August 11, 2025 • 25 mins
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Disclaimer: The AI Paycheck Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial, investment, or legal advice. Please consult a professional before making decisions based on our content.
Want to unlock true passive income with cutting-edge AI? This week on AI Paycheck, we sit down with Caleb Vance, an Amazon Merch master who’s revolutionized his online business to pull in over $12,000 a month passively! Forget complex setups; Caleb breaks down his exact, easy-to-follow blueprint for generating consistent royalties.
Discover why Amazon Merch is the ultimate platform for passive income, leveraging its massive built-in traffic and handling all the tedious aspects like printing, shipping, and customer service. The game-changer? AI design with Midjourney. Caleb reveals how you can create dozens, even hundreds, of unique, high-quality designs daily without any prior design skills. It all comes down to mastering prompt engineering – learn how to craft specific prompts for winning niches, like "funny cat shirts for programmers." He even walks us through a live example for "coffee lovers who hate mornings" to show just how fast it is to generate viable designs.
We dive deep into the seamless integration of Printify, the essential bridge that connects your Amazon Merch account to a global network of printers, ensuring automated fulfillment with zero upfront inventory costs beyond your Midjourney subscription. Caleb outlines the crucial workflow: starting with strategic niche research directly on Amazon Merch to identify profitable gaps, then designing, uploading to Printify, and finally connecting to your Amazon listing.
Learn the critical importance of keyword optimization for discovery on Amazon Merch, crafting titles and bullet points that resonate with customer searches. Caleb pulls back the curtain on realistic profit margins, explaining how a standard tee can yield $7.50-$9.50 profit per sale, while hoodies can bring in over $12!
We also tackle the three biggest pitfalls to avoid:
Finally, Caleb shares advanced strategies for scaling your Amazon Merch empire, from consistent uploads and leveraging Printify’s global network to tracking analytics and doubling down on what works. Plus, he points you to invaluable free resources to kickstart your journey today. If you're ready to build a truly passive online business with the power of AI, this episode is a must-listen! Tune in to AI Paycheck and start making shirts!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ai-paycheck--6696317/support.
Share your thoughts - http://tiny.cc/AIPaycheckFeedback
Disclaimer: The AI Paycheck Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial, investment, or legal advice. Please consult a professional before making decisions based on our content.
Want to unlock true passive income with cutting-edge AI? This week on AI Paycheck, we sit down with Caleb Vance, an Amazon Merch master who’s revolutionized his online business to pull in over $12,000 a month passively! Forget complex setups; Caleb breaks down his exact, easy-to-follow blueprint for generating consistent royalties.
Discover why Amazon Merch is the ultimate platform for passive income, leveraging its massive built-in traffic and handling all the tedious aspects like printing, shipping, and customer service. The game-changer? AI design with Midjourney. Caleb reveals how you can create dozens, even hundreds, of unique, high-quality designs daily without any prior design skills. It all comes down to mastering prompt engineering – learn how to craft specific prompts for winning niches, like "funny cat shirts for programmers." He even walks us through a live example for "coffee lovers who hate mornings" to show just how fast it is to generate viable designs.
We dive deep into the seamless integration of Printify, the essential bridge that connects your Amazon Merch account to a global network of printers, ensuring automated fulfillment with zero upfront inventory costs beyond your Midjourney subscription. Caleb outlines the crucial workflow: starting with strategic niche research directly on Amazon Merch to identify profitable gaps, then designing, uploading to Printify, and finally connecting to your Amazon listing.
Learn the critical importance of keyword optimization for discovery on Amazon Merch, crafting titles and bullet points that resonate with customer searches. Caleb pulls back the curtain on realistic profit margins, explaining how a standard tee can yield $7.50-$9.50 profit per sale, while hoodies can bring in over $12!
We also tackle the three biggest pitfalls to avoid:
- Copyright/Trademark violations: Ensuring your AI designs are 100% original.
- Poor niche research: How to avoid saturated or dead markets.
- Bad listings: Tips for creating compelling product pages with quality mockups.
Finally, Caleb shares advanced strategies for scaling your Amazon Merch empire, from consistent uploads and leveraging Printify’s global network to tracking analytics and doubling down on what works. Plus, he points you to invaluable free resources to kickstart your journey today. If you're ready to build a truly passive online business with the power of AI, this episode is a must-listen! Tune in to AI Paycheck and start making shirts!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ai-paycheck--6696317/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, everyone to the Deep Dive. This is
the show where we really get into the weeds, break
down complex stuff, and hopefully give you some of those
aha moments.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
That's the goal, actionable insights exactly.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Now, before we kick things off today, just our standard
quick disclaimer, The Deep Dive is purely for international purposes.
We're not giving financial, investment or legal advice here.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah, super important. Always chat with a qualified professional before
you make any big decisions based on what you hear here.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Absolutely, and hey, while we're at it, if you like
what we do, if you find this valuable, please do
take a second to hit that follow or subscribe button
wherever you're listening.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
It genuinely helps us out a lot. Lets us keep
doing these deep dives.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
It really does. Okay, So today today we're tackling something that,
honestly it feels a bit like science fiction, but it's
very real, happening right now and surprisingly doable for a
lot of people. We are talking about unlocking a well,
a genuinely passive income stream. Specifically, how are official intelligence
(01:01):
AI is crashing into the e commerce world.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Right and making it way easier than you'd think to
create and actually sell physical stuff online think T shirts, mugs,
that sort of thing.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
So yeah, get ready for a proper deep dive into
Amazon merch powered by AI.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Absolutely, our mission today really is to unpack this whole thing.
We want to show you how these AI tools, which
are like readily available.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Now, yeah, tools anyone can access.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Exactly how they can totally streamline the process getting your
ideas onto actual products T shirts, hoodies, phone cases, you
name it, and then selling them to this massive global audience.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
And the kicker is you don't need to be a designer,
no traditional design skills needed at all.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
None. This isn't just theory either. We're going to look
at the specific tools, the strategies that actually work, and
even break down the money side of it.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, the financials how this can become a real legitimate
passive digital business for well almost anyone, even if you
can't drawstick.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Figure right, regardless of your artistic background.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
We're definitely aiming for those aha moments today where you
suddenly think, wait, I could actually do this, because you know,
for so long getting into create a stuff, especially selling
things online.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Uh huh, the barrier felt really high.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Totally you needed fancy software. Maybe artistic talent, a budget
for ads, maybe even like a garage stuffed with inventory.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
The whole nine yards.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
But this deep dive we wanted to be your shortcut,
a way to really understand what could be a seriously
lucrative side hustle, one that uses this cutting edge tech
to just smash down those old barriers.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
So yeah, let's get into it. Let's unpack why Amazon
merch especially when you add AI into the mix, is
such a well, it's a game changer for online business.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Okay, so the core idea here, it sounds almost too
good to be true, but it's this combination, right AI
for the designs and then print on demand services exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
That synergy is incredibly powerful AI driven design plus the
official of print on demand or POD. It's not just
a small step up. It fundamentally changes how you can
generate passive income online.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And when we say passive income here, what do we
actually mean in this context?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Good question. In this case, it means you create something
once that initial design, that quirky idea, and then once
it's live, it can generate money over and over again,
like month after months, yeah, year after year potentially, yes,
without you needing to constantly put in active effort. Once
it's set up and listed, it can just run. It
really is close to us set it and forget it
(03:32):
model after that initial creative work.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Okay, but is this actually working for people or is
it just you.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Know, No, it's definitely real. There are verifiable success stories
out there that show the potential. I mean imagine pulling
in say over twelve thousand dollars a month, well grand
a month, Yeah, in purely passive income just from Amazon
Merch using AI and some smart automation. People like Caleb
Vance whose story we looked into, have actually done this.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Wow. Okay, that's not a side money, that's serious income.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Absolutely. It proves that if you combine the right tools,
the right strategies, this kind of success is genuinely achievable.
It's not some niche thing only for super techi people.
It's a scalable model.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
That validation is huge. But okay, why Amazon Merch specifically,
because there are other places to sell designs, right, like Etsy,
red Bubble.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
That's a critical question. And yeah, there are other platforms,
but Amazon Merch has some massive, almost unfair advantages.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
The biggest one traffic, the sheared number of people already
on Amazon.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Exactly. Amazon is this global retail giant, billions of visitors
every day, and crucially they're there with intent to buy.
As a merch seller, you instantly plug into that massive
customer flow, so you don't.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Have to spend a fortune on ads trying to get
people to your own website or etsya shop.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Precisely, that's often the hardest part of starting online getting traffic.
Amazon solves that the customers are already there searching. That's
a huge different compared to platforms where traffic generation is
all on you.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Okay if that's a massive plus. And then the logistics
you mentioned print on demand.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Right, This is the other huge piece central to the
passive claim. Once your AI design is up on Amazon,
they handle literally everything else everything printing the design on
the actual product, packaging it up carefully, shipping it directly
to the customer, handling any returns if they happen, and
even managing customer service questions. You just upload the design,
(05:27):
set your price, and collect royalties when it sells.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So no boxes of T shirts piling up in my
spare room, no trips to the post office, none of.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
That, no inventory risk, no shipping headaches, It radically simplifies
the whole thing, making it genuinely passive. After the setup that.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Sounds incredibly simple, low barrier to entry them very low.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Your main focus becomes the creative side generating those designs,
and the strategy side like setting prices. Before AI got
this good, the big hurdles were one actually making the design.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Right, needing design skills or hiring some.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
One yeah, or learning complex software, and two figuring out
what niches would actually sell what people wanted to buy.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And that's where AI steps in as the game changer exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Tools like mid Journey, these powerful AI image generators, they
basically eliminate the need for traditional design skills. They make
creating high quality designs super efficient and accessible to pretty
much anyone with an idea.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Okay, this is where my ears really prick up, because
I think a lot of listeners assume they need to
be artists.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
That's the biggest misconception. You absolutely do not need to
be a graphic designer. The skill isn't drawing or using
software anymore.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
So what is the skill? Then?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
It's called prompt engineering. Basically, you're telling the AI what
to create. Think of it like having this incredibly talented,
super fast artist waiting for your instructions. Your job is
just to describe what you want clearly and specifically.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
So it's more about the idea and how you communicate
it to the AI precisely.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
It shifts the focus from how to make the AI
handles that brilliantly to the what creative ideas and clear instructions.
If you can describe an image well, the AI can
probably generate it for you.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Okay, that opens up a lot of possibilities. And you
mentioned speed and volume.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah, this is huge for scaling With AI, especially mid journey.
You can create dozens, maybe even hundreds of unique, high
quality designs every single day, hundreds a day, seriously potentially. Yes,
Now think about how long that would take. Traditionally, hiring
designers or doing it yourself, the time and cost would.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Be astronomical, quite impossible for most people.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
AI just crushes that barrier. It makes a high volume
approach not just possible, but efficient and potentially very profitable.
More designs mean more chances to find winners, and.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
That volume connects to finding the right niche doesn't it?
You said broad designs don't really.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Work exactly, something super generic like I love coffee probably
won't sell. Amazon is just too crowded. Success comes from
focusing on very specific, sometimes really quirky subniches.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Like your example earlier, not just cat shirt.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
But funny cat shirts for programmers, or instead of a
generic motorcycle tea, maybe vintage motorcycle enthusiasts for dads. Really
specific stuff, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
So you target a smaller group that's actively searching for
that exact thing precisely.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
They know what they want, and when they find your
unique design that hits the spot, they're much more likely
to buy AI. Lets you generate designs for these micro
niches super fast.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Okay, let's make this concrete. You mentioned prompt engineering. Can
you walk us through an example like that grumpy coffee
mug idea?
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Sure, so imagine you want that design your prompt for
mid journey. It might be something like this funny T
shirt design, minimalist style, A grumpy cartoon coffee mug with
BedHead text I hate mornings, but I love coffee, bold sands,
serifont white background, vector or high contrast V seven.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Well, okay, that's quite specific. Let's break that down. Funny
T shirt designed, minimalist style that sets the overall vibe exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Tone and aesthetic tells the AI humorous, but keep it
clean simple good for apparel.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Then a grumpy cartoon coffee mug with BedHead. That's the
actual subject, giving it personality.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Right, a clear visual for the AI to work with.
Then really important for print text I hate mornings, but
I love coffee. This makes the text right into the
image file.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
So it's part of the design itself, not something you
add later.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Correct crucial for print on demand. You want it integrated.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Okay, And the last part bold sandsorif font, white background,
vector art, high contrast V seven That sounds technical.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It is, but it's key for quality. Bold sansorif readability.
White background is a good starting point makes it easy
to create a transparent background later, which is what you
usually need. Why transparent so the design can go on
any color shirt without a big white boxed around it.
Vector art means it can be scaled up or down
without losing quality, essential for printing on different products. High
(09:56):
contrast makes it visually pop. And the VV seven if
that just tells mid Journey to use its latest version.
It's best brain for generating the image gets you the
best results.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Okay, that makes sense. Yeah, and you're saying, creating a
prompt like that and getting a design back takes like minutes.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yeah, often less than five minutes per usable design. You'll
probably generate a few options from the prompt, pick the
best one, maybe tweak the prompt a little if needed.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
So it's iterative. You can refine it quickly.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Super quick, test ideas, adapt to what's working, discover what resonates.
It's an agility that traditional design just can't match for
this kind of volume work.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Right, So you've used AI, You've got these amazing designs.
What's the next step. How do they get onto actual
products and onto Amazon?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Right, that's the bridge you need to cross, and that's
where a service like printifi becomes absolutely essential. It's the
intermediary Printifi.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Okay, what do they do?
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Basically, Printifi connects your Amazon merch Cellar account to a
huge network of different printing companies all over the world.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Ah, so they handle the physical.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Production side exactly, but it's all automated. When someone buys
your grumpy coffee mug shirt on Amazon, that order automatically
gets sent by Printify to a printer, usually the one
closest to the customer.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Smart reduce the shipping time yep.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
And then that printer handles everything, printing the shirt, packing it,
shipping it straight to the customer. You don't touch anything.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Okay. That really reinforces the no upfront cost idea, doesn't
it kat apart from maybe the mid journey subscription.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Precisely no inventory to buy, no warehouse needed. The product
only gets made after someone pays for it. It dramatically
cuts your financial risk and frees you up.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Frees you up to focus on more.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Designs, more designs, and crucially, the research before the design.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Ah. Right, you mentioned that workflow earlier. It's not just designed.
Then upload research first.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Absolutely critical. This is probably the number one mistake new
sellers make. They get excited make cool designs, but haven't
checked if anyone actually wants them, or if the market
is already flooded.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
So where do you do this research?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Right on Amazon merch itself. You actively search for niches,
look at popular products already selling.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
What are you looking for? Specifically?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Best seller ranks BSR? Lower is better, customer reviews, What
do people like or complain about? Try to estimate sales volume,
But the real gold is finding gaps gaps. Yeah, niches
that are popular, but maybe they lack certain specific designs
like tons of cat shirts, but maybe none for cat
dads who love hiking. That specific intersection is your opportunity.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
So you find an underserved corner of a popular niche exactly.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
That's where your unique AI designs have the best chance,
because you're meeting an unmet demand.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Okay, research done, gap, identified AI design created. Now the
technical part of getting it onto Printify and then Amazon
is that complicated. Not really.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Printifi makes it pretty straightforward. Usually you just need to
upload a high quality P and C file n G. Yeah,
it's an image format that supports transparent backgrounds. Super important.
Like we said, your design looks good on any.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Color product, right, no white box.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
And Printifily does something else really cool. It automatically generates
realistic mockups for you.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Mockups like pictures of the design on a.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Shirt exactly, professional looking images of your design on T shirts, hoodies,
tank tops, whatever products you choose, and you use those
mockups directly in your Amazon listing.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Oh nice. Saves a ton of time trying to create
those yourself.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Huge timesaver, and it makes your listing look legit. And
trustworthy printofile also handles any specific file requirements Amazon might
have behind the scenes. You just upload the PNG.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Okay, so the visual is sorted with the mockups. But
how do people find your listing among the millions on Amazon?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Keywords? This is absolutely critical for discovery. It's often overlooked,
but it's a make or break.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Keywords in the title description.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Both especially the title and the bullet points and the description.
You need to use relevant specific keywords. Think like a customer,
what words would they actually type into the Amazon Search?
Speaker 1 (14:00):
So not just cat shirt right, more like.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Funny cat dad t shirt for Father's Day or gift
for programmer, coffee mugs, sarcastic code, be specific. Use Amazon
search suggestions, look at competitor listings, read reviews to see
the language customers use.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Gotcha optimize for how people actually search. Makes sense.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
If you nail the keywords, your product shows up when
the right person is searching. That's half the battle.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Okay, let's shift gears a bit. Let's talk money the
bottom line. What kind of profit are we actually looking
at per sale?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Good question. Let's break down some typical examples so you
get a real feel for it. Take a standard T shirt.
You might sell it on Amazon merch for say nineteen
ninety nine cents. After Amazon takes its fees and royalty
share you, the seller might get around five dollars and
fifty cents back as your royalty.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Okay, five dollars fifty cents royalty. Then Printifi costs.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Right, Printifi has to produce the shirt and ship it.
That cost might be around ten to twelve dollars, depending
on the printer and where the customer lives.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
So the math is nineteen ninety nine sale five dollars
and fifty cents royalty from Amazon on Wait, that doesn't
add up right? How does the royalty work with trinify costs?
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Ah? Right, my mistake and explaining. Let's clarify. Amazon sets
a list price, say nineteen ninety nine, They pay you
a royalty based on that price, maybe five fifty cents
like in the example. Separately, when an order comes in,
you pay Printify their costs, say ten twelve dollars to
produce and ship it.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Okay, so Amazon pays me five dollars and fifty cents,
but I have to pay Printify ten twelve dollars. That
sounds like I'm losing money.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
No apologies, I'm mixing up standard Amazon merch where Amazon
prints and using Printify with an Amazon Seller central account,
which is a slightly different, more advanced setup. Let's stick
to the simpler Amazon merch on demand model for clarity,
where Amazon handles the printing and shipping.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Okay, good clarification. So Amazon merch on demand. How does
the profit work? There?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Much simpler? You set the list price, say nineteen ninety
nine cents, Amazon deducts their costs for the blank shirt, printing, fulfillment,
customer service, listing fees, et cetera. What's left is your
royalty for a nineteen ninety nine shirt. That royalty might
typically be somewhere in the rain of four to seven dollars.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Ah, okay, So Amazon handles production, takes their cut, and
gives me the rest is royalty. That's much clearer. Four
to seven dollars per shirt exactly.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
That's your net profit per shirt in the standard merch
on demand model. No separate prinifive payment needed in this
basic setup.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Got it? And what about something like a hoodie they
sell for more? Right?
Speaker 2 (16:21):
A hoodie might list for say thirty four ninety nine
or even thirty nine ninety nine. Because the base cost
of the hoodie and printing is higher, the royalty percentage
might be similar, but the dollar amount is bigger. You
might see a royalty of say eight to twelve dollars
per hoodie.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Okay, so decent profit margins, especially considering it's passive after
the upload.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Definitely. And now think about scale. If you have a
few designs selling consistently, let's say you average just ten
sales a day across your whole catalog.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Ten sales a day, If.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Your average royalty is say five dollars per item, that's
fifty dollars a day in passive profit. If it's seven
dollars average, that's seventy dollars a day.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Fifteen hundred over two thousand dollars a month passively.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Exactly, And that's with just ten sales a day. Scaling
means adding more good designs and more well researched niches.
The more lines in the water, the more chances you
have to catch fish.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
And you mentioned designs can sell for months or years.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Absolutely, that's the beauty of it. Top sellers are often
designs uploaded ages ago. They become these little digital assets
generating income long after you did the initial work. It's
genuinely evergreen potential.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Okay, the potential sounds amazing, but it can't all be easy.
Streat What are the big mistakes people make? The pitfalls
to avoid?
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Oh, definitely pitfalls. Knowing these is crucial. Three big ones
stand out. Lame on me number one and this is
the account killer. Copyright and trademark infringement.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Right using stuff you don't have the.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Rights to exactly. Amazon is extremely strict. Never use brand names, logos,
song lyrics, famous quotes, celebrity images, characters from movies or games,
none of it. Your AI designs must be one hundred
percent original concepts.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Even with AI, you have to be careful with the.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Prompts, very careful. Don't prompt for Mickey Mouse style or
using the Coca Cola font. Even if the AI generates
something similar, it could get flag. You risk getting your
entire account shut down permanently. It's just not worth it.
Stick to original ideas.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
How do you even check for trademarks?
Speaker 2 (18:16):
You can use resources like the USPTO's test database in
the US to search for trademarked phrases. It takes a
bit of diligence but it's essential focus on unique phrases
and concepts.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Okay, so avoid IP infringement at all costs. What's pitfall
number two?
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Poor niche research. We keep coming back to this because
it's so important. Just throwing designs out there into super
crowded or totally dead niches is a recipe for zero.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Sales, shouting into the void.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Again, pretty much, you waste all that creative effort. You
absolutely have to do the research up front to find
those gaps, those underserved audiences who are actually looking for
what you can create.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Find the demand first, then supply it precisely.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
And the third big pitfall bad.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Listings, meaning how the product looks on Amazon.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yeah, the presentation, things like blurry mockups that look amateurish,
weak titles that don't use good keywords or grab attention
bullet points that are thin, or don't highlight benefits or
use more keywords.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
So, even if the design is great and the niche
is right, a bad listing can kill it.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Absolutely. It hurts discoverability because the keywords aren't there, and
it hurts conversion because it looks unprofessional. People will just
scroll past. But the good news is fixing. This is
relatively easy.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
How so just take the time, use.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Clear mockups, right compelling, keyword rich titles, flesh out your
bullet points. Doing just these basic things while puts you
way ahead of many sellers who neglect them. It's low
hanging fruit.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Okay, avoid infringement, research niches, make good listings. Got it?
What about mindset? Does it take time?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Oh? Yeah, Patience and consistency are key. This is definitely
a long game. Not get rich quick.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Some design sell fast, others take time exactly.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Some might hit in days, which is awesome. Others might
sit there for weeks or months before they find their
audience and start selling. Don't get discouraged if things start slow.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
So the advice is just keep.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Uploading consistently, aiming for say, five to ten new well
researched designs every day if you can manage it. Treat
it like building a portfolio. More quality entries, increase your
odds of hitting winners and building that overall passive income.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
And remember the evergreen thing. What doesn't sell today might
sell next month or next year.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Precisely, keep building the catalog. Consistent effort upfront pays off
long term in this model.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Okay for people who are maybe already doing this or
really want to hit the ground running. Are there more
advanced strategies ways to scale faster?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Definitely. Once you've got the basics down, you can explore
a few things. One is leveraging printifies global network more
strategically if you're using that model alongside or instead of
basic merch on demand.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
How does that help?
Speaker 2 (20:54):
You can potentially offer faster, cheaper shipping to international customers
by using printers located in their regions, makes your products
more attractive globally.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
What else?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Product diversification? Take one winning design.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Like our grumpy coffee mug exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Don't just sell it on a T shirt. Put it
on a hoodie, a sweatshirt, a tank top, a tight bag,
a pop socket, a phone case, whatever printifier Amazon Merch supports.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Why do that?
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Because each product type becomes a separate listing on Amazon.
More listings mean more chances to be discovered in different searches,
more visibility. You multiply your exposure with basically the same design.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Work ah clever, more digital shell space for the same
core idea yep.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Another tactic is using AI like mid Journey to create
variations of your successful designs so you could generate the
same core concept, but with different color palettes or slightly
different styles, maybe one more cartoonish, one more vintage, minor
tweaks to appeal to slightly different tastes within the same niche.
Mid Journey has features that make generating variations.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Pretty easy, so you expand the cattalog quickly without totally
new ideas each time. Yeah, getting more mileage out.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Of winners exactly, and maybe the most important advanced tactic
data driven optimization.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Meaning paying attention to your sales data religiously.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Amazon merch provides analytics. See exactly what's selling, what's not,
which niches are performing well for you. Use that data,
double down on what works. If cat Dad shirts are
selling like crazy, make more variations, explore related niches. If
a certain style resonates, lean into it. Stop wasting time
on things that data shows aren't working. Use real results
(22:37):
to guide your future efforts, not just guesswork.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
That sounds like moving from a hobby to a real
business mindset. Using data to make decisions.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
That's exactly what it is. It separates the serious players
from the casual sellers over time.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Wow, Okay, we've covered a ton of ground. Here, let's
try and wrap this up with the key takeaways. Some
good so First, big insight AI tools like mid Journey,
they've fundamentally democratized design. You don't need to be an
artist in it right.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
The skill is now ideation and prompt engineering. Huge shift.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Second, the combination of Amazon merches platform and print on
demand logistics, whether via Amazon directly or services like Brnafie,
creates this incredibly hands off model.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Truly passive potential, no inventory, no shipping headaches. Amazon handles
the heavy lifting.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Third strategy is king niche. Research is non negotiable. You
have to find those gaps and target effectively.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Can't emphasize that enough research before design and build good
listings with strong keywords.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
And putting it all together. This transforms a potentially complex
business into a genuinely accessible digital side hustle or even
a full time income with real passive potential.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Absolutely, it's a powerful combination of technology and platform leverage.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
So maybe a final thought to leave our listeners with
As these AI tools get even better, which they seem
to do every week.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Uh huh, the pace is incredible.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
How might this change our whole idea of passive income
or even entrepreneurship. What other doors might open for people
who have great ideas but maybe aren't creators in the
traditional sense.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
That's a fascinating question, isn't it. It's just the future
where the ability to identify needs, formulate clear ideas, and
effectively manage AI tools might become more valuable than traditional
execution skills In many areas. We could see whole new
forms of creative and economic opportunities emerge for people who
are previously shut out.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Yeah, leveraging AI creativity is a skill in itself. Yeah,
definitely something to think about as this technology continues to evolve.
The landscape is shifting fast.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
It really is.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Well. Hopefully this deep dive has sparked some ideas, provided
some practical steps, and maybe even inspired a few of
you to explore this intersection of AI and e commerce. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Hope it was useful.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
If you enjoyed this, if you found it valuable, maybe
take a quick screenshot of the episode on your phone
and tag us on Instagram. We love seeing where you're
listening and we'll give you a shout out.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Definitely helps spread the word. Thanks for joining us on
the deep dive.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Keep exploring, keep learning, and keep chasing those well maybe
AI powered paychecks. We'll catch you on the next one.
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, everyone to the Deep Dive. This is
the show where we really get into the weeds, break
down complex stuff, and hopefully give you some of those
aha moments.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
That's the goal, actionable insights exactly.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Now, before we kick things off today, just our standard
quick disclaimer, The Deep Dive is purely for international purposes.
We're not giving financial, investment or legal advice here.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah, super important. Always chat with a qualified professional before
you make any big decisions based on what you hear here.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Absolutely, and hey, while we're at it, if you like
what we do, if you find this valuable, please do
take a second to hit that follow or subscribe button
wherever you're listening.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
It genuinely helps us out a lot. Lets us keep
doing these deep dives.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
It really does. Okay, So today today we're tackling something that,
honestly it feels a bit like science fiction, but it's
very real, happening right now and surprisingly doable for a
lot of people. We are talking about unlocking a well,
a genuinely passive income stream. Specifically, how are official intelligence
(01:01):
AI is crashing into the e commerce world.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Right and making it way easier than you'd think to
create and actually sell physical stuff online think T shirts, mugs,
that sort of thing.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
So yeah, get ready for a proper deep dive into
Amazon merch powered by AI.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Absolutely, our mission today really is to unpack this whole thing.
We want to show you how these AI tools, which
are like readily available.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Now, yeah, tools anyone can access.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Exactly how they can totally streamline the process getting your
ideas onto actual products T shirts, hoodies, phone cases, you
name it, and then selling them to this massive global audience.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
And the kicker is you don't need to be a designer,
no traditional design skills needed at all.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
None. This isn't just theory either. We're going to look
at the specific tools, the strategies that actually work, and
even break down the money side of it.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, the financials how this can become a real legitimate
passive digital business for well almost anyone, even if you
can't drawstick.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Figure right, regardless of your artistic background.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
We're definitely aiming for those aha moments today where you
suddenly think, wait, I could actually do this, because you know,
for so long getting into create a stuff, especially selling
things online.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Uh huh, the barrier felt really high.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Totally you needed fancy software. Maybe artistic talent, a budget
for ads, maybe even like a garage stuffed with inventory.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
The whole nine yards.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
But this deep dive we wanted to be your shortcut,
a way to really understand what could be a seriously
lucrative side hustle, one that uses this cutting edge tech
to just smash down those old barriers.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
So yeah, let's get into it. Let's unpack why Amazon
merch especially when you add AI into the mix, is
such a well, it's a game changer for online business.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Okay, so the core idea here, it sounds almost too
good to be true, but it's this combination, right AI
for the designs and then print on demand services exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
That synergy is incredibly powerful AI driven design plus the
official of print on demand or POD. It's not just
a small step up. It fundamentally changes how you can
generate passive income online.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And when we say passive income here, what do we
actually mean in this context?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Good question. In this case, it means you create something
once that initial design, that quirky idea, and then once
it's live, it can generate money over and over again,
like month after months, yeah, year after year potentially, yes,
without you needing to constantly put in active effort. Once
it's set up and listed, it can just run. It
really is close to us set it and forget it
(03:32):
model after that initial creative work.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Okay, but is this actually working for people or is
it just you.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Know, No, it's definitely real. There are verifiable success stories
out there that show the potential. I mean imagine pulling
in say over twelve thousand dollars a month, well grand
a month, Yeah, in purely passive income just from Amazon
Merch using AI and some smart automation. People like Caleb
Vance whose story we looked into, have actually done this.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Wow. Okay, that's not a side money, that's serious income.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Absolutely. It proves that if you combine the right tools,
the right strategies, this kind of success is genuinely achievable.
It's not some niche thing only for super techi people.
It's a scalable model.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
That validation is huge. But okay, why Amazon Merch specifically,
because there are other places to sell designs, right, like Etsy,
red Bubble.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
That's a critical question. And yeah, there are other platforms,
but Amazon Merch has some massive, almost unfair advantages.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
The biggest one traffic, the sheared number of people already
on Amazon.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Exactly. Amazon is this global retail giant, billions of visitors
every day, and crucially they're there with intent to buy.
As a merch seller, you instantly plug into that massive
customer flow, so you don't.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Have to spend a fortune on ads trying to get
people to your own website or etsya shop.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Precisely, that's often the hardest part of starting online getting traffic.
Amazon solves that the customers are already there searching. That's
a huge different compared to platforms where traffic generation is
all on you.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Okay if that's a massive plus. And then the logistics
you mentioned print on demand.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Right, This is the other huge piece central to the
passive claim. Once your AI design is up on Amazon,
they handle literally everything else everything printing the design on
the actual product, packaging it up carefully, shipping it directly
to the customer, handling any returns if they happen, and
even managing customer service questions. You just upload the design,
(05:27):
set your price, and collect royalties when it sells.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So no boxes of T shirts piling up in my
spare room, no trips to the post office, none of.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
That, no inventory risk, no shipping headaches, It radically simplifies
the whole thing, making it genuinely passive. After the setup that.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Sounds incredibly simple, low barrier to entry them very low.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Your main focus becomes the creative side generating those designs,
and the strategy side like setting prices. Before AI got
this good, the big hurdles were one actually making the design.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Right, needing design skills or hiring some.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
One yeah, or learning complex software, and two figuring out
what niches would actually sell what people wanted to buy.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And that's where AI steps in as the game changer exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Tools like mid Journey, these powerful AI image generators, they
basically eliminate the need for traditional design skills. They make
creating high quality designs super efficient and accessible to pretty
much anyone with an idea.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Okay, this is where my ears really prick up, because
I think a lot of listeners assume they need to
be artists.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
That's the biggest misconception. You absolutely do not need to
be a graphic designer. The skill isn't drawing or using
software anymore.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
So what is the skill? Then?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
It's called prompt engineering. Basically, you're telling the AI what
to create. Think of it like having this incredibly talented,
super fast artist waiting for your instructions. Your job is
just to describe what you want clearly and specifically.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
So it's more about the idea and how you communicate
it to the AI precisely.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
It shifts the focus from how to make the AI
handles that brilliantly to the what creative ideas and clear instructions.
If you can describe an image well, the AI can
probably generate it for you.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Okay, that opens up a lot of possibilities. And you
mentioned speed and volume.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah, this is huge for scaling With AI, especially mid journey.
You can create dozens, maybe even hundreds of unique, high
quality designs every single day, hundreds a day, seriously potentially. Yes,
Now think about how long that would take. Traditionally, hiring
designers or doing it yourself, the time and cost would.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Be astronomical, quite impossible for most people.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
AI just crushes that barrier. It makes a high volume
approach not just possible, but efficient and potentially very profitable.
More designs mean more chances to find winners, and.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
That volume connects to finding the right niche doesn't it?
You said broad designs don't really.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Work exactly, something super generic like I love coffee probably
won't sell. Amazon is just too crowded. Success comes from
focusing on very specific, sometimes really quirky subniches.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Like your example earlier, not just cat shirt.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
But funny cat shirts for programmers, or instead of a
generic motorcycle tea, maybe vintage motorcycle enthusiasts for dads. Really
specific stuff, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
So you target a smaller group that's actively searching for
that exact thing precisely.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
They know what they want, and when they find your
unique design that hits the spot, they're much more likely
to buy AI. Lets you generate designs for these micro
niches super fast.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Okay, let's make this concrete. You mentioned prompt engineering. Can
you walk us through an example like that grumpy coffee
mug idea?
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Sure, so imagine you want that design your prompt for
mid journey. It might be something like this funny T
shirt design, minimalist style, A grumpy cartoon coffee mug with
BedHead text I hate mornings, but I love coffee, bold sands,
serifont white background, vector or high contrast V seven.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Well, okay, that's quite specific. Let's break that down. Funny
T shirt designed, minimalist style that sets the overall vibe exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Tone and aesthetic tells the AI humorous, but keep it
clean simple good for apparel.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Then a grumpy cartoon coffee mug with BedHead. That's the
actual subject, giving it personality.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Right, a clear visual for the AI to work with.
Then really important for print text I hate mornings, but
I love coffee. This makes the text right into the
image file.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
So it's part of the design itself, not something you
add later.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Correct crucial for print on demand. You want it integrated.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Okay, And the last part bold sandsorif font, white background,
vector art, high contrast V seven That sounds technical.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It is, but it's key for quality. Bold sansorif readability.
White background is a good starting point makes it easy
to create a transparent background later, which is what you
usually need. Why transparent so the design can go on
any color shirt without a big white boxed around it.
Vector art means it can be scaled up or down
without losing quality, essential for printing on different products. High
(09:56):
contrast makes it visually pop. And the VV seven if
that just tells mid Journey to use its latest version.
It's best brain for generating the image gets you the
best results.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Okay, that makes sense. Yeah, and you're saying, creating a
prompt like that and getting a design back takes like minutes.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yeah, often less than five minutes per usable design. You'll
probably generate a few options from the prompt, pick the
best one, maybe tweak the prompt a little if needed.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
So it's iterative. You can refine it quickly.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Super quick, test ideas, adapt to what's working, discover what resonates.
It's an agility that traditional design just can't match for
this kind of volume work.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Right, So you've used AI, You've got these amazing designs.
What's the next step. How do they get onto actual
products and onto Amazon?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Right, that's the bridge you need to cross, and that's
where a service like printifi becomes absolutely essential. It's the
intermediary Printifi.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Okay, what do they do?
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Basically, Printifi connects your Amazon merch Cellar account to a
huge network of different printing companies all over the world.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Ah, so they handle the physical.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Production side exactly, but it's all automated. When someone buys
your grumpy coffee mug shirt on Amazon, that order automatically
gets sent by Printify to a printer, usually the one
closest to the customer.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Smart reduce the shipping time yep.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
And then that printer handles everything, printing the shirt, packing it,
shipping it straight to the customer. You don't touch anything.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Okay. That really reinforces the no upfront cost idea, doesn't
it kat apart from maybe the mid journey subscription.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Precisely no inventory to buy, no warehouse needed. The product
only gets made after someone pays for it. It dramatically
cuts your financial risk and frees you up.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Frees you up to focus on more.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Designs, more designs, and crucially, the research before the design.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Ah. Right, you mentioned that workflow earlier. It's not just designed.
Then upload research first.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Absolutely critical. This is probably the number one mistake new
sellers make. They get excited make cool designs, but haven't
checked if anyone actually wants them, or if the market
is already flooded.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
So where do you do this research?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Right on Amazon merch itself. You actively search for niches,
look at popular products already selling.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
What are you looking for? Specifically?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Best seller ranks BSR? Lower is better, customer reviews, What
do people like or complain about? Try to estimate sales volume,
But the real gold is finding gaps gaps. Yeah, niches
that are popular, but maybe they lack certain specific designs
like tons of cat shirts, but maybe none for cat
dads who love hiking. That specific intersection is your opportunity.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
So you find an underserved corner of a popular niche exactly.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
That's where your unique AI designs have the best chance,
because you're meeting an unmet demand.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Okay, research done, gap, identified AI design created. Now the
technical part of getting it onto Printify and then Amazon
is that complicated. Not really.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Printifi makes it pretty straightforward. Usually you just need to
upload a high quality P and C file n G. Yeah,
it's an image format that supports transparent backgrounds. Super important.
Like we said, your design looks good on any.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Color product, right, no white box.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
And Printifily does something else really cool. It automatically generates
realistic mockups for you.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Mockups like pictures of the design on a.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Shirt exactly, professional looking images of your design on T shirts, hoodies,
tank tops, whatever products you choose, and you use those
mockups directly in your Amazon listing.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Oh nice. Saves a ton of time trying to create
those yourself.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Huge timesaver, and it makes your listing look legit. And
trustworthy printofile also handles any specific file requirements Amazon might
have behind the scenes. You just upload the PNG.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Okay, so the visual is sorted with the mockups. But
how do people find your listing among the millions on Amazon?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Keywords? This is absolutely critical for discovery. It's often overlooked,
but it's a make or break.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Keywords in the title description.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Both especially the title and the bullet points and the description.
You need to use relevant specific keywords. Think like a customer,
what words would they actually type into the Amazon Search?
Speaker 1 (14:00):
So not just cat shirt right, more like.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Funny cat dad t shirt for Father's Day or gift
for programmer, coffee mugs, sarcastic code, be specific. Use Amazon
search suggestions, look at competitor listings, read reviews to see
the language customers use.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Gotcha optimize for how people actually search. Makes sense.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
If you nail the keywords, your product shows up when
the right person is searching. That's half the battle.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Okay, let's shift gears a bit. Let's talk money the
bottom line. What kind of profit are we actually looking
at per sale?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Good question. Let's break down some typical examples so you
get a real feel for it. Take a standard T shirt.
You might sell it on Amazon merch for say nineteen
ninety nine cents. After Amazon takes its fees and royalty
share you, the seller might get around five dollars and
fifty cents back as your royalty.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Okay, five dollars fifty cents royalty. Then Printifi costs.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Right, Printifi has to produce the shirt and ship it.
That cost might be around ten to twelve dollars, depending
on the printer and where the customer lives.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
So the math is nineteen ninety nine sale five dollars
and fifty cents royalty from Amazon on Wait, that doesn't
add up right? How does the royalty work with trinify costs?
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Ah? Right, my mistake and explaining. Let's clarify. Amazon sets
a list price, say nineteen ninety nine, They pay you
a royalty based on that price, maybe five fifty cents
like in the example. Separately, when an order comes in,
you pay Printify their costs, say ten twelve dollars to
produce and ship it.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Okay, so Amazon pays me five dollars and fifty cents,
but I have to pay Printify ten twelve dollars. That
sounds like I'm losing money.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
No apologies, I'm mixing up standard Amazon merch where Amazon
prints and using Printify with an Amazon Seller central account,
which is a slightly different, more advanced setup. Let's stick
to the simpler Amazon merch on demand model for clarity,
where Amazon handles the printing and shipping.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Okay, good clarification. So Amazon merch on demand. How does
the profit work? There?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Much simpler? You set the list price, say nineteen ninety
nine cents, Amazon deducts their costs for the blank shirt, printing, fulfillment,
customer service, listing fees, et cetera. What's left is your
royalty for a nineteen ninety nine shirt. That royalty might
typically be somewhere in the rain of four to seven dollars.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Ah, okay, So Amazon handles production, takes their cut, and
gives me the rest is royalty. That's much clearer. Four
to seven dollars per shirt exactly.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
That's your net profit per shirt in the standard merch
on demand model. No separate prinifive payment needed in this
basic setup.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Got it? And what about something like a hoodie they
sell for more? Right?
Speaker 2 (16:21):
A hoodie might list for say thirty four ninety nine
or even thirty nine ninety nine. Because the base cost
of the hoodie and printing is higher, the royalty percentage
might be similar, but the dollar amount is bigger. You
might see a royalty of say eight to twelve dollars
per hoodie.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Okay, so decent profit margins, especially considering it's passive after
the upload.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Definitely. And now think about scale. If you have a
few designs selling consistently, let's say you average just ten
sales a day across your whole catalog.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Ten sales a day, If.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Your average royalty is say five dollars per item, that's
fifty dollars a day in passive profit. If it's seven
dollars average, that's seventy dollars a day.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Fifteen hundred over two thousand dollars a month passively.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Exactly, And that's with just ten sales a day. Scaling
means adding more good designs and more well researched niches.
The more lines in the water, the more chances you
have to catch fish.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
And you mentioned designs can sell for months or years.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Absolutely, that's the beauty of it. Top sellers are often
designs uploaded ages ago. They become these little digital assets
generating income long after you did the initial work. It's
genuinely evergreen potential.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Okay, the potential sounds amazing, but it can't all be easy.
Streat What are the big mistakes people make? The pitfalls
to avoid?
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Oh, definitely pitfalls. Knowing these is crucial. Three big ones
stand out. Lame on me number one and this is
the account killer. Copyright and trademark infringement.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Right using stuff you don't have the.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Rights to exactly. Amazon is extremely strict. Never use brand names, logos,
song lyrics, famous quotes, celebrity images, characters from movies or games,
none of it. Your AI designs must be one hundred
percent original concepts.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Even with AI, you have to be careful with the.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Prompts, very careful. Don't prompt for Mickey Mouse style or
using the Coca Cola font. Even if the AI generates
something similar, it could get flag. You risk getting your
entire account shut down permanently. It's just not worth it.
Stick to original ideas.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
How do you even check for trademarks?
Speaker 2 (18:16):
You can use resources like the USPTO's test database in
the US to search for trademarked phrases. It takes a
bit of diligence but it's essential focus on unique phrases
and concepts.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Okay, so avoid IP infringement at all costs. What's pitfall
number two?
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Poor niche research. We keep coming back to this because
it's so important. Just throwing designs out there into super
crowded or totally dead niches is a recipe for zero.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Sales, shouting into the void.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Again, pretty much, you waste all that creative effort. You
absolutely have to do the research up front to find
those gaps, those underserved audiences who are actually looking for
what you can create.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Find the demand first, then supply it precisely.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
And the third big pitfall bad.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Listings, meaning how the product looks on Amazon.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yeah, the presentation, things like blurry mockups that look amateurish,
weak titles that don't use good keywords or grab attention
bullet points that are thin, or don't highlight benefits or
use more keywords.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
So, even if the design is great and the niche
is right, a bad listing can kill it.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Absolutely. It hurts discoverability because the keywords aren't there, and
it hurts conversion because it looks unprofessional. People will just
scroll past. But the good news is fixing. This is
relatively easy.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
How so just take the time, use.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Clear mockups, right compelling, keyword rich titles, flesh out your
bullet points. Doing just these basic things while puts you
way ahead of many sellers who neglect them. It's low
hanging fruit.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Okay, avoid infringement, research niches, make good listings. Got it?
What about mindset? Does it take time?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Oh? Yeah, Patience and consistency are key. This is definitely
a long game. Not get rich quick.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Some design sell fast, others take time exactly.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Some might hit in days, which is awesome. Others might
sit there for weeks or months before they find their
audience and start selling. Don't get discouraged if things start slow.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
So the advice is just keep.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Uploading consistently, aiming for say, five to ten new well
researched designs every day if you can manage it. Treat
it like building a portfolio. More quality entries, increase your
odds of hitting winners and building that overall passive income.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
And remember the evergreen thing. What doesn't sell today might
sell next month or next year.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Precisely, keep building the catalog. Consistent effort upfront pays off
long term in this model.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Okay for people who are maybe already doing this or
really want to hit the ground running. Are there more
advanced strategies ways to scale faster?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Definitely. Once you've got the basics down, you can explore
a few things. One is leveraging printifies global network more
strategically if you're using that model alongside or instead of
basic merch on demand.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
How does that help?
Speaker 2 (20:54):
You can potentially offer faster, cheaper shipping to international customers
by using printers located in their regions, makes your products
more attractive globally.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
What else?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Product diversification? Take one winning design.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Like our grumpy coffee mug exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Don't just sell it on a T shirt. Put it
on a hoodie, a sweatshirt, a tank top, a tight bag,
a pop socket, a phone case, whatever printifier Amazon Merch supports.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Why do that?
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Because each product type becomes a separate listing on Amazon.
More listings mean more chances to be discovered in different searches,
more visibility. You multiply your exposure with basically the same design.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Work ah clever, more digital shell space for the same
core idea yep.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Another tactic is using AI like mid Journey to create
variations of your successful designs so you could generate the
same core concept, but with different color palettes or slightly
different styles, maybe one more cartoonish, one more vintage, minor
tweaks to appeal to slightly different tastes within the same niche.
Mid Journey has features that make generating variations.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Pretty easy, so you expand the cattalog quickly without totally
new ideas each time. Yeah, getting more mileage out.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Of winners exactly, and maybe the most important advanced tactic
data driven optimization.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Meaning paying attention to your sales data religiously.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Amazon merch provides analytics. See exactly what's selling, what's not,
which niches are performing well for you. Use that data,
double down on what works. If cat Dad shirts are
selling like crazy, make more variations, explore related niches. If
a certain style resonates, lean into it. Stop wasting time
on things that data shows aren't working. Use real results
(22:37):
to guide your future efforts, not just guesswork.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
That sounds like moving from a hobby to a real
business mindset. Using data to make decisions.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
That's exactly what it is. It separates the serious players
from the casual sellers over time.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Wow, Okay, we've covered a ton of ground. Here, let's
try and wrap this up with the key takeaways. Some
good so First, big insight AI tools like mid Journey,
they've fundamentally democratized design. You don't need to be an
artist in it right.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
The skill is now ideation and prompt engineering. Huge shift.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Second, the combination of Amazon merches platform and print on
demand logistics, whether via Amazon directly or services like Brnafie,
creates this incredibly hands off model.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Truly passive potential, no inventory, no shipping headaches. Amazon handles
the heavy lifting.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Third strategy is king niche. Research is non negotiable. You
have to find those gaps and target effectively.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Can't emphasize that enough research before design and build good
listings with strong keywords.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
And putting it all together. This transforms a potentially complex
business into a genuinely accessible digital side hustle or even
a full time income with real passive potential.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Absolutely, it's a powerful combination of technology and platform leverage.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
So maybe a final thought to leave our listeners with
As these AI tools get even better, which they seem
to do every week.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Uh huh, the pace is incredible.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
How might this change our whole idea of passive income
or even entrepreneurship. What other doors might open for people
who have great ideas but maybe aren't creators in the
traditional sense.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
That's a fascinating question, isn't it. It's just the future
where the ability to identify needs, formulate clear ideas, and
effectively manage AI tools might become more valuable than traditional
execution skills In many areas. We could see whole new
forms of creative and economic opportunities emerge for people who
are previously shut out.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Yeah, leveraging AI creativity is a skill in itself. Yeah,
definitely something to think about as this technology continues to evolve.
The landscape is shifting fast.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
It really is.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Well. Hopefully this deep dive has sparked some ideas, provided
some practical steps, and maybe even inspired a few of
you to explore this intersection of AI and e commerce. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Hope it was useful.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
If you enjoyed this, if you found it valuable, maybe
take a quick screenshot of the episode on your phone
and tag us on Instagram. We love seeing where you're
listening and we'll give you a shout out.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Definitely helps spread the word. Thanks for joining us on
the deep dive.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Keep exploring, keep learning, and keep chasing those well maybe
AI powered paychecks. We'll catch you on the next one.
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