How to use Commercial Use Templates to Make Money
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
One of the biggest struggles for new Etsy sellers is creating eye-catching products that can compete with other sellers.
Using templates can be a highly effective way to scale your Etsy business. Templates save you time and help you scale your product offerings more quickly.
But where do you get these templates? What are the best templates to use?
In this blog post, we will discuss how to use templates to scale your Etsy business. and help you decide which templates are worth investing in.
What are commercial use templates?
Commercial use templates are products you can buy that come with a PLR / commercial-use license.
You can edit them and sell them as a printable PDF in your shop, share as a PDF with your email list, or publish on Amazon KDP as a physical planner.
Examples of commercial use templates you can purchase are: templates to create shop banners, business logos, printable products, Canva business templates, product listings, social media posts, and more.
The format for these templates can be a:
- Canva template to be sold as a printable
- PowerPoint template to be sold as a digital planner
- Spreadsheet template
- Notion template
- Word document
- Website template
The wonderful thing about templates is that can be found in about any format imaginable.
Templates are designed to be customizable so you can personalize them to fit your brand.
When buying commercial use templates, you want to make sure that the license for the templates allows you to resale them to make money. Always read the fine print before purchasing templates.
For example, some templates only allow you to resale them as a physical product to customers.
Where can I buy commercial use templates?
There are many places you can buy commercial use, or PLR, templates online.
You can buy templates outright from a seller, you can buy them through a membership program, or you can buy them as part of a bundle (a collection of templates sold by a group of sellers).
I prefer buying templates straight from a seller because a lot of memberships have what is called a “membership trap”.
What is a membership trap? A membership trap is where you pay a monthly fee to use, and sell, the templates offered in the membership.
When the member decides to leave, they will have to pay what is called a buyout fee.
A buyout means that the seller will require you to buy the templates you are selling from their membership if you want to keep selling them. A buyout is usually $27/template, or $247+ for a selection of templates.
This is cost prohibitive to me, and that is why I always recommend people reading the fine print of a membership before becoming a member of one.
Another thing to consider before buying templates is the success of the seller selling them.
For example, if a commercial use template creator recommends to use their templates to sell on Etsy, I will check out their Etsy shop to see if they are making money.
This step is a must, because you want to make sure that the product they are selling to you is optimized to sell on the platform they are recommending you sell it on.
I created my own line of courses and commercial use templates after I became a top 1% seller on Etsy. I wanted to help others achieve the same level of success myself.
You can learn more about my templates and courses here.
What are the benefits of commercial use templates?
Using templates can save you time and money.
Instead of hiring a graphic designer to create a product you may not be able to create yourself, you can choose from a variety of templates and customize them to fit your needs.
This can help you create a professional-looking product without breaking the bank.
Templates can help digital products creators at the beginner stage who are looking to level up their product creation game to sell more products on sites like Etsy.
They are also beneficial to creators at all stages looking to differentiate their product offerings.
Final Thoughts
Are commercial use templates worth the investment?
Yes! I love templates for their affordability and time saving perks.
As someone who is frugal, I have found templates to be a great way for myself, and others, to enhance their e-commerce shops and their sales potential.
