When someone wants to monetize their artistic pursuits one of their first thoughts is to roll out the band merchandise. Whilst it’s a given and almost the easy option, it can be very lucrative when it’s done the right way. The problem is, that most don’t do it the right way. The blueprint to a money pit in merchandise is to slap your logo on a t-shirt and get a hundred shirts printed, sell a few and then sit on 95 t-shirts. Well, I’m going to share with you a way in which you can not only sell your merchandise for next to nothing out of your pocket but also do it on auto-pilot via drop-shipping.

Before we do that, I’m not going to write off the traditional model. If you can actually sell the merchandise, it may be better suited. So let me break down the pro’s and cons of each.

TRADITIONAL

Pros: More Profit, More Control, Easier To Do Deals, Can Sell In Person.

Cons: Need Money To Start, More Time Consuming, Need Inventory Space.

DROPSHIPPING

Pros: Less Risk, No Money Needed (Money taken from sale for costs),No Storage Space Needed.

Cons: Hard To Give An Experience, Less Profit Per Item.

SHOULD I GO TRADITIONAL OR SHOULD I DROP-SHIP MY BAND MERCHANDISE?

It’s all going to come down to preference and the situation you’re currently in. Hopefully, the pros and cons I shared are enough to help your decision.

I personally choose to drop-ship and my reasons for that are that I don’t want to spend too much time, money and inventory space. First of all buying in bulk and having to store it all, then having to go make the sales and then process everything myself takes a lot of energy. My thoughts are why go through all the effort when I have a million things to deal with on any given day, all I have to do now is secure the sales and the platform I use handle the rest.

If you’re curious as to which platform I use, It’s Printful.

The reason is the wide variety of quality and options. I can choose the quality, the cut, the logo placement and the price. There are others out there that do this. Printful, however, is the easiest I’ve come across and I’ve never had any problems in completing orders and having the customer receive them.

They do, t-shirts, rash guards, wall art, cushions, mugs, shorts, yoga pants, you would be extremely surprised how varied their stock is. They also are continually updating and bringing out new colors and fits, allowing your variety of products to continually expand.

HOW DO I GET PEOPLE TO BUY MY BAND MERCHANDISE?

Early in this article, I mentioned how many artists and bands that dabble in merchandise almost always focus on their logo. Of course, you should offer a logo t-shirt but it’s not going to be the bread and butter of your brand. See, the only people who will ever buy your logo are people who know your music and brand and are fans of that. The real key to making money selling merchandise, however, is being smart.

If you want to make big bucks here’s what you need to do. You need to appeal to people’s emotions, interests and their need to express themselves. The smart way to do this is to use slogans, catchphrases and statements. A great example would be to create a t-shirt with a midi controller on the front that says “I Make Beats”. Then it could be as simple as running a Facebook advert to music producers. What if you were to create a t-shirt that says “I Am My Own Boss” and you market that to entrepreneurs?

This way you are appealing to people’s need to express themselves and make statements. People like to let others know who they are and t-shirts like this go a long way when it comes to that.

SELL MORE BAND MERCHANDISE

Being creative is key when it comes to selling band merchandise. Make your clothing tell a story that others can relate to. You could pick out some artists that have a buzz and a noticeable fanbase and send them some free stuff in exchange for a plug. You could create some video content with them, or get them to wear it at shows or in music videos. The sky is really the limit you just have to get creative.

Set a standard. The reason that so many people start up a merchandise branch of their brand tree and fail is because they think that just because they have it, that it will sell. As with everything we’re trying to sell, we need demand. Anyone can build a supply but only the smart, creative and determined will build demand for it.

So next time you think about adding band merchandise to your brand, remember this post and remember that you could easily make a lot of money from it, if only you’re smart about it.

The best thing is, that if you go the Printful route is that you can experiment at no risk. If a t-shirt doesn’t sell make a new one, change the color, change anything you want to.

I’d like to thank Clarence for the opportunity to write for his audience at Pop Of Colour. I hope this article helps!

Guest post by Daniel J. Scott of DGMGM.COM. This article contains affiliate links