The Research + Design Process I Used to Make 100,000 POD Sales

Summary

In this video, the creator shares their organic process for designing print-on-demand products, focusing on the niche of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. They utilize Podley's research tool to identify trending products and leverage Amazon's new pink merchandise colors. The creator emphasizes the importance of incorporating best sellers rank (BSR) and relevant text into designs for SEO purposes, demonstrating how to create efficient and appealing designs using templates and ready-made graphics from Creative Fabrica.

Takeaways

• 🎨 **Organic Design Process**: The video emphasizes an organic approach to design, where the creator sits down to research and create without a strict plan.
• 🔍 **Research Tool Utilization**: The creator uses a research tool, Podley, to identify trending niches and products that are currently selling well on Amazon.
• 📅 **Calendar Integration**: The script mentions using a calendar feature to identify upcoming niches, like Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
• 💖 **Color Association**: The video highlights the importance of using the predominant color (pink) for Breast Cancer Awareness Month to align with customer expectations.
• 🔑 **BSR Importance**: Best Sellers Rank (BSR) is identified as a key metric to gauge product performance on Amazon, with lower BSR numbers indicating better sales.
• 📝 **Note-Taking**: The creator suggests writing down potential design ideas from research to use as inspiration for creating designs.
• 🔑 **SEO in Titles**: Including key phrases from the research in product titles is emphasized for better search engine optimization on Amazon.
• 🚫 **Avoiding Overly Textual Designs**: The creator advises against designs with too much text, as they can be difficult to read and less appealing.
• 🛠️ **Template Efficiency**: Using templates is recommended for creating efficient designs without spending excessive time on each one.
• 🎨 **Design Customization**: The video demonstrates how to customize a template with researched text and graphics to create themed designs.
• 📈 **Optimizing for Colors**: The creator shows how to adjust designs to match new product colors, like the new pinks introduced by Amazon Merch, to maximize sales potential.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The main focus of the video is to demonstrate the process of creating designs for print-on-demand products, specifically targeting the niche of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

What research tool does the speaker use in the video?

The speaker uses Podley as the research tool to identify trending products and niches on Amazon.

Why does the speaker choose Breast Cancer Awareness Month for the video?

The speaker chooses Breast Cancer Awareness Month because it is a significant niche in October, and Amazon Merch has introduced new pink product colors, indicating a potential opportunity for sales.

What does BSR stand for and why is it important?

BSR stands for Best Sellers Rank, and it is important because it indicates how well a product is selling relative to other products in its category on Amazon.

How does the speaker suggest using the text from product titles in design?

The speaker suggests using the text from product titles in the design because it helps with search engine optimization (SEO) on Amazon, making the product more discoverable to customers searching for those terms.

What is the significance of the pink color in the context of the video?

The pink color is significant as it is the predominant color associated with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the speaker plans to use it in designs to capitalize on the niche.

What is the role of效率 in the speaker's design process?

Efficiency plays a crucial role in the speaker's design process as they aim to create quality designs without spending too much time on them, using templates and streamlined workflows.

Why does the speaker recommend including the year in the design title?

The speaker recommends including the year in the design title to help with search engine optimization, as it separates the design from previous years' designs that may not be indexed for the current year.

What is the significance of the template the speaker uses in the design process?

The template is significant because it represents efficiency and allows the speaker to quickly plug in various text from their research to create multiple versions of designs for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

How does the speaker plan to optimize the designs for different product colors?

The speaker plans to optimize the designs for different product colors by creating versions of the design that match the background color of the product, such as pink, black, and white.

What is the final recommendation the speaker gives regarding the size of the design before exporting?

The speaker recommends making the design bigger before exporting to ensure it is bold, easy to read, and stands out in search results on Amazon Merch.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Organic Design Process for October Niches

The speaker discusses their preferred method of creating videos where they spontaneously research and design for popular October niches. They emphasize the importance of using a research tool like Podley to identify trending products that people are actively buying. The speaker shares their personal approach to design, which has led to over 100,000 print on demand sales. They guide the audience through using Podley's research tool, starting with a calendar feature to identify upcoming niches like Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, which is predominantly associated with the color pink. The speaker suggests leveraging new product colors introduced by Amazon Merch to capitalize on this niche.

05:01

📈 Deep Dive into Product Research and BSR

The speaker delves into the process of product research using Podley's massive product database. They explain the significance of the Best Sellers Rank (BSR), which indicates how well a product is selling compared to others in its category. A lower BSR suggests more frequent sales. The speaker advises using BSR to prioritize which products to design for, as it reflects customer interest. They demonstrate how to use Podley to sort products by BSR and select potential design ideas by noting down text that appears in successful product listings. The speaker also stresses the importance of including this text in the design titles to align with customer searches and increase the visibility of the designs on Amazon.

10:01

🚀 Maximizing Efficiency in Design Creation

The speaker outlines their approach to efficient design creation, emphasizing the use of templates to save time. They discuss selecting text ideas from research and incorporating them into designs, focusing on simplicity and impact. The speaker also touches on the importance of search engine optimization (SEO), suggesting the inclusion of key phrases in design titles to enhance discoverability. They demonstrate how to adapt designs for different color backgrounds, such as pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, using tools like Photoshop. The speaker shares tips on creating versions of designs optimized for specific colors and discusses strategies for uploading these to Amazon Merch to maximize sales potential.

15:02

🌟 Finalizing Designs and SEO Strategies

The speaker concludes the video script by discussing the final steps in their design process, including making designs bold and easy to read for better visibility in search results. They mention the use of specific fonts like 'Cherish Moment' for niche relevance and the importance of creating compelling titles that include SEO-optimized keywords. The speaker advises on the practicality of design elements, such as not overcrowding the design with too much text, and suggests ways to make the designs more appealing. They wrap up by encouraging viewers to like and comment if they found the video helpful and to subscribe for more content. The speaker also promotes resources like Podley and Creative Fabrica, and reiterates the effectiveness of their design approach.

Keywords

💡Organically

In the context of the video, 'organically' refers to the process of creating content or designs in a natural, unforced manner. The creator emphasizes that the video is barely planned or scripted, implying a spontaneous and intuitive approach to researching and designing products. This approach is meant to resonate with viewers who appreciate authenticity and creativity that feels less manufactured.

💡Print on Demand

Print on Demand (POD) is a business model where products are only printed when a customer orders them, as opposed to being produced in advance. The video creator mentions having made over a 100,000 print on demand sales, indicating success in this niche. This model is central to the video's theme, as it discusses strategies for creating designs that can be sold via POD platforms.

💡Research Tool

A 'research tool' in this video refers to software or platforms used to analyze market trends and consumer behavior to identify profitable niches. The creator uses Podly for research, emphasizing the importance of selling products that people are actively buying. The tool helps in identifying niches like Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is a central theme of the video.

💡BSR

BSR stands for 'Best Sellers Rank', a metric provided by Amazon that indicates how well a product is selling relative to others in the same category. The video mentions BSR as a crucial data point for sellers, with lower numbers indicating better sales. It's used to gauge the popularity and marketability of products, which is vital for the video's focus on effective design creation for sales.

💡Niche

A 'niche' in marketing refers to a specific segment of the market that has particular needs or interests. The video discusses identifying and targeting niches, such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to create relevant designs. The term is used to illustrate the strategy of focusing on specific, potentially lucrative market segments.

💡SEO

SEO stands for 'Search Engine Optimization', which involves optimizing elements of a product listing to rank higher in search results. The video creator advises including relevant text in product titles for SEO purposes, such as 'in October we wear pink', to increase visibility and sales on Amazon. This keyword is integral to the video's message on enhancing product discoverability.

💡Templates

In the video, 'templates' refer to pre-designed layouts or frameworks used to create new designs efficiently. The creator advocates for using templates to streamline the design process, which aligns with the video's overarching theme of efficient and effective design creation for print on demand sales.

💡Amazon Merch

Amazon Merch is a service by Amazon that allows sellers to upload designs that can be printed on various merchandise. The video discusses leveraging new product colors introduced by Amazon Merch, like new pink shades, to capitalize on the Breast Cancer Awareness Month niche. This service is central to the video's practical application of design strategies.

💡Design Optimization

Design optimization involves tailoring designs to maximize their appeal and sales potential. The video creator discusses optimizing designs for specific colors and backgrounds, like using a pink background for Breast Cancer Awareness designs. This concept is key to the video's focus on creating designs that resonate with consumers and increase sales.

💡Transparency in PNG

Transparency in PNG refers to saving images in a format that supports transparency, which is crucial for designs that need to be superimposed on various product colors without a visible background. The video mentions exporting designs as transparent PNGs for use on Amazon Merch, illustrating the technical aspects of preparing designs for print on demand.

💡Search Bar

The 'search bar' in the context of the video refers to the Amazon search bar where customers type in keywords to find products. The creator emphasizes the importance of including these keywords in product titles and designs to align with customer searches, thereby increasing the likelihood of sales. This concept ties into the video's broader discussion on SEO and customer behavior.

Highlights

The video focuses on creating designs for October's biggest niches organically.

The presenter has made over 100,000 print on demand sales and shares their personal approach.

Research is done using Podley, a tool that prioritizes Amazon for niche discovery.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October is identified as a significant niche to target.

Amazon Merch's new product colors, especially pinks, are seen as an opportunity for sales.

The presenter emphasizes the importance of the Best Sellers Rank (BSR) in product research.

Podley's database is used for deep dives into specific niches for product research.

The presenter advises writing down potential design ideas from research for later use.

Text from designs should be included in product titles for SEO purposes.

The presenter skips designs with too much text, aiming for efficiency in design creation.

Templates are used to maximize efficiency in design creation.

The presenter demonstrates how to use a graphic and font from Creative Fabrica for designs.

The use of the color pink in designs is optimized for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Designs are created with simplicity in mind to increase conversion rates.

The presenter shows how to create different color versions of a design for Amazon Merch.

The importance of search engine optimization (SEO) in titles and design text is discussed.

The presenter advises making bold, easy-to-read designs that stand out in search results.

The video concludes with a reminder to subscribe and check out the mentioned tools and resources.

Transcripts

today's one of my favorite types of

videos to make for you guys because it's

barely planned barely scripted I just

want to sit down and organically

research and create designs for one of

the biggest niches of October so let's

get right to

it this process I'll be showing you is

my personal approach there's infinite

ways to go about this but I have made

over a 100,000 print on demand sales and

I can tell you this works at least it

works for me so the first thing we're

going to be doing is jumping into our

research tool because it's so much

easier to make sales if you're selling

things people are actively buying we're

going to use podley for this video I've

always prioritized researching on Amazon

podley does a great job of doing that

I'm going to click log in and it should

take me here to the research tool by the

way this is linked in the description if

you want to follow along and then on the

leftand side let's assume we don't know

what niches are coming up I'm just going

to click calendar okay and I'll zoom in

a little bit so we can see the September

niches why don't we look out at least to

October and now we've got a ton of

niches some are of course bigger than

others I was thinking how about breast

cancer awareness month if you guys saw

my video from last week Amazon merch

dropped new product colors and they've

got a few new pinks they've got like two

new Pink t-shirts and a new pink in the

hoodie which to me means hey opportunity

if you didn't know Breast Cancer

Awareness Month in October the pre

predominant color is pink so I think we

can maybe take advantage of the new

colors to make some sales there so we're

going to go now to product research and

then click merch database I might zoom

out just a little bit there we go and

what I'm going to do now is I'm going to

type in breast cancer

awareness podley has a massive product

database okay if you're wondering why

I'm using them because I don't know any

tool that has a bigger product database

so when we're doing our deep dives into

a specific Niche and you should do this

for multiple niches I'm just showing you

breast cancer awareness um but it really

pays to have access to all of the sub

niches right parent Niche breast cancer

awareness sub Niche everything that

we're going to look at in this video so

I'm going to show you exactly how I do

it uh really what I do is I kind of just

like eyeball them you can see pay

attention to this metric right here it's

called BSR stands for best sellers rank

it's the most valuable data point Amazon

gives us uh gives to the sellers cuz

it's an indication of how well each

product is selling relative to other

products in that category a BSR of let's

say around 50,000 by my estimates is

probably making daily sales if it's at

100,000 it might be making a sale every

other day it's updated in real time and

no two products can have the same BSR at

any given time right like there's only

one number one bestseller right and it

just kind of counts up from there uh if

a product has no BSR that means it's

never sold okay so I just want to get

that out the way so we're all on the

same page um what podley does though

they will put all of the products in

order order by BSR I forgot to mention

that if you go to the calendar and we go

back to October you can click breast

cancer awareness it'll take you to

Amazon and show you a bunch of products

what it won't do is order them by BSR so

it's not as useful I want to know like

how well are these products selling so

podley is actually doing that for us so

next I'm actually going to write some of

these down now I did say I was going to

do some design for you as well and this

is truly how I operate right I've been

doing this for closer to eight years now

now than seven okay so it's been a long

time like I said over 100,000 sales no

need to reinvent the wheel this is what

works for me and hey you guys get to see

it right now on YouTube for free so do

me a favor hit that like button if

you're liking what you've seen so far so

the first one says in October we wear

pink I'm probably not going to open all

of these up to Amazon but I wanted to

show you I've got notepad up uh right

here and I like to just write them down

okay so I might say like breast cancer

awareness and then just do like this

okay so in October we wear pink and then

I might put like a parenthesis these are

just notes to myself and I'll say fists

you know what I mean so I at least know

like the graphic that was used was fists

doesn't mean I'm going to use a fist

graphic just means hey note to myself

but the real to me value is the text in

October we wear

pink write this down or just remember it

if you put text in a

design then you should put it in your

title okay and when you do that because

we're using podley we already know that

people are actively buying these shirts

that implies people are typing it into

Amazon search bar up here okay and if

they're typing in October we wear pink

into the search bar and then you've got

it in your title so Amazon knows that's

what you're selling and it's in your

design so the person who searched it

actually wants to buy it it's like the

trifecta right they searched it you you

told Amazon that's what you're selling

so Amazon shows it to the customer then

the customer sees your design they see

the text in it and hopefully they buy it

I mean it's it's not like a guaranteed

thing but it helps really simplify what

we're aiming to do so in October we wear

pink is actually the first it's the

second uh the third is like a pink

ribbon uh I'll just put it in

parentheses again pink ribbon with

flower uh next one in October we wear

pink plus bless breast cancer awareness

next one uh I think it's from like

juneth in Black History Month I

recognized it it says they whispered to

her you can't withstand the storm she

whispered back I am the storm so just

personal preference like that's a lot of

text and the way I typically do my

designs or my Approach that I wanted to

share in this video it's too much text

so I'm going to skip that one this says

save second base so that makes sense

save second base and I'll put

baseball uh save the bees or save the

boo

bees save the boo bees

bees I wear pink for

myself my scars tell a story they are a

reminder of the time when life tried to

break me but failed breast cancer

awareness so again it's kind of long but

I wear pink for

myself and then you know this sometimes

you can use your discretion guys like we

don't need to like carbon copy these we

shouldn't carbon copy these uh I'll show

you again how I'll go about designing by

the way if you've been subscribed to me

for any amount of time or you have a

feel for my personality like I really

maximize efficiency efficiency so when

you when you see the design aspect

hopefully you see why I'm kind of

talking you through how I look at the

research aspect because I want to tailor

it to me being able to create quality

designs without spending too much time

on them at the same time so what I'm

saying is I wear pink for myself and

then I may like add this where I say

something like breast cancer survivor

you know what I mean and I don't know if

I'll add that to the designer or at

least probably the SEO though right the

search engine

optimization uh next one is we wear pink

in October we wear pink okay so I'm

looking at the ghost now right here it

says in October we wear pink breast

cancer awareness so we've seen that but

maybe I'll go up here and just say

ghosts another dancing skeletons with

pink ribbons I don't know how I feel

about that one we fight together that's

a good one We Fight Together uh tackle

breast cancer

this is how I would really do it guys I

won't go through all of these but I did

just want to show you

um an example of how I would do it so

most people never meet their Heroes I

wear pink for my mom so that's not a bad

one either just a lot of text I don't

know if I'd be able to jam that in the

way that I normally like to do I mean I

guess I could yeah most people never

meet their Heroes sorry if you can hear

my keyboard by the way uh I was raised

by mine I was raised by

mine and then and breast cancer

awareness it might take me too long to

make that design I don't want this video

to go too long support Squad just cure

it so something like just cure it guys

with the Nike like the fake Nike logo I

would not upload that myself so I'm not

going to do it in this video uh cheer

for the Cure there's a lot of ones man

uh cheerleading cheerleader uh support

Squad that's always a big one I feel

like uh also just for the sake of the

video I'm not going to trademark search

these but that would definitely be a

part of the process before you start

designing you would run this list

through the USPTO okay so don't skip

that step uh cool boys wear pink that's

the last one how about the cool boys

wear pink all right in October we wear

pink pink out yeah okay good next step

we need to create some designs now I

have this cued up as like a design

template if you've heard me say this

before I love using templates templates

to me represent efficiency okay and all

you you can see right now is a graphic

but when I say template I've got some

curved text above some flat text

below now I'm just going to plug in the

various you know text from my research

and make my own versions of these breast

cancer awareness themed designs okay um

if you're wondering where I got the

graphic I got it from creative Fabrica

uh they have many breast cancer

awareness print on demand ready Graphics

uh I'll link to creative Fabrica in case

you're not already using them but you

can Jo for as low as like $4 a month uh

they also have fonts so if you're

wondering where I got this font it is

called uh cherish moment it's one that

I've used a lot in the past I literally

have a list of my favorite fonts it's

not a long list because it doesn't need

to be long like there's no bonus points

for using a bunch of different fonts if

you find ones that you like and that

work just use them so anyways this is

one that I've used many times called

cherish moment okay together I use that

font and that graphic and I've got a

nice little template here to make some

breast cancer awareness designs the last

thing I did not want to forget to show

you is that I would also go to Amazon

merch and I want to grab this pink color

and use it as a

background okay if I want to optimize

designs for this color then I do in fact

want to add it as a background here in

Photoshop uh I've been using Photoshop

for over 20 years so a lot of times I do

like to just jump in here because I'm

very comfortable as you would expect

after 20 years

um so I can make now a version of this

design for pink if I need to make any

changes to optimize it for pink and then

I can make one for black and if I wanted

to I could also make one for white so

what I might actually do is use the

little like eye dropper tool here and

just show you guys how I would go about

doing this I would do a blending option

color overlay and then I would select

that color pink to match it to The

Graphic copy the layer style and that

way I'll be able to paste the layer

Style just like that you guys see what

I'm doing here because on Amazon merch

if you're in the higher tiers where you

can afford to spend some of your upload

slots doing this I would make a white

only version of this design where the

text is pink then I can just easily uh

select both text clear the layer style

okay wherever that's hiding from me

right there and then make an optimized

version for let's just say pink and

black we'll combine those in the same

okay so I'm walking you through this is

exactly how I would actually do it

that's why I'm not wasting these words

this is what I would actually tell you

if we were on like a one-on-one call or

something like that right okay so in

October we wear pink so I might make one

version by the way that just says breast

cancer awareness because I feel like

that's loow hanging fruit and I would

literally just tag it as like breast

cancer awareness shirt breast cancer

awareness 2024 right um You might be

like but why what's the 2024 element and

sometimes it's just a way of like

separating yourself a little bit in

terms of search engine optimization so

you're not competing with all the

previous designs because they're not

going to be indexed on 2024 for okay so

the next obvious one is in October we

wear pink so I'd probably say in

October and then down here we wear pink

how hard was that guys boom Another

design is done it was that simple and as

I mentioned I would then go paste the

layer style okay this is how I'd

actually do it and then I've got my

white version okay so again by the way

when I download them I'm turning off the

background saving as a transparent PNG

as you would expect I'll actually do

that and show you really quickly so you

believe me and see how this actually

looks when it's done so one second so

you guys can see here we've got the

White Version uploaded only to the white

T-shirt I recommend that just so that it

doesn't mix in other colors uh keep it

simple like that way also less choice

for the customer so hopefully that

increases the conversion rate uh and

then I'll jump over here make one more

listing okay and let's just select the

pink real quick and then I will upload

the other version that I said I was

going to export okay and it is optimized

for pretty much I would say all of the

you know nonwhite colors so it's my

choice whether or not to only make it

available in like the pink Heather or

the red Heather which looks pretty pink

to me um I did say that you know these

are new colors so I'm thinking outside

the box and I do want to leverage that

so if I'm being completely honest with

you I would in fact turn off all the

other colors and only upload it to Pink

Heather and then I might even I'm in a

really high tier in Amazon merch I'd

probably upload it to Black with all the

other colors selected minus white as

well and just to illustrate this cuz I

did mention it earlier there's a new

pink color in the um hoodie so I would

also go ahead and uh be utilizing this

as well uh hopefully to my advantage

okay so something like this and if

anybody's wondering I do have access to

tumblers so I could go ahead and make

the uh Tumblr but the one thing is I'd

have to duplicate the design in you know

Photoshop or whatever I'm using

because it is uh where's the preview

where did the preview go right there so

you see now we've got it in October we

wear pink Tumblr as well but let's get

back to the design aspect I did mention

I would show you guys some of the

designs or my design approach I know the

video is getting kind of lengthy though

so maybe we just do a few um in October

we wear pink we did that oh and then it

says plus breast cancer awareness member

so now what I can do is duplicate this

bottom layer okay and then

underneath maybe we well we could breast

cancer awareness and then we're going to

have to downsize that text

okay by the way I do recommend like

trying to keep your like the I I don't

know if aspect ratio is the T the exact

way of phrasing it but you know the text

right here was 400 point so the text

underneath it I did 200 so it's like a

direct 50% so the ratio um doesn't look

off you know what I mean it's not like a

random smaller piece of text it's like

literally 50% and it just so happened to

line up really nicely right there as

well so I made that note to myself so I

would follow my notes in October we wear

pink in October we wear pink plus breast

cancer awareness um the next one said

like save second base I could go find

like a baseball graphic to integrate or

I could honestly just you know utilize

that as well I mean I get the reference

right from w kids uh save the boob bees

that one makes sense with bees uh I wear

pink for myself so something like I wear

pink and then

underneath for myself

breast cancer survivor this is where

it's kind of like use your

discretion about the bottom part like it

doesn't need to say breast cancer

survivor it could just say I wear pink

for myself and I think that probably

makes more sense but I

would include breast cancer survivor in

my SEO my search engine optimization I

always really prioritize like really

good titles that have the main you know

phrases that I think someone's typing

into the search bar that's going to buy

my product the last thing I would say is

like if I'm actually selling this shirt

right here this design that we're

looking at I'm going to make the design

bigger before I would export it because

I like to make big bold easy to read

designs that really pop in search

results and on Amazon merch since we

don't really get to play around with

them too much once the Design's uploaded

um that is something I recommend as well

anybody that's been subscribed for a

while has heard me say that though so

might as well say it again right thanks

for checking out this video guys if you

found it helpful please let me know in

the comments also hit that like button

let the YouTube algorithm know subscribe

if you're not already check out podley

and creative Fabrica both are going to

be linked at the top of the description

the font that I was using was called

cherish moment do recommend writing that

one down for specific niches I thought

it was fitting for this one anyways

thanks again for watching and I'll see

you soon with another new video