7 Print-on-demand Marketing Strategies to Promote Your Store

print on demand marketing

With the rapid growth of print-on-demand stores, achieving high profit is more challenging. The key to success is to have an outstanding print-on-demand marketing plan. It may be tough for new sellers to promote the online store with a well-defined plan.

Don’t worry, everything will become much easier when you embrace the proper mindset. From leveraging social media to running ads, let’s save actionable steps and strategies to boost sales with Teeinblue Product Personalizer!

How to Market Print-on-demand in 9 Steps

When launching a print-on-demand business or building a print-on-demand marketing plan, a proper and positive approach helps you to stay resilient, generate many creative ideas, and make them effective. Let’s discover how to market print-on-demand with the following 9 steps!

Choose a profitable niche: By identifying a specific market segment with unique needs, you can offer personalized print-on-demand products that cater to consumer demands. It not only increases satisfaction but also allows you to have a high-profit margin.
Get to understand your customer (the business funnel): You need to list all their demographics, psychographics, pain points, motivations, and buying behavior in each stage to tailor the print-on-demand advertising strategy.
Define the USP (unique selling proposition): It can show the difference, and the specific value you provide, which your competitors do not easily replicate. Don’t forget to stay focused and believe in your products. Thus, your marketing efforts can establish a strong impression as well as a clear identity in the customer’s mind.
Make a plan with a budget and specific goals to ensure that your promoting effort brings a good outcome. Practicing the SMART Goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-based) is one the most effective planning methods.

Set SMART goals to keep your print-on-demand marketing always on track

Choose the suitable business model: You can create an online store on one or multiple marketplaces like Shopify, Amazon, or Etsy. The more platforms you manage, the more complex the business model.
Choose a print-on-demand pricing strategy: Stick the pricing strategy with the marketing plan to choose the best advertising channels and maximize profit. All you need is to define all necessary costs, estimate a profit margin, and research competitors.
Define your marketing channels and KPIs: Now, you can identify the marketing channels that will give the highest profit. Social media, email marketing, and paid ads are popular channels. Setting KPIs is essential to measure the effectiveness and adjust your strategies accordingly.
Create a marketing calendar, then stick to it: Plan your marketing activities for the month, quarter, or year, and stick to your schedule. Remember that consistency is key to building brand awareness and increasing sales. It helps you stay organized to achieve print-on-demand marketing goals.
Track, learn, optimize, and keep going: Take note of what's working and not, and use that data to improve the marketing process. Failures may happen, but keep learning and trying new things. You can keep your print-on-demand store growing!

7 Powerful Print-on-demand Marketing Strategies

Here are the most effective print-on-demand marketing strategies summarized by Teeinblue Product Personalizer experts. Discover now!

Market on Multiple Social Media Platforms

There are billions of users on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Tiktok, Pinterest, etc. It opens an excellent opportunity to reach many potential buyers with less effort and money.

print on demand marketing strategy on social media

TikTok is the platform having the highest user growth

Take the tips to utilize social media to promote your print-on-demand store:

Choose the right platforms: Each platform has a different audience. So, you should identify which platforms your target customers are most active on and focus your efforts on those.
Create engaging content: Sharing high-quality photos and videos of your products with exciting captions can attract users to engage with your content. The more engagement, the more users you can reach.
Build the follow-up strategy: Social media platforms' algorithms often use hashtags to deliver content to specific groups. Therefore, remember to add trending and product hashtags to your content. Besides, regular updates about products, promotions, usage guides, etc., can help to improve the display ability on the feed.
Track your results: You can use the platform’s analytics tools or Google Analytics to analyze the audience and track your social media performance. After identifying what's working and what's not, optimizing your print-on-demand marketing plan is essential.

You can also run social media ads to target customers better. Scroll down to the next section and get helpful tips!

Tips: Creating a consistent brand voice across multiple platforms helps the audience remember your brand better. Additionally, don’t forget to monitor comments and respond to inquiries in a timely manner to increase trust and credibility.

Launch Print-on-demand Advertising Campaigns

You may need to advertise print-on-demand to attract high-demand purchasers. Here are two popular methods that Teeinblue Product Personalizer’s merchants often use:

Set print-on-demand Facebook Ads or other social media ads, such as Tiktok, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Run Google Ads to print-on-demand buyers: Google search ads, Google shopping ads, etc.

Test your ads on multiple platforms to choose the most cost-effective and high-conversion campaigns

After identifying the platforms where your target customers are most active on, save the following steps from learning how to advertise print-on-demand successfully:

Set a budget and goals: Determine how much you will spend on advertising. Follow your marketing plan to set the appropriate goals and budget.
Estimate the advertising cost: Evaluating necessary spending on each platform enables you to concentrate on the most effective platforms. You can get essential data, such as advertising keywords, CPC (cost-per-click), conversion rate, etc., from the platform’s ad statistics or third-party research.
Create high-quality ad content: Generate eye-catching visuals, persuasive copy, and clear calls-to-action to grab attention and convert more conversions. Learning how your users interact with content can help to increase the likelihood of your ads being seen, clicked, and engaged with.
Run A/B tests: Test different ad formats, visuals, copy, and targeting options to see what works best for your audience and campaign goals.
Monitor and optimize: Use analytics tools to monitor your ad performance and make adjustments to optimize for better results.

Tips: Remember to comply with advertising policies and guidelines set by each platform and to disclose any sponsored content or promotions.

Personalize Email Marketing to Market & Follow Target Customers

According to a study by Hubspot, email marketing has an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent, making it one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies. In another study by Campaign Monitor, the average open rate of email marketing was up to 21.5% (2021).

how to market print on demand with email marketing

Personalize content for email marketing campaigns

To leverage the power of email marketing for your print-on-demand business, take time to see the expert’s advice here:

Build an email list: To collect high-quality emails, you can add an email sign-up form on the website, offer a discount, freebie, or print-on-demand ebook in exchange for signing up, etc.
Segment the email list: Segment your email list based on demographics, past purchases, and interests to send personalized emails.
Create engaging content: Create email content that showcases your print-on-demand products and provides value to your subscribers. You can include product images, descriptions, and links to your website or specific products.
Use automation: Use automation tools to send automated welcome emails, abandoned cart emails, and follow-up emails to customers who have made a purchase.
Track and analyze results: Use email analytics tools to track open, click-through, and conversion rates. Analyzing these figures will help you to improve the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.

Tips: Remember to add an option for subscribers to opt out of receiving your emails. For merchants in the United States and GDPR in the European Union, it is essential to comply with email marketing laws such as the CAN-SPAM Act.

Focus on SEO to Promote Your Print-on-demand Business

Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical for any successful print-on-demand marketing plan. By focusing on this method, visibility, traffic, sales, and brand awareness can increase.

According to Zero Limit Web, the click rate on an ad is only 15% for a keyword, while this rate for search results is 85%. There are up to 67.6% of clicks for the first five results; the five under just receive 3.73%.

SEO helps you reach millions of potential customers with low budget

SEO is beneficial, isn’t it? Are you curious about how to market print-on-demand products with SEO? Let’s check the following straightforward techniques:

Keyword research: Conduct keyword research to identify relevant keywords related to your print-on-demand products.
On-page optimization: Optimize your website's content and structure for search engines by including relevant keywords in your title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and content.
Backlink building: Contact relevant bloggers and websites in the print-on-demand industry to place your products' URLs. You can also create shareable blogs to attract natural backlinks.
Local SEO: If you have a physical store, optimize your website for local search results by including your location in your content and creating a Google My Business profile.
Monitor and analyze: Use tools like Google Analytics and search console to track your ranking, traffic, and user behavior.

SEO is a long-term strategy that can take several months to see improvement in traffic and sales. If you are new, it is best to hire an SEO staff to save time.

Tips: Follow the SEO white-hat tactics to grow your print-on-demand website sustainably.

Reviews and Testimonials - A Free Way to Advertise Print-on-demand

According to the Local Consumer Review Survey 2023 by BrightLocal, 98% of people read online reviews for local businesses. A significant majority of consumers, precisely 69%, would have a favorable impression of a company that has reviews depicting a positive experience.

promote print on demand business using testimonials

Let customers write their reviews on your print-on-demand store

To achieve as many positive reviews as many as possible, here are simple ways:

Ask for reviews: Encourage customers to leave reviews by including a review request in your order confirmation or follow-up emails. You can also add a review request card along with your product.
Show reviews on the online stores: Display customer reviews prominently on the product pages and homepage. Consider using a review widget or plugin to display reviews from third-party sites like eCommerce or Google.
Use social proof: Post customer testimonials in your social media posts and ads to build trust and encourage engagement.
Respond to reviews: If the owner responds to all reviews (both positive and negative), 88% of consumers are likely to use the business (BrightLocal) because they can feel the commitment to the product quality and service.

Note: Be transparent and honest in your use of reviews and testimonials. It is discouraged to fake reviews. Customers can recognize them, and it can harm your reputation.

Host Contests and Giveaways

Consumers always love gifts and free products. However, not many print-on-demand sellers can succeed in organizing contests or giveaway campaigns. Marketing print-on-demand products in this way will become easier when you hold in hand some key features, including

Specific target audience: Who are they, and What do they expect about your product?
Clear goals and roadmap: Is it to increase sales or improve awareness? How do you estimate them?
Attractive prizes or gifts: What rewards that your target customer like most?
Easy-to-understand and fair rules: Inform them of the eligibility, deadlines, and how to be the winner.
Appropriate promoting channels: social media platforms, email newsletters, blogs, and even ads are effective.

There is a sky of ways to host a contest or giveaway. Take time to brainstorm ideas and make the best plan to promote your brand.

Select Influencer Marketing Strategy

Cooperating with a famous influencer in your niche or industry can help you generate buzz faster than SEO. Businesses typically earn a return of $6.50 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, with 70% making $2 or more and 13% earning from $20. However, only 18% of businesses fail to generate revenue from influencer marketing.

how to advertise print on demand with influencer

Boost revenue quickly with the suitable print-on-demand influencers

To advertise products through influencers, it is essential to indicate their engagement rates, content quality, and alignment with your brand's values and target audience. It will bring the highest results with other marketing strategies.

Expert Tips for Marketing Print-on-demand Effectively

You’ve got the most effective print-on-demand marketing strategies. Now, let’s take notice of the extra tips to showcase your online store:

Focus on creating high-quality content by providing value, inspirational stories, and incorporating visual elements. The more valuable content, the more likely people will share and buy products.
Manage multiple channels: Various marketing channels can help reach a wider audience and increase brand exposure. Remember to be consistent in brand voice and message.
Use marketing tools to manage multiple marketing channels: track performance and reports, analyze data; and prepare for the next marketing plan.
Generate an impressive brand name: An impressive brand name and story can help differentiate the business from competitors and create a solid emotional connection with customers. Visit Teeinblue Product Personalizer guide to get catchy print-on-demand store name ideas.
Build a loyalty program to increase repeat customers and customer retention. Offering incentives such as exclusive discounts or rewards and personalizing the program is the best practice.

A good loyalty program is more cost-saving than reaching new buyers

Print-on-demand Advertising Plan Example for Personalized Coffee Mugs

More and more people love having custom coffee mugs representing their hobbies. The gross profit margin for each item may reach up to 50% to 60%. High-quality ceramic personalized coffee mugs are perfect gifts for special holidays, such as Christmas, Valentine’s day, Mother’s day, Father’s day, etc.

Let’s build a plan to market personalized coffee mugs to sell on Valentine’s Day.

The product USP: High-quality ceramic mugs and customers can custom their design right in the store.
Target market: people in Thailand from 25 - 35 years old. They are young people who work in big cities and love to buy gifts for their boyfriends or girlfriends for Valentine’s Day.
The retail price: $15 per item. It is an affordable price for the above audience.
Goals: Generate at least 150 sales of personalized couple mugs ($3000 revenue), and make a profit margin of 45% within one month before Valentine’s Day.
Ads platform: Facebook. According to ADCostly, about 2.34 million Thailand audiences are interested in “mug” on Facebook (ADCostly), only after the US. Moreover, CPC (cost-per-click) in Thailand for mugs is 81.13% less than in the US, at only 0.43$. Assume the average conversion rate for Food & Drink in this country is the same as global, at 3.98%. The cost for ads to sell 150 items is $1620. With a revenue of $3000, you can achieve 46% profit margin.
eCommerce platform: Shopify. It enables you to create and sell personalized print-on-demand products that buyers can easily customize design on your website.
Product personalization app: Teeinblue Product Personalizer. Visit the Teeinblue demo store to see how it can help your customers customize their mugs.

Print-on-demand advertising plan example

Choose the right ads platform based on your products (Image source: Shutterfly)

You can utilize ads and free methods to maximize profit following this roadmap:

Week 1: Use engaging visuals and ad copy to showcase the mugs' unique designs and customization options.
Week 2: Launch Facebook Ads targeting individuals searching for “mug” or “Valentine’s day mug,” etc.
Week 3: Consider sending emails with a discount code to subscribers interested in personalized gifts and couples' merchandise.
Week 4: Offer a limited-time promotion, such as a gift or a discount, to incentivize last-minute purchases. Also, send a follow-up email to customers who purchased the mugs, asking for feedback and encouraging them to share their purchase on social media.

Throughout the campaign period, track and analyze the performance of each marketing channel and adjust the strategy and change ad channels to achieve your goals.

Hope the above sharing from Teeinblue Product Personalizer can help you to select the best-fit print-on-demand marketing strategies to promote your online store. If you have any questions or need furt her discussion, don’t hesitate to leave your thought in the comment section or join our Global community!