Only a few of you have heard of this unique business model, Print-on-Demand, popularly known as POD. If you are into the creative field or are willing to do something very creative with a physical product, this business model can help you earn good.
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What is Print on Demand Business (POD)?
Print-on-demand, also known as POD, is a business model where products such as clothing apparel, accessories, coffee mugs, phone covers, and other things are produced when you order. This type of business model in today’s generation eliminates all the intermediaries.
In this business model, you do not need inventory management and upfront costs. Print-on-demand business models help you to conduct business digitally, which allows high customization and, of course, flexibility.
Creativity is The only thing you need to have in this type of business. In this type of business, you will deal with something other than customers and your products.
So, you must attract customers by creating attractive product designs. Once you get everything right in this business, you can earn heavy profits at the end of the month.
Yes, it is a fantastic business model for people willing to do something from their homes or any place they are comfortable. Further in this article, we will talk about how POD works, the best platforms to use POD, and how one can design various merchandise, create a logo and business name, build a store, and earn through FaceBook advertisements.
POD Workflow: How does Print on Demand Businesses (POD) Work?
You must know how this business model works to get down in the Print on Demand business model. One must be very clear about the working process of this business model, or else, even before starting your business, it will go down.
Now, the workflow of POD is quite the same as that of drop shipping. You need to market your website, social media platform, or app from where you can gather customers. This is the first and the most essential step you must know to get customers to your business.
When customers know and are attracted to your business, they will definitely place an order through your website or application.
After a customer orders using your website, all the details go directly to the printing supplier. It is simple: the order and its complete information go to the Print-on-demand supplier.
When there is an order, the supplier knows that they need to make an order for a customer for a particular design. So, the next step is for the supplier to design and manufacture the products that customers demand.
The supplier takes care of the packaging as soon as the printing is completed. Suppliers will ensure that the final product is packaged correctly so that no damage occurs. Besides that, the supplier also handles the shipping and logistics department.
So, after the product is ready and packed, they are shipped or delivered to customers. Yes, this is how Print-on-demand business models work, and it is as simple as it sounds.
The only question that arises here is how you will earn money from this business model. The cash-on-delivery model is used in this business model. From the first step, customers must place an order as COD, and all the details will be carried to the supplier.
When a customer receives their product, the shipping company will receive the cash received. The same money from the shipping company will go to the supplier through digital transport. After the supplier gets the money after 10-14 days, so on the 15th day you can expect your money.
Platforms We Can Use for Print-on-Demand Business?
You need to select the most suitable platform to conduct business in India. Choosing the best, most reliable platform to give you a good profit margin is crucial.
Interestingly, many suppliers are available in India and offer excellent customer service. However, two of India’s most impressive and best suppliers are Qikink and Printrove.
Among these two platforms, we will make a detailed comparison and tell you which could be feasible according to your taste and preferences. We will take an example of a t-shirt in the comparison we make for you.
These two platforms are among the most significant competitors to each other. This is because the t-shirt samples of both platforms are precisely the same. On the other hand, both companies have not compromised on any parameters for their products.
The sample shipping cost for Qikink for an S-XL-sized t-shirt would be Rs 240. On this, Rs 100 is the average printing cost, Rs 50 is the shipping cost, and Rs 17 is the GST. So, the average t-shirt cost from Qikink would be approximately Rs 407.
This price could differ according to the font size, print size, colour, print type, and more on the product you are willing to make.
Here are some of the benefits that you will get from the Qikink platform:-
- Rapid dispatch process
This platform typically dispatches products within 2-3 working days; they have a very efficient processing system.
- Lowest and competitive pricing
This platform offers the lowest price possible compared to its market competitors.
There is no minimum order value limit on this platform.
On the other hand, if you go with Printrove, they charge as per the fabric you choose. If you select a fabric other than white, that will charge you extra on this platform.
Here are some of the benefits that you will get from Printrove:-
- Printrove is one of those rare platforms on which to take good care of fulfilment.
- The packaging system is just brilliant from this platform.
- On-time delivery is guaranteed from this platform.
Designing Merch opportunities for Print on Demand Business
Before designing your merchandise, target the best and most demanding market in India. This will not only help you earn a good profit margin but also secure a safe place in the Indian market. When you have found the best niche and chosen your supplier, now is the time to design your merchandise.
There are two great options available to design your merch. The first option is to hire a designer and make them understand your needs, wants, and the type of design you are looking for in a product.
The second option is to visit free stock websites and use free illustrations. Freepik is one of those websites where one can use free designs.
You need to visit the website and search for the type of design you are looking for on the search bar. In the second step, select’ vectors’ on the left-hand side of your screen. Under that, you need to choose the ‘license-free’ option. You will get many design options available to you, which are license-free and can be used for design.
If you love some designs from this website, you can easily copy and paste them on any photo editing platform for more details. You can make more advanced changes to the photo and make it look much better and unique, attracting more customers to your product.
Designing Logo & Business Name For POD Business
Having a unique and attractive logo and business name is very important. When you are already doing something different than your competitors, you need to give your business a distinctive logo and a business name.
This is because the logo and business name are what customers will remember, and they will use them to search for your products and recommend them to others if they love your products.
The first step for your business recognition is to get a name for it. So, you can easily visit Namelix and search for the business keyword you are willing to keep. After you put in all the keywords regarding your business, this website will give you a range of business names along with logos for some. You can easily choose a business name from the sample ideas on the website.
Now, after you have chosen the website name, you need to buy a domain for it. This will help you and your website to reach your potential clients.
To create your logo for your business name, you can easily create one from picture editing applications, search on Canva, or search on Freepix. Searching on Canva and Freepix will give you an idea of how to make a logo for your chosen business name.
Building a Print-on-Demand Store
You must build a store after completing your website, buying a domain, and designing your logo. To build a store, you can use Shopify, which gives you a trial period of 30 days for three months. Choosing Shopify makes it easier for users to build their e-commerce websites.
The steps for building an e-commerce website through Shopify are straightforward.
There are no hosting problems when you choose to build an e-commerce website through Shopify. Additionally, Shopify did not charge its users a single penny for the first three days. On the other hand, after the three-month trial, you will be required to pay between Rs 1900-2500 per month for using Shopify.
The first step to building your e-commerce store in Shopify is to register yourself and your business on the platform. On the search bar, you need to search for your chosen supplier and install their app.
You are required to sign up on Shopify’s supplier website. Next time you open your supplier’s website, you can easily use the Shopify integrated version.
You should remember to add all the required pages for an e-commerce website. Shopify helps you set these required pages very easily through their interface. Other than that, you must also select a suitable theme according to your product and target market.
Running Facebook Ads for print-on-demand Business
Along with your business or e-commerce website, setting up an Instagram page and FaceBook page is very important. Without these pages, your business will have no value.
Now, here are some of the things that you should not do when you have opened a FaceBook ad:-
- When you open a FaceBook ad page, put only a photo and cover photo. You need to have other activities on your FaceBook ad page.
- For 1-2 days, you must continuously put content in to warm up your page.
- Run your advertisements from the fifth day so that it does not look suspicious on FaceBook.
To run a FaceBook ad, you need to create these things:-
- Facebook Business Manager
- Facebook Ads Manager
- Campaign
Now, the day you have created a FaceBook Business Manager account, leave it alone for two days. Do not conduct any activity after opening the FaceBook Business Manager. After creating an ads manager, follow the same procedure.
One must also know that your FaceBook account must be 2-3 years old to run these kinds of activities. On the third day, you must create and assign pixels. When you do this, the pixels will show on the ads manager after three days.
Now, when you run your campaign, you will see all your pixels on your FaceBook ad page.