BusinessBeginnerPreview
Selling Lightroom Presets
Turn your editing style into a repeatable digital product. This course walks you from building a cohesive preset pack through storefront setup, pricing, delivery, and before/after marketing that drives sales on autopilot.
For photographers and content creators with a recognizable editing style who want to package and sell it as a digital product.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook turns the course into a finished, launch-ready product. Work through each section as you build your preset pack, set up your store, and prepare your marketing. By the end you will have a tested collection, a configured storefront, a price ladder, and a stocked content queue, all captured in the worksheets and templates below.
Building a Preset Pack That Holds Up
Plan a cohesive collection and stress-test every preset so it performs across real photos, not just your hero shots.
Exercise: Define Your Pack Promise
Before touching a slider, lock the identity of your pack. Pull 6 to 10 reference images that match the look you want to sell, then answer the prompts to crystallize a one-sentence promise you will use later as your product headline.
- In one sentence, what look does this pack deliver and for what kind of photos? For example, warm sun-faded film tones for coastal and travel photos.
- What are the three through-lines of the look: the color temperature bias, the shadow tone, and the contrast level?
- Who is the buyer, and what feeds or photos do they want this look on?
- What will you name the pack so the name signals the look rather than being cryptic?
Worksheet: Collection Map (8 to 12 Presets)
Plan each preset in your collection using the 8-to-12 structure from the course: one hero, brightness variants, scene variants, and portrait versions. Fill in a clear, descriptive name and intended use for each before you build.
- Preset 1 name (hero)
- Preset 1 intended use
- Preset 2 name (bright variant)
- Preset 2 intended use
- Preset 3 name (moody variant)
- Preset 4 name (warm-light scene)
- Preset 5 name (cool-light scene)
- Preset 6 name (portrait skin-friendly)
- Preset 7 name (high-impact or matte variant)
- Presets 8 to 12 names and uses (as needed)
Checklist: Torture-Test Each Preset
- Assembled a test folder of 15 to 20 photos varying in light, skin tone, dominant color, and exposure
- Applied each preset to the full test set with no other adjustments
- Checked skin tones on at least three different skin tones and fixed orange and red HSL where needed
- Checked skies and greens for banding and oversaturation
- Confirmed highlights are not clipping and shadows are not crushing on well-exposed frames
- Cut or reworked any preset that only passed on two or three photos
- Recorded a pass or fail result for every preset across every test image
Packaging for Desktop and Mobile
Export the right formats, organize a clean download, and create the install guide and product visuals that make the pack feel premium.
Checklist: Export and File Prep
- Saved each preset as XMP with photo-specific settings unchecked (Exposure, White Balance if relative, Crop, Spot Removal)
- Verified every XMP by importing it into a fresh catalog
- Created one DNG per preset on a neutral sample with Exposure and White Balance reset
- Matched file names across formats, for example Coastal-01-Bright.xmp and Coastal-01-Bright.dng
- Tested the DNG flow in free Lightroom mobile using Copy Settings then Paste Settings
Worksheet: Download Folder Structure Plan
Lay out exactly what goes inside your delivery ZIP so buyers succeed on the first try. Fill in the contents for each part of the structure.
- Top-level folder name
- Desktop folder contents (XMP files)
- Mobile folder contents (DNG files)
- Start-Here install guide PDF filename
- License-and-Terms PDF filename
- Anything else included (bonus, social link card)
Exercise: Draft Your Install Guide and Cover
Outline the install guide and product visuals before you design them in Canva, so the design step is fast and the buyer experience is clear.
- Write the desktop install steps in plain language as a buyer would follow them.
- Write the mobile install steps for free Lightroom users, including the Copy Settings and Paste Settings flow.
- List the top two troubleshooting issues and the one-line fix for each.
- Describe your cover image: which hero photo, what text overlay, and which font and accent color define your brand.
Setting Up Your Store and Pricing
Choose a storefront, configure the listing, build a price ladder, and set your license, refund, and support stance.
Worksheet: Gumroad vs Payhip Decision
Compare the two platforms on the factors that matter for your situation, then commit to one. Record current verified fees from each platform at the time you decide.
- Expected monthly sales volume (low, steady, high)
- Gumroad per-sale fee (verify current)
- Payhip free-plan transaction fee (verify current)
- Payhip paid-plan monthly cost and fee (verify current)
- How much storefront and branding control I want
- Platform chosen and the reason
Exercise: Build Your Price Ladder
Design a catalog where a buyer can spend a little or a lot, using anchor pricing, tiers, and bundling. Sketch the full ladder before you publish.
- What is the standard list price for your single desktop-plus-mobile pack, and why?
- What cheaper tier will you offer, such as a mobile-only version, and at what price?
- What premium bundle anchors the high end, and what is its list price versus the sum of individual packs?
- What launch coupon will you use to create urgency without permanently cutting the base price?
Checklist: Storefront Launch Readiness
- Product created as a digital download with the packaged ZIP uploaded
- Benefit-led description written covering inclusions, desktop and mobile compatibility, and file formats
- Cover image and before and after previews uploaded to the gallery
- Price and any tiers or versions configured
- Instant delivery enabled and payout method plus tax details connected
- License terms summarized on the page and included as a PDF in the download
- Refund policy stated on the product page before purchase
- Completed a full test purchase, ideally with a 100 percent off coupon, and confirmed the correct file and receipt
Marketing with Before and After Content
Produce demonstration content, tailor it per platform, and run a structured launch while tracking the numbers that guide your next release.
Exercise: Script a Before and After Reel
Write one short-form reveal using the three-beat structure: show the change, name the pack, point to the link. You will batch produce 8 to 10 of these, so make this one your template.
- What is your one-second hook and on-screen text for the dull before frame?
- Which sample photos will you reveal, and in what order, to prove range across scenes?
- What caption names the pack and connects the effect to a buyable product?
- What is the exact call to action and where does it send viewers?
Worksheet: Per-Platform Content Plan
Adapt your before and after assets to each platform's role: discovery on Instagram and TikTok, evergreen search traffic on Pinterest. Fill in your plan for each.
- Instagram: format mix (Reels, carousels), hashtags, and link placement
- TikTok: hook style and trending-sound approach
- Pinterest: pin dimensions, keyword-rich title example, and destination link
- Primary platform to grow first and the reason
- Batch production day and how many assets per session
Checklist: Launch Sequence Execution
- Teased the pack for 5 to 7 days with behind-the-scenes sneak peeks
- Built an email or close-friends list with an early-access or launch discount offer
- On launch day posted a strong Reel, emailed a time-limited coupon, and added link stickers everywhere
- Ran 3 days of urgency reminders with a visible countdown, then ended the discount as promised
- Returned to a steady before and after cadence pointing to the full-price product
- Recorded conversion rate, top traffic source, average order value, and refund rate at 30 and 60 days
Your Action Plan
- Pull reference images and write your one-sentence pack promise and name
- Build the 8 to 12 preset collection in Lightroom around your hero look
- Torture-test every preset on 15 to 20 varied photos and cut or fix the weak ones
- Export matched XMP and DNG files and assemble the delivery ZIP with a clean folder structure
- Create the install guide, license PDF, cover image, and 5 to 6 before and after previews
- Choose Gumroad or Payhip, configure the listing, set your price ladder, and connect payouts
- Run a full test purchase with a 100 percent off coupon to confirm delivery and receipt
- Batch produce 8 to 10 before and after reels and adapt them into Pinterest pins
- Run a 5 to 7 day tease then a 72-hour launch with a limited-time coupon
- Review conversion, traffic source, average order value, and refund rate at 30 and 60 days, then improve the next pack
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