How to Create and Sell a Planner (Step by Step)

The WFH team
Sep 29
4 min read

Planners are everywhere right now, from digital downloads on Etsy to physical books shipped on-demand.

The secret to design and start selling planners is to stop overcomplicating it. You just need a simple step-by-step workflow that takes you from idea to sales.

Here’s a six-step workflow to create and sell your own planner.

Step 1: Brainstorm Your Planner with ChatGPT

Every great planner starts with a clear purpose. Is yours for moms managing family chaos? Students tracking study schedules? Or maybe entrepreneurs planning launches?

Instead of staring at a blank page, let ChatGPT do the heavy lifting. It can help you:

Generate niche planner ideas (daily, weekly, fitness, budgeting, self-care, etc.)
Outline page layouts (goal trackers, habit logs, meal planners, calendars)
Create cover title ideas and motivational quotes

💡 Example prompt to save to your notes: “Give me 5 unique planner ideas for busy moms. Include page types, cover ideas, and bonus features.”

Pro tip: While you can ask for 20 planner ideas, you’ll get stuck in decision paralysis, its best to ask for 3-5 so you don’t lose momentum.

Step 2: Design Your Planner

Once you know your concept, it’s time to design.

Option 1: DIY from scratch

The first option is to create it yourself from scratch. Don’t worry—you don’t need to be a professional graphic designer. Tools like Canva make it super easy to build planners with drag-and-drop templates.

With Canva, you can:

Use pre-made page templates and customize them
Upload your fonts, colors, and brand style
Export print-ready PDF files for both digital and physical versions

👉 Start designing with Canva

Option 2: Use a ready-made PLR

You know I’ll always have your back with time-saving options. Imagine grabbing a planner that’s already designed, making a few quick tweaks in Canva, and—boom—in under 20 minutes you’ve got a planner ready to sell. If that sounds like your style, check out Purpose PLR.

I even have a little gift for you: use coupon code PFUXZMGANI for 10% off.

Step 3: Make Your Planner Visually Unique with Ideogram

In a crowded market, your design has to stand out. This is where Ideogram comes in. Use it to create:

Custom illustrations
Unique cover art
Patterned page dividers
Stickers and decorative icons

For example, instead of a generic floral cover, you can generate one-of-a-kind botanical patterns with Ideogram and drop them right into your Canva design.

👉 Try Ideogram

Step 4: Validate Demand with Everbee

Before I launch any digital product, I must check if people are actually searching for the product. That’s where Everbee (an Etsy research tool) saves you time.

With Everbee, you can:

See what planner styles are trending on Etsy right now
Find keywords buyers are using (e.g., “daily gratitude planner,” “digital meal planner”)
Spot gaps in the market so you don’t create something that’s oversaturated

This means you’re designing a planner people already want — instead of guessing.

👉 Explore Everbee

Step 5: Optimize Your Keywords with Keysearch

This is exactly why I use Keysearch. It takes the guesswork out of SEO and shows you what people are really typing into Etsy, Shopify, or even Google. With it, you can:

Find low-competition keywords that real buyers are searching
Write titles and descriptions that actually rank
Build a keyword list to reuse on Pinterest pins and blog posts

For example, instead of going with “The Perfect Planner,” Keysearch might show you that “2025 printable daily planner” or “self-care planner for moms” gets way more search traffic.

Step 6: Print and Sell with Printify

Since digital planners are everywhere right now, offering a physical version can really set you apart. A physical version instantly feels more premium and giftable, something people can actually hold in their hands or wrap up for a friend. And here’s the best part: you don’t need to keep piles of stock at home.

A print-on-demand service like Printify takes care of all the printing and shipping for you.

With Printify, you can turn your PDF into a beautiful physical planner without ever touching inventory. Here’s how it works:

Upload your planner PDF
Pick from their network of print-on-demand partners
Sync everything with Etsy or Shopify
Printify handles production and shipping—you just focus on sales

Imagine waking up to a sales notification while your planner is being printed, packed, and shipped across the world—all without you lifting a finger. That’s the magic of print on demand.

👉 Launch your planner with Printify

Final Thoughts

Creating and selling a planner doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With the right workflow, you can go from idea → design → sales in a matter of weeks.

Here’s the recap:

ChatGPT → brainstorm and outline
Canva→ design pages
Ideogram → create unique visuals
Everbee → validate demand
Keysearch → optimize keywords
Printify → sell and ship

✨ Each tool takes you one step closer to a finished product. And the best part? You’re building something once that can generate passive income again and again.