How to Make Educational PDFs to Sell
PDF files are a popular way of putting information together, and today you’ll learn all about how to make education PDFs to sell. Selling a PDF? Yes, really! If you can pack enough detailed information into a PDF file then customers will pay for that knowledge. Cover photo by Artsy Crafty.
Related: Do My Homework | FilterGrade Education Hub
Why PDFs?
PDF files are great for several reasons. Obviously, they are a universal format that can be displayed on just about any device, which makes them better than something like a Microsoft Word document. Additionally, a PDF is a bit like an image file in that all of the fonts, images, and layouts are baked into the final product. That means it can’t be changed or display incorrectly on a different device. This is perfect if you want to use a non-standard font that might not be on any
One of the most useful features that PDF files offer is that you can add fields that can be filled so that customers can fill in their own information on your PDF. They make great digital worksheets!
How to Make PDFs
Making PDFs is quite easy. Most word processing and image processing applications can create PDFs. The program you use depends on what your end-goal is.
The Microsoft Office and Google Drive suites of software can save any file as a PDF. This is probably the easiest way to create a simple document like a slideshow or a long article. It’s only when you need additional features that you might want to use something like Adobe Photoshop to really create a customized PDF.
Look into using different layouts for your text and titles to make your PDFs more interesting and readable. There are plenty of layout templates you can start from in both Office and Drive, so you should have no shortage of inspiration.
Where to Sell Educational PDFs
Selling educational PDFs can be quite easy. Most website builders allow owners to upload files and gate them behind forms or put them on a store page. There are also dedicated websites for selling PDFs, which might make your life easier. One of these is Teachable, a website for online courses that lets users upload PDF files as courses.
Giving away educational PDFs is also a good option if you put them begin a form. If you have an additional product or service to sell, this PDF can be an enticing freebie for someone. In exchange they give you their email address, and you’ll be able to market to them in the future. Using a PDF as a lead magnet is a great use, especially if you create something short and that can be an introduction to much deeper content.
Some examples include in-depth “state of the industry” documents full of data, cheat sheets for a simple concept such as photography apertures, or form-fillable quizzes that a user can fill out.
You can also sell educational PDFs on our Education page on FilterGrade.
Examples of Educational PDFs
Taking a look at our Education section, there are some great examples to inspire you. We’ve picked two starkly different examples of great educational PDFs so you can see how versatile this format can be.
Lighting Schemes for All by Maksim Serikow is 42 pages of expert-level photography lighting. It will be a document that you take a highlighter to and mark up your favorite notes. This document shows that your educational PDF doesn’t have to be all words. It’s full of images and diagrams to illustrate the lighting techniques.
Meanwhile, 50 Tips to Improve Your Corporate Videos by JRVisuals leans more on text, but in a well-organized way. There is a new tip on each page, making it an easy read. It accentuates the need for a good layout for your educational PDFs. You can have a text-heavy document, but a good layout can make it more palatable for the reader. Consider your layout carefully when creating your PDF. It should be easy to consume for anyone reading.
PDFs are absolutely perfect for professional-looking educational content, and make a fantastic medium for conveying valuable information. Making them and selling them is easier than ever, using free or inexpensive tools. Within a day, you could have a beautiful landing page set up to gather emails in exchange for your beautiful PDF document!
