How I Make $7,500/Month Promoting Print-On-Demand Items (And How You Can Too!)

Think about making a living when you sleep—with out coping with stock, transport, and even social media. That’s precisely what Emily, a former educator and busy mother of two, has achieved by promoting print-on-demand items on Etsy.

What began as a facet hustle to earn additional revenue and spend extra time along with her children changed into a $7,500/month enterprise, permitting her to make money working from home on her personal phrases.

In my interview, she shares precisely how she constructed her POD enterprise from scratch, the teachings she realized alongside the way in which, and the way you are able to do the identical.

Key Takeaways

• Print-on-Demand is a Low-Threat, Excessive-Reward Facet Hustle: Emily began her Etsy store in 2023 with no enterprise expertise and grew it to $500K in income by 2024, with no stock or upfront prices in addition to Etsy store charges.

• Area of interest Choice and Market Analysis Are Important: Emily advises new sellers to begin with what they know, analysis trending merchandise, and use Etsy search clues (like “bestseller” tags) to seek out worthwhile alternatives.

• Specializing in Giftable Merchandise Was a Recreation-Changer: Shifting from attire to merchandise like mugs, candles, and tote luggage that make nice items considerably elevated Emily’s gross sales and helped her scale sooner.

• Success Takes Persistence and Consistency: Emily balanced her Etsy store with a full-time job and noticed her first sale inside just a few weeks. Sticking with it via sluggish intervals and repeatedly testing new concepts led to long-term progress.

• Natural Etsy Site visitors Can Drive Gross sales With out Social Media: Emily constructed her enterprise with out counting on social media or paid adverts, specializing in search engine marketing and creating emotionally resonant designs that attraction to present patrons.

• Anybody Can Begin With out Graphic Design Expertise: Utilizing Canva, Emily created easy text-based designs that resonated with clients. She emphasizes that studying the fundamentals and taking motion is extra essential than having prior expertise.

How I Make $7,500/Month Promoting Print-On-Demand Items (And How You Can Too!)

1. Are you able to share just a little bit about your self and the way you bought began with print-on-demand? What impressed you to do this enterprise mannequin?

Hello there! I’m Emily, a mother of two younger women, spouse and a former educator on school campuses. I started my facet hustle journey on Instagram, trying to find methods to earn additional revenue and have extra flexibility to spend time with my children.

With my oldest daughter beginning kindergarten, I knew juggling two full-time jobs could be troublesome. I needed to go on area journeys, volunteer in her class, and choose her up on a regular basis from the bus cease.

After attempting just a few totally different facet hustles like Amazon FBA, I found promoting print-on-demand on Etsy via a YouTube video. It met all my standards for a facet hustle: low-risk, no stock, and no must publish on social media!

In January 2023, I made it my decision and was decided to make it work. Inside two years, I reached $500K in income on Etsy, averaging a $7,500 month-to-month revenue in 2024. I nonetheless can’t consider it most days!

2. What’s print on demand for somebody who has by no means heard of it earlier than? 

Print-on-demand (POD) permits you to promote your designs on merchandise with out the necessity to print, pack, or ship the merchandise your self. You possibly can apply your designs to a variety of merchandise – from t-shirts and candles to tote luggage and extra.

Right here’s a fast overview of the POD course of:

1. Analysis: Start by researching present developments on platforms like Etsy. Take into account specializing in a selected area of interest, equivalent to merchandise for lecturers.
2. Design: Create easy designs utilizing a instrument like Canva.
3. Add: Add your designs to a POD platform like Printify, which is able to deal with the printing and transport for you!

When an Etsy buyer purchases your design, the POD firm manages the printing, packaging, and transport. Principally, you get to deal with designing whereas Printify manages the bodily merchandise!

3. What have been your first steps when launching your print-on-demand retailer? Did you begin on a market like Etsy, or construct your personal web site?

The very first thing I did was watch a number of movies on how print-on-demand works & how one can correctly set it up along with your Etsy store. I needed to verify I set all the pieces up correctly earlier than shifting ahead! 

I extremely suggest Etsy, as you may leverage the thousands and thousands of individuals already buying on the web site while not having to pay for a web site, adverts, and so on. I knew this was a great match for me, as a result of I didn’t have expertise working a enterprise or my very own model.

After getting my Etsy store arrange & synced with Printify, it was off to the races with doing market analysis and designing. I’m an enormous believer in studying by doing, so it was essential to be training whereas watching how-to movies on the similar time.

4. Many inexperienced persons wrestle with selecting a distinct segment. How did you resolve what varieties of items to promote, and what recommendation do you might have for somebody attempting to choose a worthwhile area of interest?

I at all times encourage new sellers to begin with what they know! Sure, I do know it appears easy, however by beginning out with niches and concepts you recognize, you’ll be able to give you distinctive concepts that talk to these clients. And everybody’s an knowledgeable in one thing! For instance, possibly you’re a mother or work within the company world or have a sure passion. 

From there, it’s diving into Etsy to see what is definitely promoting. I like to recommend merely typing into the search bar any of the concepts that you just brainstormed and search for clues–do you see finest vendor badges? Do you see objects which have offered within the final 24 hours? That could be a good signal there may be demand for it on Etsy!

5. Are you able to stroll us via what your first few months have been like? How lengthy did it take earlier than you made your first sale, and what saved you motivated?

In the course of the first few months, I used to be spending any obtainable time I had engaged on my store. I used to be working in my 9-5 job, so I might work throughout my lunch break, after my women went to mattress, or any time I might. I used to be dedicated to creating it work, and I additionally was having a ton of enjoyable on the similar time!

I bear in mind my first sale clearly–I used to be at a baby’s birthday celebration at our native gymnastics studio. The youngsters have been consuming cake, and I felt my cellphone buzz, and it was an Etsy gross sales notification. I needed to do a double take, as a result of I couldn’t consider {that a} stranger throughout the nation had bought one thing I designed…and I didn’t should ever contact the product. 

That first natural sale got here just a few weeks into beginning my store, and it was the proof of idea I wanted to remain motivated. I knew if I might get one sale, that I might get 100 gross sales. That second actually helped me commit to creating this work!

6. Have been there any main challenges or errors you confronted early on? What classes did you be taught that would assist inexperienced persons keep away from frequent pitfalls?

Since I didn’t have any enterprise or graphic design expertise, I used to be studying all the pieces from scratch. However that is what I really like about this enterprise – you may really begin from zero and construct a sustainable revenue. 

Early on, I realized to be affected person with myself, watch as a lot content material as I might, and take motion (even when I didn’t really feel prepared). One thing I might have achieved otherwise trying again is to take a course, which might have saved me a ton of time looking for solutions to my questions.

One lesson I realized was to deal with what clients need and never solely what I needed to design. In the end, you’re offering a service or merchandise for the Etsy patrons, and it was an essential lesson to deal with their wants/desires quite than my very own preferences! 

The opposite huge lesson I realized was to experiment with different merchandise, exterior of attire. After I made the shift to giftable print-on-demand merchandise, my gross sales began rising constantly, so don’t be afraid to attempt new merchandise!

7. At what level did you understand this might grow to be a full-time revenue? Was there a turning level or technique that basically accelerated your success?

That is a straightforward reply! Specializing in giftable merchandise was actually the turning level in my Etsy store. There was a lightbulb second the place a number of of my merchandise had offered, and I acquired messages/evaluations from patrons that their mother or sister cherished the product as a present. I had an a-ha second the place I knew I ought to maintain pushing on this route, and I’m so glad I did!

About 6 months into my Etsy store, I used to be making an additional paycheck monthly. Much like after I bought my first sale, I knew that if I had scaled it up to now, that it was completely attainable to proceed rising my store to a full-time revenue. By the autumn, I used to be making my full-time revenue, after which throughout the vacation season, I used to be capable of double my month-to-month revenue!

8. What methods have labored finest for getting gross sales? Do you depend on natural site visitors (search engine marketing, social media) or do you utilize paid adverts?

Via the final two years, I’ve relied totally on natural site visitors from Etsy. I don’t run any social media accounts, and I’ve simply leveraged the ability of Etsy site visitors to scale my store. I’ve run restricted adverts to my merchandise, which exhibits the ability of natural site visitors on Etsy. 

I’ve centered on items with easy designs that emotionally join with Etsy patrons, and this has labored time and time once more with primarily natural site visitors!

9. How do you deal with competitors, particularly on platforms like Etsy the place there are millions of sellers? Any ideas for standing out?

The important thing to standing out on Etsy is narrowing down your merchandise to a really particular purchaser. It’d really feel like you’re limiting your attain, however in actuality, you’re giving your merchandise a greater probability to be seen if you find yourself promoting to a really particular individual. 

It is going to be extremely troublesome for a brand new Etsy sellers to face out a generic “mama” product, however for those who narrowed that right down to a “twin mother” or “softball mother” design, you give your self a a lot better probability of being seen by Etsy clients!

10. What’s your course of for designing merchandise? Do you create your personal designs, rent a designer, or use AI instruments?

Because the starting, I’ve at all times created my very own designs in Canva! As I discussed, I realized that I might create easy designs that might promote as a result of they emotionally join with the shoppers. Most of my designs are easy textual content on a product, and I really like sharing with aspiring Etsy sellers that you just don’t must have in depth expertise to do that!

Earlier than designing, I at all times ensure I’ve achieved market analysis to see what’s promoting properly, the place there is likely to be gaps that I can fill out there, and so on. so I do know precisely what I will probably be designing.

11. Are you able to break down your revenue streams? Do most of your gross sales come from one platform, or do you diversify your revenue throughout a number of marketplaces?

Since beginning this entrepreneurship journey, I’ve diversified into just a few revenue streams. My major revenue stream comes from Etsy promoting print-on-demand in a single store and digital merchandise in a second store. At the moment, I solely promote on Etsy, however I’ve objectives to broaden my merchandise to different marketplaces.

Exterior of Etsy, I present teaching & a course with Gold Metropolis Ventures known as The Reward Lab, instructing college students how one can use these methods to launch & develop their very own Etsy outlets.

Lastly, I turned a specialised Pinterest Supervisor, the place I assist enterprise homeowners with their Pinterest presence to assist them discover their preferrred purchasers or clients on the platform. This has been such a enjoyable addition to my enterprise, as I really like collaborating with fellow enterprise homeowners!

12. If somebody desires to begin their very own print-on-demand enterprise right now, what are the precise steps they need to take?

• Sync your print associate – Join a free print-on-demand service like Printify and join it to your Etsy store.
• Analysis – Choose a selected sort of product or viewers to deal with, like items for lecturers or personalised mugs for pet lovers.
• Select your merchandise – In The Reward Lab, we train college students how one can promote mugs, candles, tote luggage, ornaments, and journals.
• Create your designs – Use a instrument like Canva to make your designs–and easy is at all times finest!
• Checklist your merchandise on Etsy – Add your product mockups, write a key phrase optimized title and outline, and embrace an outline so clients know what they’re receiving.
• Set your costs – Be sure to incorporate a revenue margin that covers your prices!
• Make a sale – When a buyer buys, the print-on-demand firm prints and ships the product on to them.
• Receives a commission! – After Etsy takes its charges, you’ll obtain your revenue from the sale.

13. What are some frequent misconceptions about print-on-demand that maintain folks again from getting began?

The most important fantasy I hear about print-on-demand is that Etsy is just too saturated and it’s too late to get began. This might not be farther from the reality! There’s a lot alternative on Etsy–new developments are at all times popping up, clients are at all times shopping for items, and a lot extra. I at all times joke that if there have been 10 extra of me, I might simply have one other 10 Etsy outlets with a unique focus. There’s really room for all of us on the desk!

One other false impression is that you need to have graphic design expertise to get began. I had zero expertise earlier than beginning my store! Instruments like Canva make it simpler to be taught, and I like to recommend beginning with quite simple designs to begin.

14. What’s one instrument or useful resource you would like you had identified about if you began that might have made your journey simpler?

Everbee is a analysis instrument that I want I had began utilizing earlier in my Etsy store. It offers you a lot unbelievable data to know what is actually in-demand on Etsy, and it might have been an incredible asset to make use of from day one.

And I want I might have had my course, The Reward Lab! Many programs & content material deal with promoting t-shirts, and my course focuses on the ability of promoting easy designs on giftable print-on-demand merchandise. This technique modified my life, and I’m so thrilled to share it with others!

15. The place do you see your small business going within the subsequent few years? Are there any future objectives or new enterprise concepts you’re enthusiastic about?

This can be a nice query! First, I need to proceed rising my Etsy enterprise with new product varieties & recent designs. I really like serving my clients with distinctive merchandise they’ll’t buy in a retailer, and I need to maintain doing extra of that. My different aim is to work with extra aspiring Etsy sellers to assist them attain their very own objectives.

There’s nothing higher than listening to from college students once they get their first sale or meet their month-to-month objectives. We have now launched The Reward Lab to show college students the precise methods I’ve used, and I’m so excited to maintain sharing this data with different sellers!

16. Lastly, for somebody studying this who feels caught of their 9-5 job, what phrases of encouragement would you give them about beginning their very own facet hustle?

First, I need to say I can empathize with anybody on this place! Whereas I used to be lucky to essentially get pleasure from my final job, I’ve been in that place earlier than, and it may well really feel extremely daunting in the meanwhile. One of the best recommendation I can share is to remain affected person & centered in your journey.

It’s simple to need to surrender if gross sales aren’t occurring instantly, and I see so many new sellers give up earlier than they’ve actually realized how to do that. Those who keep it up via the early interval will come out on the opposite facet. Everybody’s journey will look totally different, and the most effective factor you are able to do is keep centered, affected person, and constant.

Remaining Ideas

Emily’s story is proof that you just don’t want a enterprise diploma, fancy design expertise, or an enormous social media following to create a worthwhile on-line enterprise.

Promoting print-on-demand items could possibly be your subsequent open door for those who’re attempting to make more cash and have your personal profitable enterprise.

For those who’re able to take step one, observe the straightforward steps outlined on this article, begin experimenting with product concepts, and keep constant.

Your first sale could possibly be simply across the nook—and it is likely to be the second that adjustments all the pieces!