If you’re looking to start your own business, print-on-demand tools can be a huge help. These tools make printing and selling your products quickly without investing in large quantities of inventory.
This blog post will discuss 4 of the best print-on-demand tools available today.
What is Print-On-Demand Business?
Print-on-demand (POD) businesses are eCommerce platforms that print and ship products only after receiving an order from a customer. This print method is different from the traditional print process, which involves printing products in bulk quantities, even if there is no guarantee those products will sell.
When purchasing a product through a print-on-demand service, you won’t pay for it until the third-party supplier prints it. Your print-on-demand supplier will handle all aspects of a customer order after they place one with you, including printing and shipping.
4 Best Print-On-Demand Tools to Help You Launch Your Startup
Online retailers may stand out from the competition, engage current and potential customers, and be prepared to support them when it matters with the help of the proper print-on-demand solutions.
There are four types of POD sellers when selecting the tools to support their POD businesses:
1. Defining a Brand
Brand identity is the culmination of all brand components a business or individual develops to project the ideal self-image to its customers.
Here are the seven tools to create a strong brand identity:
Visual Content
Using Canva, you can create visually compelling content and brand components that keep you at the top.
Logo
Customers want to learn as much as possible about your company in seconds. Therefore, all the information in your logo should be visible at a glance.
With only a few clicks, you can eliminate the hassle of developing a logo using Designhill’s free online logo builder. The simple yet powerful application utilizes AI and ML to generate hundreds of different designs in under a minute based on your input.
Typography
The best print-on-demand sites will offer a wide range of fonts to choose from. You can also use Google Fonts, free and easy to implement on your website.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most efficient and effective ways to connect with customers and promote your brand.
You must accurately mention the brand in customised emails you send to your recipients. To discover the ideal template for your message, use a tool like MailChimp.
Social Media Management
You need to have a social media strategy for each platform on which you plan to be active. Posting relevant, engaging content is essential, but it’s only half the battle.
To ensure that as many people see your social media posts as possible, you’ll need to use a tool like Sprout Social. Sprout will help you schedule and publish your content, track who’s talking about your brand, and measure your success over time.
Website
As a customer or potential customer’s first point of contact, your website offers you a variety of chances to implement your brand identification strategy. To accurately represent your brand, you must specifically design it.
Your brand identification can be best developed on a WordPress site with a bespoke design. Aligning your business’s image, objectives, and values will help your brand identity pop out on your WordPress website.
Presentations
When you’re trying to make an impact on a new audience, your presentation is critical. A print-on-demand business must have an exciting and engaging presentation that sells its products or services without seeming to sell.
2. Creating Products
Creating products is the print-on-demand process of turning an idea or design into a physical or digital product. The type of product you make will dictate which creation tools you need.
You can expedite the entire product design process by using several tools. Here are some:
Empathize With Your Customers
To design products your customers love, you first need to understand them. To do that, you can use a tool like UserTesting. UserTesting allows you to watch real people interact with your site or app and give feedback on their experience.
Design Low-Fidelity Prototypes
A low-fidelity prototype is an essential product version that you can use to test assumptions and get feedback early in the design process.
There are many different ways to create a low-fidelity prototype. You can use a tool like Balsamiq Mockups to quickly create clickable wireframes.
Create High-Fidelity Prototypes
A high-fidelity prototype is a more polished version of your product that looks and feels realistic.
You can use a tool like InVision to create high-fidelity prototypes that look and feel like the real thing. InVision allows you to quickly turn your wireframes into interactive prototypes.
Test Your Prototypes With Users
Once you’ve created your prototypes, testing them with real users is time. User testing allows you to see how people interact with your product and identify any problems.
You can use Optimizely to test different product versions and see which one performs better.
3. Managing Orders and Customers
After you have created your brand and products, it’s time to start selling. To do that, you need to set up a system for managing orders and customers. There are a few different ways to do this.
Use a print-on-demand platform like Printful or Gooten. These platforms handle all aspects of the print-on-demand process, from creation to fulfillment.
Use an eCommerce platform like Shopify or WooCommerce. These platforms allow you to create an online store and sell your products.
Use a print-on-demand plugin like Easy Digital Downloads or WP eCommerce. These plugins add print-on-demand functionality to your existing WordPress site.
You can submit several designs to the system using PODTurbo while taking breaks. When the system creates the product listing, it automatically builds the product mockups and sends each image to the marketplaces.
4. Conversion Rate Optimization
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) increases the percentage of visitors to your site who take the desired action.
There are a few different ways to optimize your conversion rate. You can use a tool like Google Analytics to track your conversion rate and identify areas for improvement.
You can use Optimizely to test different site versions and see which one converts better. Also, you can use a tool like Crazy Egg to heat map your site and see where people are clicking.
By using these print-on-demand tools, you can launch your startup with confidence.
Final Thoughts
Print-on-demand can be a great way to get your startup off the ground. It allows you to test your products and brand without making a significant investment.
To be successful with print-on-demand, you need to use the right tools. The four print-on-demand tools in this article will help you launch your startup and grow your business.