How to make custom merch - design & sell online: 2024 guide

In today's globally connected world, creating and selling custom merchandise, or 'merch', has emerged as a lucrative avenue for creators, businesses, and brands alike. This comprehensive guide demystifies the merch-making process and equips you with effective strategies for turning a profit in this dynamic arena.

Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting, you'll find actionable insights—from brand identity establishment to leveraging social media for promotion—right here.

• Merchandising can be a viable and profitable strategy, enhancing engagement with your audience, promoting your brand, and serving as a significant income stream.

• Choosing between an established brand or a sub-brand for selling merchandise depends on various factors, including your intended market, brand coherence, and the resources available for creating a new brand identity.

• Creating custom merchandise requires a comprehensive understanding of your audience, developing appealing product offerings, crafting compelling designs, and validating these designs with reliable feedback.

• Partnerships with print on demand services, such as Gelato, offer ease and efficiency in starting a merchandise business, negating the need for inventory management and shipping logistics.

• Several strategic approaches are vital in successfully selling merchandise, including setting up a dedicated online store, harnessing social media, employing word-of-mouth marketing, and capitalizing on influencer partnerships.

• Possessing an efficient business plan and maintaining organization are essential components of a successful merchandise-selling venture. Branding is also significant, as establishing a distinctive logo, brand identity, and other marketing materials sets your business apart.

Merch, short for merchandise, refers to branded products associated with a company, event, or personality. Common examples include t-shirts, hats, mugs, and posters. By selling merchandise online, one can promote the brand and create a sense of community among fans and customers.

People buy merch for various reasons, primarily to show support and loyalty to a brand, event, or personality they admire. Merchandise serves as a tangible connection to something they value, whether it's a favorite band, sports team, or influencer. It allows fans to express their identity and interests while soaking in a sense of belonging within a community of like-minded individuals.

Merch often holds sentimental value, acting as a memento of memorable experiences, such as concerts, sports events, or conventions. High-quality, stylish merch can also appeal to consumers as fashionable items, which further drive their desire to purchase.

Selling merchandise online can be very profitable if executed correctly. Many brands, groups, and social media influencers are now catching onto marketing tactics that major brands have been using for years.

Creators who make and sell merch directly to consumers typically enjoy healthy profit margins ranging from 30% to 50%. In contrast, those who sell through wholesalers or third-party platforms generally see more modest margins, falling between 10% and 20%. (Source)

Brands like Nike and Adidas have been making millions for decades selling t-shirts that feature no more than their logo or brand name. Who among us hasn't jumped at the chance to buy a t-shirt featuring our favorite musical artist, gym, or fashion brand?

The truth is, most people love wearing merch because it offers a way to show off their interests and personalities. Great merch gives us a sense of belonging to a fan community and helps us feel connected to our favorite brands.

Creating your own merch can be a great way to give your fans a chance to show their support, all while providing you with great publicity. Read on to discover how to create merch to sell online with low or no overhead start-up costs.

As a new merch maker, one of the first things you'll need to decide is whether to sell merch using your established brand or under a sub-brand. A sub-brand is basically an individual brand that's owned by a larger brand.

For example, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athletica are all sub-brands of Gap Inc. While each store caters to its unique niche, it's still a part of the Gap family.

So, should you make and sell merch under your established brand or a sub-brand all its own? It depends. Let's take a closer look at the pros and cons of each approach.

Your own existing brand

Opening an online store associated with your current brand has plenty of advantages. For one, you likely already have an existing audience that would be excited to purchase your merch.

Creating your own merch using your brand guidelines, such as your logo and trademark colors, is also likely to be a lot easier than starting from scratch. Then, of course, there's the fact that offering your own custom merchandise can be an incredibly effective way to advertise and promote your brand.

The downside is that if you're selling merch for the first time, you'll want to make sure you really nail it. Offering your fans sub-par products is no way to increase loyalty and can reflect poorly on your image.

Another factor to consider is whether you want to design merch that makes sense within your current branding. For instance, if you are the lead singer in a heavy metal band who wants to start your own line of adorable puppy-themed greeting cards, then the sub-brand may be for you.

Sub-brand

Sub-brands are a great way to offer a new type of merch online without having to worry about whether it makes sense within your current brand offerings. Not only does a sub-brand allow you to build a new revenue stream, but also a new audience of potential customers.

While many creators make it clear they are behind their sub-brands, it's simply a way to create merchandise catered to a specific niche.

One of the most obvious downsides of sub-branding is that you'll have to create a whole new identity and fanbase for your new merch store, especially if it varies drastically from your current audience's interests. Otherwise, a sub-brand can run the risk of diluting your existing brand if it's not sufficiently distinct.

Feeling a little overwhelmed by the idea of creating your own merchandise? Don't worry, we've got you covered! Here's a hassle-free, six-step roadmap to take you from an initial idea to your very own branded merch.

1. Establish your brand identity

Establishing your brand identity forms the first and perhaps the most crucial step in creating your own merch. Your brand identity is more than just your logo; it’s the image and personality you want projected to your customers.

It involves the essence of your business - your mission, vision, values, and the emotions you aim to evoke in your audience. 

• Define your brand: What do you stand for? What values and unique characteristics separate you from the rest?

• Aesthetic consistency: This involves your color schemes, fonts, and overall style. It should represent your brand and be consistent across all platforms.

• Know your audience: Who are you targeting? What design, messaging, and product types would resonate with them?

The more authentic your brand identity, the more it resonates with your target audience, thereby increasing your merchandise appeal.

2. Understand your audience

Before you can create winning merch, you must know who your audience is and what type of products they'd be interested in buying. If you have a solid fan base already, then it's likely you have few clues based on comments from your social media followers or even the type of content you create.

Say, for instance, you’ve amassed a large following by making YouTube videos where you guide viewers through at-home boxing workouts. It's probably safe to assume that your audience is composed of young people and adults who are interested in fitness.

In this instance, offering products like custom sportswear would likely be a great way to go. But the great thing about social media is that there's now no need to guess what types of merch your fans would like to see.

Most will be happy to tell you if you simply ask them. Don't be afraid to use things like surveys and comment sections to ask for advice.

Checking out competitors who sell merch to your target audience is also a great way to get ideas for your own store. When starting a merchandise business, a little lowkey spying can give you a good idea of what types of merch they offer and give you a chance to spot any product gaps you could fill to outsell them.

3. Determine your product offerings

Now it's time to decide what type of custom merchandise you want to offer. This will largely go back to your target audience, their interests, and even their feedback.

Doing a little research to see what's trending at the moment is also a great way to generate more merch ideas. The important thing is to choose merchandise that aligns with your brand and represents what you want to say about it.

If you're an artist who loves to create engaging visuals, then wall art or photo books of your art could prove incredibly profitable. 

The great thing about custom merch designs is that you can put them on a wide range of different products. Here are some examples of cool merch ideas to help get your creative gears turning:

• Hats

• T-shirts

• Hoodies

• Sweatshirts

• Tote bags

• Posters

• Framed Posters

• Water bottles

• Mugs

• Phone cases

4. Design your merchandise

Now comes the hardest part - creating the actual designs that turn a blank t-shirt or mug into branded merchandise. It's important to create designs that will resonate with your audience, using brand colors and high-quality images and graphics.

Keep in mind that simpler designs are often the way to go, and be sure to choose fonts that are easy to read. When it comes to actually creating the designs, you have a few options.

For instance, Gelato's intuitive design maker and mockup studio are user-friendly tools that allow you to easily create compelling designs and realistic mockups. Witness your creation come to life in real time, and make merch for your brand that aligns with your expectations before it goes into production. 

If graphic design isn't your strongest suit, consider hiring a professional graphic designer from freelancing platforms like Upwork or Fiverr. Not only can they help bring your ideas to life, but they can also provide valuable insights and best practices to ensure your merchandise truly stands out.

5. Validate your merch designs

Before you start selling your designs on every product under the sun, it never hurts to order samples and get a little feedback. Turn to family, friends, and other creators you trust who will give you honest advice on your merch designing efforts.

You can even watermark your designs and get feedback from your existing audience based on comments, surveys, or questionnaires. While it may be tempting to skip this stage, don't succumb to the temptation.

Feedback can go a long way toward identifying your best merch ideas and finding ways to perfect them. When you eventually create your merch store, you'll have the confidence of selling merchandise online and knowing your products look their best.

6. Choose a print on demand partner or manufacturer

Now you've got your designs sorted, it's time to bring your merch to life! But should you opt for print on demand services or a traditional manufacturer for creating your own merch? Let's figure it out.

Print on demand

Want to sell your merchandise without investing in blank products, printing tools, production, or even shipping? That's where the magic of a print on demand service comes in.

Print on demand services like Gelato make selling your own merchandise as easy as uploading your designs and choosing the products you want to offer. We take care of everything from actually creating your high-quality merch using localized production at over 130 locations and delivering it to customers all over the world.

When choosing a print on demand partner, consider ordering a few samples to check the product quality and print accuracy. Take time to explore their customer support system and see how responsive and helpful they are, as this will be crucial for addressing any challenges you might face in your merch business.

Manufacturer

Opting for a manufacturer when starting a merchandise business involves more upfront investment but provides greater control over production, potentially lowering unit costs for large orders.

This route is ideal for businesses with established sales channels and predictable demand, allowing for bulk production and inventory management. 

When selecting a manufacturer, assess their production capabilities, quality control standards, and reliability in delivery times. It's also crucial to understand their minimum order requirements and cost per unit to ensure they align with your business model and budget expectations before they begin to make merch for your brand.

When searching for a merch designer to partner with, it's essential to do your research, as not all providers are created equally. Be sure to go with a partner that offers a great selection of high-quality merchandise and reasonable shipping rates on deliveries to a wide variety of different locations.

Once your merch has been designed, all that's left is to start promoting and selling your new revenue stream! Here are eight key opportunities to get the word out about your branded merch.

1. Set up an online merch store

To sell merchandise online, you'll need to set up a place to... well, sell it. Popular ecommerce platform choices include sites like Shopify, Etsy, and WooCommerce. You can also set up a shop on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, which can be a solid choice if that's how you tend to connect to your fans.

If you already have an online store, integrate it with your social media channels to make it easy for your followers to buy your merchandise. Share links to your merch on YouTube and tag your products on Instagram to direct your followers to your online store. 

You might even choose to sell your merch on your own website. The important thing is to choose an ecommerce platform or marketplace that you can easily manage and customize to align with your brand.

2. Leverage word-of-mouth marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing can be extremely powerful. When people hear about your merch from friends or family, they're more likely to trust the recommendation and make a purchase. Be sure to provide a great experience for your customers so they'll feel compelled to spread the word.

Moreover, you can incentivize your supporters to promote your brand. Consider implementing a referral or rewards program where they get discount codes or free merch for telling others about your products.

Social media is a great platform to encourage your fans to share their experiences with your brand and their new merch; it's free publicity!

3. Run a presale

Before you officially launch your merch, you might want to consider running a presale. A presale is a fantastic way to create buzz around your merchandise and generate early sales. It offers your most dedicated fans the chance to get their hands on your products first, fostering a sense of exclusivity.

You can run your presale by leveraging tools available on ecommerce platforms or even crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter. Presale campaigns can also help gauge demand and create a sense of urgency among potential customers. Just remember to announce your presale on all your online platforms, ensuring the anticipation reaches its peak before the official launch.

4. Retarget your existing audience

Use retargeting strategies to promote your merchandise to your followers to start selling merchandise online. You can create ads based on specific criteria, such as past purchases or social media engagement. Platforms like Google, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook offer retargeting options to help you reach your audience effectively.

To run retargeting ads effectively, you will need to install a small piece of code, commonly referred to as a pixel, from the advertising platform on your website. This pixel enables tracking of visitor activities on your site, allowing you to tailor your ads based on specific user behavior patterns and interactions.

Here are a couple of tips for effectively retargeting your existing audience.

• Segment your audience: For effective retargeting, it's essential to segment your audience based on their past interactions. You can categorize users by the pages they visited, the products they viewed, or how long they stayed on your site. This allows you to target specific ads crafted towards each user group, improving their relevance and increasing the likelihood of conversion. 

• Frequency caps: Implementing frequency caps can prevent your ads from appearing too often, leading to ad fatigue and decreased engagement. By limiting how many times a single user sees your ad within a specific timeframe, you can keep your brand fresh and avoid overwhelming your audience.

5. Promote on social media

Ultimately, you'll also want to take advantage of the fact that social media makes it easy to market your merch in just a few clicks.

Encourage your audience to promote your brand by sharing photos of themselves using your products. You can also run a social media contest where people try your products and tag you for a chance to win a prize. Create a branded hashtag for them to use in their stories and pictures.

Live streams can be a highly effective method of promoting your merchandise on social media. Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook let you engage directly with your audience in real time. During these live sessions, you can showcase your products, explain in-depth how they can be used, or tie them into the content you're sharing.

Another strategy is leveraging user-generated content (UGC). Inspire your customers to create content featuring your merch. This could range from photos or videos of them wearing or using the products to unboxing videos or even testimonials.

6. Create an email list

Collecting emails from your audience provides a direct line of communication, allowing you to build a relationship with your followers. By creating an email list, you can regularly update your customers about new merchandise arrivals, offer exclusive discounts, and deliver personalized content straight to their inboxes. This not only drives traffic to your store but also increases conversion rates by selling merchandise online.

Encourage followers to subscribe to your email list through sign-up incentives, such as a welcome discount, an exclusive sneak peek at new products, or a free digital goodie. Keep in mind that creating an engaged email list is a cost-effective strategy for promoting your custom merch, nurturing your audience, and driving sales.

7. Run paid ads

Running paid advertisements is another great tactic to boost merch sales. Platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads are ideal for reaching a wider audience. You can set specific demographics and interests to ensure your ads reach the right people. It's all about making strategic investments to maximize returns.

Consider creating both broad and narrow-focused campaigns.

Broad campaigns help build brand awareness, while narrow ones target potential buyers who have visited your website or shown specific interest in your products. Don't forget to measure and adjust your campaigns based on performance data. Running successful ads can be a learning curve, but once you've figured it out, it can significantly improve revenue!

8. Partner with influencers

Another exciting strategy to promote your merch is to partner with influencers. Influencers, particularly micro-influencers, have a passionate and trusting audience that deeply values their opinions and recommendations.

These influencers can provide an authentic review of your merch that naturally resonates with their followers. Building collaborations with influencers is not just about promotion, but it's about building relationships and mutual growth.

While choosing influencers, make sure their audience aligns with your target demographic. Use platforms like Instagram, Tiktok, and Youtube for such collaborations. It's a known fact that audiences value authenticity, so ensure the collaboration feels natural and genuine for maximum engagement and return.

As you can see, becoming a merch maker comes down to a few simple steps. From getting to know your audience and creating your own merch designs to finding a great print on demand partner, creating your own catalog of custom products requires a bit of upfront effort.

The good news is that it's achievable for anyone willing to put in the time to get started. As a seller, you can leverage Gelato's personalization studio to make and sell merch. The platform streamlines the entire process from start to finish. Save time with built-in automation and reduce overall cost to your business with tiered plans.

If you're ready to take the first steps toward becoming a merch maker, then check out Gelato's product catalog and start selling merch in no time.

Does it cost money to create merch?

Launching a merchandise business requires some initial investment, although the cost can vary widely based on the product selection, design quality, and manufacturing method. With print on demand platforms like Gelato, initial costs can be limited as you’ll only pay for products after they sell, avoiding upfront inventory investments. While using a free merch maker is an option, you may have to budget for other expenses, like graphic design, branding, and marketing.

Do I need to copyright my merch?

Indeed, copyrighting your merch can be crucial for protecting your unique designs from unauthorized use or imitation. This legal protection can deter others from copying your designs, and if infringement occurs, you are in a stronger position to take legal action. Registered copyrights grant you exclusive rights to your designs, ensuring your merch remains unique to your brand.

How many followers do you need to start selling merch?

There's no minimum follower count to sell merch online; it's more about engagement and loyalty. Even if you have a small yet dedicated fan base who value your work and are prepared to invest in it, you can start selling custom merch. Remember, quality engagement with your followers often translates better into sales than sheer follower count.

What is the most bought merch?

The top selling merchandise online typically includes articles of clothing, with t-shirts leading the charge. Fans also gravitate towards hats, sweatshirts, and hoodies. Apart from apparel, items like posters, mugs, stickers, and tote bags are highly popular. Ultimately, the items that are bought the most are those that allow fans to express their connection to the brand or artist in everyday life.

What shirt sizes sell the most?

The most popular shirt sizes largely depend on your target audience and geographic location. However, according to various merchandising data, medium and large are the most popular shirt sizes globally. This underscores the importance of knowing your audience size preferences when planning your merch inventory.