How to Make Extra Money Using Print-on-Demand

If you want to get into print on demand (POD) to grow your online business, the time has never been better. The POD industry is growing steadily, with a market size projected to reach over $1.32 million by 2028, which is up from nearly $2.7 million in 2021. 

The convenience of POD, ability for low inventory & overhead, & no upfront costs make it a win-win for sellers & their customers. You’re empowered to sell more of what customers want without the risk of carrying excess inventory, & your customers enjoy the variety & personalized opportunities. 

Not sure where to get started? Here are ways to make money using POD to grow your business.

Create & Sell Your Art

One of the best ways to make money using POD technology is to create & sell your own artwork & designs. Whether you want to create a quirky T-shirt line or design wall art, you can bring your vision to life with POD. 

You can also experiment with what sells best without investing too much time or resources into the process. Just upload a new design to your CustomCat library & publish the updated product to your store. Once you have a best-seller, you know what types of themes & designs are more likely to work with your audience.

Sell On Multiple Platforms

POD’s flexibility also empowers sellers to extend their reach to new audiences. Whether you want to sell on your own website, on Facebook, Etsy, or anywhere there’s a “buy” button, you can do it with POD. You also don’t need to pick & choose. Sell in multiple places to find out where your true audience lies. 

CustomCat strives to help sellers supercharge their business by giving them the tools to succeed. We integrate into platforms like Shopify, Etsy, BigCommerce, & more. We make it simple for new sellers to get started with straightforward integrations. But advanced sellers with their own software developer onboard can also use our CustomCat API for the ultimate flexibility to connect to just about anywhere. 

Learn more about CustomCat’s POD integrations here. 

Customize Orders for Customers

Give your online revenue a boost by offering customers more of what they already want. Research shows that 49% of consumers are eager to spend money on customized products. Whether you’re using POD to add a name or favorite quote to one of your products, give your customers a more personalized experience than your competitors. 

Sell Merchandise or Products for Your Service Business

Service businesses often struggle to scale when trading time for money. But you don’t have to shutter your doors to get into POD & focus on product sales instead. You can do both by selling merchandise or products relating to your business.

Business coaches could sell customized journals or planners to clients. Personal trainers could promote personalized activewear to customers. The trick is finding something your customers value while providing something your competitors can’t. 

For example, unlike your competitor using POD, you can take advantage of CustomCat’s DIGISOFT® technology for activewear garments & sweatshirts. Instead of a basic design & color, DIGISOFT® gives you access to the most vibrant & highly durable prints on the market at lightning-fast fulfillment speeds. 

Create a Product Series

Instead of stopping at just one product, apply your designs to multiple products in a series. Or spin off your first design into like-minded creative wares or apparel as a bundled package. You have more opportunities to sell various items to your audience without starting over from scratch.

Make It Seasonal

Give your customers a reason to come back each season with a new roll-out of designs. Whether it’s the holidays or just the start of winter, you can transform your ecommerce store into a seasonal one-stop destination. 

Activewear is especially ideal for seasonal items. Pair your favorite seasonal designs with weather-appropriate clothing, from hoodies to jackets & tank-tops. CustomCat also sells flip flops to complete your seasonal collection.

Crowdsource Your Ideas

If you have no clue what to create to make money using POD, crowdsource your ideas. Ask your current customers or audience what types of products, designs, & customizations they want to see from your online store. You can also turn it into a marketing strategy by calling out winners & offering free products to your best brainstormers. 

Start a Side Hustle

Making money with POD is a lucrative opportunity, but it also pairs well with a side hustle. Scale your business the way you want, whether part-time & around your schedule or replacing your full-time income. The best part is you don’t need your own production & fulfillment center. We’ll do the work for you as a behind the scenes arm of your business. 

Some of our customers use CustomCat to sell what they want, when they want, whether it’s on Etsy or on their social media channels. With no minimum orders, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to experiment with the right products & designs for you without the commitment. 

Create an Ecommerce Empire

Of course, if a side hustle just scratches the surface of what you want to accomplish in your ecommerce business, you can also scale up into an ecommerce empire. CustomCat works with individuals, small companies, & enterprise businesses to sell the volume of POD products they need. We work with everything from single to massive order sizes, get it fulfilled quickly & efficiently to keep your business growing & your customers happy.

Regardless of what size business you run, you don’t have to worry about the upfront costs. When someone buys one of your POD products, we quickly fulfill it & you keep the profits. You never have to deal with fluctuating invoices & outstanding payments.

What’s your favorite way to make money using print on demand? Let us know by leaving a comment below!