How TikTok Creators Are Selling Their Video Templates

Lucas: So there's this creator I've been watching for a while—Sarah Smith, goes by Saz Smith online. She's a lifestyle and fashion creator, not huge, about 400,000 followers. But last month she posted a breakdown of her revenue from 2025, and one line jumped out: she made over $80,000 selling video templates. Luna: Wait—templates like the ones you'd find in Canva, but for TikTok videos? Lucas: Exactly. She's not selling her time doing custom edits for brands. She built a set of CapCut templates—preset transitions, text overlays, color grading, sound pairings—that other creators and even small businesses can plug their footage into. She sells them on her own site and on a marketplace called TemplateHub for anywhere from $15 to $49 a pop. Luna: That is smart. And honestly, I've seen a bunch of creators doing similar things. It's like the next step after selling presets for photos. Lucas: And that's exactly the angle here. For years, photographers sold Lightroom presets. Now video creators are doing the same thing—but the difference is, TikTok's editing app CapCut is free and has a template system built in. You can literally package your editing style into a file that anyone can use with one tap. Luna: And we should mention, this show is brought to you by... nobody. That's kind of the point. Lucas: Right. We don't run ads on this podcast, and we like it that way. If these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used—a strategy, a tool, a mindset shift—and you want to support the show staying ad-free, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just an option. Luna: Yeah, exactly. We'd rather keep the content clean and focused. Now back to templates—because I want to know how this actually works as a business. Lucas: So the mechanics are pretty straightforward. You create a video in CapCut, apply your signature editing style—maybe it's that fast-cut, high-energy aesthetic with bold text and a specific color palette—and then you export the project as a template. CapCut lets you publish templates directly to its community tab, or you can sell them on third-party marketplaces. Luna: And the buyer just imports the template, drops in their own clips, and the whole edit is done in seconds? Lucas: Pretty much. They can tweak the text or swap a song, but the structure is locked. That's the value—you're buying a proven editing formula that already works on the algorithm. Saz Smith told a newsletter that one of her templates has been used over 12,000 times. Every time someone uses it, it's a tiny ad for her brand. Luna: So it's not just direct revenue. It's also brand exposure and social proof. That's a smart flywheel. Lucas: Exactly. And the economics are wild because the marginal cost is zero. Once you've built the template, you can sell it infinite times. Saz's $80,000 came from about 2,500 sales across a dozen templates. That's an average of $32 per sale. Compare that to a brand deal where you might spend hours on a custom video for $500. Luna: But who's actually buying these? Is it other creators trying to look like the original, or are brands in on this too? Lucas: Both, but the brand side is growing fast. I talked to a social media manager at a mid-size DTC brand—they sell outdoor gear—and she told me they bought a pack of templates from a creator named Jake Dunlap. They use them for their organic TikTok posts. She said it saved their team about 10 hours a week because they didn't have to build every video from scratch. Luna: That makes sense. Brands want to look creator-native, but they don't have the same editing instinct. Buying a template from a proven creator gives them that authenticity shortcut. Lucas: Exactly. And some creators are now licensing their templates to brands exclusively. So instead of selling 50 copies at $20 each, they'll do a one-time license deal for $2,000 and the brand gets a custom template pack with the creator's name attached. It's almost like a sponsorship but for editing style rather than a shout-out. Luna: So how do you actually build a template that sells? Not every editing style is template-able, right? Lucas: Right. The templates that sell best are the ones with a distinct, repeatable hook. Think about the 'photo dump' trend—a bunch of stills with a specific transition and text overlay. That's easy to template. Or the 'day in the life' format with a particular beat sync. The key is that the style is recognizable and the result looks professional without requiring skill. Luna: So the creator is essentially selling their taste and their understanding of what works on the platform. Lucas: Exactly right. And that's why the best template sellers are the ones who already have a clear visual identity. If your videos look like everyone else's, no one will pay for your template. But if you have a signature look—like Saz's warm, grainy, slightly desaturated color grade—people will pay to borrow that aesthetic. Luna: I'm also curious about the tools. You mentioned CapCut, but what about Canva? They have a huge template marketplace. Lucas: Canva's actually a big player here too, but mostly for static or animated social graphics. For video, CapCut is the dominant one because it's native to TikTok's ecosystem. There's also a newer platform called EditMart that focuses specifically on video templates for short-form content. They take a 15 percent commission, which is lower than most marketplaces. Luna: And what about the risk of your style being copied or diluted? If anyone can buy your template, doesn't that make your own content less unique? Lucas: That's the biggest concern creators have, and it's valid. Saz addressed this in a video—she said she only templates about 30 percent of her style. She keeps her most distinctive elements, like her specific sound design or her handwritten font, exclusive to her own content. The templates are a simplified version that still looks good but doesn't replicate her exact brand. Luna: So it's a curated product, not a full clone. That's a smart way to protect your core IP while still monetizing your expertise. Lucas: Yeah, and some creators are even going further—they're building template 'systems' that teach editing principles along with the files. So you buy a pack of 10 templates and get a PDF guide on pacing, color theory, and when to use each template. That raises the perceived value and justifies a higher price point. Luna: And I assume the next step is subscription? Monthly template drops like a Patreon but for editing assets? Lucas: Funny you mention that—I saw a creator called Nina K. launch exactly that last month. For $9 a month, subscribers get four new templates a week and access to a private Discord where she reviews their edits. She told me she hit 200 subscribers in the first two weeks, so that's $1,800 a month in recurring revenue. Luna: That's basically a software as a service business built on top of a TikTok editing style. Incredible. Lucas: It really is. And the interesting thing is that this model works at different scales. You don't need a million followers. Nina has 60,000 followers. What you need is a recognizable editing style and the willingness to systematize it. Luna: So for a creator listening right now, what's the first step? Should they start by selling one template on a marketplace, or build a whole pack? Lucas: I'd say start with one really good template—maybe your most popular video format—and list it for free on CapCut's community tab. See if people actually use it. If it gets traction, then package it with a couple variations and charge $15. The key is to validate demand before investing time in a full pack. Luna: And what about legal? If a brand buys your template and uses it in a way you don't like—or if someone claims your template as their own—how do you protect yourself? Lucas: That's still a gray area. Most marketplace terms of service say you retain copyright, but enforcement is hard. Some creators watermark their templates in the preview and only deliver clean files after purchase. Others include a license agreement that prohibits resale or claiming authorship. But honestly, the bigger risk is probably that CapCut could change its template policy or commission structure overnight. Luna: Right, because you're building on someone else's platform. That's the classic creator economy risk. Lucas: Exactly. That's why the smartest creators are also building their own direct to consumer sales through Gumroad or their own website. They use the marketplaces for discovery but own the customer relationship. Saz Smith told a podcast that about 60 percent of her template revenue comes from her own site, which gives her full control. Luna: So the playbook is: use CapCut for distribution, but capture email addresses and sell directly long-term. Lucas: Exactly. And I think this model is only going to grow. As more brands and creators realize they can buy a proven editing style for the price of a coffee, the market for templates will expand. There's even talk of a 'template agency' where a team of editors build custom templates for brands on retainer. Luna: So instead of hiring a video editor full-time, you subscribe to a template service that gives you a new on-brand format every week. Lucas: Right. It's the same logic as Canva for design or Wix for websites—productizing a service that used to be bespoke. For creators, it's a way to scale their creative influence beyond their own content. And for buyers, it's a shortcut to better-looking videos without the learning curve. Luna: I love that. So the question becomes: what's your editing style worth? And are you packaging it up? Lucas: Exactly. If you've got a look that people recognize, there's probably a market for it. And as we've seen, even a modest following can turn into a meaningful revenue stream. Luna: Alright, that's a wrap for this one. We'll be back with more on the creator economy soon.