You have launched your brand. You have developed a loyal audience. Now, you want to create and sell memorabilia bearing your brand.
Memorabilia such as t-shirts, stuffed animals, phone cases, custom socks, and sports jackets can turn loyal customers into brand ambassadors while creating a new revenue stream for your business.
But first, you need to learn how to make memorabilia. So, we asked Zach Honarfar, co-founder of Fan of a Fan, a company that develops merchandise strategies for creators and brands. They work with everyone from rising YouTube stars like Yes Theory to direct sales companies like Olipop.
Here, Zach shares some ideas and tips on how to sell impactful memorabilia, along with advice for creating the right merchandise for your brand.
Why do people buy memorabilia?
When done right, memorabilia helps audiences feel a connection to what your brand embodies and to others in your community.
It can create opportunities to:
- Identify and build more meaningful relationships with your true audience
- Delight your audience and grow it through free giveaways
- Partner with other creators and brands to release products
- Encourage the audience to share content featuring your memorabilia
- Generate free word-of-mouth publicity
For example, Yes Theory fans shared stories about wearing merch from the creators’ sub-brand, Seek Discomfort, under their suits on their first day at a new job. Others have worn it even during the birth of their first child, due to the optimism and personal growth the brand represents.
“One of our fans wrote to us about how their flight was canceled and the next flight was a few hours away,” says Zach. “They saw someone at the gate wearing a Seek Discomfort hoodie. While they were stuck at the airport, the two strangers ended up becoming good friends, simply because they were mutual fans of the channel.”
When it comes to die-hard fans, they might use their wallets to buy a t-shirt sporting your logo. Zach says that memorabilia of greater significance can reach beyond your audience and tap into new audiences.
Thinking about a memorabilia strategy
Memorabilia is as versatile as you want it to be. It can be a source of sustainable revenue through your own store, a driver for collaboration with another brand, or just free gifts you offer to loyal customers.
One of the biggest decisions you’ll make in your memorabilia strategy is whether you want to sell under your existing brand or launch it under a sub-brand (like Seek Discomfort for Yes Theory). Selling memorabilia under a sub-brand
Sub-brands typically feature characteristics of the parent brand (color palette, messaging, imagery), but usually have their own logo, products, and services.
“The benefit of this approach is that it can grow an audience outside of your current customer base,” says Zach. A sub-brand may also facilitate co-branding or collaboration opportunities.
For instance, Seek Discomfort has collaborated with brands including Bose, Lululemon, and Timbuk2 bags – opportunities Zach thinks they might have missed if the brand were portrayed as “Yes Theory merch.” Selling memorabilia under your existing brand
In the case of poet Atticus, another client of Zach’s, it made sense to leverage the name he has gained as a writer with an e-commerce site where fans can find his books, t-shirts, hats, jewelry, and a special brand of wine. Atticus also sells his merchandise directly on Facebook and Instagram through his Shopify store.
Additionally,
Regardless of the approach you decide to take, creating amazing merchandise ultimately relies on self-confidence.
“Create a product you are proud of, that you want to stand behind, and that you would also want to use or wear,” says Zack.
How to Create Merchandise in 4 Steps
Creating merchandise can be as simple as putting your signature logo on a T-shirt or cap. However, there is a straightforward process for generating new merchandise ideas that resonate with your audience and even attract new crowds:
- Define your brand identity
- Brainstorm and validate product ideas with your audience
- Design and prototype products
- Choose a print-on-demand partner or find a manufacturer
1. Define Your Brand Identity
Let’s use our own brand, Shopify, as an example to show you how to go from idea to model.
Shopify is a platform that supports the businesses of over a million entrepreneurs, providing them with the tools they need to start and grow their independent brand.
The Shopify brand revolves around independence, flexibility, creativity, and, of course, taking action.
Think about what your brand represents and what makes it unique. This will help you narrow down the aesthetic scope and even the type of merchandise you might want to create. Use that as a starting point for the merchandise creation process.
2. Brainstorm and Validate Product Ideas with Your Audience
Over the years, you have built a brand that resonates with your customers. Why not ask them what type of merchandise they would like to buy?
“We always recommend that a creator or brand ask their audience what they want, or even let them decide between several options. You can ask through Instagram stories, email, communities, or even text messages. ‘Would you prefer the cap or the board game or the T-shirt or the hoodie?’” says Zack.
Surveying your audience for feedback gives them a sense of being part of the process and the products you will eventually create.
So, we did this with our own audience on Twitter to see what they would like to see in potential Shopify merchandise.
Based on the feedback we received, we designed mock-ups for the following merchandise:
- Shopify Logo T-Shirt/Shirt/Hoodie. The Shopify bag is our iconic logo and a clear design to offer to fans.
- “Minding My Business” Dad Hat. A humorous take on how entrepreneurs usually work in their own businesses. It seemed fitting to put this slogan on a hat.
- “Cha-ching” Hoodie. “Cha-ching” is the sound that Shopify makes when you get a new sale. How could that look as a design on a hoodie?
- “Independent” Hoodie. Independence defines many people who use Shopify to empower their businesses. It’s a powerful word that connects to our brand.
- “Shop Small, Think Big” Tote Bag. The perfect bag to take with you while shopping at independent businesses in your community.
- “Ask Me About My Business” T-Shirt. A simple way for independent business owners to share their identity with others.
- “Shoppy” Hoodie. Shoppy is Shopify’s casual character, created during one of our company day events many years ago.
3. Design and Prototype Products
While most merchandise companies offer design services, Zack recommends that you design it yourself if you can.
“It’s better to provide your own designs, as you will understand your brand much better than someone who is just getting to know your brand,” he says.
You can hire a merchandise designer on Upwork or tap into your network for a designer, but be sure to keep the following tips in mind:
- Provide context. Tell them about the types of merchandise you’ve chosen and who your audience is, and share any brand guidelines you have.
- Clearly explain what you want. Clarify what you’re looking for and make sure to provide concrete feedback while reviewing designs (you should get at least one or two rounds of revisions).
- Create
Mood board. It gathers inspiration, examples, and references to help the designer know where to start.
Many print-on-demand companies have simulators you can use to create your products. The Placeit simulation and design tool allows you to create mockups of your models that you can share with your audience for feedback.
Just as you ask your audience for product ideas, you can also get design feedback in the same way. Your audience will feel engaged, and you’ll ensure you’re heading in the right direction.
4. Choosing a print-on-demand partner or finding a manufacturer
Once you receive feedback on your product models, you can start thinking about how to make the merchandise.
There are two common options:
- Print-on-demand. You can automate production, shipping, and fulfillment with a print-on-demand partner. This is low-cost, low-risk, and easy to set up and manage. However, your products and customization options are limited depending on the service you choose.
- Manufacturing from scratch. You can find a manufacturer for the product you want to create, produce it, and keep your inventory for sale (or work with a third party for shipping and fulfillment). Naturally, you’ll have more options and flexibility to create the exact product you envision, but it will be more expensive to produce.
Let’s explore each approach. Using a print-on-demand service
If you choose this option, Shopify integrates with many popular print-on-demand services.
Most of these services are free to start (you only pay for products when a customer orders). Each has its own product catalog, but you can generally find basic clothing and accessories, including t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, and phone cases.
For our products, we used Printful. Even if you don’t plan to use print-on-demand in the long run, it’s a great way to create models and test out a merchandise store.
Always order samples to ensure quality before you start selling. Colors may look one way on your computer screen and appear differently in reality. You can reach out to customer support for the print-on-demand service if you are unsure.
Finding a manufacturer
If you’re not interested in making handmade products for sale, you can find a manufacturer to produce your products. With Shopify Capital, you can get funding to cover the costs of manufacturing your own products.
Compared to print-on-demand, you can think more about how you want to design your products. You could create a uniquely designed hoodie or even your own board game.
There are companies like Fan of a Fan that create merchandise for creators and brands. It’s good to shop around before choosing a partner.
Here are some things to consider before signing a contract for merchandise:
- Intellectual property ownership. Who owns your brand, the designs on the clothing, and anything new created as part of this partnership? You should ensure you retain rights in case you part ways with the partner.
- Compensation structure. Is it a fixed cost or variable based on a revenue share? Revenue share models are the most common when working with marketing companies and can range from 15% to 50% of your revenue.
- Commitment. Zach recommends against signing any long-term agreements with a single partner. Set a trial period (like three months or one product release). Use that to determine if this partner meets deadlines, produces high-quality products, responds to emails promptly, and is generally reliable. After this trial, you can evaluate if you want to continue working with them.
- Costs
the hidden. From the beginning to the end of launching the product, review any potential costs that may arise, such as storage costs, picking and packing fees, shipping fees, design fees, website management, and customer service fees. You do not want to sign a revenue share agreement and then find all the hidden costs on you.
How to Sell Merchandise
Marketing merchandise is slightly different from marketing a traditional product – you sell to existing fans first and new customers second. This also means you have a guaranteed audience of potential customers.
Here are some marketing opportunities you can use to sell your merchandise.
Word of Mouth Marketing
Great merchandise markets itself. If a fan buys your product and wears it regularly, people are more likely to ask them about it.
But it must be a high-quality product. “If you are selling merchandise, that’s the real estate you have now on your fans, who will walk around and promote your brand,” says Zach. “But if you create something of low quality, it will only be worn once or twice.”
The more someone wears your merchandise or uses it to show others how great it is, the more exposure you get. Create products worth showcasing to generate more word-of-mouth buzz.
Incorporate Your Products into Your Content
The content you create is another natural place to promote your merchandise. Whether that means wearing them in your videos, directly promoting them in your social media posts, or building them into the creative idea for your next content piece (like a contest prize).
If you create a merchandise store on Shopify, you can easily sell your products in your content by integrating your store wherever your audience is. Here are some channels you can explore and approaches you can take:
- Instagram: Tag your products in your posts and stories, and build your Instagram shop on your profile.
- YouTube: Share links to your products in your video description or cards, with a call to action at the end of the video itself.
- TikTok: Partner with other TikTok creators to create content using your products.
- Buy Button: If you have a separate website or blog from your merchandise store, you can include your products or collections there as well.
You can also use a “Link in Bio” tool like Linkpop to create a landing page that connects your social media followers to the products you sell online, in addition to other content.
The best way to connect your merchandise to your content depends on you – it’s ultimately your audience. For Seek Discomfort, this meant hosting a fashion show in the brand’s backyard.
Retarget Your Existing Audience
Retargeting allows you to promote ads to your existing audience based on specific criteria, such as whether they follow you on Instagram or have purchased a product before.
Many advertising platforms (Google, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat) allow you to run retargeting ads, as long as you have installed their advertising pixel on your website. If you have built your email list, this is definitely a channel you would want to use to promote your merchandise.
“This is where you will get very high engagement and a high return on investment,” says Zach. “Most of the time, people will not buy merchandise from someone they have never heard of. So this is where most of your paid advertising energy should go to this channel.”
Run
Pre-Sale Campaign
Nothing builds hype for a new product like a pre-sale campaign. A pre-sale campaign gives your audience the opportunity to purchase your product before it launches so they can be the first to get it when it’s released.
The benefit? You can gauge demand before investing in inventory and even create a sense of scarcity or urgency to encourage fans to buy early.
“Yes Theory did this a lot, especially at the beginning when they started,” says Zach. “We would create some clothing items that were our samples. We would do photo shoots for them and not hold any inventory. Then we would put the site up for 72 hours, sell for 72 hours, and take the site down. From there, we started communicating via email with our audience so they knew where we were in the production process.”
There are a variety of pre-order apps in the Shopify store to help you run your pre-sale campaign. You can run your pre-sale campaign using a crowdfunding site like Kickstarter. Make your pre-sale items using apps like Printful or Printify, then start selling them before they launch.
Make Memorabilia That Your Audience Loves
There are many reasons to enter the memorabilia market beyond the extra revenue it can generate. Memorabilia ties your audience to your brand, gives them a chance to show their enthusiasm for you, and makes them feel part of something bigger.
It’s a business idea where you can apply your creativity in new ways apart from the content or products that initially brought your audience to you. Ask your audience and run surveys on potential designs.
If selling memorabilia is your first step into e-commerce, Shopify is one of the fastest and simplest ways to get started. Turn your followers into customers by setting up your store on social media.
Are you ready to start making and selling your own memorabilia? At Shopify, we have many resources – from funding to guides on sourcing products – to help you on your way. Start with the free trial and explore all the tools and services available.
Promote Your Products and Increase Sales with Shopify Collabs
Install the Shopify Collabs app today to partner with creators, promote your products, attract fans, increase your sales, and track the performance of your affiliate campaigns, all from within Shopify. Install the Shopify Collabs app.
Frequently Asked Questions About Selling Memorabilia
Does selling memorabilia make money?
Yes, selling memorabilia can make money. Many companies make money by selling items like t-shirts, hats, mugs, and other items. Selling memorabilia can be a great way to boost income for businesses and can even become a major revenue source.
Does making memorabilia cost money?
You can start making memorabilia with limited costs. If you have the skills, you can create the design yourself, make prototypes using free tools, and take pre-orders in your store. Be clear with shoppers about when the memorabilia will arrive, then order to create based on how many items you sell.
How do content creators make memorabilia?
Many content creators use print-on-demand services to make memorabilia featuring their own brand or a secondary brand. Some content creators bundle products or sell subscription boxes, while others create their own product lines, either in collaboration with an existing brand or on their own.
What do I need to sell memorabilia online?
To sell memorabilia online, you need a solid plan, a platform to sell on, and a way to produce the items.
Making and selling merchandise online is easier than ever. Here are some steps to quickly get you set up:
- Define your brand identity.
- Think of and validate product ideas with your audience.
- Design and prototype the products.
- Choose a print-on-demand partner or find a manufacturer.
- Add products to your store.
- Market your products to fans.
Is selling merchandise legal?
Yes, selling merchandise is legal. However, you may need to obtain permits or licenses depending on the state or location you operate in.
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