How to Make Planner Stickers on Etsy (FREE GUIDE)

Would you like to learn how to make and sell planner stickers on Etsy? Planner stickers are the perfect planner accessories for those who love to organize and decorate their planners. And if you’ve ever used a planner, you know that making your planner look pretty can be quite addictive, especially during the holiday season. Please check out Mim’s FREE Masterclass to learn more.

Therefore, the next thing I am going to tell you shouldn’t be too surprising.

But did you know that one of the Etsy shops with the most sales sells planner stickers?

PlannerKate sold a staggering 1,8 Million items from her shop.

And if you’re wondering what else sells well on Etsy, then feel free to check out my blog post 500 best-selling Etsy products in 2022. And you can also my brand new Etsy shop I’ve just launched here.

But let’s go back to planner stickers because people use planner stickers for all sorts of things. That’s why making your own planner stickers can be a great side hustle for generating extra income and a fun way to work from home.

Can you start making stickers without a design background?

Yes, you can.

Mim Jenkinson started out without a graphic design background and taught herself everything she needed to know. Now Mim runs a successful Etsy sticker business and shares her secret of how to get started to create stickers that sell in her FREE masterclass. This FREE masterclass is for you even if you’re not a designer or creative. Of course, having an eye for graphic design helps but don’t forget that design is subjective and everyone’s tastes are different.

No matter how good your design skills are, can you imagine how satisfying it would be to have your own stickers in the planners of your customers?

So how do you make your own? That’s why in this post we’ll cover go the most important questions you might have:

• What are planner stickers for?
• How do you make planner stickers?
• How do I make a planner sticker template?
• Can I make money selling stickers on Etsy?
• How to make stickers to sell?

1. What are planner stickers for?

Planner stickers are helpful stickers for organizing and decorating planners. And Etsy is known as a great marketplace to buy planner stickers. People have been coming to Etsy to buy cute stickers for their planners (and lots of them!) for some time now and this trend isn’t going to slow down.

Below are some examples of the stickers customers already love and buy for their planners:

• To-do lists stickers
• Priority stickers
• Stickers to highlight important dates
• Block out time stickers
• Stickers for batch creating task
• Chores stickers, like dinner, washing, running errands
• Homeschooling stickers
• Appointment stickers like doctors appointments for yourself or the kids, vet appointments
• Stickers for your own projects
• Taking break stickers
• Weekend stickers
• Coffee first stickers
• Workout/ gym or meditation stickers
• Little nuggets of motivation stickers
• Seasonal and holiday stickers
• Remembering birthday stickers
• Cleaning task stickers
• Morning routine stickers
• And many more!

Now that you know what kind of planner sticker people already love and use you might be wondering how to make your own planner stickers.

That’s why next, I’ll show you some awesome machines that you can use to design and cut your stickers.

Ready?

2. How to make your own planner stickers

The design process for physical items

To make physical stickers, you have to invest in a little equipment in order to make your own stickers. However, the two main things you need are the right cutting machine and the right sticker paper.

1. The cutting machine

First, let’s take a look at the cutting machine.

To cut perfect stickers, you will need a cutting machine, as I just mentioned. Most sticker makers use either a Cricut machine or a Silhouette machine. Those machines aren’t cheap, but you can get them second-hand for less money or invest in a bundle that includes types of vinyl and heat transfers for a great price.

And, if you’re new to sticker making and don’t know which machine to get, the Cricut Explore 3 is really popular. The model is great because it has matless cutting, which means you can cut stickers directly without inserting your sticker paper on your cutting mat. This will save you a lot of time since the Cricut Explore 3 cuts much faster than, for example, the Cricut Explore Air 2. With that being said, if you have smaller scraps of sticker paper you’d like to use, you can still use them by loading them on a cutting mat and inserting them into your machine.

With the Cricut Explore 3, you can not only cut, but also draw, and score stickers you can cut up to 12 ft (3.6 m) long without a mat – just load in your Smart Materials and you’re good to go!

Plus, it’s 2x faster than its predecessor, so you can crank out everything from iron-ons to banners to planner stickers in record time. With Cricut Explore 3, you can cut and embellish 100+ materials, including cardstock, vinyl, iron-on, glitter paper, cork, and bonded fabric, using six different tools making it the ideal machine for your Etsy sticker business. Because the options for new ideas for your stickers are endless.

2. Software

The next step is to create your planner stickers digitally using software like Silhouette Studio or Cricut Design Space. With Silhouette Studios’ free version, you can make your own stickers right away.

3. Printer

For the Cricut models below the Explore 3 or Silhouette, you will need a printer to print your stickers before attaching them to your cutting mat. You can use either an inkjet or a laser printer. That means you do not need to spend money on another printer if you already have a good one. If you’re using the Cricut Explore 3 with Smart Materials, you can also print and cut stickers directly in the machine.

4. Sticker paper

Sticker paper is not cheap. Among sticker makers, Silhouette sticker paper is the top choice for its quality. So be sure to factor this into your sales prices.

The design process for printable stickers

Besides making physical stickers, you can also create digital planner stickers.

Digital planner stickers are a huge hit with shoppers on Etsy because they can save your customers a lot of money.

But they can also save you money too.

Because compared to mailing physical stickers, you can make digital stickers that people can either use for their digital planners or print out themselves.

Saving money and making things more convenient at the same time can be a real benefit for you and your customers. Because of this, digital planner stickers are especially popular with customers who already own Cricut or Silhouette machines. 

How can I print my own planner stickers?

To print your own printable stickers all customers need to do is upload their digital downloads to their machines and print and cut their own stickers. If you’re using the Cricut Explore 3 it will do the cutting for you. And if you don’t have a machine to cut your stickers automatically you can always cut them by hand.

The good thing about printable stickers is that it allows your customers to use the paper they desire, whether that’s sparkly paper or vinyl.

3. How do I make a planner sticker template?

The best way to start making your own sticker templates is to think about how your customers will use them.

The next question you should ask yourself is what size should planner stickers be for your sticker templates?

From there, the process of making sticker templates is the same regardless of whether you are designing physical or digital products.

So let’s go over the required steps.

1. First, you have to take into account the planner you’re designing stickers for when choosing the sticker size.
2. Start by taking a measurement of the planner you want to make planner stickers for. The planner you use can be a good starting point. But you should also consider your customers and the planners they use. It might be a good idea to look at the most popular and best selling planners, since a lot of people use the same planner.
3. Establish the type of sticker you wish to create and set up your Silhouette file.
4. If you are satisfied with your sticker, copy and paste it to fill out your sheet.
5. You can reuse your sticker templates by changing the color scheme and fonts but maintaining the layout. It’s an easy way to spice up your stickers for holidays and festivals without spending much time on redesigning them.

4. How to make stickers to sell?

There are many kinds of stickers you can make. But no matter what kinds of stickers you make, the more original ideas you have, the more unique your shop will be.

If you need help getting started with stickers that sell, check out Mim’s free masterclass and get some inspiration for unique sticker ideas. Because simply put, the more your Etsy shop stands out and catches the attention of your audience, the more sales you can potentially make.

And having plenty of new ideas for stickers is also important to keep existing customers returning to your shop. 

That means you want to create unique stickers and beautiful stickers that your customers love and can’t get enough of.

• To increase sales for your Etsy business you can offer sticker books in bundles that offer more value to your customer.
• You can also create limited vinyl stickers or use differently textured Smart Materials for your stickers (with your Cricut Explorer 3).
• Stick to the same color scheme for each sticker sheet.
• Offer bonus sheets with different types of stickers or shapes.
• You could sell sticker packs with different stickers for each day, week, and month, or for different holidays.

Etsy ads

If you have a budget to play around with, you might even consider buying Etsy ads to help give your store an initial boost. You can run an ad campaign for as little as $1 and you’ll get more customers in your store guaranteed.

Before you start your own sticker shop on Etsy, here are a few things to consider:

1. Different stickers

To get inspired, you should check out the top shops on Etsy that sell stickers.

Once you know which stickers sell the best at each store, you can create new items with those.

2. Business name

Your Etsy shop needs a name. So have fun coming up with names.

Just keep in mind that you want your name to be easy to remember, pronounce and spell.

Check out what you need to know to start an Etsy shop.

3. Shipping labels

To ship your stickers to the right customer, you’ll need to print and attach shipping labels to your order. The good news is, your sticker cutter can easily print shipping labels for you.

4. Refund policy

Your Etsy sticker business also needs a refund policy that clearly states whether you offer refunds or returns. Regardless of how you decide to handle refunds, you’ll need to create a policy that clearly defines your terms.

5. Customer base

Your customers will tell you what they like and dislike, what they want more of, and what other types of stickers they would like to buy.

That’s why from the very first day you open your shop, you should build your customer base so that you can make stickers that your customers will love. Take note of your customers’ feedback, especially in the beginning. Because each feedback you receive is an opportunity for you to improve your digital sticker business in an organic way with your customers. 

Summary of how to make planner stickers on Etsy

Personally, I think having the courage to just get started is the biggest challenge. Don’t spend too much time overthinking your sticker designs. Because there is no such thing as a perfect sticker. Almost all stores did not begin with winning stickers, but the stickers grew and adapted over time. But that wouldn’t have been possible without their customer’s feedback. That means, listening to your customers’ feedback will help you find your winning sticker designs in the long term.

Next steps – Free Masterclass

Making stickers is one thing, but making stickers that sell is another. That’s why you should check out Mim Jenkinson’s free master class “Creating stickers that sell” where she teaches you the secret firsthand of how to create stickers that people will want to give you money for. 

Mim is a passionate sticker maker and online business owner who enjoys teaching sticker makers and online business owners how to design stickers that people will want to buy! Seriously, do check out her amazing free masterclass if you’re feeling enthusiastic about making your own stickers.

And lastly, I want to finish by saying that making stickers is a learning curve for anyone new at it, as it takes time to figure out what type of paper works best for your printer and what your customers want. Despite this, selling planner stickers is a lucrative business and a great side hustle for extra money.

Are you ready to start your Etsy sticker shop? Tell me what you think about making planner stickers and selling them on Etsy in the comments.