There are many ways to make money online, but let’s start with print on demand (POD). POD is a type of self-publishing that allows you to create your own products. For our first project, I’m going to explore POD and if it is worth it, or even if it works for those looking to start a side hustle.
who to choose?
A lot of people are looking for ways to make money from home, using our computers and the internet to make an income. It’s not new, and it’s not even something that only started in the Internet Age. Back in the days of the Industrial Revolution, many people would take orders from clients through letters, written advertisements or even by word of mouth. In this article, I will talk about how print on demand may be a side hustle worth looking into. I will discuss some companies you can use to get started with print on demand, how you can start your own print on demand business, and who is good at providing print on demand services.
Designing your print on demand products
First you have to figure out how you will design your product. There are so many tools at hand, Hubspot lists 29 free design tools, there is so much out there to play with.
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Personally I use Procreate, a digital illustration app which is available on iPad. This allows me to hand draw designs and illustrations, which I can then import to Canva, should I wish.
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I currently pay for a Canva subscription, as I find it incredibly useful to create media for product designs and digital posts, as well as creating product mockups.
manufacturing your print on demand products
Once you have your designs, you’ll need someone to produce your products.Â
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Currently I’m using Printful to manufacture my products for my Etsy store. but there are plenty to choose from!
This Shopify article contains a top 10 and some things to consider when you’re choosing a service.
setting up a store to sell from
Again, you’ll be overburdened with choices. If it helps, there are some sites that operate as both a storefront and a print on demand production provider.Â
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Redbubble offers such a service, so depending on how much personalisation and control you would like to have over the look and feel of your storefront.
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You can open your own storefront with services such as Shopify, but you will need to work much harder to gain traction, as you will not only need to build the store from the ground up, but you will also need to generate traffic yourself, and not rely on native traffic on large marketplaces.
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I’ve chosen to set up on Etsy, due to their native traffic. People already use Etsy to look for unique products, so I thought it better not to reinvent the wheel, or spend too much time building a store, when setup for an Etsy account was relatively quick and painless.Â
Advertising your new print on demand store
Search engine optimisation (SEO)? Ads? Native traffic?Â
I’m not an expert on driving traffic, yet. But like you, I can learn. Reading up on how to use tags and SEO will really help visibility. Yes, even if you set up on a Marketplace like Etsy, it still pays to get to grips with SEO. SEO is what helps people find you in the vastness of the internet.
If you’re a whizz with social media and already have an audience, then things will likely be a little easier for you! You can leverage and sell to your existing audience.
Overall, is it worth it?
Pros:
- Don’t have to show your face.
- Invest time when you can.
- Partly automated.
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Cons:
- Not always free – some of these services are not free. (ie it costs 20p to list an item on Etsy)
- Need to perform customer service.
El’s verdict:
I think this is a worthwhile opportunity to explore, if you make the time and obtain the necessary skills to design some interesting POD products. Will I be doing this is 2021? Yes. Having spent the few hours needed to set this all up, it would be silly of me to ignore this opportunity. Most of the pain is in the setup, once you have your POD manufacturing service integrated into a store, it’s just a matter of being limited by the designs you can create.
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