How to start a print on demand business in 2020?
The concept of a print on demand (POD) business is alluring: no minimum order quantities, no need to carry inventory, very little set up costs, and lots of success stories.
Who wouldn’t want to give it a go? If blank canvases aren’t scaring you and you truly want to have a stab at running a POD online store in 2020, then this simple ‘how-to’ guide is for you. Follow our steps from researching a profitable product niche all the way to marketing your products and you’ll be a POD entrepreneur in no time.
Discover a great idea for a profitable niche
You’d be surprised how many people start an online shop without assessing product profitability first. Choosing a profitable niche is the most important challenge you will face in your eCommerce journey.
How to do that?
A print on demand (POD) business can be set up in two ways – either focusing on a product niche or a subject niche.
1. A product-niche
A product-niche POD business requires you to decide early on what type of product you will be selling (or a selection of several similar products) and stick to that.
For instance, you might decide to sell movie-inspired pillowcases or t-shirts featuring humorous quotes. In this case, you will sell only pillowcases or only t-shirts, but many different designs.
2. A subject-niche
Where should you start looking for that profitable niche idea?
A smart thing to do would be to examine the bestselling products of 2018. And if you take time to deep-dive into details, you might discover new trends that are just teetering on mass popularity – exactly what you want.
The best places to kick off your research:
- Amazon’s Bestselling Products – check every department individually for more ideas.
- eBay’s Trending Products – it even gives you the search volume!
- Etsy’s Bestselling Items – a very good mix of gift & product ideas.
- Notonthehighstreet – hundreds of unique product ideas from boutique designers.
- Trendhunter – provides wonderful idea-collections in various categories.
- Trendwatching – subscribe to their trend & innovation newsletter to get all sorts of fresh ideas straight in your inbox.
Google Trends is a very useful tool to quickly assess the popularity of any topic, as it visualizes search queries across different regions and languages, year on year.
Options No. 1 - Use Google Trends and compare niche-products
For example, hoodies vs leggings vs tote bags
Options No. 2 - Analyze Some product trends in 2020
The global fitness industry revenue totaled $87.2 bn in 2017, with European fitness club operators alone reporting total revenues of €26.6 bn. The fitness trend and demand for gym gear is projected to grow even further over the next 10 years, so it could turn out to be a ripe POD opportunity!
According to Deloitte, “Travel and tourism are one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors, with bookings hitting close to $1.6 trillion in 2017.” With more and more people traveling, the demand for travel accessories is also growing – setting up a business in a niche that’s thriving is a solid strategy.
Tote bags have become a fashion staple. The customization option makes them the perfect statement accessory, allowing people to express their character, thoughts, and views on life. There’s also the ‘green’ element in using tote bags, as they’re often produced from recycled materials, which is something that millennials have grown to expect from socially responsible brands.
Both fitness and athleisure are huge trends in the eCommerce space, so they’re worth considering and exploring further. It is also a product that would rarely be returned due to size issues, for example, so it presents risks for eCommerce entrepreneurs.
Make it happen today!
Create and validate designs for your print on demand business
Doing your own research and extracting the best ideas from the internet and your social network is a key step in finding a profitable niche. But it’s not the only one.
Before spending any money on your business idea, take it to town. Validating your designs is a crucial part of a successful start. What may seem like an awesome idea in your head, might be completely ignored or misunderstood by your target audience.
The most common methods for validating ideas include sharing designs on social media networks, online forums, and your personal network. When posting to platforms like Facebook and Twitter where a big chunk of your followers are close friends and family members, be sure to disguise the idea to avoid over-positive reactions that might skew the results. Reddit is a great research tool, too – no one will sugar coat their answers there, so you know you’re getting the real deal.
Design isn’t your strongest suit? Then don’t waste time trying to create something yourself and find some help. There are many people who are earning some serious money through print on demand business and they have absolutely no experience in design. It’s more about implementing a robust research and idea validation process than anything else!
Set up your Print on demand business with Printify
Once you decide on your winning product or subject niche, it’s time to set up your online store. Spend some time researching successful eCommerce businesses to steal and borrow some design ideas – your website will serve as the face of your brand, so it must inspire trust and entice your target audience to browse around.
Step 1: register a domain name.
Keep in mind that you’re building a brand, so choose a name that’s catchy, easy to remember and easy to type. Then head to a site like GoDaddy and register your domain.
Step 2: choose an eCommerce platform.
Now that your domain is official, you can put it to work. The fastest way to do it is to use Shopify, WordPress + WooCommerce plugin or Etsy.
Step 3: design your shop and create custom products.
With pre-built, customizable templates at your disposal, it’s much easier to do than it might seem. Use them as a starting point and add and customize new pages that are relevant to your store (homepage, about, contact, payment, shipping information, inspiration, etc.).
Consider buying a premium template to ensure a seamless shopping experience and beautiful aesthetics. For instance, you will want to have a top-level email marketing plugin to be able to send out cart abandonment emails as well as the functionality to generate discounts or coupon codes. While it costs you today, great design will certainly pay off in the future.
Step 4: Select a print provider.
The POD plugin you decide to integrate will be your printing partner that fulfills all incoming POD orders. The importance of choosing a reliable partner cannot be overstated – this is what your reputation depends on.
Printify can easily integrate with Shopify, WordPress, and Etsy, so it’s a straightforward process. The app lets you choose from 15 suppliers, meaning you can choose the one that best suits your brand. With more than 250 blank products to choose from and the ability to create mockups within the app, you are set for a smooth start.
Make it happen today!
Written by
Elina Stafecka
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33 comments
I remember once in time when buying a personalised t-shirt would be expensive unless you purchased it in bulk. As technology has become more readily available, services have become widespread and circulated our lives also. I’ve never used Printify myself, but now I’m curious. Do you guys sell business cards curiously?
Hi James!
We are continuously adding new products to our Catalog, however we don’t offer business cards yet. Our team will definitely consider adding this product, thank you!
Is it possible when using the printify plugin with shopify, to give the power to my customers to customize their own brand, vs me selling a specific brand? Example My store niche is say sports teams and I select a few specific products/colors/etc, but my clients still have the ability to add their own custom logo and text to the T-shirt or Ball cap. Is this possible?
Hello Jarret!
Currently, we do not offer end-customer customization, however you can process custom orders manually by editing items before sending them to production. Here is our guide.
Let us know if you have any questions!
Hello, does Printify work with the Webflow platform?
Hello! I was wondering if I needed to set up a corporation or LLC in order to sell shirts using prinitfy?
Hi dear. Must I have a website to sell the POD products or can I list them on other online marketplace? If yes , like which ones ? Thanks
Do I need to register my business with the state first?
Hello Elina, Hope you’re doing well..
i have a query… Do i need to register trademark for my brand if i’m selling pod products online..??
Hi,
If Printify is free why do you need to buy a premium subscription and how much is it? If you charge the user for T-shirts is that an extra charge?
Hi Bobbie! Printify is 100% free and we charge only when you have a sale. With Printify premium you will have a discount for blank products, so it means you can earn more with bigger profits. – Elina
hi there, is there a way to edit the inside pages of a book ?
Hi! I am starting a custom designed tote bag business and I wanted to know if I am able to view all available bag options prior to choosing a POD printing and fulfillment service. Am I able to choose any product on the market? I’m looking for high quality bags that come in various colors and sizes.
Heather, thanks for the question! Yes, you can see all the bags on our catalog – https://printify.com/app/products/Accessories/Bags
You can see available base colors, print providers when you click on each product.
Thanks,
Elina
I am wondering if you have integration with Amazon? I am not seeing it anywhere as an option. Is this something you are planning on doing in the future? Thanks.
Maya, thank you for your questions. We are working on multiple new integrations. We can’t mention names yet, but we will keep you updated and notified. 😉
No Gumroad integration?
how much will it cost me to start
I don’t see it as an option and wonder if I’m missing it or if maybe a product you might add in the future would be a good quality yoga mat. I have designs of my own and yoga mats available at Society6 but would love to be able to have my shirts and mats available in the same place.
Hey, I JUST need help in shipping setting. I have built a shopify store and offered free shipping to USA. When I connected printify it has been set for free shipping too. Which I don’t want. How can I fix it?
I have a Character with lots of colors.
Is there a limit on the amount of colors going on a t-shirt.
Hi, Tony! Unless you use embroidery, there is no specific limitation of colors on a design. But keep in mind – each print provider will have slightly different colors. You can read about it here – https://help.printify.com/en/articles/1665337-why-don-t-providers-have-all-the-same-colors .
I noticed there are not any real design platform, so you should have your designs ready for upload correct?
Yes, you should have designs ready. But we will publish a new article soon ( next week) – where to get free print designs.
Best wishes,
Elina
I would like to know if you are paid by the buyer before you execute and deliver the order. What happens if the customer who ordered has a change of mind and does not receive the order? My question is if the customer pays you or us directly?
Hi there,
Some great Info thankyou!
Any tips on how to actually market the products once the store is up and running?
It’s hard to find info on that. I don’t have any followings on social media etc and wondering if there’s other ways.
Appreciate further tips!
How much money do I have to spend once I’ve designed my T-Shirt? In otherwords, do I have to buy the T-Shirts first, then sell them?
Hi James! No, Printify is free, so you don’t have to pay anything before a real customer purchases a product. You can read more here – https://help.printify.com/en/articles/1661443-does-printify-cost-anything
I need help setting up
Hi Ayanna, maybe this is helpful to you – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2d3o13tnxI
Or you can contact our customer care agents and they will help you – [email protected]
Where can I find part 2?
Hey, TJ! We are currently working on Part 2. Is there something specific you want to know? I can suggest some other useful resources.
KR,
Phil
I wasn’t looking for clothing concepts. I was and am looking for print on demand for board games or card games. I design those. Can you do that?