Coloring books are one of the best-selling digital products on Etsy. From cute animals to relaxing mandalas, customers love having printable designs for kids, adults and mindfulness activities. If you’ve ever thought about selling coloring books online, Etsy is the perfect place to start.
And here’s the best part: you don’t need to be a professional illustrator. With AI tools and ready-made prompts, you can create entire coloring books quickly and professionally.
Why Sell Coloring Books on Etsy?
- High demand → Parents, teachers and adults looking for relaxation are always searching for new coloring designs.
- Digital delivery → No shipping required. Buyers download and print instantly.
- Scalable → Once uploaded, your book can sell unlimited times.
- Seasonal trends → Themes like Christmas, Halloween, or Valentine’s Day sell especially well.
Step 1: Choose Your Niche
Think about what kind of coloring book you want to sell:
- Cute animals for kids
- Mandalas and patterns for adults
- Fantasy and magical themes
- Holiday and seasonal editions
- Educational coloring books (alphabet, numbers, nature)
The more specific your niche, the easier it will be to stand out.
Step 2: Create Your Coloring Pages
This is where AI prompts make the difference. Instead of drawing by hand, you can use my curated prompts to generate clean, high-quality coloring pages.
✨ With my prompt sets, you’ll be able to:
- Create outlines with clear, defined borders
- Ensure pages are printable and easy to color
- Quickly generate multiple variations for full books
- Adapt themes for kids, adults or seasonal niches
👉 Explore my Prompt Collections to start creating your own coloring books.
Step 3: Design & Format Your Book
Before arranging your pages, it’s important to optimize your images. Using design programs like Canva or Photoshop, you can:
- Ensure pure white backgrounds.
- Enhance contrast so outlines look sharp and clean.
- Remove or adjust unwanted details.
- Balance page composition for a better coloring experience.
Once your pages are polished, you can:
- Arrange them in Canva or Adobe InDesign.
- Add a simple cover design with your title.
- Export as a PDF (the most common Etsy format).
💡 Tip: Include 20–50 pages for better value.
Step 4: Open Your Etsy Shop
- Create a shop name (e.g., “Magical Coloring Books”).
- Upload your product as a digital file.
- Write a keyword-rich title and description (e.g., Printable Cute Animal Coloring Book for Kids).
- Add tags like coloring book printable, kids coloring pages, mandala coloring, adult coloring PDF.
- Price it fairly → $4.99–$9.99 is common for digital coloring books.
What about Etsy’s costs?
💡Etsy makes it easy to start, but it’s not completely free. Here are the main fees you should know before opening your shop:
- Listing fee → $0.20 USD per item. Listings stay active for 4 months or until sold.
- Transaction fee → 6.5% of the sale price (including shipping, if applicable).
- Payment processing fee → Varies by country. For example, in the U.S. it’s 3% + $0.25 USD per order.
- Optional advertising → Etsy Ads (you set a daily budget) and Offsite Ads (12–15% if a sale comes from external ads Etsy runs on Google, Pinterest, etc.).
👉 The good news is that there’s no monthly subscription fee. You only pay small costs as you list and sell, which makes it low-risk to start testing your coloring book ideas.
Step 5: Promote Your Coloring Books
- Share mockups on Pinterest and Instagram.
- Show a short video of someone coloring your pages.
- Offer a free sample page to grow your email list.
- Release seasonal editions (Halloween, Christmas, Spring).
Final Thoughts
Selling coloring books on Etsy is a simple and fun way to build passive income. With AI prompts, you don’t need to spend weeks illustrating by hand, you can create polished, ready-to-sell books in hours.
If you’re ready to start your Etsy journey, check out my Coloring Book Prompt Collections and begin creating your first product today!
👉 Discover Coloring Book Prompts
