How to Sell Your First Digital Notebook in 72 Hours (Beginner-Friendly Guide)
- The WFH team
- Nov 25
- 5 min read
Everyone online is telling you to “sell digital notebooks or planners,” but nobody tells you how to actually get your first sale.
And that’s the part that really matters.
We all know the planner market can feel saturated.
But with an intentional strategy, you can actually make your first sale faster than you think.
If you’ve ever felt stuck or overwhelmed take a breath, you’re about to get clarity.
What You’ll Learn in This Post
How to choose the right notebook idea
How to design a clean and simple notebook that people actually want
Where to sell it (without overthinking)
How to write a sales page that converts
How to promote your planner with zero audience
Tools that help you grow faster (affiliate-friendly)
How to get your first customer in 72 hrs
1. Choose ONE Clear Problem Your notebook Solves
Your digital notebook must make someone’s life easier in a specific way.
People don’t buy planners for the aesthetics.
They buy planners because they want help with a real problem like:
staying organised
keeping routines
planning meals
managing money
managing ADHD
planning content
So before you jump in to design anything, ask yourself:
“What problem does my notebook/planner make easier?”
“Why would someone buy it?”
These are important questions you can’t afford to skip. Because if you do, you won’t get any sales or traffic.
You need to be specific:
1) Identify the clear purpose of the notebook/planner (journaling, budgeting, content planning etc).
2) Identify who the planner is for (9-5 entrepreneurs, college students, teachers etc).
3) Research what’s already selling (use Everbee for Etsy, search Amazon - see what is selling, so you can tweak the design and structure to create something unique).
Your planner/notebook should have a clear and unique purpose. People don’t just buy notebooks for the sake of it. They buy to solve a small specific problem in their life.
2. Design Your Notebook (Keep It Simple + Clean)
Now that you know the specific purpose and the person your notebook is for, it’s time to design.
Remember that done is better than perfect. Don’t aim for perfection at this stage, just focus on getting a first draft out there.
To design your notebook, you have three main options: Canva, Google Sheets, or Notion.
Use canva if you’re creating simple notebooks and journals.
Use Google Sheets for budgeting or finance trackers.
Use notion for more interactive organisers and trackers.
If you feel overwhelmed at the design stage, use existing templates from purposeplr that you can tweak to make your own. PLR templates give you a head start over your competitors without the headache of designing from scratch.
Here are a few design tips that genuinely help with sales:
Design cover pages that look premium
Quotes, vintage textures, unique florals ; choose what fits your audience and what’s already selling in your niche.
Use premium font combinations
Playfair Display or Libre Baskerville (titles)
Inter (body text)
Use colour palettes that feel premium
Beige (#EDE5D8)
Grey (#DADADA)
Sage (#C7D2C0)
Offer a physical version of your planner.
In order to do this, use a print on demand company like Printify. At no cost to you, Printify will handle the printing and shipping of your notebook to buyers. This will increase your chances of getting a sale especially since people love to receive something physical.
To make print on demand work properly, your store should be connected to Printify. Whether Shopify, eBay, Amazon or Etsy. Check YouTube for a quick tutorial.
Remember:
Simple planners with a clear purpose sell better.
3. Choose ONE Platform to Sell On
Don’t spend weeks deciding where to sell. Here is a quick cheat sheet on the best place to sell.
➡ Payhip: Fastest for beginners:
➡ Stan Store: If you post content on Instagram
➡ Etsy: If you want a market with built-in traffic
Choosing ONE platform removes 80% of your stress. And these platforms above are so easy to upload to list your notebook on.
4. List Your Planner & Write a Sales Page That Converts
Your sales page really matters - sometimes more than your design. To get sales, you need these elements:
1. A relatable “who this is for” intro
Example:
“I designed this planner for busy moms who want a simple way to stay organised without spending hours planning.”
2. What’s included
List every page.
People love specifics and want to know exactly what they’re getting.
3. Why it helps
Focus on benefits, not just the features or types of layouts included.
4. How to use it
Keep this short and clear.
Explain how to print it or use it on an iPad.
5. Mockups
Show your planner in lifestyle photos - on an iPad, a phone, or printed in a desk.
Premium mockups make your product feel premium, which brings you closer to a sale.
5. Promote Your Planner (Even If You Have Zero Audience)
This is the step most people skip and the reason they don’t make sales. You can’t create a notebook or planner, list it and do nothing. You need to put it out there. Use the first 24 hrs after listing to promote your planner in a way it gets to your target buyers.
Option 1: Offer a short time sale because people love discounts. If you look on Etsy you’ll see nearly every product offering some sort of discount. Why? It’s attractive, it draws potential buyers in.
Option 2: promote on social media
In the next 24 hours create:
20-30 image pins
1 short video pin of the notebook in use
Aim to publish 3-5 pins and your video everyday, until your pins start getting traction. Pinterest users are literally searching for planners. Every. Single. Day.
TikTok / IG Reels
Ideas to post everyday:
aesthetic flip-through
“plan with me”
“the layout that helps me keep it together”
You don’t need your face.
Your planner is the content.
6. Stay Consistent Until Your First Sale
Your first sale rarely comes within 24 hours.
It comes from 72hrs–21 days of consistent visibility.
Pinterest + simple videos + a clean product = results.
Your first customer is already scrolling. Your job is to keep showing up in their feed.
TOOL RECOMMENDATIONS
Tool 1 — KeySearch
Perfect for creators growing a blog while selling planners. KeySearch helps you:
find keywords
validate blog post ideas
spot low-competition notebooks
plan Pinterest-friendly titles
rank faster in Google
Try KeySearch here
Tool 2 — Koala AI (Write Copy Faster)
Koala AI makes the writing side EASY.
It helps you write:
product descriptions
sales pages
Pinterest titles
Instagram captions
If writing stresses you out, this tool removes that barrier completely.
Explore Koala AI.
Final Thoughts You CAN Make Your First Sale
You don’t need:
a massive audience
a perfected offer
100 pages
a huge shop
You need:
one helpful planner
one clean listing
one simple promotion routine
one platform
Your first customer is closer than you think.
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