As we are all aware, podcasting can take a long time to make it worth monetising. Once you get a big enough audience, you can start brainstorming ideas to make money. One of the most significant ways to make money with a podcast is through merchandise!
And many people struggle with what things they can use as merchandise, how they can make it work with their content. And how they price their inventory. Today, I will provide you with ideas of products you can use as merchandise. And the different ways you can make it link back to your content.
Clothing
One of the oldest and most reliable types of merchandise is clothing. Bands constantly have t-shirts in their online stores. If we want a quick 90’s throwback, people used to sell them outside the concert halls.
Fans love wearing clothes made by their favourite creators or have something linking back to them. The best sellers in terms of clothing are not jeans and trousers. It’s T-shirts and hoodies. Mostly as you can’t go wrong with sizing as if they’re too big, they still fit, and also, you can get experimental with the design. You can have an online store or use Redbubble. Just remember to price it high enough that you cover commission prices and materials, and labour.
Cups and mugs
Another product you could use for merchandising are utensils like cups and mugs. Granted, hoodies and t-shirts are a bit easier to create. But there are plenty of people out there that love a mug. You can be equally creative in design, slogan, or logo because a mug is smaller and benefits from having something simple. Plus, in terms of popularity among fans, they are the second favourite!
Badges and stickers
People also love to wear badges as a symbol of their love for something. Many content creators sell badges. Proving they are a reliable product to sell. Plus, if you have problems with a third-party service or don’t trust them in general, they are effortless to make at home. Although they won’t become the main piece of merchandise, you’ll sell (because of their size.) They do work more as a passive medium of merchandise that you can sell.
The same goes for stickers. They are small pieces of merchandise that people like putting on walls or clothing. Unlike badges, they aren’t as easy or as simple to make at home because you need a specialist printer and so it will be easier to use a third party service.
Posters or signed photos
We all love a poster. Films and movies always have them. And fans of content are always making their own! Whenever someone has a podcast or content online, they like a poster to hang on their wall or framed. They enjoy owning a piece of art related to something they want. They are great if your podcast focuses on films or specific genres of movies because you can easily link it back to your content.
Suppose your podcast is business-based or something else. You could easily swap this out for a signed photo or a more simplistic and minimal poster instead. Plus, the great thing about a sign is that you could run a competition for fans to make a design and pick a winner. Which will raise engagement, get fans excited for the release of the merchandise and can increase traffic to your podcast.
Ebooks
This one is more suited to business podcasts. However, you could release a horror ebook if you wanted. Ebooks are a great piece of merchandise to sell. (Whilst it isn’t your typical form of merchandise, I think it counts.) An Ebook can be a supplemental teaching tool that adds to your podcast, which people will want to keep for themselves, especially as there are three different learning methods. Having an ebook will enable you to have an element of accessibility if people struggle with listening to what you have to say all the time.
Earlier in this segment, I said Ebooks suit more business types of podcasts than someone releasing a horror ebook. (Unless it’s an ebook where you learn about the behind-the-scenes stuff.) Because if you have to do an ebook over a fictional world, you have to put a lot more effort into the world-building, the style of writing, and you have to do a lot with marketing. Whereas an educational one can be more formal, there isn’t as much focus on dialogue. You need to get the facts right, and the marketing can be a little stringent.
In the end, there are plenty of products you could use to create good quality merchandise for your podcast to sell and create a high supplemental (or permanent) income.
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