How I Created a Kids Coloring Book with Canva and Started Earning Passive Income (Step-by-Step Guide

 

Learn how to create and sell a printable kids' coloring book using Canva for free. Sell on Gumroad, Etsy, and more to earn passive income online in 2026.

How I Created a Kids Coloring Book with Canva and Started Earning Passive Income (Step-by-Step Guide)

Last Updated: April 2026 | Estimated Read Time: 8 minutes | Category: Passive Income, Digital Products

Introduction

What if I told you that a simple PDF file could earn you money while you sleep?

That's exactly what happened when I created my first digital product, a printable kids coloring book. I designed it using Canva, listed it on Gumroad, and suddenly I had a product that anyone in the world could buy instantly, at any time, without me doing anything extra.

If you love design, creativity, or just want a simple way to earn passive income online, this guide is for you. I'm going to walk you through exactly how to create a printable coloring book using Canva and sell it on multiple platforms to maximize your income.

Let's get started.

What Is a Printable Coloring Book and Why Does It Sell?

A printable coloring book is a PDF file that customers download and print at home. There are no shipping costs, no inventory, and no physical product to manage. You create it once and sell it unlimited times.

Kids coloring books are especially popular because:

Parents are always looking for fun, educational activities for their children. Teachers use printable coloring pages in classrooms. Holiday and themed coloring books sell massively on platforms like Etsy and Gumroad. The demand is consistent all year round.

My coloring book, Yummy USA! American Foods Kids Coloring Book features 20 printable pages of fun American food illustrations designed for kids. It's a simple concept, but it connects with a real audience.

Step 1: Plan Your Coloring Book

Before opening Canva, you need a clear plan.

Choose a theme that people are searching for. Some popular themes include:

Animals and nature, Holiday themed (Christmas, Halloween, Easter), Food and kitchen items, Alphabet and numbers for toddlers, Vehicles and transportation, Famous landmarks and cities

My book focuses on American foods — things like hot dogs, pizza, apple pie, and donuts. It's fun, educational, and appeals to both kids and parents.

Decide on the number of pages. A good starting point is 15 to 25 pages. My book has 20 pages, which feels complete without being overwhelming.

Choose your page size. Standard US Letter size (8.5 x 11 inches) works best because most home printers use this size.

Step 2: Design Your Coloring Book in Canva

Canva is a free online design tool that makes creating coloring books surprisingly easy. Here is exactly how to do it:

Go to canva.com and create a free account if you don't have one already.

Click "Create a design" and choose Custom Size. Enter 8.5 x 11 inches (or 2550 x 3300 pixels for high resolution).

For each page, add a simple illustration. You can use Canva's built-in elements and graphics, or use the AI image generator to create unique illustrations.

Keep the designs simple and bold. Thick outlines work best for coloring books because they are easier for kids to color inside.

Add a title page with your book name, a fun cover design, and your website or brand name at the bottom.

Once all pages are complete, download the entire design as a PDF Print file. Make sure to select high quality for the best printing results.

Pro Tip: Use only black and white illustrations inside the book. The cover can be colorful to attract buyers, but the inner pages should be clean black outlines ready for coloring.

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Step 3: Set Up Your Gumroad Store

Gumroad is one of the easiest platforms to sell digital products. It's free to join and takes only a small percentage of each sale.

Here's how to list your coloring book:

Go to gumroad.com and create a free seller account.

Click "New Product" and select "Digital Product."

Upload your PDF file. Add an attractive product cover image. This is the first thing buyers see, so make it eye-catching.

Write a clear, keyword-rich description. Example: "20 printable coloring pages featuring fun American foods for kids. Perfect for home, school, and travel activities. Instant PDF download."

Set your price. For a 20-page coloring book, $3 to $7 is a sweet spot that converts well. You can also offer it for free with a "pay what you want" option to build your audience first.

Hit publish and share your product link everywhere.

My Gumroad store is already live, you can see my coloring book here:https://nasima2.gumroad.com/l/uyukjp

Step 4: Sell on Multiple Platforms

Don't rely on just one platform. The more places your product is listed, the more passive income you can earn.

Here are the best platforms to sell your coloring book:

Gumroad is free to start, easy to use, and great for beginners. You can share your link directly on social media.

Etsy: This is the biggest marketplace for printable products. Millions of buyers search Etsy every day for printable coloring pages. There is a small listing fee of $0.20 per item, but the exposure is massive.

Payhip: Similar to Gumroad, completely free to join. Good for selling directly to your audience.

Teachers Pay Teachers If your coloring book has an educational angle, this platform connects you with thousands of teachers who buy printable resources regularly.

Creative Fabrica: A marketplace specifically for digital design products, including coloring pages and printables.

Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). You can publish your coloring book as a physical book on Amazon for free. Amazon prints and ships it for you, and you earn a royalty on every sale. This is completely passive.

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Step 5: Promote Your Coloring Book

Creating the product is only half the work. You also need to bring people to your listings.

Pinterest is the best platform for promoting printable products. Create vertical pins (1000x1500px) showing a preview of your coloring pages. Add your Gumroad or Etsy link to each pin. Pinterest users actively search for printable activities, so your pins can reach thousands of people organically.

Instagram and Facebook groups are also great. Join parenting groups, teacher groups, and homeschooling communities and share your product genuinely.

Your blog is a powerful tool, too. Write helpful articles related to your product like this one and include your product link naturally within the content. This brings in organic Google traffic over time.

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How Much Can You Earn?

Let's be realistic. A single coloring book listed on one platform will not make you rich overnight. But here's what's possible with consistency:

If you sell 5 copies per day at $5 each on Gumroad, that's $25 per day or $750 per month from one product.

If you list on Etsy and get consistent traffic, sales can grow significantly over time.

If you create 5 to 10 different coloring books across different themes, your income multiplies.

The key is to keep creating. Every new product is a new income stream.

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Final Thoughts

I created my Yummy USA Kids Coloring Book as an experiment — and it taught me something important. You don't need a huge following or a big investment to start earning passive income online. You just need a simple, helpful product and the right platforms to sell it on.

Canva makes design accessible to everyone. Gumroad makes selling digital products effortless. And Pinterest makes promotion possible even without a big audience.

If you've been thinking about creating your first digital product, start today. Pick a theme, open Canva, and create your first page. You'll be surprised how quickly it comes together.

Have questions about creating or selling printable coloring books? Leave a comment below — I'd love to help!