How do you make Pinterest pins if you are in a space that is print on demand or similar? This is a question that I get more often than you would think: how to go about creating pins for print on demand products? Most physical product sellers photograph their items in gorgeous flat lays or lifestyle settings. 

In my membership, Pin Profit Academy, I attract a lot of sellers who are selling art, AI style art, or they are artists themselves or photographers that sell prints. They don’t have the ability or need to keep a ton of inventory, let alone have the income to purchase all the required equipment in order to buy the inventory, and then photograph it. 

However, there is a way around it to still make great Pinterest pins. This tutorial is for you if you are someone that sells print-on-demand products like bags, t-shirts, or posters. If you don’t have tangible products to take pictures of, even some digital products, this blog post is also for you. You’re in the right place.

Creating mockup pins with Canva

One of the best ways for creating pins for print on demand products is right inside of Canva. A lot of people don’t realize that there are apps inside of Canva that you can use to generate your own mockups. However, I will say one of the downsides to Canva is that the selection is limited. 

1. Go into Apps on the left and scroll until you find Mockups.
2. Click on Mockups.
3. Select the Print section.
4. Scroll through the mockup types until you find a design you’d like to use.
5. Click on the mockup that you like and then you can upload your product print to the design.
6. Tweak as necessary and then you can download. 

Here’s an example I just made, put a watercolor painting in the frame on the wall of this option. As if this were a print from an artist, wanting to display their work in a home setting for size comparison and appealing visuals for shoppers.

Now, I am going to be honest with you. As someone in your space, you may need extra resources. This isn’t something that you are going to be able to do 100% in Canva all of the times because the options are limited. 

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Mockup generators

You can Google a lot of mockup generators. I have searched and played around with a bunch of mockup generators so I can give you as much information as I can. Here are a few I’ve used and have pros and cons about when creating pins for print on demand products.

• Placeit
• Freepik
• Artboard
• Creative Market

Placeit

One that I would recommend and I have played around with Placeit. You can get a free account, but you are limited on what you can create and how many items. If you click ‘Go Unlimited’, you will see that you can start with $7.47 a month and get unlimited downloads. 

It is worth noting that through all of my research for all of these mockup generators, Placeit has been the most affordable and friendly in terms of attribution and commercial use. It does give you the option to buy the mockup once or purchase the subscription after you have created a mockup. You can’t just download it for free once you created it. 

It is only a 1 month commitment for your subscription, so if you wanted to just go in there a few times a year or maybe once a quarter and just create a bunch of mockups, download them, and then cancel your subscription before the next month then you could do that. 

Freepik

The next mockup generator that I want to talk about is Freepik. I don’t want you to be fooled with this one! It seems like a good one when you are just looking it over, but when you get into their legal language, it turns out you actually have to have a pricing plan with them. 

The pricing plan starts at $9 USD for 12 months, so you are locked in for a 12 month timeframe, which means you are paying a minimum of $144 USD. Again, this is why I would suggest Placeit because you can leave anytime. This one allows you a full license with no attribution and high quality content if you do pay for the premium plan.

Artboard

The next one that you will find in your Google search is Artboard. This one seems pretty nifty especially with the AI features. This one is $12/month, or more if you want the AI tools. You get unlimited projects, mockup templates, high-resolution exports, no watermarks, and other things like that. You will definitely want to look at all the options. 

Creative Market

The last place that I want to point you towards is looking on Creative Market. Now you do want to read the licensing terms with all of these. They do have a licensing terms chat so you can chat with people at Creative Market about licensing terms for products that are on their marketplace. 

This is a really great place to find really pretty mockup templates that you can use as print on demand that were created by other creators, not just typical plain templates that don’t feel original. The upside here is to purchase a template or a set of templates from different creators for a set price and then you can use them again and again. 

Best practices for creating pins with mockups

Once you’ve chosen your mockup tool, follow these steps to create Pinterest pins:

1. Insert your product images into mockups or templates.
2. Add text overlays featuring your product name and keywords.
3. Download the designs and upload them to Pinterest.
4. Use descriptive keywords in your pin titles and descriptions to improve discoverability. (One of the most important things!)

These techniques are especially useful for sellers in niches like wedding invitations, digital planners, or stationery, where inventory or photography may also be limited.

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Final thoughts on creating pins for print on demand products

If you are already creating mockups for product listings on other platforms, you can repurpose them for Pinterest. Use mockups that show products in real-life settings, such as art hanging on walls, to make your pins more engaging. Additionally, focus on identifying keywords that your target audience searches for and incorporate these when creating pins for print on demand products.

For those who want to dive deeper into creating a Pinterest strategy, check out my video, Four Steps to Create a Pinterest Strategy That Works. By following these steps, you can effectively showcase your print-on-demand products on Pinterest and attract more customers. As a small business owner, you put in a lot of hard work, so follow these actionable tips to enhance your Pinterest profile and online stores with great mockup pins. 

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