How to Sell Notion Templates and Make Real Money in 2028

When Notion exploded in popularity, everybody and their cousin started selling templates. Most of them made very little. Some of them built genuine businesses. The difference wasn't talent — it was knowing what the market actually wanted.

I've been in the digital product space for a while now, and Notion templates are one of the few product types that have held up consistently. Here's what I know about making it work.

What Actually Sells

The single biggest mistake I see is people building templates they think are useful rather than templates that solve a specific painful problem.

Generic productivity systems don't sell like they used to. The market is saturated. What sells in 2028:

Business-specific systems. A Notion CRM for freelance photographers. A project tracker for web agencies. A content calendar for LinkedIn creators. The narrower and more specific, the better. Someone who is a freelance photographer looking for a CRM will pay $27 for something designed specifically for them, and ignore a generic CRM template even if it's free.

Complete workflow systems. Not a template — a system. Something that covers the full arc of a workflow, from intake to delivery to follow-up. The more "set it and forget it" you can make it feel, the more it's worth.

Templates with a learning component. A template that comes with a video walkthrough or a written guide for how to actually use it is worth more and gets better reviews. People don't just want the file — they want to understand the logic behind it.

Niche-specific operations. HR docs, hiring trackers, content production systems, financial dashboards — if you have real experience in an industry, you can build templates that people in that industry will pay for.

How to Price Notion Templates

Here's where I see people undercharge constantly:

• Simple/single-use templates: $7–$17
• Complete systems (multi-page, interconnected): $27–$49
• Full workflow bundles (5+ templates + guide): $49–$97
• Niche-specific premium systems: $97+

The more specific and complete the solution, the more you can charge. A generic personal dashboard template is worth $9. A complete client onboarding and delivery system for freelance designers, with built-in automations and a walkthrough video, is worth $47–$79.

Don't price by how long it took you to build. Price by the value it delivers. If your template saves someone 3 hours a month, over a year that's 36 hours. What's 36 hours worth to that person?

Where to Sell

This is where I want to be direct with you: I've tried Gumroad, and it works fine. But for most people building a real Notion template business, MadeThis is a better choice.

Here's why: Gumroad takes a higher transaction cut on the base plan, the storefront customization is limited, and the affiliate management tools are basic. If you want to run an affiliate program — which is a great growth lever for digital products — MadeThis handles it much more cleanly.

You can read the full breakdown at /compare/madethis-vs-gumroad, but the short version is that MadeThis is built specifically for digital product sellers, not as a side feature alongside physical goods. That focus shows.

Building a Repeatable System

The people making real money with Notion templates are building a catalog, not a single product. One template is a side hustle. Ten templates across a niche is a business.

Here's how I'd approach it:

1. Pick a niche you actually know. Your industry, your profession, something you've done for years.
2. Build 3–5 templates that solve different problems in that niche.
3. Put them on a clean storefront with good product copy and screenshots.
4. Bundle the most popular ones into a higher-ticket bundle ($49–$97).
5. Market via SEO, Pinterest, and YouTube — show people using the template.

The SEO angle is real. "Notion template for [specific use case]" searches have surprisingly low competition for how much intent they carry. Someone searching "Notion CRM for freelancers" is very close to buying. Capture that traffic and you have a genuinely passive income stream.

The Honest Reality

This isn't a get-rich-quick thing. Building the templates takes time. Writing the product copy and taking good screenshots takes time. Getting the first few sales takes time.

But once a template catalog is up and the traffic is coming in — even slowly — it runs itself. I've had months where I made $300–$600 from Notion templates I hadn't touched in six months. That's what the model looks like when it works.

If you're ready to launch, start with MadeThis. The setup is fast, the checkout converts well, and you'll spend less time fighting the platform and more time building your catalog.