How I Create and Sell Designs on Redbubble and other print on demand platforms—And How You Can Too!
As a creator who loves sharing my designs with the world, I’ve developed a method for selling on platforms like Redbubble, teepublic, teespring, and other print on demand platforms, that’s not only effective but also super enjoyable. Whether you’re looking for a new creative outlet or a way to make some extra income, this might just inspire you to dive in! Here’s my step-by-step process:
1. The Magic of AI Art
If you think, that you have no talent to draw something or edit your pictures into designs, then you can use alternative ways for creating something nice.
When I have no inspiration, then I start by generating beautiful designs with the help of AI. Use any platform that you like, nightcafe, leonardo, bing ai or any AI art apps that suits you.
The key to getting great results lies in crafting the perfect prompt. If you’re new to this, don’t worry—there are prompt-sharing groups on Facebook where you can find inspiration. Once you have a starting point, tweak the prompt to match your vision. Example: you want to create a cat design, but you find a great prompt that shows people dancing in a beautiful detailed background. You can change then the world people to cat, the verb dancing to sit and so. This step is so much fun and feels like unlocking endless creativity!
2. Taking great photos for your design
Also, as I mentioned above, you can use your own designs and photographs. Always try to catch unique things, not beautiful things. There are plenty of beautiful but average beaches pictured already, this niche is oversaturated and honestly, lot of people getting bored with it, but a nice unique shell or a rusty key or fishing nest on said beach is much more interesting and eye-catching. Try to be unique! This is the key.
3. Editing for Perfection
While AI gives a great foundation, it’s not always perfect, let`s be honest: AI can be weird. (and the same is true for photos). So, I take the time to edit the designs, ensuring there are no weird or anatomically incorrect details. This is a very important step because most likely, nobody will pay for your cat design if it has 5 legs, right? This step requires a bit of knowledge about digital tools, but don’t let that intimidate you—there are plenty of resources online to help you learn! You can use photoshop, Canva, Pixlr or whatever tool is available in your country and with your budget. Even with the simplest apps you can get a great result with a bit of practising so no worries, try, try, try, until you find the right tool for yourself and you master the editing to a high standard. I also often add or remove elements to fit my style, like sprinkling in more flowers or refining details to match my aesthetic. You need a high resolution result, again, adobe, Canva and lot of platforms can help with that too.
If you want to create a design with your own photos, make sure, that you edit your photo, delete the litter on your picture, if possible, no people especially no children on it and other basic things. You can also play with filters, some picture are way better in black and white then in colours.
You also can use apps that can make great cartoons from your pics and then upload this to print on demand platforms.
4. Uploading to the choosen platform
Once the designs are polished, you have to upload them to the platform, Redbubble, teespring or whatever registration you made. Always check the results! Here, I fine-tune the placement to make sure the artwork looks fantastic on all the items I want to sell—from mugs to t-shirts to stickers. It’s a satisfying process to see your designs come to life on various products. When it’s uploaded, take the time and open you ready design on said platform and edit them again if you see something off, like if your design is not in the middle of the t-shirt and other disappointing faults.
5. Spreading the Word
After everything is set up, you are still not ready, the hard work is about to start. I turn to social media. I share my new creations with my followers to let them know about my latest designs. My account that I use for my print on demand has 10.000 followers and honestly, if you want to sell print on demand, you need a lot of followers for that.
When I started as social media manager, my first client was a sport massage therapist and their first client from Instagram came when said account had only around 150 followers, because all their followers were niche specific followers. With print on demand, this limited amount of followers won’t work, you need thousands of followers to succeed. So work on your social media every single day, if you want sells from it.
Pinterest is also great as this platform allows you to share links. Instagram stories are the same. You also can share on Tumblr, X former twitter, Facebook. All these platforms let you share links.
This step (sharing on social media) is all about connecting with your community and showing them the fruits of your creativity! And to make money! Because you want to make money, right?
This process is easy, fun, and relaxing for me and it will be fun for you as well. But, it’s a long journey, it will take time to earn money. Especially as some of the platforms has a threshold before sending you your first earned pounds. Meaning, they wont send you 30 pennies, they will waiting
So be patient, design and post regularly, make eye catching designs, engage with your audience, build followers and repeat! Usually, most creators need to use more than one platform to earn a living from print on demands.
With time, it allows you to do what you love most—creating new things—while also sharing them with others and earning extra along the way. And the best part? You can start with nothing! All it takes is some creativity, a willingness to learn, and a sprinkle of passion.
So, if you’ve ever thought about diving into the world of online design and print on demand sales, I say go for it! The possibilities are endless, and who knows—you might just discover a new favourite hobby or side hustle.
My social media shop 