Image created by D. Denise Dianaty, Editor and Graphic Designer for the WE PAW Bloggers E-Zine

Monetizing Advice Print On Demand

How Do You Make Money With Print On Demand?

Provide Creative Design To Make Money With Print On Demand!

Deon Christie
WE PAW Bloggers
Published in
12 min readApr 30, 2023

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how to make money online with print on demand
The image was designed with Canva and uploaded in PNG file format by Deon Christie. The author assumes responsibility for the provenance and copyright. The author assumes responsibility for the authenticity.

What you will learn from this article.

  • A quick look at the basics of print on demand
  • How to make money with print on demand
  • Redbubble and Teespring
  • Where to promote print-on-demand designs
  • Is print-on-demand worth your time?
  • How do you get paid with print-on-demand?
  • Free stuff for my Medium subscribers

GOAL REACHED: Just a quick note that this is my Medium story number 200 (Around 400K — 500K words Combined) since joining back in October of 2022. Milestones reached, and the next milestone is? 500 Medium stories. Thank you so much for your support!

A quick look at the basics of print on demand.

Print-on-demand (POD) is a business model that allows individuals or businesses to sell custom-designed products without holding inventory or upfront costs. With POD, the products are only printed and shipped when an order is placed, which eliminates the need for inventory storage and management. POD is commonly used for various products such as t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, posters, and more.

The basics of how to make money with print-on-demand online:

  • Choose a POD platform: There are several popular POD platforms such as Teespring, Printful, Redbubble, and more. Choose a platform that offers the products you want to sell and has an easy-to-use interface.
  • Create designs: Create designs that are unique, attractive, and relevant to your target audience. You can use design software (like Canva) or hire a freelance designer to create your designs.
  • List your products: Upload your designs to the POD platform and list them for sale. Set the price and product description for each item.
  • Promote your products: Promote your products through social media, email marketing, and other online marketing channels. Build an audience and engage with your customers.
  • Fulfil orders: When a customer places an order, the POD platform will print and ship the product to the customer on your behalf. You will receive a portion of the sale as your profit.
  • Analyze your sales: Analyze your sales data to identify which products and designs are performing well and make necessary adjustments to improve your sales.

In summary, POD is a profitable way to sell custom-designed products online without holding inventory or upfront costs. With the right strategy, you can create a successful online business and generate a steady stream of passive income.

How to make money with print on demand.

Making money with POD will depend on the quality of your designs. It should be unique and nowhere else available, meaning, your own original designs. Like with Canva for instance, don’t just use single images, be creative. Add your own touch and design because there are SO many design options with Canva. But there are also a few basic steps you want to take, which we will be looking at next.

You need to follow a few key steps:

  • Design your products: The first step is to create designs for your products. You can use design software like Adobe Illustrator or Canva to create high-quality designs that are suitable for printing on various products such as t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, and more.
  • Choose a POD platform: Once you have your designs ready, you need to choose a POD platform to host your store. Popular platforms include Teespring, Redbubble, and Printful. These platforms allow you to upload your designs and create a storefront to showcase your products.
  • Choose your products: The next step is to choose the products you want to sell. Most POD platforms offer a wide range of products, so you can choose the ones that best suit your designs.
  • Set your prices: When you set your prices, make sure to account for the cost of production and shipping. You also need to consider your profit margins and what your target audience is willing to pay for your products.
  • Promote your products: Once your store is set up, you need to promote your products to drive traffic and sales. You can use social media, email marketing, influencer marketing, and paid advertising to promote your products.
  • Fulfil orders: When a customer places an order, the POD company takes care of the printing, packaging, and shipping. You receive a portion of the sale price as profit.
  • Provide excellent customer service: To build a loyal customer base, it’s important to provide excellent customer service. Respond to inquiries promptly, resolve any issues quickly, and always put your customers first.

Overall, making money with POD requires a combination of design skills, marketing strategies, and business acumen. By following these steps and continually refining your approach, you can build a successful POD business.

Redbubble and Teespring.

What is Redbubble?

Redbubble is an online marketplace that offers POD services for independent artists and designers to sell their artwork on various products. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Redbubble offers a wide range of products such as clothing, stickers, phone cases, home decor, and more.

The unique aspect of Redbubble is that it allows independent artists and designers to upload their designs and artwork onto its platform, and then these designs are printed on the products only when an order is placed. This eliminates the need for inventory and upfront costs for the artist.

Redbubble also offers various tools and features to help artists and designers manage their stores and promote their products. The platform provides a dashboard for sellers to track their sales, analytics, and customer data. Redbubble also has a community forum where artists and designers can connect with each other, share tips and advice, and participate in challenges and events.

Overall, Redbubble is a popular platform for independent artists and designers to showcase and sell their artwork on various products through a POD business model.

What is Spring (Formerly Teespring)?

Teespring is an online platform that allows individuals and businesses to design and sell custom merchandise through a POD model. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Teespring also provides you with the option to upload your own eBook in PDF format, and then sell your books. And no you do not pay for this, one of the best ways to sell your eBooks I know of.

Teespring offers a wide range of products such as t-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, phone cases, and more (like selling eBooks). With Teespring, users can upload their designs and customize products with various colours, styles, and sizes. Teespring then handles the printing, shipping, and customer service for the seller.

Teespring’s POD model allows sellers to avoid inventory and upfront costs and only pay for the products they sell. Teespring also offers various tools and features to help sellers manage their campaigns and promote their products. The platform provides a dashboard for sellers to track their sales, analytics, and customer data.

Teespring also has a community forum where sellers can connect with each other, share tips and advice, and participate in challenges and events. Overall, Teespring is a popular platform for individuals and businesses to design and sell custom merchandise through a POD business model.

Where to promote print-on-demand designs.

Promoting your POD designs is crucial to drive traffic to your store and increase sales.

Here are some of the best ways to promote your print-on-demand designs:

  • Social media marketing: Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are excellent channels to showcase your designs and drive traffic to your store.
  • Create a business profile on each platform, post engaging content, use relevant hashtags, and engage with your audience.
  • Email Marketing: Build an email list of your customers and prospects and send them promotional emails about your new products, sales, and discounts.
  • Use email marketing tools such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or Klaviyo to create and send professional-looking emails.
  • Influencer marketing: Partner with social media influencers in your niche to promote your designs. Find influencers with a significant following and reach out to them with a collaboration proposal.
  • Paid advertising: Use paid advertising platforms such as Facebook Ads, Google Ads, or Instagram Ads to promote your products. These platforms offer advanced targeting options, which can help you reach your ideal audience.
  • Content marketing: Create high-quality content such as blog posts, videos, or podcasts that are relevant to your target audience. Use your content to showcase your designs and drive traffic to your store.

When it comes to sharing your print-on-demand designs.

Here are some of the best ways:

  • Product listings: Optimize your product listings with high-quality images and descriptions that highlight your designs.
  • Social media posts: Share your designs on social media platforms and engage with your followers.
  • Email newsletters: Include your designs in your email newsletters to keep your subscribers informed about your new products.
  • Collaboration opportunities: Partner with other businesses or designers to feature your designs on their products or collaborate on a project.

Overall, promoting your POD designs requires a combination of different marketing strategies, depending on your target audience and goals. Be creative, consistent, and persistent to achieve the best results.

Is print-on-demand worth your time?

Yes, POD is a popular and profitable way to make money online. With the rise of e-commerce and the increasing demand for customized products.

POD services have become an accessible and affordable option for entrepreneurs and independent designers to sell their products without the need for upfront costs or inventory. POD allows you to design and sell products such as t-shirts, phone cases, and home decor without the need to handle inventory or production.

You simply create and upload your designs, and the printing company takes care of the production, shipping, and customer service. This allows you to focus on designing and marketing your products, which can result in higher profit margins.

However, like any business venture, success in POD requires hard work, dedication, and creativity. You need to create high-quality and unique designs. Effectively promote your products and provide excellent customer service to build a loyal customer base. It’s also important to choose the right platform and printing company to ensure quality and timely delivery.

Overall, POD can be a worthwhile and profitable way to make money online, especially for individuals with a passion for design and creativity. With the right strategy and execution, printing on demand can be a successful business model.

How do you get paid with print-on-demand?

Print-on-demand platforms typically offer designers different payment models. However, many payment methods do not work in several countries. But we can remedy that in a few simple steps, we will get to that in a bit.

Here are some common ways that designers can get paid:

  • Commission-based: This is the most common payment model for POD platforms. When a product with your design sells, the platform takes a percentage of the sale price.
  • As a commission and pays you the remaining amount as a royalty. The commission rate and royalty amount vary by platform but typically range from 10–30% of the sale price.
  • Flat-rate payment: Some POD platforms offer flat-rate payment options for designers. With this model, you receive a fixed payment for each design that you sell, regardless of the number of sales.
  • Subscription-based: Some POD platforms offer subscription-based payment models for designers. With this model, you pay a monthly fee to access the platform’s features and sell your designs. You keep all the profits from the sales of your designs.
  • Royalty-free licensing: In this payment model, designers receive a one-time payment for their design and transfer the ownership and rights to the platform or customer. The platform or customer can then use the design without paying any additional royalties or fees.

The payment model you choose will depend on your goals, the platform you use, and the type of products you sell. Your payment option, as mentioned earlier, maybe a problem in some countries, but we also promise to remedy that. All you have to do is create your free account.

>> Create Your Free Payoneer Account <<

It’s important to understand the payment terms and conditions before you start selling your designs to ensure that you receive fair compensation for your work. With Payoneer, you receive your debit card delivered to your door.

You can then draw money from any ATM, in any currency, in over 160 countries worldwide. Now your payment option problem is remedied, in the event you have issues in that department. You also get a $25 Bonus for signing up, and making your first deposit.

Truth be told, we “fell in love” with Payoneer, and now only use 2 primary payment options online, to receive payments and commissions. They are PayPal and Payoneer, but we do like the latter more. See, the $25 bonus is given to both the new member and the referring member.

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AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this post are links to affiliate offers. If you visit them to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is entirely up to you. All offers come with a full 60-day no questions asked, money-back guarantee!

AI CONTENT DISCLOSURE: Some of the content in this article was created with AI using a unique strategy I have compiled. Some articles are a mixture of my writing combined with AI, like Chat GPT. Articles not including this disclosure are 100% my own written content.

Free Stuff For My Medium Subscribers.

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D. Denise Dianaty, Editor and Graphic Designer for the WE PAW Bloggers E-Zine. Administrator for the writers forum “WE PAW Bloggers” group and its sister group “Pandora’s Box of Horrors” on Facebook. In addition to being a self-published author and poet, artist, art-photographer, and administrator of the group, “WE PAW Bloggers,” Denise is a graphic designer with 25+ years experience, predominately in print media.

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Deon Christie
WE PAW Bloggers

Article Writing SEO For Affiliate Marketing | Free Buyer Traffic Methods. On Medium Since October 2022. Online Since 2011. https://easyinternetmoneyandjobs.com