Print On Demand: Low Cost Online Business Idea You Can Try
If you are aspiring to become a businessman or an entrepreneur, I suggest you start small and medium businesses. If you are looking for ideas, I think print-on-demand is the ideal business for someone looking to start a business. You can start this business through multiple platforms, however, I think Redbubble and Amazon merch are the best. Between these two, if you ask, which one is perfect, you will have to try for yourself Even though Redbubble is available globally, the marketplace is mostly intended for independent artists or small enterprises. Likewise, Amazon Merch is also open to everyone, including independent artists, independent sellers, small and medium-sized businesses, and huge brands. However, the market is really big and you will experience tough competition. Try both, and then keep concentrating on the one that works best for you. You can also try Etsy for selling print-on-demand products by integrating Printify or Printful.
Print-On-Demand Business
Do you know what the easiest business to start is?
Well, in my opinion, it is really easy to start an online business. You need to not a lot of money and you do not have to do a lot of paperwork. There are different kinds of online businesses, but what is the easiest online business?
The answer is print-on-demand!
What exactly print-on-demand business is?
It is a business model where you as a seller create a product digitally, and sell the product through your store, and the print-on-demand company will create the product and ship it to the buyer. You pay the product-making cost and shipping cost to the company and keep the additional money for yourself.
What makes print-on-demand easy?
You pay only after the product is sold. You do not have to manufacture the product, you do not have to fulfill the order.
What skills do you need?
You need graphic designing skills to create designs for your product. If you do not have graphic design skills, you can also purchase designs from other individuals from digital marketplaces. You also need SEO and marketing skills. Without SEO and marketing, you cannot sell your products.
What products you need to sell?
When people start Print-On-Demand, most of them go with the obvious choices like T-shirts and coffee mugs. While you can still sell these products no matter how saturated the market is, as a new seller it will be very difficult for you to sell products that a lot of sellers are selling. Online gurus recommend that you need to sell trending products because the algorithm on ecommerce marketplaces is designed to push trending products. However, when you are selling trending products, it is impossible to generate sales because people do not easily buy from someone who does not a good reputation on the market yet. Therefore, a better option would be selling something unique. If the buyer sees a product that no one is selling, he might be interested in that product. However, you will have to do proper SEO so that your product appears on searches and other categories on the platform.
How much money do you need?
You need at least $100 to run ads so that you can generate sales. Print-on-demand is a good business but you will have to spend money to start this business (you need to build a store). This method of money making also requires you to have SEO and digital marketing.
How much money can you make?
I don't want to make a $20 profit from a single product, I would rather sell 10 products and make a $20 profit. I always focus on volume sales instead of limited sales. That's why I set a low mark-up on my products, it is always 10 percent, however sometimes I add a 12 percent margin, but my margin never crosses 15 percent. MY pricing strategy is based on one simple logic, if I provide a better design for a lower price, I will have higher selling chances compared to my competitors. Some people do not care about how much the product is priced they care only about the product, but in my opinion, a lot of people care about how much they will be paying for the product. When I sell a print-on-demand t-shirt I normally make a $3 profit. It takes just one hour to design the T-shirt, why should I ask for more.
What is the Best Way to Start Print-On-Demand Business
You can start Print-On-Demand business on eBay, Etsy, shopify, woocommerce etc. All you need to do is integrate print providers like Printful or Printify. If you are using ebay and etsy, you do not need any skills to create store as creating store on these marketplace is as easy as creating an email ID. You will also do not have to spend money. However, if you want to use shopify or woocommerce you will have to invest money. While you need to pay subscription fees for shopify, you will have to pay for domain and hosting of you want to use woocommerce.
eCommerce marketplaces like Etsy and eBay already have buyers, all you have to do is rank your products on internal search or run ads to generate sales. However, if you want to use shopify and woocommerce, you will have to work heavily to rank your stores on Google as well as run PPC campaign to generate sales.
You don't need money to start on Amazon or Redbubble, however, if you want to use Printify or Printful, you will have to integrate with your own website or a third-party eCommerce site like Etsy. You need money to build a website, and you also need money to list your products on Etsy. Establishing a business on Etsy is low cost because you pay just 20 cents fees, and rest of the charges are only after generating sales. Nevertheless, you might have to spend at least $100 for running Etsy ads. Of course, you can try organic method like SEO and free marketing on social sites, but you need a lot of patience to generate sales through these methods. How long can you wait to make that first sale? It might even take a year before you generate sales. Once you have your first sale, still there is no guarantee that you will generate another sale.
How to Choose Products for Your Print-On-Demand Business
Your print-on-demand business will become fruitful only when you are able to sell products. You can sell products only when you are offering products that do not have a great competition but have a huge demand. This calls for identifying the right products.
Sell products that get at least $20 mark-ups: If your product does not earn you at least $20 profit, you will not make money from your print-on demand business. This will ensure that you can still be in profitable side even after running ads every day.
Sell products that no one is selling or only few people are selling: Don’t sell T-shirts or mugs, instead sell wallet phone case or car seat cover. Well, you can of course sell T-shirts or mugs but these are highly saturated products, wallet phone case or car seat covers are less saturated products. Find products to see that no one is selling or only few people are selling.
Do some research and find products that are in demand but do not have competition. Find out which print-on-demand supplier offers those products for a cheaper price. If possible order a sample and see if the products are good. If products are good, you can start with these products and these companies. When people decide to do a Print-On-demand business, their obvious choice would be t-shirts or coffee mugs. There is so much competition on these products that even with the best designs, it is quite impossible to sell your products, however, if you try selling products that are not yet saturated in the market, you might be able to sell these products and make cool cash. You will have to test different companies and different products to see what works for you and what does not. Your experience and my experience might be different, what worked for me might not work for you.
If you check print-on-demand markets like redbubble, you will see successful sellers do not have a lot of products to sell, they have just a few products and they are selling the same product over and over again. You do not have to create a lot of products to sell a lot of items.
Starting Print-On-Demand Business on Your Own Website
One of the easiest ways to do Print-On-Demand is by selling on Print-On-Demand store like Redbubble or Teespring. You will first have to design the product and list the product on the platform. However, the problem with these platforms is competition and traffic. Completion is big and they do not have very big traffic.
The best option is to sell through your own website. You can either use a premium ecommerce platform like shoify and connect your store with the Print-On-Demand market, or use free platform like woocommerce.
First of all you to set up your website, and then connect Print-On-Demand market to your website. The product you design on Print-On-Demand market will be displayed on your own website. People can buy from your store, but once the payment is confirmed, the order will be forwarded to the Print-On-Demand market and it will fulfil the order on your behalf. Some Print-On-Demand market even allows your own branding.
Printful and Printify: Which is Better?
Printful and Printify are two popular Print-On Demand marketplaces. If you are new to Print-On-Demand business and want to know which one is better, here is my honest opinion based on my own experience.
I will mainly focus on price difference and quality of the product produced on these two different marketplaces.
Printfull have their own print shop which means when customer orders, Printfull will print the product and ship to the byer. For sellers, hey offer monthly discount (you have to qualify, though).
Printify does not have their own print shop, instead they offer printing from other service providers. This gives an advantage to choose different printing services for the sellers, as sellers can choose any print provider they want.
In terms of quality Printful and Printify, there is no distinction, even though Printify uses different printing services. However, Printify offers lower pricing structure. That’s because they use different printing services and they offer competitive pricing.
Since Printify has lower price, you make more profits.
Why Amazon Merch is Better Than Printify and Printful
There are numerous ways to start Print-On-Demand Business. Some of the common methods involve using Amazon Merch or using Print providers like Printful and Printify.
When you use Amazon Merch, you can create product within Amazon Merch program and sell your products through Merch program. You do not have to use external platforms. Amazon will fulfil the order for you.
When you want to use Printify or Printful, you will have to integrate these print providers with ecommerce marketplaces like ebay, etsy or use on your own stores like shopify or woocommerce. This method involves using two different platforms, one, to create products, and two to sell products.
Since Amazon merch is not only the print provider but also a selling platform, it is better to use Amazon merch instead of using printify and printful. Amazon also is a bigger platform compared to other ecommerce marketplaces, there are millions of registered customers. Therefore, selling is easier.
Print-On-Demand: Etsy Vs. Redbubble
Etsy is not a print-on-demand company, however, you can sell print-on-demand products on Etsy by integrating print providers like Printify and Printful.
Redbubble is a print-on-demand company that not only offers product printing services but also product selling marketplace.
In other words, if you want to sell Print-On-Demand on Etsy, you will have to use other companies, however, on Redbubble you can list your products for sale and if the product gets sold, the company will fulfil your order.
When you sell on Redbubble, the mark-up is your entire profit, however, if you are selling on Etsy, you will not only have to pay for Etsy fees but also pay for the product to the print providers. Therefore, profit margin on Etsy might be lower than Redbubble.
You can start for zero cost on Redbubble but you need money to start in Etsy. However, Etsy is more popular platform, there are millions of registered buyers. Therefore, selling is easier on Etsy.
Avoid These Print-On-Demand Mistakes
A lot of people start print-on-demand business but in absence of proper strategies, they fail to generate sales and then finally give up. If you want to start print-on-demand business, do not make the following mistakes.
Don’t create products that your mother or your sister likes, or the product you like, create products for the market you are selling, create product your potential buyers will like.
Your designs make or break your products. If your designs are poor, you cannot sell products. Therefore, enhance your designing skills so that you can create great designs.
Your customers will not flock to buy your products on the day you start. It might take weeks, even months before you sell your first product. Therefore don’t lose patience.
You want to do print-on-demand but don’t have knowledge and skill. Should you join any paid courses? Don’t make this mistake. There are free resources to learn print-on-demand.
Reasons Why People Fail in Print-On-Demand Business?
Print-On-Demand is the easiest business model that can be done online. Even though there are platforms where you have to spend money to sell Print-On-Demand products, there are numerous platforms where you can start free. In this business model, you are only required to create the product design, rest of the work will be done by the Print-On-Demand marketplace. Yet, not many people succeed with this business model. Do you know why?
Print-On-Demand involves 5 Steps
Research
Design
SEO
Product Launch
Marketing
However, people start by designing product. Launch the product and wait for sales to pick up. If you miss the Research part, you will never become successful. Research means finding designs that sells, finding products that sells, finding niches that are trending, etc.
You launched your listing, how would people find your product? Here lies the importance of SEO, sadly, people who complain that they have not been able to sell products, miss this vital point.
For a new marketer, paid ads are essential.