10 Steps to Building a Profitable Print on Demand Business
Have you been looking for passive income ideas?
Are you frustrated by all of the info out there regarding how to start a print-on-demand store?
Do you feel overwhelmed and need help figuring out where to start?
I used this same process to build my print-on-demand store and had these stats for the first 14 days of December 2022:
Net Profit $1999.40
Average profit of $168 per day
19 orders in process
Learn from my experience!
In just 10 steps, you can launch a profitable print-on-demand store to have:
A high number of sales every day
A consistent number of orders in progress
No shipping tasks
No inventory to store
COMPLETELY PASSIVE INCOME
Go on Etsy and search for trendy items
Searching for trendy items will show you which products are currently in high demand. The higher the demand, the more sales and revenue for your business.
If you have a store that offers trendy items, this will help you build a customer base of loyalists, those people more likely to come back often to your store to see what’s new.
Trends are unpredictable and change overnight. Make sure you stay up-to-date on what’s current. Gain a competitive advantage by differentiating yourself from your competitors.
Offer trendy items alongside tried-and-true products to provide long-term income.
Figure out your target market
You want the largest visibility possible. Trendy items will attract a big audience, so find your niche. Give your store a theme; you want to make neon signs or positive energy artwork. Determine your customer's interests.
Have you asked yourself, “What kind of products can I offer for print-on-demand?” Think about who is most likely to purchase the products you want to make. Then, determine your price point and if your ideal customer will be willing and able to pay those prices.
Consider where your target audience lives since this will influence their shopping habits and what they like to buy. Google Analytics and social media can help you get more information about your target audience.
Analyze your competitors
Look at other shop owners on Etsy or social media who are in the same niche. Analyze their products and find the best-sellers. Ask yourself these questions:
What makes their designs special?
What prices are they charging?
Are they marketing anywhere other than Etsy?
Scroll through your competitor’s options
When looking at your competitor’s items for sale, take note of their photos, item titles, and customer reviews.
See what works for them and how you can improve on their process.
You can emulate what your competition is doing or identify ways to differentiate your store so you stand out from the crowd.
Make a Printify account
Printify, a print-on-demand fulfillment company, offers free accounts unless you opt to go premium. With Printify, you can use their online design tool to create products and then integrate them with your e-commerce platform. They offer a wide range of already-built products you can customize and sell through your online shop.
Go to the Printify catalog and choose your options
Looking to make customizable tees? The catalog is where you’ll find them. In the Printify catalog, you can filter by fulfillment locations, print type, and even color.
Scroll through their options
Take a good look at the designs and different options for the items you want to offer. This will give you an idea of whether or not you can create your design or outsource that task.
Create your design, or have someone else create it
It’s not hard to make your design, and you can use many graphic design tools, like Canva, Adobe, and GIMP. Start with a blank canvas, choose a theme and then sketch some ideas. You can add details and refine your design with text, images, or shapes.
If you choose to outsource your design creation, check out freelance platforms like Fiver or Upwork to find someone who offers this service.
Upload your design
Once you’ve got your custom design created, upload it to Printify. It’s super easy.
Go to your Printify account.
In the top menu, click on the "Designs" tab.
Click on “Upload Design.”
Open your file to upload.
Select a name for your design and the product to which you want it to apply.
Make any adjustments to the placement or size of your design.
Click save.
Sync your Etsy shop
Another easy step is syncing your Etsy shop to your new Printify account.
On Printify, from the dashboard in the left menu, click on the "Stores" tab.
Click the "Add store" button and look for "Etsy" in the list of options.
You’ll follow the prompts to sync your Etsy account to Printify.
A couple of bonus steps
Add mock-ups to show what the finished product will look like with your customized design added to it. A mock-up will showcase your products and give you a useful marketing tool.
Optimize your listing on Etsy by using relevant, descriptive keywords in your product titles and tags. Make sure your photos are high-quality, clear, and well-lit. White backgrounds can make your products stand out. Then step back and let Printify handle the rest.
If you want to look like this boss queen, these ten steps will get you there. But if you run into any issues during the set-up process for yourself, don’t hesitate to reach out to me, and I’ll happily walk you through it.
