profitable Online Businesses You Can Start Today for Free!
Conclusion
So, that was all about creating and selling Canva templates. Selling Canva templates is one of the easiest online business you can start. You don’t need to be a professional designer or have a ton of money to start it. All you need is creativity, consistency, and patience. The entire process is super simple. You pick a type of template you want to create, design it in Canva, turn it into a template link, list it for sale and make money. If you can market it well, then it can turn into a steady source of passive income.
At this point, you know everything you needed to know about creating and selling Canva templates. So, what’s stopping you? Go and create your first template right now.
