14 Tips on How To Be Successful on Merch by Amazon

The fascination around the T-shirt business is growing exponentially.

One way to get your designs sold is through the platform, Merch by Amazon.

The platform is an amazing way to break out in the business with some sellers reporting sales of close to $100,000 in 1 year.

Getting a Merch by Amazon account is like hitting the jackpot.

Having a place to sell your designs without additional costs is appealing to many people.

Merch by Amazon is different from other eCommerce stores.

You won’t have to think about printing, shipping, or handling customer service.

Find more on how to start your Merch by Amazon store here.

In this article, I take you through Merch by Amazon tips you need to take to ensure success and the additional resources you will need.

1. Learn the Platform

It’s important to understand the platform through which you’re selling.

Knowing how the platform operates and the basics around it will make your experience better and easier.

There are several courses and articles on Merch by Amazon.

One of the useful Merch by Amazon tips to keep in mind is to choose reputable teachers to learn.

Social media groups like Facebook may be great resources.

However, with the influx of people giving divergent opinions, it might be confusing – so be careful to take only relevant information and do your research.

Reddit pages such as Merch Titans, Merch by Amazon, and Amazon Merch can be great resources for learning and even creating new followers and customers for your store.

When in the chats, find a way to share your products without being too pushy.

You can do this by asking for reviews and opinions on how to improve your designs.

These communities will not only help you learn more about the platform but will also create new traffic to your store.

2. It’s All About Design

Design, design, design. It’s all about design on the Merch by Amazon platform.

It’s important that you understand which designs will sell and which ones to avoid.

Knowing profitable designs is one of the most important Merch by Amazon tips.

If you’re not great at design, you should probably hire an experienced and qualified designer.

If you don’t want to hire a full-time designer, you could always outsource the services of part-time help from freelancers on different platforms like Upwork.

If you’re planning on creating your own designs, there are several platforms that will make your work easier.

EcomDash has photoshop tutorials where you can learn basic design.

It’s important to also learn about what designs are popular with your customers at the moment.

Getting boilerplate designs that you can use for different niches will make your work easier and you can use them to break into a new niche.

When designing, always make designs that go well in pairs and other multiples.

A t-shirt for best friends, couples, a grandmother and a grandchild, a large group.

This technique encourages people to purchase more than one shirt and this will boost your sales.

Allow for people to personalize their designs.

By sharing your designs on social media platforms, you can encourage people to preorder their shirts if they want personalized designs.

Upload these personalized designs to the Merch store and let them make their orders directly from there.

You can charge higher for personalized designs.

3. Capitalize on Trends

Some sellers advise against this.

However, the best way to break out in this platform is by creating designs that are trending.

Always have your ear on the ground and stay updated on what is trending within your niche.

The best way to do this is to speak to friends and family with an interest in whichever niche you are selling in.

Also keep updated on social media trends and conversations on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

One of the Merch by Amazon tips is using Google to find trending topics and images.

Be sure that you do not copy anyone else’s designs as that is copyright infringement.

4. Get Rid of Slow Sellers

At the beginning of your Merch business, you’ll be allowed only 10 submissions.

This might not seem like a lot but it will give you an opportunity to observe which products or designs aren’t favored by buyers.

You can then phase them out or change its design in favor of something on-trend.

Typically, it is advised to give a product two weeks to see how it performs.

5. Target a specific niche

You’ve probably heard it by now – the only way to gain success in any platform is by finding a niche that appeals to you and one that you can excel in.

Targeting a niche will place your store ahead by making it an authority in a specific area.

An important aspect to remember about Merch by Amazon tips is knowing niches.

You might be scared to choose a specific niche because that would mean that you have a smaller target market.

However, choosing a niche will give you more visibility.

This will give your store more visibility and it will be at the top of searches.

With less competition, you’ll also have a higher profit margin.

Focus on identifying your target audience, communicating an authentic message that they want and need and project yourself as an “expert” within your niche.

Kim Garst

Niche stores are less affected by price fluctuations.

They also have a passionate audience who are more dedicated and will most likely purchase your products.

When choosing your niche, it is advisable to pick one that you have a lot of passion and/or knowledge for.

This will give you an edge since you won’t be learning from scratch.

You probably also know the language used in that field and you can use those in your designs and in your marketing copy.

6. Build A Following

Once you have a specific market and you understand their preference/s – you’ll need to build a following.

You can do this by creating social media pages for your brand and gaining followers for these pages.

Social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are a great way to gain followers for your Merch business.

Blogs and newsletters are also a good way of getting people’s attention and making them updated on what products you’re offering.

Creating a following reduces your cost of advertising since you’ll already have a pool of loyal clientele who will be your repeat customers.

7. Advertise, Advertise, Advertise

As you are starting out, you’ll want to create a buzz around your product and peak people’s interest.

The best way to do this is through advertising.

One of the most useful Merch by Amazon tips when it comes to advertising is studying the available promotions.

Amazon provides two advertising solutions for their sellers to promote their products.

The first way is through the portal promotions section on their website.

This page allows you to create posts that are shared on Facebook and Twitter.

These posts can be updates on new products that you’re offering or new designs that have been created.

Some accounts will allow you to create advertisements for your products.

However, unlike the first solution, you will need to request to join the advertising program.

The benefit of this solution is that you can create targeted ads for your products.

This means that your products will place higher in searches and will reach your intended demographic.

Advertising will ensure that your products are seen by new markets that you had not thought of or that are not aware of the existence of your products.

When advertising, be sure to learn what keywords will attract your target market.

Doing this will make sure that your listings are optimized and that they appear at the top of searches.

Making promises and keeping them is a great way to build a brand.

Seth Godin

Remember, millions of people visit Amazon daily, learn how the system works so you can break out.

You can also run PPC ads for your products to boost sales and increase income for your account.

Advertising on other sites such as YouTube, podcasts, and blogs that have a big following will create a lot of traffic to your page.

This is an expensive advertising method, however, it will give you access to their hundreds or thousands of followers.

Advertising can also be niche specific.

You can send a product to someone within your niche.

If you’re selling anime designed shirts, you can send it to a YouTube star whose content revolves around anime or gaming.

If they wear one of your designs during a video and promote your work, this will bring in a large following.

Make sure you send them your best work as this is an opportunity to impress.

8. Don’t Be Afraid To Set Higher Prices

Many new sellers are afraid of setting high prices due to the existing competition in the market.

If you have unique designs and a unique style, don’t be afraid to set higher prices for your products.

Setting a slightly higher rate shows that you have confidence in your product.

If you do decide to charge higher for your Merch, make sure that you are providing quality and that your designs are not copycats of what is existing in the market.

This is a nice practice have and one of the useful Merch by Amazon tips if you make sure that you’re not charging exorbitant rates though.

That could put off new customers and send them off to other sellers.

9. Make Realistic Goals

As with any new business, you’ve probably projected a certain amount of profit for your business.

One of the Merch by Amazon tips to remember is to make a plan and setting realistic goals.

You’ve listened to all the success stories and you’re ready to take off.

It is important, to be honest with yourself and make realistic plans and goals for your business.

You need to understand that it would take you a bit of time to break out.

Especially if you do not have prior experience.

Understand your strengths.

If you’re not good at design, you will need to hire a designer and this will be an extra expense.

If you need marketing, hire a professional.

You can choose to learn the ins and outs of the business before starting.

Learning keywords or design elements and tools to make your work easier and reduce costs.

Be honest with yourself and understand what you can and cannot do and find ways around it.

10. Launch Your Designs Early

We’ve talked about staying on-trend when selling on Merch by Amazon.

Launching your designs early is one of the crucial aspects for Merch by Amazon tips.

To capitalize on these trends, it is important to launch your designs early before other designers launch their designs around the same topic.

Uploading your designs first will mean that your designs are more visible and this means more sales.

By the time other designers catch on to the trend, you’d have already made a name for yourself and you’d have gained a significant number of sales early enough.

11. Merch by Amazon Tips: Branch Out

Merch by Amazon is a non-exclusive platform.

Feel free to sell your designs on other platforms to generate more income for your Amazon business.

If you have another business, use your Merch business as an additional revenue stream as you learn the ropes around Merch by Amazon.

12. Start Immediately

Merch by Amazon is a low-cost business venture.

There are no upfront costs and this allows you to start as soon as you can.

As you figure out the design and marketing aspect of your business, you can sign up and join as you iron out the details.

Make sure that you make products that your clients can identify with.

13. Take Note of Copyright Infringement

As you already know, copying other designs is illegal and will most likely lead to the closure of your Merch store.

A rule of thumb for Merch by Amazon tips is to take note of trademarks.

Copyright infringement could be easier than many people would think.

You can run your designs through sites like Merch Informer that will let you know if one of your designs has been claimed.

You can also make a manual search on sites such as TMHunt.com to see if your design/s would be copying off of an existing one.

Check for trademarks as well on different sites especially when using phrases on your designs.

14. Take Advantage of Free Tools

With the growth of the platform, there are a lot of companies that are providing you with the tools you need to succeed in your Merch business.

A few of them have already been mentioned in this article.

These tools will help you do everything from rank higher in search engines, resize your t-shirts, check for copyright and trademark infringement, and even help you research your competitors.

For anyone serious about growing their Merch business – you should look into tools that will make your work easier and faster.

In Conclusion

Merch by Amazon is an amazing platform for designers and entrepreneurs to make extra money and even create wealth.

It’s always important to learn the ropes and what will give you an extra edge over other stores on the platform.

With these basic Merch by Amazon tips and tricks, start your store and implement them and be sure to tell us which tip worked for you!