Welcome to the Ultimate Beginner’s guide to Print on Demand (POD).
Maybe you have heard about POD online, from a friend, or maybe you have no idea what it is.
Not to worry, I am going to start from the very beginning and introduce you to one of the best beginner’s businesses to start today.
With very little to no start-up cost and potentially unlimited profits, this could be the side hustle that changes your life and gives you the financial freedom you have always wanted.
What is Print on Demand?
A Print on Demand business is where you can sell products without holding any stock or getting involved in any manufacturing or shipping.
You create your own designs then place those designs on certain products. You can then sell these to customers and your production partner will take care of the rest, leaving you with the profit.
As POD has expanded in recent years, the number of products you can sell have dramatically increased!
From T-shirts to jigsaw puzzles, Jewellery to Shower curtains. Even Dog Bandanas!
There are so many POD suppliers out there, you really can sell nearly anything.
To make it easier for you I have made a simple diagram to show the process of Print on Demand.
One of the great things about Print on Demand is that you don’t have to spend anything on supplies until you make a sale.
Depending on the supplier, once the sale is confirmed, you will be charged the base cost of the product which will then be created and shipped, leaving you with a happy customer and a nice profit in your pocket.
The finer details of how everything works depends on what platform you decide to sell on and how you choose to advertise your products.
This will all be discussed later, once we have covered the basics.
Can you make money with Print on Demand?
The short answer is YES!
Print on Demand is one of the most popular passive income businesses in the world! It wouldn’t be that popular if it wasn’t profitable.
I have personally tried a handful of different print on demand businesses in the past few years and although I have had varying degrees of success, every business was very profitable and 100% worth the setup time.
For example, let’s say you are selling a hoodie with a profit of £10. Once you’re up and running and you manage to sell just 10 per day. That would be £100 profit per DAY. That would give you £3000/month!!
That’s enough to quit your job!
I’m not saying getting to that many sales is easy.
And I want you to ignore anyone who tells you it is.
After a lot of hard work, I can tell you those people saying they made £30,000 after 1 month of selling are either lying or are in a very small percentage of people who just got lucky.
There is no secret key to making millions with any business.
And like every other type of business, Print on Demand takes a lot of hard work and dedication, especially as a beginner.
But once you have committed and worked hard at Print on Demand, the profits are quite literally endless because you will never be capped with how many products you can sell.
How much does it cost to start?
Dreaming about our future profits is great but first we need to see how much POD costs.
If you decide to start on specific POD marketplace sites like Redbubble, your start-up cost can literally be £0.
Depending on whether you then want your own website, want to sell on etsy, or market your products using paid ads, the starting cost can then increase.
As a beginner I started with nothing. I then used my profits from my first business (on Redbubble) to pay to list products on etsy which has a cost of £0.20 ($0.20) per listing.
Your start-up cost really depends on what POD business you would like to start. Meaning you can start with absolutely nothing and start making profit from day 1.
If you start with a supplier and list your products on another site (eg etsy, shopify) you will need a small float for your first few sales, just to cover the cost of your products.
As I said, you will not be charged until you make a sale.
But depending on the supplier and site you use, when you get paid the profit and when you have to pay the cost of the product might not align. This means you could have 1 to 2 days where you have paid out for the product, but not received the money from the customer.
I would recommend having enough money to cover the base cost of 5 products to start, just to be safe, and to avoid any small debt.
Once you get more established and branch out on different platforms you may want to invest in advertising or hiring a website builder. This would be completely up to you and only when you are ready.
Pros and Cons of Print on Demand
Pros
- Very little start-up cost, you only pay for the product once you have made a sale.
- You don’t have to hold any stock.
- Shipping is taken care of for you by the supplier.
- Once set up, it’s a very passive business.
- Low Risk with potential high rewards.
- Can work from anywhere, with an internet connection.
- Trusted Business model for business newbies.
Cons
- Limited control over customer service and item quality.
- Low Margins: Depending on which supplier you use, it might cost quite a bit for the base product and printing, leaving you with small profit margins.
- Shipping costs can vary depending on each type of product.
- If shipping is delayed, your customer could leave you negative reviews even though you had no control over it.
- Must pick the right niche that isn’t oversaturated.
There you have it.
I know the cons can seem daunting. Having experienced each one of them myself I can tell you that they can become a pain.
But in my opinion POD is still well worth the risk of the cons. It is a very low risk business and 99% of the time everything works smoothly, with no negatives at all.
How to Start Selling
If you have got this far, I am assuming you have committed to starting your first Print on Demand business.
Congratulations!
Now let’s get into the good bit and learn exactly how to setup a print on demand business from scratch.
Decide where to sell
First you must decide what platform you would like to sell on.
This is a big decision.
It will impact how easy the start-up process is, the time you must spend on it, your potential profits and your competition.
I have made a simplified list of some of the top platforms for POD and I have ranked them based on my own experience and in depth research.
POD Platforms Ranked by Ease of use:
Beginner:
Redbubble– POD Marketplace
Pros
- Sell on the marketplace, no need for your own website.
- Can place one design on many items.
- Very easy editor to use, with option to make your design into a repeat pattern.
- Organic traffic, no need to advertise to start.
- Can set your own Profit Margins.
- Cost to start: NONE. Redbubble takes the money from the customer then pays you the profit.
- Redbubble handles customer service for you.
Cons
- Lots of direct competition so must price competitively.
- Very limited options to stand out as a brand
- Minimum of £20 ($20) to be paid monthly.
Society6– POD Marketplace
Pros
- Can sell very unique home décor and actual furniture.
- Sell on the Marketplace like Redbubble.
- Organic Traffic.
- NO starting cost.
- No minimum required to get paid.
- Like Redbubble you don’t handle any customer service.
Cons
- Most profit margins are set to 10% and cannot be changed.
- Lots of competition.
Intermediate:
Etsy– PLATFORM to sync with a supplier
Pros
- You can use a supplier such as Printful that can directly integrate with etsy so the upload and order processes can be automated.
- Have some more options to customise your shop to build a brand.
- Etsy has lots of organic traffic and built in advertising options for beginners.
- Can sell with higher profit margins.
Cons
- Must pay Etsy fees which cuts into profits.
- Will have to pay the base price to your supplier before you are paid by Etsy.
- May take a while to get traction and make consistent sales.
Advanced:
Shopify– Your OWN Website to sync with supplier
Pros
- You own the website so have full creative control to build a brand.
- No direct competition like marketplaces.
- Can set much higher profits.
- You are in control so no risk of getting suspended like other platforms.
- More likely to get repeat customers.
Cons
- Must pay for a domain and website before you have made any sales.
- No organic traffic- MUST advertise to get sales.
- Complicated to start a website from scratch.
- Must handle all customer service.
Merch by Amazon– PLATFORM
Pros
- Sell your products on Amazon!
- Don’t need your own amazon storefront.
- Incredible Organic Traffic.
- Can set your own profit margins.
Cons
- There is an Application Process which can take weeks and you may not be accepted.
- Limited number of products allowed until you make a certain number of sales and can move up their tier system.
- Quite complicated for a beginner.
Personally, I started with Redbubble and still love them to this day. Their uploading system is very simple for beginners and I have found it to be the most “passive” way of making money. I have not uploaded any designs in over a year and I still earn money from it every month.
When I felt more confident with POD I then progressed to Etsy where I managed to make over £1800 in my 4th month selling.
Whichever platform you decide to sell on, your real success will be determined by your commitment to working on your shop and your designs, not where you are selling.
Anyone can be successful on any of these platforms, so choose one that sounds best for you and you can always try the others later.
Select Supplier
If you have decided to sell on Etsy or on your own website you will now have to choose which supplier you will use for your products.
There are many POD suppliers in the market now so if you’re looking for a particular product you may want to research the best supplier for that specific job.
Here are 3 of the top suppliers and why they are the best place to start for most POD products.
Printful
Printful is the most well known POD company available on Shopify. They have one of the biggest ranges of products and colour variations. From Gym Bags to Shoes, Dresses to Pillows and even Scrunchies. It would be hard to find a larger variety of products elsewhere. They also have excellent customer service via live chat.
The main negative of Printful is the price. The base price of some standard products can be much higher than their competitors. Having a higher price just by a couple of pounds will make a big difference to your profits once you start making sales.
Printify
Printify is a fan favourite amongst many business owners. It has a good variety of products but with lower prices than Printful. It also offers many of the same services as Printful, such as custom branding for your shipments.
The big downside to Printify is that the work is outsourced meaning your products will be made and shipped by various printing companies which could impact the quality consistency.
Teelaunch
If you are on a very small starting budget, teelauch is the cheapest option for you that won’t compromise on quality. They have some very unique products such as wireless phone charging stands, playing cards, watch straps and Bluetooth speakers. A great option if you are looking to stand out from the crowd.
Unfortunately, they have a limited range of colours on offer for some products.
How to find the best niches
Finding the best niches for your shop is one of the keys to succeeding in Print on Demand. But first you must decide if you are going to have a one niche shop, where you only make designs with one theme, or a general shop where you can sell any designs.
There are definite pros and cons to both, but I believe which platform you are on really dictates whether you should have a niche or general shop.
For Redbubble, Society6 and Amazon I would recommend a general shop. This way you can stay up to date with the latest trending niches. Your shop also can be less cohesive on these marketplaces compared to a fully branded store.
For Etsy and your own Shopify store I would recommend niching down to target a particular customer. This will not only encourage repeat customers more, but also help your store to be a more cohesive brand. Having one niche will also help when you come to advertise on social media platforms.
To find good niches you need to do your research.
First, I would suggest using the Etsy and Redbubble Search Bars.
Type one theme into Etsy search and see what it suggests underneath. Here you will see what others have searched for, related to your description.
This should give you more ideas of subniches for you to use.
Once you have a potential niche, check the number of results in that niche and product. As a general rule a beginner should aim for niches with less than 5000 results on Etsy.
In the redbubble search bar , the 3 suggestions with an up arrow next to them are the top 3 most popular searches of the week for what you have typed.
This means you could use the A-Z method to find the latest trending topics. Type “A” into the search bar and see what redbubble suggests. Note down any possible niches you could use. Then move on to B and so on.
This is how I find topics for my general redbubble store, but this would not be effective if you are looking for a niche store.
For a more comprehensive look at niches, I suggest using ERank.
ERank is an online tool where you can search a keyword for a niche and it will suggest many other keywords linked to that niche. It will also give you extra information like the Etsy Competition for that keyword, average searches for the keyword and much more.
You can see if a niche has too much competition, making it unlikely for you to make sales as a new shop.
There is also a paid version of Erank you can use that will give many more statistics, but for a beginner I think the free version does the job very well.
Choose what product to sell
You may already know what products you want to sell in your shop in which case you can skip this section.
NOTE: If you are going to sell on Redbubble or Society 6 Don’t choose just one product!
Activate as many products as possible. You would be very surprised by what strange products actually sell. As it doesn’t cost you anything, you may as well activate every product you can.
TIP: If your design really does not fit on one product, then do not enable it. But before you disable it make sure to check if you can make it into a repeat pattern first.
As we have said, there are countless products you could sell with POD. You can always just try out multiple products and see which ones sell the best for you.
If you would like to be a one product shop then choosing which product is very important.
Here is a list of things you should consider when choosing your product.
- Your Design Ability
If you are a beginner when it comes to designing then you may want to start with simple Text Based designs. These sell extremely well on tshirts and mugs, as long as you find and research good phrases.
If you feel more confident with designing then you could create your own patterns to place on duvet covers, cushions and more unique items.
Finally, if you are a capable designer you could make your own custom graphics to place on your choice of product. Custom graphics work particularly well on posters and greetings cards.
- Profit Margin
Obviously, you would want to sell the product with the highest profit margin. However, you must first consider how well that product can sell.
When selling the most expensive product with the best margin, it will take more time to make one sale. But if you sell a product with a smaller price and profit margin, its more likely to sell more often.
It is your choice whether you would prefer to sell more items at a lower price, or one item at a higher price.
For example, you could sell 5 t-shirts each with a £4 profit, or one duvet cover with a £20 profit margin. You just have to consider how likely each scenario is.
- Demand
This links back to the last point. There is no point working for weeks designing a product that no one wants or needs. Luckily most POD products have been tested for you and will sell with the right design.
But if you need more guidance, just go online to Etsy or Redbubble and see what products are selling well, that you think you could design for.
- Your Niche
You can sell almost any product in almost every niche. Just use your judgement to make sure the product matches the niche. For example if you are designing for the wedding niche, people probably don’t want a wedding day shower curtain! But you may be able to sell Mr & Mrs coasters.
- Quality
If you want to build a trusted brand, then you will want to order some samples of the products you will sell. Check the quality, durability and printing of your design. Make sure you would be happy to spend your own money on the product so you can be proud of the brand you are creating. You can also then take your own product photos, to stand out from the crowd.
Create Designs
Finally, what I would consider to be the “filling” in the sandwich. Without great designs your shop will never work. No matter how good your website, photos or advertising is.
So, yes, you need great designs.
But don’t worry!
Great designs don’t have to be complicated or take hours to make.
When I first started POD, I used Procreate on my IPad to draw all of my designs. Although I loved it and could make very unique designs, it was very time consuming.
I would now recommend Canva for all new designers. It is a great tool for graphic designers and especially for beginners. They have many premade design elements you can use, and many options for custom designs.
You can also pay for the pro version to unlock thousands more elements and features.
So, get designing!
You never know what might become your bestseller.
TIP: You will have to check with your Platform what size your design should be. Make sure you design on the largest canvas size they suggest so your design is the best quality.
If you are completely new to designing, make sure to avoid the Top 10 Biggest POD designing mistakes.
AVOID TRADEMARKED DESIGNS
Don’t create any designs that you don’t have the rights to. That means no Disney or other franchise merchandise. You will also need to check common phrases before you use them as many are already trademarked. I check all of mine on Trademarkia.com.
If you do use a trademark you risk your shop getting suspended or shut down.
Place Designs on Products using Mockups
Most POD companies will show your design on a computer-generated stock image mockup. These are useful to see if your design works on a certain product, however, they are often quite bland and will not help you stand out from the competition.
I would highly recommend creating your own mockups using Placeit so that you can build a better brand, and look more professional.
Placeit is a lifestyle mockup website that offers thousands of mockups for many different products.
I believe this is an excellent investment for a POD business, especially when you want to advertise on very aesthetic platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest.
NOTE: If you are selling on Redbubble or Society6 you can only use the mockups they provide you with on the site. But to advertise elsewhere you may wish to create your own.
Add Title, Photos, Tags and Descriptions
Depending on your platform, you will now want to fill in any information your design requires. Mostly this consists of a title, tags and a description.
You will want to use the best keywords to describe your product in both your title and tags.
Make sure your title makes sense though! Don’t just stuff a string of keywords in there that don’t make sense.
Again, use ERank to find the best keywords for your product.
Use your description to describe what your product is, who it is for and any other information you think your customer should know such as measurements or features.
Organic Traffic vs Advertising
I have tested POD for years now and if I have learnt one thing it is that marketing and visuals are EVERYTHING.
On marketplaces such as Redbubble and Society6, you may be able to make consistent sales by relying on organic traffic. But if you want to make real money, you need to advertise your products somewhere.
If you are on Etsy or Shopify marketing is a MUST!
You need to drive traffic to your shop or your business will not be viable for very long.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to spend money to get your product seen.
But you need to make social media part of your marketing strategy.
Instagram is one of the easiest sites to organically grow your brand. It is the best place to start establishing your brand’s aesthetic and start showing off your first few designs.
You will need to use hashtags like you use keywords in your tags. Find the best hashtags for your brand and your traffic could blow up! But make sure you don’t stuff your posts full of hashtags because Instagram will think you are spammy and not promote your posts.
Facebook is a very powerful platform. I would recommend starting your brand’s facebook page before you have even launched. If you are selling a particular niche, start sharing niche photos and artwork and get those important first few likes and shares.
Pinterest is now my favourite social media to promote my products on. It stands out from the rest because it is not just another social media.
It is a search engine.
People go there to be advertised to and that is half the battle won for you already.
Make sure to consistently post large, high quality pins. One could go viral and seriously explode your internet presence forever.
Fulfil your First Order!
That’s it!
You are up and running and ready for your first order!
When that Cha-Ching comes through make sure to celebrate because that will be the first of many.
Print on Demand has serious potential to change your life forever.
So what are you waiting for?
If you have any more questions leave me a comment below or email [email protected] and I will get back to you with any help I can offer.
- Top 10 Biggest POD designing mistakes.
- Side Hustles to Boost your Income and Reach Financial Freedom
- How to Stay Motivated when starting a New Business
- The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Making Money on Etsy
