Do you want to learn how to sell Canva templates and turn them into a steady side income?
Creating and selling Canva templates is a low-overhead way to make money from home: design once, sell repeatedly, and never ship a single item.
Canva templates are especially attractive for creators because you can build a product library and earn passive revenue while working only a few hours a week. In this interview, Maliha, a reader of Making Sense of Cents, shares how she started selling Canva templates and now earns around $2,000 per month while working part time.
If you’ve asked questions like:
- What exactly is a Canva template? What is Canva?
- Can I sell Canva templates?
- How do I sell my designs on Canva?
- Who buys Canva templates?
- How can I learn to create templates to sell?
- Can someone without technical skills make and sell a Canva template?
This interview will help you understand the process and decide if this side hustle is right for you.
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Free Training: Earn Money Selling Printables
Learn what to sell, how to get started, the costs, and how to make sales in a free printable-training session.
How To Sell Canva Templates
1. Background: how Maliha started selling Canva templates
Everything began with her blog. After facing career uncertainty and learning that a degree alone didn’t guarantee stability, Maliha taught herself web development and worked as a virtual assistant while gaining experience with blogging, affiliate marketing, and passive income strategies.
In June 2018 she launched The Side Blogger. Initially she struggled with complex tools like Photoshop and InDesign until she discovered Canva—the simple, browser-based design app. Canva’s ease of use let her create high-quality graphics quickly, and soon she was designing for fun as well as for clients.
Her work caught Canva’s attention and she was invited to join as a Canva Certified Creative. Reader requests for her graphics and a popular free media kit template convinced her there was a market for templates. In January 2019 she opened her first Canva template shop, listing five templates via WooCommerce on her blog, and later expanded into third-party marketplaces.
By 2020 she reached her first $1,000 profit while working only a few hours a week. Over time her product catalog grew to include eBooks, workbooks, presentations, planners, and more.
2. Monthly earnings from selling Canva templates
What began as a hobby hustle turned into a reliable income stream. After taking the business more seriously and improving promotion and product listings, Maliha now averages $2,000+ per month while continuing to work only a few hours weekly. Results depend on product quality, market fit, promotion, and time invested—more effort typically yields higher earnings.
3. What is a Canva template? What is Canva?
Canva is an online graphic design platform with a free tier and a paid Pro plan that unlocks premium assets. A Canva template is a reusable design created in Canva that other users can edit and customize—changing colors, images, fonts, and text—to suit their needs. It functions similarly to templates created in Photoshop or InDesign but is far more accessible for non-designers.
4. What Maliha enjoys about creating Canva templates
Maliha has a strong appreciation for good design but limited time to master complex Adobe tools. Canva empowers her to produce professional-looking designs quickly. Its simple drag-and-drop interface and library of frames, shapes, and elements let creators produce beautiful results in minutes—ideal for people who want great visuals without a steep learning curve.
5. Can you make money selling templates?
Yes. Maliha makes over $2,000 per month with roughly 30 templates in her shop. Income potential varies based on template quality, relevance to a target audience, pricing, and marketing. Many Canva templates in the platform’s library are generic; creating targeted, niche templates for specific audiences—teachers, coaches, small business owners, or nonprofit teams—adds value and encourages buyers to pay for ready-made, tailored designs.
6. Who buys Canva templates and what about competition?
Buyers are typically people who lack the time, tools, or design skills to create professional graphics—from small business owners and bloggers to educators and course creators. While more creators sell templates today, demand is also rising as more online businesses and content creators need quality visuals. Niche focus and strong product usability help templates stand out despite competition.
7. Do you need a following to sell templates?
No. Many successful sellers have little or no personal audience. Third-party marketplaces like Etsy and Creative Market can drive traffic to your products, so you can start making sales without an established website or email list.
8. How to find ideas and learn to create sellable templates
Start by identifying the audience you want to serve—ideas flow naturally when you understand their needs. If you don’t have an audience yet, research trending products on marketplaces and calendar events like holidays or awareness months (for example, Valentine’s Day or Women’s History Month) for seasonal template opportunities. Once you start researching, you’ll likely find more ideas than you can implement right away.
9. Who owns designs created in Canva?
You retain ownership of your designs. Canva provides the platform and some graphic elements under license. Buyers who use your templates will need a Canva account to customize them and will have the same rights to use Canva elements under Canva’s licensing, which allows templates to be used and edited within the platform.
10. Can someone with no tech skills create templates?
Yes—Canva’s ease of use means many people with minimal technical skills can learn fast. If someone struggles with Canva after a few days of practice, this may not be the right path for them, but overall Canva requires far less technical ability than Adobe software, making it accessible to a wide range of creators.
11. Steps to start creating and selling Canva templates
First, learn Canva by creating a free account and experimenting until you feel comfortable designing. Then follow these steps:
- Decide what templates to sell and build a product line. A useful beginner set: Instagram templates, an eBook or magazine layout, a planner or worksheet, a presentation slide deck, and social media banners.
- Set up shops—your website, Etsy, and Creative Market are common choices (you can use all three to broaden reach).
- Design your templates and prepare buyer deliverables, including clear instructions for use.
- Create compelling product images that show your templates in use and appeal to your ideal customer.
- List your products in your shops with clear descriptions and pricing.
- Market and promote your products through social media, marketplaces, and email if you have a list.
- Sell templates and grow your business.
12. Additional tips for starting this side hustle
Selling Canva templates is relatively low risk: you can start with a free Canva account, and listing on Etsy or Creative Market has minimal upfront cost. To succeed you should genuinely enjoy designing and improving your products. Expect to put in consistent effort for several months before seeing meaningful results—patience and persistence pay off.
13. About the training Maliha offers
Maliha offers a course that covers practical steps for launching and scaling a Canva template business, including shop setup on your website, Etsy, and Creative Market; preparing deliverables and license terms; creating product images; platform-specific selling tips; design and usability improvements; and marketing strategies. Bonuses may include starter Canva templates for inspiration, monthly group coaching calls, and future course updates.
How To Sell Canva Templates – Summary
This interview shows that selling Canva templates can be a flexible and profitable side hustle. Templates are pre-designed layouts that buyers customize for social media graphics, eBooks, presentations, and more. Buyers value templates when they save time and provide professional-looking results without needing advanced design skills. By targeting a niche, producing usable designs, and promoting them on your site or marketplaces, you can build a recurring income stream.
If you enjoy creating visuals and are willing to put in consistent effort, designing and selling Canva templates is a realistic and accessible way to make extra money from home.
Are you interested in learning how to make Canva templates to sell?