How to Start a Print on Demand Business in 2024

Learning how to start a print on demand business might be one of the most lucrative things you do this year.

After all, the print on demand (POD) business model is one of the easiest, most affordable, and simplest options for any creative entrepreneur.

However, while the barrier to entry for POD selling is low, you still need a solid strategy if you’re going to make a profit.

With this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about developing your brand, launching your business, and earning a profit.

Let’s dive in.

Quick Tips for POD Business Beginners

The step-by-step guide above should give you everything you need to launch your own print on demand store. However, if you want to boost your chances of success even further, we do have a few quick tips that can help any online business thrive:

• Order samples: Always order samples from print on demand sites before you add products to your store. This will allow you to check the print quality, and the production value. Plus, it means you can take photos and videos to optimize your product store pages.
• Experiment: Experiment with different marketing strategies and sales avenues. Consider selling on your store, an online marketplace, and social media at the same time. Think about offering free shipping and discounts to attract more customers upfront.
• Leverage useful tools: Take advantage of tools for analytics, online sales, and marketing. Consider experimenting with design tools too, like Canva, to help you create more compelling designs. There are plenty of great options out there.

With all that in mind, you’re ready to go forth and create the best print on demand business out there. Now it’s over to you. Go and create the ultimate print on demand business.

What is a Print on Demand Business?

A print-on-demand (POD) business is a company that sells customized products created by third-party manufacturers and suppliers. Similar to dropshipping, with print on demand, you don’t actually create any items yourself. You don’t even need to hold and manage inventory.

Instead, you list products on a website or marketplace, and whenever a customer places an order, their details are passed to your supplier. The supplier then creates your product (on-demand), and ships it directly to your customer. The biggest difference between POD and dropshipping, is you can actually add your own custom designs to white-labelled products, like t-shirts, bags, hats, and accessories.

There are no minimum order quantities with print on demand, and virtually no risks, as you don’t have to buy anything up-front. This means you can use POD to:

• Test a new business idea: POD is great for testing the potential profitability of a product line before you actually buy any inventory. If you want a simple side-hustle, POD could be ideal.
• Monetize an existing audience: If you’re an artist, content creator, or influencer, you can use print on demand to sell custom products and merchandise to existing fans.
• Design and sell unique items: Unlike with dropshipping, POD allows you to add your own unique designs to custom products and merch, making it easy to appeal to a niche audience.
• Create one-off or small batch products: You can sell temporary products or one-off items, such as phone cases, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and so on.
• Expand your product collection: POD is a great way to add more items to your existing ecommerce store if you want to try and increase your sales.

The Benefits of Starting a Print on Demand Business

Demand for the print-on-demand business model has skyrocketed in recent years. Currently, experts predict the market value will increase by around 25.8% CAGR through to 2030.

So, why is it so popular?

Simply put, print on demand gives you an easy way to launch a creative startup with minimal effort. You can test unique designs without risk, experiment with a wide range of different products, and you don’t ever have to worry about dealing with inventory or fulfillment yourself.

The biggest benefits of print on demand include:

• Minimal startup costs: There are no expenses for producing items, buying machinery, or even storing inventory in warehouses. Plus, you only ever need to order stock when a customer places an order, so there’s no risk of any products being left unsold.
• Flexibility: Since you only pay for products when a customer places an order, you can experiment with various different types of products, trends, and designs, without any risk. There are dozens of white label products to choose from too.
• Scalability: As your business and number of potential customers grows, your POD business can scale with it. You can expand your production as necessary, without having to invest in additional equipment or staff.

How to Start a Print on Demand Business: Step by Step

By 2025, analysts believe the POD market will be worth around $7.4 trillion. That means now is the perfect time to dive in if you’re thinking of creating your own print on demand store.

The good news? Starting your business is pretty simple.

Here’s your step by step guide to launching a POD company.

1. Find Your Niche

The growing popularity of print on demand means there’s a lot of competition out there. If you want to boost your chances of earning sales and customer loyalty, you’re going to need to take a focused approach.

That means choosing a specific “niche” for your store.

Choosing a profitable niche can be tricky. After all, there are tons of options to choose from, ranging from home accessories, to activewear.

You can start looking for ideas by:

• Searching on Google: Use Google search to find companies selling “custom products”. Pay attention to the kind of items they’re offering, and which products earn the most sales.
• Using Google Trends: Google Trends is a great tool for comparing potential niche options. You can visualize how many people are searching for a specific item such as “eco-friendly t-shirts”, to see if a product’s popularity is moving up or down.
• Analyzing search engine results: Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMRush, and Google Keyword planner to find out what specific terms customers are searching for. The higher the search volume, the more popular the niche is likely to be.

You can also search for products gaining a lot of attention social media channels and forums like Reddit. The ideal niche should be something that attracts a lot of audience attention, doesn’t have too much competition, and offers a lot of potential for growth.

A few ideas to get you started include:

• Animals and pet products
• Activewear and fitness
• Books and literature
• Eco-friendly or sustainable fashion
• Minimalistic home accessories

Remember, make your niche specific. Don’t just focus on “fashion”, look at “eco-friendly fashion” or “sustainable leggings”.

2. Define Your Audience

Once you have your niche, the next step is figuring out who your target audience is going to be. You should have a little data to work with based on your niche research. For instance, if you’ve decided you’re going to sell activewear, you’re probably going to be focused on people interested in fitness.

The key to success with any ecommerce store or venture, is learning as much about your specific target audience as possible. Creating a buyer persona can help you with this. Think about the key demographics of the people you want to target, such as their age, gender, and location.

Consider behavioral factors, like how they search and shop for products, which social media channels they use, and how they buy new items. Don’t forget psychographic concepts too, such as the key pain points, goals, and motivators affecting your target audience.

You can also read up on market reports and POD stats to add extra data to your persona. With your buyer persona, you’ll have a direct insight into your audience every time you produce a new product, marketing campaign, or sales strategy.

3. Choose Your Products

With a clear view of your target audience and niche, it’s time to start making some really important decisions, such as figuring out what you’re going to sell. Depending on the POD vendor you choose, you’ll have a wide range of options available, ranging from notebooks, to t-shirts.

Statistically speaking, the clothing sector is the most popular in the POD market, with a market share of 39.6%. But you don’t have to stick to apparel. Look for a product category that not only resonates with your target market, but has the potential for growth.

For instance, the home décor segment is expected to grow at a rate of 27.7% through to 2030.

Here are some quick ideas to get you started:

• Apparel: Leggings, sweaters, hoodies, t-shirts, tank tops, dresses, etc
• Fashion accessories: Scarves, hats, socks, and jewelry, etc
• Home products: Posters, pillowcases, rugs, throws, etc
• Accessories: Tote bags, water bottles, phone cases, pet products, etc
• Stationary: Notebooks, stickers, laptop cases, calendars, etc

Aside from ensuring your product has the potential for growth, it’s worth focusing on an area you’re genuinely passionate about. If you love the types of products you sell, you’ll have a much easier time promoting them. You can also use your market research for extra insights, looking at top-selling products on Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, and other channels.

4. Choose your POD Supplier

You know what you want to sell, and who you want to sell to. Now you need to figure out who you’re going to work with to create your products. While the success of your POD business depends on many factors, choosing the right supplier is crucial to your results.

There are quite a few different options you can choose from. If you’re using a POD marketplace to sell (we’ll come back to that in a minute), you’ll be able to work with the suppliers already offered through sites like Printful, Printify, TeeSpring and Teelaunch.

If you’re selling through your own online store, or a marketplace, you’ll need to track down a POD supplier yourself. You can opt for a well-known company like Printful, which offers a comprehensive global supply network and integrates with a range of ecommerce platforms.

Alternatively, you can find suppliers by joining a directory site. Directory sites like Printify allow you to work with multiple different suppliers from all over the world. Other well-known suppliers include:

• CustomCat
• Teelaunch
• Lulu Xpress
• Redbubble
• Print Aura
• CafePress

You can find a complete list of POD supplier and platform reviews here on Ecommerce-Platforms.com if you’re having trouble making the right choice. Crucially, when choosing a supplier, the most important thing you’ll need to consider is product quality. High quality products are crucial to capturing the attention of your audience, and earning their loyalty.

It’s also worth thinking about shipping times (how quickly items can be produced and delivered), product options, customization options, pricing, and customer service.

5. Create Your Designs

While your POD supplier or vendor will handle creating your products for you, it’s up to you to differentiate your products with unique designs and patterns. There are some POD marketplaces and vendors that allow you to purchase designs for independent artists, or use stock images on your items.

Outside of using these methods, there are a few ways you can create your own designs. One option is to simply produce designs yourself. Even if you’re not a great artist, you can use AI tools like Midjourney to help you produce amazing images.

You can also take inspiration from a range of different environments, including social media sites and art forums.

Just make sure you never use a design that belongs to someone else without their permission. If you don’t want to create designs yourself, you can work with an independent creator.

There are plenty of freelancers on sites like Fiverr, Upwork, and other channels who will happily create patterns according to your specs.

Once you’ve chosen your designs, you’ll be able to use templates and mock-up generators provided by your POD vendor to check what they’ll look like on your products. Make sure you follow the design guidelines carefully to avoid any issues.

6. Establish Your Business

Running a POD company might be easier than launching a standard ecommerce or brick-and-mortar store, but it’s still a business. That means you’ll need to do a few things before you get up and running. Start by actually building out a business plan.

Outline the products you’re going to sell, your unique selling points, your target audience, and how you plan to attract and retain customers. Within your business plan, you should also describe and define your brand. Think about your business name, and trademarks. You can check the official trademark database to make sure you’re not stepping on anyone’s toes.

Before selling your products, you’ll also need to ensure you register your business in your country or state. Depending on where you’re located, you may need to obtain a Business Operation License, get a business bank account, and apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

You’ll also need to decide where you’re going to sell your products, and set up your online presence. That takes us onto our next step.

7. Decide How and Where You’re Going to Sell

Figuring out where you’re going to sell your print on demand products can be more complex than it seems. When you start a print on demand business, you can choose from a few different options.

For instance, you can:

• Create your own online store: Building your own online store with an ecommerce platform is the best way to establish your brand, and ensure your business can scale. There are plenty of great platforms to choose from, including WordPress (WooCommerce), Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify. All of which are extremely easy to use.
• Sell through a marketplace: If you don’t want to launch your online store, you can choose a marketplace like Amazon, Etsy, and Ebay. They all have an existing audience, so it’s easy to find buyers, and many POD vendors integrate with them directly. However, you will have to fight for attention against a lot of competitors.
• Use a POD marketplace: POD marketplaces are another, slightly less competitive option for online selling. You can create storefronts on platforms like RedBubble, and minimize the amount of work involved in launching your new collection.

You could also choose to sell directly through social media channels like Instagram or Facebook, but this can be a little complicated if you don’t have an ecommerce store too. Keep in mind, you can always branch out into other channels over time.

For instance, you might start by selling via Shopify, then link your Shopify account to Amazon and Facebook.

8. Build and Brand Your Store

Although there are various ways to sell with your print on demand business, we recommend launching your own online store. It’s ultimately the best way to ensure you can establish a memorable brand, connect with consumers, and grow your presence online.

An online store isn’t just a place to sell products, it’s the home-base for your brand, where customers can learn about your business, connect with your marketing materials, and contact your team. The good news is that setting up a site of your own is relatively easy.

Tools like Shopify offer a range of cost-effective plans for beginners, so you can get started without spending a fortune. Plus, they come with handy templates for site building, built-in checkout tools, payment processing, marketing features and more.

When designing your store make sure it’s:

• Branded with your logo, name, and color palette
• Easy to use and navigate on all devices
• Integrated with a secure payment processor

9. Create your Pricing Strategy

You’re almost ready to start selling your POD products, and reaping the rewards of your hard work. But before you dive in, there are a couple of extra steps to consider.

First, you need to choose the right price for your products. This can be trickier than it seems.

You’ll need to ensure you’re making a decent profit margin with your POD store, but at the same time, you want your pricing to be competitive. Make sure you always cover the costs of creating your products and actually getting them to customers. Check the pricing of your print-on-demand services for a starting point.

Next, assess your competitors. Find out how much other print-on-demand companies are charging for similar items. This will give you an insight into what kind of pricing structure you should use. You may also want to think about a few other things, such as:

• Will you offer any discounts or deals to first-time or repeat buyers?
• Are you going to charge for shipping or offer free delivery?
• Where is your customer base located, and what currency should you use?
• Will you need to change your prices if your print provider updates theirs?

10. Start Marketing

Finally, you need to actually attract people to your print on demand products. If you’ve invested in great product designs, and you’ve chosen the right print-on-demand suppliers, you shouldn’t have much trouble getting customer orders from repeat buyers.

However, you’ll still need to invest in advertising your small business to potential customers. There are a few ways you can get started with your marketing efforts, such as:

• Content marketing: Produce blogs using SEO techniques to help your site rank in the search engine result pages. Use graphic design tools to create images for social media and infographics, or consider experimenting with podcasts and video marketing.
• Email marketing: Entice customers to sign up for your email newsletter with fantastic content and offers. While it can take a while to establish a good email list, it gives you a great way to consistently connect with your target audience.
• Build a social media presence: Connect with customers through social media campaigns (paid and organic). Consider working with influencers to promote your products, or use competitions and contests to draw attention to your products

Remember, to make the most of your marketing campaigns, gather as much data as you can. Collect insights from your own website using tools like Google Analytics to see where your customers are coming from. Pay attention to the insights offered by tools like Instagram and Facebook, and make sure you’re monitoring your sales and revenue.

FAQ:

Is print on demand a good business model?

If you want to create an ecommerce business and keep your costs and risk levels low, then print on demand could be an excellent choice. It’s easy to get started, and you don’t have to deal with inventory and shipments yourself.

Are there downsides to print on demand?

The biggest issue with print on demand is you’re not actually creating products from scratch, so you do have limited control over what you can produce. On top of that, there’s always a risk that you could end up working with a less reputable supplier.

Is Print on demand the same as dropshipping?

While print on demand is similar to dropshipping, it’s not the same. Dropshipping involves selling pre-made items through a third-party vendor. Print on demand doesn’t require you to purchase any inventory, and uses a third-party to handle fulfillment, but you can apply your own custom designs to products.