Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Contents
Print on Demand Playbook: Introduction ................................................................................................... 3
Wordless Designs ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Heroic Designs ........................................................................................................................................ 13
National Pride Designs ........................................................................................................................... 19
Geometric and Minimalistic Designs ..................................................................................................... 23
Strange Designs ...................................................................................................................................... 29
Funny Designs ......................................................................................................................................... 31
Serious Designs....................................................................................................................................... 33
Faith Designs........................................................................................................................................... 35
Profession and Passion Designs ............................................................................................................. 37
Family Designs ........................................................................................................................................ 39
In Closing..................................................................................................................................................... 42
Merch Momentum Resources ................................................................................................................... 44
Disclaimer .................................................................................................................................................... 46
2
Print on Demand Playbook: Introduction
3
Opportunities to generate income with no ostensible up-
front startup costs has lured countless entrepreneurs
into the undeniably lucrative waters of POD (particularly
in recent weeks as global conditions have driven the
workforce to work-from-home opportunities).
4
coming years. The reason for failure will be due to three
specific errors and missteps I see all the time with
entrepreneurs in this space.
5
is one approach that, for me and others I've worked with
and mentored, has yielded the best results across all
print on demand platforms.
6
While there are specific strategies that work optimally
for each, there is one strategy that works best for those
who wish to monetize all available platforms. I'm
referring to a print-on-demand universal playbook of
sorts for your universal catalog (a universal catalog refers
to a collection of designs made to be uploaded on every
POD platform to which you have access or wish to sell
on). It's an approach that has driven profitable results for
me and others on all of the leading PODs in today's print
on demand market.
7
Wordless Designs
Thousands of remarkable
designs with equally remarkable
potential are ruined with the
wrong words.
9
The shared image of a
steampunk underwater
explorer holding a skeleton
mermaid is a prime example
of a graphic design that
requires no words. Created by
Adam Guballa of Tshirtfella, I
have targeted this design to
numerous audiences with diverse interests -- sci-fi,
steampunk, mermaids, horror, aquatic, skulls, and more.
Had I applied a message to this design, it would likely
have likely removed the ability of audiences to apply
their own interpretation to the design and therefore
limited the number of sales I could have made.
10
Similarly, here's another design
from my catalog that also delves
into multiple niches -- skeletons,
romance, flowers, love, and, once
again, steampunk. Various
audiences could be targeted with
this design that, while appearing
to be appropriate for Valentine's Day, is actually
evergreen in nature and can sell any time of year in the
absence of messaging that restricts its shelf-life.
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accessories (like glasses) can communicate themes better
than words do in many instances.
12
Heroic Designs
Every print-on-demand
portfolio should consist of at
least 10% of designs
dedicated to "heroes" --
professionals who hold heroic
standing in the eyes of
communities and cultures the
world over. This group includes police officers,
firefighters, military active duty and retired military
veterans, healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, etc.),
educators/teachers, correctional officers, EMTs, drivers,
grocery store workers and other positions that are
responsible for protecting, saving or improving lives.
14
sweatshirts to be worn by the spouse of a correctional
officer.
15
• The Thin White Line for emergency medical services,
including EMTs and paramedics
• The Thin Silver Line for correctional officers
• The Thin Orange Line for search and rescue personnel
• The Thin Yellow Line for security guards, truck drivers, and
loss prevention personnel
• The Thin Gold Line for dispatchers / emergency dispatchers
17
been focused on certain family members (e.g., "I Wear
Red on Fridays Until My Sister Comes Home.").
18
National Pride Designs
From patriotic
Americans, to proud
Mexican patriots,
messages that are
anchored in national or ethnic identity will never go out
of fashion.
19
First, I apply patriotism to jobs. For
instance, in the United States,
union labor jobs (carpenters,
plumbers, heavy machine
operators, etc.) are viewed as
innately patriotic positions, as
many of them support American infrastructure through
construction. I've been making American pride-related
construction worker designs since the early days of my
print-on-demand career some five years ago. They have
sold consistently on every platform where I've
experimented.
20
everything from horses
to mountains, or
crafting humorous
messages about
beloved ethnic cuisine,
expressions of national
pride take many
different forms. 10% of
your POD catalog should explore as many of them as
possible.
• American • Italian
• Mexican • Indian
• Canadian • African
• German • French
21
• Chinese • Puerto Rican
• Japanese • Polish
• Australian • Dutch
• Irish • Brazilian
• British • Ecuadorian
• Middle Eastern • Jamaican
• Swedish • Norwegian
22
Geometric and Minimalistic Designs
23
My personal favorite shape to deploy is the triangle,
typically comprised of geometric fragments and filled
with psychedelic patterns.
• Excitement • Balance
• Risk • Stability
• Danger
24
In short, triangles symbolize different things to different
people. It's a recipe for consistent and sustained sales
success for POD entrepreneurs who tap into the power
of shapes (but especially triangles) in their designs.
25
Mermaids, unicorns, and Chinese
dragons are everywhere in POD.
And while it's hard to stand out
and succeed against loads of hefty
competition, using psychedelic
and groovy patterns to fill the
silhouettes of these and other images is an effective
tactic.
26
Much like the geometric shape-centric designs and
patterns already discussed, minimalistic designs are even
simpler.
28
Strange Designs
29
"Strange" can be difficult to define and even more
difficult to design for, especially if you lack the knack for
weirdness. Of all the categories that I have most
frequently outsourced to professional graphic designers
over the years, it's the "strange" category, hands down.
30
Funny Designs
31
humor that tend to lead to the vast majority of
audiences: puns and sarcasm.
32
Serious Designs
34
Faith Designs
35
The sub-categories to consider include:
Faith and other niches: Messaging and themes that unite faith
with other matters of personal importance or enjoyment
(example: "I Need Jesus and Coffee").
Spiritual and not religious: Not all designs in this niche are
religious in nature. Secular themes of hope, optimism, positivity
and having "faith" are big winners in the faith niche.
36
Profession and Passion Designs
37
As I've often said, nothing drives profit in POD like niches
about which people are extremely passionate -- their
jobs, their hobbies, and their pastimes.
39
Last year, I shared with Merch Momentum Monday
Strategy Guide subscribers one of my oldest tactics in the
family niche, which involves scaling designs/messaging
for specific family names based on the most common last
names in the U.S.
40
There are many niches and content scenarios that could
benefit from a new crop of family designs that
incorporate this personalized touch.
41
In Closing
Every year for the better part of the last decade, the
print-on-demand industry has grown on the backs of
42
multiple platforms -- platforms that will continue to
operate smoothly and profitably during the pandemic.
Good luck, keep designing, and please reach out any time
if you have questions or need help!
43
Merch Momentum Resources
Merch Momentum Monday Strategy Guide
Published every week (4-5 issues per month), the Monday guide includes:
• Commentary and insight on evergreen POD niches and creative
opportunities
• 100+ fresh keyword/niche leads providing clues into the wide array of
tshirts and apparel that consumers are searching for and purchasing
• Focus and discussion on timely happenings or niches that sellers should
tackle. These weekly tips will span everything from little known niche
opportunities, to clever ways to make a dent in highly competitive
niches.
• Once per month, the guide comes with an exclusive bundle of niche
graphics made by Adam Guballa (no overlap with the graphics offered
with the seasonal niche drill or KDP Momentum By The Book).
• $10 per month. Cancel any time. Price NEVER goes up.
You can sign up here: https://gumroad.com/l/mIuN
44
Momentum By The Book for KDP Creators
45
Disclaimer
Utilizing Merch Momentum Strategy Guide and Keyword/Niche Leads
All information, content, and advice contained in this strategy guide is to be used
at your own risk on any POD platform you use.
Merch Momentum cannot guarantee that the design themes and suggested
niches/keywords are in all cases or applications compliant with any POD platform
policies or will never be trademarked, copyrighted, or claimed as intellectual
property by another party in the future.
While Merch Momentum makes every effort to ensure quality and compliance,
you are advised to perform your own independent research and due diligence to
ensure that all suggested designs and keywords comply with the policies and
mandates of Merch by Amazon or any POD services BEFORE you utilize the advice
and information contained in this guide to create and sell your apparel and
novelty product designs.
The commercial use of any advice contained within this publication is at your sole
risk.
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