Top 6 Print On Demand Marketing Strategies In 2024

How To Get Started With Print On Demand

What is a print on demand business? Simply put, it’s a business model where products are only manufactured or printed once an order is placed.

Why are POD services in demand over traditional manufacturing methods? Well, traditional manufacturing methods typically involve producing goods in large quantities upfront, which leads to a significant upfront investment and storage requirements.

POD services just offer you a more flexible and cost-effective way to create your own online creative business. So you can see why everyone’s hopping onto the bandwagon!

Let’s find out how you can start a POD business and turn your vision into reality. Here’s 6 actionable steps you can follow.

Choosing A Profitable Niche

Choosing a profitable niche for your print on demand business is extremely important as the right one will see success come your way, whereas picking the wrong niche will only lead to a waste of time and resources.

• Start by looking at what’s popular on POD platforms and what other similar products are out there.
• Check to see if the niche you’re considering can help you reach your financial goals by looking at the costs and potential earnings.
• Make sure that people are actually interested in what you’re planning to sell by following social trends and keyword research.
• You can look to combine a couple of niches together and add your own unique twist to it so there isn’t anyone online doing the same thing.

Understanding Your Customer

Understanding your customers is key to finding success in the print on demand business as this is what helps you tailor your products and come up with marketing strategies. The only way you’ll know what to sell is to find out what the people want, right?

• Start by researching your target audience’s demographics and interests.
• Interact with customers through surveys and social media to gather their thoughts on what they like and what they don’t.
• Look at click-through rates to see what they’re interested in and conversion rates to know what makes them buy.
• Develop detailed buyer personas based on research and data as it can help you empathize with your customers.
• You can group your customers based on how they shop, their age, and what they like. This will help you target offers that resonate with different groups.

Setting Goals And Making A Budget Plan 

A plan is necessary to achieve goals as it helps you keep focused and on track. So that’s why knowing what your objectives are as well as sticking to a budget is important.

• You can start by first defining your goals, which can include sales targets, customer acquisition goals, or volume you want to churn out each month. Look to set short-term goals as well as long-term goals and make sure to celebrate the small achievements.
• Understand the total costs involved with the print on demand business and look at it in a more realistic way so you’re not met with any surprises. Calculate the product costs, marketing expenses, platform fees and any other overhead costs.
• Split the market budget into groups, such as social media advertising, influencer partnerships, email campaigns and search engine optimization (SEO).
• Keep updated on key performance indicators (KPIs) related to your goals, such as sales metrics and return on investment from marketing campaigns.
• One of the most important things you can do in any business is to be able to adapt to market changes and customer feedback.

Choosing The Right Print On Demand Platform

There are many print on demand platforms you can choose from but selecting the right one based on your expectations and goals is crucial for the success and longevity of your business. You will find many POD services online with unique features and product selections.

Make sure you conduct thorough print on demand platform comparison research before signing up to one.

Here are some things you should consider when choosing a platform:

• Look for platforms that offer a wide range of products that align with what you want to put out in the world. There are platforms out there, such as Printful that offer eco-friendly clothing products. Check to see the quality and customization options available and if they provide niche selections that are in more tune to what you’re looking for.
• Find a platform that maintains high printing standards so you’re designing the best quality products for your customers. You can always request samples and check reviews to see if it meets your expectations.
• Choose a platform that allows you to integrate your eCommerce store or website. This integration will make room for easy product listings, fulfillment and tracking.
• Consider a POD service where the shipping times are fast and offer many fulfillment locations. This will provide a reliable shipping experience as well as satisfied customers.
• You’ll find different pricing structures on different POD platforms so make sure to compare the prices and find one that aligns with your budget and profit margins you are aiming for.
• Finding a service where you are offered a responsive customer support team is important as there are always hiccups in this business. Reliable support can make a huge difference in how quickly you can get things moving and get your problems solved.
• Look for a user-friendly interface as this can streamline your operations, saving you time in the long run.
• Research user reviews on accredited sites like Trustpilot or just general experiences online to determine if people find the platform valuable and if it maintains professionalism.

Choosing The Right Print On Demand Pricing Strategy

Selecting an effective pricing strategy will help you sustain your print-on-demand business in the long run. Here’s some things worth considering:

• Calculate all the production costs, including printing, materials and other fees to see what the total is. Figure out if it sticks to your budget as I mentioned earlier.
• Research competitors who are offering similar products and price them competitively based on market trends.
• Set prices that reflect the overall value depending on quality, uniqueness and demand.
• Get to know dynamic pricing and implement this strategy that adjusts based on factors like demand and season.
• Consider offering bundles and discounts for multiple purchases, which can set a streak of high orders. You can use promotions to attract customers and free shipping threshold so people could potentially buy more to save delivery fees.
• Conduct A/B tests to compare different pricing strategies and variations. Look at how customers react and how much you sell to figure out the right price for your products.

Tracking Your Progress And Learning From Mistakes

Tracking your progress to see what work and what doesn’t will help you switch up your marketing strategies as needed, improve your products, and ultimately grow your print on demand business. Here’s how you can track your progress and turn mistakes into learning opportunities:

• Keep updated with sales data to understand which products are popular and new trends are forming. This will help you bounce on opportunities which may lead to future success.
• Ask customers to leave feedback on their purchases and use this information to upgrade your product quality.
• If you find any quality issues, make sure you find a way to improve the production process so you always remain professional.
• Monitor your marketing campaigns whether it’s through social media, ad campaigns or email marketing.
• Keep refining your product designs based on custom feedback and market trends to stay relevant in the business.
• Make necessary adjustments when things don’t go your way. Failures are just opportunities for growth and learning.

6 Marketing Strategies For Print On Demand Services 

There are many marketing tips and strategies you can use for print on demand. Here, I have compiled a list of 6 best practices for online promotion. Let’s get started with marketing on social media.

Marketing On Social Media And Influencer Partnerships

Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok offer you a great opportunity to showcase your custom designs and reach your target audience. Here’s how you can use them to your advantage:

• Use visually engaging content to tell the story behind your designs and why it’s meaningful to you.
• Interact with the audience by replying to comments and holding Q&A sessions.
• Plan your social media posts in advance by keeping a calendar to keep you consistent.
• Team up with influencers whose audience aligns with your goals and vision as this will get more eyes to your designs.
• Collaborate with influencers to create limited edition designs that resonate with their audience.

Launch Ad Campaigns

Running ad campaigns is a great way to reach a larger audience and attract potential customers. Here are some key steps to consider when launching ad campaigns:

• First identify your target audience based on demographics and interests. You can look into market and social trends to see what’s working now and if it has the potential to stay relevant.
• Choose the right platform you want to run your ads, whether it’s social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook or search engines like Google.
• Create visually appealing and attractive ads with high-quality images.
• Experiment with different ads to see what works and resonates with your audience the best.

Focus On SEO

The right SEO strategies can help improve your website’s ranking on search engine result pages, making it easier for people to find your products. Here’s a few ways you can use it to your advantage:

• Conduct in-depth keyword research to find terms that your target audience is searching for. Place these keywords inside your website content to improve your visibility.
• Make sure the descriptions for your products are top notch and include relevant keywords.
• Ensure that your website is compatible for mobile devices and potential customers have a smooth experience browsing your products.
• Build a strong backlink profile by earning links from reputable websites in your industry.
• Keep up to date with your progress by using tools that measure traffic and conversions.

Email Marketing Campaigns

Email marketing campaigns can be a great tool to engage with your audience and promote your print on demand products. Here’s a few ways you can use it effectively:

• Divide your email list into segments based on interests and purchase history.
• Tailor each email to each segment to deliver personalized recommendations.
• Create welcome emails and showcase your best products to your audience which can set the stage for a long term relationship with customers.
• Announce new product launches and discounts to your subscribers.
• Set up automated drip campaigns based on user actions, such as cart abandonment emails or post-purchase follow ups.

Seasonal Promotions

Seasonal promotions offer a fantastic opportunity to create buzz around your print-on-demand products. Let’s explore some ways to use this strategy effectively:

• Tailor your promotions to align with major holidays, such as Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Day, or Halloween
• Make a promotional calendar outlining key dates, events, and seasons throughout the year.
• Offer exclusive discounts, promo codes, or bundled deals during seasonal promotions. Customers will potentially want to make a purchase quickly to take advantage of the offer before it runs out.

Reviews And Testimonials

Reviews and testimonials establish credibility and build trust with customers. Here are some tips you can use to make the most out of them:

• Ask customers to leave reviews by sending follow-up emails post-purchase, including review requests on product packaging or invoices.
• Showcase customer reviews on your website, product pages, and landing pages.
• Respond to customer feedback whether it’s positive or negative in a professional manner.

Print On Demand Success Stories

Andrew Kasemeyer’s Success Story

Andrew discovered print on demand during the pandemic when his wife experimented with designs using a Cricut machine and initially considered making custom shirts but realized the scalability issue of printing and shipping in-house.

It wasn’t until he stumbled upon Printify and actually realized how far you can go with your own unique designs. He faced many challenges as a new seller but was committed to his goals and states that it takes around 25 to 50 listings for the algorithm to notice your store.

Andrew made a shift to eBay using Printify’s integration when he realized that the rankings were far better for him than it was with Etsy. And, after around 6 months or so things were going pretty well for him.

After going through Andrew’s case study I did pick up on something I wasn’t aware of before. Andrew says that during his research, he noticed that Etsy had a more women user base and eBay has a user base of over 60% men. As you can see for yourself, some certain niches work better on different platforms. Andrew’s niche is crypto and finance which worked tremendously for him on eBay.

Benefits of using Printify on eBay:

1. Wide range of products in the Catalog allows for creative flexibility.
2. Printify holds high standards with print vendors which makes room for better product quality.
3. Andrew has had a positive experience with the Printify eBay Growth Advisory program having stated himself that he received valuable guidance and support from advisors.

April Showers Success Story

April Showers created her print on demand store as a single mother who had run a few businesses in the past that didn’t turn out the way she hoped. I understand the degree of difficulty in trying over and over again, especially when failures are piling on top of each other. What makes April’s story so unique is the fact that she made history in the print on demand business.

April took her unique store, Afro Unicorn, and made her products available for purchase on major retailers like Target, Walmart, and JCPenney. She picked the perfect niche for her audience, unicorn themed designs that represent African American women and children. She has 500 licensed partners worldwide and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

The brand offers a wide range of products, such as accessories, toys, puzzles, books, backpacks, apparel, and more. To April, Afro Unicorn isn’t just a brand but a conscious movement that has a clear objective in life; to make a direct impact on young girls as well as uplift women entrepreneurs.

Here’s a few fun facts on April Showers and her Afro Unicorn print on demand store:

1. April Showers became the first black woman to partner with Walmart for party supplies.
2. Afro Unicorn products are available in 3800 Walmart stores.
3. April states that her belief in manifestation has played a crucial role in Afro Unicorn’s success to major retailers, with the brand now spanning over 25 categories.

Here’s another case study that shows you how Aaron Wallace built a print on demand business that gets him 15K orders a month.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

How can SEO benefit a print on demand business?

SEO makes websites more visible when people search for products on search engines like Google. When your website appears higher in search results, it’s like having a bright signpost that attracts visitors looking for what you offer.

This helps bring in organic traffic (free traffic), which means more people can naturally find your store without having to pay for ads. Take a look at the Digital Rental Method if you want to learn how to rank organically rather than use paid ads and create an online business without an upfront investment.

Is influencer marketing effective for print on demand products?

Working with influencers who have a big following online can actually boost your print on demand business in a big way. They have access to a large amount of people who are always on their feed checking out everything they post.

Whenever they say something good about a product, it adds a touch of trust and credibility, making it more likely that others will take a look at what you’re offering.

How can customer reviews and testimonials impact print on demand marketing efforts?

When it comes to your print on demand creations, customer reviews and testimonials play a big role in showing how great your products really are.

Imagine you’re shopping online for a new t-shirt with a cool design. If you see that a lot of people have left positive reviews about this product, you’d probably feel more confident in getting one for yourself, right?

Having positive reviews online, especially in accredited sites like Trustpilot will build trust online. It will turn potential customers into paying customers as they’ll know they’re buying something great.

What Is The #1 Alternative To Print On Demand?

There are many print on demand strategies you can use to boost your business and perhaps find great amount of success some day. However, you will find that to make the most out of these strategies, you will either need a large social media following or a huge budget to experiment and run ad campaigns.

Not all of us have thousands and thousands of followers online, heck not even 100, which makes it a little more difficult for us to promote our store online so we’re pretty much left with the other option, invest a lot of money into running ads.

Now, what’s the problem with this? Well, most of us are living pay check to pay check at our corporate 9-5 jobs, or we’re stay-at-home moms who don’t have access to funds but are looking for a way to make an honest living. What can we do, right? We can only do the best we can with the hand that we are given.

That’s where the Digital Rental Method comes in handy as it offers you the opportunity to rank organically in search engines using SEO strategies, which means you can learn how to gain free traffic as opposed to running paid campaigns.

There great thing about this business model is that it shares similarities with print on demand, as you’re both creating a digital asset online and making money digitally. However, what makes the Digital Rental Method stand out is the fact that you’re generating passive income rather than commission sales or fixed royalties, like with POD services.

This means you’re offered the freedom and flexibility to live on your own terms because the money you generate comes in each month regardless of you working again.

If this sounds interesting, you might want to take a look at the Digital Rental Method.