Design AI-assisted Canva templates and sell them passively on Gumroad or Etsy

Before opening Canva, use Claude to define exactly what you're building: *"Create a design brief for a pack of 5 Canva Instagram carousel templates for [niche]. For each template, describe: the purpose, the layout structure, the colour palette suggestion, and the type of text/content the buyer will swap out. Target buyer: [describe them]. Style: modern, clean, professional."*

This gives you a clear spec to follow in Canva rather than designing by instinct. The brief also doubles as your product description draft later.

Note the color palettes Claude suggests — most buyers want templates that feel cohesive as a set, not 5 different styles. Pick one palette and stick to it across all 5 designs.

Open Canva and create a new design using the correct dimensions for your template type (Instagram post: 1080×1080px, carousel slide: 1080×1080px, A4 PDF: 794×1123px, presentation slide: 1920×1080px).

Design workflow: 1. Start from one of Canva's built-in templates as a base — modify it rather than building from scratch 2. Apply your chosen colour palette using Canva's brand kit (or manually match hex codes) 3. Replace all fixed text with placeholder text like "Your Headline Here" or "[Client Name]" to show buyers exactly what to customise 4. Use consistent fonts across all 5 templates (2 fonts maximum — one for headings, one for body) 5. Lock background elements buyers shouldn't change (right-click > Lock) and leave text/image elements editable

Once all 5 are designed, duplicate the project and replace all customisable elements with the actual sample content for your preview images — buyers need to see a finished-looking example.

For each template: 1. Export the preview version (with sample content filled in) as a PNG at 2x resolution — this is your product photo 2. On the blank template version (with placeholder text), click Share → Template link → Create template link. Copy this link.

Template links allow buyers to click and immediately create their own editable copy in their Canva account — they cannot edit your original. This is how all Canva template sellers deliver their products.

Collect all 5 template links into a single Google Doc or Notion page. This document is what you'll deliver to buyers after purchase — Gumroad and Etsy both support a post-purchase download link or PDF containing your links.

Gumroad is faster to set up than Etsy (no listing fee, no storefront required) and is ideal for your first pack.

Create a free account at gumroad.com and click "New product". Set the product type to "Digital product".

Key fields: - Name: "[Niche] Canva Templates Pack — 5 Editable Designs for [Outcome]" (keyword-rich) - Price: $7–$15 for a 5-template pack is the conversion sweet spot. You can offer a "pay what you want" option with a floor of $7 - Description: Ask Claude — *"Write a Gumroad product description for a 5-template Canva pack for [niche buyers]. 150 words. Lead with what the buyer gets and why it saves them time. Include bullet list of what's inside. End with how to use it."* - Cover image: Upload your best preview image as the thumbnail - Product file: Upload a PDF containing all 5 template links (with a brief instruction: "click each link → File → Make a copy")

Publish and share your Gumroad link on the platforms where your niche buyer lives.

First 10 sales come from direct sharing: post in Facebook groups, Reddit communities, and Discord servers relevant to your niche (check rules). Offer a limited-time 50% discount code on your first listing to get momentum.

For longer-term passive income, add your pack to Etsy alongside Gumroad. Etsy charges $0.20 per listing and takes a 6.5% transaction fee, but its search traffic is enormous for digital products. Etsy SEO tip: your listing title should be a full sentence a buyer would search — "Instagram Carousel Templates Canva for Life Coaches — 5 Editable Social Media Post Templates".

The compounding play: each new pack you release builds your catalog. Buyers who like Pack 1 buy Pack 2. Aim for a new pack every 2–3 weeks until you have 5–10 products. At 3 packs averaging 20 sales/month at $10 each, that's $600/mo fully passive.