TikTok is one of the best-selling platforms that allows you to create merch inspired by your videos and content. You can then sell it to your dedicated TikTok followers to boost revenue and build your personal brand. This article will explore how to make merch for TikTok and sell it directly to your fans.
- Working with print-on-demand companies
- Designing your own merch
- Partnering with existing brands
- Engaging your TikTok community
We’ll provide more details about each of these key approaches for establishing your TikTok merch line. Let’s delve into it!
What is TikTok Merch and Why You Should Have One?
So, what does merch mean on TikTok? To put it simply, TikTok merch, also called TikTok merchandise, refers to physical products that TikTok creators design and sell to their followers and fans directly through the app.
Common types of TikTok merch include clothing items like t-shirts, hoodies, and hats that feature the creator’s logo, catchphrases, or designs. Other popular merch items include mugs, water bottles, stickers, pins, and other accessories.
Some key reasons to start your own TikTok merch line include:
- Extra revenue stream: Selling merch allows fans to support you beyond views/likes financially and provides an additional revenue stream for your business.
- Strengthen brand recognition: Having custom clothing, accessories, and other products with your logo or designs helps strengthen your personal brand and increases visibility for your fans.
- Increase engagement: Fans enjoy representing their favorite creators and will actively engage through sharing photos in merch, which can help grow your following organically over time.
The process of making and selling merch on TikTok is usually done through a print-on-demand service. However, this is not the only way how to make merch for TikTok. Let’s discover different approaches in the next part:
How to Make Merch for TikTok
There are several effective methods for creating a TikTok merch store. Whether you outsource production or take a more hands-on approach, having the right merch strategy can boost your business and further engage fans.
Work with a print-on-demand company
Print-on-demand (POD) is a popular option for TikTok creators due to its low upfront costs and convenience. With POD, you design the products virtually using an online merch store and only pay for production after an item sells.
Many POD providers make creating high-quality clothing, accessories, home goods, and more easy. You receive a portion of sales, and the POD company handles printing, shipping, and inventory.
Redbubble, Printful, and Spreadshirt are examples of large POD platforms with ready-made TikTok stores. They allow you to quickly upload designs, link products to your profile, and start monetizing your following. You can also leverage a video mockup generator when creating your design prototypes.
In addition, POD minimizes financial risk, which is appealing to new merchants learning how to make merch for TikTok. It’s a simple way to test designs and fulfill orders without hassle.
Create merch yourself
Some creators choose to design and produce merchandise independently for more control. To do so requires investing in equipment or services for printing, cutting, and assembling items.
Purchasing inventory upfront also demands more capital than POD. However, it allows customizing every aspect of the process and keeping a larger share of profits. Some great merch ideas for TikTokers to start with include apparel basics. You can create a hoodie or tee, transfers, or direct-to-garment printing.
You can also outsource production tasks individually, such as using a transfer service and shipping orders yourself to reduce costs. Creating high-quality original merchandise builds authenticity with fans.
Partner with existing brands
Partnering with clothing companies and retailers provides established distribution channels for your designs. Many large brands operate influencer programs welcoming creator collaborations.
You’d work with their design and marketing teams to bring co-branded concepts to life. The partner handles manufacturing and sells products through their usual outlets, giving your following access to merchandise in stores.
While you have less control over the process, partnering expands your merch’s reach and visibility beyond just TikTok. It’s a proven method on how to make merch for TikTok for influencers to gain mainstream recognition and new audiences. Successful collabs depend on having a large, engaged fanbase to promote the collection.
Involve your community
Getting input and engagement from your TikTok followers can help make your TikTok merch more appealing and successful. Try hosting a merch design contest where fans submit and vote on ideas. This gets the community invested in your brand.
You could also give fans exclusive early access to new product launches or discounts by sharing them first on TikTok. Ask for style recommendations or size feedback to ensure you’re meeting your audience’s preferences. On launch days, encourage followers to share photos of themselves in your merch for a chance to repost and boost sales.
Involving your dedicated fans throughout the merch process fosters stronger connections and shows you value their opinions. It can lead to higher sales as your community feels more personally invested in supporting your business’s success.
While each method has advantages, managing product listings, orders, and inventory across multiple sales channels can become complicated. LitCommerce’s TikTok Shop Integration provides a seamless solution, allowing you to integrate your online stores directly into TikTok and increase sales opportunities.
How to Sell Merch on TikTok
You now know how to make merch for TikTok, but how to sell it effectively? Here are 4 simple steps to follow:
Step 1: Set up your TikTok shop
To start selling TikTok merch, you first need a TikTok shop. Here’s how to do it:
- Create a TikTok business account
- Submit the required documents for verification
- Link your bank account
- Your shop is now ready to display products
For more details, read our guide on how to set up TikTok shop.
Step 2: Add your TikTok merchandise
Now it’s time to add your merchandise to your TikTok Shop.
- Go to your TikTok Shop dashboard. You can access this by logging into your TikTok business account and clicking “Shop” in the sidebar menu.
- Click on “Products” from the left navigation panel.
- Click on the green “Add Product” button.
- Fill in the required details about your product:
- Product Name: Add the name of your merchandise
- Description: Provide a detailed product description, including materials, sizing, etc.
- Price: Add the price of your product to your shop’s default currency
- Inventory: Select “Track Inventory” and add the quantity you have in stock
- Images: Upload high-quality images of your product from different angles
- Select the appropriate product category and tags/keywords.
- Click “Publish” to list your product live in your TikTok Shop.
- Repeat steps 3-6 to add all your merchandise lines to your shop. You can always go back and edit or update product listings as needed.
Step 3: Promote your merch
After your TikTok merch store is ready, you can promote it to reach more potential customers on TikTok. Here are some of the most effective ways:
- Livestream: Go live on TikTok to unveil new merch collections. You can offer promo codes or discounts for viewers during the live stream to drive sales.
- Hashtag campaigns: Leverage popular hashtags related to your niche/products. Include these in all your merch content for discoverability.
- Contests & giveaways: Host interactive contests for fans to engage further. Reward winners with featured merch items to promote your shop.
- Create viral video ads: Short videos showcasing new drops and demo products while using viral or trending sounds. This can help the videos get viral hits which directly drive traffic to your online store.
- Partner with influencers: Collaborate by sending niche influencers free merch to feature in sponsored posts promoting your shop to their large audiences. If the video goes viral, you can also run ads with it to increase its reach.
- Run promoted posts: Leverage promoted posts to boost engaging merch content, reaching new targeted buyers for sales. TikTok targeting ensures ads find potential customers.
That’s how to sell merch on TikTok. The process sounds quite simple, but one key thing is choosing the right products to sell. That leads us to the next section.
6 Profitable Merch Ideas for TikTokers
There are many merch options for monetizing your TikTok following. Focusing on products that fit your niche and audience interests will lead to strong sales. Here are some top TikTok merchandise categories:
#1. Apparel
Branded TikTok clothes, like t-shirts and hoodies, are evergreen basics that allow fans to showcase support for your brand wherever they go. Match designs to your unique aesthetic and personality for high follower engagement. Searching TikTok made me buy it clothes on the search box can also give you more ideas.
In addition to the specific TikTok clothing brand, consider seasonal additions like hats, sweatpants, or joggers to capitalize on trending styles.
Apparel is a straightforward way to help build a loyal community that publicly represents your message. You can release new apparel drops a few times per year to keep up with fashion changes and keep your existing fans coming back for more.
#2. Home & Decor
Besides TikTok shirt ideas, selling home decor and accessories is a great way to showcase your brand. Products like mugs, water bottles, tapestries, etc., featuring your designs give supporters practical items for their daily routines. Fans enjoy displaying TikTok merchandise that shows pride in your content wherever they spend time at home.
Pillows and blankets, in particular, embrace comfort, a theme many lifestyle creators portray in their self-care-focused messages around relaxation.
#3. Tech accessories
You don’t need to sell the viral TikTok shirt to be successful on this platform. Phone cases are also ubiquitous for fans to represent your work wherever they bring their device. Things like hydropower bluetooth shower speaker, phone lock box, scroller remote rin, etc., let people proudly show their support while enjoying something useful, or even ridiculous. The portable nature of tech accessories helps keep your brand top of mind both on and off TikTok.
#4. Collectibles & novelties
You know how to make merch or TikTok very well but are stuck with new ideas? Then stickers, pins, patches, temporary tattoos, and other small collectibles give affordable options for fans to express themselves and their interests.
Collectibles maintain engagement between new video drops by allowing followers to showcase their allegiance to the community through displays and self-expression. It’s also fun for fans to have products that capture inside jokes and memorable moments from your channel.
#5. Art
Turn your short videos into TikTok merch with art prints. Fans love displaying art that shows inside jokes or memorable moments from your channel. Personalized prints that capture popular TikTok themes let supporters proudly show their love for you and your videos daily. It’s a great way for fans to support you while decorating with art that reminds them of why they enjoy your TikTok channel.
#6. Niche products
TikTok merchandise tailored to your specialized content area, like gaming accessories, makeup bags, sports equipment, cooking accessories, and more directly serves perfectly engaged niche audiences.
Kitchen gadgets, for instance, are among the most popular and easy niche to promote on TikTok. There are lots of kitchen tools you’ve never thought you’d need or extremely cute and useful, like mini toasters, electric peeler, etc.
Niche merchandise strengthens the tight-knit bonds in communities focused on select interests by fulfilling specific product wants. This targeted approach allows you to optimize sales within your fanbase.
Need more ideas? Read our detailed guide on viral TikTok products to sell.
TikTok Merch – FAQs
- Does TikTok sell merchandise?
Yes, TikTok allows users to sell merchandise through their platform via a shopping feature called TikTok Shop. It enables creators to showcase and sell products directly within the app to their followers. This provides an easy way for creators to monetize their content and follow by linking products featured in their videos.
- What products sell well on TikTok?
Popular products that sell well on TikTok include apparel, accessories, home goods, and other items that are featured in viral videos on the platform.
- How many followers do you need to make merch on TikTok?
You do not need a minimum number of followers to start making merch on TikTok. However, it is recommended to build up your following first before launching products.
- How do I start making my own merch for TikTok?
To know how to make merch for TikTok, you need to design your products, find a merch printer partner to produce the items, set up a virtual store on your TikTok profile using their shopping features, and then promote the products to your followers through videos.
Start Selling Merch on TikTok Now!
Knowing how to sell merch on TikTok is a powerful way to monetize from your followers. While there are various ways on how to make merch for TikTok, here are some of the best-performing methods:
- Come up with product ideas tailored to your niche audience
- Design mockups and test interest in concepts
- Source high-quality manufacturers for production
- Set up an online store like Shopify or Teespring
- Promote new drops through videos, hashtags, and contests on TikTok
- Link your store in your bio and videos for easy shopping
- Collaborate with influencers for greater reach
By following these steps, you can effectively monetize your audience through merch sales on TikTok.
See how our multichannel solutions can help your TikTok merchandise grow. Feel free to reach out to us for more details.
You can also find more tips on our blog and online community, where fellow retailers share insights.
