Tag: merch

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Why You Need More Merch (And How You Can Afford It)

merch

The value of music diminishes further with each passing year, but merchandising lasts forever. Let’s look at why merch matters more than ever.

The value of recorded music is at an all-time low. Anyone making livable wages from music alone in 2021 is doing so through a combination of luck, talent, and utilizing every distribution method available to them. Artists are no longer looking for one paycheck for their music every month, but several. Musicians may make a little from physical sales, then a little more from streaming. There are also digital sales and revenue generated from music videos and other album components that exist on various platforms around the globe. The number of revenue streams varies from artist to artist, but the low payout rarely does.

It’s no great secret that most musicians making a living in music today do so largely through merchandise sales. You can include ticket sales if you want, but generally speaking, merchandise is where artists make the bulk of their income. A single shirt sold for $20 at a concert can generate more revenue for an artist than 10,000 streams of any single song on any of the leading streaming platforms. The sale of a sweatshirt can do even more.

While most musicians do a fair job of creating and making merchandise available to their fans, many are thinking too small when it comes to the possibilities of their brand. The digital age provides many opportunities for artists at every level of success to have robust merchandise options at little-to-no cost upfront. Some companies even offer print-on-demand merchandise. Those same businesses will also manage your online store, ship the merchandise, and allow you to set the price based on what you believe fans are willing to pay.

In the Music Biz update, host James Shotwell explains the growing importance of merch and identifies areas where many could do more to boost their bottom line. He also explores the growing online marketplace and provides examples of musicians who are already making big sales through various creative merch endeavors. Check it out:

Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.

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Artist Advice Editorials Industry News News

How To Make High Quality, Low-Risk Merch For FREE

Investing hundreds of dollars into merch that may or may not sell is a thing of the past!

Every musician dreams of seeing someone wearing their merch in public. For many, spotting their merchandise in the wild is as close to ‘making it’ as they will ever get. But making merch is traditionally a risky investment. Musicians typically spend hundreds, even thousands, to print merch that they hope fans buy. Recouping those production costs can take time, and that potential wait has forced many to shelve their merch dreams until they feel more established in the music community.

But that is a remnant of the old way of music entrepreneurship from the days before everyone was doing business online. Investing money in merch is still part of most artists’ financial plans, but other options exist. Believe it or not, musicians who are still establishing themselves and those more concerned about raising awareness than making money can now make merch without spending a dime.

Allow us to introduce you to print on demand merchandising.

Print on demand is a process where you work with a supplier to customize white-label products (like baseball hats or tote bags) with your designs to sell them on a per-order basis under your brand. Nothing is printed until someone orders a product, so you (the artist) only pay to produce what people buy.

There are several reasons that print on demand services are popular with musicians:

  • You don’t have to spend any money to get started
  • You can upload as many designs as you want
  • You don’t have to handle production
  • You don’t have to handle shipping
  • You can offer merch on high-end fabric
  • You can offer more unique merch items than any artist would otherwise be able to produce

There are drawbacks as well:

  • Print-on-demand services cost more per unit, which means your total revenue may be lower than if you purchase merch in bulk.
  • You do not control shipping, so there is no way to include “thank you” notes or bonus merch items.
  • You do not control production, so the product is made and shipped when the company handling your orders can fulfill the request.

In his latest Music Biz update, host James Shotwell walks through the print-on-demand business model. He argues why using such services may be a better alternative for certain artists than the traditional merch approach. He also recommends one printing company that we at Haulix Daily use regularly. Check it out:

Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.

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Artist Advice Editorials Industry News News

Treat your fans with exclusive merch this Halloween

Special edition and limited-run merchandise can engage fans and bring in extra cash as the end of year holiday shenanigans begin.

October is here, which means spooky season has officially begun. In just over four weeks people everywhere will celebrate Halloween. You can tell me Christmas is the best holiday, but just know that doing so would prove how little you know about Halloween. October 31st is the only day of the year where self-expression and all the creative possibilities it entails are openly celebrated. For one short period, everyone is welcomed (and encouraged) to be themselves. There’s also candy. 

In short, everyone wins during Halloween.

Musicians can leverage America’s love of Halloween for personal through smart marketing and limited edition merch. Those needing proof of this need only look to the biggest brands on the planet. Target, Wal-Mart, and Amazon have all dedicated space to Halloween themed merchandise, as have countless other chains. They may have “terrifyingly low prices” or “ghoulish offers,” but varying puns aside, the idea is always the same. 

The everyday products being sold are changed for the holiday as well, with everyone from Yankee Candles to the makers of Twix trying to cater to seasonal shoppers. I recently purchased hand soap that has a seasonal theme!

Halloween is the perfect time to release limited-edition merchandise. Not only does this give your core audience the chance to purchase something special, but it provides you the opportunity to express yourself in new ways. You can try your hand at large prints or scary prints, with beanies or socks. Halloween merch is as merch a treat for your fans as it is a treat for you, the creative people tasked with keeping an audience engaged all year long.

Chicago’s Real Friends understand how to make great Halloween merch.

As with any item sold, the key to getting a strong response from seasonal merchandise is executing a great idea people will be unable to overlook. As you see in the example above, the possibilities are seemingly endless as far as approaches to Halloween merch are concerned, so take that as a sign that creativity is encouraged. Find something you love about this season or something about this season you feel reflects your music, and use it to create something unique your fans can cherish forever.

A few key things to remember:

  1. Do not steal anyone’s design/copyrighted materials. Doing so could result in legal troubles whose costs far outweigh any benefit associated with seasonal merchandise.
  2. Order your product in time for it to ship before Halloween. Receiving a Halloween-themed shirt in the middle of November or December doesn’t really do anyone any good. Fans won’t wear it, and worse – they probably won’t order seasonal merch from you again. Think and plan ahead.
  3. Targeted marketing helps. No one likes paying Facebook to reach their fans, but doing so can help sell new/limited merch items. Even as little as $5 can double, if not triple, the reach of your average post. As the saying goes, “You have to spend money to make money.”
  4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Want to make seasonal merch, but don’t know what to offer? Ask your fans. They’re the ones who will ideally be buying whatever you create, so you might as well ask them what they want and do your best to meet their demands.
  5. Turkey merch is not a thing. While you might be able to leverage Halloween, Christmas, and even Valentine’s Day for merch sales, Thanksgiving doesn’t create the same market. You can try, but you will more than likely fail.
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The Importance of Merch Sales in Music Today [VIDEO]

With streaming music replacing physical media sales more and more, artists are increasingly dependant on merch sales to stay afloat.

It is no secret that streaming royalties pay artists far less than traditional album sales. The top-paying music services give artists about $0.006 per song stream. Spotify, which is the most popular subscription service, pays roughly half that amount.

Last week, UK metalcore group While She Sleeps made headlines around the world by releasing merchandise that explicitly aired their frustrations with streaming royalties. The shirt in question reads, “One t-shirt is the equivalent to 5000 streams on Spotify. 76% of all music in 2019 is streamed and not bought physically or digitally. Band merchandise is the most direct way of supporting an artist.”

While She Sleeps is not wrong. In today’s music business, merchandise sales matter more than ever. An artist who is capable of moving huge volumes of merch can turn industry heads faster than an artist with a viral single because executives know merchandise sales are where the most money is being made in 2019.

But how does an artist sell merchandise? There is more competition than ever for listeners’ attention, which means there is increased competition for their financial support. There are also no shortcuts to selling large amounts of merchandise. That said, there are ways artists can position themselves for success, which is what we’re going to discuss today.

In this episode of Music Biz 101, host James Shotwell details the increasing importance of merchandising in artists’ careers. He also offers advice for creating merch your fans will want to buy, complete with examples from artists with immensely dedicated followers.

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Why Merch Sales Matter More Than Song Streams

The streaming age has given virtually everyone immediate access to music, but at what cost to creators?

Streaming is the new normal. Just last month, Spotify revealed it now has 232 million monthly listeners, including 108 monthly subscribers. Apple Music, the company’s closest competitor, now boasts 60 million monthly subscribers. Those two platforms alone help more than a quarter of a billion humans access music every month. That results in a lot of streams generating a wealth of cash, but for who?

Most artists love the amount of access streaming allows consumers, but hate the pay structure. That is due to the fact the majority of musicians make $0.006 per stream or less depending on the platform. With a high enough volume of streams, anyone can make a comfortable living but reaching that many streams (millions of plays per month) is difficult unless an artist has a celebrated catalog or a consistent presence in top songs charts.

While She Sleeps, a British metalcore band that releases music through their own label (Sleep Brothers) in collaboration with UNFD and Spinefarm Records, is tired of relying on streams to make a living. The band tours heavily, and through their accounting have discovered that music is no longer the primary way they support themselves. Creating and performing music is what they do, but at the end of the day, selling merchandise is how the members of While She Sleeps support themselves.

The band is responding to this discovery by releasing a new t-shirt design that makes it clear how fans can support the artists they love. Check it out:

You can order the shirt on the band’s official website. The group is also making the design available for other musicians to use, for free, on their own merchandise. Click here to grab the file.

In a letter released with the design, While She Sleeps wrote “The majority (76% in fact) of music in 2019 is streamed. Probably by you, definitely by us, and there is nothing bad about that. But if bands and artists are to survive and win the battle of art vs money, we need to find new income to keep afloat.”

You can read the full message below:

While She Sleep’s latest release, So What?, is available now. 

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Get your ship(ping) together: Tips for improving your online store

For the better part of the last half decade I have been running a small record label out of my one bedroom apartment with the help of a few good friends. We haven’t made it big, and to be honest we never really thought we would, but we have had a few successful releases put out on cassette and vinyl. We recently got into CD production as well, but that’s a story for another time.

Whenever someone approaches us with questions regarding record labels and how to start them, we usually list off a series of lessons we learned during our initial releases. We talk about timelines, estimated costs, merchandise, contracts, and – perhaps most frequently – the need to properly understand how shipping works, including the cost of sending packages outside the United States. We like to think we have developed an easy and reliable workflow, but every so often we learn a new trick or path that causes us to regret all the hours wasted following the previous method. I don’t know that our specific setup will work for anyone reading this, but I do have a few basic tips to help improve your standard shipping operation. There are some costs associated, but as your label is a business you should know by now that improvements often require the investment of additional resources.

Buy in bulk. ULine is your friend

If you buy your shipping materials at Target, Staples, or even the post office you are spending way more than you should. Packs of six 4” x 6" bubble mailers can run $10 or more in stores, but if you buy in bulk from online retailers you can receive several hundred mailers for less than $100 total (shipping included). Everything you need to ship tapes, CDs, and vinyl can be purchased for a reasonable price in bulk from ULine. The company has a long history of customer satisfaction, and they have an incredibly quick turnaround. They also allow you to pay after receiving your order, so if you need mailers in order to generate the money needed to buy mailers they can help you with that as well.

Stocking up on mailers also prepares you for any situation. You may have slow sales from times to time, but you could also have a sudden boom in business when one of your artists hit it big. Buying in bulk allows you to cut down on order turnarounds while saving money. What’s not to love?

You can now buy stamps online

If there is one activity that makes me rethink launching a business it’s the many hours I have spent waiting in line at my local post office. I have to imagine other people feel the same, which is probably why the fantastic site ‘Stamps.com’ now exists. For the first time in the history of humans you no longer have to interact with another human when working to send out packages. You simply signup at home, input your shipping information, upload your credit card, and boom! You can now print postage labels from the comfort of your couch. You may use a lot more tape when handling shipping with this process, but I have solution for that as well…

Two words: DYMO Printer

All printers used to require ink, and anyone who has had to print a lot over their lifetime has learned by not that ink is not cheap. DYMO found a solution, and while I could get into the inner workings of their technology it’s suffice to say science can do really cool things. A DYMO printer does not use ink cartridges, but it does require a special kind of paper made specifically for postage labels. You buy a printer, which includes a free roll of labels, and then you only need to buy additional rolls of labels as need. Each roll can produce 200 shipping labels, and I believe you can order 3-packs of label rolls for under $40. Compare that to more than $60 for a single ink cartridge, not to mention the countless hours saved not having to visit the post office when shipping orders, and I think it’s clear why DYMO printers are worth the $200-ish investment they require.

Oh, did I mention DYMO labels are also self-adhesive? That alone will cut your tape-related shipping costs in half, if not more, moving forward.

Thank You notes are never overrated

There is something to be said for adding a personal touch to your shipments. While the consumer is excited to receive the package because it contains something they already paid for, you can further develop the connection they feel to your label with the inclusion of thank you notes and other extras. In the past we have added stickers, baseballs cards, candy, plastic spider rings, posters, and – most frequently – handwritten notes, to all our shipments. Sometimes we personalize the notes with each customer’s name, but other times we write thirty or forty notes in advance and stuff them in packages as needed. Whatever the case, the note is always written by a member of our staff and we always strive to make each note unique in some way. Maybe we add a phrase that is specific to that note, or maybe we draw the customer a picture. Anything that helps them better understand who we are and what we’re about works for us. The same will work for you, but you must figure out what items will best convey your personality to your consumers. Feel free to steal our ideas, of course, because they weren’t really ours in the first place. We were inspired by the labels we felt close to growing up, and it’s a tradition we hope to pass on to future generations.

Prep is everything

Whenever we know a large number of orders will need to be shipped in a small amount of time in we do our best to prepare by checking our mailer stock, writing thank you notes in advance, and generally doing anything in our power to streamline our workflow before the shipping process begins. That way, once we do need to act, everything is ready to go. Our goal is to make the window of time between when an order is placed and when it is shipped as small as possible. Some stuff is out of our control (record production, for example), but we do as much as we can with the power we do have and it makes a noticeable difference.

Categories
News

Get Your Ship(ping) together: 5 tips to improve your online store

For the better part of the last half decade I have been running a small record label out of my one bedroom apartment with the help of a few good friends. We haven’t made it big, and to be honest we never really thought we would, but we have had a few successful releases put out on cassette and vinyl. We recently got into CD production as well, but that’s a story for another time.

Whenever someone approaches us with questions regarding record labels and how to start them, we usually list off a series of lessons we learned during our initial releases. We talk about timelines, estimated costs, merchandise, contracts, and – perhaps most frequently – the need to properly understand how shipping works, including the cost of sending packages outside the United States. We like to think we have developed an easy and reliable workflow, but every so often we learn a new trick or path that causes us to regret all the hours wasted following the previous method. I don’t know that our specific setup will work for anyone reading this, but I do have a few basic tips to help improve your standard shipping operation. There are some costs associated, but as your label is a business you should know by now that improvements often require the investment of additional resources.

Buy in bulk. ULine is your friend

If you buy your shipping materials at Target, Staples, or even the post office you are spending way more than you should. Packs of six 4” x 6" bubble mailers can run $10 or more in stores, but if you buy in bulk from online retailers you can receive several hundred mailers for less than $100 total (shipping included). Everything you need to ship tapes, CDs, and vinyl can be purchased for a reasonable price in bulk from ULine. The company has a long history of customer satisfaction, and they have an incredibly quick turnaround. They also allow you to pay after receiving your order, so if you need mailers in order to generate the money needed to buy mailers they can help you with that as well.

Stocking up on mailers also prepares you for any situation. You may have slow sales from times to time, but you could also have a sudden boom in business when one of your artists hit it big. Buying in bulk allows you to cut down on order turnarounds while saving money. What’s not to love?

You can now buy stamps online

If there is one activity that makes me rethink launching a business it’s the many hours I have spent waiting in line at my local post office. I have to imagine other people feel the same, which is probably why the fantastic site ‘Stamps.com’ now exists. For the first time in the history of humans you no longer have to interact with another human when working to send out packages. You simply signup at home, input your shipping information, upload your credit card, and boom! You can now print postage labels from the comfort of your couch. You may use a lot more tape when handling shipping with this process, but I have solution for that as well…

Two words: DYMO Printer

All printers used to require ink, and anyone who has had to print a lot over their lifetime has learned by not that ink is not cheap. DYMO found a solution, and while I could get into the inner workings of their technology it’s suffice to say science can do really cool things. A DYMO printer does not use ink cartridges, but it does require a special kind of paper made specifically for postage labels. You buy a printer, which includes a free roll of labels, and then you only need to buy additional rolls of labels as need. Each roll can produce 200 shipping labels, and I believe you can order 3-packs of label rolls for under $40. Compare that to more than $60 for a single ink cartridge, not to mention the countless hours saved not having to visit the post office when shipping orders, and I think it’s clear why DYMO printers are worth the $200-ish investment they require.

Oh, did I mention DYMO labels are also self-adhesive? That alone will cut your tape-related shipping costs in half, if not more, moving forward.

Thank You notes are never overrated

There is something to be said for adding a personal touch to your shipments. While the consumer is excited to receive the package because it contains something they already paid for, you can further develop the connection they feel to your label with the inclusion of thank you notes and other extras. In the past we have added stickers, baseballs cards, candy, plastic spider rings, posters, and – most frequently – handwritten notes, to all our shipments. Sometimes we personalize the notes with each customer’s name, but other times we write thirty or forty notes in advance and stuff them in packages as needed. Whatever the case, the note is always written by a member of our staff and we always strive to make each note unique in some way. Maybe we add a phrase that is specific to that note, or maybe we draw the customer a picture. Anything that helps them better understand who we are and what we’re about works for us. The same will work for you, but you must figure out what items will best convey your personality to your consumers. Feel free to steal our ideas, of course, because they weren’t really ours in the first place. We were inspired by the labels we felt close to growing up, and it’s a tradition we hope to pass on to future generations.

Prep is everything

Whenever we know a large number of orders will need to be shipped in a small amount of time in we do our best to prepare by checking our mailer stock, writing thank you notes in advance, and generally doing anything in our power to streamline our workflow before the shipping process begins. That way, once we do need to act, everything is ready to go. Our goal is to make the window of time between when an order is placed and when it is shipped as small as possible. Some stuff is out of our control (record production, for example), but we do as much as we can with the power we do have and it makes a noticeable difference.

Categories
News

ADVICE: 6 Tips For Lowering The Cost Of T-Shirts

There are many ways to get attention for your band, but regardless of what tips and tricks you may have picked up throughout your experience in music there is nothing that can impact your career like a great hook or brilliant melody. This is not a theory or a thought, but rather proven fact that has worked for artists trying to make it in every corner of the music business. Everything else that follows, from touring to merchandise, must take a back seat to songwriting.

All that aside, artists still need to make money. Music sales have dipped across the board over the last decade, and with streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music on the rise it seems like the amount of money most artists see from their new releases will continue to dwindle for the foreseeable future. Great music still sells, yes, but only a fool would rely solely on the strength of their music sales to support themselves in the entertainment business. Merchandising beyond albums and singles is an absolute must in today’s music business, and the one item every artist can use to generate income while trying to craft that perfect song is a t-shirt. There are a billion ways to customize shirts, some far more expensive than others, but by considering the following tips you can keep costs low while furthering your marketing efforts:

——————  SUPER BASIC TIPS ——————

  • Two-sided designs costs more than those with a design appearing on either the back or front.
  • Shirts requiring the use of many inks (colors) will cost more than those created using a single ink.
  • Dark fabric often costs more than light fabric because more layers of ink must be applied in order for the design to stick

—————— THINGS TO CONSIDER ——————

Large designs can make a big impact

Why incur the cost of creating a two-sided shirt design when you can make a bigger, more cost effective impact with a large, single side design. The vast majority of printers charge the same rate for a design measuring 3”x5” as they do for those measuring 12”x12”. That said, not everyone is a fan of big designs, so it would be wise to check with your fan base prior to moving forward with any design.

Stop printing on both sides

The occasional two-sided shirt design can be cool, but trying to cover both sides of every shirt you create will only raise the overall cost of merchandising. Using the knowledge you gained from the tip above regarding design sizes, artists should think twice before incurring a potentially unnecessary extra expense.

Use fewer ink colors

Fans of alternative and punk music have been one of the leading forces behind a recent trend toward more color-heavy shirts. Bands like A Day To Remember and Asking Alexandria have found great success with shirts featuring cartoonish designs and many bright colors. Similar branding efforts may work for smaller artists as well, but those musicians should first consider the additional costs incurred from use of multiple inks. The number rises with each color, and unless artists plan on ordering a large quantity of shirts up front (500+) the up front cost may be more than some are willing to pay for a few extra color. Our advice is this: Keep it simple. Try and use one color whenever possible unless you know the idea you have is going to be a hit with listeners.

Order larger quantities of shirts

We touched on this a bit in the tip above, but one way musicians can lower the cost of their merchandise is to increase the number of shirts they order at one time. The price due up front will increase, but the cost per unit will drop, which in turn raises the revenue potential for your order. 100 shirts are better than 50, but 500 shirts at a time would be an ideal place to start. Of course, if you don’t have an engaged audience large enough to support such an order then you should keep things small.

Consider offering shirts for a limited time only

One way to cut out essentially all costs from merchandise orders is to create the exact number of items needed. Most print shops will tell you the per unit cost on whatever design you wish to print, as well as the number of units you must purchase in order to lower that cost. With this information in hand, artists can launch shirt designs that are available for a limited time as pre-sale only items. Once the purchasing period ends, artists can order the exact amount of shirts needed without having to make any investments out of pocket.

Think twice about upgrading your shirt choose to a fashion brand

One determining factor in how well your merchandise will sell is how comfortable that item is perceived to be. There was a time not that long ago when artists with shirts printed on any type of fabric would sell, but in an age where brands like American Apparel exist this is no longer the case. There is demand for high quality fabric, and if you meet that demand you will give listeners another reason to consider purchasing your

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6 Tips For Improving Your Black Friday Sales

November is here, which means the Christmas shopping season is officially underway. There may still be a few weeks before Thanksgiving, but that shouldn’t stop you from preparing for what could be the most profitable period for online sales you experience all year. Black Friday happens on November 27, and today we’ve prepared a series of tips to ensure your holiday sales happen without issue. Some will seem obvious, but no point should be overlooked. Every step outlined below will help streamline your business, improve shipping speed, and – if you’re lucky – bring in a few additional customers.

Check your inventory. Twice.

Your goal with holiday sales should be to liquidate as much of the merchandise you have in stock as possible while still making a healthy profit on each product sold. Before you can do this to the best of your abilities you need to know what you have available, and how much of it is in stock. Running out of something during your holiday sale will cause headaches for everyone, and that goes double if you run out of something because you forgot to check your inventory prior to launching your sale. The back and forth required to straighten out orders that cannot be fulfilled may cause you to lose future sales, as well as those you are forced to cancel. Prevent this mess from ever happening and do inventory first. Do it twice, in fact, and ask someone else to check your work.

Promote your entire sale, as well as individual items.

You want people to use your discounts to buy more than they usually would, but often those attempting to promote a store-wide sale forget the impact that promoting key items one at a time can have on consumers. You should still mention store-wide discounts, of course, but you should also make room to highlight individual items. If you’re offering 25% off everything online, you should promote the sale as how it impacts items like shirts or vinyl. Create images for Instagram and other networks that highlight how the discount impacts the cost of single items, that way people can more easily understand what a great deal you are giving them. Likewise, you can use Twitter to promote various items and their price after discounts throughout the holiday weekend.

Speaking of promotion, think about paying for it.

I’m about to say something most artists hate to hear: Paying for promoted posts on Facebook and Twitter can have a positive impact on your reach, as well as your overall sales. It would be wonderful if this were not the case, and that those who could not afford paid promotion on social networks saw their sales work just as well, but years of research has made it clear that is not the case. Thankfully, the cost of entry into paid promotions is low. For as little as five dollars you can have a guaranteed reach to hundreds, if not thousands of people who have previously enjoyed your music enough to give you a Like/Follow online. Whether or not they take advantage of the message being conveyed will depend on how you choose to present yourself, but at least you know your efforts are reaching those who are most likely to jump on them.

Create specific Twitter search streams for particular items you sell.

This one is a bit more time-consuming than other tips, but it can help you bring in a lot of new consumers who may have otherwise not checked your store. There are numerous tools that allow you to create and save Twitter search streams. Find one you like and use it to track people tweeting about shopping/looking for things like ‘new vinyl’ or ‘cool band t-shirts.’ It’s likely these people already have an artist or genre in mind when they send these messages, but you can still reply with links to your store and music. If they don’t respond, oh well. If they do, you’ve got a potential new consumer/fan.

Make the most of SEO

We’ve talked about this before, but keywords are becoming increasingly important when it comes to how people find your content online. Use a tool such as the Google Keyword tool to better understand how your customers are searching, then modify your own store to reflect what you have learned. It is important to know which keywords are mostly used during the holidays, such as ‘sales,’ ‘top gifts,’ ‘cyber Monday,’ and ‘black Friday.’

Make sure everything is working before promoting your sale.

This one may seem obvious, but every year there are a handful of musicians who see their site, or at least parts of their site, crash amidst the sudden upswing in view brought on by the holiday shopping season. Before you push your sale live, make sure every item on your store is properly listed and that every sale is working correctly. If there is a code word needed, make sure you test it out prior to sharing it online.

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Merchandise Tip: Here Comes Halloween

I’m not ashamed to admit that, at 28, there are times I get jealous of today’s young music fans. As someone who lived the majority of their teens and 20s wearing band, record label, and/or music-related shirts almost everywhere I went it’s hard to realize such behavior is frowned upon the older you get. Once you leave college and begin waking most days out of the week with the purpose of working to pay off the enormous debt you accrued becoming an adult the world demands you put a little more effort into your wardrobe than promoting whatever music you’re currently enjoy at that moment in time. It’s a hard realization, but one that must be faced nine times out of ten if you hope to get ahead in life. You don’t see many executives rocking t-shirts these days, and if they are they probably started their company at a young age and used their drive to become so successful no one would dare complain about they dress on any particular day. That is not the case for my life, and I’m willing to bet it’s not the case for  many of you reading this, so please remember everything that follows is intended for those hoping to target younger demographics of music fans.

October is here, and with it comes the celebration of Halloween. Some people claim Christmas to be the best holiday, but they are wrong. Anyone who lives for the unforgettable experiences that make life great knows Halloween, as well as the various traditions associated with it, offer more potential for fun and excitement than practically any other global tradition. Kids love it because they get to dress up and receive candy while pretending to be the people they see on TV or in movies, and older folks love it because they get to escape the realties of adulthood while drinking in a disguise. Everyone wins.

You know who else wins on Halloween? Brands who are smart enough to capitalize on our culture’s obsession with all things kooky and spooky during the month of October. It doesn’t take more than five minutes in your local Target or Wal-Mart to understand what I’m talking about either, as every department store spends six weeks or more leading up to Halloween marketing everything from candy and costumes, to home furnishings with some kind of ghost or spirit themed sale. They may have ‘Terrifyingly low prices,’ or ‘Ghoulish Offers,’ but varying puns aside the idea is always the same. The products being sold are changed for the holiday as well, with everyone from Yankee Candles to the makers of Twix trying to cater to seasonal shoppers. In fact, it’s hard to think of a single product outside cleaning supplies and bathroom necessities that doesn’t have at least one brand with a Halloween themed item on sale this year.

As an artist, you too can cash in on the international obsession with Halloween by creating your own, limited run merchandise based on the holiday. Create a shirt that is only available a limited time, or perhaps a print featuring a seasonal design or image. Sell stickers and buttons with your logo slapped on jack-o-lanterns and ghosts, or perhaps record and release a cover of something from ’The Nightmare Before Christmas.’ These items won’t appeal to everyone, but they will give your core fans an opportunity to buy an exclusive, limited edition item that will serve to further their connection to your brand.

Here are a few examples of Halloween merch being marketed this year:

As with any item being sold, the key to getting a strong response from seasonal merchandise is executing a great idea people will be unable to overlook. As you see in the example above, the possibilities are seemingly endless as far as approaches to Halloween merch as concerned, so take that as a sign that creativity is encouraged. Find something you love about this season, or something about this season you feel reflects your music, and use it to create something unique your fans can cherish forever.

A few key things to remember:

1. Do not steal anyone’s design/copyrighted materials. Doing so could result in legal troubles whose costs far outweigh any benefit associated with seasonal merchandise.

2. Order your product in time to ship it before Halloween. Receiving a Halloween themed shirt in the middle of November or December doesn’t really do anyone any good. Fans won’t wear it, and worse – they probably won’t order seasonal merch from you again. Think and plan ahead.

3. Targeted marketing helps. No one likes paying Facebook to reach their fans, but doing so can help sell new/limited merch items. Even as little as $5 can double, if not triple the reach of your average post. As the saying goes, “You have to spend money to make money.”

4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Want to make seasonal merch, but don’t know what to offer? Ask your fans. They’re the ones who will ideally be buying whatever you create, so you might as well ask them what they want and do your best to meet their demands.

5. Turkey merch is not a thing. While you might be able to leverage Halloween, Christmas, and even Valentine’s Day for merch sales, Thanksgiving doesn’t create the same market. You can try, but you will more than likely fail.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him onTwitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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