The competition on YouTube is crazy. If you want to sell merch on your YouTube channel you may wonder whether you can do it successfully. If you consistently create great content and have a number of subscribers, it will be much easier than trying to sell to strangers. Many YouTubers are successfully making money selling merchandise to their subscribers. Here are some of the tips that can help you find success too.
First focus on your content strategy
Unless you have enough subscribers to your YouTube channel, your chances of making money from merch are slim to none. Creating quality videos on a consistent basis is the only way to build up your followers and get them to hit that subscribe button. Additionally, learning how to make a YouTube thumbnail that grabs viewers' attention can significantly enhance your video's click-through rate.
If you can get enough subscribers who want to support your channel, they will buy the custom products you design and put them up for sale. For example, they will enjoy wearing t-shirts with your logo, a popular catchphrase you use in your videos or a design that spells out your message. And the best part is that creating your own custom merchandise is easier than you think. You can partner with a print-on-demand service to create the best YouTuber merch and you can also customize a variety of products to sell them under your brand using your own designs. You don’t have to keep inventory or handle shipping as the company does this for you.
Create merch your subscribers will love
No matter how many subscribers you have, they won’t buy your products if they are boring. People subscribe to your channel for a reason – they see something unique in you and this must come across in your merch. Examples of popular merch you can sell include:
T-shirts
Sweatpants
Tote bags
Baseball caps
Backpacks
Phone cases
Your followers should have a variety of colors and sizes to choose from in styles they are likely to want to wear. For instance, if your channel appeals to gamers, your t-shirts are likely to use colorful, game-inspired designs.
Current events or holidays offer an opportunity to create new merch. You can also capitalize on it if you hit a milestone on your channel. Exclusivity is a great motivating feature and you can create a special design and offer it for only a limited time period.
Use various ways to promote your merch
There are many ways to promote your merch, including wearing it in your videos. If you’re promoting a t-shirt, talk about the fit and the feel. Point out the details you like and your excitement about the design. Drink from a customized mug and hold it up so viewers can see the details.
YouTube has a number of features that help you to promote your merch. Its merch shelf feature means you can showcase up to 12 items at a time under your videos. Certain restrictions apply so make sure you check them out to see if you can use this feature.
In YouTube Studio, you can create end-screen cards for your videos so you can announce product launches or create polls for viewers to vote for what merch they would like to see next.
Involve your community
Your online community will want to be included. Ask for their feedback on their merch purchases and get them to vote on product options.
Get them to tag you in posts of them wearing your products and use your hashtag. You can share their posts on your social media accounts. User-generated posts are a great way to promote your products without doing a hard sell.
Retweeting Tweets of people who bought merch offers social proof and helps to build trust. Implying that ‘everyone is buying’ will help to encourage sales.
You should always thank your followers whenever you can with shout-outs or giveaways. They are the reason why you have a chance to make money from merch so you need to show them your gratitude.
Conclusion
Hopefully, the above tips will help to motivate you to sell your custom merch on YouTube. It is simply an extension of the creativity you already put into all your content. It provides your subscribers with a way of showing their support for you. They can experience your creativity in their daily lives when they buy your merch.
