If you’re interested in making some extra money for your family, selling on Amazon is an opportunity to do that. But every Amazon business needs products to sell!
Talking to manufacturers and using the Rainmaker Method is a great way to go long-term because you can buy in bulk and get the best deal. But if you want to launch a product really quickly or test it out before committing to purchasing more for your business, you can look into POD – Print On Demand!
If you are ready to jump in and get started, check out the Rainmaker Challenge.
What Is Print On Demand?
POD companies make their products on demand, so you don’t have to order thousands in advance. You only order after you sell a product. This works great for things like apparel and paper goods.
The POD process works like this: Let’s say you design t-shirts. You sell a shirt FIRST, then you buy one from the POD company, they print the shirt and send it to the customer. The profit margins are not as huge on this; you might sell your shirt for $20, but then the POD company might charge you $12. That’s a profit of $8. But where POD is really great is the convenience. You don’t even have to touch the product or ship it yourself— the POD company does that for you.
Best POD Companies
Some of our Rainmaker families have been experimenting with these POD sites as a way to bring in additional income. All of these sites are competitors, so shop around to look at different prices and product offerings! Some of these sites even have automatic connections to online marketplaces, making your job of listing even easier. The three that we looked at all print designs on numerous products— not just shirts!
- Teelaunch.com
- Gooten.com
- Printful.com (this is the one we use!)
There’s lots of other POD websites, and you definitely want to look at several before committing. Because the margins are less with these sites than they are with manufacturers, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the best deal for the products you’re designing.
POD On Amazon
POD products can be launched on Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, and other online retail sites, but today we’re going to focus on Amazon. Depending on the site you choose, you might even be able to make listings right on the site that then link up with Amazon!
Product photos are important, and some of these POD sites provide mockup photos, which you can use as your listing. These will show people what your actual design looks like, which is better than a generic listing image.
When picking what POD products and designs to sell, a little bit of market research can help you make good product decisions. You can do some easy market research on Helium10, like we taught you as part of the challenge. Using this tool will let you see if there are highly-searched niches on Amazon within product categories, and then you can launch a POD product that fills that niche right away!
POD Products To Avoid Selling On Amazon
While many of the POD companies got their start with shirts, there’s a whole world of custom products that you can sell! Amazon has their own POD platform called Amazon Merch, and for that reason shirts are definitely oversaturated on the Amazon platform.When looking for POD products to sell on Amazon, look outside the “shirt” box and other keywords being searched. Keep in mind that all of these products require some design skill, so if you aren’t super artistic, you can always hire somebody on Fiverr as we’ve discussed previously. You should also keep in mind that if you’re offering custom products, you can charge more because they’re custom and unique to your customers!
Laser-Engraved Cutting Boards
These would make a great holiday gift. You could offer custom cutting boards with family emblems etched into them, and then either design the emblems yourself or hire a graphic designer online.
Where to Get: teelaunch.com
Garden Flags
These are great around holidays or for niche specific keywords being searched on Amazon — take advantage of keyword searches and design thinking about what people are shopping for on Amazon so that your product shows up!
Where to Get: teelaunch.com
Blankets
Blankets are great sellers, and if you want to test out a blanket design, you could try a POD site. Then, if the design sells, you can talk to a manufacturer about ordering in bulk to increase your profit margins! Be sure to niche down, the riches are in the niches! We have one Rainmaker who made some great money selling a “pug blanket”.
Where to Get: gooten.com
Champion-Branded Hoodies
We use these for our own Rainmaker merch! You can add your custom design or wording, and even have them embroidered. They’re some of the softest hoodies ever, and positioning your product alongside a well known brand like Champion will help elevate your brand with quality materials up-front.
Where to Get: printful.com
If bringing in additional income for your family sounds like something worth doing, why not look into the Rainmaker Challenge? Our Rainmaker families have discover a way to spend more time with their families while making highly passive income. Print On Demand products are a great way to test the water of the online marketplace, and with the holidays coming, there’s no time like now!
