Why Your Designs Aren’t Selling and How to Fix It

About this video

Despite the framing question of why designs are not selling, the transcript is Martinez’s ranked guide to five print-on-demand platforms, opening with the hypothetical that platform choice could be the difference between zero and $5,000 a month and his claim of over eight years’ experience and over $500,000 in royalties. 1) Merch by Amazon: his number one income source, with Amazon’s built-in buyers, Prime shipping and royalty control, but invite-only with heavy competition and copycats; he advises timeless niches and solid SEO. 2) Redbubble: artist-friendly, strong Google SEO and a large product catalog, good for niche long-tail designs, but slow uploads and copycats. 3) TeePublic: fastest uploading, fixed pricing and site-wide promos, though royalties can dip to $2 during promotions by his account. 4) Zazzle: overlooked for weddings, birthdays and personalized gifts across mugs, invitations and business cards, but time-consuming to set up and price. 5) Spreadshirt: international/European reach and low maintenance, with a narrower catalog and trickier royalties. His recommendation is not to use all five: beginners start with TeePublic and Redbubble, intermediates add Zazzle, advanced sellers focus on Merch by Amazon and Spreadshirt, starting with two or three platforms that fit their designs, audience and workflow, with research first and simple text-based designs.

Key takeaways

• Platform fit matters more than platform size: match the site to your designs, audience, niche and workflow, and start with only two or three
• Merch by Amazon is presented as his top income source for its built-in traffic and Prime shipping, but it is invite-only and copycat-heavy
• Redbubble suits keyword-driven, long-tail niche designs; TeePublic suits fast uploading and volume despite royalties dipping during promos
• Zazzle is the overlooked pick for personalized wedding, birthday and gift products; Spreadshirt offers passive international reach
• Beginners: TeePublic plus Redbubble; intermediates: add Zazzle; advanced: Merch by Amazon and Spreadshirt — with research before design and simple text designs that sell

Episode details: published June 22, 2025 · 5:52 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are RJ Martinez’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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