Hello fellow artists and friends! I’m excited to begin to share the print-on-demand journey with you all soon when my classes launch. In the meantime, I wanted to start writing some blogs to help get you started on your POD business. Grab a cup of tea and get cozy and we’ll go through the beginning processes of starting your very own print-on-demand shop.
Imagine a world where your art can easily move from your canvas onto mugs, t-shirts, and phone cases without lifting a brush. That is the magic of print-on-demand! It’s like having an artistic team of elves ready to bring your creations to life on products as they are individually ordered. No more carrying inventory and hoping it all sells out - just pure, unlimited creative potential.
Some of the benefits of adding print-on-demand products to your art business include:
Low Risk-High Reward - because you aren’t stocking up on inventory or having to choose how many of each size t-shirt to order, you have the opportunity to get products listed on your site and sell them without the risk of leftover inventory.
Passive Income Stream - sell products while you sleep, while you’re on vacation, or while you’re creating your next art piece. I cannot express the joy you will feel when you check your emails to find that you have sold products while you were away. It’s wonderful!
Expand Your Artistic Reach - Your art can now travel the world on tote bags, journals, or almost anything your heart desires. Making your art work for you.
Focus on Creating - You get to spend more time creating and less time worrying about boxing, shipping, and ordering more items.
So let’s talk about how to get started. First, you’ll want to choose your platform. There are hundreds of print-on-demand services out there. Places like Redbubble, Fine Art America, and Society6 will even create a storefront for you so that you don’t need a website. Take a look around the different sites and choose one that feels the most on-brand for your work.
Next, you’ll need to prepare your art. You’ll need high-quality images of your artwork to be transposed onto the products. I like to use a mix of photography (using my iPhone) and Photoshop to help crop the edges or even remove the background in some instances. You could also use other free photo editing software as well. Most POD services accept JPG and PNG, but be sure to check to see what type of files the service you pick prefers. If your art is digital or AI, you’re already one step closer to adding it to products.
Now for the fun part! You get to choose your products. Some print-on-demand services offer an array of products with each uploaded artwork while others will have you place the artwork on each product you choose. When you upload your first image, you’ll be able to tell which type of service you’ve got. If the service offers multiple products at once, but sure to go in and adjust/edit each product that you’d like to include to make sure that your design “fills” the image area and to make sure it’s centered (or not centered, depending on your preference) before hitting “submit/save”.
Once you have a product added, you’ll want to go into your settings and create your online storefront (if you’ve chosen a POD service that offers one). Add your header image, profile picture, bio, and any other pertinent information. You’ll also need to attach a bank account to your POD service so that you can get paid. I like to use PayPal so that I don’t have to give out my personal banking numbers.
Add some more products and set a plan in place for adding even more over time. Keeping your store fresh with new products will keep fans coming back to see what is new.
Once you’ve got your online shop with your beautiful products listed, there’s one very important thing left to do… spread the word! You’ll want to market your products. Whether that is on organic social and/or with paid ads, you’ll need to get the word out that you have products for sale. I love to start with Pinterest for every new product by pinning it directly from the listing page of the item and adding it to a relevant board on my Pinterest account. I also like to post on organic social and then create ads for the products that get the most attention.
Diving into print-on-demand is like learning a new dance form. At first, it feels a little clunky and you have to keep reminding yourself of the steps but as you get more practice, adding items to your POD shop will become second nature.
If you have questions, I’d love to help. Please leave a note in the comments. Stay tuned for more tips on navigating the wonderful world of art entrepreneurship! Be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already for alerts with new blog posts and to be the first to know when my courses open up.
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