Learn how to launch a merchandise line as a creator. There's plenty of space for creativity, and it's even possible to start for free. Discover practical approaches to turn your popularity into a profitable revenue stream.
Are you popular enough?
When someone says merch, you probably imagine a bunch of 11-year-old kids running around with hoodies of their favorite YouTuber. Influencer merch is indeed a common birthday or Christmas present of an 11-year-old, but there's a big opportunity to cash in even if your audience is older - mugs, tumblers, t-shirts, hoodies, or caps are all popular options. However, selling merchandise is very different from selling digital products. You can sell digital products even without being popular if you can communicate their value. With merch, it's all about how popular you are. Your potential to sell merchandise is directly correlated to nothing but your popularity - either absolute or at least within your niche. It's not about the product's value per se, which usually isn't great - the branded mug is valuable because of the brand on the mug, not because of the mug itself.
How to make it work
Do it yourself
The most basic option is to manage the whole merchandise thing yourself. You would find manufacturers of the products that you like and have them made. Most manufacturers are used to working with bigger companies and have set minimum order quantities (MOQs in short). This means that you may need to buy 50-100 pcs of every product, which can be a pretty hefty sum to invest, especially if you don't yet know whether your followers will be interested in buying your merchandise. Unfortunately, this option doesn't have a "start small" version unless you can find manufacturers with low MOQs.
When the products and the orders start flowing in, shipping them to the customers and handling returns will be another addition to your to-do list. The shipping can be outsourced to a fulfillment center, but it only makes sense when you already have a steady influx of orders. If a significant part of your audience that will be purchasing your merch resides in a different country, you should consider finding a fulfillment center in that country. For example, if you're Dutch and your main audience is in the US, the shipping costs to the US from the Netherlands would be exorbitant and dramatically increase the merch price, or lower your margin.
Print-on-demand (POD) service
If you don't want to invest in merchandise beforehand and don't want to deal with the shipping either, your go-to option is a print-on-demand service. These companies have a portfolio of merchandise products you can brand and put in your store. If you sell one, they will take a given product, print there your logo or graphic design, and ship it to the customer. You don't have to pay anything in advance, and you only purchase the product and have it printed when you actually receive an order. The disadvantage of print-on-demand service is that the product prices are pretty high, which won't leave a lot of room for your margin if you don't want to make them really expensive.
Influencer merch company
The most convenient option is to choose a company that partners with influencers and handles all aspects of their merch business. This company would figure out your product lineup, make you an online store, and handle manufacturing, shipping, and returns. In other words, they would handle everything for you. You'll just get a check at the end of the month.
The disadvantage is that these companies only work with established influencers and take quite a big cut from the sales - but the bigger your name in the business, the better terms you'll be able to negotiate.
If you're busy building your brand and creating content, partnering with a merch company will provide you with another revenue stream without doing any of the work and having everything taken care of for you. As we mentioned, these companies take a cut from your sales, so they have a big incentive to build you a product portfolio that sells and then help you to promote the products.
💡 Keep in mind
There's no reason to invest a lot of money in a huge product portfolio or set up complex operations when you don't even know how much merch you will sell. Start small and simple, even at the cost of lower margins. When you see it works, you can expand and invest in a more efficient and scalable solution.
Where to sell your merch?
If you want to source and sell the merch yourself, you can have an online store built for you or use e-commerce platforms like Shopify or Etsy, where you can easily create an online store yourself.
Should you decide to use a print-on-demand service, many of them offer a built-in online store, or your products can be integrated into other e-commerce platforms like Shopify or Etsy, which we mentioned previously.
Working with an influencer merch company means you won't have to worry about this at all. They will create and manage the online store for you.
How to price your merch?
Influencer merch is often more expensive than similar products from established and quality brands. This is built into the system - influencers don't sell huge quantities of their products, so they have to compensate for this by higher margins, which results in higher product prices. Very often, another party involved in the transaction is taking the cut as well and wants to make money - whether a print-on-demand company or an influencer merch company.
Everybody also knows that fans who want to have something from their favorite influencer will get it whether it costs $25 or $30, and whether the product is good quality or not. In short, don't worry about the prices too much, and simply look at what others charge and do the same.
💡 Keep in mind
You don't have to go the low-quality way. Try finding local companies that make quality products you can brand. Their minimum order quantities are likely to be low, and even if they aren't, they may be willing to make an exception for you in exchange for mentioning their company in your product descriptions.
Remember
👉 Merchandise sales rely heavily on your popularity within your niche. Consider whether your following and audience’s enthusiasm is large enough.
👉 Doing it all yourself requires upfront investment, storage, and handling logistics like shipping and returns.
👉 Print-on-demand services eliminate upfront costs but reduce margins due to higher product prices.
👉 Influencer merch companies handle everything for you but they only work with established creators and take a significant cut.
👉 Start small to test demand, even if your margins will be small.
👉 Cooperating with a local company for quality merch can set you apart.
Homework
1️⃣ Use social media polls or Q&A to gauge interest in potential merch products.
2️⃣ Think about products you'd like to offer and research local manufacturers, print-on-demand services, or merch companies to find the best fit.
3️⃣ Prepare the designs - don't settle just for your logo - get creative!
👏 Forward and upward!
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