Print-on-Demand Mistakes That You Probably Do

The glamorous world of print-on-demand. The passive income dream, mojitos on a beach while your t-shirt empire runs itself.

But this is just a dream. Because now, you’re staring at your dashboard, wondering why your total sales this month amount to a whopping zero.

Let’s be honest… you’re probably making some classic mistakes.

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MISTAKE #1
Spreading Yourself Too Thin Like Bad Peanut Butter

You got excited and signed up for every print-on-demand platform known to mankind.

Redbubble, Teespring, Society6, Zazzle, Merch by Amazon… the list goes on.

You figured, "If I’m everywhere, I’ll sell more!"

I was doing this too.

Then I learned, that’s not how it works.

It is better to focus on making great designs and optimizing them for one or two platforms.

Don’t be a proud owner of ten half-baked stores with no traffic. That’s like trying to learn ten languages at once and ending up fluent in none.

Pick one or two platforms and actually master them. Otherwise, you’ll just be another lost soul drowning in an ocean of mediocrity.

MISTAKE #2
Stealing Copyrighted Stuff Like a Pirate

Ah yes, nothing screams "bad decisions" like slapping Batman’s face on a t-shirt and wondering why your store got nuked overnight.

You think, "But people love Spider-Man! Surely they’ll buy my design?" Yes, and Marvel’s legal team would love to send you a cease-and-desist letter too.

Just because Etsy is full of illegal designs doesn’t mean you should join the ranks of the doomed.

Trademark laws exist, and big companies do not play around. If you didn’t create it, don’t sell it. Go make original designs.

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MISTAKE #3
Using Tags Like a Confused Caveman

So you upload a design and put in the following tags:

"Funny Shirt, Gift, Cool Design, Trendy, T-shirt."

Wow. So creative.

I’m sure your listing will pop right up between five million other generic shirts.

Tags matter.

They help people find your stuff. Instead of vague nonsense, try specific keywords like "Funny Plumber Shirt" or "Sarcastic Coffee Lover Gift." The more targeted your tags are, the better your chances of appearing in searches that actually convert into sales.

Think of it this way. If you were lost in a massive shopping mall, would you rather someone tell you, "Find the store somewhere inside," or give you exact directions to it?

Yeah, be the person giving exact directions.

MISTAKE #4
Thinking Your Designs Are Amazing When They’re Actually Awful

Let’s be honest. Your "hilarious" cat meme shirt isn’t as funny as you think. And that random quote in Times New Roman on a plain white background? 🤪.

Nobody is buying because your designs suck. It’s not the algorithm. It’s not the platform. It’s you.

Successful print-on-demand sellers study what works. They don’t just slap together a pixelated mess and pray for sales. If your "Best Grandpa Ever" shirt looks like it was designed in Microsoft Paint, maybe it’s time to improve.

Take a design course or at least use Canva properly. Otherwise, your only buyer will be your mom, and even she’ll ask for a refund.

Print-on-demand isn’t hard.

But you won’t get rich overnight.

But if you stop making these boneheaded mistakes, you might actually start selling something.

Have a wonderful day,

Miroslav from The Design Nexus

TOOLS YOU SHOULD TRY

Even if you sell products other than mugs or t-shirts, it doesn't mean it will cost you more.

There are tools that can help you with the tasks, and most of them have free versions.

• Research: Alura

• Graphic Designs: Creative Fabrica

• Design Editing: Canva, Kittl

• Vectorizing: Vectorizer AI

• POD Fulfillment: Printful, Printify

Disclaimer: Within the article, you will find affiliate links. If you decide to purchase through these links, I want to sincerely assure you that I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you.