**Guest post written by Desi Thorne for Bandzoogle.

 

 

 

"After a year at home and with income from live shows coming to an almost complete stop overnight, we’ve had to pivot and adapt. Luckily, this is something that musicians excel at, and over the last year we’ve seen sales of merch, both physical and digital, surge as a way to provide some extra income.

Using your website to sell merch online is a great option while you prepare to get back to performing live. This shift in living might even change what kind of band merch sells best, so it’s a perfect time to start diversifying your online website store with new items.

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To get started, think about the different kinds of band merch you might offer. Items that can be handmade may be difficult to reproduce, but can also be offered for a significantly higher price point. Offering a good balance of custom merch and scalable merch allows you to offer unique merch for all fans at different levels of dedication.

A great way to sell more merch through your website is by integrating your store with Printful, allowing you to try out custom merch products without needing to store items or ship inventory.

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With such a major focus on decluttering, organizing, and Marie Kondo-ing our lives, your fans might also be looking for more “useful” merch than previously. Let’s take a look at all the kinds of creative merch items you can offer to your fans.

Custom Physical Merch

These merch items will appeal to your long-term fans, who are willing to pay a little more for those unique items. Flex your creative muscle and make (or commission) designs based on your lyrics, song titles, or album art.

1. Pajamas/robes

At Bandzoogle, we’re longtime work-from-homers, so our closets are already well-stocked with loungewear to be comfy at home. The most prized item? A terry-cloth robe.

2. Loungewear

For those who love comfort, but also a bit of polish, offer leggings or sweatpants to wear around the house.

3. Blankets

Custom blankets are great for this time at home, but they may also prove to be big sellers when we’re all back in chilly venues!

4. Guitar string bracelets

Broken or used guitar strings have a lot of uses, so they don’t need to be tossed. Making bracelets out of them is a quick and easy add to your online merch table, and it’s a way for fans to buy something limited and premium while supporting you.

5. Magnetic poetry

Custom Magnetic Poetry, inspired by your songs, is an easy thing to make at home with magnetic tape and label makers. It provides a way for fans to be creative at home - maybe even rearranging your words will inspire them to write their own music!

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6. One-of-a-kind art

If you picked up any crafting hobbies during the pandemic (or are looking for a new one,) consider selling limited edition art pieces! Cheeky embroidery wall hoops are popular (repurpose some of those guitar strings to add a hanging wire to the back) and are another place to share your lyrics or artwork. Handwritten lyrics, paintings, and drawings are popular too.

7. Custom playing cards

Cards are an easy thing to source and jazz up with your logo and even add “suits” of your choice.

8. Custom puzzle

Give your fans something to do on those long days at home! Create a puzzle from your latest album artwork.

9. Signed posters

As a die-hard fan collectable item, make sure you always keep any remaining posters from all of your shows, especially if they’re silk-screen or hand-painted posters. You’ll be surprised how quickly these will get scooped up as mementos.

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Scalable Physical Merch

Don’t forget about your staple items - the ones that will always appeal to your fans and generally sell well at a decent price point. Offer a variety of options and use Printful in your store if you’d like to test and see which items are better sellers for you.

10. T-shirts

Shirts will always be popular, and you can make them more interesting than the standard logo-on-black t-shirt unisex shirt! Try adding t-shirts with your logo, or to go along with your new album artwork.

11. Hoodies

Try adding your logo to zip up, lightweight hoodies, or heavier fleece ones depending on the season.

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12. Hats

Hats are a great option for adults and children alike. Snapback hats have a great space to add your logo front and center.

13. Phone cases

An inexpensive way to keep your band logo constantly in front of your fans and their friends. Don’t forget to offer both iPhone and Android options with a few different sizes for each.

14. Stickers

As another inexpensive and versatile option, stickers are a great item to sell to help get your name out there. If these sell well, offer a few different looks.

15. Mugs

Your fans likely enjoy a good cup of coffee or tea, and mugs are a fairly affordable item to add to your store. Choose a simple white mug and add some colorful artwork, or a poignant lyric, to jazz up the cup!"

Build a professional website in just a few clicks where you can sell band merch commission-free! Sign up to sell merch online with Bandzoogle now.

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