Today I’m going to be talking about POD, or Print On Demand. I’m so excited to write about this because it’s something I’ve recently found and had SO much fun with! If you’re artsy or like designing at all, you might as well start making an income selling your designs on apparel.
If you’ve been trying to find a way to work from home, while being creative, just keep reading. I’ll walk you through how to start a print on demand business!
Why I started a print on demand shirt business:
I’ve always loved anything and everything creative. Drawing, painting, design, etc. If I can make it, I probably have. I’ve been obsessed with figuring out a way to be able to work on my handmade goods, while also selling something passively in my free time. Meaning I don’t have to do the printing, shipping, and all the hands on work.
I wanted something that would be simple enough to do in my free time, and I found it! I still get to work on making my handmade goods during the day, and I create new designs for my POD shop when I have free time. When someone purchases a shirt from my shop, I don’t have to do anything. So it’s a perfect passive income for me!
So what is print on demand?
Print on demand is a service that will print your designs on t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, baby clothes, etc. so that you can sell it without ever having any of the products as inventory. Here’s how it works:
- You create a design you want on a product. (For example- you want a shirt to say “Best teacher”) You can draw this yourself, create it in photoshop, or even use a free service like Canva.
- Upload that “Best teacher” design to a POD company website (like Printful).
- Choose the product you want your design printed on, like a shirt.
- You list that product for sale on an e-commerce site like Etsy or Shopify.
- When someone purchases your shirt (from Etsy or your website), the POD company prints, packs, and ships your product to your customer.
That’s the simple rundown, now we’ll get into the details and walk you through exactly what to do.
How do you get paid?
When you choose a product to print on from a POD company, they have several to choose from at different prices. If I choose to print on a $10 shirt, I can sell it for $20, and my profit is $10 after I buy the shirt from my POD company. You only buy what you sell, so you’re only paying the POD company when someone makes a purchase.
What do you need to begin?
As long as you have a computer, you can start a print on demand business for a few dollars! I have 30 listings up as I write this, and I’ve spent $6 for listing fees, and $10 on a few optional things I’ll get to later. That’s it. Here’s what you need to begin:
1. An e-commerce site to sell your products
This is how you’re going to sell the products you design. Your print on demand company will do the printing for you, but they do not advertise or sell your products. Therefore, you need a website. The two most popular choices are Etsy or Shopify.
Etsy is free to join and has a $0.20 listing fee each time you post a new listing. Etsy also finds customers for you as long as you are utilizing their website correctly. I use Etsy for now, and this is where I’ve spent the $6 on listing fees.
Shopify is another option. It’s the more expensive route, starting at $29 a month. It doesn’t create business for you, but you have more control over it like a real website. I might someday switch to Shopify after I have a following, but for now I like that Etsy helps me find customers.
Both are great for their own reasons, but if you are just starting out and don’t have a following yet, I suggest getting an Etsy account.
2. A print on demand website account
If you have read several of these posts on POD, you’ve noticed everyone has their go-to POD site they use. The two most common are Printful and Printify. I personally only use Printful now, after testing both for a while.
Printful also has a very easy step by step process of getting your designs on a product. It’s very easy to figure out and beginner friendly.
Go take a look at the products on each site to see which one is best for you!
3. A design program
This is how you will make your designs, and there are almost endless options which can be overwhelming! Here are the most commonly used programs. Everyone has their favorite design program, so try a few out to see which is best for you!
Free options:
Printful–
You can utilize Printful and make designs on the website itself, but you’re more limited to what you can make than you would be on other programs. It is free, so if you don’t want any upfront costs, you could try it out to begin and see if it’s right for you.
Canva–
Canva is an extremely popular site to make designs on. I’ve never personally used it for POD items, but It’s very common and user friendly for beginners. Again, you’re more limited because you’re using the shapes and fonts they have, instead of being able to create anything you want. Canva is also free (with a paid option), so go ahead and make a few designs!
Printful and Canva are not only great because they’re free, but they also don’t require and design knowledge. If you have design ideas but don’t consider yourself super creative or artistic, Printful and Canva would be a great place to start!
Paid options:
Procreate-
Procreate is a $10 app for Ipad that I use with the Apple Pencil. To me, Procreate is a necessity for my personal process because I like to make everything myself by hand. It’s an app that basically simulates drawing, painting, and photoshop all in one.
Again, it is not necessary to invest in Procreate if you aren’t ready or you don’t want to go out and buy an Ipad just yet. If you love to design and draw and want to make more complex designs, I highly suggest Procreate. (It’s also just so fun to play around with!)
Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator-
This is another one that’s not necessary but comes in handy if you’re wanting to invest in higher quality programs. I personally love these programs, but I have a background in graphic design, so there wasn’t a learning curve like there would be normally. I use Photoshop to create some of my designs, but I mostly use it to create my mockup photos (I’ll talk more about that later in this post).
Adobe Photoshop is about $239.00 or $20.99 a month which is pretty steep if you’re just beginning. If you’re going to invest in a design program, I recommend Procreate over Adobe for print on demand.
4. Mockups
Mockups are a photo of a blank shirt or other product (like an empty frame, blank coffee mug, etc.) that you put your design on to show what it would look like in real life. Product photos are important, but since you won’t have your product in your possession, you can rely on mockup photos to showcase your product.
Printful supplies some basic mockups with your designs on them when you create a listing, and you can absolutely begin with those if you want.
If you’re wanting some mockups that pop or are more your personal style, you can purchase mockups to put your design on. I buy my mockups from Etsy, download them, then add my designs to them. They usually cost anywhere from $3-$10. I bought two to begin with and stuck with those for a while. Just make sure you use mockups that actually look like the product your customer will receive.
That’s it! That’s all you need to begin. As you can see, you can start a whole successful business with just a few dollars for the Etsy listing fees, so you can get started today.
Print On Demand Business Tips!
Use high resolution designs
Your t-shirts will not look good if you aren’t using images with 300 DPI. Luckily, Printful warns you if you have uploaded a low res image. Printful has tons of information on their design template and sizing here (link Printful blog)
Research copyright and trademark infringement
Yes, if you search “Disney T-shirt” in Etsy, several listings will pop up, but they’re all breaking the law and risking their shop getting shut down. You can not use certain words, phrases, quotes, corporations, titles, etc. If you’re questioning it, research it. Etsy will shut down your shop and not let you open a new one.
Advertise!
Don’t rely on Etsy to find all of your customers. There are several ways to get traffic to your print on demand shop.
Pinterest-
Pinterest is severely underrated, and anyone who is trying to get traffic anywhere should be utilizing it. If you only do one thing to advertise, let it be this!
It’s basically a free to use search engine mixed with social media. Meaning, a potential customer could just happen upon your product from pinterest and click on your link, or they could also search “Teacher Shirt For Women” into pinterest and see your product. I don’t have a large following on Pinterest, and I’ve had my posts go from 0 to 20k views overnight. Trust me, use Pinterest!!
Pssst, let’s be Pinterest friends- follow me here!
Instagram-
Although I personally feel like Instagram is dying, and I haven’t had much success with it, I know other small business owners swear by it. It’s also pretty user friendly considering you probably already have an instagram and know how to use it (even if just for selfies right now). I suggest making a separate business account and posting there, using hashtags and connecting with other creators.
Etsy Ads-
Yeah I know, you’re probably thinking “I don’t understand ads!” and neither did I (..and maybe still don’t). The thing about Etsy is they make it SO easy. When you’re ready to invest in your business, start with a low budget of a few dollars a day. Run an ad for 3-5 days and if you’re not getting the results you want, switch it up and choose a new audience and new listing. You got this. Trust me.
Let’s recap!
Pros of print on demand:
- Almost no risk or startup cost.
- Easy to begin.
- No inventory / no office space or studio needed.
- You create what you want, when you want.
- Can be done from anywhere.
- Shipping is taken care of.
Cons of print on demand:
- Lower profit due to paying POD company.
- No control over shipping times.
So, have I convinced you to start a print on demand t-shirt business yet? If you choose to use Printful, here is the link to get started for free.
If you think print on demand might not be your thing, but still want to make an income from home, I have a list of passive income ideas for creatives you can check out!
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