I say it all the time. No one wants an ugly printable!

When it comes to selling printables on Etsy, customers are expecting a beautifully-designed product in exchange for their money. 

On Etsy there are a sea of other shops selling the exact same product as you, so how can you make your printable stand out from the rest?

Keep reading for my best tips on designing pretty printables and convincing a buyer to go with your printable over the competition!

Spsss…affiliate links may be used throughout my blog posts. If you buy through my link, I’ll get a small percentage at no extra cost to you. Thank you for any support!

Use Pretty Fonts

Many Etsy printables sellers use Canva to design so you’ll see the same Canva fonts used over and over again (I’m talking to you, Brittany). 

Separate yourself by getting unique commercial-use fonts for your printables. 

My favorite place to get commercial-use fonts is Creative Fabrica because they have over 100,00 to choose from! It’s truly a printables designer’s wonderland.  

You download unlimited fonts (and graphics!) for one low monthly price. It was actually one of the first subscriptions I invested in and I still use it all the time. 

One more thing about fonts is to make sure it’s readable. No one feels like struggling to read what that pretty yet overly squiggly script font says. 

Use Gorgeous Clipart 

Along the same vein, ditch the Canva elements that everyone else uses and get your own commercial-use clipart and graphics. 

You can get clipart from Creative Fabrica, Creative Market, the Hungry JPG or even Etsy. 

Make Sure It’s Functional

Don’t lose sight of the fact that most printables are bought to be printed out at home. 

You want to be mindful of how much color you use in your designs. Otherwise, people will be using a lot of ink, especially if it’s a printable that needs to be printed weekly. 

Ditch the big color blocks and overcrowded designs. 

Instead, use lots of white space in your designs and white backgrounds are better than colored backgrounds. Further, give buyers enough line space to write on.

Use Complementary Colors

Your printable does not need 5 different colors (unless you’re going for a rainbow vibe).

Minimalistic designs do well on Etsy so limit yourself to 2-3 different colors. 

This rule can also be applied to fonts. Try not to use more than 3 different fonts in one design. 

Make Sure Everything is Aligned

Having your words, lines and graphics perfectly aligned is very important. Your printable cannot look like it was made by a 5-year-old. 

No, I’m not being dramatic! Unaligned text and images can cause a potential buyer to leave your listing and buy from someone else. 

Remember people buy aesthetically-pleasing printables.

Add A Little Something Extra

Another way to separate your printable from the rest is to throw in a related bonus printable for free. If you’re selling party invitations, maybe you’ll also include a matching thank you card.

Provide more value to potential customers to win them over!

Proofread 

This should be obvious, but I’ve seen typos and incorrect grammar in printables so be sure to double check!

Typos not only look unprofessional, but they may also lead to poor reviews. 

You can use a tool like Grammarly to make proofreading easy for you!

Design for a Specific Person

Stand out by niching down! Design your printable with a specific theme, interest or person in mind. For instance, instead of creating a general day planner that anyone could use, make something from one point of view. 

Not following me? Here are some example.

This is an excellent strategy because when you niche down there is also less competition and a higher chance to be seen!

Of course, you need to choose niches that people are currently searching for! 

If you need some help with product research, this will help you.

Fill In Any Missing Gaps

Search your product on Etsy and analyze the search results. Are all the designs mostly one color or format? 

If everyone is making pink printables, test out a light blue or purple to give buyers more variety. 

This kinda goes back to niching down but look for opportunities in the market that other shops are not designing for. 

For instance, instead of making a graduation party invite make a teacher graduation party invites. 

Fill in the gaps and you’ll stand out because your product is unique. 

Implement these tips for designing better printables and hopefully, the sales start rolling in on Etsy! You’ve got this!