 Print on Demand, a great way to capitalise on creativity and artistry, and also a low-risk way to selling custom products. Hey everyone, I'm Lara Dekker and welcome back to our YouTube channel. In this video, I'll be providing you with a complete beginner's guide to print-on-demand dropshipping. So stay tuned, quick intro, and let's go! So our first topic that we should be touching base on is what exactly is print-on-demand dropshipping and how does it work? Okay, so a print-on-demand business is basically a process where you work with suppliers of white label products. So before I go further, just remember that white label products are generic products that are mass manufactured and then customised slightly for various brands. Once we have found a white label product supplier, we're then able to customise these mass manufactured products and we're able to sell these customised products on a per order basis and our own branding with our own designs. So for example, we can put our logos on these items to signify that the products does in fact actually come from our brand. So another thing to keep in mind with POD dropshipping is that everything from when the sale happens to the designing of the product to the order-performing process to the shipment of the customer's product to your customers is handled directly by your supplier. So therefore, we as dropshippers aren't faced with problems like holding inventory, unsold items or buying in bulk because everything works on a per order basis directly through our supplier. So let's have a look at what some of the pros and cons are of print-on-demand dropshipping. The first pro being that it is very easy to start your own print-on-demand dropshipping business. A lot of print-on-demand suppliers take an interest in working with online sellers. These same suppliers provide you with very informative, straightforward guides and instructions to starting your own print-on-demand business. Also, keep in mind that you don't need a huge initial investment if you'd like to start out your first print-on-demand dropshipping business. The second pro would be to establish your brand. This print-on-demand is all of our customization. We have the opportunity to provide our customers with unique and creative products that they will highly value. So not only will our customers love their one-of-a-kind products, but as a dropshipper and being able to brand POD products, we actually increase our brand awareness which helps to scale our business amongst our competitors. The best pro of them all is the fact that there is no equipment required. Remember that you do not have to maintain inventory. Instead, our suppliers that we choose produce the products and ship them directly to our customers. So now that we know the pros, let's have a look at the cons. Our first con being limited control over product quality. Since we don't physically hold the product, we have little to none control over the quality of products that are being sent to our customers. So the only way to actually check and test the quality of these products is through digital samples or by purchasing a sample item. So this is the exact reason why it is very important to be working with reliable suppliers and do not worry, we'll be covering that in the next part of this video. Another con to POD dropshipping is longer production time. POD items do take longer to produce because they're made to order and because of this, there may possibly be delays in shipments, therefore it is vital to have open communication with both your suppliers and customers. OK, so now that we have an idea of what print on demand dropshipping is and how it works, let's jump straight to the five best print on demand dropshipping supplies and services that you should be using. Let's start with our first POD supplier, which is Printful. So Printful is one of the leading print on demand dropshipping suppliers in the markets. Now let's discover what are the best features that Printful has to offer for our POD stores. OK, so because Printful works with top brands, we are guaranteed premium products from this platform. Printful also utilizes advanced printing technologies and techniques to ensure long-lasting designs on the products that we source. So our customers are guaranteed a quality item with a quality print. Printful also has around the clock customer service. So not only does Printful address their client's concerns in a fast and efficient way, but they also cater for their customers worldwide through their global shipping services. Printful also integrates with popular e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and they provide two subscription offers. We have a free plan at $0 per month and then we also have the Printful Pro plan at $49 per month. OK, so we've spoken about our first POD supplier, which is Printful. Now we're about to speak about our second POD supplier, which is Printify. Keep in mind that these are two separate POD suppliers. So Printify is a print on demand dropshipping supplier that sources tailor-made clothing, accessories and home items. So let's have a look at what some of the benefits are when working with this top POD supplier. When working with Printify, you can choose from over 500 top quality POD products to dropship. They also have the most prominent print network globally. This means that they are able to serve enormous amounts of demands from customers. Using Printify as your POD dropshipping supplier helps to scale your business both easily and quickly. Printify can also fulfill bulk demands during its peak holiday seasons. On top of all of these features, Printify offers low prices for their products. And because of that, we're able to offer our items at competitive prices. Lastly, Printify also offers subscription choices. So we have a free plan at $0 per month, a premium plan at $25 per month and enterprise at custom pricing. So our next POD dropshipping supplier is Lulu Direct. So Lulu Direct is a self-publishing service provider that prints and distributes both books and ebooks. So let's take a look at what the advantages are when working with this unique supplier. Lulu Direct provides excellent options for book customizations. This includes book sizes, binding types and the paper quality. So Lulu Direct also provides you with a pricing calculator which aids you in calculating product costs as well as shipping fees. They also offer you discounts when you order in bulk. Lulu Direct also works with several dropshipping and web hosting sites such as Shopify and WooCommerce. They also offer basic SMBs and corporate pricing plans from $50 to $100 to $150. And for those of you who are not familiar with the term SMBs, it stands for small to medium-sized businesses. Fourth on our top POD dropshipping suppliers list is SPOD. So let's have a look at their best features. So SPOD offers a 48-hour production guarantee for most products, which means that our customers will be able to receive their customized goods very quickly. SPOD also utilizes several printing methods such as digital direct, thermal sublimation and laser transfer. So SPOD is also powered by Spreadshirt, which is a global e-commerce company that sells personalized creations. I think the best thing about SPOD is that they take pride in their commitments to reduce their carbon footprints when offering print-on-demand services. They ensure no waste and make use of a sustainable production process. Last on our POD supplies list is Jetprints. So let's have a look at what advantages they have to offer. So when working with Jetprint as a POD supplier, you can choose from over 200 product ideas that is accessible through their websites. Jetprint also helps us design products with a more realistic effect with the help of its mock-up design generator. Jetprint also offers three days fast production lead time, which means shipping across the globe will probably take about seven days in most cases. Jetprint also ensures quality business by extending their 24-7 customer and technical supports. They also provide manual and automatic order processing features for drop shippers. OK, so we've taken a look at what is POD and how we can get started. We've taken a look at the pros and cons of POD. We've taken a look at the best POD suppliers to use. And now it's time to take a look at what are the best print-on-demand products to be selling. OK, let's start straight into action starting with our top product, which is T-shirts. Most clothes out there are seasonal, but when it comes to T-shirts, they are wearable regardless of what time of the year it is. Thus, running a print-on-demand T-shirt dropshipping business will bring you profits all year round. The nice thing about T-shirts is that you can provide various color options that fit various ticks or graphics, offering variations that suit both adults and kids will definitely entice your customers, especially if they're into those matching mommy and me or matching family outfits. Keep in mind that customers don't only look for the various color options that you have to offer, they also take into account the type of material that you use to make the shirts. Examples of this would just be cotton, linen, rayon, or polyester. Essentially, the type of material that you use to manufacture the shirts all goes down to the comfortability that the customer feels when wearing the shirts. You can also incorporate various T-shirt printing options, such as sublimation, screen, or heat press. A quick tip, always include the sizing chart on the product page so that customers are able to choose their correct size. Next up on our list of the best POD products to sell is... Mugs! This one right over here has my name, personalize, and customise on it. And this was given to me when I think I was about 6 or 7 years old, so it's pretty cool that I still have it now. As we all know, mugs are used by people every single day, therefore dropshipping this item will ensure sales all year round. Keep in mind that buyers have different drinking preferences, so it's best to offer these mugs in various sizes. So for example, you can sell variations ranging from small mugs or even espresso mugs to oversized ones. Keep in mind that mugs are made from various materials, so consider selling more than one type. Offering mugs that change colours or images when liquid temperature changes will definitely increase your profit potential. So next up on our list is tote bags, which is an excellent product idea because it's easy to design and it serves for many everyday purposes. So this is my tote bag, my Frida Kahlo tote bag, and it's very practical, has zips over here, and over here. Very spacious and I take it with me anywhere I go. So tote bags are made of canvas material, however you can provide other material options which I'm sure your customers will appreciate. Some customers also prefer waterproof or foldable bags, so remember to offer these options too. To maximise your customers options, provide them with tote bags in various colours and sizes. You can also offer your customers one-sided designs like this bag, or you can offer your customer two-sided designs so it would be the front and the back of the bag using appropriate printing techniques. Coming in at number four on our best POD products to sell list is all over hoodies. Now, unfortunately, I do not have an all over hoodie to show you, but I should probably hop into the trend because they've become super popular and trendy. You're able to sell two types of these all over hoodies. Type one would be a pullover and type two would be zipped. Remember to offer these all over print hoodies in various sizes that can cater for both adults and children. You can also provide unisex options as well as offer your customers the choice of customisation design to the hoodie. For example, adding pockets to the hoodie. Make sure to offer various material options as well as mixed material options such as cotton and polyester. Because the all over print hoodies is a print that's printed over the entire product, you can adjust your prices to suit the complexity of the designs. Coming in at number five for the best POD selling products is posters. So unfortunately, I do not have any radical posters. However, our video editor will do a great job in showing you some really awesome ones. If you're wanting to put life on blank walls, but you're not really keen to spend hefty amounts of money on paintings, then creative posters are definitely the way to go. These creative posters will radiate artistry, whether it be in private rooms or public spaces. Keep in mind that customers display posters in both indoor and outdoor areas. So ensure that you provide water resistance and creaseless material options for these posters. Of course, you need to include the various dimensions of posters to cater for the different spaces that these posters will be hung up in. Customers also have different design preferences, so we have to make sure that we provide a variety of minimalist options along with colorful design options. Another superb addition to our best selling POD products would be socks. Just like t-shirts, socks are everyday essentials. Socks may be a low cost product, but selling socks with many design options to choose from, boy, oh boy, that can get you way ahead of the competition. These socks design choices can range anywhere from simple techs to full graphics. They can also be made available as printed or embroidered options. Make sure that you offer various types of socks in your POD store. This can include toe cover socks, quarter socks, high knee socks, secret socks. Just make sure that there are various types to cater for everyone's different needs. Another way to add value to socks as a product is by considering special features like heated socks or odab-absorbing socks. Coming in at number seven is face masks. It's no surprise that face masks have made it onto the best POD selling products. It's quite crucial to sell over-the-top designs for these face masks. Why? Because it's our only way of gaining a competitive advantage in the face mask niche. Keep in mind that the unique designs of the face mask should be suitable for everyday wear as well as special occasions. Don't forget to include different sizes of the mask that cater for all customers, ages and genders. To attract more customers, you can offer these face masks as an add-on to the product that the customer would like to purchase. It's just another great way to upsell. Up next on our top POD dropshipping products list are stickers. Stickers are more than simple art materials. They can also serve as labels and sealers. When selling stickers, consider offering your customers various material options suitable for different printing techniques. Some of the most popular materials include vinyl, polyester and satin. Also, mats, glossy and clear sticker types are available for unique designs. Remember to offer these stickers in various sizes and shapes. I mean, you can even be extra by adding waterproof or heat-resistant stickers. For stickers that come in smaller sizes, we can sell sets of them within one packaging to maximize our sales. Because phones have become an essential commodity, selling phone cases can lead to high-sale conversions. We can print one-of-a-kind designs on plastic, metal, rubber, leather or silicone phone cases. We can also provide customers with design options other than just simple text or graphics. For example, a 3D water glider phone case. And just to show you, this is my phone case. OK, so now that we have an idea of what top POD dropshipping products we should be selling, let's briefly take a look at how you're able to start your own print-on-demand dropshipping business. Don't forget that you're able to read up on all this information as well as the steps needed to start your own POD dropshipping business via our blog, which is linked in the YouTube description of this video. Right, let's dive straight into the steps that you need to take in order to start your own POD dropshipping business. The first and most crucial step is to find your niche. Choosing a distinct niche ensures that your business will stand out amongst the competition. Remember, in order to discover all the potential products that we can sell, we need to do product research. And we're able to do product research by utilizing any of these proven methods. Find out the best sellers via your suppliers' websites. You can do this by searching for top sellers and positive product reviews. The second method would be to research your selling channel. We can find profitable niches by exploring the trends on our selling channels. The third method would be Autodesk product research system. Using this method, you're able to search for millions of products online. You can also get product suggestions with excellent market analytics, such as sales performance. Step two would be to find a POD service provider. When choosing our POD dropshipping suppliers, we need to look out for the following features. Is the POD supply dropshipping friendly? Do they offer a diverse product catalog for our customers to choose from? Are they able to turn our custom designs into high quality products? What is the minimum order quantity requirement? Does the supplier offer optimal customer support? Do they address concerns and queries timely and efficiently? Do they provide tracking updates? Are there positive customer reviews left under the product page? And are their return policies clear and practical enough to eliminate misunderstandings with customers? These are all the vital things we need to consider when choosing a POD dropshipping supplier. Step three would be to select a selling channel. Picking the right selling channel is crucial to the success of our business. These channels are where our customers search and purchase our products. Therefore, they must provide an outstanding shopping experience to customers. Some of the best selling channels include Shopify, eBay, Wix and Facebook Marketplace. Be on the lookout for the following features when choosing a selling channel. Does the selling channel deliver substantial traffic? How many customers are on the selling channel platform daily? Does the selling channel enable product research? Are you able to optimise your product listings? Does the selling channel allow store customisation? It's not only important for your store to be user friendly, but it's also important for it to look good. Does the selling channel support business automation? And does the selling channel provide flexible subscription plans? Not everybody is able to afford the most expensive subscription plan. If you're wanting to find out more about selling channels, make sure to check out the link in the description of this video. It will take you straight through to our blog page where you'll be able to see this article and all the necessary steps needed in order to start your own POD dropshipping business. Step four would be creating unique designs for your customers. And here are some of the ways that you're able to do that. Search for trending POD products. And you're able to do this by conducting market research. Number two, art source freelancers. You can outsource the designs you'd like to offer by hiring freelancers. You can do this through the website called Fiverr. Option three would be to buy design templates. You can buy design templates from reliable websites. The website Creative Markets is an idea. Step five would be to market our items using the right marketing strategies. Here are some of the effective marketing methods that you can utilize. Facebook ads, influencer marketing, email marketing, and of course a blog. If you have a look at the pinned comment in the comments section below, you'll see that I've linked an article that explains and covers everything you need to know about the various marketing techniques that you should be using for your dropshipping store. And for step number six, we're able to finally start selling our POD dropshipping products to our customers. Before you start selling to the public, it is vital to test sample the products from your POD dropshipping supplier. Also, remember with any venture, success takes time. So be patient. Lastly, do not forget that your business is a continuous work in progress. Make sure to continuously optimize your business and stay up to date with trending products in the markets. So that you're able to add it to your POD dropshipping store. And there we have it, folks. This brings us to the end of the print on demand dropshipping video. If you appreciated the value of this information, please leave a like and don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel so that you can stay up to date with what's trending in the dropshipping scene. I wish you all the best with your print on demand dropshipping business. Let me know in the comments section below if you'll be starting your print on demand dropshipping business. And for those of you who already have a POD dropshipping business, let me know in the comments section how it's going. For now, I'm about to enjoy my coffee and my customized mug. As for you guys, I'll see you in the next video. Happy sales, dropshippers!