15 Ways To Make Money With Canva

Canva is an incredible free-to-use online graphic design tool that you can use to create social media posts, presentations, flyers, logos, videos, and more.

Over 170 million people use Canva worldwide, which means there are plenty of opportunities to make money by using the platform.

One of my favorite ways to make money with Canva is to create digital products to sell on sites like Etsy or Shopify.

Once you’ve put in the initial work, this can be a great source of passive income.

If you’re looking for a fun and creative side hustle, keep reading to find out the best ways to make money from your design skills.

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1. Design and sell printables

Selling printables is one of the easiest ways to make money with Canva.

The most popular printables to sell include coloring pages, planners, stickers, educational worksheets, wall art, bachelorette party games, wedding photo booth props, and cleaning checklists.

The best place to sell printables is on Etsy, which is an online marketplace with millions of customers who are looking to buy something.

Once you’ve created your printable using Canva, you can upload it on Etsy and sell it. When someone purchases your printable on Etsy, they will automatically be sent the file, so you don’t have to worry about dealing with inventory or shipping.

My friend Julie turned her printable side hustle into a $10,000+ per month business.

Here’s a free guide which shares the bestselling printable month-by-month to help you make the most money.

2. Print on Demand

Print-on-demand (POD) can be a great way to make money using Canva without the risk of losing money.

The industry is expected to grow 25.8% annually over the next several years, so now can be a great time to jump into this low-cost, side hustle opportunity.

To get started, you’ll need to create a digital design on Canva and choose a print provider (such as Printful) that’ll take care of the entire process for you.

This means that designs will be digitally printed on-demand.

When a customer makes a purchase – such as buying your design on a t-shirt or coffee mug – everything that happens after the sale, including the digital printing, order fulfillment, shipping, and delivery will be handled by your print supplier.

It’s pretty awesome because Printful will automatically print, pack, and ship the products to your customers, so you don’t have to worry about the technical aspects of running an online store.

3. Make low content books

You can make low-content books on Canva and sell them for money on Amazon or Etsy.

Low-content books are easy to make because they have minimal or no content on the pages. These types of books are intended to be filled in by the user.

It includes books like journals, planners, coloring pages, sketchbooks, puzzle books, activity books, and more.

4. Sell Canva templates

An easy way to earn passive income online is to create templates on Canva that customers can use for social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest), newsletters, banners, presentations, and more.

Canva makes it simple to create professional-looking templates which you can bundle together and sell on sites like Etsy, Fiverr, or your own Shopify store.

To get started, you’ll need to create templates that are eye-catching and easy for the customer to customize to their brand. This can be done using a free Canva account (or Canva Pro account which comes with more advanced options).

Then you’ll need to decide where you would like to sell your templates. As I already mentioned, Etsy, Fiverr, or opening your own Shopify store can be great platforms to sell your templates.

5. Design and sell digital products

Digital products are one of the best items to sell right now because you only need to create the product once using Canva, then you can sell it over and over again on Etsy or Shopify.

The most popular digital products to sell include:

Printable digital products (journals, checklists, calendars, planners)
Digital templates (social media, resumes, brochures, photoshop filters)
Stock photos and other licensed digital content
Online courses
Ebooks
Subscription-based digital product (membership website, subscription app)

6. Create social media graphics for businesses

Many businesses and bloggers don’t have the time or skills to create visually appealing graphics to share on their social media accounts.

That’s where you have the opportunity to make some money. Canva makes it easy to create professional-looking social media graphics, thanks to their library of pre-made templates.

You can offer your services as a virtual assistant and create content for a variety of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube.

Or you can specialize in a social media platform, such as becoming a Pinterest virtual assistant. My friend Kristin earns several thousand dollars a month by doing this part-time while running her own blog.

7. Design logos for small businesses

Every business needs a unique logo to help build their brand identity. Canva offers a free logo maker that makes it easy to design logos and manage your client’s brand kits.

You can sell and offer your services on sites like Fiverr, Upwork, or 99designs.

8. Design e-book covers

Amazon and Apple have made it easy for people to self-publish their books. But many of these authors don’t have the design skills to create an eye-catching e-book cover.

You can offer your services by using Canva to create e-book covers which can help them boost their sales. Most cover artists sell premade or custom e-book covers.

You can upload your book cover designs to a site like The Book Cover Designer and get paid a flat rate of 70% per sale.

This means if you sell a cover for $100, you’ll receive $70. You get to set the price of your book cover. Or you can try advertising your skills on sites like Fiverr or UpWork.

9. Create Pinterest graphics

Many online businesses and bloggers rely on Pinterest to help drive consistent traffic to their website or landing pages. But they don’t always have the time or skills to create their own graphics.

You can use Canva to create Pinterest graphics and templates to sell to online business owners. This can be a great way to make money in your spare time.

If you want to take this a step further, you can even offer your services as a Pinterest virtual assistant. You can earn between $25-$35 per hour as a beginner.

Below are some services you can get paid to offer as a Pinterest VA using Canva:

Set up and manage Pinterest accounts for businesses
Create Pinterest graphics that link to a client’s website or landing page
Set up a brand kit for your clients using Canva
Create Pinterest graphics that link to a client’s social media accounts

To help you get started, check out this free workshop that shows you how to launch your Pinterest VA business from home.

10. Design invitations

One of the bestselling items on Etsy are invitations, either printable or digital ones. These can easily be created using Canva, then you can bundle pre-made templates or offer custom ones for your clients.

Below are some popular invitations and announcements to sell:

Birthday invitations
Wedding invitations
Save the date cards
Baby shower invitations
Retirement party
Bridal shower invitations
Baby gender reveal party
Bachelorette / Bachelor party

11. Launch a Canva course for beginners

If you’re knowledgeable about Canva, you can make a course that teaches others how to use Canva.

People are making thousands of dollars from selling their courses online… and you don’t even need to be an expert to get started.

Many people prefer to learn from someone who is just a few steps ahead of them. This is because they often break down the information in an easier to understand way, compared to teachers with more advanced knowledge.

Before creating your course, think about your target customer. Are they a beginner, or are they looking for more advanced material? Then you can start putting together an outline of what you’d like to teach in your course.

This may include helping people design better graphics in Canva, how to select the right fonts, how to create a brand kit in Canva, or how to make eye-catching social media graphics.

If you already have an audience, you’ll make the most money by directing selling to them and hosting your course on a platform like Thinkific.

If you don’t have an audience yet, the best platforms to sell your course include Udemy and Skillshare.

12. Design websites

Creating a website used to be hard because you needed to know coding and other specialized skills. But now, Canva makes it easy to design websites that are beautiful and mobile-responsive.

To get started, you can search for website templates on the Canva homepage. Once you find a template you like, you can open it up and customize it any way you wish.

You can focus on a single niche, such as websites for fashion bloggers, and create different designs to build your portfolio.

The best places to sell your website designs include Facebook groups, 99designs, and Creative Market.

13. Become a Canva contributor

As a Canva contributor, you can make money by selling your media and content through Canva.

Simply sign up through the Canva website, upload your content, and earn money whenever someone uses your item in their designs.

There’s a wide range of media that you can sell, such as photos, graphics, stickers, and videos.

Due to the popularity of the contributor program, new sign-ups are temporarily paused.

14. Become a Canva affiliate

You can apply to the Empower Canvassador Program, which is the affiliate program for Canva.

Here you’ll earn a commission each time someone signs up for a Canva Pro membership through your affiliate link.

To join, you’ll need to have an active and engaged following on social media and commit to publishing at least 1 piece of Canva-related tutorial or feature every month.

15. Share Canva tutorials on YouTube

Video content is becoming increasingly popular right now and YouTube is one of the best platforms to make money online.

You can use your smartphone and a ring light to record videos and upload them to YouTube.

Then once you’ve built an audience, you can decide if you want to upgrade to a good quality camera and tripod.

In the beginning, you can make money through YouTube as a Canva affiliate, brand partnerships, and selling your own products.

Once you’ve gained 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time, then you’ll be eligible for YouTube ads to make extra money.

Some video ideas you can do include how to make YouTube thumbnails in Canva, how to edit YouTube videos on Canva, or how to use Canva for beginners.