How to Design and Sell Merchandise that Appeals to your YouTube Audience
Before jumping into production, determine if you are ready to start selling merchandise. Having a large amount of subscribers does not necessarily mean that they want to purchase your merch, just as having a small fan-base does not mean they won’t want it. This all depends on the relationship you have created with your audience. Audiences that are engaged and loyal to you as a creator are more likely to purchase merchandise than those who have audiences who don’t watch consistently. As an example, 1 million views on a video from loyal, repeat viewers is worth much more than 1 million views on a video that went viral.
Once you’ve made a decision, it’s time to get creative. Brainstorm ideas that are special to your brand or specific to your audience, such as products that may be useful to your audience or designs that are relevant to your content. For example, a content creator specializing in makeup tutorials should make cosmetic products and accessories, or apparel items that their viewers will love. When you decide on an idea, be sure to collaborate with a designer who can make your visions come to life. You want your merchandise to stand out while still being true to your brand. Here at SquareShark, we pride ourselves on making 100% unique and custom products for our clients, and have a team of graphic designers ready to turn your ideas into reality.
As you create more products, be sure to promote them in your videos and on social media. There’s no shame in plugging your own store, especially when you’re confident that your fans are interested and the products are relevant to them. How you market your products is up to you and depends on the brand you’ve already established, but promoting in a serious tone and explaining how much the products support your channel is definitely the best way to gain sales.
Another excellent way to promote your products is simply by sharing the posts of satisfied customers. Chances are, your fans will post pictures of them in/with your merchandise on various social media platforms. Use this as an opportunity to not only promote your products, but to also create engagement with your fans. You can incentivize your fans to share their posts by featuring the posts in a video or simply thanking them and posting it on that social media platform.
We know you have the YouTube skill-set, but tackling e-commerce can be difficult, time consuming, and expensive to do on your own. Warehousing, employee management, and customer support are all extremely difficult to master, and with fluctuating sales volumes, scaling can be problematic. Let SquareShark do all the heavy lifting for you. Yes, that includes Business Development and Consulting, Storage/Warehousing, Graphic Design, Sales & Use Tax Filing, and much more based on your needs. We are here to help, so contact us today and see how we can assist you!