Starting your print-on-demand business is another way to financial freedom and creative
success, whether working from home or living as a digital nomad.
And guess what?
Every year it keeps getting easier to start.
If we look at global statistics, the interest in print-on-demand, or POD for short, keeps
rising as the years go by.
POD got more attention from retail stores during the pandemic when selling goods online
was the only option to keep businesses running.
Even after the world returned to normal, the popularity of print-on-demand shows no signs
of stopping.
Compared to a decade ago, now you get easy access to the world’s most popular ecommerce
platforms and marketplaces, diverse product catalogs, unique customization techniques,
easy-to-use design tools, and a global fulfillment network to sell everywhere fast.
With an on-demand business model, you set up shop on an ecommerce platform or marketplace,
partner with trusted printing providers like Printful, and sell merch with your designs.
When you get a sale, we print, pack, and ship the products to your customers.
I’ve seen an argument online that you might also come across while researching POD: “The
products are too expensive, and there’s no way you can make money with print-on-demand
t-shirts.”
Maybe fulfilling products on your own may seem like the best option because you get
to keep all of your income.
So, it should mean you can build your business faster with all this money, right?
Well . . . In the beginning, we decided it would be cheaper and better for our customers
if we printed everything in-house.
We would do it by ourselves.
But it was just a mess, keeping up with inventory, trying to keep up with the employees.
And the biggest problem was the printer was always
breaking down.
So we found out that it was much better in the long run to find another partner to do
the printing instead of trying to do it ourselves.
The truth is, even if you use cost-saving methods like bulk orders from local printers,
the pressure to sell quickly, minimize waste, and adapt to shifting market demands can still
weigh heavily on your shoulders.
Starting your online store with print-on-demand is risk-free because you don’t need to spend
on inventory, equipment, staff, storage, or upkeep.
On top of that, Printful is free to use—you only pay for the items you sell.
This means you’re not losing any money if some of your products don’t sell as well
as expected.
And with Printful, you have options beyond just selling t-shirts.
Print providers constantly compete among themselves to give customers like you the best all-in-one
experience.
That means when you enter this seemingly over-saturated market, you’ll have a vast selection of
high-quality products to choose from.
With Printful, you can unleash your creativity on over 300 products with different decoration
techniques like standard or unlimited color embroidery, DTG, DTFilm, UV, sublimation,
and all-over printing.
These options have been curated over the years to help you offer the best items for any fanbase.
Noticed yoga enthusiasts searching for less bland-looking items?
Launch a vibrant collection with all-over print yoga leggings, sports bras, headbands,
and yoga mats.
A software update is taking the internet by storm?
Take a gaming mouse pad, add a design of the most popular shortcuts, and pair it with an
embroidered hat or hoodie with an ironic or niche community highlight.
My favorite example is how the brand Iconspeak found its niche among travelers by creating
an easy way to communicate when words fail.
They put the most common map symbols on a shirt.
And it worked!
While this example seems like one of those in-the-right-moment things, as a marketer
from Printful, I’ve witnessed numerous cases where regular people were able to grow their
POD brand by being passionate about their thing, like Jolie Noire, The Philosopher’s
Shirt, Lineman Life Merch, just to name a few.
After all, everyone’s good at something, and there are like-minded people worldwide
who are waiting for you to reach them.
With Printful’s global network of fulfillment centers, your customers will get the same
high-quality products wherever they are.
This opens the opportunity for future growth.
Start offering products to your local market, and, with time, you can easily find an audience
in other countries.
Launching your print-on-demand business isn’t just a way to make money—it’s an adventure
filled with creativity and endless opportunities.
Thanks to platforms like Printful, getting started has never been easier.
Not only do you get new products and opportunities to sell on different platforms, but we also
help you develop your business idea by sharing useful marketing insights through blogs and
videos.
So what do you think, is print-on-demand worth it in 2024?
Let me hear your thoughts in the comments.