As an influencer you’re constantly selling other brands’ products, however, when it comes to selling yourself, we think there is a lot of missed opportunities; especially when you have a large following that is active in engaging with your content. So how do you get started? We’ll take you through some ideas to help you launch your own merch store.
Why Do Influencers Need Merch?
Merch is a great way to earn money without damaging your image. While major brands are always looking for influencers with a large and dedicated following, it's likely that you will only have so many opportunities to partner with them on sponsored posts or ads. With merch, however, you have another five or ten ways to earn money without ever having to discuss any subject matter that may not resonate with your audience. If you're considering expanding your earnings as an influencer, this could be the perfect solution.
But merch isn't just another way to make extra money—it's also a great way to get additional exposure on social media. Influencers who create and sell their own products can use their channels to promote them in new and interesting ways.
For example, they might post pictures of themselves wearing the product in various locations around the world; they might even host giveaways for fans who purchase it! And when influencers take advantage of opportunities like this one (which is often given away at conferences), it results in lots more likes and comments on Instagram. In fact, some studies show that each new product sold through social media gets its creator about $5 worth of free advertising—not bad considering they don't even have spend any money upfront!
Check Out The State of Influencer Marketing 2022: Benchmark Report
Brand Awareness
While influencer merchandise is a product, it’s also a conversation starter. As an influencer, you can use your commercial products to connect with your audience and share who you are outside of the confines of social media.
For example, you can use the notes section on your Shopify store to chat directly with customers and offer them inside information about the brand. Similarly, fans can share their own story by posting pictures of themselves using or wearing your merch.
The result: Influencers have built communities around their unique brands and stories, but their merchandise is more than just another way to audiences to show support. It gives fans the opportunity to interact in meaningful ways outside of the digital world while continuing to build strong connections and leads to loyalty and sales down the line.
Read More 9 Instagram Growth Strategies to Grow Your Following
Loyalty
Here’s a scenario: You post on social media telling your followers all the placed they can buy merch, and it would be nice to see photos of them wearing their new purchases. In addition to getting your followers excited about the products you’re selling, this exercised will get them more involved with you and your brand. These interactions will strengthen your relationship with your audience and lead to more people wanting to buy merch from you down the road.
Read More How Promotional Merch Cultivates Brand Loyalty
Gather User Data
Influencer merch will help you gather vita user data by giving you a crucial contact and payment information. This gives brands opportunities to upsell.
Influencer merch is a relatively new space in e-commerce that allows influencers to create custom products for their followers. These product can be designed and sold directly through the influencer’s social pages and websites, using merch print shops such as Family Industries.
Collecting data can help you determine who your users are and what they want from your brand. Use this information to better target products for your niche audience. It doesn’t matter how much data you collect if you don’t use it properly.
Active Revenue Stream
Merch is a great way to earn money without damaging your image. While major brands are always looking for influencers with a large and dedicated following, it's likely that you will only have so many opportunities to partner with them on sponsored posts or ads. With merch, however, you have another five or ten ways to earn money without ever having to discuss any subject matter that may not resonate with your audience. If you're considering expanding your earnings as an influencer, this could be the perfect solution.
“Influencer Marketing Industry is set to grow to approximately $16.4 Billion in 2022”
5 Influencer Merch Ideas
Before you establish a line of merch item, make sure you have a logo, a font, and brand colors established. Some logos may not work with certain items so it’s important you have a good idea of what you want your branding to look like whether it’s your name or your Instagram handle make sure you have the right dimensions and file type.
Check Out MERCH IDEAS FOR STREAMERS AND YOUTUBERS
Apparel
Avani 'YOUISBEBE' Tie Dye Sweatpants
Anything that can be worn is a staple in every merch store. T-shirts, and sweatshirts or hoodies are essential and a great way to promote yourself or a project.
To ensure success, it’s best to not only use your name or social medial handle but include some type of graphic, like a logo. If you don’t have a distinctive logo or graphic, we suggest to work with your merch agency or a graphic designer to develop one that best represents you.
Printed sweat pants have now become a popular item for most merch stores in 2022 as well as sweat shorts with the same graphics. You can have sweats screen printed with your logo and other designs. Be creative!
2. Hats
Middle Kid logo bucket hat
Once again, hats are a staple for merch stores - however, beanies may sell best during the winter and other hats like bucket hats sell better in the summer.
Seasonality is something you should consider with merch that is wearable. This way, if you plan accordingly you’re always ahead and you avoid overstock of certain items.
3. Bags & Backpacks
Jake Paul Backpack
Bags not only serve a purpose, but can be the best canvas for your logo and other branding attributes. The possibilities of what you can print on a bag such as a tote bag or backpack provides an opportunity to get very creative.
Using a lot of colors and fun graphics is recommended, you want to have your bag stand out.
4. Tech / Lifestyle
Addison Ray iPhone Case
Phone cases are affordable merch items and one of the most popular items among the Gen Z audience. If your demographics fall within the ages of 14 through 25, a phone case is a great option.
Tech accessories are also less hassle to sell as there are no sizing requirements and returns tend to be low for items like this.
5. Accessories
As a content creator, it’s important to have a merch item that directly speaks to your audience and correlates with the type of content you are creating.
For example, if you’re a fitness influencer, a cool yoga mat or stretch bands with your logo would be ideal. Sport merch items such as balls are good if you’re a sports content creator.
Lifestyle creators have a bigger list of merch items to choose from especially when it comes to accessories. For lifestyle brands you can go anywhere from drinkware to loungewear, making it easier to build a solid merch line that covers all aspects of everyday life.
Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator
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