📘 1000 Side Hustle Ideas Home ← Investing & Money-Making Systems ← Royalties & Licensing Income
HUSTLE #942 10.5 Royalties & Licensing Income

Create and License Print-on-Demand Designs to Multiple Marketplaces

💰 Startup Cost $0-$200
⏰ Time/wk 3-5 hrs
📊 Difficulty ★★★★☆
🏆 1st Month $ $10-$200
💵 Monthly Range $100-$2,000+
⏱ First $ In 1-2 months
Redbubble, Merch by Amazon, Etsy
Design t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, and stickers once, then upload to Redbubble, Merch by Amazon, and Etsy (via Printful). When a customer buys, the platform prints, ships, and handles customer service — you collect a royalty of $2-$12 per item. Focus on trending niches: specific dog breeds, niche professions (speech pathologist gifts), and seasonal humor. A catalog of 200 designs across 3 platforms can earn $500-$1,500 monthly while you sleep.
🚀 First Step
Create a free Redbubble account, design 5 t-shirt graphics in Canva for a specific niche (like corgi owners), and upload with keyword-rich titles.
  • Target micro-niches — 'corgi mom gifts' outsells 'dog lover gifts' because the competition is lower and the audience is more passionate
  • Upload designs to 3+ platforms because each has a different audience; a design that flops on Amazon might blow up on Redbubble
  • Trademark-check every design phrase before uploading — one infringement takedown can get your account banned permanently
🛠 Tools & Resources: Redbubble, Merch by Amazon, Etsy, Printful, Canva