Why should I offer merchandise even though the profit margins are low?

View merchandise primarily as advertising, not just as products. When you sell someone a tote bag, phone case, or sticker, you’re placing an advertisement for your work in their daily life 365 days a year—in places digital marketing can never reach. Digital marketing only works when people are online, but merch advertises your art when they’re living their offline lives. From this perspective, breaking even on merch is a huge win, and you could even argue it’s worth paying to get merch into people’s hands, just like you’d pay for any other advertising. The low margins matter less when you recognize the ongoing marketing value.

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Asked by an artist questioning low-margin products · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2024-05-10