How to Find Your Print-on-Demand Niche
In a business environment where 22.5% of small businesses fail in the first year, what does it take to start and run a profitable print-on-demand (POD) company?
One of the most important factors is whether you find the right market niche. Getting it right from the start will help you forge a lucrative business model.
So, how does one go around finding the right print-on-demand niche? We’re glad you asked! Read on to find out.
Key takeaways
To find your ideal print-on-demand niche…
- Start with one of your own interests, or choose an established cultural trend;
- Create a profile of your core customer;
- Identify your niche audience’s needs, wants, and pain points;
- Create a product that offers a unique solution;
- Consider adding evergreen products to your print-on-demand niche to exploit low-risk opportunities.
What is a niche?
In marketing, a niche is a market segment catering to consumers who share a core interest (and often certain personal characteristics). If your business targets video game players, it operates within a broad market sector, but if it targets video game players who like art, it caters to a niche market. If it targets GTA San Andreas video game players who like art, it will occupy a micro-niche. The more specialized the niche market you’re targeting is, the more relevant your product needs to be to those specific consumers.
Trust as a key to print-on-demand niche market sales
Any consumer prefers to buy from a seller they know and trust. That includes the buyers in your market niche. You need to establish expertise and know your product inside out to gain their trust. For example, if you want to sell wall art referencing an animated TV show, you must watch it. Then you’ll need to learn everything about the custom products that will appeal to the show’s audience.
Why do niches fuel your success?
Niche marketing focuses on a specific audience who are the most likely to buy what you’re offering. Instead of trying to sell to everybody, focusing on a narrower niche lets you pick lower-hanging fruit.
There’s no guarantee that a user searching a general topic online intends to make a purchase. If somebody types “custom cartoon portraits” into Google, they may simply be looking for information or seeking inspiration. A user googling “custom cartoon portraits San Andreas style” is more likely to have buying intent – which you, as a seller, can exploit.
The advantages of targeting a niche market as opposed to a broader one include:
- Low competition;
- Products easier to market;
- Clearer audience feedback;
- Higher conversion rates.
The low competition rates associated with a print-on-demand niche audience make for cheaper marketing campaigns. And you can get honest feedback from your buyer community, helping you keep your products aligned with their priorities.
Two ways to find your print-on-demand niche
So, as a print-on-demand entrepreneur, how can you find your niche in the market? The easiest way is to focus on something you’re passionate about yourself. Provided that marketing opportunities are associated with your area of interest (however modest), this approach saves you time on market research.
Alternatively, you could target any popular cultural phenomenon and find a new way to monetize the public’s interest in it. Of course, there’ll be significant competition for sales if your marketing aim is too broad, but if you find an untapped niche, you can sidestep the competition and win sales.
Start with your own interests
People who share a hobby tend to form a kind of community. Harry Potter enthusiasts, for example, will trade opinions in chat groups and forums and attend meet-ups and special events. And being an active member of one of these communities is a great advantage for any marketer. You’re already known and trusted so that you can collect accurate data from your pals in a relaxed environment. And your up-to-date specialized knowledge will help you choose an appealing product range.
Start with an established cultural trend
No need to worry if you’re not part of any niche community. You can start observing the market by simply joining a forum and following the discussions. Think about what kind of solution you can offer the other members—and as you learn more, you can narrow your focus to find an underserved niche.
Harry Potter is a global cultural juggernaut, making it so profitable that any fresh approach to selling tie-in merchandise, no matter how specialized, can make serious money. ZauberMerch, for example, makes custom print items (canvas prints, mugs, etc) featuring Potter fans depicted as wizards.
Tip: If you think of a niche product and find out it already exists, don’t abandon the idea immediately. Think about whether you can improve on what’s currently offered or adapt the concept somewhat and provide a new solution.
What are the main steps towards finding your niche?
Finding your niche demands a methodical approach. Following the steps below will help you move your marketing project forward—and if the results aren’t what you hoped for, you can return to the previous step, see what could be done better, and make changes.
1. Brainstorm
Your brainstorming session should start by considering a broad market sector and then narrowing it down, getting more precise as you go. For example, you could start with animated TV shows in general, then look at specific series:
The key here is inspiration, so don’t be afraid to follow trains of thought that seem a bit left of the field. You can wait until the research stage before conducting more rigorous tests of whether your ideas are viable.
2. Research
Now that you have a couple of ideas, it’s time to see how lucrative they could be. After the brainstorming session above, let’s assume you’ve focused on The Simpsons. Here’s a list of questions you may want to consider regarding potential buyers in your market niche:
- What merchandise do they buy?
- Where do they shop for merchandise?
- Would they purchase custom prints in a similar design style?
You can look up sales statistics or search volume metrics to understand the market demand. How many people have bought similar products, or how many potential buyers have searched for custom merchandise? The search term “the Simpsons” runs up a staggering 368,000 monthly searches in the US alone, so you can be sure that far more specialized searches will still yield impressive numbers.
3. Come up with a product idea
A product or service must meet a specific demand or offer a particular solution. For instance, a custom portrait in the style of a Simpsons character would make a great birthday present for a fan. And sure enough, the German company Cartoonwall.de provides just that service—or something very close to it. Customers can upload photo portraits of real people and see them transformed into cartoon alter egos in a digital file or physical print… one of the cartoon styles on offer is the “Yellow” option, which is strikingly similar to that famous Springfield aesthetic.
How to research current trends in your POD niche?
Niche research provides essential insights into what your target audience is looking for. Even if you are part of a niche community and think you know just what your audience wants, you should back up your instincts with research to make sure you align your POD products with market demand.
- Use polls in niche communities
Nothing beats direct communication. Talking to potential buyers in the niche community you’re targeting will help you create a product they need or tweak your offering to match their demands.
- Conduct keyword research
Researching keywords will reveal what your potential buyers are searching for online. You can do that with professional tools such as Semrush, or Ahrefs for more advanced analytics. Try to spot market gaps that your competitors haven’t noticed.
- Check Google trends
Trending topics can often yield new commercial opportunities for businesses. Some of them may apply to the products in your POD store. To keep up with popular interests, follow Google trends—it could reveal popular searches relevant to your print-on-demand niche.
How to create a customer profile for your POD niche?
Building a customer profile means defining a generalized buyer who represents your target audience. Gathering the required information may take a while, but an accurate profile will give you a reliable framework for paid advertising (PPC, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Google, and Facebook Marketplace) and customization options. It will also help you build a relationship with your print-on-demand niche and meet the needs of your audience.
You’ll want your research to answer the following questions:
- How old are they?
- What are their interests?
- What motivates them as consumers in your niche?
- What are their pain points as consumers in your niche?
- What are their core values? (sustainability, kindness, social justice)
- Where do they live? (country, city, district)
- Where will they encounter your product or service?
The customer profile you put together will help you ensure that your product descriptions and sales campaigns appeal to the right consumers.
What do you sell to your print-on-demand niche?
Simply put, what you sell should correspond to what your niche usually buys. When it comes to print-on-demand, there are a few evergreen products that tend to work well regardless of season and market sector:
- T-shirts
- Mugs
- Wall art (e.g. posters)
The key quality common to all these products is versatility. They’re everyday items that most people use and are easy to customize to target a particular niche.
Tip: If you want to sell custom prints on-demand, why not check out merchOne’s product catalog? Our API service allows our partners to create a store, upload their designs, and start making sales in no time. We’ll fulfill your customers’ orders on your behalf, giving you more time to focus on growing your business.
Summing up
Finding the right niche is invaluable if you want your POD business to be successful. By researching the priorities of your target audience, you can tailor your product offering and marketing strategies to your customer base. Meanwhile, creating a customer profile will save you time and money in the long run by eliminating guesswork and directing your resources to where they’ll bring the greatest rewards.
