Print on demand (POD) is an increasingly popular way to make money online. With POD, you can create and sell unique products without having to hold inventory or worry about shipping. We already talked about POD here and here. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at how you can make money with print on demand.
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What is Print on Demand?
In short: Print on demand is a business model that allows you to create and sell products without having to keep inventory on hand. Instead, you upload your designs to a POD platform, and they print and ship your products as they are ordered. This allows you to sell unique and personalized products without the risk of holding inventory. If you wanna learn more about POD please read this article.
How to Make Money with Print on Demand
Now let's get to the interesting question: Can you really make money (and with "making money" I mean a full-time income) with print on demand?
Let's first get to a few things you need to "get right" bevor you can make serious money with Print on Demand and this is, spoiler alert, the hassle for most of us:
- Choose Your Niche
The first step to making money with print on demand is to choose your niche. You want to find a market with a high demand for customized products. This can be anything from sports teams to pet owners to people who love unicorns. Once you’ve identified your niche, you can start creating designs that appeal to that market.
- Create Your Designs
Next, you’ll need to create your designs. You can use a graphic design software like Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Procreate or even - at least up to a point - Canva to create your designs. Make sure your designs are high quality and unique. You want to stand out from the competition. Try to focus on your niche while creating your designs. More often than now we slip away while designing because, of course, as human beings we do not just like "one thing". Still, it's super important that you stand with your POD shop for "something". It doesn't really matter what the "something" is - what matters is that you stick with it.
- Choose Your Platform
There are several POD platforms to choose from, including Society6, Teespring, and Redbubble. On the mentioned sites you can only upload your products but not e.g. modify your images. If you decide to have your own store on Etsy or your website you can connect your Printify or Printful store with it and have much more influence. Then, of course you need to do all the marketing yourself.
Each platform has its pros and cons, so you’ll want to do some research to find the best fit for your business.
- Upload Your Designs
Once you’ve chosen your platform, it’s time to upload your designs. Make sure your designs meet the platform’s guidelines and are high quality. You want your products to look professional and appealing to potential customers. Beside that, take care of tagging your products well. This is essential! The more words you find that describe your products the easier it gets for your customers to find you.
- Set Your Prices
When setting your prices, you’ll want to consider the cost of production and shipping. You’ll also want to consider your profit margin. You don’t want to price your products too high, but you also don’t want to price them too low and not make a profit.
- Market Your Products
Once your products are live, it’s time to start marketing them. You can use social media, email marketing, and paid advertising to reach potential customers. Make sure your marketing efforts are targeted towards your niche market.
Please keep in mind: If you link to sites just as Redbubble or Society6 rather than your own it might not suit your needs in the long run. It can always be that you decide to habe your products only in your own store. There, each product has a landingpage where you can link to. Then you definitely do link building for yourself and not for a 3rd party site.
I talk more about this in my class "Print on Demand for Artists" linked below.
Don't forget - marketing never stops. That's one thing you should do every day!
- Analyse Your Sales
Finally, you’ll want to analyze your sales data to see what’s working and what’s not. You can use this information to make adjustments to your designs, prices, and marketing efforts.
Conclusion
Print on demand is a great way to make money online. With the right niche, designs, platform, and marketing, you can create a profitable business. Remember to focus on creating unique and high-quality designs that appeal to your niche market. With persistence and hard work, you can succeed with print on demand.
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