Do you want to learn how to make money selling print-on-demand products on TikTok? 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’re just starting out. That’s why I’m excited to share today’s…
Do you want to learn how to make money selling print-on-demand products on TikTok?
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’re just starting out.
That’s why I’m excited to share today’s interview with April, the founder of Poppy Rose Print Company. She’s a work-from-home mom who started her business because she wanted a way to earn money from home without her house being taken over by inventory and shipping supplies.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this interview:
- What print-on-demand is and why so many sellers choose it
- How TikTok Live selling works (and what to do before your first Live)
- What helped her have a $40,000 night (this is sales before expenses), and why planning matters
- How she chooses products and designs based on seasons and trends
- A step-by-step plan for your first 30 days
And more!
How I Make Money Selling On TikTok Live
If you’ve 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.
Related content:
1. Tell us your story! Who are you, and how did you get started with PoppyRose Print Company?
Hi y’all! I’m April, the founder of Poppy Rose Print Company. I’m 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 “why,” so it felt natural to build a business name around them.
I started my business on Etsy, and at the time I was already using Printify 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.
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.
I remember thinking, “This is just not working.”
I didn’t want a warehouse. I didn’t 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.
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.
2. What do you sell, and who do you sell to? What type of apparel/products are your bestsellers?
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.
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.
Holiday shirts do really well for us. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas — those seasons can be huge. I also do a religious Live on Sundays, and that one does really well too.
The biggest thing I’ve 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’s a cute faith-based message or a design that makes someone say, “That is so me,” that tends to work really well.
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, “We’ve sold 200 of this one,” people naturally want to be part of that. That social proof really helps.
3. Can you explain print-on-demand in simple terms? How does it work, and why did you choose POD instead of buying inventory?
Print-on-demand is basically where you create the design and list the product, but you don’t physically make or store the item yourself.
So for me, I use Printify. 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.
That means I’m not buying 500 shirts upfront. I’m not guessing sizes. I’m not storing boxes all over my house. I’m not staying up all night pressing shirts and packing orders.
I chose print-on-demand because I needed flexibility. I’m a mom, and I wanted to run my business from home with my children. POD made that possible.
Honestly, I think print-on-demand is the way of the future for a lot of sellers. I’ve 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.
4. You started on Etsy – what made you decide to expand to TikTok Shop and start using TikTok Live?
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.
But then I was talked into trying TikTok Shop, and once I started seeing what was possible there, everything changed.
TikTok is different because people are discovering you in real time. They’re not always searching for a shirt. They might just be scrolling, see your video or Live, connect with you, and then decide to buy.
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.
People buy from people. That’s what I love about TikTok Live. It’s not just a listing on a screen. It’s connection.
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?
TikTok Live selling is basically going live on TikTok and selling products directly during the live stream.
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’re watching.
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.
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’m 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.
You don’t need to physically have every single item. I don’t always have everything. You can have a few samples to show and still load other products in the cart.
Also, register your Lives ahead of time. My Lives are way more profitable when people pre-register. For the Live where I’ve done around $40,000, I had over 500 people registered before we even started.
6. How much money are you making now from your print-on-demand business? If you’re comfortable sharing, can you share monthly revenue (or a range), plus what a “normal” month looks like?
I’m 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.
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’re in, how often I’m going live, what designs are trending, and how much momentum we have.
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’s guaranteed. It took a lot of work, testing, showing up, and learning.
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.
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?
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.
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’t have to buy inventory upfront, store it, guess sizes, or make every shirt myself.
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.
Profit margins can vary depending on the product, the sale price, discounts, coupons, and what kind of promotion I’m running. I’m 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.
8. Do you do everything yourself? Or, do you have a team?
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.
Now, because I use print-on-demand, I don’t 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.
There are still a lot of moving parts. Even with POD, you’re still running the business. You’re creating listings, choosing products, preparing Lives, talking to customers, watching trends, working with affiliates, and making sure everything is set up correctly.
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.
9. One TikTok Live brought in around $40,000 in one evening – what happened that day? What was the offer, how long was the Live, how many viewers, and what do you think made it work?
That Live worked because it was planned.
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.
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’re scrolling and relaxing.
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.
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’m a small business and that every order truly matters.
I also used TikTok’s tools — giveaways, flash sales, coupons, buy-more-save-more offers. Giveaways are huge because they bring people in and keep people engaged. I’ll set goals like, “At 100,000 likes, we’ll do a giveaway,” because engagement helps the Live get pushed out to more people.
The biggest thing is that it didn’t feel like a hard sell. It felt fun. People were hanging out, shopping, commenting, getting excited, and feeling like they were part of something.
10. How often do you go Live now, and what does your schedule look like each week?
My schedule can change depending on the season, but I’ve found that evening Lives usually perform best for me. I often like the 5 to 8 p.m. window.
We do daytime Lives sometimes too, and they can still do well, but evenings tend to be stronger.
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.
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?
Lives need preparation. The more prepared I am, the better the Live usually goes.
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?
I choose designs based on a mix of research, trends, customer interest, what’s already selling, holidays, and my own ideas.
If you’re new, I really recommend starting with research-based designs. Don’t just make random shirts and hope they sell. Look at what people are buying. Look at what’s trending. Pay attention to holidays and seasons.
For each Live, I think about what I have that’s new, what’s 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.
Customer requests matter too. When you build a community, people will tell you what they want. They’ll ask for certain colors, sayings, styles, or themes. That feedback is gold.
The best designs are usually the ones that make someone feel something quickly — “That’s cute,” “That’s me,” “I need that for Thanksgiving,” or “My friend would love that.”
12. If you had to start over from scratch today, what would you do in the first 30 days? (Step-by-step, please!)
If I were starting over today, I would keep it simple and focus on getting momentum.
In the first week, I would research designs and choose a clear niche or theme. I’d look at what’s selling, what season is coming up, and what kind of customer I want to serve.
Then I’d create a small collection of products — not hundreds. Just enough to make the shop feel full. I’d list those products on TikTok Shop and make sure the photos, titles, and pricing were solid.
Next, I’d create videos. Nothing fancy. Lay shirts out nicely, show mockups, talk about the designs, explain who they’re for, and post consistently.
I would also use affiliates early. I’d open collaborations so creators could promote my products, and I’d reach out to affiliates in my market.
Then I’d start going live, even before I felt ready. I’d 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: “Y’all, I’m new, but I’m excited you’re here.”
The biggest thing is just starting. You learn by doing. You cannot wait until you feel perfectly ready, because honestly, you probably never will.
13. What advice would you give to someone who feels nervous about going Live but wants to try?
You just have to get in there and make the mistakes.
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’s okay.
Be honest with people. Say, “This is my first time going live, y’all. I’m still learning.” More often than not, people are kind. They want to help you. They’ll cheer you on.
Don’t try to be overly polished. Be genuine. Talk to people like they’re friends. Say hello when they come in. Thank them when they order. Answer questions. Smile. Keep your energy up.
And remember, you’re not just selling shirts. You’re building trust. People want to feel connected.
14. Where can readers find you and learn more?
Readers can find me at Poppy Rose Print Company on TikTok Shop and follow along with our Lives there.
Have you ever thought about selling on TikTok Live?
