Imagine you have created a very stunning painting, and you want to print this onto a mug and send this to your good friend as a thanksgiving gift. Fortunately you found an online store who can deal with this. They print this out and send the mug with exquisite packaging directly to your friend. Perfect, right?
This whole process is actually the order fulfilment model called Print On Demand.
According to the latest market report, the global print on demand market size was valued at USD 6.18 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.8% from 2023 to 2030.
The rising demand for customized and personalized products have bolstered the growth of the POD market. The print on demand product has become the top profitable niche in recent years.
This guide will give you an overview of the print-on-demand world, with tips on how to start your print-on-demand business in 2024.
Table of contents
1. What is Pirnt-On-Demand?
Print-on-demand is an ecommerce model that allows you to sell custom products under your brand without inventory. Once a customer orders, you can place order to the POD supplier, they will print, package, and ship the product directly to them. Traditional printing methods like letterpress and offset printing weren't cost-effective for one-off prints. The rise of digital printing makes Print On Demand feasible.
Print-on-demand products can be apparel, accessories, drinkware or home decor. They are produced only when an order is received.
1.1 Pros of Print-on-demand
- Low investment, lower risk: No need to buy inventory upfront, which minimizes financial risk.
- Easy to Test Products: Experiment with different designs and products without large investments.
- Flexibility: Offer a wide variety of customized products. Easily adjust the product offerings based on customer demand.
- Niche Markets: Cater to specific audiences with unique products.
1.2 Cons of Print-on-demand
- Lower Profit Margins: POD per-unit costs can be higher than traditional printing, leading to lower profits.
- Limited Control: Need to reply on the POD company for product quality and fulfillment times.
- Longer Production Times: Production and fulfillment can take longer compared to pre-printed inventory.
2. How to Start a Print-on-demand business?
After reviewing the above, you can keep on going if still interested. Let's explore the key steps to starting a print-on-demand business.
2.1 Select the Product
The first step is to pick up the right product to sell. This seems an easy part, but if you make it wrong, it will still ruin the business. POD services offer a variety of printable items like t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, and more. There are three key factors that need to be considered when selecting your winning product.
- Evergreen product: An evergreen product is something that consistently sells well throughout the year. Unlike seasonal items, evergreen products have a timeless appeal that isn't affected by trends or holidays. People will always need these products in their daily life, so there's a constant demand, such as mugs and T-shirts. I believe you don't want to put a ton of work into a product that's going to become irrelavent soon.
- Good profit margin: There is no point in doing this if you are not going to make good money. Look for products where the cost to produce the item is significantly lower than the price customers are willing to pay for the perceived value. A successful product with a good profit margin goes beyond just the item itself. It's about understanding the target market, effectively marketing the product's value proposition, and building a sustainable business model.
- Universal: The product needs to be universal to be uploaded with different trending designs to attract as many as target audience. For example, selling a printed mug to people in different kinds of professions, interests, hobbies and trends. Overall, if you have found an evergreen product with a good profit margin and allow you to upload universal designs, you are ready for the next step.
2.2 Make the Design
When it comes to POD, designs are everything. They can make or break your business. It's what elevates a plain product from ordinary to extraordinary. With the right design, you can create something truly special.
Most sellers fail because they don't understand customer psychology. Maybe customers don't care about the product too much, but they do care about the design printed on it. That's the thing they are passionate about. Design could literally be anything, such as their career, hobbies, pets, or hometown. With Print-on-demand, we can make products of all those interests.
Start by doing some research to see what customers are buying. Etsy is a great place to find what’s working and get inspiration from people already making money. The best part is that all the sales data is public.
There are several ways to get your designs:
- Hand Crafted Design:
For example, if you want to create designs for candles, you can review all the best sales on Etsy to get inspiration about what people like to buy.
Then you can create a list of sayings using AI.
Pick up the best ones you think and beautify the font or design using Figma or other image editing tools. Finally you will get the design.
You can also make several different variations of the same saying to increase our chances of getting more sales.
- Buying premade designs:
Buying premade designs is an easier and faster way to get many nice designs. Source popular design using google lens and find the source. You can buy the design file and use it onto different products with a little bit change. Search Tshirt designs on Etsy, can also have many choices as below.
- AI generated design:
If you don't have enough budget, AI generated design is another option. This is the easiest method for generating art. All you need to do is learn how to craft a great prompt and the image generator will take care of the rest.
The list of top AI image tools below is for your reference.
- Hybird Designs:
Creating Hybird designs allows you to take advantage of handmade, AI and premade designs all in one shop, giving you the best chance of success. This can help you build up a big catalog of products that can sell for years.
2.3 Select POD provider
This is a crucial part of the business. Choose a reliable print-on-demand provider that offers high-quality products, production, printing, fulfillment, and inventory. Such a supplier that satisfies all your product’s needs to make sure you can keep sufficient profit from the sales ultimately. Some of the popular service providers include Gelato, Printify, Printful, and SPOD.
Gelato: A global POD provider with a focus on high-quality printing and fast turnaround times. Gelato offers a wide variety of products and integrations with many popular ecommerce platforms.
Printful: A popular POD supplier that offers a wide variety of products, including apparel, accessories, and home goods. They also offer competitive pricing and easy-to-use design tools.
Printify: Another well-known POD supplier with a large product catalog and competitive pricing. Printify integrates with many popular ecommerce platforms, making it easy to get started.
SPOD: Owned by Spreadshirt, SPOD offers one of the fastest fulfillment times in the industry, with 95% of orders shipped within 48 hours.However, they have a smaller selection of products compared to other POD suppliers.
By considering factors such as product, pricing, shipping time, customer service etc., you can choose the best POD supplier for your needs and help your business thrive.
2.4 Build a POD online store
Now comes the next key step, where to sell? So you need to build your online store to sell print-on-demand products. There are two popular options:
- Sell on a marketplace
Marketplaces may charge subscription fees, listing fees, and/or transaction fees, buy they can offer large, established audiences that are already eager to buy. For beginners, opening a completely free shop on Etsy is recommended.
- Build your own website
Once you are in a comfortable position and have some cash coming in, you can scale to Shopify. This approach offers you the most freedom; you can design your store exactly how you want and stay in control of the entire buyer experience. The challenge here is that you’ll have to invest in marketing so that your products get seen.
2.5 Marketing
Now that your products are live, it's time to get the store to show up when someone searches for POD products!
Friends and family can be your biggest fans — make sure to spread the word to your biggest supporters. Ask them about their experience using the site and use their feedback to make improvements for future customers.
Put good Seo key words for search engine optimization in the listings. This will help the product rank top in the search engine.
Create valuable online content such as blogs and videos, post on your website or your social media page, attract target audience. Join in on relevant conversations or groups and express your brand’s personality online. If you want to scale your business and reach new target audiences, collaborations with digital creators and influencer marketing are the way to go.
Aside from your immediate network, marketing can also have a massive impact on the success of your store. Although there is no perfect recipe for success, you can work step by step to get the ball rolling.
Check out the top 10 marketing strategies for more inspiration.
2.6 Continuous optimization
To ensure ongoing success for your print-on-demand business, monitoring sales performance regularly to inform your product, pricing, and marketing strategy is essential. Data-driven decisions are integral to maintaining a long-term profit margin.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) to track over time may include:
- Top-selling products
- Average order value
- Trends over time
- Sales by region
- Gross revenue
- Net profit
- Total cost to POD
It's important to remain adaptable and open to changes as the market and consumer preferences shift.
3. Summary
Overall, Print-on-demand has a bright future with a lot of potential for businesses of all sizes. POD dropshipping is a great option that combines two popular e-commerce fulfillment methods for entrepreneurs looking for a low-risk way to start an online business.
Starting a print on demand dropshipping business can be challenging, but with careful planning and execution, it can be a fulfilling and profitable venture. It allows you to test product ideas and build a brand without a significant investment. However, success requires creativity, effective marketing, and choosing a reliable POD supplier that aligns with your product vision.
You can contact CrossBorderStudio to get more support to boost your business growth.
