Are you an influencer with a sizeable following? A content creator with a dedicated community? Or an artist who wants to make fantastic work for people to enjoy? Whatever type of creator you are, merchandising is always on the table for you. Learning how to sell merchandise online is one of the most popular ways to generate income from your work, and it’s important to be aware of how to do it right.
How to Sell Merchandise Online
Merchandising can be challenging for pure beginners. It takes more than just a creative vision to make merchandise your fans will love and purchase–it also takes marketing, manufacturing, shipping, and other procedures. Luckily, there are plenty of beginner-friendly services to start with, so long as you follow the proper steps. But first you need to learn how to sell merchandise online, and why you even should sell merch online.
Why make merch?
Merchandise is a catch-all term referring to any goods being sold and promoted–however, the term has a more specific meaning in creator circles. When people think of a content creator’s merchandise, they think of apparel with their faces or logos printed on them, or novelty cups with a reference to their work.
Generally, creators sell their own merchandise for three reasons:
- Generating extra income: The sales of these merchandise often give creators a tidy profit.
- Rewarding the community: Merchandise can be a great way to solidify communities and give fans a way to support their favorite creators.
- Establishing longevity: Merchandise shows the growth of a creator’s platform and the activity of its community. Just selling merchandise already says a lot about how far a creator has grown!
How to sell merchandise online: Basic steps
Of course, selling official merchandise comes with its challenges, but the reward for creating a successful merchandise brand is very much worth it. Always keep in mind that ultimately, merchandise is for the fans, not just the creator–it’s a celebration as much as it is a product. That’s why we need to learn how to sell merchandise online properly.
Consider these steps when starting your merchandise journey:
- Make merch for your specific niche
Every creator gains their following for different reasons. If you gained your following off of art, for instance, chances are it would make more sense to make cute graphics for merchandise than a picture of your face. The opposite is true if you’re an influencer or someone who gains fame by recognition. Align your merch designs with what your followers expect from your own content.
This also depends on what type of merch you’re making. Do you have an adolescent or college-age audience? They’ll likely want affordable merch that can be sported everywhere, so t-shirts and acrylic pins are good options. Older audiences from specific professions may like hoodies, necklaces, or other rare but high-quality merchandise.
Profession and desires also play a huge part in what niche you’re catering too. As a creator, you have an advantage in establishing great emotional branding, so check out our guide on how you can use it for your merchandise!
- Making a mockup of your design
Mockups are flat designs of your merchandise made for manufacturing purposes. They provide various visuals for your merchandise, especially apparel merch, to give you an idea of how it will look. It’s one of the key steps in learning how to sell merchandise online.
When you’ve decided on the best design you can make for your brand niche, be sure to put it into a mockup. You can make one using Photoshop or other tools like Canva, and you can also create a tech pack to go along with it. The tech pack is even more detailed than the mockup, as it provides specifications and measurements for different sizes as well as materials, accessories, and designs.
These things are all ultimately necessary for you to take the next big step in your merchandising journey:
- Work with a manufacturer
Manufacturers are often where creators falter in making their merch for the first time. A good portion of the task is first finding a good manufacturer to work with–some manufacturers may overcharge you for samples, let alone normal units, and many can be of lower quality.
We’ve made a more detailed guide on what you should prepare when working with a manufacturer, but a big point to always keep in mind is to always check for quality. Ask for certifications and references from prior clients, and always ask for samples before launching bigger productions.
If you’re looking for an experienced manufacturer who has worked with companies internationally, be sure to check out Shirtual. Its wide range of merchandising options and one-stop solutions for manufacturing and distribution make it a trustworthy business to start with as a new creator.
- Set up your store
Once you’ve found the right manufacturer, you’re set to open a shop!
But where exactly would you open a shop? There are a number of options, but the best one depends on what platforms your viewers will likely find you on and what would be convenient for you. Here are just a few to get you started:
- Redbubble: Redbubble is a creator-centric sales platform for you to sell creative merch. It’s perfect for visual artists, though it can be a bit niche outside of those circles.
- Shopify: Shopify is the most universal option for online commerce, and it does provide some print-on-demand services. You’ll be able to embed your Shopify storefront to various social media platforms, including Instagram, which makes consolidating your merch and your content easier. If you’re using Shopify, you’ll provide your own merchandise or work together with a print-on-demand service like Printful to create your products.
- Teespring: Teespring offers a social commerce experience that allows you to connect to various other platforms to promote your merchandise. It does have print-on-demand services but is a little less popular than the other two options.
You can also set up your website on a builder like Wix to receive orders manually. This may save costs for running a shop, but it will add extra labor and responsibility for you to ship the products individually.
Shirtual’s one-stop solutions provide a fix for all your manufacturing and distribution troubles. Our manufacturers produce premium products for any brand with over 20 different production methods to choose from, while our experts allow seamless international shipping for clients all across the globe. Branding and marketing can be difficult for any creator, and our services allow 80% of our customers to focus on that while growing their brand. Put your creativity first–let us handle the rest.
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