Redbubble | How To Make Money (step by step guide) in 2022

 When it comes to passive income on Redbubble, creating content that makes money has literally never been easier.

In this article, I'm going to explain a few key points that you'll need to bear in mind to set yourself up for success, including how to create the actual designs that people will buy, how to find what there's already demand on the website, and the most important thing of all: your mindset.

Creating Designs That Sell On Redbubble

 Firstly, when it comes to making designs that sell, we are absolutely spoiled for choice at the moment with websites like PlaceIt, which has free templates that you're allowed to use commercially.

It's just a case of editing the resources provided. Vexels has a lot of free editable templates and vectors to choose from too. Also, Canva has t-shirt design templates that you can edit and use for free.

Just about everywhere you look there are services you can use to make top-quality designs without any actual design skills.

This means that you only need to come up with ideas to be making money. And there are even free resources to help you with that too, which I'll elaborate on in a minute.

You literally can't fail on Redbubble because it doesn't cost you anything to upload a design. If it doesn't sell, there's no consequence.

You haven't invested any money and you don't pay to renew the listing, it just stays there forever with the potential for someone to buy it. Allowing you to receive cash passively for years to come.

Content Creation Mindset

 So the best thing to do is start creating content. And this is where it comes down to your mindset. 

It can really hold you back and believe me, there are thousands of people who want to get into print on demand. And mindset is one of the biggest barriers whether you realize it or not. 

So just take a minute to read what I've got to say and I guarantee you, it will pay off tenfold.

Barriers To Success

There are three specific things that I've narrowed it down to.

1. Perfectionism

 Which stops people from making money more than anything else. If you're never satisfied with the designs that you create and you're highly critical of yourself, or your unrealistic expectations prevent you from even trying to upload something, you might just be a perfectionist.

Trust me, people are making money with designs that are far from masterpieces and I would include myself in that category too. So it's time to let go of perfectionism. 

I believe you should embrace the mindset of "good enough". You'll be much more motivated to create content without such strong internal pressure on yourself. And therefore, you'll be more likely to make money.

So don't spend hours or days agonizing over every little detail because you think it has to be perfect to make money. If it's good enough, time to upload and move on.

The other important thing to realize is that despite being good enough, sometimes your efforts just won’t bring about the results that you want. That's just the nature of what we do. 

It doesn't mean that you aren't cut out for print on demand if your design doesn't sell, it just means that you need to keep trying. Nobody is successful with every design that they upload.

2. Analysis Paralysis

 Analysis paralysis which is perfectionism's evil twin. Most people have good intentions, but they get stuck, either through failure to commit and follow through with an idea or spending forever researching trying to find the perfect niche without getting anything done.

The perfect niche doesn't exist. Let me repeat that, the perfect niche doesn't exist. The market is constantly changing with print on demand.

You'll be looking forever to try and find a niche that has high demand and no competition. And even if you eventually do find it, it'll be found by other people so it won't be perfect anymore.

Yes, you need to do some research to figure out what's in demand and make informed decisions. But don't get stuck in an endless cycle trying to achieve perfection. You'll learn from whatever you produce and you'll improve next time.

Focusing On The Financial Results

 So instead of thinking, that I want to earn $5,000 every month, a better goal would be, I want to come up with five new designs every week. 

It's like if you want to build a wall, you need to start with laying a single brick. You might put in a lot of effort by laying 10 bricks but you'll be disappointed because it isn't a wall yet. Just focus on laying the bricks or making the designs in this case.

Consistent effort over time will turn those bricks into a wall. And in the same way, the designs you make will turn into passive income.

Don't put so much pressure on yourself to achieve financial milestones that are completely beyond your control. Focus on what you can control, which is the design process.

Set targets around that rather than the monthly payout.

Don't compare yourself to people that have been doing print on demand for years. You aren't going to be earning thousands of dollars overnight, despite what everyone who wants you to buy their expensive courses are telling you. 

You’ll be earning thousands of dollars if you keep it and consistently upload though.

Niche Research

 When it comes to the ideas for designs, there are research tools like Merch Informer and the Redbubble Popular Tags website which will help you find what there's already a demand for. 

You can use that information to influence your decision-making and give buyers what they want. This sounds obvious but it's shocking how many people overlook it.

You need to create what buyers want rather than what you want or what you think they want.

Change Redbubble's filter from Most Relevant to Best Selling or Trending to find out what kind of style is in demand. And combine that with the Redbubble Popular Tags tool or sites like Merch Informer to do your research.

 For example, I can see this shirt is making $7,000 in profit this month. Does that mean it will always be popular? No, it's a seasonal trend because it's about to be Valentine's Day. But you can use the information you gain from your research to inform your own design process. 

You now know that there's significant demand for gaming-related Halloween Day designs as a result of using this software.

It's also fair to assume that there will likely be demand for other seasonal trends around the gaming niche. Rinse and repeat until you've found the niches that you want to target.

Redbubble Tags tool and Merch Informer are great tools to validate your ideas and give you a sense of what is selling, but you'll be most successful targeting niches that you're personally interested in.

Don't underestimate how valuable your interests are when it comes to making money with print on demand. If you've got a hobby or interest, other people are likely into the same thing. And at least some of those people and their friends or family are looking to buy products related to it.

Combine your interests with the research and design tools I've mentioned already and you will be making money in no time.

Psychological Pep talk

 I realize I've talked a lot about the psychological aspect of print on demand and that's because it's the biggest barrier to making money on Redbubble.

As I've said before. There are amazing tools that show you what sort of designs people want to buy and plenty of resources that let you create them without any prior experience for free. The main thing stopping you is you, it's your attitude and expectations towards the task at hand that is likely holding you back.

All the information you need is available for free. You are good enough and I believe you can do it, but please be patient and kind to yourself. Have realistic expectations and goals so you can keep up momentum without burning out.

I appreciate this might not be what you wanted to hear while clicking on this article, but what you want and need might just be different things. And I could quite easily put out a paid course with promises of untold riches if you buy it from me, but I'm not going to do that to you.

I make a point of telling it like it is because I want you to be successful. And pushing yourself to the point of burnout is not my definition of success.

It's entirely possible to make thousands of dollars on Redbubble and even earn a living from print on demand. But that starts with realistic expectations and the consistent effort I've talked about.

It's not sexy, but it's real. And please don't trust anyone that has a financial interest in convincing you otherwise.

If you haven't already seen my blog talking about making money with Digital Products like ebooks, and print-on-demand, you can check it here.