Personalized Print On Demand: Why Should We Implement & Effective Strategies
Print-on-demand is the passive income idea with the fastest market growth.
Its market was valued at $6.3 billion in 2022, yet, it is projected to reach USD 45.6 billion by 2031.
While it is undoubtedly an effective way to generate passive income, it could be quite competitive for many beginning creators to get started with, especially in the current moment.
However, there is a trick to being outstanding, and that is personalized print on demand.
Simply put, it is a way to personalize a unique buying experience for your customers. But what’s so special about this method? And how to kickstart with it? Read this article to reveal the answer.
Understanding Print on Demand (POD)
Print-on-Demand (POD) is a popular business model that allows entrepreneurs to sell customized products without the need to maintain physical inventory.
Nowadays, POD is among the most popular passive income ideas generated from the eCommerce market. Creators, small businesses, and larger brands, or anyone can start Print On Demand at any time to test new product ideas and designs.
If you wonder why POD is so easy to start with, it is simply because POD requires little to no initial budget as well as effort. The rest of the process, from printing, packaging, and shipping directly to the customer, is now handled by third-party POD service providers, the most popular are Printify, Printful, Gooten, and Lulu.
Your responsibilities are to proceed with selected products (common ones are cups, T-shirts, mugs, and posters) and then designs based on customer orders. And that’s it!
How Print on Demand Works
As mentioned, the way print on demand works is simple:
- You, the creator, create a design for a product, such as a t-shirt or other apparel.
- You decide which specific products will feature your design, like a t-shirt, mug, or poster.
- You list those products on your online store for customers to purchase.
- When a customer makes a purchase from your online store, they are placing an order for the product with your design.
- The customer's order is then sent to a print-on-demand company.
- The print-on-demand company prints, packages, and ships the product directly to the customer without you having to maintain any physical inventory.
How Print on Demand works. Source: Shopify
Why Do We Need Personalized Print On Demand
Admit it, as a customer, you do love it when a brand offers a unique product/service that matches exactly your preferences, right?
Well, that’s what the meaning behind personalized print on demand - to create a shopping you never forget, leading to a higher conversion rate.
To professionally explain, personalized print-on-demand closes the gap between consumer desire for uniqueness and businesses' need for efficiency. It allows eCommerce stores to sell custom products without inventory, storage, or manufacturing concerns, reducing risks and costs while tailoring customers' shopping experiences.
Here are specific reasons why personalized print on demand will never regret:
1. Personalization Meets Customer Expectations
Today’s customers want to feel unique, and personalized POD delivers just that.
This strategy allows customers to customize their products by adding their names, quotes, or images, like a DIY.
Do not underestimate these little details, as personal touches create an emotional connection, making the product more special and providing a more engaging shopping experience through customization.
In fact, personalization is proven to contribute to higher revenue. Here are some statistics:
- 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that offers personalized experiences.
- Businesses that adopt personalization strategies see an average increase in revenue of 20%.
- 71% of consumers feel frustrated when their shopping experience isn’t personalized.
Personalized products bring a unique shopping experience. Source: The NY Times
2. Business Benefits of Personalized POD
We all know that POD doesn’t require much budget for a creator as most of the works are handled by a third party.
However, the benefits a business or a creator receives when doing personalized print on demand are more than that. Here are some examples:
- No Inventory Risks: Items are produced only when ordered, eliminating overstock or deadstock issues.
- Low Upfront Costs: Merchants don’t need to invest in bulk manufacturing or storage.
- Quick Trend Adaptation: Businesses can instantly create seasonal, niche, or event-specific designs without committing to large-scale production.
With all these benefits, merchants can focus more on producing more creative designs and products, as well as customer engagement, rather than logistics or any other production procedures.
3. Sustainability and Operational Efficiency
Indeed, personalized POD aligns with sustainability goals by minimizing waste.
If you look at how print on demand works, you’ll see that the key to its procedures is items are only printed on demand. This means there is no mass production here.
The product is only created whenever there is an order, therefore providing more sustainability efforts like:
- Cutting unsold inventory and conserving resources,
- Reducing environmental impact by avoiding mass production.
- Allowing the use of eco-friendly materials for custom designs.
Or more operational benefits, such as:
- Just-in-time production streamlines the supply chain.
- Merchants can avoid costly errors in demand forecasting.
Now that you’ve known the benefits of personalized POD, it’s time to find out how to get started with it.
How To Start On Personalized Print On Demand Strategies
1. Choosing the Right Products for Personalization
When starting on a personalized Print On Demand journey, the decisive point relies on product selection. It is the cornerstone of your success.
The process begins with understanding your business objective - whether personalization will be your store's primary focus or a complementary offering to enhance customer engagement.
Remember, your product selection should align with both practical utility and emotional connection, as personalized items often serve as meaningful gifts or personal statements.
Here are some product recommendations:
- Products that naturally lend themselves to personalization, such as apparel, accessories, home decor, and special occasion items.
- Easy to insert personalized design products such as customized t-shirts, phone cases, tote bags, mugs, and wall art.
- Seasonal trends and evergreen products - for instance, monogrammed items.
- Products that are designed for major gifting occasions like birthdays, graduations, weddings, and holidays.
Personalized print on demand can be easily tailored for any occasion. Source: 99DIY
2. Effective Design Strategies
The design strategies are what decide your outstanding capabilities among competitors. And to do it effectively, the business must consider two critical aspects: creativity and technicality. Let’s break it down.
Creativity is all about the concept of balanced templates between creative freedom and guided design.
Specifically, you must understand that these given design templates are like creative mood boards. This means it must allow customers to freely express their personality through customization, yet in a pre-made structure.
Most importantly, every design must include at least one core customizable element. It could be simple text fields for names or meaningful quotes to more complex aspects like pet portraits, character customization options, or family details. Don’t forget to offer these elements in diverse selections like colors, text fonts, or alignments to make the design truly personalized preference.
You need to ensure that even after customers add their personalized elements, it won’t change or affect the overall look. Otherwise, it can ruin the experience.
When researching for designing templates, you can get inspiration from creative and trending ideas on Pinterest, Etsy, and Facebook Communities. Use specific search terms like "personalized dog mug" or "custom family portrait" to find popular concepts and design approaches.
Search for the code “personalized [product’s name] on POD websites like Etsy to get inspiration. Source: Teeinblue
Technical aspects usually happen during the final production phase, where the personalized designs are moved forward to the third party for printing and creating the actual product.
Here are some key technical factors you need to overlook before the product is actually made:
- Print Area Specifications: Each product has its size limits where the customizable element is located. For example, a t-shirt might allow for a 12x16 inch design on the front, while a mug might only have a 4x8 inch printable area.
- Color Considerations: Remember, not every color on your computer screen will print exactly as you see it. You need to use colors that will print consistently and accurately across different materials. Check the POD providers for their color guides to help you choose the right shades.
- Material Requirements: Different materials approach different designs. A design that works perfectly on a smooth, hard surface like a mug might not work as well on a textured fabric like a canvas tote bag. So, be diverse based on the products offered.
- File Format Standards: For the print to turn out most realistic, pay attention to the file format. This usually means providing your high-resolution files (typically 300 DPI) in the right format (usually PNG or PDF).
- Print Method Limitations: There are many printing methods, and selecting which to offer can significantly affect the final look. For instance, Direct-to-garment printing allows for more color variety but might not be as vibrant as screen printing. While sublimation printing works great on polyester but not on cotton.
3. Marketing Your Personalized POD Products
Once the setting phase is all good, it’s now time to publicize and market your product and merchandise.
The most popular marketing channels for personalized Print on Demand are social media, Pinterest, Etsy, third-party providers’ advertisements, etc.
Etsy is the most popular platform to do personalized Print on Demand. Source: DesignNbuy
Your marketing strategy should emphasize the unique value proposition of customization across all channels. First, make sure your store clearly shows that customers can create their designs, which means highlighting the word ‘Personalized’ as much as possible.
The best approach is to showcase your actual product. For example, many creators use the ‘before-after’ content idea, which means comparing the product before and after adding the design for customers to see the ‘glow-up’ moment of a product when the design is included.
This is important - utilizing unique occasions to run ads. Like during graduation season, show how personalized t-shirts make great class gifts. Before Mother's Day, highlight custom photo frames. Or Christmas, New Year, or St Patrick’s Day.
One effective marketing idea is to prove how easy the personalization process could be. Many customers are still concerned due to the misunderstandings that they have to create the product on their own, which leads to the thought that the product requires much effort to make.
However, if you can walk them through by visualizing the process of personalized Print on Demand, you’ll be sure to fix that misconception and be more convincing.
Remember, people love giving unique gifts that show they put in extra thought. Focus your marketing on how personalized items make special occasions even more memorable.
4. Expanding Product Offerings
When growing your personalized POD business, think of expansion like adding new dishes to a restaurant menu - each addition should be thoughtful and meet customer demands.
Start by understanding which of your current personalized products are most successful. You can monitor the store's performance and then look for the best-selling products and designs, focusing on what customization options they love most.
We recommend you record these analytics; they play as the foundation for your expansion.
Moreover, be aware that your product expansion strategy should follow seasonal and market trends while maintaining your brand's quality standards. For example, if your personalized family photo mugs sell well, you might expand into other family-themed items like custom photo blankets or customized family name signs.
In the starting phase, you can constantly test more products and designs to see how your customers react to them. Then keeps narrowing down until you can have a list of top-selling or favorite products.
One of the key selling strategies is to offer your product in a sale combo or bundle. For example, if you provide personalized wedding gifts, create coordinated sets like customized bride and groom mugs paired with personalized wedding photo frames.
However, despite how large your expansion could be, be sure to maintain quality standards across all products. Every new item should meet the same high standards as your existing offerings.
Remember that in personalized products, customers expect consistent quality because they're often buying these items as gifts or for special occasions. A successful expansion must allow your brand to reach more customers, not lower your brand image.
Conclusion
What do you think about the potential of personalized print on demand?
Needless to say, the biggest cons of this strategy is it takes time for your products to get noticed and be outstanding.
The market is now extremely competitive. Therefore, you need to be selective about the products, designs, pricing, and other factors that directly affect the customer experience.
But other than that, personalized print on demand is easy to get started with (really…anybody can do it), doesn’t require much investment cost, and can generate a consistent passive income in the long term.
Now that you have this comprehensive guide, get started with it today to take advantage of its potential. Good luck on your journey!
