If people keep sliding into your DMs asking "what presets do you use?" — you're sitting on a revenue stream you haven't tapped yet. Selling presets online is one of the most beginner-friendly ways for photographers and content creators to earn passive income, and the barrier to entry is genuinely low. You don't need a warehouse, a shipping carrier, or even a massive following. You need a signature editing style, a few hours of setup time, and the right tools to get your products in front of buyers. This guide walks you through exactly how to sell presets online — from packaging your first product to driving consistent sales through your social channels.
What Are Presets and Why Do They Sell So Well?
Lightroom presets (and mobile editing presets for apps like VSCO, Snapseed, or A Color Story) are pre-saved editing settings that apply a specific look to a photo in one click. They're the secret behind the consistent aesthetic you see on polished Instagram feeds, travel blogs, and YouTube thumbnails.
Presets sell so well for a few reasons:
- They solve a real problem. Most people know what they want their photos to look like but have no idea how to get there technically. Your preset does the heavy lifting for them.
- They're digital products. Zero inventory, zero shipping, zero production cost after the initial creation. Every sale is almost pure profit.
- Buyers trust creators they follow. If someone loves your aesthetic, they want to replicate it. That's built-in demand before you even launch.
- They scale effortlessly. Whether you sell one preset pack or a thousand this month, the work you put in stays the same.
The creator economy has made preset selling mainstream. Photographers, travel influencers, food bloggers, and lifestyle creators all successfully sell presets as a core part of their income stack. And with the right setup, you can too.
How to Create Presets Worth Selling
Before you think about payment processors and sales pages, you need a product worth buying. Here's how to make sure your presets actually deliver value.
Develop a Consistent Editing Style First
The biggest mistake new preset sellers make is rushing to create a product before their editing style is actually defined. Buyers aren't just purchasing settings — they're purchasing your look. Spend time refining your aesthetic across different types of photos: portraits, landscapes, flat lays, golden hour shots, indoor shots with artificial light.
Ask yourself: what makes my feed immediately recognisable? Is it warm moody tones, bright and airy minimalism, high-contrast film grain, or cool desaturated travel photography? Your presets should reflect that intentional identity — not just a random collection of edits you liked on different days.
Build Presets That Work Across Different Lighting Conditions
One of the most common complaints buyers leave in reviews is "this preset only works in one type of lighting." That kills your reputation fast. When building your preset pack, test each preset across:
- Natural daylight (overcast and sunny)
- Golden hour and sunset
- Shade and indoor artificial lighting
- Different skin tones if you shoot portraits
If a preset needs tweaking in different conditions, document that in your instructions. Better yet, include variations — a "bright day" and "low light" version of the same look. Packs that include multiple versatile presets consistently outperform single-preset products.
Use Lightroom for Professional-Grade Presets
Adobe Lightroom (both desktop and mobile) is the industry standard for preset creation. Desktop presets are exported as .xmp files, while older Lightroom versions use .lrtemplate files. Mobile Lightroom presets are shared via .dng files — a workaround that lets buyers import the editing settings without needing a paid Lightroom subscription.
If your audience skews heavily mobile, consider offering both a desktop and a mobile-compatible version in the same pack. It removes a huge barrier for buyers who don't use Lightroom Classic.
Pricing Your Preset Packs
Pricing digital products is part psychology, part market research. Too cheap and buyers question the quality. Too expensive without the brand to back it up, and you'll get passed over for bigger names.
What Do Presets Typically Sell For?
Here's a realistic breakdown of the preset market in 2024:
- Single presets: $5–$15
- Small packs (5–10 presets): $15–$35
- Full collections (20–50 presets): $35–$80
- Premium bundles with tutorials or video walk-throughs: $80–$150+
If you're just starting out, a mid-tier pack priced between $20–$40 tends to hit the sweet spot. It's affordable enough for an impulse purchase, but high enough to signal quality.
Bundling to Increase Average Order Value
Don't just sell one pack — think in bundles. Offer a "starter pack" at a lower price point and a "complete collection" at a premium. You can also add bonus products to justify higher price tags: a behind-the-scenes editing video, a PDF guide on how to use presets effectively, or a mini course on your workflow. Buyers who get more than they expected become your loudest word-of-mouth marketers.
Where to Sell Presets Online
You have two main routes: selling through a third-party marketplace, or selling directly through your own storefront. Both have trade-offs.
Third-Party Marketplaces
Platforms like Etsy, Creative Market, and FilterGrade already have built-in audiences searching for presets. The advantage is discoverability — buyers find you through search. The disadvantage is fees (Etsy takes a percentage of every sale) and the lack of direct customer relationships. You're renting space on someone else's platform.
Etsy works particularly well for newer creators who don't yet have a large following. Creative Market tends to attract buyers willing to pay premium prices for high-quality, professionally packaged digital assets. FilterGrade is niche-specific and highly relevant for photographers and editors.
Your Own Digital Storefront
Selling directly — through platforms like Gumroad, Payhip, Lemon Squeezy, or a Shopify store — gives you full control. You own the customer data, you set the rules, and you keep more of every sale. The trade-off is that you need to drive your own traffic. But if you're active on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, that's exactly what your content is already doing.
Gumroad in particular is extremely popular with creators selling presets because it handles payments, file delivery, and even lets you offer pay-what-you-want pricing or discount codes. It's free to start, with a small transaction fee per sale.
Which Should You Choose?
The honest answer: both. Use a marketplace to capture search traffic from buyers who don't know you yet, and use your own storefront to sell to your existing audience. Link both from your social profiles and keep your branding consistent across every touchpoint.
How to Market and Sell Presets Through Social Media
Your social presence is your biggest sales asset. Here's how to turn your content into a steady stream of preset sales without feeling like you're constantly pitching.
Use Before-and-After Content Relentlessly
Before-and-after edits are the highest-converting content type for preset sellers. Period. A side-by-side showing a flat, unedited RAW file transformed into your signature aesthetic does more selling than any caption ever could. Post these consistently across Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts.
When you post before-and-afters, always include a clear call to action. "Link in bio to grab the preset" is simple and it works. The key is making that link easy to find and click.
Create Tutorial Content That Showcases Your Style
Tutorial content builds authority and creates demand simultaneously. When you teach people how to edit — even for free — you're showing them what's possible with your style. Some viewers will implement what they learn manually. Others will realise it's far easier to just buy your preset and skip the guesswork. You're creating demand for your own product by demonstrating the value of the outcome.
YouTube is particularly powerful here. A "how I edit my Instagram photos" video can drive preset sales for years through search, not just when it's first published. Include your preset link in the video description and pin a comment with the purchase link.
Use Stories and Polls to Build Anticipation Before a Launch
If you're launching a new preset pack, don't just drop it cold. Tease it. Use Instagram Stories to show sneak peeks, run polls ("would you want a moody or bright version?"), and share the story of how the pack was created. By the time launch day arrives, you'll have a warm audience who already feel invested in the product.
Optimise Your Link in Bio
This is where a lot of creators leave money on the table. Your Instagram bio or TikTok profile only allows one link — and if that link goes to your homepage or a confusing landing page, you're losing sales. You need a link in bio page that clearly showcases what you're selling, makes it one tap to purchase, and represents your brand aesthetic.
A well-structured link in bio page for a preset seller should include: a link to your most popular preset pack, a link to your full collection or storefront, and optionally, a link to your email list sign-up so you can market to buyers directly in the future.
Building an Email List to Drive Repeat Preset Sales
Social media algorithms are unpredictable. Your email list isn't. Growing an email list as a creator is one of the smartest long-term strategies for anyone selling digital products — including presets.
Offer a Freebie to Grow Your List
A free preset is one of the most effective lead magnets a creator can offer. Give away one high-quality preset in exchange for an email address. This does two things: it gets people onto your list, and it lets them experience your product quality firsthand. Someone who downloads your free preset and loves it is far more likely to buy your paid pack than someone who's never tried your work.
Set this up through your email platform (ConvertKit, MailerLite, and Flodesk are all popular with creators) and link the opt-in form from your link in bio page alongside your paid products.
Email Your List When You Launch or Discount
Every time you launch a new pack, run a sale, or create a seasonal bundle (Christmas editing presets, summer golden hour packs, etc.), email your list first. Your subscribers are your warmest audience. Even a simple "here's what's new" email with a clear buy button will generate sales that social posts alone won't.
Delivering Your Presets and Handling Customer Experience
Selling digital products means the delivery experience happens immediately after purchase — and how smooth that experience is will directly impact your reviews and word-of-mouth referrals.
Automate Your File Delivery
Platforms like Gumroad and Payhip handle file delivery automatically. As soon as someone buys, they receive a download link. You never need to manually send a file. This is one of the greatest advantages of selling digital downloads — it's completely hands-off once it's set up.
Make sure your download includes: the preset files themselves, a clear PDF or text guide explaining how to install and use the presets, and your contact email or support link in case buyers run into issues.
Write a Genuinely Helpful Installation Guide
The number one reason buyers contact creators after purchasing presets is because they don't know how to install them. A well-written installation guide — covering both desktop Lightroom and mobile Lightroom — will dramatically reduce support requests and increase customer satisfaction. Include screenshots or link to a quick YouTube tutorial walking through the installation process. Buyers who successfully install and use your presets are the ones who leave five-star reviews and recommend you to friends.
Scaling Your Preset Business Over Time
Once your first pack is live and selling, you're not done — you're just starting. Here's how to grow a sustainable preset business rather than a one-off product launch.
Release New Packs Regularly
Committed preset buyers are always looking for their next purchase. If you only ever release one pack, you're leaving repeat revenue on the table. Plan a content calendar that includes new preset launches aligned with seasons, trends, or new editing styles you've been developing. Announce new releases to your email list and social followers.
Add Higher-Ticket Offers to Your Product Ladder
Presets are a great entry point, but they can also be the start of a larger product ecosystem. Once you have a buyer base, consider adding: a full editing course or workshop, one-on-one editing feedback or coaching sessions, a membership with monthly presets and tutorials, or brand partnership deals where you create custom presets for photography brands or camera companies. Each of these offers a higher revenue ceiling than individual preset packs.
Track What's Working and Double Down
Look at your sales data regularly. Which preset pack sells best? Which social posts drove the most traffic to your store? Which email subject lines got the most opens? Use that data to guide what you create next. The creators who build the most successful preset businesses aren't the most talented editors — they're the ones who pay attention to what their audience actually wants and keep showing up consistently.
Start Selling Your Presets — And Make Your Link in Bio Work for You
Selling presets online is one of the most accessible ways for creators to build passive income around something they're already doing: editing photos. You've spent time developing a style that people admire. Packaging that style into a product that people can buy is the logical next step — and with the right setup, it can generate income long after you've moved on to your next piece of content.
The key takeaways: create presets with genuine versatility and quality, price them fairly, sell on both marketplaces and your own storefront, market relentlessly through before-and-after content and tutorials, and build an email list so you own your audience long-term.
One thing that ties all of this together is a clean, conversion-focused link in bio page. When someone watches your Reel, loves your aesthetic, and taps the link in your bio, what they land on matters enormously. A cluttered or generic link page will cost you sales. A well-designed page that showcases your presets, your other products, and your brand will turn casual followers into paying customers.
Linkrr is built for exactly this. It's a link-in-bio platform designed specifically for creators who are serious about monetising their online presence. Whether you're selling preset packs on Gumroad, promoting an Etsy shop, growing your email list, or showcasing your full creator brand, Linkrr gives you a beautiful, customisable landing page that makes every link you share work harder. Set up your Linkrr page today and give your preset business the storefront it deserves.
