Why Is It not too Late to Start Your Own Print on Demand Business in 2024?

10 mins read

Have you been thinking about starting a path in e-commerce and succeeding for a long time but are tormented by doubts? Let’s guess, the main questions “will I be able to choose a popular sales segment”, “is print on demand worth it in 2024”, and “can I interest a buyer” prevent you from starting to earn money. Throw away unnecessary anguish and fill yourself with confidence: it is a wonderful time to launch a unique online deal. And the print on demand sector will allow a beginner to start up with minimal risks.

Looking at the statistics of retail internet sales worldwide from 2014 to 2025, it is clear that e-commerce is gaining momentum, and in a couple of years, buyers will spend 1.5 times more money in online stores. Why not be a part of this global growth by bringing your author’s products to a broader audience?

Benefits of POD entrepreneurship:

• Minimum costs. You don’t have to buy raw materials or equipment to produce goods. This will be done by your partners: manufacturers, warehouses, and special printing companies. In case, you decide to print stuff on your own, learn how much it costs to start a print on demand business. Thus, unexpected costs won’t suddenly shock you.
• Low risks. You don’t create stocks of goods at home, which takes away the fear of your enterprise’s unprofitability.
• Ample opportunities for creativity. You can experiment not only with products for printing (clothing, accessories, household items, etc.) but also with the design itself.
• Sales flexibility. By analyzing the customers’ demands and preferences, you can lightly diversify the range of goods and implement new ideas.
• Opportunity to develop and promote your brand.

By becoming the owner of a POD business, you get a chance to unleash your creativity, generate income and anticipate customer needs. Here you will find a guide to online sales and useful tips for business prosperity. Also, read some handy thoughts on what not to do when running a pod company.

Table of Contents

Scheme to begin selling white label products from scratch

A short guide to online sales

The best dropshipping interactions that will make your life easier in 2024

Conclusion

Scheme to begin selling white label products from scratch

What is the beauty of white label stuff? It does not contain manufacturer's tags. In your skillful hands, a thing turns into any work of art. The variety of themes for prints can satisfy all customer preferences without exception. You will keep up with the times by adding the latest products per the season, annual trends, world sports, and fashion events.

Where to start for launching a unique commodity with the possibility of customization in mass sales? Follow these simple rules, and very soon you might be able to sell white label products from scratch.

1. Select products

Applying unique images is possible not only to sweaters, cups, and decorative pillows (the first thing that comes to mind). There are plenty of white label products to sell:

1. notebooks and wall paintings;
2. accessories for gadgets: covers, holders, keychains;
3. kitchen utensils: cutting boards, dishes, aprons;
4. sports equipment;
5. goods for pets;
6. clothing (from t-shirts to socks), etc.

Select multiple products at once or add a new type as your business grows. It is worth noting that printing on t-shirts and mugs, for example, may require cooperation with different suppliers. The variety of print on demand business ideas may surprise you, so you’ll find interesting items for sure.

2. Determine the niche for sales

A niche is a category that a product topic belongs to. A POD business person must decide what will be printed on the stuff: animal pictures, memes, popular characters from Hollywood films, professions, or abstraction.

Searching for a niche is the key task in building successful e-commerce. Product categorization allows you to gather a group of buyers interested in this theme. By selecting the direction for work with printed goods, you’ll easily determine the target audience’s needs and develop high-demand commodities.

IMPORTANT! Do not choose a niche based on personal preference. Instead, look at things through the shopper’s eyes.

There are several options to pick the right direction for selling white label products:

1. Evaluate the frequent web requests, for example, using Google Keyword Planner. Demand creates supply.
2. Check the list of the best-selling goods for the past month or year. Trendy items are sold out at the wind’s speed. You don't even need to spend money on advertising; consumers will jump into your hands in search of popular stuff. An excellent data source is the product’s top list on Etsy, Amazon, etc.
3. Analyze the most common sales in your area. Your online store will likely spread across the globe in a few months, but it's an awesome plan to start with regular buyers within a 40-kilometer radius.

The meaning of what you will print on is much more important than the product itself. If a new blockbuster grosses tens of millions of rentals, cinephiles will snap up its images on both t-shirts and coffee cups.

Go through social networks and read the visitors’ opinions. Among other things, you can find competitors' product reviews, focus on negative points, and then present an improved version to the target audience.

How to Define Your Niche Market When Running a Print on Demand Business?

3. Design

When to use print on demand skills? If you have enough experience to create graphic images of any complexity – that is a great occasion! Such activity is an ideal solution for promoting your talent and self-realization. In addition, make your hobby a source of good income – a rare combination. Who wouldn't want their drawings to be snapped up by grateful customers all over the world?

However, if your design skills end with a little man, made of circles and sticks, do not despair. You can seek help from a qualified 2 or 3D artist. Catch a real talent on freelance exchanges (Upwork or Fiverr) or particular sites with designer services in a matter of minutes.

Get feedback on graphic work by posting the developed picture on Instagram, Facebook, or some forums. Lots of people like to express their opinion. Here lies the key to how to sell products online successfully. You can collect a target audience’s opinion and correct design flaws straight off the ice. Do not forget to put your watermark across the picture so that envious people do not steal your authorship.

4. Choose a place to sell

Let's talk about online marketplaces vs. personal internet stores. In the first case, pick a trading platform (Etsy, Teespring, Amazon) and create your account. One of the pros of using a separate profile for selling white label products on marketplaces is that you won’t worry about technical issues and payments. However, platforms may have restrictions and terms of use that may not suit every seller. In addition, the account owner will pay a monthly fee for using such a service.

The second option is to launch a store on e-commerce platforms and implement software there to be more effective (e.g., DropZa, PodZa). It will take a little ingenuity and finances, but it’s worth it:

• A personal online store can be designed to your liking and highlight the brand and zest that distinguishes you from other POD sellers.
• The integrations previously mentioned can analyze customer purchases, store email addresses, send hot sale notifications, and more. This makes you contact the target audience more closely as well as automatize your business processes.
• One person wholly owns sales revenue, and there is no price cap.
• You can use special applications that optimize a business process and give tips on online selling.

To create a catchy page view, you should first search for a web designer. Then advertise an online store on social platforms to increase website traffic. Always remember, you must blow a soul into your store.

5. Find a manufacturer with a white label stuff

What will be the main selection factor? Product quality. Customers want a long-lived purchase at an affordable price. No one dreams of a t-shirt that will stretch or tear after two days of wearing. Agree? So better get some product samples to test it by yourself. If you are satisfied with its quality, now you may start selling this stuff to your clients. 

6. Find a decent POD company

When you have an understanding of whom, where, and how you will sell print on demand items, the last thing to do would be to choose a partner that would apply your original images to your merch.

Lots of suppliers will gladly agree to cooperate with you. However, the following criteria are obligatory for making the right decision:

• Range of services. Even if you propose one product type at the beginning, think about the future. Perhaps trends and customer preferences will change, or you will expand the range of sales. Working with a one trusted supplier is cheaper and more convenient than sending print orders to several regions.
• Equipment. Check if there is enough production capacity and printing methods to meet your requirements.
• Terms of production and delivery. Specify in advance the time of printing orders and shipping time.
• Price policy. Evaluate what suits you more: monthly commission payment + a sale’s percentage or the real amount for the goods sold. A young businessman who builds a client base does not need extra costs.

Do not rush making a choice. Instead, a little time spent researching suppliers will save you money and frustration in the future.

10 Features Every Print on Demand Provider Company Must Have

7. Determine prices

How to set the current costs for your POD products without dumping and working for profit? A few things to keep in mind when pricing:

• Sum the cost of purchasing the original white label and printing.
• Estimate your design work payment.
• Check the average prices for similar goods.
• You can outperform a competitor in terms of quality or other features and raise a price.

8. Build a site

Having worked through the previous points, you can start placing product cards in the marketplace or online store. Indicate all the information about materials, cost and delivery time, current prices, and contacts. Pay attention to the quality of photos, as well as printed images.

Write ads and expect your first clients, who will soon become permanent. Improve your sales skill using SEO strategies for print on demand business, and don’t spare time on learning productive marketing methods.

And the following tips will be useful for boosting online sales growth.

A short guide to online sales

A successful print on demand business requires continuous analysis and improvement. Sales tips will help your startup be profitable in 2024 and 10 years from now:

1. Maintain feedback with clients. Keep in constant communication to know them better. Ask if the buyer liked the purchase, what qualities they want to change, and what they expect from future incomes.
   In your online store, it’s nice to make a review tab for the goods sold. Taking into account the buyers’ wishes is a good manner and a big step toward continuous realizations.
2. Always stay in touch. Try to respond within 10 minutes. This will keep the user’s interest and positively characterize you as the owner.
   Setting up notifications from your online store will help to give a quick answer to the buyer.
3. Be interested in competitors. Your products should not be inferior to other vendors in terms of quality and variety.
4. Don't forget about advertising. Promote your store on social networks, Telegram channels, and affiliate programs. Use a famous influencer’s services to introduce POD stuff to millions of subscribers. A well-thought promotion assists to grow your customer base.
5. Optimize the web page content for search queries.
6. Enter promotional offers (free shipping, discounts for regular customers).

Use an online sales guide to manage your store wisely. Optimization apps can increase your business profitability and improve competitiveness. They will automate routine print-on-demand tasks: collecting clients’ orders, interacting with manufacturers and printing companies, and generating sales analytics. Clever software is made to top up your efficiency. The PodZa framework does just fine with this scope, making the processes more productive and facilitating the daily work of the entrepreneur.

The best dropshipping interactions that will make your life easier in 2024

Dropshipping is perhaps one of the best inventions to help online businesses grow without wasting time on unnecessary labor.

Once you have found a supplier of quality goods, developed your design, and set up a website, you can start selling products online from home.

How does it work? The client orders some items with your logo or print, and you send a request to the supplier, who prints an image and ships goods right to the customer’s place. Unless you are the owner of a printing company with all the equipment. Then you are the hero, who will do all the work by yourself.

Special apps automate the procedure, freeing you from the chores of collecting and transferring packages. For example, DropZa, which we mentioned earlier, is simply an indispensable tool that facilitates the daily routine.

You can devote more time to planning, building a customer base, or improving the online store visualization.

Best apps for dropshippers in 2024:

• DropZa,
• SaleHoo,
• Spocket,
• Modalyst,
• Doba,
• Worldwide Brands.

Your interactions are not limited to one vendor. Partner with multiple companies around the world to select the best products for your subscribers - in this case, the goods do not accumulate at your home.

Conclusion

So, it can be quite profitable to launch a business in the field of print on demand. Why is it not late to develop your e-commerce path in 2024? With sensible resource management and a clear allocation of work, printing on demand will become a cost-effective business, empowering to be flexible in any situation. In addition, POD stores are a productive environment for those new to e-commerce wanting to try out a new business model and creative individuals who promote their artwork.

POD activity can grow into your main profit or an additional financial resource within the key goal’s framework - a personal brand formation. Income from the website is not limited; it’s all up to you. It depends on aims and mastery to successfully present a new product and attract the target audience.