How Canva and Pinterest Can Help You Pay Your Rent

What if you could create a few useful templates in Canva, sell them online and use Pinterest to help people find them?

It sounds like a fairly simple way to make extra money, especially if you already enjoy designing things. And if you're anything like me, you'd probably rather spend a couple of hours creating something useful than spend those hours filming yourself for social media.

I'm a mum, an introvert and I've been selling digital products on Etsy since 2021. With limited working hours, I'm interested in products that can be created once and sold to multiple customers.

But let's get one thing straight. Creating Canva templates and posting them on Pinterest isn't a guaranteed way to pay your rent.

Some sellers make very little. Others build businesses over time. And there can be a big gap between publishing your first product and making regular sales. I'd approach the rent idea as a financial goal to work towards, not something to expect in your first month.

Here's how Canva templates are sold, how Pinterest can help customers discover them and what I'd focus on if I were starting a small template shop today.

What's Covered

• 1. How selling Canva templates actually works
• 2. What kind of templates should you make?
• 3. Find a niche using Etsy and Pinterest
• 4. Create templates customers can easily edit
• 5. Understand Canva's licensing rules
• 6. Decide where to sell your templates
• 7. Use Pinterest to bring people to your products
• 8. How many sales would you need to cover your rent?
• 9. Can PLR templates save you time?
• 10. Your first month of selling Canva templates
• What you need to know before starting

1. How Selling Canva Templates Actually Works

A Canva template is a design that another person can open and customise in Canva. Instead of receiving a finished image they can't change, the customer can edit suitable elements such as text, colours and photographs.

For example, imagine someone runs a small bakery and needs a promotional flyer. They could purchase an editable template, open it in Canva, change the wording and add their own business details. They don't need to hire a designer for every small change.

How Does the Customer Receive It?

The usual process involves creating a Canva template link.

1. You create and test your original design in Canva.
2. You generate a template link using an eligible Canva account.
3. You place that link in a PDF instruction document or another suitable digital delivery format.
4. The customer purchases the product and receives the instructions.
5. They open the link, access their own editable version and customise it in Canva.

The customer should be able to work on their copy rather than changing your original design.

Don't confuse a template link with an ordinary editing link. Test the purchasing and access process before selling anything. Which Canva plans can create template links, and what customers need to open them, can change, so check Canva's current help pages before you start.

2. What Kind of Canva Templates Should You Make?

I'd start with something people already have a practical reason to use, not simply a design that looks pretty. Here are six categories worth researching.

Pinterest Pin Templates

Bloggers and small business owners often need several Pinterest graphics for their content. A coordinated set of editable designs could help them create pins without starting from scratch every time.

Social Media Post Templates

Think about specific businesses rather than generic Instagram templates for everyone. A salon, fitness instructor or local bakery may have different design needs.

Planners

Weekly schedules, project planners and organisational layouts can work as editable Canva documents. Choose a specific task instead of creating another enormous planner with unnecessary pages.

Worksheets

These could help people organise information, complete a simple exercise or work through a particular process. Make sure any instructions are useful, accurate and appropriate to the subject.

Resume and CV Templates

These can give job seekers an editable starting point. But attractive formatting isn't everything. Readability, clear headings and compatibility with the intended application process matter too.

Small Business Templates

Consider price lists, service menus, booking information sheets or customer information documents. I'd look for repetitive jobs that business owners want to complete without hiring a designer every time.

The most important question isn't "what can I make in Canva?" It's "what does somebody need badly enough to pay for?"

3. Find a Niche Using Etsy and Pinterest

A niche is a specific audience or problem you decide to focus on. Instead of creating templates for every type of business, you might focus on editable materials for independent beauty businesses. That gives you a clearer idea of what to design and how to describe it.

Research Etsy Listings

I'd search Etsy for the type of template I'm considering and look at the products already available, their features, pricing and customer reviews. Ask:

• What problem does the template solve?
• What does the buyer receive?
• Are there repeated complaints about editing or instructions?
• Could I create something more useful or easier to customise?

Don't copy another seller's layout or assume that a listing appearing high in search proves how many sales it makes.

Research Pinterest Searches

Next, search Pinterest for related phrases, for example bakery price list ideas, editable salon menus or Pinterest templates for bloggers. Look at the language people use and the types of designs that appear for those searches. Pinterest can help you understand how products are presented, but it won't tell you whether people will buy your particular design.

I'd use Etsy to investigate potential buyers and Pinterest to investigate how those buyers might discover the product.

4. Create Templates Customers Can Easily Edit

This is where I'd be careful not to prioritise appearance over usability. Your customer is paying for something they can customise, so the design needs to stay useful after they replace the sample text and photographs.

Build a Consistent Design System

Choose a small group of suitable fonts, colours and reusable elements. A Canva Brand Kit can help keep these consistent, subject to the features available on your plan. I'd use realistic sample text rather than leaving every box saying "Your Text Here", because it helps buyers understand how the finished design could look.

Protect the Layout

Where Canva's editor supports locking particular elements, use that carefully for backgrounds or decorative items customers shouldn't accidentally move. But don't lock the text or other elements you've promised customers they can edit. Test the template using longer business names, different photographs and realistic content. If everything falls apart when the customer adds two extra words, the template needs work.

Include Proper Instructions

I'd include a short PDF explaining how to open the template, which parts are editable and how to export the finished design. Also explain whether customers need a free or paid Canva account to access all the elements used.

My quality test: Could someone who has never purchased a Canva template open it, make the advertised changes and export it without needing to message me for basic instructions?

5. Understand Canva's Licensing Rules Before Selling

This is one area I wouldn't rush through. Just because something is available inside Canva doesn't automatically mean you can resell it however you like. Canva has specific rules for using its photographs, graphics, fonts, templates and other content in products for sale, and those rules can differ depending on whether you're using Free or Pro content.

Free and Pro Elements Aren't Interchangeable

Canva's licence treats selling finished designs differently from distributing editable templates, and it has conditions about selling templates that contain Pro content and about reselling content as standalone assets. Read the Canva Content License Agreement and Canva's guidance on creating products for sale before publishing.

I wouldn't assume that paying for Canva Pro gives me unrestricted resale rights to everything in the library.

Check Fonts, Images and Other Assets

Pay particular attention to:

• Whether individual graphics and photographs are licensed for your intended use.
• Whether customers can access the elements without additional payment.
• Whether any third-party fonts or images have separate licensing restrictions.
• Whether you're using original designs rather than reselling another creator's finished template.

Test the customer experience using an account without the same paid features as yours where possible. Licensing and account features can change, so always check the current rules rather than relying on an old tutorial.

6. Decide Where to Sell Your Canva Templates

Etsy

Etsy already has shoppers searching for digital downloads. You can create listing images, write a description and provide the customer with an eligible digital instruction file containing the template link. But you're competing with other sellers, and Etsy has its own rules. Its Creativity Standards cover what counts as an original design made by the seller. Simply buying another person's template bundle and uploading it unchanged may not qualify, even if you have permission to use it elsewhere.

Your Own Store

An independent store gives you more control over your product collections, descriptions and customer journey. But you need to bring your own traffic through Pinterest, search, email or other channels, and you'll have store costs, payment processing and customer support to manage.

I'd start with the option that makes sense for the business you're building instead of opening several stores before testing your first product. For the broader creation process, read How to Make and Sell Your First Digital Product in 7 Days.

7. Use Pinterest to Bring People to Your Templates

Once the product is ready, Pinterest can help people discover it. But I wouldn't simply upload a picture of the template with a caption saying "Shop Now". I'd show what the customer can actually do with it.

Create Pins Around Specific Problems

Let's say you're selling editable price list templates for salons. You could make pins showing a completed price list, a before-and-after customisation example or several layouts in the same collection. Your headline might be:

• How to Create a Salon Price List in Canva
• Editable Price List Templates for Beauty Businesses
• How to Update Your Service Menu Without a Designer

Each headline should accurately match the product or linked article.

Link to a Useful Destination

You can link a pin to the product listing or to a blog post that explains how to use the template. If it's a tutorial pin, a helpful article may be the better destination. If it's clearly showcasing an editable template for sale, the product page may make more sense.

Use Search-Friendly Titles

Describe the product using words a potential customer would actually search for. "Editable Canva Salon Price List" is clearer than "The Prettiest Template Ever". I'd rather attract somebody looking for exactly what I'm selling than collect impressions from people who aren't interested.

Post Consistently and Measure the Right Thing

You don't need to publish dozens of pins every day. Start with a manageable schedule of distinct, useful pins and review what's happening. In Pinterest Analytics, pay attention to outbound clicks. Impressions tell you how often pins were displayed, while outbound clicks show when people follow links away from Pinterest. I'd also check whether those visitors actually view products and purchase.

A pin with fewer impressions but relevant visitors who buy can be much more useful than a popular pin nobody clicks.

For more detail, read How to Get Pinterest Traffic That Actually Converts.

8. How Many Sales Would You Need to Cover Your Rent?

Here's where I'd make the goal more practical. Let's imagine your monthly rent is $1,500. How many sales would you need? It depends on the amount you keep from each purchase after selling fees and other directly associated costs.

These are hypothetical calculations, not expected earnings. The amounts are examples, not recommended product prices, and they don't account for every business overhead or personal taxes. If your aim is to pay rent from after-tax business income, you may need to generate more than the table suggests. And making 150 sales every month is very different from making your first sale.

Break the Goal Into Stages

I'd work towards a first sale, then look for evidence that customers consistently want the product. Next, focus on improving the listing and bringing relevant visitors to it. Only then would I start planning around larger monthly income targets. Don't commit to paying an essential bill with money your business hasn't reliably earned.

If you're building several related revenue sources over time, see How to Build 3 Income Streams That Work Together.

9. Can PLR Templates Save You Time?

PLR stands for private label rights. It generally refers to a licence that gives the buyer certain rights to reuse, modify or resell content, depending on the specific agreement. That can save some creation time, particularly when you're working around other commitments.

But not every PLR licence gives you the same rights. Some require substantial modification. Others restrict redistribution, resale formats or the platforms where you can sell. And owning PLR rights doesn't automatically mean the product meets Etsy's originality requirements or Canva's content licensing rules.

I'd check three things before using any PLR product: what the licence actually permits, whether every included asset is properly licensed, and whether my chosen marketplace allows the resulting product.

If you're looking for a ready-made starting resource, my Content Creation Templates are ready-made templates you can explore. Always confirm the rights attached to a particular purchase rather than assuming a product description or the term PLR provides unrestricted resale permission.

10. Your First Month of Selling Canva Templates

If you're starting with limited hours, I'd avoid trying to build a huge shop immediately. Here's a simple four-week plan.

There's no guarantee you'll make a sale during those four weeks. The goal is to finish a useful product, get it in front of potential customers and gather enough information to decide what to work on next.

I'd review three numbers at the end of the month: product visits, orders and Pinterest outbound clicks. If nobody has seen the product, focus on discovery. If people visit but don't buy, examine the offer, price, images and instructions before immediately making another template.

What You Need to Know Before Starting

There are a few reasons I wouldn't describe this as easy money.

The market is crowded. Canva makes it possible for lots of people to create templates, so simply having an attractive design isn't enough to stand out.

Licensing takes attention. You need to understand what you're allowed to sell and what your customer can edit or use.

Pinterest takes time. Publishing pins doesn't guarantee website traffic, and traffic doesn't guarantee purchases.

Customers still need support. Some buyers will struggle to access the template or misunderstand which account features they need.

Revenue can fluctuate. You might make several sales one week and none the next. That makes rent a risky target until you have reliable results.

What I'd focus on first: One useful Canva template, one clearly defined customer and a small collection of Pinterest pins that genuinely show what the product can do. Give yourself enough time to test that before creating an entire shop.

I'd start by proving that one template can sell, then work towards a reliable monthly income. Covering your rent is a possible long-term goal, not a promise that follows from opening Canva and Pinterest accounts.

Want a head start on your first templates?

You don't have to begin with a blank page. Take a look at the Content Creation Templates as a ready-made starting point, then check the usage rights and build something that solves a real customer problem.

Explore the Content Creation Templates →