Did you also have a sticker collection when you were a kid? Well, surprisingly, stickers are still on trend nowadays. According to eRank, “stickers” are among the top searched keywords on Etsy in March 2023. This means, there is still high demand for the item — a reason for sticker shops to opt for a more improved quality with various sticker designs.
So, in case you want to start one, we will prepare something for you. Below are the guides on how to make stickers to sell online.
Outline
- How To Create And Design Stickers?
- What Types Of Stickers To Make?
- How To Print Your Own Stickers To Sell Online?
- Print and cut using Cricut
- Print stickers with the help of a printing company
- Utilize dropshipping option
- How To Sell Stickers Online?
- How To Price Stickers For Selling?
- Conclusion
How To Create And Design Stickers?
Selling stickers is not that easy. You have to learn how to create stickers as well as how to make sticker designs before starting a sticker business.
Identify your niche
With so many sticker shops out there, you have to stand out. The best way to do it is to find your niche and focus on it. Begin by evaluating your interests, hobbies, and skills then check if there is a market for your niche.
Luagntxhi Yang, the owner of Smile Studio Stickers, which is a Shopify sticker store, launched her sticker shop in March 2021.
With the aim to showcase her art and creativity, she is focused on creating minimalistic sticker designs as well as cute cartoon graphics. She even gave birth to a character collection called The Awesome Squad, which were inspired by the characteristics of the owner’s friends. The success of the store resulted in the release of more sticker collections, all can be used in different designing activities.
Yang uses digital art, water painting, acrylic painting as well as photography. The sizes of each sticker vary, there are those 3.5 in x 3.5 in, 1.35 in x 1.70 in, 2 in x 2.5 in, and such — mostly in matte and glossy finishes. There are die cut stickers, deco stickers, and memo sheets, so customers can choose depending on where they will use them.
In designing your stickers, you can actually do it on your own using online apps that offer tools and services for customization such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Sticker Maker, Canva, Sticker Robot, and more.
It is best to sell stickers with consistently high quality and designs that are in line with your chosen niche, this will set you apart from other competitors.
What Types Of Stickers To Make?
Printing stickers requires a lot of effort, most owners have to test print them multiple times just to make sure their visions come to life. So, in building your own sticker shop, you really need to have patience. Consider the type of stickers you want to sell — from cut to finish.
Two common ways to cut stickers
- Die cut stickers - stickers that are cut based on the exact shape and fit of your design. The sticker and its paper backing are both cut into the same shape so there will be no excess material or paper. Die cuts emphasize the corners, sides, and edges of your custom-printed stickers.
- Kiss cut stickers - here, the paper backing stays intact. The cut is only made through the top sticker layer. So when customers take off the sticker, the backing remains behind. This is ideal for sheets of stickers containing several different designs. For example, round and heart-shaped stickers are put into a square sheet, which somehow protects the stickers from any edge disruption.
Different types of sticker finish
There are different types of sticker finish that may impact your branding, product durability, and customer feedback. In order to choose the right kind for you, you need to specifically know your target market in order to align the sticker finish that will exactly fit their needs and preferences.
Still, it is best to do a trial with various finishes before deciding which one you will choose. Remember, your sticker designs will look different when printed on different materials.
Among the most famous finishes include:
- Vinyl or glossy paper
- Matte
- Holographic
- Holographic glitter
- Mirrored
- Prismatic
- Clear or white
How To Print Your Own Stickers To Sell Online?
Print and cut using Cricut
Print in the comfort of your home, all you need is a printer, sticker paper, and a Cricut cutting machine. Note that there are different sticker paper finishes so find the best that works very well with the type of printer you have.
One way to do it is after editing your design, you can upload it to the Cricut app and make the necessary adjustments there — choose the cutting blade, adjust the size, and such. Then, you can connect it to your home printer and print it.
If everything looks good, take out your Cricut mat, which comes with the machine, and place the printed sticker exactly as how you see it on your Cricut app. After this, you can proceed with the cutting magic.
Print stickers with the help of a printing company
You can also make things a bit easier by hiring someone to do the printing for you. company to do it for you. One of the available online companies to look for is StickerApp. Upload your ticket designs and leave everything in their hands including the printing, cutting, and delivery of the finished products to you.
StrickerApp has been running for more than a decade. They offer diverse sticker finishes so they can definitely accommodate your liking. Plus, you can order sample stickers first in order for you to differentiate the types and see the actual quality of their service.
This is perfect for those merchants who have a lot of sticker orders and don't have enough time to do it on their own. Companies like StickerApp will be very much helpful in your shop.
Utilize dropshipping option
There are Shopify apps like Printful or Printify, which allow you to upload your design and trust the rest to them. Compared to a printing company, these apps can also handle the mailing of orders straight to your buyers. Though it seems to be the easiest and simplest option for having an online business, this will also provide you with the least control of the production since you will not have the chance to see the stickers before giving them to the customers. Just make sure to secure a sample so you can evaluate the finished product yourself.
There are also dropshipping art marketplaces like RedBubble and Society6, which we’ll get to in the next section.
How To Sell Stickers Online?
Selling custom stickers online requires you to have a storefront, it can be any platform or website that can assist local and even international shoppers around the world. You can sell it through online marketplaces like Etsy, for example. Another option is building your own online store using Shopify.
Selling on Etsy
Aside from selling a wide range of product categories, Etsy already has regular customers, which is one of its biggest advantages. After you sign up and create an account on Etsy, you will automatically acquire a standard storefront wherein you can upload your sticker products.
However, though Etsy is very user-friendly, making it easy to set up, however, there aren't tons of customization options available so you need to double your effort in optimizing your store by incorporating more detailed product descriptions, doing intensive keyword-search, inserting high-quality photos, and fixing a hassle-free checkout and shipping process.
For every item you list on the Etsy website or its mobile application, you will be billed a $0.20 listing fee, and you have to pay that fee whether the product sells or not. Note that brand-new listings can be automatically renewed when they expire.
Also, know that whenever you make a sale through Etsy, there will be a transaction fee of 6.5% of the price you put for each listing including other fees such as shipping and gift wrapping.
Building your own online shop using Shopify
Creating your own online sticker shop means you will have entire power over each detail, procedure, and angle that your store needs. It includes the branding, website design, sales, promotion, and marketing aspects of your sticker business. When it comes to using Shopify for your venture desires, you must first know what it is for and how to use it.
Shopify needs you to pay a monthly fee, depending on the plan you choose — $19, $49, and $299. Here are the steps in making your online store through Shopify.
- Create a Shopify account, you can sign up for a free trial version. Upon starting your trial, you’ll be asked to enter a store name, which will automatically become your URL. You can later change it by purchasing a custom domain.
- Add products to your Shopify store. This includes uploading images and adding product titles, descriptions, prices, as well as inventory.
- Customize your Shopify website. Choose a store theme, and build the necessary pages. There are Shopify page builders like PageFly that help you edit your page without using complicated codes.
- Fix tax settings. It is still essential to research your regional tax fees even though Shopify will assist you in managing your tax calculations using the default rates worldwide.
- Set up payment and shipping options. For shipping fees, it will vary depending on the weight of the item, packaging costs, shipping destination, delivery carrier rates, and your profit per order. Also, finalized what payment options you want to offer to the buyers, it can be through credit cards, Apple Pay, or Shop Pay. You will also have to set up your payout schedule based on your preference, it can be daily, weekly or monthly.
- Get ready for the store launch. Before finally opening your store, you can add a custom domain, download and install sales channels and familiarize yourself with the marketing analytics that will all help you in the long run.
Below are some examples of the sticker shops in Shopify that are continuously thriving today:
Sticker Planet
Sticker Planet, which has been in the business since 1992, also expanded its reach by creating its website and online store with Shopify. The idea was due to customers' demand, requesting them to sell online. Their store is located in the Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles which is described as “good things in small packages.”
Their sticker business has been passed down from generation to generation. You can literally find diverse sticker designs perfect for journaling, crafting and designing.
Sticker Guru
Sticker Guru is another sticker shop managed by two sisters based in California. Their stickers are hand-made. The Sticker Guru was established in 206 during Lisa's, one of the founders, senior year in high school — a year after, Lucy joined. They offer a wide variety of sticker kits for journaling as well as other stationery tools.
How To Price Stickers For Selling?
Often business owners find it hard to decide their final pricing, which is sometimes due to the thin line between wanting to make a huge profit and at the same time putting into consideration what most people are willing to spend on stickers.
However, with proper research and computation of the factors that affect the pricing, this can be an easy thing to accomplish. If you have no idea about the pricing, you can look at other sticker shops online for references for the market range. Some stickers cost around $1, while stickers that are larger in size and have more intricate designs tend to be sold at higher prices.
Other things that will influence your sticker price also include the total amount of money you spent on the materials you used, production labor, and packaging. Also consider your artistic background and skills, especially if you have been in this line of work for quite some time.
You might also want to check out these article-related content for your future Shopify store:
How To Scale Up Your Sticker Business And Sell Stickers Online Like A Pro
Sell Digital Products on Shopify Like A Pro In 2023
Shopify Pages - Everything You Need to Know in 2023
Conclusion
Setting up a sticker shop will not only provide revenue but will also give you a space where you can express your artistry and imagination.
Though the entire process of managing a business will need your full commitment and dedication, with thorough market research you will surely be able to run it in accordance with your direction; be ready to undergo a trial and error phase to expand your sticker business to the next level.
