Product and Design Tips for Creators

As a creator, launching your own clothing line or merch line can be a fun and rewarding way to grow your community. Plus it can be quite a lucrative monetization strategy. YouTuber Danny Duncan has made over $150 million from selling merchandise on his YouTube channel. While Danny is obviously an outlier, many creators have had success selling merchandise and apparel as a way of growing their communities. 

But if you're launching a clothing line or merch line for the first time, it can be hard to start. How do you decide on a design? Should you just use your logo or something more special? Should you sell shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, bespoke apparel, or something else? This article walks through a number of design best practices that we've learned from helping tens of thousands of content creators succeed with launching products for their viewers. 

What types of designs work best?

For most YouTube creators, Twitch streamers, podcasters, and other types of content creators, we recommend finding a design that connects with your viewers and community. For example:

• Do you have an art or style that's unique to your content?
• Do you have any regular characters in your content?
• Do you have a catchphrase or name for your community? 

Turning one of these into a design tends to work well, since your viewers can wear it as a sign that they're part of the community. By contrast, "slapping your logo" on a t-shirt, hoodie, or another piece of merch tends to be less successful. Viewers like things that are unique collectibles that represent a particular video or event. Plus the more premium and elevated you can make your designs, the more your fans will love to wear your merch in public. 

You can also post a poll on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter to ask your fans for their thoughts. It’s a great way to engage your community in your process.

How to design unique merchandise or apparel?

The best way to design merch is to engage your community. If you're a YouTube creator, chances are that at least some of your viewers are also artists. Fans already know your content and style, which means they can come up with cool designs that are on brand.

Alternatively, don't be afraid to reach out to friends, who are artists. They may be interested in helping you create unique designs for your products, or collaborating with you on new designs. This can add a personal touch to your products, and is a great way to get your community involved in your merch.

One example of this is how Killem Gillam designed a custom Kosmic Krew Hoodie, which has custom designs on each sleeve. This type of design showcases a community brand that is immediately recognizable to other fans of the channel:

If you don't have an artist in your network, don't worry! Check out the Fourthwall Design Community to connect with trusted artists nominated by other creators.

You can also join our creator community on Discord to connect with many other creators and designers for your channels. Many YouTubers, Twitch streamers, and other types of content creators have joined, so there's a community to help you succeed! 

Deciding on the clothing to launch

When it comes to clothing, the color you choose can have a big impact on sales. Darker colors like black, navy, and charcoal tend to sell well, so consider these colors for your products. This is especially true when creating products to sell online in the winter months. 

Of course, no need to feel limited – the most important thing is to choose colors that fit your brand and style. If your brand identity is bright and bold, choosing a vibrant, eye-catching colorway for products is a great way to offer something that will resonate with your community. These also work great when you want to promote a summer drop. You can browse 1000s of different product and merchandise options in Fourthwall's product catalog to pick what's best for your community:

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Start small and stay focused

When launching your product line, it can be tempting to try and do too much too soon. It's important to start small and gradually build up your shop over time. Focus on launching a couple of popular products, like shirts or hoodies, then gradually expand your product line as your sales grow. This will help you stay focused and ensure that each product is successful before adding more to the mix.

One of the biggest challenges creators face when it comes to building their online store is helping supporters to make quick, confident decisions. To make this process easier, keep your website clutter-free and offer 4-6 items at a time. Too many options can be overwhelming. By limiting the number of items you offer, you'll help your supporters make a decision faster, and reduce the likelihood of them leaving your site.

If it's your merch first drop, we recommend offering some of the following:

• T-Shirt
• Hoodie
• Mug
• Stickers
• Hats

If you've done many merch drops before and are selling custom apparel and clothing lines on Fourthwall, you can approach this more dynamically. As you become more comfortable with the types of items that your subscribers want to purchase, you'll be better at designing, marketing, and promoting. 

You never know what your audience might love, so get creative and have fun exploring different possibilities. From experimenting with products that support sleeve or inside neck label customization to adding accessories like custom phone cases or stickers, there are so many ways to bring your ideas to life on Fourthwall. 

Promote your drop

Once you've locked in on your design and are ready to start selling, you can create your products on your Fourthwall shop. Fourthwall natively connects with on-demand manufacturers like Printful, works with limited-edition bespoke manufacturers overseas, and allows you to sell anything you've sourced on your own. This makes it the ultimate platform for creators, regardless of if you're doing your first merchandise drop or are looking to launch a bespoke clothing line.

Fourthwall is the easiest way for creators to sell apparel on their YouTube channel and promote on socials. Once you've created your products, we recommend following these two simple steps to succeed:

• Step 1: Make sure your audience knows this new project is important to you
• Step 2: Celebrate and show love to your early buyers

You can learn about all creator promotion and sales best practices in our guide on how to get your first sales for any drop. This is a great way to promote your shop to your channel and boost your revenue. Plus it helps your subscribers feel more connected with the community as they'll have products that they can wear in real life.