Merchandise earnings are a crucial aspect for any band. The health situation proved how easy it is for bands to no longer have live gigs, while the statistics show that the clothing industry continues to flourish.
According to printful.com/band-merchandise, bands should focus on increasing their popularity by selling their band merch online with no upfront fees and inventory. Dropshipping is especially useful for bands that want to sell their products online without the need to store them in a warehouse. All they need is the proper supplier.
Printing websites, in general, are great suppliers that can help your band create custom designs on various items. Some provide guidelines, templates, and even designer tools that intuitively help with the designing phase.
Many bands make more money from merchandise than live acts, which was the case even before the health situation. It is probably the second most important thing when it comes to their popularity and earnings, the first being the music of course.
Choose a Proper Printing Website
All bands should find a good supplier to create and promote their merchandise. When looking for printing websites, you need to know precisely what you need: you can choose embroidery, digital, or screen printing.
When deciding, you should know that embroidery printing works best on thicker fabrics, but it is slightly more expensive. The biggest downside is that more oversized artworks are not recommended with this type of printing, as the image can quickly become distorted due to the added weight.
Digital/screen printing, on the other hand, allows you to create complex artworks. You can easily print your logo, album artwork, lyrics, or something else that represents your band. Look for a printing website that offers diverse printing techniques and fabrics.
Supplier Policy
Dropshipping is an excellent method that bands can use to sell their merchandise. Some printing websites have upfront fees and inventory requirements, but it would be best to choose a provider that doesn’t have upfront fees and uses the dropshipping method.
Dropshipping means that a store doesn’t need to keep its products in stock. The seller buys inventory as needed from a third party to fulfill orders. This means that you don’t have to print a hundred band customized T-shirts and wait for them to be sold out.
Keeping clothes in stock is risky as you can’t predict how many people will buy your design and what sizes will sell. You can create your design, and when someone orders it, it will be created and shipped to them. This way, you can avoid wasting money on excess inventory.
Merchandise Variety
Bands looking to sell their merchandise shouldn’t limit themselves only to customizable T-shirts. When creating your band merchandise, use a printing website that offers merchandise variety.
Choose a website that can provide you with customizable hoodies, sweatshirts, mugs, phone cases, hats, and other items. Customizable face masks are pretty popular these days, and bands can put them in their merchandise.
Another great merchandise seller is the customized phone cases, since phones and phone cases tend to look the same, and people want to add a unique touch to their items.
Design Tools
One tedious task when creating band merchandise is the process of creating the actual designs. Fortunately, some printing websites have their own designer tools. Some are better than others, but you should look for websites that offer templates and have an intuitive designer tool that can help you create your desired artwork.
Fulfillment and Shipping
Another critical factor in creating band merchandise is how long it will take to finish the product and the shipping. If you are about to release a new album or go on tour, you will need a printing website that can create your custom products as fast as possible and deliver them to customers and fans in as many places worldwide as possible.
Of course, you can also choose a company that focuses explicitly on delivering in certain areas where your band might be touring or is already popular.
Final Words
Merchandise is among the most important promotional tools for any band and a critical source of income. You need to have various customizable items that your listeners might be interested in buying.
Find a good printing website with fast fulfillment needs, shipping versatility and item customization, no upfront fees, and inventory. This way, you can promote your band, create new and interesting customized items for your fans, and earn money that you can use in any way you want.
