What Is Print Profits?
Looking to make money online? You have options: dropshipping (like in High Ticket Dropshipping Academy), consulting (such as Sam Ovens’ Consulting Accelerator), or print on demand. Print Profits is Michael Shih’s course that teaches students the step-by-step process of creating a print on demand business. It covers every aspect of launching your venture — from building your storefront and designing products to selling them online.
Print on demand’s main appeal lies in its low startup costs and zero inventory requirements. Using basic apps and a Shopify store, you can sell products without dealing with production, inventory, or shipping. Though created in 2018, many of Shih’s core principles remain applicable today. The course features 8 modules.
Who Is Michael Shih?
Michael Shih positions himself as an online business guru, claiming millions in earnings through various ventures including marketing agencies and CPA businesses. He “accidentally discovered” his passion for Shopify and now aims to share that knowledge with aspiring entrepreneurs.
Claims aside, his relevance as an online business influencer appears limited. His YouTube channel has only 8k subscribers, with videos averaging around 1k views each. For a business influencer, his channel remains quite small.
Print Profits Pricing
The course costs $997 upfront, or $1,191 if you choose the payment plan. The installment option breaks down into three payments of $397, adding nearly $200 to the total cost — a 20% interest rate.
The course includes several bonuses:
- Community Access- Join the groups Facebook page. Led by Shih himself, it offers a way for you and other students to learn and support each other.
- Mentorship Program- You get access to weekly Q&A sessions from Shih and webinar sessions. There’s no confirmation if Shih is still supporting this program though.
- Bonus modules:
- Merch by Amazon Mastery- How to sell on Amazon
- Etsy Master- How to sell on Etsy
- Funnel Stealer- How to build a sales funnel
- Print Lab- Access to a design software
Print Profits enforces a strict “NO-REFUND POLICY” due to its “training, community access, and support upon enrollment.” However, it does offer a three-day cancellation window, though the distinction remains unclear.
Michael Shih Print Profits Curriculum
The course includes eight main modules, each covering a specific step in building your business. It begins with a brief welcome video from Shih thanking you for your purchase.
Module 1- Build
This module covers the technical aspects of building your Shopify store. Shih explores business planning fundamentals: selecting your niche, conducting market research, and planning your product lineup. He also includes various methods for competitive research.
After planning, Shih walks through building your first site, connecting print on demand services, purchasing a domain, and publishing your store. While this section contains substantial technical information, the presentation feels rushed.
Module 2- Design
This straightforward module focuses on print on demand design. Shih presents various design options: creating your own, purchasing them, or hiring a designer.
Shih also covers common pitfalls. Print on demand services present tricky legal hurdles regarding designs and images. His advice for avoiding these issues is simple: don’t use designs that aren’t yours, as you risk lawsuits.
Module 3- Preparation
This compact module focuses primarily on using print on demand apps and pricing strategies. While Shih offers some competitive pricing advice, this section is largely a tutorial on using Shopify apps like Printful.
Module 4- Attract
Facebook Ads. That’s essentially it.
Shih guides you through creating your first campaign, starting with audience research for your niche before teaching campaign creation. This section emphasizes campaign preparation and research, providing basic Facebook ads understanding without advanced tactics.
Module 5- Optimization
More Facebook Ads.
Shih divides Facebook advertising into two modules — preparation and scaling. This module focuses on optimizing campaigns for greater efficiency, covering strategies like horizontal and vertical scaling, LAA audiences, and split testing.
This module delivers the course’s highest value. Shih’s strategies are competitive and current, potentially elevating your site significantly.
Module 6- Delivery
With orders flowing in, this module addresses business management. Since there’s no physical inventory, “delivery” focuses on organizing and operating your business. Shih emphasizes automating various processes — sales campaigns, support, and bookkeeping.
Once automation is established, Shih demonstrates hiring freelancers to handle additional business aspects beyond design. This module provides valuable insights for long-term business development.
Module 7- Funnel Scaling
Despite the title, this module isn’t really about “scaling” — it’s a ClickFunnels tutorial. It focuses exclusively on building and publishing a click funnel. While Shih shows connection methods, he doesn’t demonstrate scaling techniques or advanced funnel optimization.
While walkthroughs benefit beginners, this entire module feels disappointing. Shih only covers basic building and publishing — nothing more.
Module 8- Expansion
This module addresses business expansion. Once automated, your business allows more focus on customer acquisition. The expansion section shows how to increase sales through email marketing and Facebook retargeting.
However, like the funnel scaling module, Shih primarily provides technical tutorials. He walks through setting up MailChimp campaigns and creating demographic-based audiences, but that’s the extent of it — guided tutorials without strategic depth.
Print Profit’s Course Quality
The course suffers from below-average production quality. Shih’s audio is occasionally fuzzy, and content consists mainly of PowerPoint presentations or screen recordings. When Shih appears on camera, he’s clearly using only his laptop webcam from his room.
While the quality suffices for learning, it feels insulting given the price. Many $10 Udemy courses offer superior production value compared to this course costing 100x more. He prioritizes marketing over actually producing quality educational content.
Does Michael Shih Deliver?
Technically, the course delivers on Shih’s promises. He avoids outlandish income guarantees, advertising the course simply as store-building instruction. His website states:
“Print Profits will guide you to build your own ecommerce store, create designs, and advertise your products in the market.”
By that definition, Shih delivers. His course consists mainly of walkthrough videos, which matches his advertised promise of guiding store creation.
Who Is Print Profits Best For?
Print Profits suits those who are technologically challenged. It avoids advanced sales tactics or complex concepts, with Shih essentially holding your hand throughout. For some students, this hand-holding approach is exactly what’s needed. If you struggle navigating web applications like Shopify or MailChimp, this course could be ideal.
However, if you’re seeking to generate substantial revenue or scale aggressively, this course may disappoint. Shih lacks the advanced strategies and concepts necessary to justify the investment.
Is Michael Shih Print Profits Worth the Money?
Absolutely not.
Print Profits would make a decent Udemy course or YouTube series. But for such limited content, $1,000 is unjustifiable. Shih’s material differs little from any $10 Udemy course, offering no unique knowledge or value beyond other online business gurus.
Shih’s primary selling point involves print on demand services, but you could easily apply a standard Shopify course using the same principles he teaches. You can even find Shopify-approved courses for half his price.
Ultimately, Shih provides no information unavailable elsewhere. His content lacks uniqueness and certainly isn’t worth $1,000.
Print Profits Alternatives
Since Shopify is highly competitive, numerous superior options exist at a fraction of the cost:
- Start & Scale (Foundr)– For those willing to spend similar money on something significantly better, consider this option. It’s officially Shopify-approved and contains walkthroughs plus advanced scaling strategies — information Shih omits.
- Adam Reed (Udemy)– If you’re primarily seeking walkthroughs, consider Reed’s Udemy course. At 20% of Print Profits’ cost, it covers similar topics with more content. Reed’s course specifically targets print on demand services, though numerous Shopify courses exist.
- Skillshare– This online learning platform provides unlimited access to all courses. You can learn much of what Shih teaches — Shopify setup, print on demand applications — through their content library.
Our Final Verdict For Print Profits
Michael Shih works hard positioning himself as an online business authority, but his content significantly lacks the quality his pricing suggests. He attempts selling a premium course competing with established names while delivering content better suited for Udemy. Though his Facebook modules offer some value, no one should feel satisfied after spending $1,000 on this course. While his marketing efforts are noteworthy, the educational content falls short.
Pros
- Easily comprehensible
- Good pace
Cons
- Extremely expensive
- Lacking unique content
- Poor production quality
