Print-On-Demand for artists

Did you know that artist can make extra money by selling T shirts?

You may think that to sell T shirts that you need to order tons of shirts in many sizes which can be expensive. The problem with this is you don't know if your particular design will sell and if you want to sell multiple designs the required capital can stack up fast. The good news is that none of this is required anymore.

There's now Print-On-Demand companies and these enable you to take images and turn them into shirts mugs, iPhone cases and lots of other products. Best of all these companies will only have to produce these products when they are ordered so you don't have to keep an inventory in your garage, hire warehouse space or ask your friend to stock them.

Many Print-On-Demand companies will give you a free store and pay you a commission on your sales. In most cases the only cost to you is paying a graphic designer for the initial design and someone to maintain your account at the Print-On-Demand supplier. Merchandising is no longer reserved for big players; it's accessible for small artists too.

You probably know a graphic designer already if you get posters made for your gigs. If you don't your options are hiring a local, using a freelance website or have someone on your team to learn graphic design.

Alternatively you may choose to get your fans to contribute designs. This can be accomplished by holding competitions; fans will submit designs and other fans vote on the most appealing. Typical prizes for competition winners can be cash or free merchandise.

It is critical that the designs you create are properly licensed or you own the copyrights for them otherwise you could get sued.

In the event that a design isn't selling as expected it can be easily pulled for your store. In most cases your loss is under $100. To reduce this figure further you can put designers on commission.

However if you want even more control such as having the option to contact customers we sell a product that interfaces with several Print-On-Demand companies. You can also use this product to sell event tickets and digital goods such as video or audio.

Musicians can have T shirts with the name of the band or a line from a song that they sing. Some people like to purchase T shirts at events and since you own the designs you can get T shirts in from another supplier if that's cheaper or buy in bulk from the Print-On-Demand supplier to have the stock available at shows.

Having less weight can be useful when you go on tour as you probably have equipment. Many airlines also charge according to the weight of your luggage so having fewer items might save money when flights are booked.

For a musician merchandise is something that your fans can touch. CDs are no longer popular and they are unlikely to carry them around with them so clothing is not only a good substitute for having a physical presence in their lives but also more useful too.

If you are a comedian/comic you can use joke lines or use related graphics for the designs. You can also do both types on the same design or as separate designs. Merchandise can be an additional creative outlet comedians can utilize to expand their brand.

T shirts can be sold on your existing website by linking to your store. This can also keep your fans on your website for longer and search engine optimization professionals recommend this.

If you have a newsletter it's possible to promote T shirts to your newsletter subscribers. You can do the same on social media sites and generate income from your followers.

Selling merchandise can be part of your strategy for online video create specific designs to promote in your video and link to them on sites such as YouTube. Money can be raised even if you have a small audience.

Designs can be unique so they can be created for a single song, joke or event. They can be pulled at anytime so having designs available for a limited time is possible.

Most Print-On-Demand services have options for coupons or give them out regularly. If you are operating your own store with your own web hosting you have the freedom to create as many coupons as you wish.

If you don't like the financial side of your career as an artist this business model would suit you as you get a lump sum from the supplier and it's all profit. You don't need to worry about putting money aside for the supplier. The money can be directly added to your net profit so you just have to pay tax or other expenses.

Occasionally you may have problems with suppliers such as them sending poor quality products or sending them out late. They could also go out of business. You may want to do a test purchase before having the supplier handle live orders and if you run into problems you can always switch to a new supplier.

You may want to consider customer service too as bad customer support could reflect badly on your brand. I imagine that if problems repeatedly occur some of your fans would contact your website directly. You could do occasional test orders to make sure delivery is still smooth.

The money that you raise from shirts can go towards your expenses including for traveling. Special shirt drives could be done and these can go towards purchasing new equipment or an upcoming tour.

The extra revenue could also go towards marketing costs. This may help you to gain new fans, subscribers, and exposure. A bigger audience could help with the sustainability or your work and earn you more money.

Fans that love an artist would be proud to wear their shirts out and about. This will help you with brand recognition as people tend to notice and occasionally discuss what someone is wearing. It can be an ongoing form of advertising.

Having your product in someone\'s closet could remind your less dedicated fans of your work. You are more likely to get purchases from these types of fans if your designs are amazing.

If your designs are clever your shirts could go viral, this could be a goal. The downside of this is that your brand might have to be smaller on the design but you will still get some exposure from having a large number of people wear your design.

Some pieces of clothing are appropriate in specific seasons. Having sales right before a season start may be a way to generate additional income. You could promote T shirts for summer and hoodies in time for summer.

It would be good for your brand if you occasionally contact your subscribers/followers with seasonal sales because you will earn more attention from them. You should be mindful that marketers recommend offering additional content and value instead of marketing to them.

> Print-On-Demand for artists