The Ultimate Guide to Selling Merch on Pinterest 

The Ultimate Guide to Selling Merch on Pinterest

You’ve no doubt used Pinterest to find DIY hacks and recipes, but have you ever considered it as another avenue to promote and sell your merch? Read on to find out more about Selling Merch on Pinterest.

Instagram and Facebook are obvious social platforms to use for promotion, but Pinterest’s layout allows you to maximize your content and brand in different ways.

Once you become familiar with Pinterest and all of its features, you’ll quickly discover what audiences are best suited for your merch.

Do you sell baseball themed products? Target sportswear related tags. Create baseball boards around different teams/players. 

Have a shop for bookworms? Search what tags are most used by readers to target people interested in new books and other aesthetic purposes.

Using Pinterest for your shop will unlock a whole new customer base that wants visual and informative content. According to a study of Pinterest users, 60 percent of users start product research and form ideas on what to buy using the site.

This is a platform that you should be taking advantage of, and here’s how you can best do that for your merch brand.

Understanding Pinterest

Understanding Pinterest

If you’ve never really used Pinterest before, it can just come off as a clean looking site with a lot of organized images and aesthetics. But what does it all mean, exactly?

Pinterest is essentially an enormous bulletin board that houses everyone’s content across the web. What you would normally call a post on any other platform is referred to as a “pin” there.

A pin can consist of an image, video, or text where you can add links to direct people to your shop or socials if needed. Attach relevant tags to your pins so people who search similar keywords will be able to find them more easily. 

On Pinterest, people are referred to as pinners, just as they would be referred to as Instagrammers on Instagram.

A Pinterest board, on the other hand, is a collection of different pins that are related to a certain theme or topic: fall DIY, gymnastics, theme parks, the list goes on and on. If someone sees a pin they like, they can add it to their respected boards to refer back to at any time.

Explore and Shop.

Another great thing about Pinterest is they offer two different tabs for search requests: Explore and Shop.

If someone is just looking for creative ideas and input, the Explore tab provides plenty of inspiration. For consumers (and what you as a shop owner want to focus on) the Shop tab gives users different product options, with those most related to their search history at the top.

If you want to optimize selling merch on Pinterest for your business, you need to set up a business account. You can merge it with your personal account or create a completely separate account here.

You can categorize your business as a marketplace in general regard to your shop, or be more specific and label yourself as a blogger or influencer if you fall in those categories.

Link your Spreadshop to your Pinterest so people can find your shop and you can create pins easily from your shop content. You can also link your Youtube and Instagram accounts to track stats through those sites.

If you want to track website analytics from your Spreadshop, click the “claim” option on your profile. Any pins that come from a claimed account will automatically include your profile photo and a follow button for better visibility.

Once you have your account up and running, you can start creating pins and boards. Become familiar with the platform. 

There’s so much to explore.

Creative Engaging Content

Creative Engaging Content

Since Pinterest is such a visual medium, you’ve got to be creating original and attractive content that’s going to stand out amongst thousands of related pins.

85 percent of pinners said they were more interested in visual elements than text in a Pinterest study.

You can use stock merch photos from Spreadshop for some of your pins, but that’s only going to take you so far. People want to see what your merch looks like on people in the real world.

Take the time to take some high quality photos that fit in with the Pinterest aesthetic. Make sure that these images are vertical since 85 percent of Pinterest users interact on mobile devices. Shoot for a 2:3 aspect ratio.

Align these images with the theme or purpose of your shop.

If your merch is for avid readers, like the example from before, shoot subjects reading books in appropriate settings: in the park, at the library, at home. If you have a book club themed podcast, make sure the books in the photos are ones you have episodes or will be discussing on the pod soon so you can cross promote your shop and podcast.

People want to feel like their interests are best represented by what you’re selling, so play into that with your images.

If your whole thing is rocking a retro vibe, wear 80s trends with your merch – acid wash jeans, leg warmers, scrunchies – and put yourself in a fun setting like a record store or a roller rink (if you can find one). Here’s an 80s board for inspiration.

Themes

Coordinating a theme within your pins will make your merch look better and set you up as a trusted source for interested buyers.

Continue to tell a story through text and other image elements.

Use action words and throw in puns or popular quotes to attract attention. Add relevant emojis and feature promotion codes and shop updates.

If you want your pins to be even more branded, consider adding your shop logo into a corner of the image. Make it small but distinct so people will remember it’s your pin when they see it on their boards. 

The more you’re on Pinterest, the better you’ll get at selling merch on Pinterest.

Be Active

Be Active

In order to get the most out of selling merch on Pinterest, you should ideally be posting at least once a day.

It sounds like a lot, but being on the app more and more will make it easier. You can even use a scheduling service like Hootsuite if you don’t have the time in your day-to-day life.

Posting at least once a day will ensure that more users see your content on a regular basis. And this doesn’t have to be brand new content each time, either. Recycle images you’ve taken the time to prepare beforehand every now and then while changing captions and messaging to be relevant to what’s going on with your and your shop at the moment.

And don’t forget to check your Audience Insights. See what days or times your content is getting the most engagement. 

You want to make sure you’re posting when your audience is most active on Pinterest.

Have fun scrolling Pinterest and adding images to your boards. It’s not as important or beneficial as posting pins, but it will give your profile an evergreen feel and prove to people that you are active on the platform.

Trends

Keep up with trends that appeal to what your merch represents. If you feel comfortable, do tik tok dances wearing your merch. Launch a podcast and promote that if you notice there’s interest in learning more about what you’re selling. 

Talk about craft hacks if you sell merch for crafters, discuss your fantasy football teams with friends if you have a sports themed shop.

You want to be targeting your audience through different mediums; it’s just promoting your shop in a different kind of way than posting merch photos all the time.

Even have your boards curated to certain aspects of your merch. 

Maybe they’re general mood boards related to the theme of your shop, or ones that are more specific. Have one that features customers wearing your products. Encourage them to take photos of themselves by offering discounts or entry into giveaways to collect these images.

It’s really all about finding different ways to post about your merch and doing it regularly – that’s when you’ll start to see results.

Grow Your Audience

Grow Your Audience

Once you’ve found your demographic and developed a strong relationship with them, you can start to expand your reach.

Target pinners specifically with ads by using keywords, interests, location, and other demographics when regular pinning will only get you so far.

With this specific form of advertising, you can interact with people who are engaging with similar content, have engaged with your pins, and even those that have clicked on your shop link in your pins or profile.

If you want to learn more about advertising on Pinterest, Hootsuite has a complete guide on how to use Pinterest ads that will help set you up for success.

There’s always SEO optimization to keep in mind, too. You’re already doing this with the keywords you are using, but there are other details in mind to help boost your pin ranking.

Beyond regular pins, Pinterest also has a feature called rich pins: pins with extra detail. These come in the form of an app, product, recipe, or article.

Save pins to your boards regularly and be generally active on the platform. And try to avoid duplicating content as much if you can. The more fresh content the better.

It’s important to get a head start on all of your content from the beginning, too. When you’re taking your product images that you’re going to use for pins, make sure you’re optimizing different angles and settings while you’re in the process.

This will give you more to work with from the jump and save you time when you’re scheduling out your pins weeks or months in advance.

By making your pins creative and specific to your fellow pinners, your merch becomes more appealing. What’s attractive is what’s going to generate interest and increase sales for your merch brand in the long run.

Connect your shop to Pinterest today!

New: Moisture Wicking Top (North America & Oceania)

New: Moisture Wicking Top (North America & Oceania)

The new women’s tank and men’s sleeveless shirt have one big benefit – they’re moisture wicking! Whether customers are camping, hiking, power walking or running errands these tops will keep things breezy.

Women’s Moisture-Wicking Performance Racerback Tank (ID 1544)

  • Material: 100% polyester (lightweight)
  • Moisture-wicking PosiCharge technology
  • Available sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL
  • Available colors: Pink raspberry, lime shock, black and white

Men’s Moisture-Wicking Performance Sleeveless Shirt (ID 1543)

  • Material: 100% polyester (lightweight)
  • Moisture-wicking PosiCharge technology
  • Available sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL
  • Available colors: True royal, lime, silver, black and white

Print & price

  • Print type: Digital Direct (DD)
  • Accepted file types: Pixel and vector graphics
  • Women´s print areas: Front: 10.1″ x 12.1″ // Back: 10.1″ x 12.1″
  • Men´s print areas: Front: 11.1″ x 14.6″ // Back: 11.1″ x 14.7″
  • Pricing varies for USDCA, and AUD

Any questions about these new athletic styles? Let us know in the comments below!

  • Uncategorized

New iPhones, New Cases (North America & Oceania)

New iPhones, New Cases (North America & Oceania)

While the retro fans among us might feel nostalgic for the iPhone 4 – you won’t find any of those old things around here! We’re keeping the Spreadshop assortment current with new cases available for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12/12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

iPhone Cases

  • Available case sizes include…
    • iPhone 11 (ID 1507)
    • iPhone 11 Pro (ID 1508)
    • iPhone 11 Pro Max (ID 1509)
    • iPhone 12/12 Pro (ID 1510)
    • iPhone 12 Pro Max (ID 1511)
  • Materials: Aluminum and rubber
  • May help prevent scratches, dents, cracks, etc…
  • Available colors: White case suitable for allover print

Print & Price

  • Print type: Thermal sublimation, allover print
  • Accepted file types: Pixel and vector graphics
  • Print area varies for each model
    • iPhone 11 Pro: 2.9” x 5.8” (7.5 x 14.8 cm)
    • iPhone 11: 3.1” x 6.1” (8 x 15.5 cm)
    • iPhone 12/12 Pro: 3.1” x 6.1” (8 x 15.5 cm)
    • iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3.3” x 6.4” (8.5 x 16.5 cm)
    • iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3.3” x 6.6” (8.5 x 16.8 cm)
  • Not suitable for white designs or design elements
  • Pricing varies for USDCA, and AUD

Let us know your questions in the forum or in the comments below. As always, happy selling!

  • Uncategorized

4th of July Merch Shop Ideas

4th of July Merch Shop Ideas

USA, USA! 

It wouldn’t feel like the Fourth of July (or summer) without some patriotic merch.

Spreadshop makes it easy for you to create your own original and festive styles.

Pick products and colors – red, white, and blue – that speak to the holiday. Play around with iconic design elements like stars, stripes, and other Americana images.

Take what’s traditional and turn it into something that suits your style.

Design merch that you’ll want to wear to that family barbeque year after year. Merch that will make watching fireworks an even more memorable event.

We hope our suggestions below provide some inspo for your 4th of July merch. 

Can’t wait to see what you come up with! 

Merch Options

Merch Options

Check out some of our recommended merch options for the Fourth of July and all your patriotic needs below.

We have hundreds of products you can feature in your shop, but these are the essentials.

T-Shirts

You can’t go wrong with a classic tee. 

Our t-shirts come in unisex, men’s, and women’s fits. Choose the style that works best for you.

V-necks are a stylish departure from the traditional tee, or you can go for a relaxed fit.

Different styles also use different fabrics that affect breathability.

If you want to lean heavily into the 4th of July merch style, our unisex stars and stripes t-shirt is an essential.

Tanks

A summer staple.

Your designs will  look oh-so summery on our men’s and women’s tanks.

The royal blue of the women’s premium tank is stunning. It would pair well with a red/white color scheme.

If you’re looking for a looser fit, the women’s flowy tank by Bella is a top choice.

It also looks perfectly patriotic in the royal blue, red, or white options.

Better get one of each color just in case.

Caps

Another summer go-to: the baseball cap.

Our snapback baseball camp is a customer favorite and is featured in many shops.

It doesn’t come in white, but you’ll forgive us after you see the red and navy options.

Because they’re adjustable, they look great on both men and women.

If you want to be a little trendy with your headwear, may we suggest our bucket hat?

Patriotic images would stand out on the cream colored version.

It’s a funkier style, but it’ll add quirkiness to your wardrobe.

Bandanas

I bet you have a supply of bandanas you’ve collected over the years from events and stuff. But do you actually wear them?

Design a bandana you’ll actually wear.

They’re a versatile accessory that can be worn around the neck, as a headband, or an accessory tied on bags.

Bandanas are also a practical summer item, helping to keep the sun and sweat at bay.

We even have them available for dogs!

Designs

Designs

If you’re not an artist, designing your own merch can feel pretty overwhelming.

Use tools like Canva and DesignBold to help build clean-looking patriotic designs from images and graphics. And you can never go wrong with good old Photoshop.

If you already have sketches or ideas you want to build on, use our Graphics Service.

Our team of designers will help fine-tune and get your designs print-ready.

Stars

My favorite patriotic-related design element.

You can interpret the star shape however you want.

Go for that hand-sketched feel where it looks like it was taken straight off the page. This will bring a realness and whimsy to your merch.

If you want to go big and bold, look no further than the glam icon himself: Elton John.

Make big stars in red, white, and blue colors. Or play around and put them in various sizes for a retro design.

This kind of all over print would look particularly cool with our tanks or bandanas. 

Or do a cluster of stars on the front of a hat.

Stripes

Another piece of the American flag you can use for design inspo.

I like the idea of incorporating the stripes in unexpected ways.

If you want a busier design, fill your star shapes with stripes. Or you can even tie it in with lettering, if you have any.

Write words like “America” or “Freedom” and have the stripes of the flag go across the letters.

You can make this design large or small to fit on t-shirts and other accessories accordingly.

Fireworks

Incorporating firework imagery into your merch will give it a fun, explosive feel.

Go for the look of classic fireworks, or try something more abstract.

You can have a central design element like lettering and add little bursts of fireworks around it. You’ll be building a more cohesive design this way.

You could even turn different shapes like the stars into fireworks.

Think outside of the box. Use what you’ve seen on 4th of July merch before as a jumping off point.

You want your designs to feel original.

Patriotic Spreadshop Merch

We have some pretty great and original Spreadshops that have their own take on 4th of July Merch.

Chicken Butt Apparel

Chicken Butt Apparel asks the question: “Are you going to wear that?”

We say YES! and you will too once you see their merch.

They have a bunch of designs and themes in their shop, but we’re big fans of their patriotic gear.

Ben Franklin and George Washington probably threw some ragers in their day. 

We love how they made the design even more hilarious with the bandana and beer glass. The founding fathers have never looked cooler.

They dress up Honest Abe with some American flag tinted glasses on this t-shirt

Chicken Butt Apparel makes the kind of 4th of July merch you wouldn’t be able to find in a big box store.

They’re taking those classic Americana symbols of the stars and stripes and putting an original twist on them. 

They’re also carving out their own niche.

Where else can you get a tee of a founding father partying it up?

Amorphia Apparel

Abraham

Amorphia Apparel is another clothing shop that offers different design options, but they’re Hirsute History line is one for the LOOKS.

“History told through the hair of the people that shaped it.” That’s their motto.

They feature iconic figures like Benjamin Franklin (he’s a popular dude). And current history change makers like Stacey Abrams.

These aren’t in-your-face patriotic designs. 

They capture the essence of America’s greatest figures in an understated, yet powerful way. Which proves you don’t have to use obvious images like fireworks to reference America’s freedom and independence.

We hope you were inspired to create your own 4th of July merch after seeing what you can do with your merch.

Launch your Spreadshop today!

And drop some links to your merch in the comments.

Merchandise Trends of 2021

Merchandise Trends of 2021

With so much creative energy going out there in the merch space, there’s bound to be some standout designs and themes attracting eyeballs. The merchandise trends for 2021 are both wide-ranging in their subject matter, and incredibly innovative and timely.

If you want to look stylish this season, you’ve got to check out what’s trending in the world of merch.

We’re seeing merch creations that are wonderfully wacky — shop owners letting out their inner artist by using design elements like mythical creatures, or other characters.

People are literally cashing in on the booming cryptocurrency trend by making their own merch.

There’s also still love for the clean and classic styles that revolve around simple text and direct messaging, and an increased demand for social justice and strong-statement driven merch.

These are the merch trends people are gravitating to because they say something about where we’re at in the world, whether that’s through escapism or real world connection. 

Fun Graphics

Fun Graphics

It’s always nice to rock some fun graphic merch, no matter how ridiculous it might be.

There’s been a revived interest in cartoon style designs within the last year. Maybe it’s because we’ve been stuck inside for so long that childhood nostalgia has become the ultimate form of escape: getting up late, eating junk food, watching cartoons.

Don’t be afraid to be too “out there” with the merch you wear, either. Go for something that’s going to draw strangers’ attention and make your friends and family crack up.

A stormtrooper riding a narwhal through a rainbow loop is sure to do it. This is really the kind of energy we need to be putting out in the world. I don’t think I could have dreamed this up if I tried.

There’s all kinds of different original merch designs out there.

This sleepy monster tee is totally unique. The Spreadshop – Monstermaker – has different types of monsters, like a unicorn monster or a monster with lazy eyes you can wear on tees or totes.

You can even find merch that incorporates different art styles within these fun and silly graphics.

Andy Warhol would be proud of this pop art llama with sunglasses cropped top. I don’t think he would wear it, but he would appreciate the reference.

There’s so much merch out there that’s pushing the boundaries of creativity. Find what kind of designs and characters speak most to you and your style and roll with it. 

Embrace your inner child and try not to be so serious with every fashion statement you make.

Simple and Creative Text

Simple and Creative Text

The complete opposite of bold graphic design, merch with clean and simple text is also a trending item. You can really say so much with just a few words.

There’s something striking about text on merch that really draws your focus and engages like-minded people.

I particularly like this Artitude top. It’s a word I had never heard before, but resonates for artists and all other creative types. The definition of artitude is “the way that you feel about your designs.”

Another art-themed piece of merch that follows this trend is a t-shirt from The Artist’s Haven. Their All You Need is Love and Art design is made a bit bolder by its color blocked lettering, but it’s text conveys a larger and more important message of how art can really impact your life.

This trend doesn’t apply to just crafty types, though.

Photography

You can find consistent examples of this in all different fields, take photography for example.

Linsey Davis is a photographer whose passion is capturing the magic and spontaneity of family moments. She cares deeply about what she does and finds art in whatever she captures.

Her Art of Composition merch has a flare to it that creates a sense of whimsy. And composition doesn’t have to exclusively apply to photography, necessarily. A composition could be a piece of music, a book, whatever you want it to be.

There’s so much to interpret and think about from these simple text based designs.

It can be related to something you’re interested in – like art or photography – or a funny statement, too. People might come up to you and ask about what you’re wearing and you can turn more people on to your interests.

This kind of merch is also incredibly versatile for your wardrobe. Mix and match patterns and items in your closet with it to create cohesive looks.

Social Justice

Social Justice

Practicing social justice and the fight for quality should never be trends. It’s just that more and more people are starting to express their thoughts and beliefs through the merch they wear.

This Black Lives Matter t-shirt calls upon people to remember and say the names of the African American men, women, and children whose lives were senselessly cut short by police brutality. 

Expressing injustice through this design emphasizes how many people have actually been affected by these actions and those that are continuing to be mistreated.

There’s currently a movement to Free Palestine from Israeli occupation and violence. Creating merch is an important way to bring attention to an issue that most westerners don’t really know about. This Free Palestine t-shirt features the colors of the Palestian flag with the same fist used in the Black Lives Matter design from before.

People are also bringing attention to the LGBTQIA community in honor of Pride and Pride Month (June). Rainbow themed merch and statement making designs are prevalent to the issue.

A Love is a Human Right lunch bag says everything you need to know.

These are all incredibly important movements and issues that need attention brought to them, and wearing merch is just one way you can start to do that.

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency

No doubt you’ve heard the rumblings in the tech world (or the Twitterverse) about a thing called cryptocurrency. I’m not even entirely sure what is, but it’s a big deal nonetheless.

From what I gather, cryptocurrency is a digital form of currency created from code in the form of something like bitcoin and a certain segment of the internet happens to be obsessed with it.

There’s all kinds of fun and meme-worthy crypto merch available to those that are interested.

An I Accept Bitcoin sticker is a unique merch item. It has an old school, retro look to it even though bitcoin is proposed to be the currency of the future.

The crypto world also has its own set of phrases and lingo that they’ve adopted. Like HOD, which means to “hold on for dear life.” This HODL t-shirt breaks down the definition to help bring awareness to the disinformation they feel is spread about the value of crypto and the community.

A big proponent of cryptocurrency is Elon Musk. 

Musk has actively encouraged his Twitter followers to hop on the Dogecoin train: a “fun and friendly internet currency” that originated from a meme.

Play off the trend by cashing in for a Dogecoin shirt. The Shiba Inu icon is outfitted in an astronaut suit with the words “Dogecoin to the Moon,” also playing off Musk’s dream to go into space.

I know this type of merch is only appealing to a certain type of person, but it just shows how you can create a whole community from one interest.

Food

Food

This trend might sound lame initially, but it’s actually really fun (and surprisingly mouthwatering).

Perfect for summertime when all of our favorite treats are in season – popsicles, ice cream cones, frozen yogurt – the trend allows you to show your love for all your favorite foods.

If you don’t want to be as obvious, I’d go with something more understated in its design. This ice cream cone sketch tee has a simple and clean look that can stand out more depending on what color t-shirt you decide to go with it. There’s also a retro vibe to it – something you might see on an ice cream storefront walking down the pier by the beach.

Are you one of those people that lives on a diet of Ramen? I’ve got the shirt for you.

This Ramen Life merch features an adorable cat living their best life in a bowl of tasty looking Ramen. 

And this isn’t the first time I’ve seen Ramen merch.

Forever 21 and other retail brands have carried Ramen graphic tees, hoodies, even sweatpants at one point or another. It’s a pretty big phenomenon in the fashion world it turns out.

Also keeping with the theme of food and animals, this Tacosaurus merch (taco + dinosaur) is pretty adorable. And who doesn’t love a good pun?

Something like food merch might seem ridiculous at first, but you can find some creative options when you start to look out there.

While these trends run a wide spectrum of topics and themes, there’s something you can pull from each of them in a way that speaks to your own personal style somehow.

Be sure to open your own Spreadshop today!