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How to Make Stickers to Sell

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  By Forrest McCall | Last Updated:  August 26, 2021

If you have ever shopped online, you might have noticed there are many vendors selling stickers on the internet. This also happens at in-person events, such as farmer’s markets. These stickers come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and textures. This market is ideal for anyone on the hunt for decor. If you want to make money, you might be curious about how to make stickers to sell for your own profit gain.

Some types of stickers that you can sell include:

  • Durable vinyl
  • Polyester
  • Satin
  • Recycled

All of these are types of stickers that you can create and sell all by yourself.

To sell stickers, you need to know how to make stickers. This task can be tricky to understand at first, but once you get the hang of a creative style you enjoy, it can be a super simple process. All you need to do is put time into these pieces, and customers will come to you for stickers that they can enjoy and use in their lives. You can start a sticker business with no trouble at all.

In this post, I’ll explore how to make stickers to sell, the different types of stickers you can make, and much more. Let’s get started!

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Create Digital Stickers and Designs

The first way that you can create stickers is to design them in a digital format. This method often involves using a website that will permit you to upload designs. From there, they will turn the designs into stickers as customers invest in them online. Using digital stickers saves you from wasting money if nobody purchases your physically created stickers.

Using stickers in this form is incredibly versatile, beneficial for your sticker business. With digital stickers, you can also:

  • Sell designs on a personal store that consumers can turn into stickers themselves
  • Distribute sticker ideas for a fee, selling the art to those that request them for their use
  • Create custom stickers based on requests without dealing with printing them out

All of these are things that happen by creating digital stickers and designs. You might enjoy this method better than printing, as it is much less complex and requires less money over time.

To create these stickers, all you need to do is have access to a way to draw or design. Most of the time, this works best on a digital art pad or a tablet. From there, you can upload your designs online and post them for the entire world to see. Many websites will sell your art. You don’t need to worry about shipping, handling, or printing by using this method. You also don’t need to invest in supplies.

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Open Up a Website to Sell Stickers

When making stickers to sell, you can open up your print shop online to turn a profit on your items. This step is a method that you can use to start selling stickers personalized to you. With a cutting machine, your own hands, and a bit of a learning curve, it is possible to run your own business from the place that you live.

There are a ton of great options for creating a website. Some of the best platforms include:

  • WordPress
  • Squarespace
  • Wix
  • Weebly
  • Etsy Shop

All of these sites will permit you to make a personalized shop for a small fee. Some require you to pay more to earn income, but this investment will be worth it for the stickers created. You can even use a discount code to entice customers to purchase from your shop and a blog post to promote what you are selling on your page.

There are two forms of stickers that you can sell on a personal site. One of these is investing in digital downloads that consumers can print for themselves. The other is selling physical stickers that consumers can immediately use as soon as they receive them inside a letter envelope. We will talk about each of these so that you know which sticker design is the best for you.

I recommend using Namecheap to purchase a domain name for your website and using SiteGround to host your files!

Creating Digital Content to Sell

On your website, you can create digital content for others to purchase. This is simpler than it sounds. If you are a graphic designer, you can use your skills to ensure that your website is as appealing as possible to any potential customer that might stumble across your website.

Selling digital content makes for a simple way to sell sticker sheets and even sticker templates for others to use. You won’t need to think about the costs of shipping labels, packing, and other headaches.

When selling digital content, you might want to consider:

  • The sticker quality that the consumer is going to receive once they print
  • The sizes that the customer can select from, including small, medium, and large
  • The number of stickers available for a design at one time
  • Popular designs of the moment, such as pop culture icons

All of these should be considered when you are creating digital stickers to sell. Posting them online is one thing, but determining what your customer is going to get is another.

Though digital content seems less complex, it is trickier in a lot of ways. You need to ensure that what you post online is what your customers get on the other side. You might be selling stickers like crazy, but if word gets out that customers are not receiving what is advertised it could be the end of your shop. Make sure that you are thinking about this if you decide to create designs to sell online.

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Creating Tangible Content to Sell

You can always sell physical content on your website, so long as you do not mind the extra fees that come with the territory. With physical stickers, you can focus on packaging with items such as tissue paper to bring an aesthetic to your content that will bring in more customers over time. Sticker printing always seems to be more popular than digital investments.

When creating touchable content, you might consider:

  • The number of designs that you want to have in stock at one time
  • Any shop fees that the customer should consider with their purchase
  • Shipping costs including shipping labels that you are going to charge for a single sticker

All of these go with creating stickers that you will send to people from your online store. There are many costs to consider that could affect the way that you go about selling stickers. If you are on a strict budget, it is vital to consider these. Everything from a shipping label to a business card could pull cash from your pocket that you may need in the future.

If you want to go about this method, make sure you consider the extra costs related to this endeavor. For one sticker that you sell, you will also need to ponder how much money packaging, shipping, and creation will cost you. One sticker with a personal online store can cost more than one sticker with a third-party website. Consider this when attempting to start a sticker business.

Selling Stickers

How to Make Your Own Stickers at Home to Sell

Many people make stickers at home and then bring them to physical locations to sell. Most sticker shops operate out of a home. The seller creates their inventory inside their personal living space and markets their stickers outside their house. If this sounds like a situation that is ideal to you, you might consider a few methods that will allow you to make your stickers at home.

When you start to make stickers to sell, you might wonder what the best method is to use. You can either use a machine or try to create the stickers with your own unique methods. The sticker quality may vary based on what you choose. It is up to you to decide what will work best for you based on the budget you have and if you own a cutting machine. The choice is yours when selling stickers.

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Using a Machine

When making your stickers at home, you can use a machine to make the process simple and easy. This device will cost you money, but it makes the whole process as simple as inserting your design into the printer and pressing a button. The learning curve is minuscule with a printing machine. Many vinyl crafters use this item when they create.

When using a machine to make your stickers, there are not very many items that you will need. All you will need to gather to make your creations include:

  • The design that you are using for the stickers
  • Sticker paper to make the stickers sticky
  • Access to a computer if you need to use digital work

For most machines, these are the three principal items that will allow your sticker designs to come out perfectly. Some require more, but for the most part, you should ensure that you have these items if you want to use a machine to cut and print your stickers for you.

Using a machine should be easy. From there, you can take your sticker packs and start selling stickers at places like local farmer’s markets and yard sales. You might even consider handing out a business card to attract more customers or even digitally printed samples. After some time, you may be able to move your stickers to sell online.

Not Using a Machine

Of course, you do not have to use a machine to create die-cut stickers. If you are someone who would prefer to do things yourself, this might be the option for you. Making a sticker from scratch is significantly more challenging than plugging it into a machine and letting technology do all the work, but it is rewarding when done without error.

There are two main ways of making stickers without a machine. These include:

  • Utilizing sticker paper to make your stickers
  • Creating your adhesive to go on the back of the stickers

Both of these are excellent ways to make stickers to sell.

Keep reading to further understand these ways to make stickers to sell. They both require different supplies to create the final product, but if done correctly the result should be the same. You should be a sticker ninja by the time you are done with this.

Utilizing Sticker Paper

Using sticker paper is the simplest way to create stickers without the use of a sticker machine. This simple paper will allow you to create an adhesive backing for your stickers. It is like regular printer paper, but a little bit thicker.

There are two main ways that you can make use of this item. These include:

  • Using laser printers to print your design on paper, often with vinyl material
  • Drawing on top of the sticker paper with permanent art utensils of your choice

With both of these, you will need to cut out the end product with scissors or an Exacto knife. It is critical to be precise with this unless you are going for a messy style.

Laser printers will allow your image to be as perfect as possible. If you are going for a handmade look, drawing on sticker paper is probably the better option for you. Choose what you want to do based on the style of the stickers that you want to end up with in the end. If you desire sleek images, print them. Otherwise, you can take a stab at drawing and copy the image for more stickers as you go on.

Creating Your Own Adhesive

If you want to get complex, you can create your adhesive to make the stickers work. This material will require more work, but it will also set your creations apart from every other option available in the world of sticker printing. If you create your adhesive, you will need to spend a little more money to get all of the products you need for this to work for your stickers.

There is a method you should use to create your adhesive for stickers. The steps that you should follow to accomplish this task include:

  • Gathering glue, vinegar, a brush, your sticker image, scissors, and mod podge
  • Cutting out your image and ensuring that it is the shape that you want it to be when completed
  • Sealing your image with laminate or mod podge to ensure that it lasts
  • Mixing glue with a little bit of vinegar
  • Painting the back of your image and allowing it to dry
  • Repeating the process until a solid sticker backing has formed
  • Wetting it when it is necessary to stick it to something

Once these steps have been completed, you should have a solid sticker that you can sell to others in whatever format you wish.

Of course, it is vital to protect the sticky side if you transport the stickers. If you are selling stickers on Etsy, you might wrap them in plastic to preserve the stickiness. Whatever you are doing, it is critical to ensure that the product arrives as a sticker when it gets to its final destination. You should also inform customers that it is best to wet the backs a little bit before sticking them to something.

Buy Other Stickers

Creating your own product is the most obvious way to create and sell stickers. However, some people do not have enough creative talent to sell physical stickers that they designed themselves. If this applies to you, there is no need to worry. Many clothing boutiques invest in clothes designed by other companies and flip them in their store. You can do this with stickers.

Investing in other stickers or designs created by other people can help you to start your sticker selling business. Some types of designs that you might invest in include:

  • Bumper sticker, which many like to put on their cars
  • Gloss labels, which individuals can use for their businesses
  • Die-cut stickers, which many often use to decorate items such as laptops and doors

All of these items can be purchased in bulk from small creators. You should ensure that you buy as many as you can at one time to save money on the items that you are going to be selling.

You can either buy the design and print it yourself, or buy stickers. You can sell these at a higher price point than what you bought them for to turn a profit. Many sticker shops do this. You must credit the artist. Once you start selling custom stickers, both you and the person who created them will start to profit from the exposure. You can make more connections as you go along and continue to grow.

Investing in Stickers

You can invest in tangible stickers to sell in your store. These can be purchased straight through a vendor, often in bulk so that your overall cost is much less than if you just bought one of each. Your sticker shop will thrive if you use the sticker business of another artist to create your supply for your store.

When selecting stickers for your store, you should keep a few things in mind as you do so. Some of the things you should consider include:

  • The number of stickers that you are getting for your money
  • The cost of vinyl materials versus the amount you are paying for the stickers
  • If you will turn a profit on these stickers

Artists know, when they make stickers to sell, that they are aiming to make as much profit as they can. When you purchase stickers from another vendor, you should ensure that you will be able to turn a profit as well. Without this benefit, there is little point in purchasing your items from a vendor. You might as well just go about the process of making your stickers.

Investing in Designs

On the other hand, you can purchase designs to sell in your shop. These are purchased digitally. As we discussed before, this means that you do not need to pay for shipping costs or extra packaging fees. All you need to do is pay the artist and ensure that you are selling the digital creation at a price that is profitable to you and your business.

Some popular design themes that you might choose for your location include:

  • Floral-based designs, such as daisies and roses
  • Pop culture stickers, such as characters from television shows and movies
  • Quotes from books, movies, and television shows that are currently popular

All of these designs tend to be popular designs that consumers will invest in no matter how much time goes by. It is vital to monitor what is popular and what is not so that you have an understanding of what your customers are more likely to invest in.

You might even be able to commission an artist to form custom sticker designs based on requests. This can set your shop apart from other vinyl crafters, ensuring that you bring the sticker world to your site. Printable vinyl stickers that consumers can order to fit their taste should sell like hotcakes if you are efficient and practical in the way that you sell each piece.

Utilize a Sticker-Based Site for Selling Your Own Stickers

Many websites will allow you to upload your design to them and sell the items right then and there on the platform. This is a very easy way to start a sticker business, as there is only one step necessary when coming up with sticker designs. They will allow you to create your own sticker store on their site.

If you want to keep it simple, try uploading your work to a site like Redbubble. They will take your design and convert it into a sticker for you with no trouble at all. From there, all you need to do is hang on and embrace the customers that gather to enjoy the work that you have put out into the world. With any luck, a stream of income will appear in no time at all.

Sticker Mule

To sell stickers you can use sites like Sticker Mule to order stickers to sell via an Etsy shop or website. With sites like Sticker Mule you’ll get the advantage of not having to order in massive bulk. Sticker Mule features a low turnaround time that is great to sell stickers online.

Get Vinyl Stickers Custom-Made

Whether you are selling sticker packs, sticker sheets, or one sticker at a time, there is a way to get these items custom-made. If you have a design, you can get your pieces created professionally. This can be done in bulk, or one at a time. This works best if you think it will be impossible to create your sticker designs on your own time. Custom-made can be more expensive, but the results are classy.

When learning how to make stickers to sell, you must know the two best places to get them custom-made. These include:

  • Small businesses
  • Custom creation services

Both of these are excellent sources for getting vinyl custom-made.

This process is more expensive than making custom printed stickers on your own time. However, there are often cases where this is the best option.

Utilize a Small Business to Make Your Own Stickers

When getting custom-made stickers, you can always take advantage of a small business to get the result that you desire. This often means talking to a singular artist about your desire for a sticker and paying them to create the design that you see in your head. They often check in with you along the way, ensuring that they stay on track for the design that you want.

Paying a single artist can be expensive, so you should ask about their commission fees beforehand. You might also ask if they make stickers, or if they will just give you the design and allow you to make it into a sticker. Bother of these items are critical when determining if using a small business for custom-made stickers is practical for what you are doing. If not, you might turn to something larger.

Utilize a Custom Creation Service

If you cannot afford a small business to custom create your stickers, you can use a service online that will permit you to create your stickers and then save the design for later use. These are less personalized, but they will work well for you to achieve your goals if you want to get many stickers out to sell.

On these sites, you can design your own stickers and then purchase them for a small fee. These often come in bulk, which is much cheaper than buying them one at a time. If you do not upload your design, you are often left with site-based designs that are seen in many other stickers. To achieve the most unique item possible, it might be best to go to a small business for help.

Acquire a Sticker-Making Machine

The most common way to make stickers is to make use of a machine. This device allows users to input their designs and make them into pieces that are sticky on the back. Anything can be turned into a sticker, as long as it is made of the right material and is small enough to fit inside the machine. You will need to check this beforehand to make sure that your product will fit.

To make stickers this way, you will need to buy a sticker-making machine for yourself. There are many options out there, ideal for any kind of item that you want to make. Whether vinyl or polyester, there is something that will work for you. Keep reading to learn more about the best cutting machine you can invest in for the long term.

Cricut Explore Air 2 Mint

Many people have heard of Cricut, but fewer know that this company also creates a machine that prints out and forms stickers. Not only do they have a fantastic machine, but it also happens to be one of the best sticker-making options that exist on the market today. Aspiring makers of this product can feel safe starting a sticker business with this machine by their side.

Many excellent things come with this machine. Some of the best features of the Cricut Explore Air 2 Mint include:

  • Its ability to cut a wide number of materials that can be used as stickers
  • Its range in terms of sizes it is capable of cutting for various stickers
  • Its capability to print stickers without using wires that need to be plugged into the wall
  • Its affordable price, comparable to many other options on the market

All of these are great benefits that come with the Cricut Explore Air 2 Mint. This item will help sellers to design stickers with little trouble, pushing them to expand their business into something greater.

With this device, you can print all the stickers you need. From planner stickers to a shipping label to a bumper sticker, the Cricut Explore Air 2 Mint is a great choice for you to look into before you start to sell this product and turn it into a business.

Xyron Create-A-Sticker

The Xyron Create-A-Sticker is a fun option for those that are searching for a unique sticker machine that they can use to design ideas and bring them to life. With the Xyron, you can create as many stickers as you like with little issue. It is not electronic, like the others. Rather, this device uses a simple click-and-turn method to fasten adhesive to the back of the sticker.

There are many excellent things about the Xyron Create-A-Sticker. Some of the most apparent include:

  • Its incredibly affordable price compared to the others on this list
  • It is easy to use the adhesive method
  • Its lack of technology simplifies the creative process immensely

This machine is easy to use. Even the kids can get in on the fun, making stickers right along with you.

For those that want to make stickers but hate technology, this is the item for you. It is simple and affordable in all of the best possible ways. Refills for the paper run around ten dollars, so you don’t need to empty your pockets to keep your tiny business running. All you need to do is make use of the Xyron Create-A-Sticker’s wonderful features.

Silhouette Cameo 4

The Silhouette Cameo 4 is an excellent vinyl sticker machine that anyone can access for their sticker shop. If you are selling this item, you cannot go wrong by investing in this machine. It also happens to be one of the cheapest options out of the ones that we have listed.

Many items stand out when talking about the Silhouette Cameo 4. Some of the most apparent include:

  • Bluetooth connection that gets rid of extra wires and cords
  • Varying widths for varying types of stickers
  • Pixscan technology that operates alongside your phone
  • A size that is sure to fit in any creative space without too much trouble

All of these are excellent benefits that come with the Silhouette Cameo 4. Selling stickers is as simple as investing in this machine and printing stickers.

If you are looking into this machine, it is worth a try. It is simple to use and does not take up too much room as many other sticker makers do. It’s practical, and users will find that they can print almost any size of sticker that they want to. The Silhouette Cameo 4 is one of the best options on the market for those that make this unique product.

Brother ScanNCut 2

This vinyl sticker machine is one of the best ones on the market. If you are looking to make vinyl stickers, you should seriously consider this one as your next option. This unique machine is simple and easy to use. It requires a bit more effort on your end than the others do, but this is ideal for anyone who wants to have a hand in how their stickers turn out.

The Brother ScanNCut 2 is great for many reasons. Some of the best include:

  • It requires no software, so all you need to do is plug this device in and go
  • It permits accuracy when cutting a design that is drawn by hand
  • It is simple enough for anyone to use
  • It is one of the quietest machines on the market since it does not require advanced technology to run

These are all cool things about the Brother ScanNCut 2. It’s an excellent choice for anyone who is considering investing in a machine for their stickers.

Whether you are posting these items on your Etsy sticker shop or selling sticker templates for others to use, the Brother ScanNCut 2 is sure to be a great help. If you are looking at a machine that can help your Etsy sticker shop, check this one out as at least one of your options. It is sure to deliver you optimal results that will last a lifetime.

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Disclosure: This link is an affiliate link, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Final Thoughts on How to Make Stickers to Sell

Stickers are a great way to make money online. Between photo stickers or stickers with a transparent background – there are many options to sell stickers.

Whether you want to open a custom sticker business or start selling stickers on Etsy, you must understand how to make stickers to sell. This can be done in many different ways, all ranging in difficulty and overall cost for you. What you choose should be what you feel most comfortable with and what is affordable.

You can create sticker designs online to sell to consumers through an Etsy shop, or you might print out stickers to sell in a physical location. You can pick your prices based on the work that you put into them. Remember to consider all of the costs involved when determining which is right for you. Between shipping labels, packing costs, and the costs of opening your own sticker shop – there are many expenses that should be evaluated.

Learning how to make stickers to sell is easy. Whatever you choose, it is guaranteed that you will be successful with your sticker shop. Everybody could use more stickers in their life, and you can provide them with the ones that they need.

Have you made money selling stickers? Comment your experience below!

Forrest is a personal finance, entrepreneurship, and investing expert dedicated to helping others obtain life long wealth. He has a Bachelor's degree in business and has been featured in many popular publications including Forbes, Business Insider, Bankrate, CNET Money, and many others. To learn more about Forrest, visit the About Us Page for more info.
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