What I wish I knew Before my first printable

Bysierra PLR Printables

So, picture this: I’ve just spent hours – actual hours – choosing fonts for a printable that I was convinced would fly off the digital shelves.

Spoiler: it didn’t.

Selling printables seemed like the perfect business; low-cost, creative, and something I could do from home while wrangling school runs and spaghetti dinners. But that first attempt? It taught me a lot about what not to do.

If you’re just getting started with digital products, here are a few things I wish someone had told me before I hit publish on my first printable.

Your First Printable Doesn’t Have to be Perfect

When you’re starting out, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you need to create something wildly original or beautifully intricate.

You don’t.

In fact, the printable that sells is usually the one that solves a problem – not the one with the fanciest fonts. Whether it’s a simple to-do list, a walking tracker, or a study planner, people are looking for tools that work.

Looking back, I spent way too long fussing over design details that didn’t matter. (Ask me how many hours I spent realigning margins…!!!)

Mistake #1: Overthinking the Design

Raise your hand if you’ve ever created a 20-page planner when all your customer needed was 3 pages and a cute cover.

My first printable had:

  • Five font styles (none of which matched)
  • Color blocks I thought were “trendy” but actually clashed horribly
  • A layout that made sense in my head… and nowhere else

If I could go back, I’d start with a super simple template – even just one useful page – and test it. Simple layouts not only sell better, but they’re also way easier for your customer to print and use.

Mistake #2: Designing for Myself, Not my Customer

I created what I liked.

Soft pastels, swirly fonts, motivational quotes everywhere. But guess what? My ideal customer was a busy mom who wanted function, not fluff. She needed a no-nonsense layout to keep her family organized – not a printable that looked like it belonged in a scrapbook.

That’s when I learned the importance of researching what real people are buying; on Etsy, Pinterest, even Facebook groups. What are they pinning? What are they asking for? Design for them, not just for yourself.

The Game-Changer: using PLR to get started faster

Want to know what finally got me out of the design rabbit hole and actually making sales?

PLR.

Private Label Rights templates were a total game-changer. Instead of starting from scratch, I could grab an editable design, tweak it to suit my niche, and have a product up for sale in an afternoon.

I’ve since created my own line of PLR planners and printable kits to help other sellers skip the overwhelm. (If you need a nudge, my Walking Planner PLR Pack is a great beginner-friendly one – and it’s on a special atm!)

If you’re just starting out – here’s what i’d do instead

Here’s my quick-start checklist for your first printable:

  • Choose a small, specific topic (walking tracker, daily routine, meal planner)
  • Keep the design clean: 1–3 fonts, soft colors or black and white
  • Don’t overthink the number of pages (3–5 is plenty!)
  • Use a PLR template to save time
  • Upload, test, tweak, and move on

Perfection isn’t the goal – progress is.

Final Thoughts: you learn by selling

I could’ve spent months trying to perfect that first printable. But honestly? I learned more in that first week of selling than I ever would have by waiting.

If you’re stuck, just get something out there. Let it be messy. Let it flop. Because every attempt teaches you what your audience really wants – and what you love creating.

Have you launched your first printable yet? If not, what’s holding you back?

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