How to sell print-on-demand, custom-made tumblers on Amazon and Etsy

BONUS! Find this helpful? To download this post as a PDF, click here!

Want to stand out on Etsy? Custom-made tumblers can help with that. Tumblers make great gifts for birthdays, housewarming parties, holidays, and other special occasions. And LHS members can sell their print-on-demand tumblers on Amazon and Etsy.

Below, I go over easy strategies and insights about how to successfully sell more custom-made tumblers. These insights include…

Tips for creating tumbler designs that customers can’t wait to buy
Simple and effective marketing techniques to increase your tumblers’ traffic and sales
Easy-to-implement customer service advice
And more!

At the end, I’ve also included access to a collection of tumbler mockups my designs made. The mockups are 100% free and come in 4 sizes: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

You can use these mockups to make your tumblers more visually appealing in your product listings and social media content.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced seller or brand new to ecommerce. This 101 guide can help you sell more custom-made tumblers.

Let’s dive in…

1. Create simple designs for your custom-made tumblers

Here are some tips about how to create designs for your print-on-demand tumblers:

Keep your tumbler designs simple.

With most POD products, including tumblers, simple designs work best. I recommend not using too many colors, fonts, or graphics in your designs. If you include too many design elements, you can make your tumbler designs look confusing and cluttered.

I suggest sticking to simple, text-based designs with a single black font. That way, your tumbler designs are clean and clear, and they have universal appeal.

Here are some examples of best-selling tumblers from Amazon featuring really simple designs:

Image Source

If you DO use images with your designs, make sure they’re high-quality.

As I said above, simple, text-based designs work best. But if you want to include images with some of your designs, the images need to be high-quality. Make sure all your images are clear and high-resolution. Low-quality images can make your tumblers look unprofessional and may lead to fewer sales.

Let customers personalize your tumblers.

Shoppers on every platform love being able to personalize products, but this is especially true with Etsy shoppers. When you let customers personalize your products, you let them create something unique and special.

With almost any design you create, you can give customers some type of personalization option. You can let customers add text (e.g. their name or a meaningful date), photos, or artwork. Providing the option to personalize your products also helps you stand out from the competition.

If you want to get more ideas about how to create winning designs for your custom made tumblers, check out my TikTok videos:

2. Optimize your print-on-demand tumbler listings on Amazon and Etsy

Here are some tips about how to optimize your Amazon and Etsy tumbler listings:

Write clear, keyword-rich titles for your custom-made tumblers.

When you create titles for your tumbler listings, use descriptive and relevant keywords. Just don’t overload your titles with too many keywords (this is known as “keyword stuffing”). Instead, include descriptive words like “stainless steel” and “heat and cold resistant” that accurately describe your tumblers. Your titles should always be clear and easy to understand.

To find the best keywords for your tumblers, use tools like…

You can also use the Amazon and Etsy search bar to quickly find relevant keywords. Here are some examples:

Write detailed descriptions about your custom-made tumblers.

Be sure to mention the most important details about your tumblers in their descriptions. These details include…

20 oz or 30 oz
Clear lid
Ringneck vacuum insulated

Get inside your customers’ heads. What questions might they have about your custom made tumblers? Then, answer those questions in your descriptions. You can also use AI, like ChatGPT, to help create your tumbler descriptions. Learn more about how that process works here.

To learn more about what you should include in your CustomHappy print on demand tumblers, click here.

Use high-quality lifestyle images in your tumbler listings.

In your tumblers’ listings, it’s a good idea to include images that show your tumblers in use. These photos are called lifestyle images, and they help shoppers visualize what it would be like to own your tumblers.

You could include an image of someone holding your tumbler while driving in their car. Or you could add an image of sipping from your tumbler on their way to work. (You can access my free tumbler lifestyle mockups below.)

3. Always provide professional customer service when you sell tumblers online

If you want to have a successful online store, you need to offer great customer service Customers expect high-quality attention and support, and offering this can lead to loyal and repeat customers. Happy, satisfied customers are more likely to come back and spread positive referrals about your business.

To provide the best customer service possible, you should be attentive, responsive, and empathetic to customers’ needs. Address customer messages politely and promptly. You should aim to respond to all messages within twenty-four hours.

To simplify the customer service process, you can use copy-and-paste scripts for common inquiries. This can save you tons of time and energy. To access my collection of customer service scripts, click here.

Offering great customer service can also help you get the Etsy Star Seller badge, which can lead to more sales. You can learn more about how to get this badge here. You can also check out my YouTube video.

4. Offer discounts and promotions for your custom-made tumblers

Every so often, it’s a good idea to offer discounts and promotions on your tumblers to attract more customers and boost sales. Discounts and promotions incentivize shoppers to choose your tumblers over your competitors’. Discounts and promotions are especially impactful around special occasions or sales events, such as…

Gift-giving holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc.)
Wedding season
Back-to-school season
Amazon Prime Day
Black Friday
Cyber Monday

You can also create customer loyalty programs that offer special discounts. This is a great way to reward customers for…

Repeat purchases
Referrals
Social media engagement

Offering discounts and promotions can also help you move slow-selling items and reduce excess inventory. You can learn more about how to set up discounts and coupon codes on Amazon and Etsy here.

5. Promote your custom-made tumblers

Here are some ways that you can promote your tumblers to drive more traffic and sales.

Promote your tumblers on social media platforms.

Use popular social media platforms like the following to highlight your tumblers:

Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
TikTok
Pinterest
YouTube

Make sure your social media posts include high-quality images and relevant hashtags. That way, you can reach a larger audience.

Promote your tumblers through influencer marketing.

Go to your preferred social media platform and look for influencers (people with large, engaged followings in your tumblers’ niches). Offer to send these influencers free tumblers in exchange for them posting content about your products.

You could suggest that they create an unboxing video or simply post an image of your tumbler with a link to your store. Provide the influencers with all the information they need about your tumblers to make the process as easy as possible for them.

Hashtags and coupon codes to promote your custom-made tumblers

Hashtags

Whenever you post on social media, you should include hashtags about your products to help get your content in front of the right audience. Include hashtags from this list to make your social media content more targeted:

#Tumbler
#Tumblers
#CustomTumbler
#CustomTumblers
#PersonalizedTumbler
#PersonalizedTumblers
#CuteTumbler
#FunnyTumbler
#FunTumbler
#TumblerCollector
#TumblerCollection
#TumblerGift

Coupon codes

Whenever you run discounts or promotions for your tumblers, use a coupon code from this list:

TUMBLER
CUSTOMTUMBLER
TUMBLERGIFT
TUMBLERLOVE
HOMEDECOR
THIRSTY
DRINK
DRINKME
TRAVELMUG
HOTANDCOLD
COOLTUMBLER

Try to customize your coupon codes for your specific promotions and depending on the time of year. For example, if you run a Christmas sale, you might use a coupon code like XMASTUMBLER Also, be sure to establish clear terms and conditions for each offer you create.

Also, as I mentioned above, I had my designers create a bunch of awesome tumbler mockups for you to use. Here’s a preview of what the mockups look like:

Click here to access your free tumbler mockups

If you want to receive these mockups, sign up here. You won’t need to put in your credit card details on the next page (unless you’d like to sign up for other offers on that page). This is just an easy way for us to get you your mockups in as smooth a way as possible. Enjoy! :)

…Want to see how fast you can take your product listings to the next level? Take advantage of my 14-day free trial of the Easy POD Mastermind! It’s the perfect way to test drive our accountability and action-based strategies. Here’s the link: www.EasyPODTrial.com.

I hope you liked learning about selling custom-made tumblers on Amazon and Etsy. If you have any other tips to share, please leave a comment below.

If you loved this post, check out five related articles by clicking the links below:

Please follow and like us: