How to make stickers to sell? (Start a sticker business)

How do you make stickers to sell online and start a sticker business?

Make stickers to sell online by creating your own digital art and using Cricut software or Google Docs to size your stickers. Print your stickers onto sticker paper and use self-adhesive laminating sheets to give the stickers a gloss. You can then use your Cricut or scissors to cut out each sticker.

Imagine, making thousands of dollars by selling stickers online. You can be creative and make new stickers every single day.

It is possible to make money selling stickers online.

Luckily for you, I’ll show you what you need to make and sell stickers. I’ll show you three ways of making stickers and how to find the best sticker ideas. You’ll even be able to find out which stickers will actually sell, before you make your first sticker.

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What do you need to make stickers to sell?

Materials needed to make stickers include a computer, printer, sticker paper, self adhesive laminating sheets, and digital art or software to create your digital art. You may also wish to use a cricut or silhouette machine which is optional, but will greatly reduce the work to make stickers.  Without a Cricut machine, you will need parchment paper, scissors, and packing tape.

How do you make your own stickers?

To make your own stickers, create your own digital art and use Cricut software or Google Docs to size your stickers. Print your sticker designs onto sticker paper and apply self adhesive laminating sheets to give the stickers a gloss. Use your Cricut or scissors to cut out each sticker.

Here is a video from DIYholic which walks you through three different methods to make stickers.

Remember, you need to create your own digital art if you plan on selling the stickers online. You can’t just grab something that you found on Google Images. However, you may be able to find royalty free images that would work.

You will need software or an app to make stickers. Examples include Paint, Procreate, Photoshop, or any others that allow you to draw or make messages. Once you have your digital images, you can proceed to any of the following steps, depending on if you have a Cricut machine.

Cricut Machine

Save your sticker images to your computer and upload them to your Cricut software. Select Print then Cut image and save. Upload your desired images to your Cricut Canvas and fit them in a 7” x 9” rectangle.

Select all of your images, and select the flatten button. Delete the 7” x 9” rectangle. Click on the green button to make your sticker sheet.

Place your sticker paper into your printer and print your designs from the Cricut software. All of your stickers will print out onto a single sheet.

Next, use self-adhesive laminating sheets and apply it to your sticker sheet. Use a smooth flat edge to work any air bubbles out of your sticker sheet. You are then ready to put your sticker sheet onto your Cricut mat for cutting.

Adjust your Cricut machine to cardstock and apply extra pressure. Start your cut and the Cricut machine will cut out all of your stickers!

Without Cricut Machine

You may not have a Cricut Machine, but you can use a Word Document or Google Docs instead. Upload your images to Google Docs and resize to your desired dimensions. Print your stickers on sticker paper and apply the self-adhesive laminating sheets.

You’ll have to cut out each sticker individually with scissors. Therefore, you should leave some of the paper in the background of the sticker to avoid cutting into your sticker art.

Without sticker paper

Sticker paper is a necessity if you’re planning on selling your stickers for profit. However, you can use parchment paper and packing tape instead.

Start by placing a sheet of parchment paper down and completely covering it with packing tape, sticky side down. Place your printed sticker sheet on top of the smooth side of the tape.

Next, tape over your sticker sheet and completely cover it with packing tape. You can now cut out each sticker individually with scissors. When you are ready to use your stickers, you can simply peel off the parchment paper.

Which apps make stickers to sell?

Apps like Paint, Procreate, and Adobe Photoshop are great options to make stickers to sell. However, there are plenty of other apps and software which are free to download. Look for an app which gives you the creativity to draw on the go and has the tools you need for your stickers.

How to make money selling stickers online

You can make money selling stickers online by looking for high demand, but low competition sticker ideas. Perform research to find out which stickers have the best chance of selling and create stickers for that audience. Sell your stickers at online stores, like Etsy, Redbubble, Amazon, or Ebay.

Sticker research

The first part of successfully selling stickers online begins with research. Your goal is to find sticker ideas that have high demand, but little competition. You need people to want to buy your stickers, but you also don’t want thousands of other people selling similar products.

Google Keyword Planner is one of my favorite ways to estimate sticker demand. Google Keyword Planner is a free tool which allows you to see the search volume of specific keywords.

For example, if I type in ‘bumper sticker’ into Keyword Planner, I can see the phrase gets between 10k and 100k searches per month on Google. 

However, simply typing in ‘bumper sticker’ into Keyword Planner isn’t going to get you very far. Try to niche down your sticker ideas, such as ‘Cat bumper sticker’ or ‘Dog bumper sticker.’

Both Cat and Dog bumper stickers get between 100-1K searches per month for those key phrases. However, Google Keyword Planner also suggests other terms like ‘Corgi bumper sticker’ which gets between 10-100 searches.

Keep in mind, these are search volume estimates. You may get more searches, especially if your listings contain other relevant search terms.

Now we can plug the term ‘Corgi bumper sticker’ into both Amazon and Etsy. Etsy has 253 search results and Etsy has 1,025 results. Amazon results aren’t always ‘on point’ meaning not all of their search results are relevant.

Therefore, you can make the determination that it may be easier to sell Corgi bumper stickers on Amazon. You have less competition and the searches aren’t always the most relevant on Amazon.

Where to sell stickers online?

Some of the best places to sell stickers online include Etsy, Redbubble, Amazon, and Ebay. You can even start small by selling stickers on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. Etsy is typically one of the best places for people to sell crafted goods like stickers.

Summary: Make stickers to sell online

As you can see, it is possible to make stickers to sell online. It is much easier to make stickers if you have a Cricut machine, but it isn’t necessary. Basic sticker supplies include art software, computer, printer, Cricut machine, scissors, sticker paper, self-adhesive laminate paper, parchment paper, and packing tape.

Look for sticker ideas with high demand, but low competition when making stickers to sell online. You want there to be a demand for the stickers, but you don’t want thousands of other sellers in your space too.

The easiest ways to estimate product demand is with Google Keyword Planner. You’ll be able to use this free tool to estimate search volume for your product. You can then look at the search results to see how many other listings are available for that product.

A good product has high search volume, but minimal number of listings. Alternatively, it’s a good sign if the product listings aren’t relevant to the search term. For example, searching ‘Corgi bumper stickers’ but only bumper stickers of labradors pops up.