Gone are the days when users and brands viewed TikTok only as an entertainment platform. In 2024, it’s a must-have marketing tool as it has swiftly become one of the top preferred platforms of users worldwide, evolving into a successful channel for content creators, brands, small businesses, and influencers like you. While there are various ways to boost your brand and make money, today, we’ll focus on TikTok Merch.
Whether you’re an illustrator, fitness trainer, travel content creator, musician, comedian, or food vlogger, this guide is your ticket to earning extra income through making and selling merchandise and strengthening your TikTok community. Let’s start!
Explore What You Can Find Here:
- Why Is It a Great Idea to Sell Merch on TikTok?
- 5 Tiktok Merch Ideas to Add to Your Shop
- 3 Ways to Start Making Your TikTok Merch Line
- How to Sell Your TikTok Merch Line
- Through TikTok Shopping
- Via Print-On-Demand
- By Yourself/Locally
- Wrapping Up
Why Is It a Great Idea to Sell Merch on TikTok?
Here are some fantastic reasons why diving into the world of TikTok merch is a brilliant move:
Extra Income
Ready to boost your earnings? Creating merch is a fantastic and stable way to make money on TikTok. Unlike sporadic collaborations or partnerships, selling merchandise provides a steady income stream as you control it.
Keep reading: 12 Proven Ways to Make Money On TikTok
Visibility
TikTok is THE place to be! With a massive audience growing daily, it’s a hotspot for product reviews. When showcased correctly, your merch could go viral and appear on the For You Page (FYP) to reach and impact new viewers.
Traffic Boost
This third point complements the above one perfectly since TikTok is a great way to drive traffic to your online store. The user-friendly TikTok interface allows you to insert a link, guiding users straight to your online store.
Pro tip: Many TikTokers use Linktree and Beacons, which are platforms that provide a link that simultaneously has more links inside it to redirect your viewers to various places. For example, your online shop, Instagram, favorite Amazon products, and whatever you want.
Loyal Audience
By selling merch on TikTok, you’re ensuring a loyal audience by default. It’s very likely that your fans will be happy to support you by buying merchandise that has your style and personality.
Low Entry Barriers
Ready for the best part? Selling merch on TikTok is a breeze! There are no complicated entry barriers to start with a TikTok merch line. With numerous niches waiting to be explored and only some creators diving into merch, now is the perfect time to launch your own line. There’s no need to worry about follower count or other criteria. Plus, it’s free!
Not sure about niches? No worries, though! Read our best Best Print-On-Demand Niches guide.
5 TikTok Merch Ideas to Add to Your Shop
Not sure what to sell? No worries! Here are some of the most preferred products when it comes to TikTok merch ideas! Most are stylish apparel, while others are useful and downright adorable items. So, let’s dive in and see what you can create.
Note: At Placeit by Envato, we’ve got an unlimited collection of t-shirt designs for all niches to help you effortlessly create a best-selling design. To make things better, our designs are adaptable to any item or clothing.
1. T-shirts
Whether you’re a newbie or an expert in selling online, you should know that t-shirts are always a fantastic merch idea, especially when they’re custom-made. T-shirts are versatile, go with everything, and stand out as one of the top clothing items. Plus, many TikTokers who’ve dipped their toes into creating their own branded merch have found that t-shirts are an absolute hit with their fans!
However, if you want to sell more than t-shirts, you can delve deeper into the apparel business and offer other trendy products. For example, hoodies, hats, crewnecks, beanies, pants, shorts, and sweatshirts.
2. Tote Bags
Another fantastic TikTok merch idea is a versatile accessory that complements any style and serves multiple purposes: tote bags! Totes have become popular in recent years, becoming a go-to merch choice for many brands and content creators. So, tote bags make for an excellent beginning if you’re unsure where to start.
3. Drinkware
The beauty of TikTok merch lies in its coolness and practicality, supporting content creators and small brands. Mugs and water bottles are undeniably excellent choices, and the appeal is even greater when they are custom-made, steering clear of generic options.
So, consider creating personalized mugs, water bottles, or any other stylish drinkware to showcase your designs and make them sell like hotcakes!
4. Stickers
Stickers – who doesn’t love them? First, they’re super cute, available in various materials, and have endless design possibilities! Plus, they’re low-cost items (for you and your followers), making them an irresistible option to add to your merch line. So, don’t hesitate to create your own! Here’s a quick guide on how to make and sell stickers.
A similar idea that works amazingly well is art prints!
5. Niche Products
Niche products are all about aligning with what you sell or the content you create. Imagine, for instance, a content creator sharing adorable dog content. In this case, you could design cute bandanas, pet collars, stickers, or shirts inspired by your canine stars like Sookie and Ivy.
Another great example is the talented Bobbie Goods, who creates coloring books. As part of her TikTok merch line, she sells art studio pouches for all those coloring enthusiasts out there.
So feel free to get inspired by other TikTokers who have already launched their own merchandise line and browse the different print-on-demand catalogs to check out what niche products you could incorporate and sell online.
Pro tip: Another valuable insight from TikTok content creators who have already succeeded in the merch business is to create polls to understand what your followers truly want to buy from you.
3 Ways to Start Making Your TikTok Merch Line
Now that we’ve covered the basics, and if the idea of creating TikTok merch sounds like a plan, let’s briefly explore three different ways to create custom goodies.
1. Collaborate With Brands
In today’s world, which TikToker wouldn’t dream of collaborating with brands? It’s a dream for many, but hold your horses – to collaborate with brands, you’ll most likely need a growing fan database. On TikTok, we’ve seen how brands team up with content creators who share similar values, interests, and target audiences. The goal? To create a special influencer merch collection that benefits both parties.
2. Hire a Print-On-Demand Service
Print-on-demand is undoubtedly one of the most effective and simple ways to create your TikTok merch.
First off, you don’t need to have a minimum number of followers, and you won’t be in charge of production or shipping (including worldwide to reach followers from other countries). You’ll only be responsible for choosing the products you want to sell and creating a nice custom design for them – the print-on-demand platform will handle the rest for you.
Best of all, the products are only made once a customer places an order. That means no stock for you or the company – they produce it right away when an order is made. Of course, they charge some fees for providing this service, but it’s ultimately worth it.
3. Craft by Yourself
While it might sound exciting, the reality is that it implies more work. If you’re a TikTok content creator with few followers, it might not be an issue, but still! DYing everything from scratch, buying specialized tools, or hiring a local supplier to assist with printing takes time and that means more money is invested. But the good news is that you’ll be in control to ensure your community receives top-notch quality, handmade, and custom goodies that meet your standards and expectations.
