Whenever you're preparing to create your own ecommerce brand, choosing and creating the right products can make a huge difference in sales. Understanding your audience, selecting a diverse range of products, and keeping an eye on trends are essential steps to creating a successful store. The six key points are as follows:

1. Choose products you love
2. Figure out designs
3. Display a range of price points
4. Offer 2-6 products for your first drop
5. Offer a variety of colors
6. Look to other creators for inspiration

Let’s dive into everything you need to know to create products that will sell in your shop.

Launching your first line of merch may seem intimidating, but with the right approach, you can make it a smooth and successful process. Here's a straightforward guide to ensure you don’t miss any important steps:

Launching your merch on Fourthwall is an exciting time, but to make sure it’s successful, you’ll want to check all the right boxes before going live. Here’s a checklist to help you prepare for a smooth launch:

Congrats, your drop is live! Now that you’ve launched, it’s important to stay engaged and keep the excitement alive. Here's how you can make the most of the post-launch momentum:

After a successful launch, the next step in building your brand is maintaining momentum with regular drops. Keeping your store fresh with new products not only excites your existing supporters but also helps attract new ones.

1. Choose Products You're Proud Of

Choosing products with the right style and price point for you and your community is key. Here are some important factors to consider when creating products to sell:

Style and Fit

Think about the vibe you want your brand to give off. Not sure where to begin? Ask yourself: What is your favorite style?

• ‍Oversized & heavyweight: Brands like Lane Seven, AS Colour, and Independent Trading Co. providing quality options. Check out our Streetwear options for more. ‍
• Classic fit from classic brands: Consider options like Gildan, Champion, and Jerzees. ‍
• Form-fitting & lightweight: Brands like Bella+Canvas offer great lightweight and breathable options. ‍
• Activewear: If you prefer athleisure, we offer brands like Adidas and Under Armour.

Seasonal Products

‍Get creative with products that reflect the current season or upcoming holidays.

• ‍Summer & Spring: Create lightweight products like crop tops, tank tops, baseball caps, swimwear, and flip-flops.‍
• Fall & Winter: Add products like knitwear, hoodies, beanies, and blankets to keep your supporters warm. Ugly holiday sweaters never go out of style (at least during the holidays...) so they're the perfect addition to your shop during the festive season. You can also offer customized wrapping paper.

Staying on top of these helps keep your shop fresh and your supporters coming back for more. 

Trending Products

‍You should look at what's trending within the e-commerce space and which best sellers are in the Fourthwall catalog to get an idea of what customers may be most excited to see. ‍

Community-Specific Products

‍If your community falls into a specific niche, think about what products may excite them. For example, people interested in eco-friendly products will look for those options on your site. Supporters in the gaming community may be most interested in mousepads and keycaps. People in the wellness community may be most interested in fitness products like shaker bottles, yoga mats, and other activewear.

2. Create Designs your Community Will Love

Creating designs that you and your supporters would be proud to wear is key to successful merch. Here are some ideas to get inspired:

• Tap into your branding: Use your signature colors, fonts, or overall aesthetic to make your merch instantly recognizable
• Lean on inside jokes: Community-specific humor or references can create a sense of exclusivity and connect them to you
• Highlight your catchphrases: If you’re known for a saying or tagline, turn it into a fun merch design - Garage Beer Merch does this extremely well‍
• Branch out: Treat your merch like its own clothing line - think Beautiful Bastard by Philip DeFranco

No matter what your approach is, you should aim for designs that feel authentic and resonate with your supporters.

3. Add a Variety of Price Points

A well-thought-out pricing strategy can encourage supporters to purchase multiple items at once, and will allow your products to be accessible to more customers. Offering a mix of low, medium, and high-priced products increases the chances that customers will add smaller items to their cart along with a more expensive purchase.

• Low-Priced Items: Stickers, mugs, hats, drinkware, etc.
• Medium-Priced Items: T-shirts, long-sleeves, tote bags, etc.
• High-Priced Items: Premium-quality hoodies, jackets, knitwear, etc. 

We suggest starting with at least one item between $5-$15, one product between $20-$35, and one item that's $45+ to give your supporters a variety of price options.

Prior to your launch, one of the most important steps you can take is ordering samples. It’s tempting to skip this step to speed up the process, but ensuring that your product meets your expectations (and those of your supporters) is pivotal.  

Why you should order samples

1. Use to create promotional content

Samples are perfect for showing off your products in videos and photos on your social media accounts. Wearing or showcasing the product in real-life settings helps build anticipation and trust among your supporters, making it easier to drive sales once your merch is live.

2. Double check product quality and fit

Ordering a sample lets you experience the product firsthand. Fourthwall offers hundreds of options, with different fits and fabrics. You'll be able to evaluate the material, comfort, and durability of your chosen products. This will help to ensure that the blank you chose is exactly what you’re looking for, and what your community will like. ‍

3. Verify design details

Seeing a mockup online is one thing, but holding the actual product is another. Samples allow you to confirm that the design’s placement, sizing, and colors are exactly what you imagined. This is especially important for intricate options like embroidery or super detailed designs.This step ensures there are no surprises when the final product reaches your supporters.

1. Connect with Your Community

Think about what your supporters want. What do they already love about your content, and how can you bring that to life through your products? Feel free to ask them directly, or dive into your community inside jokes, your signature catchphrases, etc. 

2. Prepare Designs

Once you come up with a general idea of what you want your products to look like, it's time to lock in some artwork. If you already have branding created, use that artwork!

If you don't have artwork yet, don't worry! This is one of the most challenging steps in the process. We're here to help. Here's what we recommend:

• Create your own: If you have some experience with graphic design, try using a tool like Canva, Procreate, or Illustrator to create artwork
• Check out our Design Community: If you want to hire a designer, take a look at some of our recommended artists
• ‍Consult your community: There may be artists in your community (friends, folllowers, family, etc.) willing to help you with designs

3. Create Your Products

Ensure your designs are polished, reflect your brand, and resonate with your supporters. If you have experience with designing, we recommend using whatever platform you prefer, like Canva or Figma. If you’d like to connect with a designer, ask your community, or check out our recommended artists. Bring your vision to life using our product designer and mockup generator. 

4. Set Up Your Storefront 

Design a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate storefront. Make sure your branding is consistent throughout the site—from the homepage to product pages. Include a compelling bio and store description to connect with your audience and give potential supporters a reason to check out your merch.

5. Order Samples

Once your designs are ready, order samples to ensure the quality and look are exactly what you envisioned. Samples also give you something tangible to showcase in your promotional content, which can help boost sales by showing your supporters what they’ll get.

6.  Create a Launch Timeline

Map out your timeline, from designing the merch to the launch date. Having clear deadlines for each step (design, samples, production) helps keep you organized and on track. Don't forget to plan your marketing and promo strategies to build excitement ahead of time. We’ve created a timeline template for you here. 

7. Promote, Promote, Promote!

Start teasing your merch ahead of time on your social channels to build anticipation. You can do this through behind-the-scenes looks, countdowns, or sneak peeks of your products. The more excited your supporters are, the more likely they’ll buy when it launches.

8. Launch and Sell

When you’re ready to launch, make it a big event! Use your social media, email list, and other platforms to announce the drop. Create urgency by offering limited-time discounts or exclusive products to your biggest supporters. Check out some of our favorite examples:

DougDoug's MugMug

DougDoug got creative with his promotional video for his MugMug.

Santagato Studios' Announcement

Santagato Studios used their humor to announce their 2023 Holiday Collection on their shop.

RyanLego's Drop

RyanLego put together an entertaining video to announce his merch drop.

🗓️ Create a Marketing Plan (Go-to-Market)

Start promoting your upcoming launch on your social channels, email list, and anywhere your supporters engage with your content. Build anticipation with countdowns, sneak peeks, or behind-the-scenes looks at the design process. Choose a launch date that makes sense for your community. Consider special occasions, holidays, or moments relevant to your content that could increase excitement and engagement. Check out our full guide. 

🗣️ Spread the Word

Post across your socials to let everyone know about your upcoming drop. If you’ve already done a drop, reach out to past buyers with a quick, exclusive email thanking them for their support and giving them a first look at the new release. If it’s your first drop, make sure to spotlight it in your newsletter and send a quick SMS update to keep your supporters in the loop and excited to shop.

📸 Prepare Your Marketing Content

Take high-quality photos and videos of your merch to be ready for launch day. Use your samples to create engaging promotional content for social media, email campaigns, and your website.

🏷️ Set Up Discounts + Promo Codes

Offer limited-time discounts or promo codes to incentivize early purchases. If you have an email list set up, offer a special discount code to those subscribers. This will create urgency and drive initial sales.

🔗 Make Sure Apps + Integrations Are Connected

Ensure all your apps and integrations are set up and ready to go. We suggest starting by connecting the following:

• ‍Twitch Gifting
• TikTok Shop
• Instagram + Facebook Shopping
• YouTube Product Shelf

Along withother key tools that will make it easier for supporters to purchase your products. Make sure everything is functioning smoothly so supporters can buy wherever they engage with you most. Also be sure to add your Fourthwall site as your main link across your socials. 

📣 Add your Shop Link to your Socials

Once you've put in the work to get your shop ready and promoted, you need to make sure your shop is easy to find. Include your shop link as much as you can, especially across your socials. Here are some easy recommendations based on the socials you're active on:

Instagram

• When you post stories about your merch, add them to a story highlight on your profile
• Once you post your announcement post, pin it to your profile
• Add the link to your bio

YouTube

• Add your shop link to your YouTube channel links list
• Mention your shop link to the description of each YouTube video
• Pin your shop link in your YouTube comments

X

• Pin your announcement post to your profile
• Add the link to your bio

Twitch

• Add a !merch command that sends your shop link. Include it in your stream title, and set it up as a timed command to appear every 30 - 60 minutes
• Include your shop link in your "About" section
• Create a dedicated shop panel that links directly to your site

TikTok

• Pin your announcement video to your profile
• Add the link to your bio

🚀 Go Live with Confidence

Once everything is in place, it’s time to launch! Announce it to your supporters and keep the excitement going by interacting with your community during the launch.

👀 Monitor Sales & Optimize

Track how your launch is going and be ready to adjust. Keep an eye on your number of sales, adjust promo codes if needed, and stay active on your platforms to maintain momentum.

For a more detailed launch checklist, head to our blog.

🤝 Engage with Supporters

Stay active on your social channels and interact with supporters who engage with your launch. If they comment, reply, or retweet your announcement, be sure to like, retweet, and reply to them. Building this connection encourages others to engage and helps create a sense of community around your merch.

🗣️ Continue promoting

While most of your promotion should happen before the drop, you should continue talking about your merch drop after it launches. For about at least a week afterwards, mention it across different platforms (social media, newsletter, etc.) 

🔁 Utilize User-Generated Content (UGC)

When your supporters receive their orders and post about your products, make sure to repost or share their content. This shows appreciation and gives your merch more visibility as other potential buyers see real people enjoying your products.

🚨 Create Urgency

For limited-time drops or exclusive items, keep the momentum going by announcing deadlines like, “Last week to place orders!” or “Last day for 20% off!” This sense of urgency can drive last-minute sales and boost engagement from supporters who haven’t purchased yet. Also consider running giveaways to keep the excitement up and eyes on your shop.

🤗 Send Personalized Thank You Videos

A personal touch goes a long way. Record short, personalized thank-you videos for your top supporters, early customers, or those who make larger purchases. It shows your appreciation and strengthens your relationship with your community.

👀 Monitor Feedback and Adjust

Continue keeping an eye on feedback from your supporters. What do they love? What could be improved? Use this feedback to make adjustments for future drops or new designs.

By staying engaged and showing appreciation, you’ll keep your supporters excited about your merch and set the stage for future launches!

📈 Monitor Your Success

As your sales grow, it's important to track your progress and performance. Fourthwall provides built-in analytics in your shop dashboard, where you can monitor your sales, check supporter messages, etc. This insight helps you see what’s working, identify bestsellers, and refine your strategy for future drops. 

You can also take advantage of our Google Analytics integration to dive even deeper into your site. You'll be able to see where your site traffic is coming from, how visitors interact with your store, and which marketing efforts are driving the most engagement. Monitoring these numbers will help you understand what’s working and what you may need to change. Additionally, you can run paid ads on your site to attract new customers beyond your community and expand your reach even further. 

🧠 Plan Your Next Launch

If you can, plan loose ideas for your drops several months ahead of time. Consider a mix of regular, seasonal, and holiday drops to keep things fresh. Creating a drop calendar allows you to properly promote and prepare for each launch. For each new drop, we recommend emailing your past buyers and offering them a special discount code (ex. 10% off) to incentivize them to shop your new products. 

1. Every 2-3 Months

A great rule of thumb is to plan a new drop every 2-3 months. This keeps your supporters engaged and anticipating what's coming next. It also gives you time to create new designs and build excitement between launches.

2. Seasonal Drops

Consider timing your drops with the changing seasons. For example, you can boost sales by creating a spring or summer collection with lighter colors and warm-weather clothing. Similarly, fall or winter collections with darker colors and cozy items (beanies, hoodies, etc.) will align with the times.

3. Holiday Drops

Holidays are a fantastic time to release exclusive or themed merchandise. Drops around Halloween, the Winter Holidays, Valentine’s Day, or any other holidays can be a huge hit. Holiday merch creates a sense of urgency and can also help you tap into the festive spirit of your supporters. Black Friday is a great opportunity to boost your sales, so be sure to have products and a marketing plan prepared beforehand. 

4. Miscellaneous Events

If you have any big events on the horizon, consider launching exclusive merch or offering limited-edition promo codes for them. For example, if you’re about to release a highly anticipated video series, you could create a unique merch drop just for it. For personal milestones, like your birthday or the anniversary of when you started creating content, consider doing a special drop to celebrate and make the occasion memorable for your community.

5. Community Memes 

If you have a "meme-able" moment pop up, that’s the perfect time to turn it into merch! Community memes are relatable, funny, and they connect with people in a real way. By creating merch around a trending joke or inside reference, you’re giving your supporters something they’ll actually want to wear or share, and they’ll feel like they're part of the fun.

👕 Curate Product Selection

It can be tempting to keep all your products live on your site, but we recommend a more curated approach to avoid overwhelming your supporters. Focus on a streamlined ‘core’ collection of staple items that stay consistent, and then introduce select ‘evergreen’ pieces with each new launch to keep things fresh and engaging.

🛠 Keep Building Your Brand

Launching your merch is just the beginning. By keeping your drops consistent and engaging, monitoring performance, and planning ahead, you’re setting yourself up for lasting success. With Fourthwall’s tools, you can stay on top of trends, keep your supporters excited, and continuously grow your brand. Remember, each drop is a new chance to connect with your community, showcase your creativity, and expand your reach. Keep it fun, stay flexible, and watch your brand evolve with every new product and supporter.

4. Start with 2-6 Items to Avoid Overwhelming Customers

If you’re just starting out, it can be tempting to launch with a large variety of products. However, starting small is often a better strategy to prevent decision overload and fatigue. Launch your shop with a few staple items such as:

• T-shirts
• Hoodies
• Mugs
• Stickers
• Hats

By offering a simpler selection, you give your supporters more confidence in their choices, which can lead to higher conversion rates. Once you’ve gained momentum with sales, you can always expand your product line.

Don't Miss This Step

Ordering samples is an essential part of creating high-quality merch that your supporters will love. It allows you to perfect your designs, create engaging promotional content, and launch with confidence. Make this a priority in your process, and you'll be setting yourself up for a successful merch drop. Read more here.

Head to your dashboard to order samples today.

💨 For viral merch, skip the previous steps

If you’ve got a viral moment or meme that’s blowing up, don’t overthink it. Choose products and create designs as quickly as possible to take advantage of your boost in views and engagement.

5. Choose your Colors

Color options can make or break a sale. In general, darker colors tend to perform better - especially black T-shirts, which are a consistent best-seller across many creator shops. Consider adding multiple colors to a listing in order to appeal to different tastes. If you already have established branding that you use, incorporate those colors into your products as well.

5. Look for Inspiration

Check out what other creators and brands are doing to get inspiration for your shop. Creators with clothing brands/merch offerings like Santagato Studios and Mads Mitch do a great job of rotating products based on the season, what’s trending in their communities, and what they themselves would wear. 

Traditional brands like BBC and Nike keep their products fresh by tapping into current trends and offering a variety of options. 

Understanding what's working for others in your space can help you understand what products and what type of designs may work best for you. Check out the shops of some other Fourthwall creators for inspiration.

Start Creating

Creating products that sell is all about understanding your audience, offering variety, and keeping things fresh. Start with a small range of high-quality products, experiment with digital products, and don’t hesitate to incorporate seasonal or trendy items into your shop. By balancing style, price, and functionality, you can create a product lineup that excites your supporters and drives sales year-round.