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How to Sell Your Fonts for a Lot of Cash

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NOTE:  This is a guide designed to show you where you can sell fonts.  If you want to learn how to create fonts to sell on these platforms, I recommend these top free YouTube videos.

If you’re the type who designs a typeface in your spare time, then you may be looking for ways to sell your fonts and/or gain some exposure.  Fortunately, there are ways to do so, you just need to know where to look.  Trust me, it isn’t all that hard.

In today’s guide, I wanted to talk about a few things, from where to sell your fonts to what kind of companies are out there that may want to buy these fonts off you.  Generally, as long as your fonts are unique and can be considered something of value, you may be in luck.

Now, as a disclaimer, I haven’t personally sold fonts before, but I did reach out to some experts to help me in creating this guide.

First, Understand a Foundry and Retail Platform

Before I talk about who may want to buy your fonts, it’s important to understand the two main providers out there.

font foundry, sometimes referred to as a publisher or a vendor, will make the fonts just like you.  The key difference here is that they will distribute as well.  This can include distribution among their shop as well as use some resellers.  If you do sell a font with a foundry, they are almost like an all-in-one shop, doing everything for you, from handling customer support issues to marketing your fonts.  The only downfall is that most ask for exclusivity, which simply means you can’t sell your fonts anywhere else.  If going this route, a foundry can have strict quality standards, so you may want to read the guidelines before applying.

A retail platform, sometimes referred to as a reseller, works as a storefront of sorts with the company taking up to 50% of your sale.  The biggest difference between a foundry and a retail platform is that a retail platform will not create its own typeface.  Just picture it as a storefront and that’s about it.  If you were to go this route, you would have to sell your fonts on your own and give a cut to the platform you’re using.  In many cases, you will have to follow their rules, which sometimes means you cannot sell anywhere else.

Where you sell your fonts is entirely up to you, but in choosing a foundry and/or retail platform, there are a few things to consider, according to the experts.

  • always read the submission guidelines as most foundries/platforms have a certain “style”
  • cold emailing your fonts to a foundry can work, but it’s best to build a relationship before doing so
  • try to be unique in what you’re offering (think outside of the box)

If you feel you meet the points above and your font can fill a need, then it doesn’t hurt to market yourself as the worst thing that can happen is a denial email or being completely ignored.

How to Sell Fonts



MyFonts

MyFonts, by Monotype, offers one of the largest selection of professional fonts, with more than 130,000 to choose from.

To get started on MyFonts as a selling partner, they ask you to create a user account and then create a form to let them know a bit more about your foundry.  The process isn’t hard at all.

Before you submit your fonts, however, they do ask that you prepare a few items, such as your font family name, finalized font titles, at least five images and a few other things.  Everything that you need to know can be found via the official link below.

Once you submit your application, they will reach out to you within two weeks with a status.

The nice thing about MyFonts is that you do not need to be exclusive to their platform, but if you do use them, your price should not be higher elsewhere.

Fontspring Foundry

The Fontspring Foundry offers an industry-leading 70% royalty rate with no strings attached.

And, if you’re interested in selling, you can contact the team for more information.  You can follow the link below for more information.

As for who can join, the company says “any type designer solely responsible for the design of their font(s), or with permission from the owner can participate with Fontspring” can be considered.” However, there are some requirements and restrictions.  For example, they don’t sell any personal use only licenses nor do they sell fonts without an @font-face licensing.

Again, the link below can provide you with an application to fill out for more details as well as see what’s expected of you.

Etsy

Yes, you can sell your fonts on the Etsy marketplace believe it or not.  With name recognition like this, it could draw a lot of eyeballs to your listing if you optimize it correctly.  Out of all the companies I list, this one is probably the most popular option in terms of traffic.

Starting an Etsy store is free, but you will have to pay $0.20 for every item you post.  Aside from this, you will also have to pay a 5% transaction fee as well as a standard processing fee, which is another 3%.  This is subject to change, however.

You won’t see a ton of font sales, but some do okay. I would recommend searching and seeing what works for others as you can see how many sales they have made.

As a big negative, though, is that most people who buy through Etsy aren’t the most tech literate when it comes to downloading fonts, so you may find yourself doing more tech support work than most platforms.

Envato Market

As I write this, the Envato Market is accepting applications, but all applicants are hand-picked, so there’s no guarantee you will be accepted.  According to the FAQ, you will receive an email invite if accepted.  You can click here to see what kind of author criteria they are looking for.

If you were to get accepted, the company pays authors 50% of the net subscription revenue from subscribers who have downloaded items.

Unlike most sites, where they pay a flat fee for your fonts, Envato works on a subscription model, where customers pay a monthly rate to access a library of 7,000+ fonts.

Creative Market

The Creative Market sells more than just fonts. They also sell photos, graphics, templates, web themes and much more.  It’s not as popular as MyFonts.com, but it’s one to consider if you want more than one option.  They do have a network of more than seven million members.

If you’re interested, they ask that you open up your own shop, similar to that of Etsy.  And, from the looks of it, they are quick to approve most storefronts.

There’s no exclusivity lock-in nor do you need to wait for approval.  You can create your new products, upload them and see your fonts post instantly.

Now, you will have to market more if you use this platform, but it’s a great option if you don’t want to go through the hassle of getting approved elsewhere and/or setting up your website.

FontBundles.net

FontBundles.net, like CreativeMarket.com, allows you to create your own store.  As I write this, they have more than 1.3 million monthly visitors, most of which are looking for fonts.  It’s a very well put together site, making it easy to find what you’re looking for.

As a FontBundles.net store owner, you can start selling your products as soon as possible since they claim the approval process is quick.  The company offers a 50-75% commission on sales and a seven-day payout once you request a payout at any time.

To see what you can make, play around with the earnings calculator as well as browse the current listings to see what other sellers are listing their fonts for.  Most sellers state that a lot of your sales will come through the bundle deals.



YouWorkForThem

YouWorkForThem offers a 50/50 rate to all designers who sell fonts on their platform.  They were founded in 2001 by designers, remaining independent to this day.  It’s one of the bigger names in the font design community and is very easy to navigate.

As a seller, you can generate live reports, set your license settings and control your public profile.  In short, you’re in charge.

If you want to submit a font, they do ask that you email in your submission which should include links to any of your online portfolios.  After submitting, allow up to 10 days for review to hear back.

If you are invited, you can set up a shop at no fee.  As mentioned, you will just have to pay 50% to the platform.

Creative Fabrica

There is no cost to get started on Creative Fabrica, but as you guessed it, they do take a portion of your sale, ranging from 25% to 50%.  Aside from selling your fonts as is, you can be part of their subscription service, which can bring in additional income.

Creative Fabrica has a fantastic customer support team and a very easy-to-browse dashboard.  It’s quite the hit if you’re looking to purchase anything font-related.

Once active, you can participate in deals to increase your sales numbers.

TheHungryJPEG

TheHungryJPEG also allows you to create your own store, allowing you to keep up to 70% of every sale you make.  There’s no exclusivity, and once approved, you can start selling the products instantly at the prices you set.

This is another one where you will have to market your storefront if you do decide to join, but they do serve hundreds of thousands of visitors a month.  You can show up in the search results with the right keywords, however.

To start your free storefront and learn more about how the platform works, I linked the official sign-up page below.

Crella

There’s no cost to set up a shop with Crella, but they will take 25% of your sale plus a $0.50 fee.  This is one of the lower commission rates on the market.

The website doesn’t see a ton of traffic but seeing it’s free to set up a store, it doesn’t hurt to add some of your fonts to see if there’s any interest.  Worst case, it just collects dust.  As it’s a newer platform, it could take some time to get the ball rolling.

Final Thoughts

Among the ones I mentioned, MyFonts.com is the biggest and should be the one that gives you the most business.  This seems to be said a lot among most font sellers.  This platform will help you market your fonts as well as connect you with targeted buyers.  While the other options can work, I feel they won’t bring in as much traffic as MyFonts.  Nonetheless, it’s other options to at least consider, I suppose.  Seeing most are free to join, you can always close your account down if you’re unable with your sales.

Selling your fonts online can be done, but don’t expect to see your first sale overnight.  It’s going to take the right font and the right audience/platform to get the ball rolling.  Like any business, once you see some sales, word of mouth should spread.

If you want to start creating fonts and learn how to market properly, I highly recommend the YouTube videos I linked to prior or even consider taking a Udemy class for a few bucks.  You can learn a lot for next to nothing.

As always, if I’m missing any platforms and/or you want to add to what I have already written, you’re more than welcome to do so in the comments below.

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Tom Nathaniel

Hi! My name is Tom Nathaniel, and I created LushDollar to help share my honest thoughts on everything money. You won't find gimmicks here. It's the Internet's most honest money site after all. I graduated from Arizona State University, and I have worked in the finance industry since 2006, consulting with multiple Fortune 5000 companies.

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