How to make money with print on demand

Bursting with creative design ideas but lacking the initial funds to make money from them? Print on demand could be the perfect low-risk solution. Here's a guide on how.

If you’ve got the creativity and looking to earn some extra cash, print on demand offers a simple way to start an online business without needing a big budget.

With minimum investment or previous experience needed, print on demand could be the perfect side hustle you need to help you through your time at uni. And the flexibility means you can fit working on your store around your studies.

But don't be fooled into thinking it's easy money. You'll need to put the time and effort in to get the sales.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know. From choosing a niche and creating designs to setting up your store, finding suppliers and marketing your products.

What's in this guide?

• What is print on demand?
• How to start a print on demand business
• Best print on demand companies
• Pros and cons of print on demand

What is print on demand?

Print on demand is an e-commerce business model where products are only printed and shipped once a customer has placed an order.

This makes it a great low-risk option for starting a business, as no initial investment is needed. You don't need to worry about paying out for the stock and then not being able to sell it, as it will only be printed once it's been ordered.

Print on demand can be as easy as uploading your design to a platform and listing the products. Most print on demand companies have hundreds of different products to choose from, but popular print on demand products include t-shirts, hoodies and mugs.

If a customer orders your product, the print on demand suppliers will deal with the printing, packaging and delivery for you. Simple!

However, making your print on demand business successful isn't always that simple. Unless you strike gold and some celebrity miraculously spots your design, orders it, and it gets seen by the masses, you're going to have to put the legwork in.

Competition is super high, and you'll need to market and perfect your products before you see the orders rolling in.

How to start a print on demand business

Here are the steps you need to take to start a successful print on demand business:

1. Choose a niche

   Possibly the most important step of them all. As we've mentioned, some people might get lucky, but generally, you're going to need a strong niche and unique design to help you stand out from the crowd.

   Where once you might have been able to bang a funny quote on a t-shirt and get sales, the marketplace is flooded with these now, and you'll have to be pretty damn funny to get seen.

   Think about hobbies you may be able to profit from, professions or interests that people are passionate about (and preferably that you are too). This is a good start, but you'll need to filter it down to a smaller audience. For example, rather than 'pet lovers', you'll need to be more specific and focus on perhaps 'cocker spaniel lovers'.

   You can research niches on social media to see how active and passionate their communities are.

2. Create a design

   Now it's time to let your creativity flow!

   Whether it's a logo, image, pattern or piece of artwork, it's important to always keep your audience in mind. Put yourself in their shoes and think what designs they might like - big, bold and colourful or subtle and refined?

   You don't need to be a designer to create print on demand products; there is design software to help you on your way. Canva, for example, is super easy to use and has hundreds of templates. You'll also find that some print on demand sites have their own design tools.

   These days, you can even use AI to create designs for you. Just make sure any images it creates are permitted for commercial use. And remember the importance of creating something unique. AI can generate hundreds of designs for you, but generic images won't make you stand out from the crowd.

   If you really aren't up to the task of creating a design, you can also find freelancers on sites like Fiverr to do the design work for you.

   Just keep in mind what products you think you might want your designs on. Which takes us to our next point...

   Be aware that if you're thinking of using AI-generated images in your design, you can't copyright them, meaning anyone could copy them.

3. Choose your products

   There's a huge range of print on demand products to choose from for your design. Some companies offer over 500,000! But some of the most popular products include:

   • Clothing such as hoodies, t-shirts and socks
   • Homeware such as mugs, coasters and throws
   • Accessories such as tote bags and phone cases
   • Wall art such as posters and canvas prints.

   Again, the most important thing is to keep your audience in mind and personalise your products.

   It may sound obvious, but it's also important to think about the seasons. You're not going to sell many hats and scarves in the height of summer.

4. Research print on demand companies

   Next step – find the right print on demand suppliers for you.

   You need to be checking product pricing, shipping costs and times, customer service and where the company is based. Read some reviews, and if you've already decided on products, you can start by finding which companies have these.

   If you think your audience will be mainly UK-based, it makes sense to use a company based in the UK, as they'll be working in the same time zone and shipping costs should be cheaper.

   To help you out, we've listed a few of the best print on demand suppliers below.

   You'll also need to check which platforms and marketplaces the company can integrate with, which brings us on to our next point.

5. Decide how you want to sell

   

   Credit: Jarretera – Shutterstock

   Next decision is how and where you want to sell your new designs.

   You've basically got two options. You can either sell them on an already existing marketplace, such as Etsy or Amazon. Or, you can use an e-commerce platform such as Shopify, Wix or Squarespace and set up your own website to sell from.

   There are pros and cons to both of these.

   When selling from a marketplace such as Etsy, you could benefit from the fact that it already has customers visiting the site. However, there is also loads of competition, so you'll need to be certain you're offering something unique.

   If you build your own website to sell your print on demand products, you'll have complete control of your products and payment processing, but you'll need to invest more time to get the traffic to your site and make the sales.

   Either way, you'll find the print on demand companies we've listed below will integrate with all major e-commerce platforms and marketplaces.

   Shopify is a great place to start if you're looking for an e-commerce platform that is super easy to use. We have a full guide on how to create a Shopify store,

6. Market your products

   This is where you'll have to put the extra legwork in if you want to make money with print on demand. It's no use shoving your products online and leaving them there to get lost amongst the others. You'll need to promote them.

   Social media is super useful when it comes to tapping into communities. Find groups on Facebook, TikTok or Instagram specific to your audience and promote your products there. You may want to look into paid ads to reach these specific audiences.

   Customers like to know what's going on behind the scenes, not just the outcome, so you can use social media to promote your story and the ethos behind your business (if you have one!) The more of a following you can build, the easier your sales will be.

   Though you may not have been lucky enough to find a celebrity wearing your product, you could contact influencers within your niche market and see if you can partner up.

   Check out our guide on how to make money from social media for more ideas.

7. Keep your listings updated

   To stay on top of the game, make sure you keep an eye on which of your products are selling and which aren't. If something really isn't selling, then take it down.

   Refreshing and editing your listings helps you keep up to date with current trends. Listen to the feedback customers give you and try tweaking designs or features to see what sells.

Best print on demand companies

As we've already mentioned, you really need to research the different companies offering print on demand services to find one that fits your needs.

To make things a bit simpler, we've put together a table comparing the price of getting a basic t-shirt printed and shipped within the UK from different print on demand sites.

Just remember it's not only the price which you need to take into account. You'll also need to check where they're based, the quality of their products, and what their customer support reviews are like.