How To Sell Merch On YouTube For Free (2023)

You already have the abilities as a creative to set up your own merch shop to promote your business. Continue reading to discover how to sell merch on youtube.

There's a reason why every big YouTube creator has gone into selling merchandise.

You have undoubtedly seen it. Consider the Halo Taco brand of luxury nail paint from SimplyNailogical, which comes in stunning finishes and hues. Or Chamberlain Coffee, which began with cold brew bags before branching up to include matcha, clothing, and coffee accessories. You may buy clothes, hair products, and kitchen towels at the Mythical store.

These creators are aware that they are operating a business, and that a successful business seeks new sources of income.

Relying on brand agreements and advertising might be risky since it is subject to the whims of other people and computer algorithms. Furthermore, platforms have a history of abruptly vanishing, as is well known (RIP Vine).

YouTube producers are recognizing, more than ever, that selling apparel and other things can bring in huge bucks while also energizing their fan base. The finest feature is that the creator has complete control over everything, including creating merchandise, running the business, and advertising their products. There is no algorithm necessary.

You don’t need millions of subscribers to begin selling; in fact, getting started early might help your channel expand. Continue reading to learn why you should start selling merchandise and how to get started.

Why you should sell merch on YouTube

From the outside, becoming a YouTube video producer appears to be the ultimate way to obtain job flexibility. However, the truth is more convoluted.

Creators on any platform are far too frequently reliant on other individuals or corporations, whether it's satisfying YouTube's standards for becoming a partner who can run advertisements or chasing commercial partnerships. Making money as a creative in this manner entails following someone else's guidelines.

The typical method to make money on YouTube is through partner programs, but there are restrictions.

Currently, to join the partner program, you need at a minimum:

• 1,000 subscribers
• 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months
• To live in a country where the program is available
• To be compliant with YouTube’s monetization policies
• No active community guidelines strike on your channel

Only then are you eligible to apply, and even then, admission is not assured. If you are accepted, YouTube has the right to suspend your ad revenue or potentially suspend or delete your channel if it believes you have violated a guideline.

To be accepted into the program, you must first cross a significant obstacle before entrusting your destiny to YouTube's automatic moderation, which has already been accused of wrongfully demonetizing producers.

What has become evident is that successful YouTube artists understand how to safeguard their freedom.

To truly own your business as a creator, you must reclaim power from YouTube, and merch is one way to do it.

Creating and selling products is an income source over which you have complete control, which means you get all of the benefits. You may open a store on your own without the need for discussions or contracts while maintaining complete control over your brand and beliefs.

It also provides a means for viewers to support you while receiving something in return, which has the added benefit of promoting your channel.

From sell merch on YouTube, you may retain an income stream that is immune to these challenges and that you can begin without being a part of the partner program. That implies you can start generating money with fewer subscribers.

To truly own your business as a creator, you must reclaim power from YouTube, and merch is one way to do it. It may even outperform your earnings from ads.

What to sell as a YouTube creator

In general, there are two types of items you may sell as a YouTube creator: fan stuff and products you make. Each technique has advantages and disadvantages, and a long-term plan should include how to market both.

Selling fan merchandise

Creating traditional products is the traditional method of providing products to fans. Consider the shirts available at concerts or the branded water bottles. These are goods featuring phrases or images related to your channel that followers can wear and use to express their appreciation for your work as a creator.

These can include:

• T-shirts
• Hats
• Mugs
• Stickers
• Hoodies
• Patches
• Enamel pins

Anything that can be printed with your logo is an excellent contender for merch.

Scott Walter is the creator of Miniac, a YouTube channel with 303,000 followers that concentrates on the hobby of miniature figurines. He posts about tabletop gaming and the fine skill of painting miniatures on his channel. He's successfully carved out a niche on YouTube and has a store that offers apparel for fans as well as products for other tiny fanatics.

He sells shirts and caps inspired by miniatures as well as his passion for metal music.

The advantages of this type of fan merchandise are that it is typically simple to manufacture, especially with on-demand printing alternatives (which we will discuss later). Because there are so many possibilities for printing merch, you don't have to worry about finding unique products, maintaining an inventory, or even dealing with shipping if you use an on-demand service. This saves you both time and money.

These products also have a well-established market. Fans are already aware of where to hunt for these goods and have most likely purchased them in the past from other creators or media that they admire. Furthermore, every time a fan wears or uses your merchandise, they are promoting your channel to their friends and family.

The disadvantage is that these aren't the most distinctive offers. However, you may increase this by focusing on producing unique and intriguing designs. These products are also often less expensive for fans, so your income per item may be smaller than if you manufactured it yourself.

Selling products you create

Creating your own products from scratch has the potential to generate more cash, but it requires a lot more labor.

We've seen this in various cases, such as Holo Taco, Chamberlain Coffee, and beauty palettes. The creator who owns these products created, sourced, produced, and sold them.

All of this requires time and money, which you may not have as a small artist, but there are still methods to make it happen. Rather, you might begin with something simpler. Consider your specialization as a creator and how you may share it with your audience.

Creating products could be as simple as:

• Art prints
• Audio tracks
• Digital recipe collections
• Handmade items like jewelry
• Workshops or one-on-one lessons
• PDF instructions for a craft or project

All of these are important to your fans since they are one-of-a-kind offers that only you can provide.

How to make and sell merch on YouTube

If you're just getting started selling products on YouTube, fan merch is a sensible and cost-effective method to get started.

1. Design your own merch for YouTube

The first important question will be what you should put on your product. The good news is that you don't have to be a talented illustrator or graphic designer to obtain distinctive, high-quality designs.

First, consider how your channel's branding may be translated into a design. You may use your logo, phrases from movies, or even drawings of your face.

Let's look at Mythical as an example. Good Mythical Morning, their YouTube channel, is well-known for its two hosts, Rhett and Link, as well as the games they play with bizarre culinary inventions.

Using that, they have merch that hits a variety of angles, such as:

• A simple logo on a tie-dye t-shirt
• Images of the hosts
• References to inside jokes
• Catchphrases
• Custom illustrations

Using those as inspiration, you can probably already see what your channel's merch might look like.

If you're a skilled designer, you may create your own merch. If you aren't, there are lots of ways to locate artists that can make graphics for you.

Look at:

• Shopify Experts
• Fiverr
• Dribbble
• Designious
• Tshirt factory
• Creative Market

If you're just starting to start with branding your channel, you can also use Shopify’s free logo maker.

You're likely to uncover a designer whose style suits your idea for your own merch by visiting these sites.

2. Set up your store

There are several options accessible to YouTube producers wishing to sell merch. They simplify the process of selling merch, but you have significantly less control over the design and feel of your shop, as well as the products you may offer.

Scott began selling his merch on RedBubble, an on-demand printer, but eventually switched to Shopify so that he could sell garments alongside products he designed himself.

“We can offer merch for the channel as well as products for the channel on one website, which is convenient for the purchase experience.” He says that “you don't have to go to different places to receive different things.”

Scott also says that Shopify gives him the ability to develop a more complicated website for his channel, complete with a blog and other information.

3. Use print on demand to make your merch

When you create a Shopify store, you will have access to print-on-demand apps such as Gelato, Printify, and Printful. You may also look for more in the Shopify App Store.

You should look into different printers to discover what kinds of products they provide and where they ship to. All will sell a variety of clothing, such as t-shirts and hoodies, in a variety of fabrics, sizes, and colors. You may also check out their other products, such as mugs, tumblers, mouse pads, and other household goods.

After you've selected a printer and added it as an app to your Shopify store, you can start uploading designs and displaying them on products. You'll then set a price for the product and move it to your store, where admirers may begin purchasing it.

The benefit of on-demand printing is that the printing provider handles the printing and shipping of orders, leaving you free to manage and advertise your business. This eliminates the need to store an inventory of things that may or may not sell immediately.

How much do from sell merch on YouTube?

The amount of money that YouTube creators make is typically a tightly kept secret. Some creators are more forthcoming than others. Jeffree Star, for example, has frequently flaunted his opulent lifestyle and referred to the millions he earns from his cosmetics line and merch business.

Chrstine and her partner Ben have said on their SimplyNailogical podcast that their nail polish business has a large number of sales and is profitable, even with the costs of personnel, warehousing, and designing bespoke bottles.

To be fair, they are celebrity-level producers with millions of subscribers. You're probably beginning from a lower level.

Scott says revenue varies, but he thinks that online shop sales account for up to 50% of his total revenue.

To break it down, he claims that the majority of his earnings come from products he designed himself, such as an exclusive miniature he had made that he sells for $49.99, complete with digital painting instructions. This accounts for between 30% and 40% of his revenue.

The remaining 10% to 20% is made up of more straightforward products, such as t-shirts and posters.

The remainder of his income as a creator comes from YouTube commercials, Amazon affiliate links, Patreon, and sponsorships.

The trick, according to Scott, is to be able to provide something distinctive. He claims that someone who publishes one video each week, for example, may make far more money from product sales produced by a video than from ad placements.

“It's a significant cash source if you can build something that offers value to your audience,” he says.

It goes to reason that the more subscribers and views you have, the more money you may generate through goods sales. However, even a tiny creator can generate a sizable amount of their earnings from such purchases.

How to promote your sell merch on YouTube

When you have gear available, make sure your fans are aware of it.

To get fans interested, many designers may broadcast a video announcing the introduction of a merch line, as well as advertise it on other media such as Instagram or Twitter.

Moving forward, you should put a link to your store beneath all of your videos, as well as in your YouTube profile and other platforms' bios. Remember to make announcements whenever you add new things to your collection!

Grow your YouTube channel with merch

It is not necessary to have a large number of subscribers to begin to sell merch on YouTube producer. You already have all of the tools you need to start earning money without relying on YouTube's algorithm, restrictions, or partner program.

Making it as a YouTube creator means creating a sustainable business that can withstand anything the platform throws at you, and opening your own shop can help you get there.