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<\/div>\nDo you want to learn how to make money selling print-on-demand products on TikTok?<\/p>\n
Print-on-demand is popular because you can sell shirts, sweatshirts, and other products without buying a bunch of inventory upfront. But the hard part is usually getting consistent sales, especially when you\u2019re just starting out.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I\u2019m excited to share today\u2019s interview with April, the founder of Poppy Rose Print Company<\/a>. She\u2019s a work-from-home mom who started her business because she wanted a way to earn money from home<\/a> without her house being taken over by inventory and shipping supplies.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll learn in this interview:<\/p>\n And more!<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been interested in selling on TikTok Live, but you want to better understand how it all works before getting started, then this interview is for you.<\/p>\n Related content:<\/em><\/p>\n Hi y\u2019all! I\u2019m April, the founder of Poppy Rose Print Company. I\u2019m a work-from-home mom, and the name Poppy Rose actually came from my two daughters, Primrose and Poppy. My girls are such a big part of my \u201cwhy,\u201d so it felt natural to build a business name around them.<\/p>\n I started my business on Etsy, and at the time I was already using Printify<\/a> for print-on-demand. I loved the idea of being able to create designs and sell products without having to keep a ton of inventory in my house. As a mom, that flexibility mattered so much to me.<\/p>\n Before print-on-demand, I had tried making shirts myself, and honestly, it got overwhelming fast. There was one point when my baby was only about three months old, and my husband, my mom, my older daughter, and I were all in the living room trying to get a huge shirt order finished and shipped on time. <\/p>\n I remember thinking, \u201cThis is just not working.\u201d<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t want a warehouse. I didn\u2019t want my whole house taken over by inventory. I wanted to stay home with my children and still build something meaningful. Print-on-demand gave me that opportunity.<\/p>\n Eventually, I moved from Etsy over to TikTok Shop, and TikTok Live completely changed everything for my business. I went from doing around $30,000 a month in TikTok sales to doing hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. It has been such a blessing, but it also came from showing up consistently, learning as I went, and being willing to make mistakes in front of people.<\/p>\n We mostly sell graphic apparel, especially shirts and sweatshirts. A lot of our products are seasonal, holiday-based, faith-based, trendy, or just fun everyday designs that women can relate to.<\/p>\n My customers are mostly women who love cute, comfortable, expressive shirts. A lot of them are moms, teachers, boutique shoppers, Christian women, holiday lovers, and people who enjoy wearing something that feels personal or fun.<\/p>\n Holiday shirts do really well for us. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas \u2014 those seasons can be huge. I also do a religious Live on Sundays, and that one does really well too.<\/p>\n The biggest thing I\u2019ve learned is that people love products that feel timely. If Thanksgiving is coming up, they want Thanksgiving shirts. If Christmas is coming, they want Christmas designs. If there\u2019s a cute faith-based message or a design that makes someone say, \u201cThat is so me,\u201d that tends to work really well.<\/p>\n I also pay attention to what already has sales behind it. On TikTok Live, people can see when an item has sold a lot. If I pin a shirt and say, \u201cWe\u2019ve sold 200 of this one,\u201d people naturally want to be part of that. That social proof really helps.<\/p>\n Print-on-demand is basically where you create the design and list the product, but you don\u2019t physically make or store the item yourself.<\/p>\n So for me, I use Printify<\/a>. I create or upload a design, choose the product I want it on, like a t-shirt or sweatshirt, and then list it in my shop. When a customer orders, the item is printed and shipped for me.<\/p>\n That means I\u2019m not buying 500 shirts upfront. I\u2019m not guessing sizes. I\u2019m not storing boxes all over my house. I\u2019m not staying up all night pressing shirts and packing orders.<\/p>\n I chose print-on-demand because I needed flexibility. I\u2019m a mom, and I wanted to run my business from home with my children. POD made that possible.<\/p>\n Honestly, I think print-on-demand is the way of the future for a lot of sellers. I\u2019ve seen other TikTok sellers switch to POD because keeping up with inventory and production can be so hard. For me, it allowed the business to grow without me having to build a warehouse or hire a whole production team.<\/p>\n I started on Etsy because that felt like the natural place to begin. Etsy is great for search-based shopping. People go there looking for specific items, and if your designs are good and searchable, you can get sales.<\/p>\n But then I was talked into trying TikTok Shop, and once I started seeing what was possible there, everything changed.<\/p>\n TikTok is different because people are discovering you in real time. They\u2019re not always searching for a shirt. They might just be scrolling, see your video or Live, connect with you, and then decide to buy.<\/p>\n TikTok Live took it even further because it let me actually talk to customers. I could show the shirts, answer questions, thank people by name, create excitement, run giveaways, and build a real community.<\/p>\n People buy from people. That\u2019s what I love about TikTok Live. It\u2019s not just a listing on a screen. It\u2019s connection.<\/p>\n TikTok Live selling is basically going live on TikTok and selling products directly during the live stream.<\/p>\n You can pin products, talk about them, show samples, answer questions, run flash sales, offer coupons, do giveaways, and encourage people to shop while they\u2019re watching.<\/p>\n Before you go live, you need products listed in your TikTok Shop. I always recommend having several items in your shop first so when people click over, they have options.<\/p>\n You also want to prepare for your Live. I do not recommend just jumping on and winging it. I spend a few hours setting up before a Live. I get the clothes in order, decide what I\u2019m going to show, create my product set, make sure my flash sale is ready, set up any buy-more-save-more offers, and make sure the cart is loaded.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to physically have every single item. I don\u2019t always have everything. You can have a few samples to show and still load other products in the cart.<\/p>\n Also, register your Lives ahead of time. My Lives are way more profitable when people pre-register. For the Live where I\u2019ve done around $40,000, I had over 500 people registered before we even started.<\/p>\n I\u2019m comfortable sharing that TikTok Live changed my business in a really big way. I went from doing around $30,000 a month in TikTok sales to doing hundreds of thousands of dollars a month in sales on TikTok.<\/p>\n Of course, every month is different. Holiday months can be much bigger because people are shopping for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and gifts. A normal month depends on what season we\u2019re in, how often I\u2019m going live, what designs are trending, and how much momentum we have.<\/p>\n I always want to be clear that revenue is not the same as profit, and I never want people to hear a number and think it\u2019s guaranteed. It took a lot of work, testing, showing up, and learning.<\/p>\n But yes, print-on-demand and TikTok Shop have created a business that has been bigger than I ever expected when I first started from home. I have paid off all my debt, bought a new home and taken my family on several vacations.<\/p>\n My biggest expenses are usually the print-on-demand product costs, shipping\/fulfillment costs, TikTok fees, samples, giveaways, and any tools or help I use in the business.<\/p>\n With print-on-demand, your cost per item is higher than if you were buying blanks in bulk and printing them yourself, but the tradeoff is huge. I don\u2019t have to buy inventory upfront, store it, guess sizes, or make every shirt myself.<\/p>\n Giveaways are also an expense, but I see them as part of my Live strategy. For example, if I give away a shirt that costs me around $15, that giveaway might bring hundreds more people into the Live. Even if only a small percentage of those people buy, it can still be worth it.<\/p>\n Profit margins can vary depending on the product, the sale price, discounts, coupons, and what kind of promotion I\u2019m running. I\u2019m careful with my numbers, but I also think about the bigger picture. Sometimes a coupon, giveaway, or flash sale helps create momentum that makes the whole live perform better.<\/p>\n I run the business from home, and in the beginning, it was very much a family effort. Like I mentioned, there was a time when my husband, my mom, and I were all trying to help get orders done.<\/p>\n Now, because I use print-on-demand, I don\u2019t have to physically make and ship every single shirt myself, which is such a gift. Printify handles the production side, and that allows me to focus more on designs, TikTok Shop, Lives, customers, and marketing.<\/p>\n There are still a lot of moving parts. Even with POD, you\u2019re still running the business. You\u2019re creating listings, choosing products, preparing Lives, talking to customers, watching trends, working with affiliates, and making sure everything is set up correctly.<\/p>\n I have 3 employees now that help me with Live sales (comments, flash sales, giveaways). They also make mockups, list products and handle customer messages.<\/p>\n That Live worked because it was planned.<\/p>\n Before the Live even started, I had over 500 people registered. That made a huge difference. I had promoted it, registered it in my profile, and gave people a reason to show up.<\/p>\n The Live was in the evening, which tends to work well for me. My best Lives are usually around 5 to 8 p.m. I think that time catches people after work, before bedtime routines, or during that little window where they\u2019re scrolling and relaxing.<\/p>\n I had my products ready. The cart was loaded. My product set was created. My flash sales and discounts were ready. I knew what I was going to show.<\/p>\n During the Live, I focused on energy, urgency, and connection. I stood the whole time. I moved around. I talked to people. I thanked customers by name. I reminded everyone that I\u2019m a small business and that every order truly matters.<\/p>\n I also used TikTok\u2019s tools \u2014 giveaways, flash sales, coupons, buy-more-save-more offers. Giveaways are huge because they bring people in and keep people engaged. I\u2019ll set goals like, \u201cAt 100,000 likes, we\u2019ll do a giveaway,\u201d because engagement helps the Live get pushed out to more people.<\/p>\n The biggest thing is that it didn\u2019t feel like a hard sell. It felt fun. People were hanging out, shopping, commenting, getting excited, and feeling like they were part of something.<\/p>\n My schedule can change depending on the season, but I\u2019ve found that evening Lives usually perform best for me. I often like the 5 to 8 p.m. window.<\/p>\n We do daytime Lives sometimes too, and they can still do well, but evenings tend to be stronger.<\/p>\n I also plan Lives around themes. For example, during the holidays, I might do Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or gift-focused Lives. I also do a religious Live on Sundays that performs really well.<\/p>\n The key is not just going live randomly. I try to make sure each Live has a purpose. What are we showing? What is the theme? What offers are available? What is the reason someone should stay?<\/p>\n Lives need preparation. The more prepared I am, the better the Live usually goes.<\/p>\n I choose designs based on a mix of research, trends, customer interest, what\u2019s already selling, holidays, and my own ideas.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re new, I really recommend starting with research-based designs. Don\u2019t just make random shirts and hope they sell. Look at what people are buying. Look at what\u2019s trending. Pay attention to holidays and seasons.<\/p>\n For each Live, I think about what I have that\u2019s new, what\u2019s trending right now, and what already has sales behind it. Products with sales history can do really well in Lives because people see that others are buying them.<\/p>\n Customer requests matter too. When you build a community, people will tell you what they want. They\u2019ll ask for certain colors, sayings, styles, or themes. That feedback is gold.<\/p>\n The best designs are usually the ones that make someone feel something quickly \u2014 \u201cThat\u2019s cute,\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s me,\u201d \u201cI need that for Thanksgiving,\u201d or \u201cMy friend would love that.\u201d<\/p>\n If I were starting over today, I would keep it simple and focus on getting momentum.<\/p>\n In the first week, I would research designs and choose a clear niche or theme. I\u2019d look at what\u2019s selling, what season is coming up, and what kind of customer I want to serve.<\/p>\n Then I\u2019d create a small collection of products \u2014 not hundreds. Just enough to make the shop feel full. I\u2019d list those products on TikTok Shop and make sure the photos, titles, and pricing were solid.<\/p>\n Next, I\u2019d create videos. Nothing fancy. Lay shirts out nicely, show mockups, talk about the designs, explain who they\u2019re for, and post consistently.<\/p>\n I would also use affiliates early. I\u2019d open collaborations so creators could promote my products, and I\u2019d reach out to affiliates in my market.<\/p>\n Then I\u2019d start going live, even before I felt ready. I\u2019d plan the Live, register it ahead of time, set up a small product set, offer a coupon or flash sale, and just be honest with people: \u201cY\u2019all, I\u2019m new, but I\u2019m excited you\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n The biggest thing is just starting. You learn by doing. You cannot wait until you feel perfectly ready, because honestly, you probably never will.<\/p>\n You just have to get in there and make the mistakes.<\/p>\n It is going to feel scary at first. You might stumble over your words. You might not know what button to push. Something might go wrong. That\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n Be honest with people. Say, \u201cThis is my first time going live, y\u2019all. I\u2019m still learning.\u201d More often than not, people are kind. They want to help you. They\u2019ll cheer you on.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t try to be overly polished. Be genuine. Talk to people like they\u2019re friends. Say hello when they come in. Thank them when they order. Answer questions. Smile. Keep your energy up.<\/p>\n And remember, you\u2019re not just selling shirts. You\u2019re building trust. People want to feel connected.<\/p>\n Readers can find me at Poppy Rose Print Company<\/a> on TikTok Shop<\/a> and follow along with our Lives there.<\/p>\n Have you ever thought about selling on TikTok Live?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
How I Make Money Selling On TikTok Live<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1. Tell us your story! Who are you, and how did you get started with PoppyRose Print Company?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. What do you sell, and who do you sell to? What type of apparel\/products are your bestsellers?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"PoppyRosePrintCo](\"https:\/\/www.makingsenseofcents.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/PoppyRosePrintCo-Etsy-Shop-1024x555.png\")
3. Can you explain print-on-demand in simple terms? How does it work, and why did you choose POD instead of buying inventory?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. You started on Etsy \u2013 what made you decide to expand to TikTok Shop and start using TikTok Live?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"PoppyRosePrintCompany](\"https:\/\/www.makingsenseofcents.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/PoppyRosePrintCompany-TikTok-1024x668.png\")
5. For someone brand new: what is TikTok Live selling? How does it work, and what do you need to set up before you can do Lives?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
6. How much money are you making now from your print-on-demand business? If you\u2019re comfortable sharing, can you share monthly revenue (or a range), plus what a \u201cnormal\u201d month looks like?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
7. What are your biggest expenses each month (POD costs, shipping, fees, ads, tools, contractors, etc.)? And what does your profit margin usually look like?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
8. Do you do everything yourself? Or, do you have a team?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
9. One TikTok Live brought in around $40,000 in one evening \u2013 what happened that day? What was the offer, how long was the Live, how many viewers, and what do you think made it work?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
10. How often do you go Live now, and what does your schedule look like each week?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
11. How do you choose what designs\/messages to put on shirts? Do you use trends, search, customer requests, your own ideas, something else? And, how do you create the designs? Is there a tool you use?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
12. If you had to start over from scratch today, what would you do in the first 30 days? (Step-by-step, please!)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
13. What advice would you give to someone who feels nervous about going Live but wants to try?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
14. Where can readers find you and learn more?<\/strong><\/h3>\n