44 Free Easy Ideas to Create Printables for Your Blog

Keeping a blog as a business for yourself or just as an addition to your company's website doesn't mean that you only have to create blog articles for your readers. In order to keep your readers engaged, you have to offer them something. And that something is downloadable content, which can mean printables.

In this article, you'll find the following:

1. What are Printables?
2. Is adding Printables to your Blog a Good Idea?

3. Ideas on How to Use Printables for Your Blog

   1. Cooking Blogs Printables
   2. Printables for Educational Blogs
   3. Social Media Blogs Printables
   4. Printables for Travel Blogs
   5. Lifestyle Blogs – Printables to Offer
   6. Printables for Fitness Blogs
   7. Mom Blogs – Printables Ideas
4. Tools to Create Printables

They are things that you can … print. Keeping it serious, printables can be anything you can create. They can be anything that you can create, transform into pdf and then offer your readers through a downloadable link.

You can use printables for your blog as a way of engagement, therefore you can add up to the “definition” that printables are an engagement tool.

A printable can have one or multiple pages. It only depends on what you want to offer. Calendars will definitely have more pages. Checklists are based on a single page. We'll see further on this article more examples and ideas of printables. After that, you will surely have an idea of how many pages you should add.

Just don't add too many pages, as it will consume your time. A monthly calendar has the same design all over the year; even if it has 12 pages, they are quickly created with copy-paste. Other types of printables may have a more complex design, so try to stick it to a maximum of 5 pages.

Don't forget you don't want to load your blog with too much MB.

Adding printables to your blog is definitely a good idea. These days people are expecting something in return, so why not offer them something that can be useful?

The older generations which are still present in this rapidly-changing world, are the easiest to “catch”. They don't require much information when it comes to an offer or an email request, for example. People in this generations are not that skeptical, let's put it this way.

Think of your parents: most of the time, they will click every ad that is relevant to them, not thinking “what if this is actually a scam?”. If some websites require their email in exchange for access, most of the time they will give it.

Now there are the younger generations, which grew up with the Internet. They grew up with ads in every corner, and they know that some can be scams. They are skeptical.

But this is not the only reason why they are like this. As I've said, there grew up in a world full of ads, and in a world that's full of information. If they had to decide between 3 ads, they would certainly search for every information they can about each one. The chosen ad and website will be those that actually offer them something valuable.

In case each of the websites offers them great valuable content and information, the only thing that can differentiate them is if they offer something for free.

Here comes the savior – Printables! Some websites and blogs offer even bigger downloadable content such as e-books. But printables are easy to do, and if you are creative enough, they can be extremely useful for your readers. Hence, they will keep an eye on you, possibly becoming loyal to you.

Therefore, why having printables on your blog is a good idea? To differentiate yourself from your competitors, and to increase the loyalty of your readers. Printables are definitely less-time and resource consuming, hence they can be easily changed and updated. You can even create multiple printables, for each target audience you have, or for each ad and action you create.

What types of blogs can use printables?

Creativity is your only barrier. I believe that every type of blog can use printables as a way of engagement and to retain their readers.

Let me give you some ideas.

In the past, you could cook only if you had a recipe from a friend, from family or if you had a cookbook. Yes, I went way back, it's like it never even happened. But it did.

Nowadays, as you may know, there are millions of recipes around the Internet: text, videos, gifs. Each cooking blog provides recipes and cooking tips and tricks, just so that it's easier for you to eat well and exactly how you like.

If you have a cooking blog, and you simply want to offer your readers something that's useful, you can create:

• recipe templates;
• cooking journals;
• drawings for stress-relief;
• cooking weekly calendars.

Think of what would you like to get in return if you subscribe to a cooking blog, or simply consider what kind of printable would be useful if you're into cooking.

Educational blogs can be used by school, universities, but even by companies. No matter the use, printables are a great idea to give as an incentive.

These type of printables are quite easy to create and use because there are a lot of ideas for them. Start by remembering for whom you've created the blog: young adults, teenagers, adults, seniors etc. Then think what printables they can use in the day-to-day learning path.

If you offer training, then you can offer free printables at the end, based on the training's subject. You can also offer printables for those that you want to attract in your newsletter base.

Here are some ideas:

• calendars (monthly, yearly);
• planners (daily, monthly);
• checklists;
• assignments;
• drawings
• and the list goes on.

Most of the time blogs that talk about social media try to “capture” your email by saying “do you want more traffic? sign up to our newsletter and you'll receive a 4-page Planner”. They use sign-up forms so that people writing those blogs can build a database of a newsletter to which they can send out newsletters. Of course, there are numerous ways that you can use to power a sign-up forms on your blog. 

Now there are a lot of readers these days that prefer not to give you their email. And for those, you can simply assure them that you only want their best – to help them read the best content you offer. That is why you can offer free printables.

Free printables will actually be a great marketing tool for every reader you have. Whoever reads your social media marketing blogs, can download something of yours – like a sample. They'll be able to “test” you out, to see if you invest time and resources so that you can offer them the best content.

It's like saying “Hey! Look, I will give you this for free just to make an opinion about my blog”. If what you offer for free is good enough for them, be sure that the next time they'll come to your blog (and they will come), your readers will search for the sign-up form. You will raise in them the desire of keeping posted about your blog articles.

So what kind of printables can you offer on social media (marketing) blog? Again, as the other categories, you can have lots of ideas. Let me inspire you with some:

• weekly content planner;
• daily marketing schedule;
• marketing tasks checklist;
• a journal page for marketing ideas;
• marketing quotes for a daily boost;
• and whatever you come up with.

Travel blogs are quite popular these days. Easy access to plane tickets, and to so many hotels and apartments has propelled travel blogs. Also, Instagram played a big part in this, as users shifted from Facebook to here, because it's a place for beautiful photos. It's not that hard to start following a lot of people and get their follow back, as long as you amaze their eyes with beautiful travel photos.

Now travel bloggers can't rely only on Instagram to have a big readers audience. Instagram doesn't offer the possibility of adding links to the images' descriptions – at some point, you can have the option to add links to your IG story, or you can add a link to your bio, but that's it.

Therefore, in order to have many people that read your travel blog, you can add printables as a marketing strategy. The idea is basically the same as the one from the social media marketing blogs – you have to show people that you are not only running for their emails; you just want them to read your blog and like you in a genuine way. Something free, such as printables, is a great idea of basically being a bit humble, and making your way into people's hearts. A bit cheesy, but that's how I see it.

In terms of ideas, think of what kind of printables you would've enjoyed having while you travel. To give you some inspiration, read the small list below:

• luggage checklist;
• travel bookings calendar;
• “Before you go” checklist;
• “What to visit” Planner;
• travel journal pages;
• gift souvenir ideas and list;
• and so on.

Lifestyle blogs are the ones that include many subjects, actually. You can write about things you like, products, life hacks, beauty products, house ideas, and so many other things. After all, it's a blog about your lifestyle, hence a blog about how is your style of living.

It's that type of blog that offers you the possibility and the liberty to write about almost everything in your life. It can be a journal, but it can also be more than that.

To be fair, lifestyle bloggers also need some printables to offer, because all of the reasons above (see the other types of blogs) and because why not?!

I'm sure that you've been in some situations when you wanted to create something to ease your daily life, so why not brighten someone's day and offer your mini-idea for free? Create some loyalty for your blog, and people will come to read it as ants will come for sugar. You can then apply the same marketing tactic as described in the Social Media Marketing blogs.

As I've said, maybe you already created something for your own (a list, a checklist etc.). If you don't want to share it, then maybe you will be inspired by these printables ideas:

• shopping checklist (which can be divided into categories, such as cleaning, groceries, decorations etc.);
• “Organize your day” printable;
• “Fridge Messages” printable;
• Life Quotes Posters;
• Picture Frames;
• Budget Planner;
• and many more.

Another type of blogs is the Fitness and Wellness ones. As there are a lot of people struggling with weight, diets, and ways of eating, fitness blogs have also become popular.

There are a lot of paths that you can take regarding fitness blogs. You can write solely about your fitness journey, you can offer people diet recipes or you can link a YouTube account and present fitness exercises. Whatever path you decide to take, printables are definitely something that you can add to your blog.

If I were to read a fitness blog, I would love to receive something like:

• Workout Schedule (daily or monthly);
• Meal Planner (daily or monthly);
• Exercises checklist;
• Groceries list;
• Journal for Recipes;
• Fitness Inspirational Quotes;
• Drawing for Stress Relief;
• and many more.

In one of our articles, I have discussed the mom blogging topic. Depending on where you live, as a mother, you will have some time to spare. The USA it's not necessarily the country for paid maternal leave, but Europe is certainly encouraging a mother to stay at home with their child/children. Or there can be cases where you are a stay-at-home mother.

Either way, at some point you will have a bunch of time that you can use for your own good (to develop some skills, to relax by writing, and to keep yourself occupied with some work tasks). Also, you can be helping other moms in this world, as there are a lot of things to share from your mother experience.

Creating some printables can help your creative skills, and you basically help yourself through the tasks. Why not share them and bring more people to your mom blog? Printables are a cheap way of attracting and retaining readers. They'll always see your name (your logo) on the printables you offer. Therefore, they will constantly be reminded they can head up to your blog and find some great content.

Motherhood implies a lot of different activities and a lot of subjects that you can focus on. In terms of printables, let's see what can you create:

• Drawings for Kids or for Moms;
• Ornaments for some Crafting activities;
• Seasonal Recipes;
• Kids Doctor check-ups;
• Baby Journal Pages;
• Learning with Children Printables;
• Shopping list (groceries, clothes, baby accessories etc.)
• Daily Tasks Printables;
• Calendar;
• and so many more.

Now that we've seen where can you use printables for your blog, and some ideas to consider, let me give you some advice on how to create printables.

First of all, I would suggest using a design similar to your blog's design. Besides this, you can add your own logo on each printable. These free stuff act like Promotional Products. Because they are printed, your readers will see your logo/design whenever they will use these printables. In this way, they will always be reminded by you.

As a bonus “reminder” you can also add on your printables your website or a QR code. Since most of the smartphones today don't require a QR code application anymore, these codes will ease up not only your blogging strategies but also your reader's way to get to your blog. One of the tools I use to create QR code is GoQR. This online tool offers you the option to create v-cards, to add emails, calls, URL, and geolocation to your QR codes.

Second of all, my advice is to use tools that are easy and user-friendly. You don't want to use a lot of your time creating these printables, because…let's face it: time is your most important resource and these printables will be offered for free. I'm not saying you shouldn't care about how you design them. I'm saying that you should use efficient tools that will make your life easier, and that will save you time.

Some of the tools I've encountered throughout the years are online and free. There are somewhere you can upgrade to a subscription, but most of them offer a free account. In terms of designing printables, the process is mainly the same as creating images for your blog. 

This is one of the most popular online tools for creating designs. It lets you create:

• social media posts for Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter etc.
• infographics;
• blog headers;
• menus;
• invitations;
• and many other useful designs.

They offer a free account where you can create whatever you want. The 2.0 Canva version offers you the possibility of searching more easily for the template design you want.

Canva is a great tool for creating printables because you can use their database and pick up icons, text design, images, shapes etc. all for free. Just look at the ones that have the “free” tag on them.

You can also use “Custom Dimensions” so that you'll create the perfect printable for every idea you have.

In the Canva 2.0 you'll see that you can find the following templates:

• Calendars;
• Events;
• School Poster;
• Motivational Poster;
• Quotes;
• Collage;
• Planner;
• Bookmark;
• Book Cover.

All of these are great and useful ideas to create Printables for your blog.

As I mentioned “drawing for stress relief” as a Printable idea, here's what you can do: you can draw yourself on some sheet of papers. Use a dark and visible contour, and don't fill up the drawing with colors. Leave it as it is. You can then scan your drawings, being able to modify them on your desktop. Add your logo or a QR code, and voila, you're ready to add Printables drawings to your blog.

For your own inspiration regarding designs for your printables, you can add to Chrome the extension called PikTab. This is a place where you can find any type of design and photos. They search throughout the following websites:

• Pixabay;
• Flaticon;
• Mockupworld;
• Freepik;
• Unsplash;
• and 34 more websites.

Just imagine the time you are saving not having to search on every website you know for some design inspiration or for some photo! Everything you need is in one place, and it is so convenient!

In case you want more power for your designs, you can use Vectr. It is basically a Adobe Illustrator, free and online. Here are some of the features:

• work with layers;
• use a pen tool;
• upload images;
• use a pencil tool;
• add pages;
• quickly change dimensions;
• export as svg, png or jpg:
• share to Facebook or Twitter;
• export for print;
• and many more.

The export for print is the perfect option for you, as you printables will have to be … printed. You have to make sure that the print will be perfect.

You can test Vectr immediately, just so that you can see if it fits your needs and skills. If it's what you want, then you'll have to create an account so that you'll be able to download your masterpieces.

Be sure to check our blogging category, to find other useful things about…blogging.