#design merch for them to sell. design merch for them and wear it yourself. etc etc etc

[battlemaiden13]

I actually have a question, well technically 2?? Okay wasn’t 2, I kept thinking and getting ideas. But!!!

1) Are you okay with your characters, plot, stories etc from your fanfics (mainly HND) being Cosplayed? As in people cosplaying like Berry and Syrup like how on tiktok people did Sans, Edge, Fresh, Coffee etc? You okay with cosplays and reacting scenes? Or possibly even fan made scenes? Or them cosplaying they’re YN/MC or what they would wear in different chapters etc?

2) Is drawings of scenes on tiktok? Or again fanmade scenes? Changes or etc? Is it okay? Or like what if scenes? Or like voice acting said scenes or comics or comic dubs??

3) On said note of drawing; when you do the more spicy scenes, are you okay for the nsfw artists to draw it? With a YN or their MC?

4) Are you okay with fanart etc being on more then just Tumblr? Like Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok? Maybe even Youtube?

5) Do ya know how in DnD peoplez make mini scenes from they’re sessions? Or while they roleplay the figures move or the furniture or area changes? Are you okay with that or like doll like in dollhouse type thingy, because I kinda wanna do a figures of the paintball scenes

6) is it okay for people to make fanfics of your fanfics? Or like use your version of characters in they’re own fanfic, for example; take your characters out them in a total different world, but they’re personality etc stay the same, unless needed for certain story ideas like medieval, fantasy, dnd world etc

7) ALSO are you okay with people like making HND, etc, inspired like “merch” in a way?(thoughts on selling, but I’m more of is it okay to make for yourself) Or like making *spoiler kinda* The necklace Mafia gave MC? Mango and MC’s bracelets? Or like Dreams coin necklace? or people making like the boys jackets so it’s the cute “wearing my bf jacket” thing? - or thoughts on people designing tattoos of your fanfic and getting those tattoos? Or just designing tattoos?

Of course for all of these you’d be given credit, tagged, etc- if you have the certain platforms where posted or regardless credited one way or another! And of course have it’s own hashtag so it doesn’t get lost to something completely different like some idea examples: Cosplay wise: # HNDCosplay, HNDBerryCosplay, HNDMCCosplay, etc etc etc and say scenes HNDCannon, HNDFannon, HNDScenesCannon,

It’s just I’m a Cosplayer and I’ve been really wanting to Cosplay your characters, redo scenes in Cosplay format, and I wonder if it’s okay aswell as if others might be wanting too as well or if it’s just a me thing😂 Also sorry it was originally 2 questions that lead to an essay🤣 I really am sorry it’s long, however your story, REALLY helps my creative mind keep getting ideas and I have a lot of hobbies, I also don’t wanna spam you so I try to keep it all in one ask. Sorry again!!! Have a wonderful day and thank you so much for being my inspiration and motivation!!💞💗 ~Long Asks Anom aka 💚𝒯𝒽ℯℴ💚

Woah! This is a lot XD ok lets do this. 

Yeah people can cosplay scenes and characters from my story. I would actually love to see some cosplay scenes or even fanmade ones! And absolutely A-OK with people cosplaying MC. I love seeing different variants of MC!! It’s so cool and interesting to me. So Big Yes to all this

Absolutely!! Love drawing and a-ok with you making fan made scenes or changes! Yes to voice acting and comics and comic dubs! Go nuts. If my writing inspires you, use it! I’d love to see what others make because of my writing. 

Hehehe yes. Go nuts. If a NSFW artist would like to draw them then yes. Hell if they want to draw this now so I can have some inspiration I won’t say no XD

Yeah! Tumblr is just my main platform. I have an Instagram too! But don’t post there at all really. And a TikTok but that’s literally just for watching others' content. As long as you send me a link or something to it here because I’d love to see it more than anything else post wherever you’d like!

If you want to make miniatures, heck yeah! Like that’s awesome! Like little dioramas! That’s so cool honestly. Omg the paintball scene would work so well too! Go for it

YES! I have a few so far on AO3 that have been inspired by HND. I feel like the only skeletons I have claims on are Syrup and Berry though because I accidentally made them. Obviously all other skeletons belong to their original owners but if you like my interpretation of them go for it. Also use Syrup and Berry for whatever. Take them all of them! Then they can be your problem. You can use all the humans too, like Lo, Vanessa or the brothers. I don’t mind

Yes! Again i’d be careful cause obviously most of these skeletons are not mine. They are the respective owners so you’d have to check with them. However the necklace, mango’s friendship bracelet and dreams coin necklace are all fine to make if you want cause I did make them up. The jackets would be based on the other creators (I think most are ok with it from memory but double check) but Syrups you can make. Tattoo designs would be awesome to see!! If people get tattoos on HND that’s on them but I might die. Heck if someone makes a HND tattoo that I love I might get it XD. Currently I have no plans to make merch for HND just cause I never thought of it XD you can make whatever you want for yourself, selling would be fine for now? If I ever make my own in future my stance on that might change though. 

And that’s everything. Like you said please please please tag me so I can see!!! Or even just send it my way.  I love seeing creative works based on my writing. Your suggestions on tags all sound great too. 

I’ve never had a cosplayer want to do scenes from my writing before so that’s very exciting! Don’t apologize, this was great! Bother me anytime! I can’t wait to see what you end up doing!! I’m so pumped!! 

I hope you have a fantastic day Theo!!

[kobrakids]

people are so weird about pirating music. if you only stream music, you might as well be pirating it anyway

[indigo-ra]

The Little Black Mermaid

There’s a lot to unpack here. First off, let me start by saying I think it’s very progressive to see a black girl casted for Disney’s live action version of The Little Mermaid. It seems that after 70 some-odd-years, Disney is finally taking steps to represent diversity for this next generation of kids.  Now, I  also have to come in and say that I don’t understand why Disney is doing all these live action remakes. I saw Aladdin recently and I could see the love that the creative team put into the costume designs and backgrounds- it was so BEAUTIFUL.

But I also saw something I fundamentally disliked about this new generation of live-action remakes. See, when Disney does any storytelling, whatever the source, it is scrubbed of much of its authenticity and then sugar-coated for mass consumption for all ages. Of course, it wasn’t always this way. If you go back a few decades, you’ll see some downright offensive things produced by Disney too; but Disney 2019, is the owner of Lucas Arts and Marvel now. They’re such a massive conglomerate corporation, their image has to be flawless so they can set the pace for each new wave of consumerism. You’re thinking “Yeah, so?”  So, I’m just going to say, after watching Aladdin, I felt hollow. To get a Disney-filtered animated version of the story, there are a lot of things to weigh and consider. Animation, by and large is a treatment most production companies market toward children. You also have to understand that you can get away with a LOT in animation, because impossible things are possible in 2D animation and everything is intentional.  To take that story that had already been through such an intense filter to make into an animation, and apply that same exact treatment to live-action is moving backwards. Not only that, but Disney took it a step further and made a point to omit any semblance of ANYTHING that could be considered risque in the slightest. Jasmine’s short scene of seducing Jafar was swapped out for a new princess power ballad and left the entire story feeling FLATTER than the 2D Animation. It’s true. The reason why, is, because all the richness of a story adapted for animation has been applied to live-action. Three dimensional people don’t squash, bend, stretch or emote like cartoons, so the songs, the action, the intensity of it, unless treated like a LIVE-ACTION movie would never add up. And it’s incredibly flat. The movie has no surprises, no intensity, no complexity and no personality. She looks very pretty though. Now with that in mind, I’m going to approach the topic of The Little Mermaid. Keeping in mind that Disney is catering their brand toward a new generation of gender-neutral pussies in the making, their message has changed. It used to be “Your prince will come.” but now it’s “You’re a princess, you don’t need  a prince.” Taking the “Happily ever after” off of the ending in favor of some “...to be continued” because, it sells. The first go round was so successful, there was all kinds of collectible junk that came out with each classic movie and even new rides for the theme park. People ate that shit up, and Disney is like, “well it if ain’t broke...”, and is now redoing the same projects because, everybody else has done it.  In recent years how many versions of Disney princesses trended? Modern takes with them illustrated wearing casual clothes, On the cover of magazines, Photoshopped to look photo-real, Covered in tattoos, doing drugs etc... In the past 2-3 years there has been an upward trend, after we came out of our sexy vampire phase (True Blood, Twilight, Vampire Diaries)  and went in the direction of modernized fairytales (Once Upon a Time, Grimm, The Hunstman, Descendants). Disney rode that wave until it started to decline and THAT’S when the live-action remakes started. The Little Mermaid casting choice, plain and simple is a grab at black dollars. I’m not mad at it. But I think it’s very flippant how Disney made such an unexpected move, knowing exactly how Black people would react.  It has mostly been positive. Disney is certainly trending in the black community, and new art of the new black Disney princess is popping up everywhere.  But not all Black people agree. Some don’t even understand why they don’t like the concept, because it does seem like they should be happy, that, for once, color seems not to matter. Which is exactly the problem.  The issue at hand is when white actors are placed in roles that ARE WRITTEN or CALL FOR ethnicities that are NOT White:

Disney is making an effort.-But not really. I understand why black people are happy, but I also understand why they are upset, and for ONCE white people do have some reason to feel slighted in this situation. The Little Mermaid has been black-washed. The Little Mermaid is a story written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837 - who was Danish man from Denmark. SO if you’re under the impression that The Little Mermaid was originally about this “Yemoja” Orisha I’m seeing popping up all over the place from these hoteps that claim they’re woke, that is called “cultural appropriation” plain and simple. We hate that, so let’s not be those people. The original story is about a mermaid in search of obtaining a soul, and though it is a mythical creature, SUNSHINE is what makes people dark-skinned. If you live underwater, in DENMARK of all places, fuck white, this fish would be damn near transparent. This was one of the times where Disney didn’t have to worry about appeasing black people. If Ariel was casted White, Black people wouldn’t have cried about it being unfair because that would be accurate. NOBODY petitioned, going around asking for signatures, demanding that Ariel be black, and now, White Disney supporters are feeling slighted, and rightly so, because Disney isn’t trying to balance the scales, so much as perpetuate the message that they “don’t see color” and “race doesn’t matter”; and Black people hate that narrative! It’s like when you get into a fight with your little sister or brother growing up and your mom makes you apologize, even though they started it. To your mom, it doesn’t matter who started it, and even though it’s unfair, she forces you to humble yourself even if you were the victim. That’s not balance, it’s a forced compromise. We need to stop being so eager to jump on the bandwagon of any pitiful handouts they give us, especially if it’s not coming from a pure place of good intent. White people will buy new merch to burn and Black people will buy anything that has their face on it, so both ways, Disney wins. I love Disney, but this was a blunder on their end. Halle Bailey’s singing chops in a Disney movie is not going to even get close to showing off her skills or range as a vocalist since Disney songs are all written in keys and chords that the general public can sing along with.  Personally, I think Disney could have been better about choosing a character that more matched the Ariel we already know and love. It’s not like we are starting from scratch. We already have a red-haired, fair-skinned mermaid girl, who we know and love from the 2D animation. If you’re RE-MAKING the movie, why not make it in the image of the first success? Don’t change the main character’s color on a whim. If Disney was RE-IMAGINING The story, then it’s okay. Tweak the story. If it takes place in the Carribbean, maybe with some influential cultural tweaks like the prince being from Barbados (Sebastian can obviously stay the same), and maybe some pirates thrown in, it could be good, and Halle Bailey would be a wonderful casting choice, just like Brandy was in Rodger and Hammerstein’s version of Cinderella. But it wouldn’t be a REMAKE. But if it’s going to be a remake, as I recall, I do believe the Disney’s version took place in The Caspian sea, according to Ursula’s spell.

I never felt like I couldn’t relate to Ariel because she was white, A mermaid isn’t a human in the first place. We’re 2 for 0 in black women getting the “another species/race/creature” treatment with Disney. A princess that was a frog and now a mermaid and we’re playing it up like a victory while Disney is about to make some serious coin off of us. That’s all folks.

[bethnicoleeeee68]

After producing the garment mock up our group started to create the real garment using the actual fabrics brought specifically for our design, this consisted of a nice off white silk, some muliticoloured chiffon and some black mesh fabric. We created the t-shirt first as that was the base of the outfit being as it would be the first thing worn this was a relatively easy shape and simple garment structure so it was quicker to sew and make than the dress.

The picture above is the finished T-shirt which will be placed underneath the dress so that the kneckline and sleeves of the T-shirt will mainly be on show rather than the entire shirt. Having the T-shirt black rather than the same colour and print as the dress means that the T-shirt will stand out and can also be sold and worn as a separate garment, our team decided that this will be sold either as a two piece set for around the £40 mark and sold individually around £30-£40 each being as if you buy the two piece it works out cheaper than buying the garments individually. Overall the making of the top was around £16 and the dress costing £24 to make, selling the garments for a bit extra ensures we make enough profit to be able to afford packaging and to invest extra money towards the future of our brand.

This was the making of one of the layers of the dress as you can see the fabric reflects quite a few colours from our colour palette and the material is quite futuristic much like the uniqueness of the black mesh fabric as it’s not a common mesh material as the holes vary in size and it’s not a squared grid pattern like the majority of mesh T-shirt’s on the market.

Speaking of market and the selling of our product we have created a depot page to promote our designs, business and products. This will also sell our products upon this page, we chose depop as it’s a current trending selling page for young teenagers and adults which is our age target for our brand. Depop is relatively simple and easy to use as it only takes a few clicks and details from yourself before discussing delivery options. On this page we want to show what our brand represents through images and creativity upon this page. As we are a new brand upon this app we haven’t got many followers or consumers so to boost this activity we are going to follow a few people and like other small business pages and possibly do shoutouts for each other that way we can get a wider audience on both ends with both businesses benefiting from it. As our depop image we have our logo so that the page is easily spotted and it will have our website attached to the page which is currently @thecosmicbrand. Currently displaying upon our depop is images of similar clothing that we shall be selling so that our followers can get an idea of our brand.

Another way that we’re promoting our brand is through live events taken place in nightclubs, we’ve chosen this kind of venue as nightclubs are targeted towards teens and early twenties which is exactly the age range we are trying to target. For a nightclub we have chosen snobs as this is a nightclub that isn’t very dressy it’s a lot more casual dress so jeans, tops, casual dresses, T-shirt’s etc.. which is perfect to present out T-shirt and dress product as it’s the type of outfit that would be worn in snobs for casual drinks or just to have a dance. Although we’ve designed the dress and shirt to be casual and comfy wear there’s no stopping people from dressing the outfit up by removing the shirt and just having the dress and also by adding a nice pair of heels and some jewellery. This event will consist of a free drink upon arrival as a thank you from our brand along with a small gift bag from cosmic which will be the white bag as I’ve discussed about further in my blog. This will be filled with a thank you card that’ll have our social handles on but also a free cosmic merch white T-shirt with our brand name cosmic on the front and back. I think that giving out a free T-shirt is great as it makes the customers feel wanted and special which makes them want to continue supporting and purchasing from our brand. I think another great idea would be to add a small stand at the event where we will hire an artist that can personalise your T-shirt wether it’s to add your name on or a personal touch to you’re short as I feel like this would be an extra fun thing to catch people’s interest. At this event you will also be able to purchase our T-shirt and dress which will be displayed on one of our members of our team but also on mannequins throughout the nightclub this is so everyone attending the event can see our product. Another idea I thought of was to have someone speak at this event just for a couple of minutes explaining our brand and what we stand for and what we’re all about this speech will include cloud involvement like quizzes and party games to make our customers not only have a laugh but to also feel connected with our brand.

[devontroxell]

How to Sell on Etsy: Your All-in-One Guide to Getting Started

If you are the proud owner of a new cloth mask, maybe you bought that mask from a seller on Etsy. And you’re in good company; I bought mine on Etsy, too! And maybe when you were scrolling through an endless supply of masks—tie-dye, sports-themed, silly mouths, and inspirational slogans—you stumbled upon some other cool merch. I’m a sucker for the vintage jewelry and needlepoint from Etsy sellers.

Etsy shops have exploded during the pandemic, not just with mask sellers, but with new boutiques started by people who got into “quarantine hobbies” or small businesses pivoting to ecommerce. If you’re looking to make some cash money from your side hustle, we’re going to break down exactly how to sell on Etsy, including:

Why you should sell on Etsy

How to set up your Etsy shop

How to sell A LOT of your product on Etsy

Let’s get started.

Is selling on Etsy worth it?

The short answer is yes.

But let me explain. One of the best things about Etsy is that they help sell your merchandise. Yes, that means they advertise your items for you! So if you’re just getting started on your ecommerce adventure, Etsy is a great place to get your feet wet and crowd-test your products.

Etsy’s top sellers make $10,000 per year from their shops, and the platform boasts 31.7 million active buyers. This means that your products could be discovered by millions of people who would never hear of your business otherwise. The exposure and free advertising is a great place to kick off your custom-made craft business.

Particularly because the world of ecommerce can be fraught with scams, Etsy is a safe place to start. The platform truly teaches you best practices on how to sell your products, with plenty of hand-holding, community forums, seller handbooks, and a dedicated team to help sort out any issues you may run into.

How to set up your etsy shop

If you’ve bought items on Etsy before, you probably already have an account. If not, go ahead and set up a shiny new Etsy login. Once that’s all set, you’ll be able to start setting up your very own Etsy shop!

Set your shop preferences

The process is fairly simple. Etsy walks you through the step-by-step process below, starting with the basics: your shop language, country, currency, and a little bit about yourself as a seller.

Name your Etsy shop

Truly, the toughest part is the next step: naming your shop. The pressure. is. on. I recommend naming your shop something broadly descriptive. For example, if you’re interested in selling fresh pizza dough and you want to name your name PizzaDoughOnly2000, think about how you might diversify or expand in the future. What if you want to sell bread one day? Or pizza toppings?

You can also go abstract, like “Rising Yeast 2020,” or add your name into the mix, e.g., Mary Lister Baking. Before you commit, google your Etsy shop name to make sure you’re not replicating an existing shop (on or off Etsy), or accidentally choosing a problematic name.

Finally, remember that capitalization and spelling matters! Proofread before you publish!

Stock your shop

Next, it’s time to stock up. This is the most laborious part of setting up your Etsy shop—but it’s easier than setting up an ecommerce website since Etsy lets you plug-and-play. They suggest adding ten or more items when you get started since shoppers love to have options.

First, add your imagery. Etsy walks you through the best ways to take product photos—and, in exciting news, you can now add videos to bring your product to life! One video seems way easier than 15 pictures from different angles, and it’ll help give your shoppers a better understanding of the craftsmanship.

Next, you’ll be prompted to fill in details about your items. The options displayed below are mandatory fields and self-explanatory.

The next options involve creating sections in your shop. For instance, if you sell leather goods and want to break it down into wallets, purses, keychains, etc., as well as selecting tags to make it easier to search and find your goods, and the materials you used to create them.

Select pricing and shipping

If you’re already selling your wares elsewhere—maybe a swap meet or farmer’s market—pricing your products should be pretty easy. I would adjust pricing to include Etsy’s fees, which are $0.20 per listing and 5% of the item price when it is sold. You’ll have the option to assign SKUs to your products, display any variations (e.g., color, material, size), and allow a shopper to input personalization information.

After you set the price for your listing, you can set up shipping costs. While it may seem simple when you’re the shopper, stores meticulously choose what type of shipping costs they want to cover, build into the cost of the item or bill directly to you. 

Etsy gives you the option of manually selecting the cost of shipping or having their algorithm calculate it for you. You’ll input the zip code you’ll be shipping from, how long it’ll take you to ship, if you want to ship internationally or just domestically (and which countries you can ship to), the types of shipping services, and allow you to add a handling fee. Finally, you’ll need to input the weight and measurements of your products to accurately estimate the total shipping costs.

How to get paid

You can enroll in Etsy Payments, which gives buyers a variety of ways to pay for your products, like Apple Pay, Paypal, major credit cards, Google Pay, and Etsy credit and gift cards. It means all the money you collect from sales can be directly deposited in your account, in your own currency, on a regular basis. Etsy requires all eligible sellers to enroll in Etsy Payments to provide a more consistent shopping experience for their users, but … it’s unclear how you wouldn’t qualify for Etsy Payments. Otherwise, you can select your own preferences for which payments you’ll accept from buyers.

Set up billing

Final step! You need to attach a line of credit (credit card) to your brand new shop in order to pay Etsy’s seller fees. Make sure you understand all of Etsy’s fees before you dive in. It can get complicated, and while it probably isn’t expensive off the bat, the fees can add up. Check out more detail on those fees here.

How to sell A LOT on Etsy

There you have it—getting started selling on Etsy is straightforward. But it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd on Etsy. That’s why we rounded up some quick tips to make you’re not just selling on Etsy but selling a lot on this platform.

Do some competitive research

Before you start selling, check out your favorite Etsy stores to see what stands out to you! Why did you pick those sellers—was it the description of their offerings? The materials they use? The efficiency in shipping and handling? Identify the best traits in each shop so you can replicate them in yours for an optimal buying experience for your own ecommerce brand on Etsy.

Image source

Follow the guidelines

Follow the guidelines for what to sell—more specifically, what you’re allowed and not allowed to sell. Etsy is different from ecommerce platforms like, say, Amazon or eBay. Etsy requires their sellers to offer unique items. That means you need to be selling vintage, handmade, or craft supplies to open an Etsy shop. Etsy has an article about items that are prohibited from sale on their site, which you can view here.

Tell your brand story in your Etsy profile

Take the time to tell your brand story in your shop description. Like cooking blogs, with cool backstories about where they found the recipe and how they adjusted to make it their own, it’ll draw shoppers in. Kingsley Leather explains his leather working journey in his shop description; how he began working with leather as a hobby and eventually made it his full-time job. 

He also dives into why he values quality leather products, namely, that he was sick of cheaply made goods and hated wearing through wallets quickly. This particular tidbit is great marketing; sure, his products may be expensive, but they’re worth it.

Connect your social media accounts

Connect your social media accounts and website for your business. This gives shoppers more options if they want to see your designs IRL (online), you can show off new projects you’re working on, and promote your buyers through your social channels. Think of it as a great way to get more followers on social, more buyers on Etsy, and, even better, it can help you sell more goods that may not meet Etsy’s guidelines.

BrynnandCo connected her Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, so you can take a peek into her work studio and see more of how she displays her finished products--needlepoints!

Keep your availability and estimates up to date

If you’re on vacation or experiencing difficulties with productivity, make an announcement so your shoppers know what to expect. This will prevent disappointments if they can’t get their item on time or can give buyers a heads up if you’re about to drop a new line of cool new shirts. Even better, provide them with a discount code for their patience, as The Fro Experts did.

The first step to selling on Etsy: Go and get started!

And there you have it—everything you need to know about how to sell on Etsy, a platform that offers everything. If you want anything handmade and personalized, unique and crafted, it’s on Etsy. And I’m all for it. I’ve even taken a dive into taxidermy Etsy (yes, it’s really real), vintage board game Etsy, and miniature doll Etsy for photoshoots, which *did not* disappoint. If you have a unique product created with your own two hands, Etsy is the place to sell. Good luck out there!

How to Sell on Etsy: Your All-in-One Guide to Getting Started published first on https://wabusinessapi.tumblr.com/

[challengeartistsimple]

How YouTubers Can Make Good Merchandise For Their Channel

You probably already know that selling cool branded merchandise is one of the most popular ways to make money with your YouTube channel, right? It’s not only a great way to bring in some revenue, but it’s also a great way to increase brand recognition and grow your overall reach.

When people see their friends wearing fun t-shirts with your logo on them, they’re going to wonder what your brand is all about, and you’re going to get more recognition.

Of course, to make this strategy work, you have to create products that really stands out, so let’s talk about a few tips on how to make merchandise for your YouTube channel that will rock.

Making Merchandise for Your YouTube Channel

First of all, you don’t have to be super crafty or a professional graphic designer to make YouTube merch. If you have a cool logo and brand colors, you really have the essential components to get started, and you don’t even have to worry about physical inventory or shipping and handling, either.

Making your merchandise can actually be as simple as a few swipes and clicks. Just find a print on demand (PoD) site that you like, such as Spreadshirt or District Lines, upload your designs, experiment with additional design options (wording, photo art, etc.), and choose your merchandise. Then you can set up your online store, embed it in your website, and/or link to it from YouTube. It’s really that simple.

Get Your YouTube Channel’s Viewers Involved

Of course, you’ll want to make merchandise for your YouTube channel that viewers will want to buy, but that’s actually pretty simple, too. Just ask them. In your videos, blog posts, and social media posts, ask your viewers for feedback about the kinds of merchandise they’d like to see from you. Poll them on which designs they like best. You could even run a design contest with your viewers, too.

Make Merchandise That Interest People

As you decide which items to sell and which designs to use, keep in mind that you want to create merchandise that your viewers will really want to wear and use. Create really attractive designs, and use engaging wording that is relatable, funny and/or insightful, and make sure that it’s in line with your brand voice and the persona that you present on YouTube.

Use Your YouTube Channel’s Brand Colors

Unless it really goes with your channel’s branding, you don’t just have to go with a simple black print of your design on a white t-shirt or a white mug. Why? Because it can seem too generic and doesn’t really have that “stand out” factor.

As you make merchandise for your YouTube channel, it’s important to remember that you want to increase your brand recognition. Using your channel’s brand colors can do that while making your merchandise more attractive and fun.

Go for High Quality When Creating Clothing

We cannot emphasize this enough. When choosing the materials for your YouTube channel’s merch, you’ll be given some options. Do not go with the cheapest t-shirts that you can find. They’ll be thin, weirdly sized, and they won’t make a good impression on your viewers. You want them to fall in love with the way your merchandise fits so that they want to buy more just because they love wearing it.

Order Samples Before Promoting the Final Product

If you’re not sure about a t-shirt, mug, or other piece of merch, just order one for yourself before you start promoting it on your YouTube channel and on social media. This is an inexpensive way to make sure that you’ve made the right choice for your products, and it’s a great way to start promoting them, too.

When you get the products in, if you love them, you can start wearing or using them in your YouTube videos. If not, you can make the changes you need to make to ensure that you’ve chosen the right products to promote.

Most Print-on-Demand sites don’t have minimum orders, so you can get just one item to make sure you’re on the right track and to test out the customer experience on the site you’ve chosen, too. After all, you don’t want to go with a site that’s difficult to work with or your viewers won’t buy your merchandise, no matter how cool it is.

Aim for Marketing Success with Your YouTube Merch

In the beginning stages, you want to think of your branded merchandise as more of a marketing effort than a revenue builder. This is an opportunity to get your merch in more people’s hands, so set a really reasonable price that your viewers won’t mind paying when you make your YouTube merch. It’s important to remember that in order to get people to buy something, you must give them great pricing and value.

There you go – six things to consider when you make merchandise for your YouTube channel so that you can effectively get your channel’s brand out there and make some money while you do it. Have fun with your designs. Don’t be afraid to get creative. And don’t forget to promote your cool new merch in your YouTube videos and on social media!

The post How YouTubers Can Make Good Merchandise For Their Channel appeared first on Vlog Nation.

from Vlog Nation http://ift.tt/2eq46kU via IFTTT

[coolteezapparel]

HATERS GONNA HATE WHEN THEY SEE THESE COOLTEEZ CUSTOM APPAREL DESIGNS

Haters. Everybody has at least a few. Can they just let you live? No! They’ve endured since the beginning of time and will be up in yours until the end.

This particular kind of individual commonly has particular reasons for acting like this towards you.

The two motives are often they either are extremely jealous of you ( the most common one), or they actually do hate you.

It’s ordinarily easy to tell which one. If you did something towards them, they deem dirty (i.e. steal their boyfriend, spread rumors,etc.) chances are they actually really despise you.

Most people are spiteful because they are JEALOUS.

Haters Gonna Hate 😩#BowWowChallenge #NotMine #ReturnedAfterPic pic.twitter.com/4h3W6pmRAY

— Renny (@callhimrenny) May 16, 2017

Whether your fashion style is superior, your stunning beauty makes them side eye, or when you pull out that knot on the bug eye, these are some of the various common reasons lame individuals throw hatred.

Some people even act this way because you are smarter and doing better than they are in life.

We’re gonna provide you with a real solid piece of advice: Don’t let them bother you. Seriously.

Shine on them bitches!

Don’t let the haters bring you down! 👌🏽🙏🏽🤘🏽 #Motivation pic.twitter.com/7dedtD3sEL

— My Mixtapez (@mymixtapez) May 23, 2017

Hater Quotes on Cool Urban Wear Is the New Hip Hop Fashion Trend

Maybe even say thank you by wearing a brand new CoolTeez Hater Anthem shirt. Make them aware their hate only makes you stronger.

No one deserves to be weighed down or held back in life because someone is petty.

They WANT you to be bothered. Don’t let these fools win. In fact, be proud you have hating ass mofos in your life.

Quotes for Haters Don’t Get Any Better. Shop Now Before Merch Is Out of Stock

Coolteez is selling these amazing custom printed tee shirts, inspirational tank tops, pop culture hoodie t-shirts and headwear for men and women to express to the haters that, yes we see you, but we don’t care. Just type in hater in the search bar and choose.

We sell custom print to order hip-hop fashion for every season, and it will surely irk the envious.

There are plenty of sizes, styles, and designs available to express yourself to the world.

Explore the link down below to check out CoolTeez and their super cool urban wear!

Because, ya know, haters gonna hate!

[challengeartistsimple]

How YouTubers Can Make Money Successfully Selling Channel Merch

As a YouTuber, part-time or full-time, you should have merchandise (aka “merch”). Whether you’ve already gained a large viewership, or are still working up to your Silver Play Button, the investment of your time and effort is well worth it.

Online, you’ll find countless articles about merch related to your YouTube channel. You’ll read about using merch to promote your channel, how to make money with merch, or how to “do merch properly”, to name a few. I’ve read many of these articles, and I’m hear to say, there needs to be one more. A review article if you’d like, with concrete steps for success.

2 Things Before We Discuss Selling Channel Merch

#1) Is merch really worth your time when you’re already swamped with other, seemingly more important tasks? If you’re thinking no, that’s only because you have yet to discover the platforms that exist to help you. Gone are the days of ordering hundreds of t-shirts you spent hours designing, to then promote, sell, and ship yourself (I did this once, it’s awful, never do it).

Today, companies like Juniper, Teespring, or Spreadshirt, to name a few, can take care of everything, such as sourcing products using on-demand printing, hosting your store, creating branded designs, customer service, pricing strategies, and more. The best part? These resources are (usually) only paid when products are sold! So there is no cost to you, only monthly cheques in your name.

#2) Who am I, the writer of yet another merch article? Sadly, I’m not a YouTuber, although I work with many. For the last year, I’ve been managing e-commerce merchandise stores for YouTubers.

I started out running the customer service side-of-things, and transitioned after a couple of months to operations. Full disclosure, I currently work for Juniper, but my aim here is not to convince you to use our platform (although you should 100% check it out); it’s to explain the key features of success in selling merchandise and making money as a YouTuber.

Whether you have a store already, or are just starting out, here’s a couple of important points to keep in mind:

The Big Picture When Selling Merch For Your Channel

So, what is the goal with merchandise? Really, there’s two big goals:

#1) To connect with your top fans. They are happy because they get to own/wear/use merch that brings a smile to their face. You are happy because of the joy you bring to others, and you now have fans creating recognition for your YouTube channel worldwide.

#2) Creating a second, consistent revenue stream that capitalizes on the hard work you’ve done in growing your YouTube channel!

Up and coming YouTubers may start with goal #1 as their primary objective, since the income from merch might not yet be enough to cover rent; YouTubers that’ve already built a large, engaged audience will be able to emphasize goal #2, and potentially sell thousands of dollars of merchandise (if done right, we’ll cover that soon enough).

Essentially, everyone wants to execute both goals, if they aren’t already there. Yet, looking at the first goal of connecting with your fans, you’ll realize that making video content for your YouTube channel already accomplishes the goal much better.

However, the one thing merch has over video content is that it can be automated. As such, the steps you take now to set up merch for your YouTube channel will pay their investment back many times over, in good time. The key is automation through revenue sharing business models!

Setting up Merch For Your YouTube Channel

Let’s agree right now, no one should run merch from their own home. You need to use either a print-on-demand service with shipping, or fulfillment centers. Companies in either market have access to vastly superior shipping prices, while removing you from the worst part of selling merch – fulfillment.

There are countless options here, as I mentioned above, so I’ll let you explore and once you’ve decided on a service, you may continue to read…

Ah, perfect. You’ve considered a potential eCommerce partner, now it’s time to bring that merch into your YouTube world. While you’re focusing on merch as a way to connect with fans, and grow your channel, there are many good, simple habits you can adopt to set yourself up for success:

Sell Merch That Looks Good

Ideally, even people who aren’t fans would enjoy wearing your merch! You want your fans to wake up in the morning and think, “Yup, I wanna wear this YouTuber’s shirt today, cause it looks awesome!”. Some suggestions to make this happen:

keep it simple

focus designs on something universal (animals, food, an activity, etc.) while within your brand

hire a professional designer to bring your brand/ideas to life

Only Sell Good Quality Merch

This one is obvious, similar idea to the first point. How can you tell if it’s good quality? Order a sample, (many companies will give you one for free if they’re confident in their product) and you’ll be able to tell if it’s good quality. If this means switching suppliers, then so be it! Don’t disappoint fans with crappy gear.

Bring Merch Into Your Content Naturally

Wear it, display it, play with it, brand content on your YouTube channel with it (have your gaming avatar wearing the merch, build a sandcastle branded with your designs, make food resembling your designs, etc.); but never be a salesperson, shoving merch onto your fans. If you make them aware of its existence, they will purchase it when they are ready.

Create a Merch Intro!

This is essentially free advertisements for your merch, and if done well, it’ll become apart of your channel’s content. If done poorly, it’ll feel like merch is being over-marketed to viewers. Tips to avoid this:

keep it simple and short to a few seconds

hire a professional

don’t have it start every video (keep your fans on their toes at the beginning of every video)

Be Patient

Once these systems are set up, don’t expect to be making thousands of dollars immediately. It takes time for your fans to associate your merch with your content, but as your fans engage more with your channel, they’ll naturally make the choice to purchase merchandise if the above points have been implemented.

Also: Make your fans aware of where to purchase the merch. This is simple enough to accomplish with a link in every description and endcard links.

Increasing Your Profit Potential After Gaining Traction

As you grow your YouTube following and have proven merch sales, you’ll likely notice that you’re not reaching your full potential in making money as a YouTuber by limiting yourself to generic merch (t-shirts, sweaters, mugs, etc.).

This is because the big money in merchandise is with specialty products: backpacks, plush toys, fidget spinners, random products featured on your channel frequently, etc. Here are some key points to launching successful specialty products, once you’re able to get to this point:

Identify What Your Fans LOVE

These are the things that can be made into specialty products: a special character can be turned into a plush toy, a recurring theme can be used to brand a backpack, or the very essence of your channel’s content could even be turned into a board game!

Involve Your fans With Product Creation

Use their feedback to improve on the prototypes, and show them the prototype as it’s being made! Generating excitement around the product well before its release will only help with sales. However, make sure any product you’re showing fans is one you’re happy with. There is no sense in showing fans something that doesn’t look good!

Expand Your YouTube Channel’s Merch 

If sales of the specialty product go well, consider creating a second specialty product add-on for even more specialty product sales! This isn’t being a sell out, this is simply identifying a good business opportunity – and supplying your fans what they want!

Build Some Buzz

Identify a launch date for the specialty product, and make sure you’re hyping up your fans the week prior! Showcasing the product(s), informing them of the launch date, etc. This helps with your first week of sales, which helps recoup any initial investment quickly.

Consider Outsourcing As Much As Possible

There are companies who have done this before and won’t charge you a dime. Shameless plug, check Juniper out! Revenue sharing is king in this business. You do not want to investigate the various sourcing options worldwide, or learn how to ship, again worldwide, product to thousands of fans, and handle the mess that follows – customer service for these things sucks, trust me. You make less money, but will save yourself hundreds of hours of work.

FIN

In conclusion, running a successful merch store for your YouTube channel really is worth your time, and doesn’t have to be a sales grab. If done right, it’s an awesome way to connect with fans, and bring a smile to those who are helping you realize your dreams. Super cheesy ending right?

This post was a guest contribution by Will Cartar on behalf of Juniper – a loyalty platform that produces custom merchandise and rewards for YouTube creators and their audiences

The post How YouTubers Can Make Money Successfully Selling Channel Merch appeared first on Vlog Nation.

from Vlog Nation http://ift.tt/2sdjuHf via IFTTT

[challengeartistsimple]

How YouTubers Can Make Good Merchandise For Their Channel

You probably already know that selling cool branded merchandise is one of the most popular ways to make money with your YouTube channel, right? It’s not only a great way to bring in some revenue, but it’s also a great way to increase brand recognition and grow your overall reach.

When people see their friends wearing fun t-shirts with your logo on them, they’re going to wonder what your brand is all about, and you’re going to get more recognition.

Of course, to make this strategy work, you have to create products that really stands out, so let’s talk about a few tips on how to make merchandise for your YouTube channel that will rock.

Making Merchandise for Your YouTube Channel

First of all, you don’t have to be super crafty or a professional graphic designer to make YouTube merch. If you have a cool logo and brand colors, you really have the essential components to get started, and you don’t even have to worry about physical inventory or shipping and handling, either.

Making your merchandise can actually be as simple as a few swipes and clicks. Just find a print on demand (PoD) site that you like, such as Spreadshirt or District Lines, upload your designs, experiment with additional design options (wording, photo art, etc.), and choose your merchandise. Then you can set up your online store, embed it in your website, and/or link to it from YouTube. It’s really that simple.

Get Your YouTube Channel’s Viewers Involved

Of course, you’ll want to make merchandise for your YouTube channel that viewers will want to buy, but that’s actually pretty simple, too. Just ask them. In your videos, blog posts, and social media posts, ask your viewers for feedback about the kinds of merchandise they’d like to see from you. Poll them on which designs they like best. You could even run a design contest with your viewers, too.

Make Merchandise That Interest People

As you decide which items to sell and which designs to use, keep in mind that you want to create merchandise that your viewers will really want to wear and use. Create really attractive designs, and use engaging wording that is relatable, funny and/or insightful, and make sure that it’s in line with your brand voice and the persona that you present on YouTube.

Use Your YouTube Channel’s Brand Colors

Unless it really goes with your channel’s branding, you don’t just have to go with a simple black print of your design on a white t-shirt or a white mug. Why? Because it can seem too generic and doesn’t really have that “stand out” factor.

As you make merchandise for your YouTube channel, it’s important to remember that you want to increase your brand recognition. Using your channel’s brand colors can do that while making your merchandise more attractive and fun.

Go for High Quality When Creating Clothing

We cannot emphasize this enough. When choosing the materials for your YouTube channel’s merch, you’ll be given some options. Do not go with the cheapest t-shirts that you can find. They’ll be thin, weirdly sized, and they won’t make a good impression on your viewers. You want them to fall in love with the way your merchandise fits so that they want to buy more just because they love wearing it.

Order Samples Before Promoting the Final Product

If you’re not sure about a t-shirt, mug, or other piece of merch, just order one for yourself before you start promoting it on your YouTube channel and on social media. This is an inexpensive way to make sure that you’ve made the right choice for your products, and it’s a great way to start promoting them, too.

When you get the products in, if you love them, you can start wearing or using them in your YouTube videos. If not, you can make the changes you need to make to ensure that you’ve chosen the right products to promote.

Most Print-on-Demand sites don’t have minimum orders, so you can get just one item to make sure you’re on the right track and to test out the customer experience on the site you’ve chosen, too. After all, you don’t want to go with a site that’s difficult to work with or your viewers won’t buy your merchandise, no matter how cool it is.

Aim for Marketing Success with Your YouTube Merch

In the beginning stages, you want to think of your branded merchandise as more of a marketing effort than a revenue builder. This is an opportunity to get your merch in more people’s hands, so set a really reasonable price that your viewers won’t mind paying when you make your YouTube merch. It’s important to remember that in order to get people to buy something, you must give them great pricing and value.

There you go – six things to consider when you make merchandise for your YouTube channel so that you can effectively get your channel’s brand out there and make some money while you do it. Have fun with your designs. Don’t be afraid to get creative. And don’t forget to promote your cool new merch in your YouTube videos and on social media!

The post How YouTubers Can Make Good Merchandise For Their Channel appeared first on Vlog Nation.

from Vlog Nation http://ift.tt/2eq46kU via IFTTT