Have you ever felt like you’re much more than everyone perceives you to be? I’m sure Canva feels so. Everyone, no matter the profession, is using Canva today in 2024. With more than 100 million users, it is the most popular design tool. But it is not only about making PPTs, carousels, and banners. You need to ask yourself – “How to earn from Canva?”
Anyone can use Canva; anyone can be good at Canva. But not everyone has the time or ideas to start earning from Canva. But you do, only if you know what to sell and how.
Don’t fret too much now. In this article, I’m giving you some very lucrative options on how to make money with Canva.
How to Make Money with Canva?
Many people have asked me – “How to earn from Canva?” “How to make money on Canva?” “Can you sell Canva designs?” and whatnot. The first thing you need to know is – Yes, you can earn from Canva.
The second thing you need to know is ways to earn from Canva. Now, there are countless ways to earn from Canva. But we’ll only talk about 7 of the most popular methods –
Method 1: Graphic Design Services
This is the best method, in my opinion. Why? Because it depends more on your skills as a designer and your creative head. If you have a knack for design, you can offer your graphic design services using Canva.
Many individuals and businesses are on the lookout for eye-catching graphics for their social media, websites, and marketing materials. And what’s better than a tool like Canva? Here’s how to get started:
A. Define design services on Canva:
You know you can create custom graphics, infographics, social media posts, and more using Canva’s user-friendly interface. But the key is to pick your specialty or niche.
Say you want to create infographics for tech companies. Create a bunch of awesome infographics tailored to some big brands and build your portfolio.
B. Tips for finding clients:
Join freelance websites and private Facebook groups, and advertise your services on social media. The point is to build and leverage your network to find potential clients. Share your work on any and every platform you see fit. Build a brand.
Simultaneously, take out 1 hour every day and add 50 ideal prospects in a sheet. Take another 1 hour to send 20-25 of them a personalized cold email or DM. Every day. If done right, you’ll have your first client within 30 days.
C. Pricing strategies:
Determine your rates based on the complexity of the design, your experience, and the market demand. But I know these things don’t really make sense when you’re a beginner with no knowledge. So, do this:
Set deliverables. For example – I’ll deliver 20 infographics and 2 PPTs every month.
Set a monthly retainer or per graphic price. For example – I’ll charge $1000/month or $20/graphic. However, you see fit.
Method 2: Selling Custom Templates
Let’s face this – people are lazy. And this creates earning opportunities for people who aren’t.
So, if you’re lazy, creating customizable templates on Canva can be a boon for you. People, specifically other designers and Canva users, are always searching for templates that suit their unique needs.
Consider creating a suite of unique templates that can satisfy the needs of the masses! Here’s how you can profit from this demand:
A. The demand for customizable templates:
Be it code or design, templates are always a hot commodity as they save time. Plus, design templates make design accessible to everyone, creating a constant demand.
Hence, again, pick a niche and start designing a suite of templates. It could be templates for professional presentations, Instagram carousels, etc.
B. How to design and market templates:
Learn how to create templates that cater to specific niches and promote them through various channels. Start by creating a normal design on Canva, save it in a specific folder, and you’re done.
Now, all you need to do is pick up a few excerpts one-by-one and start marketing. Post them on social media, Pinterest, groups, etc., for people to notice and eventually buy.
C. Earnings potential:
As your templates gain popularity, you can generate a steady stream of income. You can create a custom sales page to pick up payments and deliver edit access to the templates or use platforms like Gumroad to automate.
Let’s motivate you more – Consider you’re selling a suite of templates for $20. Get 100 buyers a month, and you’ve $2000 in your pocket. That’s more than an average developer in India.
The key – market like a boss.
Method 3: Creating & Selling Digital Products
The digital product market is booming, and Canva can be your gateway to it. Every creator, influencer, writer, and marketer is selling digital downloads. At times, they make it themselves; other times, they hire people for it.
You have a chance in both. Here’s how:
A. Overview of digital product creation:
Understand the types of digital products you can create, like eBooks, printables, and guides. Now, if you’re already known for a skill, create one for yourself. Another case would be to reach out to big creators and sell your design services.
B. Popular digital products to sell on Canva:
Canva can help you make presentations, eBooks, guides, and whatnot. You only need to explore niches such as education, health, and business, where digital products are highly sought after.
Next is to pick a type of digital product. In case you’re confused, close your eyes and pick an eBook. Open eBook design and Canva and start creating.
C. Marketing and sales strategies:
Oh, the marketing again! I forgot to mention that whatever you design or build if you can’t market it – then it’s all pointless.
I read this in some books –
“A good product with no marketing will take you nowhere. But an average product with good marketing can get you some fortune.” Let it sink in.
Method 4: Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing on Canva is a fantastic way to earn a passive income without doing much. But know that this won’t make you rich. It is simply registering for the Canva affiliate program and earning a commission through that.
To be exact, you can earn up to $36 when your referral buys Canva Pro. Now, how to earn from the Canva affiliate program? Here’s how to do it:
A. Introduction to affiliate marketing on Canva:
Understand what affiliate marketing is and how it works on Canva. In short, affiliate marketing is something where you promote a product, and if someone buys from your link, you get a commission.
B. Finding relevant affiliate programs:
Discover Canva-related affiliate programs and products that align with your niche. It’s not necessary to enroll in the Canva Affiliate Program. You can also become an affiliate for Canva-related products and earn a commission per sale.
For example – I’m selling my Canva templates, and I make you an affiliate for 20% per sale. You get me a sale of $100. I earn $80, you get $20. As simple as that.
Although it is an easy way to make money from Canva, I personally don’t recommend this. It is super-competitive with no real requirement of any skill set and isn’t very profitable. Work on something real; come on!
Method 5: Design Printables
Did it ever cross your mind that your Canva designs can be brought to life? No? Silly! Consider designing coloring pages, stickers, or merch. People can use these personally and professionally.
You can easily sell these designs on Etsy. But exactly how to use Canva to sell on Etsy?
A. Use Canva with print-on-demand platforms:
First of all, create a bunch of designs keeping in mind different products. Mug designs, planners, calendars, to-do lists, etc. Mostly the stationary items!
Learn how to combine Canvas designs and use them on print-on-demand platforms like Printify or Etsy. Of course, I won’t teach you this here. Want a detailed guide on this? Reach out – @fueledfountane.
B. Earnings potential and challenges:
When you design and sell physical products from Canva designs, you are no longer just a designer. You’ve now entered the eCommerce market, and the earning potential in eCommerce is huge.
Obviously, the challenges are huge as well. As it is a highly competitive market and requires some upfront investment, succeeding in this method is harder than others.
Method 6: Online Courses and Tutorials
If you’re a Canva pro (not a pro user, but a pro designer), you can teach others your skills and monetize your expertise. If you’re online daily, you know that the teaching model has become the most profitable and easy online business.
Here’s how you can do it too:
A. Verify if you really are an expert:
Although everyone has the right to teach and share their knowledge, if you want to be sound and look legit, you need to become a real expert. Before you teach others, teach yourself.
Polish your Canva skills, learn new ones, and then talk about your expertise.
B. How to create and market online courses:
Okay, there are two ways. The first one is for people who don’t have an audience. Create a Canva course, set up a sales page, and start running ads. This may or may not bring up your ideal number of customers. This may or may not get you sales because no one knows you.
And you know that people like to buy from people they know or admire.
The second way is for people who have an audience. Start teaching for free through your content. Build a repo, and tell your audience that you’re an expert. Then, start pre-launch marketing for your course. Give discounts for pre-bookings, etc. And then launch the course in style!
C. What if I don’t have an audience?
Now, if you don’t have an audience and you don’t want to gamble with ads, be prepared for the long-term game.
Start building an audience. Pick a platform, start posting your Canva designs, and market your skills and expertise. Once you’ve built an audience, screw the course, you can sell whatever you want. Even all the methods mentioned in this article!
Method 7: Social Media Branding Services
Ah, the social media marketing! Probably the most sought-after business of the 21st century. But we’re going to improvise it a bit. We won’t talk about the overcrowded SMMA, no.
If you know how to design on Canva and have good creative skills, this one is for you. There is just one tweak: one also needs to learn social media marketing. Which, by the way, is super easy to learn. Here’s how:
A. Managing social media for clients using Canva:
How is it different from normal designing on Canva? See, if you’re going to serve a client for their social media, you must know that they have a set color palette and design structure for their posts.
If they haven’t, then it is your responsibility to build one for them. Once set, all you need to do is come up with content ideas and create them through Canva.
B. Building a social media management business:
Providing the services is cool, but how do you build this business? How do you get clients? The same way we did in method one. Join groups and communities of your ideal clients. Do cold outreach via LinkedIn/Twitter/Instagram DMs and emails.
As you book a client, serve them best. Get testimonials to build your portfolio. Now, as your clientele grows, you can always turn into one of the million SMMAs. Just saying!
C. Pricing and growth strategies:
Clients always look for a service where they get a package. No one wants to hire different people/agencies for different tasks. So, first of all, create an all-round package. Like – “I’ll create a content strategy, design on Canva, and schedule them for you.”
You can include guarantees and risk removals to make it a no-brainer. For example – “I’ll create a content strategy, design on Canva, and schedule them for you. I guarantee you X returns in Y days, or I work for free.”
Once done, you can price whatever you want. By whatever, I don’t mean $100K/month. No. But you can charge anywhere between $500 – $5000 initially. Yes, it’s that easy!
The Blueprint of Earning from Canva
To be honest, you can’t earn from Canva by only designing. You need more skills and exposure. For example, every earning method mentioned in this article requires you to learn sales and marketing. Some require you to learn personal branding and social media marketing.
See, the point is to learn skills and combine them with your Canva skills. Once done, things can easily start as a side hustle and turn into full-time business eventually. The only step you need to take now is – START.
Pick a business model. Pick a niche. Learn the skills. Design from Canva. Build a Portfolio. Do sales and marketing. And boom, you’re earning.
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