Should I think of merchandise as a profit center or as marketing?

Think of merchandise as advertisement, not product. It’s a mindset shift. You could afford to break even on every single item you sell and that’s still a massive win because those items are advertisements that go everywhere. A coffee mug in someone’s kitchen gets seen every day they drink coffee. Stickers on refrigerators get seen every time someone opens the fridge. These lower-ticket items (under $100) get your art into places that aren’t competitive—unlike trying to get attention on phones, tablets, computers, or TVs. Merchandise gives you a beachhead, getting your work into people’s daily lives where they’ll see it repeatedly. That’s incredibly powerful advertising that reminds people you exist and have creations to sell.

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Asked by general teaching point · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2026-04-06