This is part two of the series of common print on demand (POD) store mistakes you should avoid at all cost. In the first blog we discuss the first 4 mistakes to avoid; avoid too many varieties in product colors, check your print provider options before selling internationally, make sure you have a credit card or money set aside before you start, and check if your written phrases are trademarked first and avoid copyrights. Print on demand is not easy money and it can take hours to create your website, your designs, your mockups, and run ads. To shorten any hiccups in this process we found 4 more common mistakes you need to avoid when starting your POD business.
1. Have lifestyle photos for your products, not just generic mockups - Basic simple mockups on a plain white background are terrible when used for advertising. If you want to run ads to sell your products then lifestyle images are key to success. You can create custom lifestyle images yourself without having to have a professional photographer by going to placeit.com. You can take artwork designs and place them onto models for lifestyle images and use them to promote your product!
2. Don't just opt for selling t-shirt - Yes, T-shirts can make you a lot of money, however they are not the only type of print on demand products out there. You can choose from mugs, blankets, pillows, and so much more! This becomes an upsell because if someone wants to buy the same design for the t-shirt, they might also want to buy it on a different product.
3. Check to see if your design can be printed onto a different product - Here is something cool to think about. Let's say you have the same design on a different product that's unique like a hooded blanket (that is selling really well right now). Well it is something very unique that most people haven’t seen before. Because the typical consumer has never seen this before they are more likely to not know how much it’s worth. They will then try to use a technique called price anchoring which is by looking at similar products and see how much they sell for. You have more flexibility in setting your price.
4. Add scarcity, but not to every product - Scarcity can be a very effective way to get customers to buy now, in the moment, because of fear of missing out. Include an indicator in your listing that shows that stock is low and that you will be selling out soon. However this kind of gets ruined if your customer starts clicking on other products in your store and realizes the marketing strategy you are implementing. So if your store has maybe 20 items in it, maybe consider having about 3 or 4 items that are on sale and that have scarcity timers, and to have almost all your items in your store be “almost” out of stock.
That is the 4 additional common print on demand store mistakes you should try to avoid at all cost. If you missed part 1 of this series you can click here and view our first article. Thank you for learning with us and if you have any questions about starting your own print on demand business, or other web development questions like starting your own website, please email us at hello@covenantdesign.com
(sources: wholesaleted.com, poddollars.com)
