So many people and followers send messages to me before they start this business, one of the crucial questions I receive is, can you make money with print on demand business? Or how to make money with print on demand?
When I started thinking about these messages and questions, I concluded that so many people know a lot about this business and what is it. Few people are asking “what is print on demand for” or “what is print on demand about.”
The problem is not about what is POD. But how to start, how to make money from this business, or what are the opportunities in this business.
Starting your print on demand (POD) business is not as easy as so many YouTubers or influencers say. POD business can be tricky and challenging, like any other business; it has Pros and Cons.
Today, I want to go through details about the question: Can you make money with print on demand?
Table of Contents
The POD Opportunities!
Fortunately, the POD business is flexible in its way. You can work the way you like to fulfill the orders and gain money. The simple idea about POD business is to design a specific topic which is called a “niche” and sell it to the interested audience.
There are different ways to earn money in this field. You can join platforms that do almost all the annoying job such as printing and shipping orders, all you need to do is research, design, picking the right keyword, and marketing if you want that. Some of these platforms are reliable such as amazon, and some are weak.
However, the best way to have a stable and successful business, and it is the most difficult way is to build your brand name.
So, the good news here is that there are POD platforms that can help you gain money without paying money. But in this case, the investment will be your time and learning new skills like designing or researching.
Read About What is the POD business Here. Pros, and Cons of POD.
Build Your Brand – The Best Road To Success in The POD Business Is To Build Your Brand!
The very first thing that you will have to do is to build your brand. Your brand will be from a specific niche, the more precise, the better your brand is. Building a brand is going to take time, but once you establish a brand with a loyal audience and followers that share the same thoughts and love your brand, you start selling your products steadily with high revenue.
Some people may think that owning a brand means owning a website. That is partially true. It is best to own a website for your brand, and eventually, you will have to own one. But, there are platforms that you can start from to build your brand name, one of which is Etsy. With Etsy, you can build your brand in a specific niche and earn some loyal customers and followers there.
Etsy, by itself, is different from platforms such as amazon or Redbubble. With Etsy, you have to integrate with a production partner such as Shirtly or Printful. I love Shirtly with Etsy. This relation is so good that building your brand will be smoothly and great.
The First Steps Into The Business!
Now, after you decide which way you are going to use to start the POD business, you will have to determine if you want to learn and work alone until you have a stable business and profit. Or, invest some money to hire some experts to help you out.
Most people will start with the easy-no customer service way in this business. They also would love to work on Amazon, since without a doubt, Amazon is the best platform anyone can use to sell their products.
The platform is called MBA or (Merch By Amazon), you will have to send an application and wait for their acceptance into the program. Once you get into the MBA, you can start uploading your designs and earn money.
BUT WAIT!
That may sound easy, but sadly it is not that easy. First, you need to learn essential skills. You will have to learn how to search for copyrights and trademarks. I believe you don’t want to get shut down from the first day because you violated one of these rights!
Also, you will need to learn how to do proper research for new opportunities and niches you design and upload. With merch by Amazon, you will start with what its called (Tier 10) that is kind of like a level for your account. Tier10 means you can only upload ten designs. After you earn ten sales, they will promote you to Tier25; then, you need 15 more sales to be promoted to Tier100 and so on.
How To Start a Print On Demand Business That Sells?
After we went through all details about print on demand business. You can imagine how this business goes and how you can start your business. If you decide to create a website to build your brand, which you should do eventually. The POD business goes like this:
- Create a website
- Get your unique designs
- Find suitable POD supplier
- Upload your products
- Promote your products
- Sell and gain money
It may seem easy, but in practice, there is a bit more of that to build your business. The following are the steps to start your business that sells!
1. Choosing a niche and products for your store.
Almost all POD suppliers offer various products that you can use to sell on your stores such as T-shirts, Mugs, Phone cases, Pillows, Pets Tops, Hoodies, and many many other items.
You may pick anything you want, but it is better to do proper research before choosing a product. Sometimes it depends on the niche you want.
First, you need to find a niche where you can thrive. It can be something as specific as “cats that speak in space” or something broader like “Birthdays” If you don’t have anything specific in mind, start by writing a list of 20 or so things that you like. For instance: football, traveling, healthy food, biking, etc. The more specific your niche is, the easier it will be to stand out and find your ideal customers.
Once you have the list, begin validating your ideas and go in-depth in every niche. Go to social media such as Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest, to see whether people are talking about your niche and what are they saying. If there are plenty of active and passionate people talking about your subject, they could potentially be your customers.
After that, you need to narrow down your list to get a specific niche. You can do that by checking all other social media platforms like Instagram, Reddit, or Pinterest and check what the interested audience is talking about there. Check the posts and discussion about these areas.
2. Get your website running and your designs ready.
Now that you figured out your niche, it is time to get your website running and your designs ready! The tricky part is to pick your niche and the key product. Designing a website is not a hard task to do all you need to do to choose one of the platforms such as Shopify and to pick a domain name.
3. Select your print supplier.
After you are done with all that designing and picking with some proper research, it is time for you to pick your print provider. This one is the most crucial part, in my opinion. Of course, there are many choices out there once you start searching for one, but it is the best for you if you hear what POD business owners say because they tried all that, and they know what’s the best.
Personally, I tried so many and the best choice, as I said before, it is Shirtly. They offer the best customer service, and they answer anything you may have in your mind. Also, the fulfillment and shipping time is fast compared to others.
4. Promote your website to maximize sales.
I believe you already know that marketing is an essential part of every business. Marketing doesn’t mean you have to pay money for ads like facebook ads to get sales. You can always set up a compelling social media accounts and start from there. Remember that almost everyone uses social media platforms nowadays.
5. Monitor your store performance, experiment, and improve.
Once the business gets going and you start selling products to your customer, you’ll start reaping the fruits of your labor. But, You’ll also be able to notice various problems in your business that you need to improve.
You may need to change your website layout, catalog, designs, adjust prices, create special offers, redesign your store, or even change your suppliers.
How Much Money Can You Make With a POD store?
Honestly, this is a difficult question. But, as I always say in everything in this life. The limits are only in your imagination. You can start building your business now, and the more effort you give it, the more money you will earn.
Also, remember there is no limit to what you can learn from other experts, coaches, and learning from others is the best investment you can have.
However, everyone has their own ideas, plans, and products. It is roughly translated as follows; you would need around $200-$300/ month if you decided to have your website. This amount is enough to have even your designs done by others. That means you need around 20-30 sales per month with $10 as profit. Meaning, you would need to sell one product every day for a month to cover these expenses.
Is Print On Demand Business For You?
After reading this article and the one before this, you got the basic idea about what is Print on Demand, and you answered your question, Can You Make Money With Print On Demand? POD is a business model for everyone.
However, it needs so much effort and a lot to learn to start and build the foundation of your business. After you establish a strong brand and business, it will kind of passive income for you.
POD business is one of the best solutions when it comes to getting your custom merchandise for sale quickly. As a seller, you only have to worry about product design, marketing, and selling. Once a sale is made, great POD partners take over for you.
Can You Make Money With Print On Demand?? Do you have more information about the POD business? Or do you have another opinion/question about it? Feel free to write your comment, advice, or question below!
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This article was a very good read- I think there were so many neat points to keep in mind about a Print On Demand business. I wasn’t fully aware of the POD business, but it doesn’t sound very easy to do. I thought it was, but building a POD business takes effort and time to make it profitable.
I liked how you pointed out the challenges of running a POD business. For those who are thinking of going in this direction, reading this article would be a good start. It’s critical to know that running a POD business (like many) has its ups and downs. If planned and executed properly, a POD business has much potential.
Thanks for the valuable article.
Hey Eric,
POD business is a serious business. Some people think it is so easy to do it, just design random stuff, upload these designs and after some days I am rich! Sadly, that way of thinking because of some bad teachings from YouTube videos. They show others (How much they earned) and give them this urge to start this business without knowing the truth! However, POD business is an amazing opportunity for anyone who wants to start a passive income in the future!
I have been thinking about doing Amazon Merch since I started selling on Amazon a couple of years ago. But having and maintaining inventory for my Amazon store, plus working fulltime and at the same time being a mom is quite a challenge. I like the concept of creating ideas, then let the POD partners work for us. It’s now a matter of finding the perfect match in a POD partner. I have a niche I want to work on for POD but I just did not have the courage to start. I can’t wait for more posts about POD and other legit money making businesses.
Hey Leslie,
POD business is going to be a great choice for you since you a niche to work with. That way you can show your followers what you all passionate about different designs and products! Don’t hesitate to do it, once you start it and begin to learn everything about it, you will love it. It needs work and effort but in the end, it is something good to add to your website.