You\u2019ll need compelling product descriptions, a killer content strategy, and a deep understanding of your audience. You\u2019ll need clear pathways to purchase, spanning multiple channels. And, if you really want to stand out in a sea of competitors, you\u2019ll need to layer up your promotion tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this guide, I\u2019ll show you how to promote your print-on-demand products in three distinct phases. We\u2019ll start with preparing your POD store for visitors, then move on to developing a content strategy, and wrap things up with some amplification tactics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Get your website ready for visitors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The first phase of your POD plan is preparing your website–and any external profiles–for visitors before you start actively driving traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are a few key things you\u2019ll need to do to get started:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Set up your main navigation pages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
First, you\u2019ll want to make sure your main navigation pages are in good shape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s great about print-on-demand is, you\u2019re selling unique products that customers can\u2019t find anywhere else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if you\u2019re selling something as simple as mugs or T-shirts, customers are still purchasing products that feature an original design or some type of personalized element. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be sure to make this clear on your home page, \u201cabout\u201d section, and other key pages to drive home that value to visitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note that it doesn\u2019t have to be that complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s an example of a homepage from a vegan POD site, Vegan Savage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upon arrival, it\u2019s clear what this site is all about, how to get in touch, and where to find the product catalog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s one from WeRateDogs, a social media phenomenon that made its mark, well, rating dogs. Its creators launched a website that sells merch supporting dogs in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The homepage explains the mission and makes it easy to learn more via the about page or check out its products:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, here\u2019s an example from a POD shop called Iconspeak, which follows a more traditional e-commerce approach. Since their core focus is on selling products, the homepage features links to bestsellers, sale items, and men\u2019s & women\u2019s collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A great product page gives customers all the information they need to make a purchase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n SEMRush put together a great guide<\/a> if you\u2019d like to dig into this topic a bit more. Otherwise, I\u2019ve included a few examples that do a nice job showcasing their wares:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s WeRateDogs again: <\/p>\n\n\n\n I particularly liked how they\u2019ve used the product description to tell a story\/highlight a cause that they care about. From a more practical standpoint, this page does a nice job showcasing different color choices and makes pricing and payment info clear and immediately visible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gymshark:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This example does a nice job of using white space to make product shots and product info stand out. They\u2019ve also included product reviews shoppers can check out to learn more about this item from actual customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, it\u2019s a good idea to use a tool like Placeit<\/a> for product pages and promotional materials. The platform allows you to create mockups for product designs that can be applied across all available options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, it\u2019s important to look beyond your website and set up shop on the platforms your audience uses most. This is an important step for increasing brand visibility, promoting your store, and even selling products directly from your feeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t spread yourself too thin by trying to be on every platform\u2014instead, identify the channels that matter most to your audience and stand to have the greatest impact on the bottom line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s no need to prioritize your LinkedIn presence if you\u2019re selling custom streetwear to Gen Z fashionistas or merch to support your true-crime podcast. In those cases, you\u2019ll want to consider where you engage with your audience most. Is it TikTok? Instagram? Facebook? YouTube? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recommended reading: If you\u2019d like to learn more about social selling, this post<\/a> explains how to use Instagram to grow your online store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve got your foundation in place, it\u2019s time to put together a content strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Content marketing is a powerful tool that enables e-commerce brands to connect with audiences by sharing their stories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But, you\u2019ll want to be careful about getting overly promotional. I\u2019ve seen this a lot–especially with e-commerce and B2C brands–somehow all blogs and social posts center around products, company announcements, and fake social media holidays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, company announcements can be valuable but only if those announcements highlight how the latest product or policy change benefits the customer. And, even if your company announcements do demonstrate your value to consumers, they shouldn\u2019t make up the majority of your content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll be better off focusing on creating blogs, videos, downloads, etc. that entertain and inform. That might include anything from product reviews and stat roundups to interactive tools, tutorial videos, and live stream Q&As. In other words, it\u2019s not about you, it\u2019s about delivering value to your audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As you start developing a plan, here are some things you\u2019ll want to include in your strategy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll want to organize content into different buckets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some questions you can ask yourself to define which topics\/themes you\u2019ll focus on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n From there you can develop some themes–i.e., tutorials, trend pieces, interviews, and so on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, Anthropologie\u2019s blog<\/a> features how-tos that link to home decor products and the designers behind the brands they sell.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s also the occasional behind-the-scenes post like the example below, which shares how the brand used recycled denim to build storybook landscapes in select (physical) storefronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There, you\u2019ll find an article explaining the concept and how designers brought it to life, still images of their creations, and a video. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The brand also regularly features short interviews, like this Meet the Artist piece<\/a>, which could easily translate to a print-on-demand site featuring products from multiple designers or collaborations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Essentially, all you\u2019ll need to do is come up with a series of questions and email them to the person you\u2019re \u201cinterviewing.\u201d (Proves you don\u2019t need to spend a ton of time on every piece you publish).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garmentory covers similar ground, as well as current trends and pop-cultural events like the Met Gala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n After you\u2019ve defined your key categories, you\u2019ll want to start brainstorming topics that relate to those themes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are plenty of tools out there that can help you ID the topics your audience cares about most. Here\u2019s a look at some of the free (or free-ish) options you can use to start your search:<\/p>\n\n\n\n While it\u2019s easy to identify trends and topics using any of these platforms, it can be tricky to land on the magic formula for what will perform well–or fall flat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you can afford it, I\u2019d recommend using either SEMRush<\/a> or BuzzSumo<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n SEMRush has a topic generation tool that shows you the top-performing content for a particular topic or keyword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll need to subscribe to the middle-tier plan to access it–which will run you around $200 per month. But, you\u2019ll also get a suite of tools that can help with things like PPC campaigns, backlinks, and other SEO tasks, so it might be worth the price tag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BuzzSumo offers a similar topic generation tool but focuses more on top-performing social media content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you do opt for one of these paid tools–or something similar, you might use some of the tools mentioned above to gather inspiration before digging into more concrete data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you might notice that X or Y is trending with your Instagram followers and head over to SEMRush to find out if there\u2019s a wider interest in that topic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Different types of content support different goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, you\u2019ll want to take stock of all of your platforms and topics, as well as the different paths to purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Making good content takes a lot of time, effort, and financial resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, to maximize your returns, you\u2019ll want to repurpose your material for different channels and audiences to drive more traffic to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, a long-form blog post can be repurposed into an infographic that can be shared on Instagram or Pinterest and used to drive downloads\/newsletter signups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or, you might chop up a longer YouTube video and share clips via TikTok or Instagram Stories to convince audiences to learn more about your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phase three of promoting your print-on-demand products is all about amplification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve built a strong foundation by optimizing your site for SEO, fleshed it out with a solid content strategy–now, it\u2019s time to focus on boosting traffic and making sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a look at some ways to attract qualified shoppers to your store. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, you\u2019ll turn people off if you\u2019re always talking up your products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, let your customers do the heavy lifting. Focus your efforts on generating reviews and positive feedback that you can leverage toward getting others to buy into your brand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, keep in mind, your review generation strategy depends on your business model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if your core offering is content (i.e. you’re a streamer, blogger, YouTuber, podcaster, visual artist, etc.), it makes more sense to focus on generating positive reviews for your channel, rather than asking your audience to review your POD merch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, it\u2019s about reaching more people who are likely to become fans and eventually, pay for content, products, or convince others to do the same. Your audience doesn\u2019t lose anything by watching a three-minute video or reading a blog post\u2014and can make a judgment call on the quality of your content on the spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The majority of your strategy revolves around asking people to rate & review your content and\/or subscribe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In these cases, reviews and comments are used to increase visibility, generate traffic, and boost subscriber & follower counts. All of which allows you to attract an engaged audience you can then sell your merch to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your focus is on selling print-on-demand products in a traditional e-commerce setting, reviews still play an important role in reaching a wider audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, prospective customers are looking for different information than they would in a podcast review or the comments on a YouTube video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They want some assurance that if they place an order, they\u2019ll get what was promised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s an example of how Outdoor Voices uses customer testimonials in its email strategy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, paid advertising and influencer marketing are technically different strategies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But, there\u2019s a reason I\u2019ve lumped them together–both represent paid strategies you can pair with organic content and product pages to drive shoppers toward a very specific goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Match paid efforts like Google Ads, paid social, and influencer partnerships to content that moves potential customers closer to the finish line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, consider how the ad reinforces the same goals as the content you\u2019re promoting. (Facebook\u2019s breakdown of ad types\/objectives<\/a> does a nice job explaining this concept in super<\/em> simple terms).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if you\u2019re trying to generate catalog sales, dynamic ads <\/a>that direct users to a specific product page might be your best bet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re trying to increase brand awareness\/encourage discovery, you might team up with an influencer for a series of posts. Or, you might have them launch a hashtag challenge that focuses more on fun and interaction than actually selling the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s an example of how fashion retailer ASOS partnered with TikTok creators to create a virtual runway experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/fpfyRGtNLQs79N-4MAQMeN1bdRRXETkf-zhXKgitR7B_o11IrDhfkvmO_8IQ3wgTFbp6c_mIQepI7_slNVAiPhtErmthYxpzCpwD1utUEEsheCBPA03MQHoCVsCp6_VvQ2-0cPiJ\")
Setting up your product pages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Set up shop on all the right channels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Work out your content strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Define your content categories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Sourcing topics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Create content to support multiple channels & goals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Amplify your efforts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Use customer reviews & comments as testimonials<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Use advertising & influencer marketing to support organic efforts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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