Merch Ideas That Will Earn You Money in 2024
It doesn’t matter if you have a million or a thousand followers, if you’re a world-touring band or a local celebrity, or if you have a well-established business or are just starting to create merch.
We have plenty of cool merch ideas to help you bring in extra money and give your fans and supporters something to cheer about. Continue reading to find the recipe for a fun merch idea, what products and designs are popular, and how to start selling merchandise with Printify.
What Makes Great Merch
Whether you’re looking for band merch ideas for your gigs, custom merch to raise money for a cause, or unique promotional merch items, three things turn average products into profitable and creative merch: popularity, utility, and quality.
Know Your Audience
Success in merch, like any business, thrives on knowing your target audience.
With so many products available for your merch online, make sure you’re offering your customers exactly what they want. Research your audience on social media, find what the competition offers, and follow the latest trends and customer preferences.
Offer High Usability Items
To sell more merchandise, offer products people can use daily. This will give your brand, organization, or business an even better chance to get noticed. Try best-selling merchandise like t-shirts, custom hoodies, custom phone cases, and custom coffee mugs.
Selling merch like a cool t-shirt with your brand’s logo or a phone case with your branding has more sales potential and offers higher brand visibility than something niche, like a golf ball.
Of course, it doesn’t mean you have to sell mundane items. Just make sure you offer plenty of choices so potential customers of all backgrounds get the most out of your products.
Don’t Forget About Quality
High-quality merch is key to happy customers (and more sales!). They’ll readily share their love (or frustration) online, so make sure both the print design and the product itself are top-notch.
Look for quality items with Printify. We offer a vast Catalog of apparel and accessories from high-quality wholesale manufacturers. Match that with a beautiful design, and you’ll have an excellent merchandise product. Order a sample to guarantee you’re happy with the final results.
Now, let’s look at some of the best merch ideas for you to try.
Explore Unique Merch Ideas With Printify
25 Best Merch Ideas
As you set up your merch store, picking products to sell can be tricky. With so many creative options, from branded apparel to custom posters, the possibilities are endless.
To make your life easier, we’ve compiled a list of 25 merch ideas with a proven track record in the print-on-demand industry and are sure to make your customers happy.
Go through our suggestions, check them out in the Printify Catalog, and start designing and selling with our Merch Maker.
Custom t-shirts are always a great choice. They’re versatile, affordable, easy to style, and perfect for all custom designs, whether it’s a company logo or limited edition album artwork.
With the global custom t-shirt printing market expected to grow by an average of 11.1% annually until 2030, creating t-shirt merch is a perfect first option. The demand is there – add unique customized t-shirts to your own online store and start selling merch with a solid base product.
Hoodies are super comfy, and people wear them everywhere – when going out, hitting the gym, running errands, or lounging around the house. They’re a universal canvas for physical merch ideas that can satisfy the needs of any target audience and make for an excellent gift.
Did you know that they’re also the hottest-selling TikTok merch item?
Add text and images to your hoodie designs, or create all-over-print hoodies for a unique and fresh look.
Tote bags are a staple of any merch table or online merch store and can potentially generate serious profits. This is a go-to option for some of the best band merch ideas and convention goodies.
Reusable bags have been on the rise for quite a while as people become more environmentally conscious and look for ways to reduce pollution. Jump on the trend by designing your own custom tote bags – a surefire way to put your merch store in good standing and earn a profit.
Looking for podcast merch ideas? Custom stickers are fairly cheap to produce and ship, and you can use them to sell a collection of designs in large bunches or by the sheet.
Stickers come in various interesting shapes and styles, making them great for creating logo designs or showcasing art. Take your pick to best fit your merch designs, from the exceptionally stylish and durable kiss-cut and die-cut stickers to the more niche magnetic bumper stickers.
Additionally, offer free stickers as a promotional tool to customers who shop in your store.
Custom mugs are a huge hit as one of the most common physical merch items. People purchase them as gifts, for their homes and office spaces, or even add them to a collection.
The design options are endless. For example, coffee mugs with “World’s Best Dad” or “Best Mom Ever” written on them are great for presents. Design mugs with various graphics, like notes for music fans and memes that people will love showing off at the office.
Everyone protects their precious mobile devices with cases, and extra style points go a long way. Make a good phone cover and your merch will be with your customers everywhere they go.
The value of the global mobile phone accessories market is expected to reach $160.6 billion by 2033. Custom phone cases take up a huge chunk of that revenue, so don’t miss out.
Socks have always been a hot item among merch ideas. The global socks market is expected to grow by approximately 5.7% annually (CAGR), reaching a value of $67.1 billion by 2027.
Use Printify’s sublimation sock printing to create novelty socks with vibrant colors, fun visuals, and funny text. A pair of cool socks might just be what your customers need in their wardrobe.
They’re the perfect product for almost any design and merch collection, including something super specific, like NFT merch.
Sell sustainable merch by offering your customers cool reusable water bottles. They’re perfect for the gym, the outdoors, or the office, making hydration on-the-go always at the ready.
The market for reusable water bottles is growing steadily and is expected to reach $12.7 billion by 2032. Add this practical and fun merch item to your store and promote an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Notebooks and journals might not be the first things that come to mind when thinking about merchandise, but they have a lot of potential for amazing art pieces that scream creativity.
Target students’ love for learning with specially designed notebooks or journals from your brand. Regular note-takers and journal writers of all ages will be drawn in!
Try adding your designs to these products:
Custom sweats combine comfort with style and quality prints – perfect for year-round activities with an urban aesthetic. From working out at the gym to jogging, casual walks, or being cozy at home, joggers are an absolute must for your online store.
If you’re looking for merch design ideas, consider anything from fun patterns and inspirational quotes to abstract artwork or a logo design. Our joggers come in various styles, colors, sizes, and print placements. Explore our variety and pick the best option for your needs.
Create a High-Quality Apparel Merch Line With Printify
Pin buttons are super fun! People attach colorful pins to their backpacks, jackets, hats, etc. Why not have your custom pins join them in the streets?
Often associated with custom band merch, pin buttons aren’t just limited to band merch ideas or the music business. Combine amusing images, cartoons, top design picks from your fandom, and text with your brand colors and fonts – a recipe for a great product pinned to your profession.
Custom pins are also perfect for pride merch or can be just what you need to show off a band logo. Use pins to raise awareness or celebrate important causes tied to your merch ideas.
Add a pop of personality to any space with our eye-catching magnets. They stick seamlessly to any metal surface, letting your customers use them as vibrant wall art or handy noteholders on the fridge.
Magnets come in various shapes and are great for any design. Use an image or your logo, add a quote or a joke, or create a practical design – anything goes.
Posters are a merch staple. If you’re looking for band merch ideas, custom posters are a great choice for displaying album art or as promotional wall art featuring band member autographs.
Try out inspirational quotes and puns, curate album artwork for music collections, design unique maps, or create limited-edition abstract digital art – the options are endless.
Add these posters to your merch table:
Don’t underestimate coasters when looking for business merchandise ideas. The global beverage coaster market is expected to increase and reach $2.5 billion by 2032.
Whether you want to use text or images for your design, both will look great. Choose between square and round coasters, and sell them in bunches to save on shipping.
Long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts offer a great canvas for any merch idea. They’re super comfortable and work great for casual outfits and stylish band merch ideas.
People wear long sleeves everywhere, giving your brand a chance to be seen by many people. Create a cool merch idea with a quality design, and your long-sleeve shirt may just become your customers’ personal favorite for years to come.
Have a look at these long sleeves, and find even more in the Catalog:
Perfect on a hot summer’s day, for lounging around the house, or sweating it out at the gym – tank tops can be your next bestselling merch item.
When looking for merch apparel, people want style and comfort. The latter is already there, so all you need to do is add your unique design and start selling with a profitable pricing strategy.
Create the perfect custom fitness apparel by adding your designs to these tank tops:
Looking for gamer merch ideas? Try selling mouse pads.
People love styling their home desktops with cool accessories surrounding their niche, and every gamer or PC user needs a mouse pad. As a thriving market that’s part of the gaming industry juggernaut, explore many great options that your customers will absolutely love.
No merchandise store or merch table is complete without at least one hat. Hats are a great merch idea for various occasions and can add some style to any outfit.
Caps are perfect for durable, high-quality embroidery designs. For a sleek look, use your logo or brand motto.
Are you a podcaster or a musician? Use hats to make your own podcast merch or Spotify merch.
Fanny packs have been in and out of fashion for decades, but it looks like they’re here to stay for good.
These stylish and functional accessories are a perfect way to compliment any outfit. Jump on a design trend and add a couple to your store, they’ll sell like hotcakes.
Keyrings offer your fans a way to show support discretely and tastefully, whether attached to a set of home keys or custom phone cases. They’re perfect for bands, sports teams, or any brand looking to build a loyal following.
Create a fun text or image design, and these keyrings will be dangling from your customers’ keys in no time.
A custom wall tapestry is an excellent option if you’re looking to find merch ideas for artists.
Tapestries are great for decorating any indoor space, letting you take your creative process to the next level. Sell unique artwork or album art and let your customers decorate their homes.
A wall calendar provides a great way to bring your brand into your customers’ homes for an entire year.
Each month gives you a blank canvas to offer something fresh and fun. Use graphics, images, text, and more – offer custom calendars with something educational or inspirational.
Custom wall decals offer a fantastic way to decorate one’s home. They have vibrant print colors and last for a long time. Your custom visuals and branded designs will pop right off the wall.
Perfect for any outdoor activity, neck gaiters can be a wonderful addition to your merchandise store.
Choose between lightweight and midweight options, or offer extra-warm neck gaiters for the winter. Print your awesome visuals all over the product, and let your customers enjoy their time outdoors in style.
Bookmarks serve a practical purpose, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be fun.
Create personalized bookmarks with literature puns or beautiful drawings. Keep the design light and playful, and your customers will quickly add your product to their regular reading routine.
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Design Ideas for Your Merch
We’ve gone over products worth adding to your merchandise store, but what about design ideas?
Whether it’s band merch, branded products for a business, or athletic merchandise, the main design principles are similar for all products. The most important thing you need to do is upload an image to add your unique touch to popular merch products without trying to copy others.
Here are some ideas to try out:
Logo
Adding a logo to your company merch is great for raising brand awareness and recognition.
When designing your brand logo, consider all the possible use cases for sizing and composition. What might look good on a computer screen might not look as great on a mug.
If your brand is still on the come-up, you might want to dedicate a smaller surface of the merch for the logo. As your brand becomes more popular, the logo will sell itself.
Quotes, Words, and Phrases
Letters and words look great on merch products. Easily add a fun quote or phrase to your item; just make sure to avoid copyright infringement.
Consider what type of font and typeface looks best on the product you’re designing. If you’ve established a brand font, use that. If you haven’t, try out different options and see what works.
A catchy quote or phrase can be the perfect addition to any YouTuber or podcast merch.
Names
Names are great for merch because they offer a unique touch for each customer, and people love using their own personalized products.
For example, try adding personal or city names to your merch – just make sure they match the entire design of the product. If possible, let your customers send in names they’d like to see on the merch and personalize products manually for each independent product order.
Pictures
A picture is worth a thousand words.
The web is full of free stock photos or public domain image sites for your designs, but you can also pay a small fee for next-level visuals from professional designers or premium galleries.
Try a curated design gallery yourself with Printify’s built-in Shutterstock integration. Browse thousands of images and illustrations for any occasion and use them on your merch.
Turn Your Merch Ideas Into Real Products With Printify
Printify is a print-on-demand platform that lets you design and sell custom merchandise worldwide without any upfront investment and no need to hold product stock or inventory.
With over 80 carefully vetted Print Providers worldwide, you can start your merch empire straight from your device in a matter of minutes.
All orders are made on-demand – Printify handles the production and shipping.
Follow the steps below to start earning money with Printify:
Sign Up
First things first – sign up with Printify. It’s completely free.
It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what your background is. Printify lets you become your own boss and start a custom merch business whenever you need to.
Select Products
Browse the Printify Product Catalog and choose from over 900 items to customize. We have a wide selection of men’s, women’s, and kids’ clothing, accessories, and home decor.
Whatever merch you’re looking to design, you’ll find it in our Catalog. We regularly add new items and react to market demands.
Add Your Own Design
Once you’ve selected an item, it’s time to create your unique design.
Use our built-in, user-friendly Product Creator to drag and drop your design right onto the product. Adjust and reposition your visuals however you like, and browse free mockup images.
Integrate Your Store
To sell your merch, you need to connect to an online store.
Printify integrates with all major eCommerce platforms and marketplaces, including Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce, and more.
Research the available options before you decide where to sell. Our blog has plenty of articles that go more in-depth on all available eCommerce platforms and marketplace features.
Start Selling
After connecting your Printify account to an online store, it’s time to start selling.
Publish your merch on your storefront and promote it online. You don’t need to worry about keeping stock and sending the products to your customers – Printify does all the heavy lifting.
Once you make a sale, you’ll be charged for the production and shipping. The rest is your profit.
Final Thoughts
With the global licensed merchandise market expected to grow from $320 billion in 2020 to $445 billion by 2027, it’s safe to say that merch can help you bring in good profits.
Printify makes selling custom merch easier than ever. Choose from any of the bestselling merch ideas featured in this article, add your designs, and start selling to customers right away.
We’ve got everything you need, from classic tees and cozy hoodies to eye-catching stickers and beyond.
Start Earning Money With Printify Today
Written by
Jānis Bute
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