Loooking For Something to Sell? Merch to Debate

When you hit a certain degree of success, you will no doubt start debating how to take advantage of your success to launch some sort of merchandise line. While there are plenty of different options available, you'll see the same range of different options being somewhat universal; these items are popular because they work for so many different situations: For example, would you generally prefer to win a T-shirt or a bar of soap? Most people would prefer the T-shirt; we have our own preferences for soap and there are more allergy issues to worry about when it comes to soap than most shirts, sure, but we would just prefer to wear our prizes than use them.

You also need to consider the price. While there are plenty of great options in the $200+ category (laptops with your logo on it, for example), these aren't for everyone; most people prefer to buy merchandise that costs them less than $20. Fortunately, there are plenty of options available in that range; just make sure that your artwork works with the products and you should be fine. However, don't limit yourself to just stuff you can put a logo on; you should be able to work with anything that you can put your name or company on and a website.

You also need to debate print-on-demand sites. These offer you several business advantages: While they may be a little more expensive than comparable products, you don't need to purchase them ahead of time, you don't need to worry about storage, and you don't need to worry about fulfillment (taking the orders and sending them out). There is also that you put the artwork on the site and potential customers can put the artwork on products they prefer; your logo on their socks, for example. This allows you to create some really great merch for the fans while not having to worry about the details.

When it comes to merchandise, just have fun creating it. You also don't have to limit yourself to just selling them; they can be used for prizes as well as promotional items, so debate how many you want to just give away versus actually selling. There are ways to simplify your life while making some additional profit from your ideas. What you end up selling is up to you, so don't be afraid to try all the weirdest possible ideas you can come up with.

Books

This is pretty obvious, but needs to be noted nonetheless; they are your bread and butter, after all. These work well when sold with other items (most notable bookmarks) and there are plenty of options for getting them out there. Just make sure you have plenty of them on hand when you make public appearances, both to be sold and as freebies and you should do fine.

Sketch Cards

For those looking for a way to make some money at conventions, sketch cards are the best thing. You can purchase 100 blank cards for $5-$10 per pack and a couple of decent pens can be had for about the same; when you realize you can sell each card for about $10 and it only takes about 5–10 minutes to do a decent sketch, this makes them really attractive. You can also buy packs of card sleeves so that they can be displayed without ruining them. These can also be done via commission when you're at home or in transit if you want to take your time, allowing you to create them ahead of time; although fans love seeing you draw something specifically for them, some are willing to buy whatever you have on hand.

However, do not use printed sketch cards. The entire point is the fan is looking for something hand-drawn; printing them sort of ruins the experience for them. The best you can do is do some ahead of time, but nothing will beat watching you draw them. Now, you can do videos of you drawing them and then auction them off or even do some up ahead of time as both examples of your work and to be sold off, but NEVER print them.

T-shirts 

This is another obvious option, but one that some people just can't figure out. There are three types of shirts to consider: book-specific, off-topic, and book covers. First, yes: You can put a book cover on a T-shirt and it will sell; just don't limit yourself to them, and keep in mind "will sell" doesn't necessarily mean "will sell well." For some, "book specific" shirts it can be fun to put anything from the books on a shirt, with ideas including characters with their favorite sayings, having fun with characters and other items from the books, or anything else that mentions your books. "Off-topic" covers pretty much anything else you would like to put in the shop, so have fun with it.

Posters

This can be a weird one. While some posters are strictly promotional (showing which books are available, which are on the way, and where/when they are available), others feature artwork from or based on the books. You need to use the different sizes for different things: Mini-posters should be used for promotions while full-sized posters should be used for full-on artwork. This means that if you're heading for a convention or to the local bookstore, you should have a lot of mini-posters printed up so you can use them as freebies to help promote the book, but if you're looking to give fans something they can put on their walls go for the full-sized posters.

VIP Passes

Everyone loves a good lanyard, and this gives your fans exactly that. This is done up as a concert backstage pass, usually with "VIP" on it, and strung on a lanyard. These can look pretty nice and work well as mementos; this makes them great for those looking for something to announce their fandom. The big things to remember here are that the artwork needs to be either the logo or a character from the books, preferably either the main character or that world's version of a celebrity, and you should include a QR code for your website or wherever they can get your book; do those two things and it can only help sell the passes.

Stickers 

These are just fun; have some fun with them and make them of the cutest characters and you should do well. Most stickers are going to be ovals, squares, and rectangles; this gives you a little bit of room to have some fun. Try to apply the same logic you would to posters and you should be okay; the stickers should be of characters having some fun or artwork based on the books. It can also be fun to translate current memes using your book's characters, so just have some serious fun with these.

Cut-out stickers can also be fun, but you should limit them to characters and/or their catchphrases. Otherwise, there is no real limit to the fun you can have with them.

Magnets 

These are usually more expensive than the stickers, so fans are less likely to purchase them. Nonetheless, apply the same logic you would to oval, square, and rectangle stickers and you should do fine. You can also throw in variant art as well as other weirdness; magnets are seen as mini-posters more than they are merely stickers. This may limit you in some ways compared to stickers, but also gives you a little more freedom, so use that as you see fit.

Pins

Everyone likes something they can throw on their bags and backpacks, especially if it has some sort of personal meaning. Pins are not just shiny; they help people remember their past. Thus, they hit that nice zone of fun yet serious, making them popular among fans. However, you need to limit them as you would cut-out stickers, and even more so: You should limit them to just characters for the best possible effect. You can also use organization logos, catchphrases, and even specific objects; just ask yourself what you wouldn't mind seeing on your bag or jacket and do that.

Tote Bags

This is included as "what not to have": This is one of the few things that just doesn't sell as well as some people think it should. While it can work if your book has some sort of container, this is one time when just putting your logo or a character on it won't work as well as it probably should. This should also be seen as a general word of warning: Just because you can does not mean that you should. There are simply some ideas that will not work, so don't force it; don't put your artwork on everything you can, just on those things you are confident that will work.

Bookmarks

While some people are monsters and dog-ear their books while others use pretty much everything to mark their place in a book; you can help limit the damage to your books by providing bookmarks. When it comes to deciding what goes on them, it's pretty simple: Make sure that you have your title, name, and website, and either use art based on the books or something decorative; these should be used for promotional purposes just as much as they are to keep your place in a book. Don't be afraid to have some fun with them, but do keep in mind that they need to be as thin as possible. These are great if you're looking for something cheap that can either be sold or given away as a freebie.

Freebies

You're going to need something cheap that you can give away for free that has your information on it; these promotional items are "freebies." These can be pretty much anything, so don't be afraid to use whatever strikes your fancy. The best site to get some ideas is probably 4imprint.com, which has a lot of potential ideas for those looking for freebies. These are great to disburse at conventions or at book signings, so don't afraid to spend a decent amount on them, usually about $1 per two or three items at most.

The Weird Stuff

You're going to debate a lot of items that weren't included here, and that's fine; not everything will work for everyone, and some things work well for others. The "Dominick Deegan" comics feature pillow forts as a running gag; I'll never figure out why there isn't an official "Dominick Deegan pillow." If you find something that works for you but isn't on this list, then just forget the list and use it; this list should be seen as a "list of suggestions", not as a "list of just these." 

In other words, if your book features dreams, then include sheets and pillowcases in your store. If you focus on baked goods, then include cupcakes and candies.

There should be no limits on what you include in your merchandise store and you can likely find something on a print-on-demand site somewhere, such as Zazzle.com, so have some fun looking.

* * * * *

It's important to remember that it's important to remember that the merchandise you sell needs to work with your brand: VIP passes work well with podcasters because of the performance aspect of podcasts; but may not work so well with comic books, but sketch cards don't work so well because podcasters don't usually draw. If your brand is decidedly dark, stickers may not work so well for you while bookmarks may not do so well if you don't sell books. On the other hand, if your comic features pillow forts then selling pillows may not be a bad thing.

In short, make sure that your merchandise works with whatever you do. Not all merchandise will work for everyone, but if you can figure out what does work, then you will love the effect on your bottom line.