Creating and Selling Templates: A Guide for Wedding Professionals
Templates are the unsung heroes of the wedding industry. Whether it’s planning checklists, floral arrangement guides, or seating charts, wedding professionals rely on tools to make their processes smoother. The best part? Those tools can become a lucrative passive income stream when packaged and sold as templates.
Here’s your step-by-step guide to creating and selling templates tailored for your niche.
Why Templates Are Perfect for Passive Income
- Low Upfront Costs: You likely already have the materials—turn them into products!
- High Demand: Couples and wedding pros alike crave tools that simplify the planning process.
- Evergreen Potential: A well-designed template can generate income for years with minimal updates.
Step 1: Identify Templates You Can Sell
Start by looking at your own workflows. What tools do you use repeatedly?
- For Couples:
- Wedding budget trackers
- Seating chart organizers
- Vendor interview checklists
- For Professionals:
- Floral design order forms
- Styled shoot planning guides
- Client communication templates
Think about your niche. A photographer might offer posing guides, while a planner could sell timeline templates.
Step 2: Create Polished, User-Friendly Templates
Your templates should be easy to use and visually appealing.
- Design Tools to Use:
- Canva (great for beginners)
- Adobe InDesign (for advanced users)
- Google Sheets or Docs (ideal for spreadsheets or simple layouts)
- Design Tips:
- Stick to your brand colors and fonts.
- Use clean layouts that guide users naturally.
- Include simple instructions to ensure usability.
Step 3: Test Your Templates
Before you launch, test your templates with a small group of users.
- Share them with trusted colleagues or friends in your industry.
- Ask for feedback on usability, design, and functionality.
- Use this feedback to refine your product.
Testing ensures your templates provide value and are ready for market.
Step 4: Choose a Selling Platform
Your selling platform should be easy to use for both you and your customers.
- Your Website:
- Use tools like Shopify or WooCommerce to create a digital storefront.
- Marketplaces:
- Etsy: Ideal for wedding planners and creatives.
- Creative Market: Great for designers targeting professionals.
- Email Delivery Tools:
- SendOwl or Gumroad automate template delivery upon purchase.
Step 5: Price Your Templates Strategically
Pricing depends on your audience and the complexity of the template.
- Simple templates (e.g., budget trackers): $7–$15
- Advanced templates (e.g., full wedding planning kits): $30–$50+
- Bundles of multiple templates: $50–$100+
Always price for perceived value, not just time spent creating the template.
Step 6: Market Your Templates
Your templates won’t sell themselves—you need a solid marketing plan.
- Create Blog Content: Write SEO-friendly posts like “10 Tools to Plan Your Wedding Stress-Free,” linking to your templates.
- Leverage Pinterest: Design pins showcasing your templates, linking them to your store.
- Use Social Media: Share behind-the-scenes looks at how your templates work.
- Build an Email List: Offer a freebie (like a one-page checklist) to collect leads, then promote your full template line.
Step 7: Maintain and Update Your Templates
Templates are evergreen, but occasional updates keep them fresh and relevant.
- Update designs to match current trends.
- Incorporate user feedback for improvements.
- Refresh marketing strategies to target new audiences.
Bonus: Real-Life Example of Template Success
A wedding planner turned her comprehensive planning timeline into a downloadable PDF and listed it on Etsy. Within a month, it became her top-selling product, generating passive income that complemented her main services. She later expanded into bundles and niche-specific templates, turning her expertise into a thriving secondary business.
Conclusion: Empower Others While Growing Your Income
Templates allow you to share your knowledge, help others succeed, and build a steady income stream. With thoughtful creation, strategic pricing, and effective marketing, you can turn your tools into a profitable passive income empire.
So, what’s the first template you’ll create?
Jac Bowie is a serial entrepreneur, media personality, and digital marketing expert, known for her talents in event production, instruction, and radio announcing. Currently spearheading The Wedding Academy, Jac seamlessly integrates her extensive business acumen, event management expertise, and digital marketing savvy into a myriad of projects including founding international women's network Business in Heels and Australian wedding planning business, Darling Don't Panic.