How to Profit from Printables

How to Profit from Printables

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If you’re looking for an easy and enjoyable money-making sideline, have you thought about creating printables?

As the name suggests, printables are items of content people can buy and then print out themselves. Common types of printable include planners, artwork, meal plans, inspirational quotes, prayer cards, birthday and wedding invitations, calendars, diary pages, and so on.

One big attraction of printables is that you don’t have to spend time packing and sending physical products, as would be the case when selling on eBay, for example. All you have to do is send your buyer the relevant file by email – and even that can be easily automated using a platform such as Etsy UK or Shopify. Here is a link to a sample Etsy shop selling printable planners of various types. And no, it’s nothing I’m connected with personally!

This is a great sideline if you have a flair for art and design, but that is by no means a necessity. You can use templates as a starting point. There are also people on Fiverr and similar sites who will be happy to create designs for you very inexpensively.

Creating Your Printables

Your first step will be to decide on a niche. If you have a blog or website already, it clearly makes sense to start with that. Otherwise spend a bit of time researching what other people are doing.

As mentioned above, you could start with Etsy, as lots of people sell printables there. Visit Etsy UK and search for “printables” using the box at the top of the screen. You will find literally thousands of printable items listed, and you can also see how much people are charging for them.

For creating your printables, a good choice can be the online design tools Canva or PicMonkey. These both have hundreds of templates you can use and adapt. Here’s a link to an autumn-themed poster I created on PicMonkey in just a few minutes using one of their templates. Feel free to download and print it!

Alternatively go to Fiverr and search for “printables”. You will find lots of people offering this service from around £3.50 (the sterling equivalent of $5). At that price you could afford to commission two or three and go with the one you like best.

Selling Your Printables

There are various ways you could sell your work. As mentioned above, one good choice would be Etsy. This is a popular platform for people selling art and craft products, and they also allow the sale of printables. Etsy provide the means for people to download your printable after they have bought it, meaning orders are fulfilled automatically for you. All you have to do is keep an eye on your dashboard to see how much money you have made!

Setting up an Etsy shop is free. A bit like eBay, you then pay a small listing fee per item and a further fee when you make a sale. You can learn more about setting up an Etsy shop on this help page.

Another option is to sell your printables on Fiverr. Lots of people sell printable business cards here, for example. You may be able to make more money by offering rapid turnaround or additional services.

Finally, you could simply print out your designs yourself, frame or laminate them, and sell them at craft fairs and markets. A friend does well at this, using photos of local landmarks with or without captions.

A Few More Tips

  • Be sure to make it clear in your listings that you are selling downloadable items the customer will need to print out themselves. This will avoid any misunderstandings.
  • Use plenty of clear space on your printables so they don’t look pinched and crowded.
  • Avoid large dark areas. Nobody wants to waste all their ink printing out a sea of black.
  • You can offer editable PDFs buyers can customize as they wish. This adds value and means you may be able to charge a higher price. You will need Adobe Acrobat Pro to do this or perhaps a cheaper alternative such as PDFescape..
  • Printables are low-cost products, so paying to advertise them probably won’t be cost-effective. They are best promoted via social media, blogging, online forums, and so on.
  • Being a visual platform, Pinterest is a great place for showcasing your printables.
  • Giving away some of your printables can be a powerful tactic too. By this means you can attract more visitors to your blog or website, more sign-ups to your mailing list, and so on.
  • You can also take the opportunity to advertise paid-for products and services on your printables, including books, e-books, courses, affiliate products/services, and so on.
  • Printables can also be used as add-on incentives to sell higher-value products such as courses and e-books.

Designing and selling printables is an enjoyable, creative activity, with good money-making potential. On its own it probably won’t make you rich, but it can undoubtedly provide a valuable addition to your sideline-earning portfolio.

  • If you want more information about creating and profiting from printables, my colleague Amy Harrop has a number of high-quality downloadable guides and courses on the subject. I particularly recommend One Page Publishing Profits (affiliate link).

As ever, if you have any comments or queries about this post, please do leave them below.

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Shoirt break in the Lake District

My Short Break in the Lake District

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I recently took a short break in the English Lake District. It was the first time I’d been there in over 20 years (and the previous time was for work so I didn’t see much of the area). So I thought I’d share my impressions here.

I stayed at Waterhead, just south of the town of Ambleside, at the north end of Lake Windermere. I’ve embedded a map below (courtesy of Booking.com) showing the area and available accommodation.
Booking.com

I booked a room at the Waterhead Hotel (pictured below), which is located just a few yards from the lake.

Waterhead Hotel

 

I thought the hotel was excellent. My room was large and comfortable and furnished with all mod cons, including a large flat-screen TV and CD/DVD player. I had a view of the lake, admittedly across a car park!

On my first day the weather was so-so. I began by driving to Hill Top (pictured), the farmhouse where children’s author Beatrix Potter lived and in which she wrote some of her best-loved books. It’s quite small and admission is by timed ticket. I only had to wait about 20 minutes, though, which gave me a chance to look round the garden and take a few photos.

Hill Top

You get a real sense of what the house must have been like when Potter lived there. As well as her furniture and ornaments, there are several writing desks with copies of letters to and from her publishers and a page of her Peter Rabbit story with hand-drawn illustrations. There is a little shop, where I bought a jar of National Trust jam, but no restaurant. There wouldn’t be anywhere to put one, although there is a pub next door if you need refreshment.

After that I drove on to Wray Castle (pictured below), where I spent most of the rest of the day. Wray Castle has only been opened to the public by the National Trust for a few years. It is not as old as it first appears, having been built in the Gothic revival style by a Victorian couple as their retirement home. It has had a varied history since then, including a twenty-year stint as a Merchant Navy training school.

Wray Castle

I went to a free 20-minute talk about the history of the house and then immediately joined a tour of the gardens. The latter took about an hour, and included information about the latest discoveries the Trust have made there, including what they believe are the remains of a Victorian pineapple house. It was interesting and informative, and the guide shared photos from the archives as we went round.

The latter included a picture of Beatrix Potter and her family at Wray Castle. They stayed there for three months one summer when Beatrix was 16. The visit gave Beatrix her first taste of the Lake District, which later of course became her home and an area she loved. With the proceeds from her book sales she bought large amounts of farmland around the lakes, which she ultimately donated to the National Trust.

The next day was sunnier, and I decided to take a lake cruise to the other end of Windermere. I bought a ‘Freedom of the Lake’ ticket, which got me 24 hours’ unlimited travel on any launch or steamer cruise on Windermere. I combined this with a return ticket on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. The total cost of this on the Windermere Lake Cruises website was £23.80, which struck me as very good value. There are also timetables and cruise routes here, which I must admit took a bit of getting my head around.

Apart from the first leg of the journey (from Ambleside to Bowness), I travelled on the MV Teal, one of the two lake steamers built in the 1930s. These are large, spacious vessels which can transport up to 533 people, so there was plenty of room on board (it’s also fully wheelchair-accessible). You could either go on the top deck to get the fresh air and the best views, the main saloon below that (with a coffee/gift shop) or downstairs in the bar, which served alcoholic drinks. As it was still quite nippy, I spent most of the time in the main saloon.

At Lakeside, which is at the other end of Windermere, I took my return trip on the vintage steam railway to Haverthwaite. The route is only about four miles but it’s very scenic (see photo).

railway view

On my return to Lakeside I paid a visit to the Lakes Aquarium, where among other things I got to admire the piranha fish below. Both the train and the aquarium are easily accessible from Lakeside and would be good choices for trips with children or grandchildren.

piranha fish

Finally I travelled back on the steamer from Lakeside to Ambleside, enjoying the views and the commentary. I had a pot of tea and a piece of Kendal mint cake on the boat – although the latter turned out to be a mistake as (in my opinion anyway) it was just a slab of mint-flavoured sugar.

On the morning of my final day I took the opportunity to walk the half-mile into Ambleside itself. I particularly wanted to see The Bridge House, yet another National Trust property. (As a side comment, if you want to get value for money from your National Trust membership, the Lake District is definitely the place to come.)

The Bridge House is a tiny 17th century building above a river. It was originally built as an apple store, but over its long life it has served many purposes, including a tea room, a weaving shop, and home to a family of eight. The later is particularly hard to imagine – they must have been packed in like sardines! In any event it’s a charming property, and many thanks to the nice National Trust lady who took the time to chat to me about it (and the area generally).

Bridge House

After that, there was just time for a coffee and some gift shopping, then it was back in the car for the long drive home down the M6. The least said about that, the better!

So that was my short break holiday in the Lake District. I enjoyed it very much and hope to return before too long. As ever, if you have any comments or questions, please do post them below.

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Twelve Top Tips for Selling on eBay

Twelve Top Tips for Selling on eBay

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Today I have a guest post for you from Luci Olivia, who runs The Frugal Fox website and blog.

Luci is a highly experienced eBay trader, and in her article she sets out some hints and tips for making the most of this popular sideline-earning opportunity.

Over to Luci then…

 

Making money selling tat from around the house is great, as you’re earning extra cash and de-cluttering at the same time! For someone like me who is looking to buy a house soon, downsizing and making money ticks both boxes.

There are plenty of websites these days to flog your unwanted items. However, eBay is arguably the UK’s most popular customer-to-customer sales site. They have earned this reputation from being incredibly easy to use. They offer an honest way to earn some money, whether you’re organising your house, selling off some vintage heirlooms, or even ‘flipping’ items from a charity shop.

At any given time there are 100+ million listings on eBay worldwide, with 6.4 million listings added every day. In the UK alone there are 17 million people visiting eBay every month and 180,000 registered UK based eBay businesses so it’s certainly a way you can make some money!

There are a lot of beginner’s mistakes to be made and trials and errors to experiment with, but if you’re looking to make a little extra money this year then read these tried and tested tips from myself – an eBay veteran – to make the first time you sell go as smoothly as possible.

1. Pick an Account Name

Your eBay account name is part of what you’re selling. If you want to sell vintage dresses and your name is Laura’s Vintage Dress Store, it’s going to look more professional and instill more faith in your eBay shop than if you called it LauraSmith1975.

2. Fill Out Your Profile

Also fill in your ‘About’ page, add a nice background and show that you are a reputable business that people should have no worries spending their money with. I’m surprised by how few people fill out their profile – it might just make the difference between someone bidding or not bidding.

3. Take Clear Pictures

Make sure the pictures of the items are taken with a plain background, no shadows on the item, by natural daylight, and include any signs of wear or marks. Trust me – it’s much easier to sell to someone who accepts the flaws than sell and refund someone who didn’t know it had marks.

4. Put it in the Correct Category

I know it’s common sense to ensure it’s in the correct category, but eBay suggests a category once you’ve chosen your title and sometimes it gets it wrong! Check the category before you agree and your antique coin ends up in a category with key rings.

5. Use Keywords

Your item is more likely to sell with extra information in the title. For example, if you find an old games console under the bed and decide to make a few quid off it, as a buyer which are you more likely to click on – the listing called ‘PS2’ or the listing called ‘Barely Used PS2 Slim +2 Controllers, Tested and Working’?

6. Double Check the Spelling

If I search ‘Barbie Doll’ but you’ve inadvertently called your listing ‘Brabie Doll’ then it isn’t going to show up for me or anyone else looking for a Barbie. So double check your listing for spelling mistakes to ensure it’s seen by everyone who’s searching for it.

7. Describe it Well

You don’t need to be a salesperson to fill in the description. All I put is a brief description of the item with a few key words and some essentials about the item. For example: ‘Stunning fluffy and comfortable jumper with no snags or signs of wear. This item is from a smoke- and pet-free home and I’m happy to take more photos if requested. Please ask if you have any questions and make sure you see my other items for sale.’ That’s all you need.

8. Time the Ending

When your eBay listing ends is really important, because the more people who are on eBay at that time, the more likely it is that you’ll get a bidding war. You want your listings to end on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday any time from 5pm – 9pm. You can schedule your listing’s start time for free, so set it to go live at 7pm so it will end at 7pm in the future.

9. To Bid or Buy

eBay offers two main options when you’re selling an item: ‘Buy It Now’ or ‘Auction’. Auction items have the bonus of no top price; however, you usually have to start them at 99p to gain attention and appear in the search. Buy-It-Now items can be sold at any point and for the exact price you’re willing to pay. Weigh up your options and pick the right one for your product.

10. Know Your Fees

eBay offers 20 free listings a month but they do take 10% of the selling price so keep that in mind when you see the final figure. They will bill you monthly, so keep 10% aside for that bill. Also keep 3.4% aside as that’s what PayPal will charge. I usually keep 15% aside to be safe and keep my PayPal pot above zero.

11. Deal Professionally with Issues

There will be issues. You can do everything perfectly and there will still be issues. Unfortunately that is part of doing business – so if a customer isn’t happy, it’s best just to keep that smile on, remain professional and help them out (no matter how much they make your blood boil!).

12. Give and Get Feedback

To be a successful seller on eBay it’s important to build your reputation. So always take the time to rate buyers, and ask politely if they will do the same for you. Obviously nobody wants bad ratings, so if there have been any issues (see above) check and double-check that they have been resolved to the buyer’s satisfaction before asking them to rate you.

So those are my top tips for selling on eBay. It’s super easy, especially via the free app, so get listing and see first-hand how stress-free it is and how much money it could make you this year.

Luci Olivia

Thanks again to Luci (pictured, right) for her valuable tips. Please do check out her Frugal Fox website for more advice on saving and making money.

If you have never tried online auction selling before, I hope this post will inspire you to give it a try. It really is as easy as Luci says, and someone, somewhere will almost certainly want anything you have to sell.

In my own case, I recently sold a selection of old beer mats that I had originally scrounged from a local pub for our house-warming party twenty years ago. Although admittedly I did have to re-list them (for no extra charge) as they didn’t sell the first time around!

As always, if you have any comments or questions, for Luci or myself, please do post them below.



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Hands-off ways to invest in property

Hands-off Ways to Invest in Property

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As I said in this recent blog post, I am a fan of property investment, as part of a balanced portfolio.

Property investors typically get a double benefit: rental income from tenants for as long as they own the property, and – in most cases – a profit when the time comes to sell.

A further attraction of property investment is that it can be beneficial tax-wise. Any profit you make when selling property is likely to be subject to capital gains tax (CGT) but there are generous annual allowances you can take advantage of (£11,700 in the tax year 2018/19).

In addition, if you invest via a platform (see below), income from rent is typically paid as dividends, allowing you to take advantage of the separate dividends tax allowance (£2,000 in 2018/19). Even if your dividend income exceeds the annual allowance, most people will only pay 7.5% tax on dividend earnings up to £34,500 (2018/19 figure).

Property investment can also be a great way of diversifying a mainly equities-based portfolio.

One drawback with property investment is that managing a property and its tenants can involve a lot of work. So today I want to focus on a property investment platform that takes care of all this on investors’ behalf (for a fee, of course). This makes it truly a hands-off way to invest in property.

The platform in question is FJP Investments. They partner with experienced developers to offer a range of property investments suitable for high net worth individuals and “sophisticated investors”. I’ve listed some of the main investment options they offer below.

Buy-to-let

This is, of course, the traditional way to invest in property. FJP offer investment opportunities in the UK buy-to-let market as well as overseas.

Student Property

This is becoming a very popular investment opportunity. The market is growing rapidly thanks to a government policy change ensuring an additional 200,000 students will be seeking accommodation in the UK by the year 2020.

Hotel Rooms

This type of investment started in the USA and has since taken off across Europe. Investing in a hotel room is simple. You buy the hotel room and then sub-lease it to the hotel operator. They in turn manage the day to day running, along with generating bookings. All you have to do is sit back and collect your share of the profits.

Car Parking

This is another popular income-generating investment. Investors purchase one or more spots in a car park and then receive a share of the income generated via the operator, who manages it on investors’ behalf.

Car parks are typically at or near airports. This market is expanding rapidly, with passenger numbers set to increase by over 220% in most major airports in the next 20 years. A further attraction in some cases can be free parking at the car park in question.

Care Homes

This involves investing in care homes for the elderly and/or people with disabilities. It is an ethical option but nonetheless one that offers good potential returns. Britain has an ageing population and yet the number of care beds is on the decline. There has been a lack of investment in the care sector which has created a growing demand for nursing homes, and an acute shortfall in the number of available beds is expected by early 2020. There is therefore a huge need right now for care home investment. Investors can profit from this while contributing to the creation of more high-quality care home facilities.

Risk v Reward

The potential returns from property investment are a lot better than you would get from a bank savings account at present, with 10% and upward widely advertised. Clearly, though, there is a greater element of risk with these investments. For example, you are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which will refund up to £85,000 if a bank with which you have an account goes bust. On the other hand, your money is in bricks and mortar, so it’s unlikely you would ever lose it all.

In the case of FJP Investments, as mentioned earlier, they work in association with highly experienced property developers. They set great store by protecting their clients’ money, not least because  their reputation – and indeed their business – depends on this. They take the time to get to know their clients personally and help them choose investment opportunities from the range on offer that will meet their specific needs and goals. These are all, needless to say, hands-off investments.

It is, of course, vital to be aware of the risks associated with investing in property and only to do so as part of a balanced portfolio with assets in a range of classes, including readily available cash. Property can be somewhat illiquid and should therefore normally be regarded as a medium- to long-term investment.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for which I am receiving a fee. Please note also that I am not a financial adviser and nothing in this post should be construed as personal financial advice. Before making any investment it is important to do your own due diligence, and seek advice from a qualified financial adviser if you are in any doubt how best to proceed.

If you have any comments or questions about FJP Investments, or property investment in general, as always, please do post them below.

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