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A print-on-demand (POD) business is an ecommerce model where products like t-shirts, mugs, and other merchandise are printed to order, rather than stocking inventory. When starting a POD business, one of the most important early steps is choosing your brand name and coming up with creative pod business name ideas. A good brand name builds recognition, conveys what your business offers, and helps you stand out from competitors.
According to Global Banking & Finance Review, over 80% of investors agree that name recognition is one of the major reasons for them to make investment decisions. While POD businesses may not take outside investments, a unique and memorable name is similarly crucial. Your brand name will represent your online store and products, so it needs to instantly tell potential customers what you offer. It also needs to be distinct enough to avoid confusion with competitors.
This article will guide you through choosing the perfect brand name and print-on-demand business name ideas for your print-on-demand business. From finding inspiration to checking name availability, you’ll learn methods and tools to end up with a name that builds brand recognition and effectively communicates your business’ niche and offerings right from the start.
Why does your business brand name ideas matter?
Finding the right business name is a very crucial step when starting a brand new business. Even though a large part of your business’s success depends on your you operate your store, a good brand name can help to establish a strong brand identity.
On the contrary, wrong or bad brand name can cause many problems in the long run. To prevent all these possible issues in the first place, getting a decent brand name is highly recommended.
Print On Demand store name ideas is the key to brand recognition
Keeping your brand name on top of customers’ minds has always been the main purpose of branding and marketing. In order to do that, you need to make it right at the very first step – name your business.
It takes 0.05 seconds for people to form an opinion about your website, meaning that the chance for your online print on demand store to make some impression on the buyers is incredibly small.
Besides the visual aspect, the brand name is also one of the key factors that create the first impression of your brand. While several brands can use a similar color for your brand identity, it is the brand name that is unique to your store and makes your store stand out from the crowd.
Your brand names tell your business’s story and represent your brand position
Beyond being a tool for building brand recognition, a brand name can also be a way to convey your brand’s story and represent your brand in a concise and meaningful way.
Take Facebook for example. The name refers to Havard’s paper guide for its student. Mark who also went to Harvard started Facebook as a private platform for Harvard students to network. Facebook has gone beyond Harvard’s campus and come one of the most influential tech companies in the world. The name “Facebook” is not only unique but also capable of telling the company’s story in just one word.
Another great example is Cadillac. Unlike Facebook, the American car-making company’s name doesn’t relate to the origin story of the brand. Cadillac is in fact a French word. Its foreign nature somehow represents the elegance and class quality of the car brand. The brand name is so successful that it has even entered the vocabulary of the spoken English language: Cadillac now means “something that is the most luxurious or highest quality of its kind”.
Your Print On Demand store name ideas represents your niches
For smaller businesses like print on demand businesses, in many cases, the brand name is the fastest way to communicate what markets and products a store targets. For example, House of Chingasos is a successful print-on-demand apparel brand that sells streetwear and T-shirts that are related to Latinos culture and humor. The word “Chingasos” is a Spanish slang for punching and hitting. In some cases, it can be used as a curse word. This name successfully communicates what this brand is targeting – its niches and audience.
For inspiration on niche ideas, check out the article Etsy Print on Demand Success Stories: Etsy has become a breeding ground for successful print-on-demand businesses, where folks dive into niche markets and bring out cool designs to the forefront. These stories not only showcase the power of a standout brand name but also the potential of cashing in on specific audiences and cultures.
In the world of eCommerce, such brand name ideas can help you constantly connect with your targeted audience and make you stand out from other competitors.
Check our list of best print on demand niches for Shopify business to start selling now!
Look at your competitors
Checking your competitors is a great way to find inspiration. In each market, there might be a list of repetitive words and phrases that are commonly used. These words can make it easier for customers to identify what your stores are selling and set the right expectation.
Look at your favorite books, subjects, arts, languages, and more
Inspiration is everywhere around you. You can find various unique ideas from your favorite things in the world.
For your information, the famous multinational coffeehouse chain Starbuck got its name from a character from “Moby-Dick”. Zara was originally named after the film “Zorba the Greek” which was later rearranged and changed into its current name.
Brainstorm business name
After searching for inspiration, you can now start brainstorming business ideas for your print on demand business. When using the brainstorming method, you need to let your thinking flow going non-stop and note down as many ideas as possible. There shouldn’t be any criteria or rules to be considered at this point. Here are some suggestions to get print on demand business name ideas:
- Be literal: The most memorable names are usually names that are straightforward. Take “I Like Maps” for example. This name is direct and to-the-point, suggesting one thing – This store sells maps for those who love maps.
- Use your own name: This naming method is common in the fashion industry. Many of the world’s famous fashion brands are named after their founders, like Ralph Lauren, Adidas, Gucci, Hugo Boss, and more.
- Use Acronyms: Acronyms are frequently used to create names. ASOS is the abbreviation for As Seen On Screen. H&M stands for Hennes and Mauritz.
- Makeup words: Let your imagination run wild and create words that have never been heard before. Make-up words are exotic and unique. They have the ability to intrigue buyers more.
72% of the best brand names are made-up words or acronyms.
How to name your print on demand business
Finding a name for your business has never been easy. It takes a great amount of consideration and thinking as well as creativity. Some people might have made their minds on the name well before starting their business. For most of us, a brand name comes as an afterthought once you set your eyes on creating a brand.
If you have no idea how to name your business, don’t worry. This is a step-by-step guide on how you can find good print on demand business name ideas.
Understand your business and find your brand identity
In order to find a suitable business name for your business that successfully communicates your brand position and personality, you must understand your business first. Here are a few questions you need to ask before deciding on the name for your online print on demand store:
- What is your main niche? What products and markets are you targeting? Are you selling sportswear or home and living products? What is the niche you are targeting at?
- Who is your target audience? What groups of customers is your print on demand brand targeting? Are your audience young people who expect something fun and interesting? Are they older folks who prefer straightforward, no-nonsense ways of communicating?
- Who are you in your target market? Are you targeting the premium segment of the market? Are you reaching the lower segment with more affordable pricing? Are your products environmentally friendly?
After answering these questions, you have formed a mental image of how your brand will look like and what vibe your brand name will have.
Find inspiration
Ideas don’t come out of nowhere. You need to look around for inspiration. Who knows your research for existing ideas can inspire a brilliant and original idea for your own brand. Here are a few ways that you can try to find inspiration for your print on demand business name.
Look at successful brands
There are various methods that brands used to come up with their brand names. Looking through the successful brands, you might find some particular sounds, words, or ways of combining words to form a brand name.
Find your inspiration with our list of the successful Etsy print on demand stores
The insights you have gathered from the previous steps can help you churn out countless name ideas. Besides using your own creativity juice, here are some tips that will help you to generate more ideas.
- Use thesaurus and dictionary: Our limited vocabulary range can pose a challenge when seeking out new and unique words and names. By using thesaurus and dictionary, you can find endless unique and beautiful words to represent your brand.
- Use name generator: A name generator offers a quick and easy way to generate brand names. By typing down some keywords and selecting a category for your brand, the name generator tools will shortly come up with endless name ideas for your print-on-demand business. More similar tools will be introduced later in this blog post.
Shorten your list
The goal of brainstorming is to come up with as many ideas as possible. After you have created a long list of print on demand business name ideas, it’s time to shorten your lists to a few name that matches your brand the most.
It is at this point that you need to put into consideration a few factors that determine if the name is good or not. We will dive into the criteria that make a good name later on.
Check if the name is available
Not all good names are available. Your best ideas might have been already taken and used by other businesses. In order to avoid unwanted legal issues as well as for the benefit of your branding effort, you should check if the name options you have picked out are available.
- Domain:
Domain is an important part of eCommerce business. It is the equivalent of ID in the online world. It is very important to assure that the domain for your brand name is not registered and used by another company. It is best that you find a brand name domain with the “.com” suffix because it is the go-to domain suffix when people want to search for your brand.
- Social media profile:
Besides making sure that your brand name domain is available, you should also pay attention to the availability of your brand name across important social media platforms.
Your online presence is the combination of your website and social media profiles. It is of the same importance to check if your brand name is already taken by other social media users. According to LucidPress, brand consistency across different platforms can increase revenue by up to 33% . That’s why you should keep your brand name consistent on your domain name and social media profile.
- Federal trademark records
When you just start out, it might feel less urgent to check the trademark record. Not checking the availability of your business name on the legal record might cause regret and headache later on. For example, when your business takes off, your competitors might get ahead and steal your name. They can totally sue you for using their trademarked business name.
For the US-based business, what you need to do is go to US Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) and type down the business names you have in mind. This way, you can search the database of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to see if your business name is available or not.
Register your brand names
After choosing the brand name and making sure that the name is not taken, the last step of the process is to register your brand name.
If you are based in the US, you will need to register with the USPTO in a few following steps.
- Go to https://www.uspto.gov/
- Go to “Trademark" section
- Click “Apply for a Trademark
- Go to “Initial application forms” section and click
- Click “Start your application in TEAS” button and start filling out the form
- Submit the form
You’re basically done with the trademark registration. After the form is submitted, your application will be processed in 6-9 months’ time. For business operations outside the US, you should refer to the country’s process.
Tips to find a great brand name
Find unique name
Finding a unique name is the number one criterion when it comes to choosing a name for your business. A unique name can set your business apart from the rest from the get-go. On the other hand, using repetitious names make it particularly hard for people to remember your name. In the worst case, customers might mistake your business for others with similar names. A one-of-a-kind name also makes it easier for customers to find your store in the online world.
Choose memorable names
Being memorable is the key quality of a good business name, especially for a print on demand business. After all, the purpose of branding is to make customers remember you and your brand and anytime they want to buy products, your brand name will pop up in their heads. A memorable name sets a strong foundation for all of your branding effort and can help you protect your print on demand copyright.
Be consistent and use scalable names
As mentioned earlier, a business name should be consistent across different platforms. Consistency helps the customer to recognize your brand better and find your business more easily on various platforms.
Avoid hard-to-spell names
Besides being unique and memorable, an ideal business name shouldn’t be hard to spell, especially when your business is operating mainly in the online space. If your customer got the spelling wrong, they are probably not able to find your store.
In addition, a hard-to-spell name can easily be misspelled, which can be a printing disaster in the future.
Don’t be too narrow
Another don’t when choosing a business name is to use a narrow name for your business. For example, the name “I like Maps” as mentioned above is only good if you sell solely maps. If you want to expand your business and sell something like T-shirt, your customers would not think about your store first. To easily scale your business later on, you should avoid narrow names.
Get feedbacks
Even when you feel very satisfied with the carefully-selected names for your business, it is safe to seek others’ opinions before settling down on one option. Other people can offer some unique perspectives on your brand name.
Best business tools to find business name
Naming your print on demand business can feel like a tough task. But you shouldn’t worry. There are plenty of tools that can provide you with a multitude of options in just one simple search.
Looka
Looka is a smart tool for generating business names. The generator’s suggesting mechanism is simple. You can find business name ideas by industry or niches. It also allows you to sort names with abstract ideas like “Luxury”, “Unique”, “Excellent”, “Vibrant” and more. These methods allow you to explore business name ideas based on the characteristics of your business. The suggested options are sorted into three categories:
- Invented names – unique and innovative
- Compound names – descriptive and effective
- Mutileword names – respected and elegant
- Real-word name – straightforward and powerful
This tool also allows you to search names by the number of characters, which makes it easy to find optimal names to attach to your logo.
Nameflix
Nametflix is a powerful name generator packed with unique filters that help to expand your search for newer opportunities. This tool allows users to find brand keywords – short, concise, unique, and brandable names.
The tool also takes randomness as a factor in the name generation process. You can adjust the level of randomness from low, medium, to high. Less-random names are more direct while the highly-random names are more creative and out of the box.
You can also filter business names by name styles such as Alternative spelling, Non-English words, Compound words, Two words, and Read words. It is also possible to adjust the setting that allows you to add rules for your business name. For example, you can exclude certain words, limit the number of letters, and select certain domain extensions.
Driven by AI technology, the powerful name suggestion tool can create and offer an additional logo for each suggested name.
These options allow making comprehensive name research for a potential business name.
Shopify Business Name Generator
Shopify, the most popular eCommerce platform for print on demand businesses, also develops its own business name generator tool. This business is useful to get name suggestions for your business as well as check the availability of the names for name ideas on this platform. The built-in tool is most usable for Shopify-based businesses. Otherwise, this tool provides quite limited options compared to other specialized tools.
Wordoid
What makes Wordoid different from other tools mentioned above is its ability to provide business name ideas in different languages including English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German.
Even when you are selling print on demand products in English-speaking countries, having a foreign name is one way to strike an impression on customers and create some sort of connection to the good quality of the foreign countries. For example, French names might sound expensive and elegant; Italian names sound exotic and classy.
Panabee
Panabee is another useful tool to get suggestions for print on demand business names. The name generator tool empowers users to find unique brand name alternatives with special twists. For example, the tools can suggest options like spell-backward names, merge names, drop names, Replace names, Prepend names, and Append names.
Namechk
After you select a few names for consideration, you will need to check the availability of these names on various platforms. Instead of searching names manually across different places, you can use Namechk to efficiently check the availability of potential business names before moving toward the next step in building branding for your print on demand business.
Naming your print-on-demand business is crucial to stand out. Use online tools to generate unique print on demand shop name ideas. Check name availability to avoid issues. Choose a brand name aligned to your niche that effectively communicates your pod business name ideas. An ideal name makes your offerings clear, builds recognition, and sets you up for branding success.
