HOW TO START YOUR OWN ONLINE STORE
From this article you will find out:
- Things to consider when you’re thinking about your own Print On Demand Business
- What budget do you need to start your Print On Demand Business
- How to pick your niche
- What e-commerce platform or marketplace to choose for the start
Print On Demand – the fastest and easiest way to your own e-commerce business
Prin on demand is a business model that is perfect for those entrepreneurs, who want to start their own business but don’t want to spend a lot of money upfront on inventory. With print-on-demand, you can start your business in a day, with just a few hundred dollars to spend and grow it as you go.
Many features distinguish a print-on-demand business from a traditional business. No inventory, no minimum order quantity, and no need for warehouse space are just a few that come to mind. Regardless of the benefits of starting a print-on-demand business, it’s always important for new entrepreneurs to do their due diligence in researching the pros and cons before making any decisions.
Investment cost in Print On Demand
Many people say you don’t have to put any money into your print-on-demand business for the start. To be honest, this is only half of the truth. Yes, you don’t have to worry about fulfillment, inventory, or shipping. and all that things, that you need to think of when you start a traditional business.
Although you need to concern the costs of hosting of your website, your e-commerce platform fee, cost of preparing your own designs, in case you’re not an artist and your marketing budget. You may have the most amazing designs and beautiful website, but you won’t be selling, if nobody ever hear of you. Organic reach is not enough these days.
The best way to start your own print-on-demand business is not to follow the same decision making process as you would with traditional businesses since there are other factors that separate these two models. That’s why it’s important to research out print-on-demand opportunities first before starting one up.
Finding Holy Grail – Pick your niche
There is this saying – “Jack of all trades, master of none”. It is used about someone, who has dabbled in many skills, instead of focusing on one and gaining an expert medal on it. It has its reflection in the Print On Demand Business.
Internet and traditional malls are full of art, clothes, accessories, and home décor products, that are supposed to be for everyone. Just fashionable, a very similar one to another. The competition is huge! That’s why if you think about your business seriously and want to earn some real money, you need to find your very own piece of the cake.
A niche is a specialized market segment for particular products. Defining a niche has many benefits – higher profits, reduced competition, and less money spent on advertising. Attract a niche that is not saturated yet. This will increase your chance of success like from the moon and back!
Ok, but how to find your niche – your Holy Grail?
If you’re not sure what niche you’d like to pursue, the first, natural, and recommended choice would be to pick something that you’re passionate about. It can be anything – fitness, camping, grumpy cats, or true crime.
If this not works for you, use some internet tools to find out, what other people do in the shadows… – what they look for on the Internet? Search engine data, unlike humans, doesn’t lie.
First, look at the monthly search volume of keywords in the targeted niche. This will help you to confront your inner conviction about your niche with reality. You should try such free tools as Google Trends and Key Words Planner. They can be very helpful.
Another good idea is to look at the demand for products in a specific niche by monitoring the number of products that are being bought on e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon.
It would also be helpful to see what kind of content people are searching for on Google when they want to know more about your niche. You should be familiar with sites like Quora, where you can find out what kind of questions people ask regarding your potential offer, who they are, what they want and what they looking for. Knowledge you get would be also very useful in planning your SEO content for your store.
Decide where do you want to sell
One of the most important decisions that a POD business owner needs to make, is choosing the platform for their store. Nowadays there are many e-commerce platforms and marketplaces that allow you to create your own store without any coding knowledge and then connect it with the suppliers of your products in an easy way.
Choosing between them is a common dilemma for many entrepreneurs, who are trying to decide on the solution for their business. It’s important to make a decision based on your needs, budget and skillset.
Take a look at the options you have.
The easiest and quickest way are marketplaces like Etsy. All you have to do to start is to register and set up your own store on their platform. The big advantage is that these websites own their own search engine, that can provide you additional traffic. You don’t have deal with any technical issues, payment methods – you just use what they offer. You can watch and follow trends that comes up among other sellers. It seems to be a good idea for the start, when you are completely new in the field.
Setting up your own account is mostly free. However, you have to pay some monthly subscription fee and you are charged for your transactions. Also, you don’t have many options in the area of branding your store and controlling the traffic and your audience.
If you want to build a strong brand and you have some analytic skills you should go with some e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Presta, Woocommerce, Magento, etc. They give you all the tools to design a unique shopping experience for your clients. You can build a beautiful website and follow your viewer’s travel. You can collect their emails and next use them in your marketing campaigns.
In the beginning, you choose your plan, based on the scale of your business. You pay a monthly fee, but all you earn on your sails – stay in your pockets. Some additional apps and features can be extra paid so you need to include their costs in your business plan.
Be aware that if you start from scratch you’re gonna need to put some work and funds on marketing, since in the field of gaining traffic to your store – you’re by your own.
Pick your Print On Demand and Dropshipping Supplier
Another important decision to make is your Print On Demand and Dropshipping platform. Which one to use? Depends on what you want to sell. Check out what kind of products each supplier offer and their quality. In Snapwear you can order your free sample pack that can make you help make up your mind. When you already know, you can integrate your shop with your Print On Demand Partner using API. In Snapwear it’s easy, it’s free and it doesn’t require any special technical skills.
SEE HOW TO INTEGRATE YOUR SHOP WITH SNAPWEAR
Finally – start selling
Ok, so you have your beautiful store with an amazing Print On Demand collection. You are connected with your Print on Demand supplier. Now it’s time to show it to the world. First – create some unique, useful SEO content, that will you’re your potential customers to find you. Write unique product descriptions, and create your own blog, with content that your niche finds interesting and valuable. Remember about preparing your marketing calendar, including all holidays and special occasions. Prepare gift guides for your clients for Christmas, Valentine’s, Father’s Day, and so on.
Set up an account for your store on social media. Which one? This you should know best, since you’ve already figured out your niche. Remember to post regularly and get interactions with your fans.
You don’t have to hire a digital marketing specialist. There is much you can do on your own with a little effort. We recommend you take your free marketing training that Google offers. It will get you more familiar with this digital world and will explain to you what to focus on.
Remember – it’s you who is responsible for the design and marketing. Focus on this and let us do the rest!
