Have you been looking for ecommerce ideas and decided that print on demand is the one that interests you the most? If that is the case, you will want to prepare before you fully commit and start selling t-shirts or another custom-made merchandise
You will go up against ventures that have already established themselves. It is easy to lose one’s motivation when you are up against the competition and fail to make sales. Thus, it is necessary to take some precautions, and you will find what those are below.
Step #1 – Avoid Complicated Designs
Every designer has his or her ideas, but if you are going to appeal to a particular demographic, take your time and research the market. Selling random designs with hopes of making money will hardly work.
Of course, once you start selling, it will be easier since you will have the data and can make adjustments. But even before you begin, consider the factors that determine your brand. Is it minimalistic design? Or maybe you will focus on local residents?
Step #2 – Check What Your Providers Offer
Image Source: printify.com/print-on-demand/
Manufacturing everything yourself would be too much of a hassle. Purchasing equipment, renting warehouses, and managing inventory – all of these things will put too much of a toll on you financially.
A dropshipping model is better and thanks to services like Printify, you can leave a lot of processes in the hands of a supplier and shift your focus to matters like marketing. It becomes much easier to work overall. And having a reliable supplier or a partner like Printify behind your back increases the odds of developing a successful venture by quite a bit.
Step #3 – Avoid Copyright Infringement
If you are going to be in charge of designs yourself, copyright infringement issues may not become something to worry about. However, if you decide to hire a freelance designer and someone you do not know, be extra cautious and make sure that similar designs provided by a freelancer do not exist already.
Copying someone’s work will only lead to extra problems, and who wants to deal with that, right? Genuine designs are imperative when you are developing a print on demand store.
Step #4 – Prepare Lifestyle Images
Having general mock-ups in a white background is not as effective as one might think. You need to show real people wearing your merchandise or holding it in their hands.
There is no need to get yourself involved and take pictures wearing t-shirts. You can look for templates or hire other people to model for you. And you can reuse the same photo later by replacing the t-shirt.
Also, if you want to improve the odds of selling, add something in the photos related to the design. For instance, if the quote on t-shirt is about cats, having a couple cats in the background might be the difference-maker between selling a t-shirt and not.
Step #5 – Sell More Than T-Shirts
Image Source: Unsplash.com
Print on demand is more than just t-shirts. Hoodies, key chains, phone cases, calendars, mugs, and everything that you can put a custom print on will sell.
You may find that your designs look even better on products other than t-shirts. Test some stuff out and see how it will do when you start selling. At the end of the day, a bigger variety of products is a plus. Not to mention that you can reuse the same design for multiple different products instead of creating unique ones for every single piece of merchandise.
Step #6 – Get Honest Feedback
When you are in charge of everything yourself, it might be too difficult to see the situation from an unbiased perspective. That is why it is necessary to receive genuine feedback. It can be friends or family, or a stranger on the internet. The most important thing is to get real thoughts on what they think about your design and whether they would consider buying it.
When you have feedback, it will become clearer on where you still need to improve.
Step #7 – Prepare a Website
A website should have all the necessary components. Responsive design and a reasonable loading speed, search engine optimization, social media icons, access for mobile device users, a simple checkout process, and everything else that a person who wants to buy print on demand products would want to find.
Developing a website yourself may prove too difficult. If that is the case, do not hesitate and hire a professional who knows his or her job.
Step #8 – Raise Brand Awareness on Social Media
Image Source: Unsplash.com
You will likely rely on a lot of different marketing methods, but social media will be one of the cornerstones. The opportunity to show your merchandise to so many people is attractive.
You will also get to work with influencers and raise your brand awareness by organizing contests and giveaways. Make sure to set up your social media profiles on the biggest platforms before you launch the store.
