How to Succeed in a Print on Demand Business: Five Key Strategies

1. Choose a Winning Niche

Selecting the right niche is one of the most crucial steps in building a successful print-on-demand business. Many entrepreneurs believe that having a variety of good-looking designs in different niches is enough to attract customers. However, it’s nearly impossible to stand out in a crowded marketplace without a solid niche focus.

Why is Niche Selection Important?

A niche gives your business a specific identity and helps you target a particular audience. For example, creating a store that sells shirts, mugs, and other items related to general topics (like coffee, nature, and yoga) will make it hard for potential customers to relate to your brand or products. This approach often results poorly, as customers don’t feel connected to your store.

Instead, start with a broad niche, like history, and test various sub-niches within that topic before niching down. For instance, one successful POD entrepreneur tested designs ranging from blueprint art to Roman history before discovering that sarcastic historical humor shirts resonated the most with customers. Starting with a broader category allows you to test different angles and find a sub-niche that connects with your audience.

Tip: Once you’ve tested different sub-niches within your broader category, narrow down to one that shows consistent sales potential. Focus your marketing efforts on this sub-niche to gain a dedicated customer base.

2. Build a Strong Brand

Branding is another critical factor that separates successful print-on-demand businesses from those that fail. Many industry newcomers think they are simply selling products—whether t-shirts, mugs, or stickers. However, thinking of print-on-demand purely as a product-based business is a mistake. Instead, the focus should be on building a recognizable brand.

Why Does Branding Matter?

A strong brand does more than sell products—it builds a relationship with your customers. In today’s digital age, where AI can generate designs and automate marketing processes, branding is one of the few areas where human creativity still has a significant edge. Your brand gives customers a reason to come back for repeat purchases, contributing to a higher customer lifetime value (CLV).

Real, long-term success comes from optimizing for multiple purchases, not just focusing on the first sale. Consider how significant brands work—they build customer loyalty by communicating their brand values and developing a solid connection with their audience. This loyalty drives lifetime value, crucial for scaling your business to six, seven, or even eight figures.

Tip: Establish your brand’s voice early on, even if you haven’t sold your first shirt. Communicate your values, what you stand for, and why customers should engage with your business. This will help you build a long-term relationship with your audience.

3. Conduct Thorough Research

One of aspiring POD entrepreneurs’ most significant mistakes is jumping straight into design creation without doing enough research. Proper research ensures your designs are relevant and appealing to your target audience.

What Should You Research?

• Competitors: Identify your top competitors, study their collections, and analyze their product pages. Note best practices, such as whether they use flat-lay mockups or white backgrounds, and observe their pricing and promotional strategies.
• Design Trends: Monitor popular styles in your niche on platforms like Etsy, Amazon, Pinterest, and Redbubble. What design elements are common among top sellers? How frequently do they release new designs?
• Audience Preferences: Analyze what types of designs your audience responds to. This will help you create appealing designs and optimize them for better sales performance.

Why is Research Crucial?

The purpose of research is twofold. First, it helps you understand what’s working in the market so you can create designs that are more likely to sell. Second, it accelerates your learning curve. By observing top sellers, you can identify what works without going through as much trial and error yourself. This “hack” can save you time and resources in the early stages of your POD business.

Tip: Use tools like competitor analysis boards (Miro boards, for example) to organize your research. Collect data from various sites, pull out best practices, and apply them to your business.

4. Create Designs People Want to Buy

Design is at the heart of any print-on-demand business, but it’s not just about making beautiful products. The goal is to create designs people want to buy and wear for extended periods.

Applying Research to Design Creation

Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of doing research and then ignoring it when they start creating designs. Instead, you should use the insights from your research to inform every step of the design process. Your goal is not just to create aesthetically pleasing products but items that resonate with your audience and have the potential to sell.

• Template-Based Design: Using templates from AI-powered tools like Mystic POD can help streamline your design process. Start with a concept based on your research and quickly iterate to create numerous variations. This allows you to produce multiple designs without losing consistency or creativity.
• Focus on Usability: Remember, the designs aren’t just for display; people will wear them. Ensure that your designs are suitable for long periods of wear, paying close attention to comfort and aesthetics.

Tip: Use tools that help you generate multiple designs quickly. Then, test these designs with your audience to see what resonates. Adjust based on their feedback and sales performance.

5. Scale with High Volume

Many entrepreneurs believe they can succeed in the print-on-demand business by launching with a few designs and slowly growing their portfolio. While this approach may work in some industries, POD requires many designs to achieve significant success.

Why is Volume So Important?

The top 1% of POD sellers typically add seven new designs daily—around 210 new designs each month and over 2,600 per year. This high volume is necessary because:

• Increased Learning Curve: The more designs you create, the more insights you gather about what works and what doesn’t. This leads to faster learning and improved design quality over time.
• Diverse Customer Preferences: Customers have varied tastes, and the more designs you offer, the greater your chances of hitting on a winning product that resonates with a broad audience.
• Higher Sales Potential: More designs mean more sales opportunities. Over time, you’ll identify your top-performing designs and scale them further.

Tip: Don’t be discouraged by early failures or designs that don’t sell. The first 50 to 100 designs are often experimental, but as you progress, you’ll better understand what works and how to replicate success.

Conclusion

Building a successful print-on-demand business requires more than just creativity—it demands strategy. By selecting a winning niche, focusing on branding, conducting thorough research, creating designs people want to buy, and scaling with high volume, you’ll position yourself for long-term success. Avoid the common pitfalls of focusing solely on products and instead prioritize building a brand and connecting with your audience. With the right approach and commitment to growth, your POD business can achieve the success you envision.