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So you’re thinking of opening a shop on Creative Market? Smart move.
Let me tell you, this platform has been a total game-changer for my business.
As a designer and digital artist myself, I’ve absolutely loved the steady, hands-off income Creative Market delivers each month. It feels so good to earn money from my passion projects!
Now, selling on Creative Market does take some effort upfront. But stick with me—the payoff is so worth it.
In this guide, I’ll be sharing everything I’ve learned from selling on Creative Market for over a year now. You’ll discover:
- Exactly how Creative Market works
- Who should (and shouldn’t) sell there
- How to setup your shop
- The promotion tactics that get sales
- My own tips after selling for over a year
I want this to be a blueprint for you to find the same success I have with Creative Market. Because honestly?
The extra income from Creative Market has been a total game-changer for me as a creator.
Grab some coffee or tea, and let’s dive in.
Table of Contents
What is Creative Market?
First things first, what even is Creative Market?
Well, think of it like Etsy, but exclusively focused on digital creative products.
I’m talking fonts, templates for design programs, graphics, photos, you name it.
Creative Market handles all the marketing, payments, and support—they just need us designers to create beautiful digital products.
But here’s the twist: every item on Creative Market must pass their quality standards.
And sellers need to get approved in order to make a shop on Creative Market. This means no cheap or spammy stuff is allowed!
So in a nutshell, the Creative Market:
- Caters specifically to creative designers
- Curates products to keep quality high
- Provides a polished, seamless buying experience
As both a seller and a buyer, I’ve been super impressed by Creative Market. But who is it really for? Let’s find out…
Is Creative Market Right For You?
With its selectivity and niche audience, Creative Market isn’t suited for every creator and product. Before we dive into setup, make sure it aligns with your goals and offerings.
Your Product Type
Creative Market focuses on digital tools for creative professionals. Bestsellers include:
- Fonts:Serif, sans serif, display, you name it. Fonts of any style tend to do well.
- Templates:Web themes, presentations, social media templates are hot items.
- Graphics:Icons, patterns, textures, illustrations, and more. Both raster and vector formats.
- Photos:High-quality photos spanning categories, from travel to food.
- Add-ons:Actions, brushes, and styles for Photoshop, Procreate, etc.
Your chances of success are highest if you offer popular categories like these. If your creations fall outside Creative Market’s wheelhouse, they may underperform.
Your Income Goals
You likely won’t replace your full-time income solely selling on Creative Market. Its main perk is steady, hands-off revenue each month. An extra $500 or $1000 goes a long way! But don’t expect to get rich quick.
Your Experience Level
Creative Market sets a high bar for product quality and production value. Beginners may struggle to compete. The platform favors experienced sellers with portfolios or existing shops.
If your offerings check these boxes, Creative Market may be a perfect platform for earning additional income from your passion.
The Pros and Cons of Selling on Creative Market
Selling on Creative Market offers some great advantages but also has downsides to consider. By looking at the key pros and cons, you can determine if Creative Market is a good fit for your products and business goals.
The Pros:
- Targeted niche marketplace: Creative Market connects you with an engaged audience of creative professionals and design agencies willing to pay for quality resources. Much more targeted than a general marketplace.
- Generates passive income: After the initial setup, your shop can earn money month after month with minimal maintenance required. Creative Market handles all marketing, promotions, customer service, etc.
- Detailed sales analytics: Creative Market provides helpful analytics so you can see which products perform best and refine your shop over time.
- Low effort to maintain: Once products are uploaded, very little daily effort is needed to maintain your shop. You can check in occasionally, add new products, and collect earnings.
- Potential for high earnings: Top sellers can consistently earn $5000+ per month. Earnings scale up based on work put in.
- Handles all payments and delivery: Creative Market handles all the payment processing for you and customers immediately get digital products just after completing the purchase.
- Provides marketing support: Creative Market promotes your products to buyers through newsletters, blogs, and social media.
The Cons:
- High commission fees: Creative Market takes a 40% commission on each sale, which is higher than most other platforms. This significantly impacts your profit margin.
- Hard to get approved: To get approved as a seller, you need an existing body of work or shop to showcase. Complete beginners may not qualify.
- Requires consistent new products: Traffic and sales drop when you don’t regularly add new products. Maintaining new releases takes continued time investment.
- Not suitable for all product types: The marketplace is selective to what type of digital products can be sold there, bundles, fonts, graphic resources, and add-ons tend to be best. Other product types may not perform well.
How to Sell on Creative Market (Open a CM Shop)
Opening a shop takes a bit of upfront effort—but it’s so worth it! Here are the steps:
1. Apply on Creative Market
Now, Creative Market isn’t just open to any seller. Because they focus on high-quality creations, you need to formally request access by applying to join.
Time to request an invitation to open your Creative Market shop!
Submit Your Request
Here are the simple steps to get started:
Head toCreativeMarket.comand and Click “Open a Shop” button from the header menu.
On the next page, click “Open a Shop” button again.
A popup will appear – either create an account or log in.
If you do not have an account you can create one using the available options, or else you can login directly using your credentials.
Fill out the form, attach your existing shop URL and portfolio site links (If you have any) and click on “Next”.
Now, Creative Market will ask you few questions, just select the suitable answers from the drop-down menu, the moto here is to explain why you’d be a great fit for Creative Market.
After everything is done, accept their terms of service and click on “Submit Application”.
Once you submit the request, you’ll have to wait a few days for it to be reviewed.
The Creative Market team personally review each application, so be patient. This hands-on process is part of why their marketplace is so high-quality.
You can read our guide on how to get approved on Creative Market if you need some help in the approval process.
“Waiting to hear back after submitting my shop request was agonizing! But it was so worth it when I got that acceptance email from Creative Market.”
As long as you’ve built up an impressive portfolio and have some existing sales under your belt, you have a great chance of approval.
2. Setting Up Your Profile
Congratulations – your hard work paid off and Creative Market has welcomed you aboard! Now it’s time for the fun part: setting up your new shop.
Let’s get your shop ready to start selling. Here are the key setup steps you need to focus on first:
Complete Your Profile
Head over to your Creative Market Settings and the under the Shop section, fill out your shop details:
- Shop name– Choose something catchy!
- Buyer message– Customize the text buyers see post-purchase.
Now click on the Profile section to fill out your personal information.
- Profile photo– Use your logo or a headshot.
- Bio– Share your brand story and background.
- Your Website Link: Link to your personal website
- Social Media– Your social media handles, etc.
Take the time to complete each section fully.
This profile is so important for making a great first impression.
Set Up Your Payout
You can only get paid if you add your payout details!
Under Settings > Payout & Taxes click on Payouts & Tax Setup then fill out the necessary information in order to receive your earnings.
Follow the instructions from the creative market until your tax and payments are set up correctly.
This step is important so do not skip it!
3. Adding Products to Your Shop
Time for the fun part – uploading your products! Here’s the process:
- Go to yourShop Profilethen clickAdd a Product.
- Enter the producttitle, description, images,and other details.
- Upload your product file(s).Creative assets only – no physical products.
- Pick alicense type:Personal, Commercial, or Extended Commercial.
- Set your price.More on this later!
- Add any relevanttagsto help with searchability.
- ClickSave & Publishto go live.
Some tips for top-notch listings:
- Lead with your most eye-catching product image.
- Write detailed descriptions highlighting what buyers get.
- Include keywords and tags that buyers would search for.
- Provide useful previews so customers can “try” the product.
- Set competitive yet profitable pricing. See the next section for help!
Take your time getting each product listing just right. This is the customer’s first impression of your work – you want it to shine!
Pricing Your Products for More Conversions
Choosing the right price for your products is so important. Here are my tips:
- Research competitorsselling similar items. See what price range is standard.
- Price based on thevalueyou’re providing, not just time spent.
- Offer arangeof license options at different price points.
- For exclusivity,charge morefor Extended Commercial.
- Remember Creative Market’s 40% cut– price accordingly!
- Test different priceson a few products to see what sells best.
- Runsales and discountsto find the sweet spot.
Take the time to find pricing that works. This will ensure your products sell while you still make great money!
Promoting Your Creative Market Shop
Although, Creative Market is great when it comes to marketing as they already have a huge niche audience base. But going the extra mile by self-promoting will take sales even higher.
1. Share New Products on Social Media
Whenever you add new goodies, announce them on your social channels! Share the product image or link to drive fans to your shop.
Pro tip: tag Creative Market so they may reshare your post too. More potential buyers for you!
2. Send Promo Emails to Your List
If you have an email list, send occasional promos about new releases, sales, or freebies. Dedicated subscribers equal guaranteed sales.
3. Get Featured on Creative Market’s Blog
Reach out to the content team about featuring your shop in an upcoming seller spotlight. This exposes you to new audiences.
4. Run Sales and Deals
Discount older products or offer site-wide sales around major holidays. Just don’t undervalue your work. Consider a modest 10-15% off.
5. Make Shareable Freebies
Offer free products in exchange for an email signup. This collects potential buyer emails and builds goodwill.
6. Pin Your Products on Pinterest
Create eye-catching product Pins that link to your shop. The visual nature of Pinterest is perfect for promoting creative digital products and people buys them like crazy.
With persistence and creativity, you can build an audience eager to snag your latest designs. Now let’s chat results.
My Experience: Monthly Earnings and Key Takeaways
I’ve been selling on Creative Market for over a year now. Though it took dedication to build momentum, I’m consistently earning $200-300 extra each month.
Here are my core learnings:
- It takes time.Don’t expect overnight success. Focus on steadily adding products and collecting reviews. Sales ramped up after 6 months.
- New products boost traffic.Upload something new regularly, even if just one item every 2 weeks. Shoppers want to see fresh products.
- Email marketing converts.My promo emails convert way better than social posts. Focus on building an email list. Ensure its effectiveness by regularly validating your email list.
- Keep quality sky-high.My 5-star reviews really help. Sweat the details on each product.
- Don’t rely on it fully.Creative Market is my side hustle. I have multiple income streams that generate income every single month.
The bottom line?
With consistent products and promotion, Creative Market can become a low-lift income stream that lets you profit from your passion.
Ready to Begin Selling?
Phew, we covered a lot of ground! Let’s recap the key steps:
- Apply on the marketplaceby showcasing a portfolio or current shop
- Set upyour seller profile and shop
- Prepby optimizing branding, pricing, images, titles, tags, etc.
- Addnew products every 1-2 weeks
- Promotethrough social media, email, and partnerships
- Watchyour earnings and reviews grow each month!
It takes some hustle initially, but once your shop gains momentum, the income becomes extremely hands-off.
Creative Market handles the traffic, transactions, customer service, and delivery—you just reap the rewards!
Selling creative digital products is easier than ever. I seriously can’t recommend Creative Market enough for makers who want to translate their passion into profit.
The audience is targeted, the platform polished, and the passive earning potential immense. I hope this guide gives you the confidence and know-how to crush it on Creative Market!
Let me know if you have any other questions. I’m happy to help fellow artists and creatives. Now get out there and start creating!
