How to make money online by selling Notion templates?

Notion is an all-in-one workspace that makes it easy for users to take notes, manage tasks, build databases, collaborate and generally streamline the process of getting work done. Its flexibility and ease of use has made it a hit with anyone who needs to manage a workflow, whether for personal or professional purposes.

Much of that flexibility comes from the fact that users can customize their experience with templates offered by third-party creators in the Notion Marketplace. These pre-designed page layouts and structures are designed to help users quickly set up and organize their spaces for various purposes.

Templates are useful because they:

• Provide an easy starting point for users, eliminating the need to build complex setups from scratch.
• Offer structured frameworks for various tasks, such as project management, note-taking, content planning, personal organization and much more.
• Enhance productivity by providing efficient and organized workflows.  

If you have an eye for graphic design or a gift for streamlining workflows (or both?) selling templates on Notion workspace can be a profitable way to apply your skills. More creators are deciding to sell Notion templates as the perfect way to make money and, in many cases, earn impressive passive incomes.

If you’re considering becoming template creator, use this step-by-step guide to get started and make your template sales successful.

Create your Notion template

Ready to help Notion users save time, be more productive, get organized and enjoy all the other benefits of a great template? Here's what you'll need to do.

[fs-toc-omit]1. Select your niche

There are more types of Notion templates than you may realize, designed for an ever-expanding list of needs among Notion's user base. Your first step should be to decide your template's purpose and what kinds of users it helps. These are some of the most common categories for popular templates that sell on Notion:

• Personal Productivity – To-do lists, daily planners, journals, calendars
• Work & Project Management – Kanban boards, meeting notes, CRM templates, marketing experiments dashboard
• Education & Study – Class schedules, note-taking templates, research databases
• Finance & Budgeting – Expense trackers, investment logs
• Health & Wellness – Meal planners, workout logs, habit trackers, grocery lists frameworks
• Content Creation – Social media planners, blogging templates
• Business & Startup – Invoice trackers, business plans, pitch decks, product roadmap

Your choice might be influenced by your own skill set or background, experience using existing paid templates or simply based on a flash of inspiration. Before you can make your first sale, you have to decide who is your right audience!

[fs-toc-omit]2. Research existing templates (that actually sell!)

Many creators start by looking at the current 10 best templates in terms of sales and thinking about how they can improve on them. The idea here is that there is no need to reinvent the wheel and certain basics will be common to all templates in certain categories.

Use the success of existing templates as a sign of something that is ready to sell. Look for ways to make it easier to use, add functionalities that it's missing, make it more visually appealing and generally use it as an inspiration for a new Notion template that will better serve users.

Sometimes, however, there is a gap in the market and you might have a concept that is totally new and original. In these cases, building and designing from the ground up gives you a chance to be the first to sell a Notion template of this type.

If you are successful, remember that others will notice this success and try to improve on your concept so always be aware of the need for updates and refinements no matter the origins of your idea.

[fs-toc-omit]3. Create a great template

Once you have your concept in focus, it's time to get to work. First, create your account on Notion if you haven't already. Then start creating Notion template and keep these basic guidelines in mind:

• Make it visually appealing – Use clean design, color coordination, and proper layout  
• Make it user-friendly – Avoid unnecessary complexity
• Allow customization – Let users adapt it to fit their needs  
• Test and test again - Be sure it's stable, reliable and fully functional
• Deliver on your promise – Solve a real problem efficiently
• Help users get started - Include instructions within the template and provide support to answer questions

Always double check if everything works as planned before you publish it live, to avoid unnecessary questions or customer complaints.

[fs-toc-omit]4. Publish your template

Now, when your template is ready, it’s time to make it available to your potential buyers. To make that happen:

• Click Share in the top right corner of your template.
• Open the Publish tab.
• Click Publish to create a Notion page.
• Toggle the option Duplicate as a template.
• Switch off search engine indexing, so your template is not available through Google search.

This way, potential customers will be able to duplicate your template to their workspace.

How to Sell Notion Templates

The next step is getting ready to actually sell your template. Let’s start with choosing the best sales channel.

[fs-toc-omit]Notion Marketplace

It is the biggest template base out there, and it enables you to reach your perfectly targeted customers, aka people who want to buy templates. Yet, it’s not so easy to get your template approved.

To sell your templates directly through Notion:

• Create a creator profile
• Enhance it with a header image, bio, and social media links.
• Upload your Notion template and submit it for approval

To increase your chances of having your template approved by the Notion Team:

• Ensure template duplication is enabled.
• Maintain high image quality.
• Avoid AI-generated content that doesn’t qualify as a template.
• Refrain from using “Notion” or “template” in titles.
• Use supported languages.

Unless you want to offer free Notion template, you should also toggle the "paid template" option to be able to charge people for accessing it.

You also have several options to accept payments when selling through Notion Marketplace. You can choose their native Notion payments or third-party solutions like Gumroad, Etsy and Easytools.

‍Here's how the native Notion payments look from your customers' perspective:

Seems really handy, right? We can’t disagree, but this convenience comes with a rather high cost, especially if you are located outside the US - Notion native payments are designed for US creators mostly, as the only available currency is USD, and payouts in other currencies bring extra fees.

Both Notion and Gumroad are Merchants of Record and they charge accordingly 10% + $0.40 and 10% + $0.50 per transaction. Easytools, on the other hand, offers a different tax approach that doesn’t require MoR and charges 1-3% commission plus Stripe fees, which in total results in 5-7% commission.

[fs-toc-omit]Your own sales page

Alternatively, you can set up your own website and start offering templates there. That's exactly how it works for James from Templates 4 Notion:

If you’re selling other products and already have your own store, it’s even easier—just add your template as one of your offerings.

The benefits are clear: you gain total control over the customer experience, their data, and how your templates are showcased. You can also reduce payment processing fees and have greater flexibility in building customer relationships and marketing opportunities, like SEO.

On the flip side, you’ll be fully responsible for driving traffic to your page and maintaining it.

Regarding the technical side of the sales process, you can set up a store using an e-commerce platform and connect a payment gateway yourself, or you can use checkout links.

In this case, you don’t even need a full store—just a simple landing page with a “Purchase now” button leading to your cart will do the trick.

[fs-toc-omit]Easytools

Easytools is a dedicated tool for selling digital products, including Notion templates. It allows you to create your one-page checkout that you can freely customize to make it fit your brand.

You can then link it to anywhere you like — Notion marketplace, your landing page, or even your social media bio. There's also an option to create a simple storefront that will guide people directly to your checkout - this way you don't even have to set up a landing page.

Anyone who enters the checkout will see template details (you can upload images, videos, and text descriptions) and will be able to purchase it, all on the same page. The we will either provide them automatically with template link or a PDF with instructions if you choose to create one.

As for payments, our payment processor is Stripe, which means that all your customer data is on your Stripe account. Plus, you get quick access to your money with instant payouts and no minimum payout balance.

Read more on selling Notion templates with Easytools.

[fs-toc-omit]Third-party sites

There are also other platforms, that enable you to showcase your templates, and some of them come with marketplaces for digital products. This is a great way to expand your reach and get your creation in front of more potential customers, but it comes with a cost. Have a careful look at fees and commissions before listing your template on one of these sites — they can be much higher than you might expect.

To take Gumroad as an example, their basic fee is 10% + $0.50 per transaction, but they will also take 30% (!) of your income when a new customer purchases your template through their marketplace.

Also, navigate your way through the site and decide how beginner-friendly they are if that's your situation, how much customization they require, and how they support you as a creator in case of any issues.

How to Get More Sales of Your Template

Buyers will only discover how great your template is after you get their attention and present it in the best way possible. Follow these tips to stand out from other options and make a great first impression on potential buyers.

[fs-toc-omit]Promote your Notion template

Let’s be real — no one is going to buy your template if they don’t know it exists. Promote your template in your existing channels, like your email list or X account, but also consider setting up new channels. One of the places where creators successfully promote their templates is Pinterest and TikTok. So even if you’re just starting out or haven’t used these channels yet, it’s worth starting to build your presence.

Take this account on Pinterest by NotionBunny, that generates over 30k monthly views, as an example:

[fs-toc-omit]Give it a great title

This can be part art and part science. Most titles need a practical reference to the job or purpose the template is designed for to be search-friendly and to quickly convey what it's all about (try coming up with a title for a template about accounting, budgets and money without using "accounting", "budget" or "money"). At the same time, a little flair, a clever twist or a bold statement never hurt anyone so don't be afraid to get creative.

[fs-toc-omit]Provide a description that sells

This is your chance to move potential customers a big step towards that "Buy" button. Use your description to showcase your template's features, how easy it is to use, what it does that others don't and the time, effort and work it can save users. Anything that's unique about your template or makes it stand out from others needs to be in the spotlight here - be sure that you don't come across as another generic copy of something better.

[fs-toc-omit]Prepare and use visuals

What's better than reading a description of a useful template? Seeing it in action! Boost everything with visuals - screenshots at a minimum but GIFs work better - to help potential customers visualize themselves using your template already.

Check out how Rosie from @notionwithro showcases one of her own templates in this TikTok video:

[fs-toc-omit]Share onboarding support

Users will always have questions, even about the most intuitive, easy-to-use templates. Maintain your good relationship with those who purchase your template by preparing and sharing FAQs, instructions for use, troubleshooting guides and anything else they might need after the template is paid for. Take advantage of familiar platforms like YouTube or Vimeo to share walkthroughs and other materials that will make it easier for customers to get maximum value from your template.

How much can you make selling Notion templates?

The amount you can make selling Notion templates depends on several factors, including the quality of your templates, your marketing strategy and more. Some creators earn a few hundred dollars per month as a side hustle, while top sellers can generate thousands or even six figures annually.

Pricing varies, with basic templates selling for $5 to $30 and more advanced, niche-specific templates going for $50 or more.

Financially successful creators usually have a very well developed online presence to maximize visibility, including the effective use social media and content marketing to drive traffic to their products. Ultimately, success always starts with creating highly functional, well-designed templates that solve specific user needs, combined with an effective promotion strategy.

Another interesting approach that is often used by small business owners is showcasing free templates that serve as lead magnets. This way potential customers share their email to access your template and they can then be nurtured in your sales funnel to maybe become customers.

Make 2025 the year you start selling templates on Notion!

Creating templates on Notion has generated streams of income for talented designers everywhere. With its massive user base, Notion is a powerful tool for establishing a profitable business and sharing your original work with users worldwide. The process of uploading your templates is simple, the market is huge and the rewards can be great, so what's not to like?

Want to start selling templates or do it more effectively? Try Easytools free!

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