Hey, everyone!
Welcome back to the channel.
Now, I've been selling print-on-demand
for over seven years now and today I'm going
to be sharing my insight
on whether print-on-demand is still worth it
in 2023 for a total beginner to get started.
Now, when I first started out years ago in print-on-demand,
print-on-demand was relatively unheard of.
But recently, print-on-demand has become more
and more popular.
So that begs the question of,
is it already getting too saturated
for someone who is brand new
and just starting out for them to make good money?
Now, many people don't know,
but there's actually two different types of print-on-demand.
So first, let's clarify what they are
and which one that I will be talking about in this video
so that we're both on the same page.
For both of these types of print-on-demand,
you create your own designs
and you upload them to print-on-demand websites.
These websites will handle all of the order taking,
the printing and the shipping
while you simply just collect your profit from each sale.
Now, the first type
of print-on-demand is called active print-on-demand.
This type of print-on-demand requires
active day-to-day management for the business to operate.
Now, just to name a few
of the active print-on-demand websites out there,
there's Printify, Printful and Etsy.
Now, although many parts
of the business can be automated
when you're using these active style websites,
the active management mostly comes in the form
of driving your own traffic to your listings
and then handling all of the customer service.
Now, the other type of print-on-demand
and the one that I will be talking about
in this video is called passive print-on-demand.
This type of print-on-demand requires no additional work
after you've created your designs
and uploaded them to the websites.
Now, speaking of the websites to name a few
of the passive print on-demand websites,
there is Amazon Merch on Demand, there's TeePublic,
there's RedBubble, and there are several others as well.
Now, these passive style websites literally do everything
for you, including driving traffic to your listings
and handling 100% of the customer service.
So with all of that being said, hopefully, now we're
on the same page about what print-on-demand is
and the different styles.
So now let's get into the question of,
is print-on-demand still worth it to start in 2023?
So there's really only three things that you need to know
if you're going to start print-on-demand in 2023.
So as I mentioned earlier, when I started out
in print-on-demand years ago, it was pretty new.
So that meant that there was very little competition.
However, that was right place at the right time.
So with more
and more people discovering print-on-demand now,
finding out how good of a business model it really is,
the biggest thing you need to consider if you wanna start
in 2023 is that there's definitely going
to be more competition.
So with more competition, what does that really mean
for you if you're just getting started?
Well, the good news here is
that there are still literally tens of thousands
of niches out there that are pretty untouched
by print on-demand sellers.
So if you are going to get started in 2023,
the trick is going to be knowing how
to find these untouched small niches
and then focusing your efforts
on making designs in these niches
rather than the big popular ones that everyone else is in.
Now, something that's actually pretty interesting is some
of my best selling designs over the years are
in very small niches
that you would never know had so many buyers in them.
Just to put the size of the print-on-demand industry
into context, every year they're somewhere between five
and $10 billion worth
of custom printed apparel purchased online.
So trust me when I say you can make a very good living
selling designs in just these small untouched niches.
Now, before moving on from this point,
I'm going to put a link down in the description
to a video here on YouTube that goes through step
by step how to find these untouched niches.
I'd show you how to do it in this video,
but it takes me about 10 minutes to explain how to do it.
So if you're interested in that,
watch the video down in the description after this video.
So the next big thing to consider
if you're starting print-on-demand in 2023 is
that the popular print-on-demand websites are changing.
So you need to know which websites to upload to
so you're not wasting your time.
As a print on-demand seller,
you can upload and sell the same designs
on multiple print on-demand websites all at the same time.
By doing this, it takes your print-on-demand business
to the next level because your designs are getting
in front of so many more people.
And plus it's diversifying your business
so it's safer over time.
Over the years that I've been selling print-on-demand,
I have sold
on pretty much every print-on-demand website out there.
What's been interesting for me is I've been able
to watch these websites over time
to see which ones are trending up
and which ones are trending down.
There have always been a certain few
print-on-demand websites
that have always outperformed the rest of the pack,
and historically, they have been Amazon Merch on Demand,
Teespring and RedBubble.
However, if you're starting print-on-demand in 2023,
I would recommend that you upload
to a slightly different pack of websites.
If you're going to pick just three websites
which will keep things nice and efficient for you,
the three websites that I recommend are Amazon Merch
on Demand, TeePublic and RedBubble.
Amazon Merch On Demand is simply
the largest print-on-demand website out there.
If you're doing research on it, you'll see
that it used to be called Merch by Amazon.
It's the same thing just on a slightly different name now.
TeePublic is a website that's been around for years,
but has recently started to take off
and drive a lot of organic sales.
In my opinion, and what I recommend to you is
to replace Teespring with TeePublic.
Teespring is more on the down and out
and TeePublic is an up-and-coming site.
And then the third website is RedBubble,
which has stayed a really solid print-on-demand website
over the course of the years
that I've been doing print-on-demand.
Now lastly, the third thing that you really need to consider
if you're going to start print-on-demand
in 2023 is how artificial intelligence is going
to affect the business model.
Currently, there are a couple AI tools out there
that are being used by print-on-demand sellers.
The first is called ChatGPT,
which is used to create print-on-demand phrases
or slogans that will then be used in your designs.
I actually personally use this tool
and I recommend it to you.
It's a really big help.
I'll put a video down in the description
that shows how to do this if you're interested.
But with that being said,
that's not the only AI tool out there for print-on-demand.
Some print-on-demand sellers are starting
to use design tools for print-on-demand,
which is starting to get pretty interesting.
The main one out there is called Midjourney,
but I recommend proceeding with caution on this one
because there have been a lot of reports kind of starting
to surface about copyright infringement issues
from AI-created artwork that's being sold
on print-on-demand websites.
I don't personally use this one
so I can't recommend it to you.
I just want you to be aware of what's surfacing
in the AI world.
Currently, in 2023, I don't think AI tools are a threat
to the print-on-demand business model.
In fact, I think they can actually be very helpful
to you when you use them the right way.
With that being said, AI tools may ruin print-on-demand
as a business model down the road,
but they would also be ruining
so many other online businesses.
So it's not just specific to print-on-demand.
AI is so powerful and no one quite knows where it's going
to go right now, but if it affects print-on-demand,
trust me when I say it's going
to affect every other online business model out there
as well.
So with the kind of development of AI
and how fast it's going, I think it's safe to say
that you have plenty of time to start print-on-demand
and make good money before AI starts to play a role in it
and may have a bad effect on the business.
So in summary, is print-on-demand worth it to get started
as a complete beginner in 2023?
With all my experience, my honest opinion is yes.
Print-on-demand is definitely still worth it to get started,
even if you're a beginner just getting started today.
There are still literally tens of thousands
of untouched niches out there with very little competition.
You just need to know how to find them.
The print on-demand websites
in general are getting more website traffic
and more buyers than ever.
You just need to know which websites to be uploading to.
And the AI tools are currently more helpful
than they are harmful and I don't think they're going
to ruin the business model for several years to come.
So there you have it.
I hope that answers the question
and don't forget the video links are all down
in the description.
I try to put really helpful content out there
about print-on-demand.
Everything is straightforward
and I don't hold anything back.
So if you're interested in any of that content,
links will be down in the description.
If you guys enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up.
If you have any questions, let me know down in the comments.
Otherwise, I'll see you all in the next video.
(gentle music)