How to Start a Print on Demand Business in 4 Steps

With all the opportunities people have nowadays to start their own business, there are plenty of ways you can find a market that suits your interests and become an entrepreneur. One of the newer and growing ways people have been able to combine entrepreneurship with creativity is print-on-demand. A print-on-demand business is a form of e-commerce where you can sell products such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, and hats with customized designs. Perhaps you’re an artist and want to see people wearing your art. Or maybe you have a successful brand, such as on YouTube, and want to sell merch as a side gig. Whatever your motivation is, this article will discuss the 4 main steps you need to take to start your own print-on-demand business.

1. Choose Your Niche

When starting any business, one of the first critical steps is choosing your niche. It should be something that you’re passionate and knowledgeable about, as well as something that you want to sell. Your passion and knowledge will shine through in all your activities, and it will make this whole process much more enjoyable for you. However, the product should also be profitable, which might not always be the case if you simply choose something you like. The product should be specific enough that you can narrow down your target audience without too much difficulty, but not too specific that you won’t be able to sell anything. After you’ve come up with a few ideas, it can never hurt to conduct a Google search, as well as a search on websites such as Amazon and eBay, to get an idea of your competition and if your product can turn into something lucrative.

2. Create a Website

After you’ve decided upon what you want to sell, it’s time to get to work. The first step involves creating your own website and design. You can always choose to hire someone to help you if this is an area where you have difficulty, but considering the limited budget that you likely have, this might not always be plausible. But remember that it is important to create designs for your products that are high-quality and memorable. You can hire a freelancer, for example, but make sure that you don’t steal other people’s ideas. Your design should be unique and reflect what you want to sell. After you’ve made a design for your products, it’s time to create the website. Luckily, there are plenty of easy ways to build your own website, such as making your own POD store using Wix POD. Don’t forget to work on the business pages, too, such as the contact, shipping, and payment pages before you start accepting orders to make the process more streamlined for future customers.

3. Choose a POD Supplier

Next, you have to choose a POD supplier to help you turn your ideas into a reality. Luckily, most of the eCommerce platforms you will use to build your website will also include plugins that enable you to connect your shop to the supplier. Some of the most popular print-on-demand suppliers include Inkthreadable, Printful, and Print Aura. Your shop will be connected to this supplier so that when customers place orders, the whole process will be made easier, and the order will go directly to the supplier to create.

4. Advertise Your Business

Once all of these steps are complete, you want to advertise your business. First, of course, you can go the old-fashioned route and promote your new POD store among friends and family. Then, they can share it with their friends and family, and word will get out.

However, in the 21st century, socia l media has completely changed the way we conduct business. Therefore, you absolutely need to create company pages on social media. Start out with Facebook and Instagram, and if your company’s market tends to focus on other social media platforms, such as Twitter and TikTok, then, by all means, use those too. Your social media pages are ways for your customers to get in touch with you much faster than sending an email. You can also share customer testimonials, photos, and more interesting information. Your friends and family will also have an easier way to share your content and promote your business on their own pages.

Another important factor when it comes to advertising is choosing the right market. This may be something you’ll want to do right in the beginning when you choose your niche to make the process easier. You should narrow down the different components of your target audience to include factors such as age, gender, location, and even things like marital status and education. Once you have a better idea of whom you need to market towards, it will make everything from advertising on social media to establishing your voice to creating content so much easier. But don’t underestimate the power of this advertising component; it can completely transform your business and turn it into the success you’ve always dreamed of.