Print on Demand Guide and Review using Redbubble for Passive Income
Print on Demand services can generate enormous revenue streams with no cash outlay. Every part of the business is automated, meaning all you have to do is upload a design and wait for the money to roll in – interested?
My eyes were only quite recently slammed open to this disgracefully simple way of making money online.
I jumped in, you should too – it’s free so there is quite literally nothing to lose.
For more ways of making extra money online check out my RateSetter Review: How to Make 15% in 12 Months with Peer-to-Peer Lending
This is a quick guide to getting you started on Redbubble, I hope you find it useful.
What is Print on Demand (POD)
Simply put, Print on Demand websites are the same as any other online retailer. However, the products are not held in stock in a warehouse. Instead, the customer purchases the product first, the item (a t-shirt for example) is then printed and shipped out. The sale proceeds are split between the POD company and ourselves as sellers.
Products available include clothes, books, mugs, phone cases, duvet covers, home décor and the list goes on.
Print on Demand is continually increasing in popularity. I put this down to a shift away from larger brands and a move toward more unique and creative outlets. These websites allow the customer to buy something ‘different’ and custom made.
Other Print on Demand services
Redbubble and Merch by Amazon are my chosen POD outlets however, there are many out there to choose from.
I chose Redbubble for the nice user interface, decent amount of traffic and product range available. The clothing is of particularly high quality too, I own some myself.
I also retail on Merch by Amazon, being an Amazon FBA seller, it made a lot of sense to expand my horizons within the platform. I would advise all fellow Amazon FBA sellers to do the same.
Others online services to get your teeth into:
How Redbubble works
Redbubble handles absolutely everything including returns, payments and fulfilment. We sellers just need an idea and a PayPal account to receive payments.
Sellers on Redbubble are called artists however, that doesn’t mean you need to share talents with Picasso. You just need to upload a design of anything you think might sell to your shop. The process is very simple:
– Sign up and create a shop
Artists (us!), create an account and open a shop on the website at www.redbubble.com. Put a bit of thought into your shop name as this is visible to all and can’t be changed.
– Choose what products you want to sell
Go through the large range of available products and enable the ones that you want to sell. Be sure to rearrange the designs on each product to make sure they look decent.
– Connect your PayPal
Make sure you have PayPal connected to ensure you get paid your share when your products are sold. Pro tip: one PayPal account should be connected with one Redbubble account. They will ban you if you attempt to use the same PayPal account over multiple shops. Don’t ask.
– Consider advertising
Products sell when they are put in front of eyeballs. For the best results, ensure you have a way of getting your products seen. Facebook ads is a proven strategy (not the cheapest), but I have seen most success using influencers and higher traffic Pinterest boards.
Now, lay back and bask in the satisfaction of your new revenue stream.
How to actually generate meaningful revenues using Redbubble
There are thousands of designs on Redbubble alone. So how do you stand out and get the sale over others?
– Sell appropriate designs to the market
Take a moment to consider who might be browsing a niche website like Redbubble for clothing (or other products). My research suggests that the customer base is a split between young people looking for pop culture style designs, or individuals looking for beautiful custom artwork.
My artistic flair is non-existent, so I cater to the first group – perhaps you might consider the same approach?
– How many designs do you need?
Totally up to you and how much time you are willing to put into this venture. You can be successful with one design however, more designs = more chance of hitting a winner. I started with 10 which took me about as many hours. I now have in the region of 50.
– Get eyeballs!
Even the most spectacular design will struggle to sell if no one can see them. Unless you get ‘featured’ by Redbubble and placed on the front page, you will most likely battle to gain exposure.
Use advertising services and social media to increase exposure but beware of the cost. Print on Demand generates fairly slim margins already, so remain cognoscente that advertising can quickly erode these.
I had most success with influencer marketing using Instagram and getting my designs into higher traffic boards on Pinterest. Find gigs on Fiverr.com to push your products out to large audiences if you don’t have access to one already. If it works, scale it up. If it doesn’t work, stop. Success will be design and market dependant.
– Paid traffic = organic traffic
Advertising that results in sales will boost your ‘ranking’ on Redbubble (much like an Amazon listing). The more paid sales that you get, the higher your items will rank. Once you can get onto page 1 for a keyword, the organic sales will come.
If you’re yet to start your Amazon FBA journey start here How to Start an Amazon FBA Business 6 Step Guide
Parting thoughts
If you are still reading and haven’t opened your shop yet, do it as soon as you’ve finished. There is nothing you could possibly lose, but a lot you could gain!
Some final points to consider:
- Open a shop now – you’ve got to step up and take some swings if you want any chance of making a home run.
- T-shirts have proven the most reliable sellers for me.
- More designs = more chance of hitting a winner.
- Increase exposure with social media or fiverr.com.
- I have my margins set to 30%, the default setting is 20%.
- Enjoy your latest additional revenue stream.
That’s all for today, let me know your thoughts and questions. If you use one of the other POD services, I’d love to know how you’ve found it?
Take care,
