Is Print on Demand Profitable

More than 80% of the population uses the internet to purchase goods and services online. Ecommerce is an ever-demanding industry and it’s high time that you stepped in if you ever dreamt of doing so.

Print on demand is one part of Ecommerce and you could easily start this business if you are someone who loves designing and selling things online.

But is Print on demand profitable?

Yes, Print on demand is profitable and is a great way to start your eCommerce journey. However, profitability depends on many factors like your design skills, your marketing strategy, the platform you select, etc. It’s surely isn’t for everyone but it’s perfect for those who love designing and selling things online.

Now let’s have a look at some of these factors and see how you can start a profitable print-on-demand business in 2021.

What is a Print On Demand Business?

Print on Demand is an online business model where you create and sell your own custom designs printed on various things like T-shirts, caps, mugs, hoodies, etc.

It’s almost like dropshipping because you don’t need to create, store nor ship your own products. All of this will be done for you by a company.

There are a lot of such companies out there. Some of them are Printful, SPOD, Printify, Teespring, etc.

It’s also one of the few businesses which require a very low amount of budget to start with.

Related ArticleHow To Start a Dropshipping Business With No Money?

Factors that Influence the Profitability of Print on Demand

Print on demand might seem so simple. But, there’s actually a lot of things to look out for if you want it to be profitable.

Some of them are:-

Researching for Winning Designs

The designs that you research and create directly impact your sales and revenue. It’s the most important thing about this business.

Unique designs that aren’t available on Amazon or any other clothing store would do quite well.

If you can find a viral meme, or something that has gone viral and then turn it into a design that can be printed on T-shirts, mugs, caps, etc, can go crazy in no time.

For example: Among us became so viral in 2020 that it was played by almost all people on earth. What you didn’t realize is that a lot of people took this as an opportunity to make money by selling merchandise related to it.

Now, this is just one example. There will be opportunities like these in the future and do not hesitate to hop into it when it happens.

Related ArticleDoes Print on Demand Really Work?

Your Creativity/Design Skills

Once you identify a viral thing online, you need to brainstorm and use your creative skills to develop some kind of design from it.

Simple designs tend to do best rather than those complex ones.

So, make sure you don’t mess it up.

When a design is done, ping some of your friends/family who might actually be interested in the design (or knows about it). Just ask them if they liked it.

If almost everyone liked it, it might be a great design to sell but that by itself is not a guarantee.

If you are weak in designing, you could hire a great freelancer on Upwork to help you out.

Marketing Skills

For a Print On Demand (POD) company, it’s important to build a brand as you market your store.

There are a lot of ways by which you could market your store. Some of them are:-

  • Facebook ads
  • Influencer marketing with Instagram or Youtube
  • Google ads
  • etc.

When you are starting out, I would recommend you start with Influencer marketing. Find influencers on Instagram or Youtube who are related to what you are selling. Send him a message for a possible collaboration.

If you can get the correct type of influencer, then you will probably make a lot of sales. (considering that you have a unique design/product to offer).

Related ArticleHow To Scale Your eCommerce Business Using Fiverr?

Your Fame

Have you ever wondered why most of the famous people on the internet try to start their own clothing company?

People like Mr.Beast, MKBHD, etc all have their own clothing line-up.

Why?

Because it’s an additional form of income for them and any influencer with a couple of followers could do it.

So, if you are someone like that, then it’s pretty easy to start this business.

Platform

There are a lot of platforms or services that help you in starting this POD business. The user experience, rates for each product, etc vary from one to another.

The one POD company that I recommend is Printful. It is surely one of the best POD companies. They help you in printing your design onto the apparel or merch, packs the product, and even ships it to your customers.

All you have to do is create a store using Shopify and then connect it to Printful. After that, market your store and when your customer places an order, it will be printed and shipped to your customer automatically.

The best part is that Printful is completely free to use. They just charge for the product on to which the design is printed and also the shipping fee. That’s it.

How to Start a Profitable Print on Demand Business?

Starting your own Print on demand business is pretty much affordable and easy to start.

These are the steps involved:-

Niche Store vs General Store

The first thing to do is to choose whether you want to start a niche store or a general store.

If you are new to this business, it’s better if you start a general store so that you can test out a large number of products and know what’s working and what’s not.

Creating and Designing Your Store

The next step is to sign up on Shopify. Shopify is a platform that helps you build your online store with its drag and drop builder.

Shopify offers a 14-day free trial after which you will be charged $29/month. This is literally the only investment that you need to make excluding the advertisement costs.

You should also sign up for one of the POD companies. I recommend you sign up on Printful.

If you are struggling to create and design your store using Shopify, you could hire any freelancers on Upwork to do it for you.

Creating your Designs

As I have said, look for viral memes or content and then try to come with different designs.

You can create them using Adobe Photoshop or any other tools. If you are a beginner, I highly recommend that you use Canva or PlaceIt to design.

Once you have a design ready just upload and create your own apparel/merch from your Printful dashboard.

Once uploaded and created, the product will appear on your Shopify store and you will be ready to sell it.

Marketing

Marketing strategies can be different. If you are a complete beginner, it would be better if you start with Influencer marketing.

Once you get successful with influencer marketing, you could start looking into Facebook Ads and Google Ads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNilC_6pd8E

Conclusion

Every business has its own ups and downs.

Print on Demand is no exception. It will surely take a bit of time and testing to actually know what works and what doesn’t.

Don’t hop into it thinking that you would make money within the first 24 hours or so. It will take time and you just have to keep up with it without quitting.

Hope I have helped you with this article.

Peace!


Best Tools For Ecommerce Businesses

In order to start and manage an eCommerce Business, there are lots of tools available on the internet. Some of the best ones that I recommend are:-

1. Shopify

Shopify is currently the best eCommerce platform to start your business. It has everything that you would ever need to start your journey in the eCommerce industry.

The best thing about Shopify is their app store which allows you to extend the functionalities of your online store. They also support a lot of themes.

Shopify will cost you $29/month and if you just want to try their service, you could also sign up for their 14-day free trial.

2. Syncee

Syncee is an online dropshipping provider like Aliexpress. However, Syncee offers fast shipping and reliable suppliers, unlike Aliexpress.

They have thousands of products in their catalog. You may not see as many products as you see on Aliexpress, but these products are assured to be delivered on time and are provided by reliable suppliers.

Syncee is free to use for up to 25 products. And if you want more than that, you will have to upgrade to a higher plan.

3. Facebook Ad Library

The Facebook Ad Library is an awesome tool if you are looking to find some winning products. This can be quite handy if you are a dropshipper.

There are a lot of tools out there that claim to provide you with some winning dropshipping products but I think the Facebook Ad Library is the best amongst them.

If you want to find a winning product, just search for some common terms like “Free shipping”, “Order now” etc. This will show a lot of products. Then try finding an ad that has been running for more than 2 weeks.

If it’s been running for more than 2 weeks, the product showcased on the ad might be a winning product.