• You invested time and energy into mastering a new aesthetic or design style so that your catalog doesn’t appear to have been designed by the same artist with the same general style?
  • You researched apparel-centric ecommerce brands or niche-focused online retailers to study and learn about expert branding, marketing, and outreach to targeted niche audiences?
  • You went in a dramatic new design, research, listing, or marketing direction to really shake up your POD business and attract new audiences?
  • You contacted a social media influencer or a popular account holder focused on a specific niche to form a partnership or collaboration?
  • You skipped the latest YouTube video talking about current best-selling tshirt niches and, instead, watched or read an interview with a successful graphic designer, apparel marketer or fashion label executive to learn about building a business or design catalog?
  • You researched which holidays, events, trends and other occasions are sparking consumer interest in global POD markets to which you have access?
  • You made a gift / special occasion design (for birthdays, holidays, celebrations, etc.) that is completely unlike any design that’s currently available for a clearly defined target audience (after all, these keep selling even in rough economies)?
  • You conducted product-specific research (for totes, PopSockets, coffee mugs, etc.) instead of just slapping a design made for tshirts onto other available POD products?
  • You focused on a small number of fresh new designs that are built and listed to compete instead of wasting thoughts and energy on tier-ups and slots filled?
  • You took a deep dive into a niche to figure out how to better compete on multiple fronts not just modify or improve upon niche approaches that are already selling?
  • You considered a broad product or catalog marketing strategy beyond just finding good keywords for your listings?

If you haven’t done some or all of these things lately (or ever), it’s not too late. In fact, we are entering a new era in POD that will see the biggest and strongest sellers taking a more comprehensive, long-term, and big-picture approach to building businesses and brands. The future of POD in 2023 is very bright, but it will be brightest for those who direct the light of their focus on multiple aspects of growing their business in an increasingly competitive and demanding environment.