How to Grow Your Print on Demand Business (2024)

Learning how to grow your print on demand business can be more complex than it seems. Every entrepreneur wants to facilitate growth in their organization.

The more your company grows, the more revenue and profit you can potentially earn.

However, while there are many ways to enable growth as a print on demand company, from working with new vendors, to embracing different sales channels, each method requires a strategic approach.

You need to ensure you can expand in a sustainable, manageable way to thrive in a competitive market.

Here are our top strategies for success.

6 Strategies for Growing your Print on Demand Business

After spending years helping ecommerce companies evaluate and compare POD vendors, applications, and products, we’ve used our expertise to create this guide. If you’re new to print on demand, check out this introduction to POD selling first.

If you’re already well-versed on the POD business model, read on for the best ways to expand and grow your evolving business.

Diversify Your Product Line

It’s common to start a POD business with a basic line of products before you expand into new categories. Many vendors initially create highly versatile items like custom t-shirts and hoodies because they appeal to a wide audience.

However, diversifying your product line is an excellent way to reach new customers, and differentiate your business.

Before you start listing new items on your store, do your research. Analyze market trends using keyword research tools like Ahrefs and SEMRush, or Google Trends to find out what customers in your industry are searching for.

Check out trending products on platforms like Amazon and Etsy, and use social media channels to track popular hashtags and product mentions.

You can also use our lists of top selling products for Printful, and best selling Printify products to guide you. The key to success when choosing which new products to sell is balancing diversity, differentiation, and product potential, with your understanding of your target audience and niche.

Make sure every product you sell fits with your overall brand, and makes sense for your chosen audience. For instance, if you’re running a POD clothing brand, it might not make sense to branch into tech products like custom phone cases and mouse mats.

Develop a Memorable Brand Identity

In the past, consumers made purchases based on factors like pricing, product features, and accessibility. Now, anyone can find countless competing brands selling similar products with just a quick online search. That means the only way to really grab your customer’s attention, and earn their loyalty, is to develop a memorable brand.

Your brand isn’t just the logo you design or the color palette you use. It includes everything from your visual image, to your tone of voice, you’ll need to think about:

• A cohesive brand image: How do you capture customer attention and share your brand story through your logo, font choices, photography, and website design? Do you showcase your image on your POD product labels, packaging, and receipt slips?
• Voice and personality: What tone of voice do you use in your messaging and marketing materials? How do you ensure you speak your customer’s language, and resonate with them on an emotional level?
• Your values and mission: How do you differentiate your company from competitors with a distinct mission, purpose, and vision? What are your values, such as sustainability or excellent customer service?

Remember, consistency in branding is crucial to success, with 68% of companies saying consistent branding has increased their revenue. Make sure your message stays the same on every channel you use to interact with customers.

Implement Advanced Digital Marketing Techniques

Even if you have the best brand and products the print on demand market have ever seen, your company won’t grow unless you have the right marketing strategy. Marketing is how you reach and connect with new leads in your industry, and retain existing customers.

While there are various ways to effectively market your print on demand business, some of the most powerful strategies include:

• Sensational SEO: Search engine optimization involves leveraging technical, on-page, and off-page tactics, from keyword research, to backlinking, to boost your online visibility. Make sure your product descriptions are optimized for commercial intent keywords, and focus on offering customers an excellent experience on your website.
• Advanced social media: Take your presence on social media to the next level, with more advanced promotional strategies. Upgrade your content calendar with paid advertising (PPC), and retargeting campaigns. Use targeting strategies to ensure your messages are meeting the right audience, and use social listening tools to stay ahead of the competition.
• Content marketing: Content marketing is still one of the best ways to improve your company’s visibility. Don’t just focus on writing blogs and articles. Produce videos, podcasts, infographics, and images that capture the attention of various customers. Focus on delivering genuine value to every customer throughout their buyer journey.

Expand into New Sales Channels

There are a few ways to launch a print on demand business. Some creators start simple, listing the products on marketplaces like RedBubble and TeeSpring. Others design their own websites with platforms like Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace, where they can sell products to customers directly.

However, you can also expand beyond these initial sales channels to collect revenue from a range of different environments.

For instance, you might collaborate with retailers and wholesalers to sell your products to other companies. You could use marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy to sell your products to a huge variety of engaged customers all over the world.

Some ecommerce platforms even allow you to integrate your online store with social media, so you can sell through channels like Instagram and TikTok.

An omnichannel approach to selling boosts your chances of attracting and converting more customers. You can even consider printing products and selling them in-person through pop-up shops and fares, with point of sale tools.

Explore Partnerships and Collaborations

We’ve already discussed one of the ways you can partner with other companies to expand your print on demand business, by selling through wholesalers. However, there are various other “collaborative” strategies that can facilitate growth too.

For instance, influencer marketing is becoming one of the most effective ways to connect with younger audiences in today’s online world. Around 72% of Gen Z consumers and millennials follow influencers on social media, and trust their product recommendations.

The right influencer network will help to boost awareness of your brand, and increase your brand’s credibility. Other ways to use partnerships for growth include:

• Partnering with designers and creators: Work with artists and designers on unique or limited-edition product collections for your print on demand store.
• Collaborative marketing: Partner with other companies on collaborative marketing campaigns, such as events, giveaways, or contests.
• Networking: Networking is an excellent way to build your community and connect with thought leaders or professionals who can help you find new ways of growing your brand.

Optimize POD Operations

Finally, one of the biggest mistakes we see companies making when growing their print on demand business, is scaling without having a strategy to boost operational efficiency. As your business grows, you’ll end up with more tasks and moving parts to manage.

Optimizing your operations in advance will ensure you can scale in a sustainable, manageable way. Start by automating as many business processes as possible.

Print-on-demand integrations for your ecommerce website can help you automate everything from order processing, to tracking, so you can spend less time dealing with each order.

Invest in technology that boosts your operational efficiency, such as chatbots to help with customer service, or email automation software for promotional strategies.

Don’t be afraid to look into outsourcing and delegation strategies too. For instance, you could outsource the product design process to freelance artists, to help you create new products at speed.

If you’re having a hard time managing returns, consider working with a fulfilment partner who can accept, and process returns for you. Efficiency will make a huge difference to your company’s success.

Growing your Print on Demand Company in 2024

There are plenty of effective ways to grow your print on demand business in 2024, from investing in advanced marketing strategies, to diversifying your product portfolio. When implementing all of the tactics mentioned above, remember adaptability is key.

Pay attention to your sales metrics, changing industry trends, and feedback from your consumers to ensure you’re making data driven decisions for expansion.

If you need extra assistance with your print on demand store, check out our articles on the best print on demand companies, our comparison reviews, or reach out to learn more about our consultancy services for print on demand store development.

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