One important way creators monetize their content is by selling merchandise. Merchandise includes any product one can think of that is tied to a creator’s name—T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, koozies, and so on.
Selling merchandise is a marketing strategy often employed by creators to raise brand awareness, build community, and make some extra money. The stronger a creator’s community is, the more likely they’ll be able to make merchandise sales a viable stream of income.
It’s easier than ever before to outsource the creation and sales of merchandise. Many “print-on-demand” merchandise companies now allow a user to upload designs to their websites and print them across a variety of products. The company will usually take care of order fulfillment and shipping once a customer has decided they’d like something from the store. It’ll even handle customer service for handling returns and refunds.
With plenty of merchandise tools out there, there’s no need for creators to worry about manufacturing products or managing orders. Here is a breakdown of three of the top merchandise companies and what services they offer to creators.
All three of these options allow creators to design, manufacture, package, and send merchandise without any costs until a customer actually places an order. All platforms are free to use, and shipping and manufacturing costs vary by location and product type.
Teespring is one of the most widely known options out there for creator merchandise. It offers more than 50 print-on-demand products, custom fulfillment and sourcing, and the ability to create a custom storefront. Unlike the other options on this list, Teespring offers great social media integrations. However, the only eCommerce platform one can connect to on Teespring is Shopify.
Printify is another print-on-demand platform that offers over 300 products and integrations with major eCommerce platforms. Creators can use the platform to alter design colors and layout, and they can order samples to decide on a final product. Much like Teespring, a user can create a custom storefront. Printify also has a creator program for those with over 100,000 followers on a single channel.
Printful is yet another print-on-demand platform that offers over 160 products and also integrates with major eCommerce platforms. It offers custom branding, design, and fulfillment tools. Compared to the other options on this list, however, Printful does not offer custom storefronts. Users have to connect to an eCommerce platform like Etsy or Shopify to make sales.
How do you sell merch? Reach out to grace.stanley@clarion1822.com for a chance to get featured in an upcoming newsletter.
