How to Sell Your Merch Without Selling Out

You can sell your own merch without selling out. Generate sales and remain authentic to yourself by following our best practices in running and promoting your shop.

Spreadshop is designed to be a customizable, personal experience. We love celebrating peoples’ passions and obscure niche interests. And there are so many out there ready to let you into their community.

You don’t need to use flimsy trends to market your merch. Anyone can do that. People will support your merch when you’re authentic in all aspects of your shop. We’ve got some tips to help you sell your merch without selling out!

It’s a Personal Pitch

You don’t need to turn into a sales agent to convince people to buy your merch. If anything, that’s going to turn people off. You want to promote your Spreadshop as if you were talking to a friend. And this doesn’t just apply to your social posts.

Merch is the new business card. So, use it as an opportunity to tell your story and communicate your passions with likeminded people. Talk about the meaning behind your designs and why you were motivated to open up your own merch shop. You’ll be selling yourself instead of selling out.

Don’t pressure people into buying your merch, either. Consider doing lifestyle photoshoots of people in your merch to humanize things. People will appreciate seeing your merch behind the confines of your site. This makes it easier to find your target audience.

Hit a Bullseye

You shouldn’t feel like you have to sell your merch to everyone – that’s not an efficient or effective marketing strategy. You need to find your target audience. This can be through forums, hashtags, and ads.

Merch designs and social posts should come naturally when you’re engaging with an audience that understands where you’re coming from. They’ll be able to relate to obscure references or insider knowledge, and appreciate it. Having that edge can diversify you from other people in the marketplace.

When you find your target audience, it gives you power to grow. Create conversations that are meaningful instead of money-motivated. This can start with just a t-shirt.

Design Intentionally

Having great designs is key to generating merch sales. You want designs that you’re proud of and will speak to your audience. This is especially true for fandom merch.

Having a shop with a category like this gets into tricky territory regarding copyright laws, but it’s important to stay creative. How can you interpret that in your merch shop without selling out? Be original and use your own artwork – don’t steal other people’s artwork just because it’s popular. That will give your shop zero credibility.

If you’re still having trouble coming up with designs, ask your friends and family for advice. What would they want on a hoodie or a coffee mug? It needs to be something they can identify with. If you stay within a niche, this might come easier.

Power in Your Niche

Selling your merch feels natural when you have a niche. This can help you define your audience and their interests. ​​At Spreadshop, we have hundreds of shops devoted to their own unique niches. You might not have heard of some of the niches – magnet fishing, bushcraft survival – but they have their own devoted followings.

A niche can give shop owners direction. You won’t get lost trying to find the purpose of your merch in the marketplace if it’s already defined in your niche. Find what platforms are most active for people in your niche. No sales pitch needed. Just because you sell merch, it doesn’t make you a sellout! You’ll find an audience by being authentic and true to yourself.

Looking for merch? Open your own Spreadshop today for free!