How To Make Merch for TikTok (and Sell It) in 2024

TikTok marketing is typically a mystery—anything can go viral at any moment. That’s why it’s necessary to remain atop TikTok trends and experiment with content formats to see what sticks. But what happens once you strike gold? 

Once your account has amassed an engaged following, you likely have opportunities to monetize your TikTok success. While some monetization options are limited to accounts with minimum follower counts or to creators in certain countries, there’s a technique that anyone can make cash on TikTok: branded merch. 

Selling merch is an awesome solution to transform your personal brand on TikTok right into a thriving business. And it’s easier than you’re thinking that to start. Ahead, learn the best way to make merch for TikTok, find creative ideas for what to sell, and discover how you may sell merch to your fans directly from the app.

Why it is best to make merch for TikTok

Monetization options on TikTok vary depending on the scale of your account and your location. TikTok’s Creativity Program (formerly generally known as the Creator Fund), for instance, is currently only available to US TikTok accounts with greater than 10,000 followers. Other ways to make cash on the platform include collecting “suggestions,” offering subscriptions using Patreon, and partnering with brands to do sponsored content.

But the very best solution to monetize your audience is by starting your personal business. Selling merch on an owned channel like an ecommerce website means you control the creative feel and appear and aren’t on the mercy of platform and algorithm changes.

Selling branded merch on TikTok is a simple way for fans to support you, especially if you happen to offer items across multiple price points. You furthermore may profit from word-of-mouth marketing and brand awareness, as fans proudly wear your branded merch.

Once you sell your personal merchandise, you may accomplish that easily with options like customizable white label products, print-on-demand firms, and integrations that link your TikTok and Shopify online store.

6 merch ideas for TikTok creators

1. Branded t-shirts and other apparel
2. Mugs, water bottles, and housewares
3. Stickers, pins, tattoos, and patches
4. Art prints
5. Phone cases and tech accessories
6. Area of interest products for a distinct segment audience

There are a variety of products you may customize to sell as merch to your TikTok fans. These range from probably the most obvious items like t-shirts and mugs to area of interest products which are a fit on your specific account theme or follower interests. Let’s dive into a number of options.

1. Branded t-shirts and other apparel

Apparel is the bread and butter of creator merch. You possibly can print your logo, likeness, catch phrase, or designs on a variety of apparel items easily either using print on demand (more on that later) or crafting them yourself. 

TikTok creator and illustrator Julia Roblin began selling merch by creating stickers together with her artwork but quickly added apparel because of audience demand. “I’ve done quite a lot of polls on my Instagram and even on my TikTok asking what people need to see,” says Julia.

Creators like Kelsey Impicciche and LaurDIY also found success with apparel merch. They work with Fanjoy to supply merch for his or her TikTok fans.

In case you’re just getting began, t-shirts, hoodies, hats, socks, and tote bags are popular items to check along with your audience. You possibly can start a print-on-demand t-shirt business with little upfront investment and no on-hand inventory.

2. Mugs, water bottles, and housewares

Many print-on-demand firms offer printing on housewares and décor items like mugs, pillows, beach towels, and blankets. These are perfect options for TikTok designers, illustrators, and photographers seeking to offer inexpensive versions of their art printed on home goods.

Devin Kane is the creator behind Dev’s Doodles. She uses TikTok to take her audience inside her life and inventive process, selling her “good vibes” merchandise to fans through her Shopify store. Amongst these things, she sells housewares like mug sleeves, hanging air fresheners, and candles.

In case you’re a maker, consider a DIY approach to creating home goods. You possibly can make your personal branded candles from scratch or stitch your catchphrase onto a pillow sham. 

3. Stickers, pins, tattoos, and patches

You possibly can make and sell stickers, sew-on patches, temporary tattoos, and pinback buttons as low-cost items that fans should purchase to support you. These also work as free merch giveaways at in-person events and gift-with-purchase items to accompany other merch sales. 

Creator Linh Truong prints her designs on stickers to sell to her fans across TikTok and YouTube. 

Consider other small items that you may make and sell as merch for TikTok. Keychains, enamel pins, earrings, and pencils are all inexpensive items that will be printed, handmade, or hand-customized.

4. Art prints

That is one other ideal merch option for artists, illustrators, and designers. A lot of your fans can be unable to afford original work, but you may sell art online through reproductions (or prints). 

5. Phone cases and tech accessories

Making your personal phone cases is simple with print-on-demand firms that do the give you the results you want. It is a common merch item used to showcase artwork and branding that fans carry with them all over the place. The one downside is the variety of phone models available on the market. In case you’re seeking to make and sell phone cases, research the highest phone models to maintain your offering focused.

Consider other tech accessories like watch bands, luggage tags, laptop cases, keyboard covers, iPad skins, and gaming console stickers.

5. Area of interest products for a distinct segment audience

The sky’s the limit relating to selling merch on TikTok. Your merch store ought to be a mirrored image of your account’s content and your personal interests. In case you do magic tricks on TikTok, consider selling branded playing cards. In case you manage a petfluencer (the true star), try making and selling pet accessories like leashes and bandanas. 

Learn how to make merch for TikTok

You possibly can approach making merch for TikTok in a variety of ways, with various levels of effort and value. Here, we’ll outline 3 ways to show your persona into TikTok merch on your fans.

1. Use a print-on-demand (POD) company

The simplest solution to start is to search out a print-on-demand provider that may turn your designs into physical products like hoodies, water bottles, pillows, stickers, and hats. There are many these firms, all offering barely different services and products. The Shopify App Store has several options that integrate directly along with your store.

How it really works:

1. Install the print-on-demand app in your Shopify store.
2. Submit your designs to the POD company per the instructions they supply.
3. Add your recent designs using mockup photos to your store as products and set prices.
4. When a customer places an order in your merch store, the POD company prints and ships that product directly.

💡 Tip: In case you aren’t a designer or artist or don’t have already got branding, hire knowledgeable to assist you develop a branding package together with some designs specifically for merch. Yow will discover design pros like a contract graphic designer through sites like Shopify Experts, Fiverr, Dribbble, and Creative Market.

2. Create your personal merch by hand

Julia Roblin took a distinct approach for her merch: making it herself. While print on demand is accessible for stickers, Julia selected to create merch at home using a specialized printer and ship the items herself. You too can work with local printers to print your personal merchandise like stickers and art prints and get them organized in bulk. On this case, the onus is on you to administer inventory and shipping.

The advantage of creating your personal merch is you’ve gotten more control over the creative process and the standard of the ultimate product. Alternatively, there are more upfront costs and this process requires more of your time.

3. Collaborate with existing brands

One other solution to create unique merch on your TikTok followers is to team up with a complementary brand already making great products. If you’ve gotten influence (a bigger engaged following), it can be easier to approach brands for a partnership—especially in case your audience aligns with the brand’s audience. 

In a triple-threat collab, artist and TikTok creator Shema Love teamed up with basketball star Britney Griner and sports brand round21 to create custom merch.

Influencer Nick Cho, higher generally known as @YourKoreanDad, partnered with Korean streetwear brand Joseon to supply a collab garment collection.

Selling merch on TikTok

Now that you simply’ve created branded products, it’s time to sell merchandise! Because you’ve already built a loyal following, you understand how necessary it’s to interact them. The identical is true with getting your merch in front of your audience. Success in selling on TikTok relies on actively promoting your merch store to fans. Follow these steps to begin selling your merchandise on TikTok.

Step 1: Arrange your TikTok shop

TikTok’s shopping features can help you sell directly on the platform. But the very best solution to get full ecommerce features is to establish a Shopify store, then add the TikTok sales channel. This may can help you sell places apart from on the TikTok app—and sync sales and inventory too. An owned website means you’ll give you the option to construct a mailing list that you simply own.

Step 2: Add your merchandise

Add products to your Shopify and TikTok stores manually or by importing them out of your print-on-demand app.

Step 3: Promote your merch 

Letting your followers know you’ve added products on the market is a vital step in selling merch on TikTok. One of the best solution to do that is by creating TikTok videos to announce the launch of your merch store and more videos for subsequent merch drops. These videos from Emily Kinney, Niall Horan, and Julia Roblin are great examples of the best way to promote your merch:

💡 Suggestions: 

• Hype the launch of your merch shop before it’s live. Start promoting your merch prematurely to get your audience excited for the launch.
• Add a link to your bio. Link your store in your bio or use a link-consolidation tool so TikTok users can easily find your custom merch.
• Try limited-time and limited-quantity drops to create a way of scarcity and urgency, creating demand on your TikTok merch. Or try exclusive drops just for loyal followers who’ve subscribed to paid content.
• Consider livestreaming an unboxing after you order samples or when you’ve gotten physical inventory in hand.
• Promote your branded merchandise on other social media platforms, too.

Monetize your TikTok account with merch

Julia Roblin now sees a direct link between her views and her sales. “It didn’t take me long to begin getting orders every single day,” she says. For creators seeking to make a living on their art or personal brands, adding ecommerce for TikTok is a no brainer. Selling branded merchandise like tote bags or t-shirts is an awesome solution to have ownership over your brand and revenue streams.