Fancy making some t-shirts, mugs or hats? But don’t know where to start?
Technology is rapidly advancing in various fields these days. Communication technology has helped many people connect more effortlessly than ever before. Design gadgets have given the opportunity to reach new creative levels, and the internet itself has become globally available. Many industries and online stores are popping up due to these technological advancements and are expected to grow even more as time passes. Many of them are being launched because of the ability to reach a large number of people around the world, thus amassing their profit. One of these industries is print on demand, and if you would like to get started with it, or learn what it is all about, continue reading.
Industrial Printer
What is print on demand and why would you do it?
Print on demand is a system where you create your own design under your brand, customizing suppliers’ white-label products (like t-shirts or hats) and selling them on a per-order basis. You don’t have to pre-purchase the products for your inventory beforehand; the supplier is the one holding inventory, doing the printing and shipping. You pay after you have sold your products. And this makes print on demand a very attractive idea, especially for those who don’t have the money (or aren’t ready) to invest in the business. Not to mention that almost the whole process is actually done by the supplier, leaving you only to use your creativity and make some awesome designs for your clothing line.
Choose your product
Before you start your business, think of a niche where you see yourself successful. If you can’t choose one idea, list all that sounds attractive to you. Some of the possible ideas are e-sports, football, comics, healthy living. Don’t forget that you want to create a niche that will have its core customers but will also appeal to a broad audience. Once you have selected your preferred niche, it is time to check search engines and social networks and determine if your ideas are valid. Google Trends can be a convenient tool to let you know if the people are talking about it and what they are saying. You can also check Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Twitter; there are plenty to choose from. Once you’ve selected a niche, you have to determine the type of product on which you will apply it. Some popular choices are t-shirts, mugs, posters, hats; make sure that your selected product makes sense for your niche.
Have a 5 color range
It is excellent to offer wide variations of your product to your customers. Diversity in colors and sizes is a powerful method to stimulate customers to spend more money, but be careful not to give too many options. Too many options will make customers overthink what to buy, and the more they analyze, the less they are sure what to buy and if they should buy anything at all. Therefore, keep it optimal by choosing a 5-color range, giving everyone enough possibilities without exaggerating. Additionally, extensive research has shown that it is better to choose darker shades like black or grey over lighter shades, as they perform better in sales.
On demand
Have a website
Once you have your product idea, it is time to focus on the creation of your website. An essential element of your website will be its appearance, as it has to be engaging and appealing to your customers. This will make them stay longer on your website, resulting in a bigger chance of purchasing your products. If you are a skilled designer, you will have an advantage, as you can input your creativity in your website design. If, on the other hand, you need someone else to do it, you can find designers on freelance sites like Fiverr, Upwork, Design Pickle, etc. The next thing is to select a platform for your website hosting. The most favored eCommerce platforms are Shopify, WooCommerce/WordPress, and BigCommerce. These platforms offer you easily customizable themes for your store, so you can quickly set it up and have it running.
In conclusion, don’t underestimate the time you will require to start your website. You need to set up all the vital business pages; homepage, contact page, page for shipping details, and payments details page.
Where can i go to print something off my laptop
Before going international, you should already have a print provider to manufacture and fulfill your orders. Printify or Printful don’t cover that, so be careful not to rely on them for that part. Print providers are located in different countries, and they have a diverse range of colors, pricing and production times. Some POD fulfillment services assign your orders to the providers based on your customer’s physical location. But it is not always the case (like with Printify), so you will have to choose your suppliers manually. It is a bad idea to select a US supplier if your customers live in Germany. Therefore, choose suppliers with the closest location to your customers. Another important tip is to choose suppliers with optimal production time, as you don’t want your customers to wait for their products for too long.
How to start a Print on Demand business in 2 weeks with Shimmy Morris
