Starting Print on Demand Side Hustle: Tips and Strategies
In 2024, it is easier than ever to find a way of making an additional income. There are solutions like print on demand side hustles where creativity and business principles come together.
In fact, with the correct strategies in place, you can create a brand that will speak to the customers while giving you the freedom to work. Read on to learn how you can kickstart your side hustle print on demand journey.
Page overview:
What Is Print on Demand Side Hustle?
So, Is Print on Demand a Good Side Hustle?
Challenges of Print on Demand as a Side Hustle
Starting Print on Demand Side Hustles: Step-by-step Guide
Step 3: Make Your Designs Stand Out
Step 4: Choose Print On Demand Platforms
Practical Tips for Print on Demand Side Hustle
What Is Print on Demand Side Hustle?
A print on demand side hustle is a form of online business that involves designing customized items and selling them on third-party platforms without having to stock any of the merchandise. Instead of dealing with individual stocks, you work with a print on demand service that is responsible for printing, packing, and delivering an item once a buyer makes an order.
This way, you are able to concentrate on designing unique products and finding a market for them without worrying about the initial investment and the potential for high risk. It is a perfect business model for people desiring to monetize their talents for added income.
So, Is Print on Demand a Good Side Hustle?
Absolutely! Print on demand side hustles are quite a good way to earn some extra cash with quite low risks involved. One of the biggest advantages is the lack of financial investment at the preliminary stage. There is no requirement for huge purchases of products, nor is there a concern about where and how to store and transport them; it is easy work that anyone can start regardless of their experience level.
The global Print On Demand Market Report expects to have a CAGR of 22.7% between 2024 and 2032, with the market value reaching $48.4 billion. This promising growth rate print-on-demand as profitable business for those willing to gain income. Usually, profit margins are up to 50 percent of the overall value, but it really depends on the costs of production and your price policy.
For instance, if it costs $12 to make a single custom blank t-shirt and you are selling it at $24, then your profit margin will be $12 or 50 percent. Certain products, such as mugs or phone cases, can be produced at even less cost but can be priced highly to optimize the profit.
Plus, statistics prove that the print on demand industry has the prospects for further development. A Salesforce Reportindicates that 65% of customers demanded customization services more than standard services. This trend is even more prominent in Gen Z, with 74% of people preferring to purchase personalized products.
Therefore, print on demand is valid not only as a side hustle but as a profitable business model that can grow through your efforts.
Challenges of Print on Demand as a Side Hustle
Knowledge of POD barriers is useful for keeping abreast of the business and setting the right expectations.
Quality Control Challenges
Since you outsource the production, you can barely dictate the type of materials used or the printing methods are done. It can result in inconsistency between the display of your design and the actual product that may have an impact on the customer.
Limited Control Over the Customer Experience
In print on demand, we cannot have full control of packaging and shipment, and hence the delivery times. This lack of control has a bearing on the general outlook of customer experience. It proves to be a big letdown to form long term relationships with your customers.
Fierce Competition
The POD market is densely populated, and it is very common to find a lot of people selling similar products. However, we have identified top strategies to stand out: having a good niche, unique designs, and promotional techniques.
Lengthy Production Times
Another problem linked to this concept is the issue of longer production periods that characterize print on demand. Since each item is made on order, customers may have to wait for their products and, in the process, may not be satisfied with the service.
Limited Branding Opportunities
Branding tends to be restricted in print on demand businesses. As you are dealing with third-party providers, possibilities to customize packaging and inserts are often limited, which leads to problems in market image.
Starting Print on Demand Side Hustles: Step-by-step Guide
It may sound daunting just thinking about starting a print on demand side hustle, but if you follow our expert advice, the process is going to be much easier.
Step 1: Niche Down
Selecting a niche can help you get started with your print on demand side hustle. It needs to identify a specific area of the market to concentrate on.
Brainstorming Potential Niches
Look into niches that you have an interest in but that are also needed in the market. It is better to focus on areas of strength because your passion will enable you to bring unique products into the market.
For instance, if you are interested in fitness, you can target apparel for workouts or apparel that will motivate people to work out. On the other hand, if you are determined to be a part of a solution to climate change, products manufactured with care for environmental sustainability could do well.
Conducting Market Research
We find that using trending tools, such as Google trends, Etsy, Pinterest, and Amazon best sellers, can produce great results. Such platforms enable one to know which niches are on the rise and which niches are already flooded with similar services.
You can assess competition by identifying and comparing the similar stores. Analyzing their product portfolios for prices and customers’ feedback can be helpful in this particular aspect.
Validating Your Niche
It is important to validate ideas to find out whether there is enough customer demand for any particular niche. To determine interest levels, undertake keyword research by using the keyword explorer feature available on Ahrefs or SEMrush.
Also, use questionnaires or opinion polls via the social media pages to get insight from the potential customers.
Analyzing Profitability
Last, evaluate the feasibility concerning profits of a particular niche. Analyze costs to determine production costs and then come up with an appropriate pricing strategy. Make sure that your chosen niche is more than just trendy; it should also be profitable in the long run.
Niche ideas to consider
- Eco-friendly
- Job-related
- Hobby-related
- Holidays and special occasions
- Video games
- Health and fitness
Step 2: Prepare Your Store
To prepare your online store for a print on demand side hustle, you have two primary options: start up your own eCommerce store or become a seller on another marketplace store. The former gives maximum opportunities for branding and customized customer experience, while the latter presupposes the presence of traffic and a readily-made customer base.
No matter which of the two you go with, it helps to have a sound foundation in branding. Create a logo to be remembered, establish a preferred choice of color, and create a tone and language of communication that will be appealing to the targeted clients.
Also, it is necessary to make sure that your print on demand partner supports integration with the platform you are going to use. Integration is important for proper handling of orders, proper management of stock, and effective delivery.
Step 3: Make Your Designs Stand Out
Want to help your store be unique among millions of print on demand competitors out there? Take inspiration from the successful store and competitors. Identify what benefits and incentives go well with them and apply such findings towards your products. Facebook and Pinterest are very first-rate sources for identifying existing elegant trends and new strategies.
Also, choose proper design concepts to reflect on your POD products and to capture the attention of the targeted audience. Be particular with the dimension and DPI of your design files, format type, and color mode of the files to match with the print provider you choose.
In case you are not a design maestro, or if you are financially restricted, turn to AI tools and free design assets. For free images and other design items, we find Freepik, Pixabay, and Unsplash to be excellent resources.
There are also basic design applications such as Canva, PicMonkey, and Stencil, which offer preexisting templates.
Another option is to think about hiring graphic designer online for design work from websites such as Fiverr and Upwork. The only thing that you have to ensure is that you obtain the right to use any design to avoid any copyright complications down the road.
Step 4: Choose Print On Demand Platforms
Choosing the right print on demand platform is vital, especially if your side hustle is still in its early stages. The following factors should be considered in choosing a POD partner to create positive customer experiences for your clients.
Product Range: Diverse product assortment will enable you to offer diverse products to your customers and satisfy their various demands. It also helps you be diverse with the products you offer and see which of them suits the consumer best.
Printing Quality: Review the quality of print of the platform in question. Print quality is a very critical aspect of customer satisfaction. Request that they print out a sample to feel assured that their printing equipment is of your preferred standard. Look for a provider who delivers high quality designs with clear and bright colors.
Delivery Time: Customers expect products to be delivered as soon as possible, therefore, select a platform that delivers its goods on time. Verify their average rate of output and delivery time; it may also be important if they offer any express services that will make delivery faster.
Customer Service: We think of customer service as a force that protects the relations between the customers and the business. Qualified and efficient support can help with any issues that may appear and guarantee smooth operation. Find out more about the available customer support services, including the live chat, emails, or phone support services.
Manufacturing Location: Local production keeps the time and cost of shipping domestic orders low, while international fulfillment helps you reach out to the entire world. Select a provider whose manufacturing facilities are in the targeted markets to reduce transportation costs of the products.
Inkedjoy is one of the most reputable print on demand platforms. We find extremely valuable for its rich differentiation, high quality, and satisfying shipping facilities. Inkedjoy can help you carve out exclusive t-shirts, temporary tattoos, shoes, tote bags, home decorations, and so on.
However, if you are still having a hard time looking for the right print on demand services, then read this detailed blog.
Step 5: Sell Popular Products
To maximize the success of your print on demand side hustle, it’s essential to focus on selling products that are currently popular and in high demand.
Conduct Market Research: Start by conducting thorough market research to identify trends and hot-selling items. This will help you understand what products are resonating with consumers and which items are likely to be profitable.
Align with Your Niche and Design: Ensure that your chosen products align with your niche and design aesthetics. This is essential for attracting customers who are interested in specific styles. For example, if your niche is eco-friendly products, consider offering items made from sustainable materials.
Pair Seasonal Designs with Products: Incorporate seasonal designs into your product offerings to tap into current trends and events. Seasonal designs can significantly boost sales as customers often seek out products that reflect special occasions or holidays.
Order Samples: Remember to order samples of your products to verify quality and ensure that the final output meets your expectations. This step helps avoid any issues with product quality and ensures customer satisfaction.
Hot-Selling Products in 2024
- T-Shirts
- Wall art
- Pet supplies
- Mugs
- Accessories
- Hats
Step 6: Start Marketing
Marketing is also vital when it comes to the growth of your print on demand side hustle.
SEO
SEO plays a fundamental role in ensuring that your store gets good traffic from the search engines. Create quality content and optimize with appropriate keywords. Make sure to include these keywords in the title, description and tags of your listings to enhance your search engine ranking.
Social Media
Social media is an effective way of establishing brand visibility and communicating with your targets. As a POD dropshipper, you should ensure that you post frequently to keep your brand fresh in the minds of the public.
Concentrate more on quality rather than quantity; it will be more useful to dominate a few social sites than to participate in all types of social networks. To optimize the outcomes, select the platform and media type according to your target demographic and brand persona.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing positions your business to gain a wider audience and credibility. Leveraging the right influencers is advantageous since they can help increase traffic to your site and hence, your sales.
Learn how influencers get paid and determine the overall budget and how it should be managed. The key is to let influencers have some room to be creative, genuine, and persuasive.
Paid Ads
Paid advertising is another mainstream way to improve visibility. These include Google Ad words, Face book Ads, Twitter Ads, Linked in Ads and Etsy Ads that can target specific people and bring traffic flow to your store. Every site provides various means to ensure you get to the potential customer and capture their attention.
Practical Tips for Print on Demand Side Hustle
You must know and understand some features to grow a successful print on demand side hustle business. Here, you will find useful recommendations for improving your company’s performance and increasing sales.
1. Expand Product Catalog
It is important to have products that can be personalized in several different ways. More product options help to attract a wider public and setup more chances for repeat business. This could mean that you incorporate a wide range of items preferred for different occasions.
For example, if you started with t-shirts, then you may expand to mugs, phone cases, or home decoration items. This variety helps the customer in making their choice to make the overall consumption and brand preference higher.
2. Promotion is a Game-Changer
Promotion is fundamental in bringing in traffic, which ultimately translates to sales. However, it is only effective when there is a strong and well-coordinated strategy in place.
Businesses should come up with a marketing agenda that spells down the methods of advertising, the intended clients, and objectives. All said, keep in mind that marketing is not a one-time activity but a continuous process that is carried out on a regular basis.
3. Asking for Feedback
Customer feedback is an important factor that can be of great help in enhancing the quality of products and services. Conduct online surveys and engage with the communities on Reddit, FB groups, or Discord.
It could be useful to think about offering a discount coupon to customers via e-mail in exchange for their feedback. It not only inspires them to giving their opinion but also gains their loyalty by letting them know that you are interested in the opinion they give out.
4. Don’t Set Prices That Are Too Low or Too High
Pricing for any commodity maintains its profitability and competitiveness in the market. Do not keep your prices too high or too low. If the prices are too low, you may not reach your financial goals, and if the prices are too high, you may not be able to attract and retain customers.
So, calculate a sustainable base price after considering all the expenses to guarantee proper pricing and foster business sustainability and growth.
Inkedjoy Helps You Build Print on Demand Side Hustle
Inkedjoy offers you and your print on demand side hustle all the help with its multitude of features and solutions. Whether you are looking for a wide range of customizable products and materials, affordable POD solutions, high-quality prints, or on-time delivery, Inkedjoy has everything needed for successful selling of personalized products.
Inkedjoy encompasses a hassle-free sign-up process, top-notch client support, and easy-setting integration for your POD business so that you can concentrate on growing your business and reaching your audience.
Conclusion
To embark on a side hustle print on demand business is one of the most interesting ways to be creative and make some money. By picking the right products, using the right tools of promotion, and setting the right standard for your products and services, you have all the chance to succeed in your print on demand side hustle.
Also, always ensure you keep abreast of market trends and never cease to seek customers’ feedback on your products. With hard work and some necessary resources like Inkedjoy, your print on demand business can be very lucrative.
