72% of consumers believe that the quality of merch reflects directly on the reputation of a company. Beautifully crafted merch is a cornerstone of any successful business. Promotional products allow you to successfully market your brand to your target audience while making a profit.
At a Glance
- Offering custom merchandise to your loyal fans and devoted clients can increase brand visibility, establish a strong audience relationship, and give you additional profit.
- You should start selling merchandise by analyzing your target audience.
- Then, make cool merch designs and find a wholesale provider that can execute your vision.
- After you market your products, you can start to sell your items online or in person.
Whether you opt to line your shelves with stylish snapback hats or premium printed T-shirts, having an assortment of trendy and practical apparel is a must. That way, you can set your business up for success!
Keep reading, and we’ll tell you everything there is to know about making your own merch in 2024.
See Related: 13 Merch Ideas That Will Earn You Money
Why is Custom Merch Important?
If you’re an entrepreneur, business owner, or content creator, you might have skipped setting up a merch store. At first glance, it seems like a lot of work for a small payout. However, that unfair assumption is far from the truth.
Though offering merch to your loyal fans and paying customers is a nice way to earn a couple extra bucks, that’s not the main reason why merchandise is important.
In fact, it goes way beyond that.
Brand Visibility
Every time you sell a custom-printed T-shirt or hoodie, you get a walking advertisement. Especially if your promotional products have an eye-catching design or trendy logo, anyone who wears it will be giving your brand great exposure. Others will see their amazing apparel and be intrigued!
Merch can boost brand visibility more than you might realize. In fact, merchandise offers the highest number of impressions for each dollar spent. T-shirts and headwear like dad caps and bucket hats generate roughly 3,400 for each item sold. The cost of promotional products can be as low as $0.005.
Talk about some serious ROI!
Audience Relationship
People like to feel like to feel connected to their favorite brands. Promotional products help to grow your audience by retaining loyal customers and enticing new ones.
Think about the big brands like Nike, lululemon, and countless others. People buy their products and wear their brands with a sense of pride and satisfaction. And for your loyal customers and fans, your merchandise will bring them the same joy!
People often use their clothing and accessories to showcase their individuality and sense of style. T-shirts or snapback hats with branded logos and unique designs allow people to display their affection for their favorite restaurant, creator, or artist.
A line of high-quality merch adorned with your company’s logo will help you create more meaningful relationships with your audience. Whether you’re a content creator looking to connect with your viewers or a restaurant owner experimenting with a new revenue stream, creating an assortment of branded merch should be at the top of your “to-do” list!
Additional Profit
Most of the time, if your business is centered around something other than branded apparel, you won’t start a merch store for the money. That’s because the primary benefits of promotional products go way beyond the wallet. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t make any money from it.
If you go about it the right way, you can transform your humble merch corner into a buzzing and bustling stream of income. Countless businesses, brands, and even content creators have tapped into the limitless potential of custom products and promotional merchandise.
Customers and clients would love to show their support for your business in a trendy and practical way. That’s what merch is all about!
How to Start Selling Merch
You might think that marketing and selling your own custom merch would be a complicated process. However, now, it’s easier than ever to set up your own online store with branded products. Whether you want to sell camper coffee mugs in person or neon foam trucker hats online, selling merchandise can be easy if you know where to start.
So, let us give you the details!
#1. Analyze and Learn About Your Target Audience
It should go without saying, but you’ll be creating and selling custom merchandise for a specific audience. Your regular customers and loyal fans are the ones you should be thinking about. They will be buying and wearing your promotional products.
This is important to keep in mind when designing, marketing, and selling merch.
First, analyze the ways you normally interact with your audience. If you run a restaurant, coffee shop, or boutique, you might benefit from a physical storefront. If you often communicate with your audience through social media, you should explore an online ecommerce platform.
Think about the following:
- What items would your customers use the most? Make sure you offer practical products that they can actually use.
- How much would they be willing to pay? Offer items that are within your target audience’s price range. If you’re marketing to a bunch of broke college kids, luxury briefcases and high-end polos might not be the best option.
- What type of designs would resonate with them? Create merchandise with a design your audience would love to wear. If you’re making merchandise for your motorcycle shop, T-shirts with bouncing bunnies and sakura cherry blossoms probably wouldn’t sell well.
It’s 2024, and that means you should use social media to your advantage.
Run Instagram polls to find out what products your existing fans or customers would be interested in. Send out emails to those on your list to spark interest. Boost engagement through TikTok in order to increase potential customers.
Bonus: 5 Best Men’s Summer Hats For 2024
#2. Find Cool Merch Ideas
If you want your promotional products to be a real hit, you need to offer cool, trendy, and practical items. You should create custom merchandise that entices buyers. That much should be obvious!
Your branded products should accurately reflect your company. If you create merchandise that doesn’t align with your values and aesthetic, your merch drop won’t be as successful or impactful as it could be.
For example, let’s say your business is heavily focused on sustainability and eco-friendly practices. In that case, reusable water bottles and tote bags would likely be a hit!
However, this is one of the hardest parts of selling your own merchandise. Coming up with practical and trendy ideas isn’t as easy as it seems. If you’ve hit a wall, it’s a good idea to go back to the basics.
You can’t go wrong with branded apparel like snapback hats and T-shirts. These timeless essentials are loved by all. That way, you don’t need to worry about your audience not liking the products you pick out!
#3. Contact a Wholesale Provider to Create Custom Merch
Obviously, you won’t be able to craft your own merch unless you have plenty of spare time and an embroidery or screen-printing machine sitting around. But we’re pretty sure you don’t have any of those things.
It’s important to find a wholesale provider from which to buy hats and T-shirts in bulk. That way, you can hand off the design and production process to the pros and focus your energy on getting new customers and clients!
Double Portion Supply has been Hawaii’s top supplier of custom and blank hats since 2001. We pride ourselves on our high-quality merchandise and exceptional level of craftsmanship. From our embroidered snapbacks to our mesh-back hats, each product is designed to reflect your company’s mission, inspirations, and values.
When you trust us with your merchandise needs, you’re saving yourself the trouble of doing it yourself. You won’t need to buy hats blank (unless that’s your look), finalize the design, or print and embroider them yourself. You can save yourself time and money and spend your energy on building your empire!
#4. Market Your Custom Products
Now that your merch is ready to hit the shelves, it’s time to start marketing it. This is an important step for generating future sales.
Word-of-mouth marketing will be critical. However, it will be easy to do this by encouraging your customers to use and wear your branded merchandise. That’s the great thing about promotional products – they advertise themselves!
One way to do this is to run a social media contest, asking followers to wear your merchandise and tag you. You can offer prizes like free shipping or early access to new drops. You can even create a branded hashtag that people can use.
#5. Sell Merchandise Online or In-Person
Now, it’s time for the last step. After so much planning and preparation, you’ve likely been eagerly awaiting this day. You can finally start selling custom merch to your adoring fans, clients, and customers!
One easy way to begin is by selling merch to your social media followers through an Instagram shop or Facebook store. You can also list your products on a merch marketplace like Hello Merch or MerchNow. Opening an ecommerce store through Shopify is another great way to make sales.
Final Thoughts
Today’s world is run by the internet. That means selling merch online to your fans and customers is easier than ever. You can effortlessly craft custom T-shirts and beautifully branded hats that reflect your company’s missions and values!
Keep Reading: How To Bend The Brim Of Your Hat In 6 Easy Steps
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Double Portion Supply is the largest snapback superstore in Hawaii. Since 2001, we’ve helped clients across the United States make their creative vision a reality. From wholesale hats to ANXD brand apparel, we carry everything you need to keep your own brand stocked. Plus, our custom services extend to T-shirt printing, so you stay fresh from head to toe. Get all the latest information by following us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.