Why Do Influencers Create Their Own Merch?

Authenticity is the number one reason that your followers watch and support your channel. As an influencer, there is nothing more authentic than selling and promoting your very own custom merchandise. By doing this, not only are you profiting off of your brand while growing it, but you’re also further expanding your online identity. Your merchandise expresses your style, your humor, your message, and everything else that makes your channel unique. In times where the competition to become a top-of-the-line influencer is at an all-time high, authenticity has never been more important.

Firstly, it’s important to understand that the things that you say and ask are going to have a direct impact on your audience. According to a recent study, average consumers say that they trust less than 1 in 3 brands, while a staggering 92% say that they will take the word of an influencer over traditional advertisements and endorsements. This places a lot of responsibility on your shoulders because, statistically speaking, your followers are going to form opinions and make decisions based on what you have to say about the merch you promote. The larger and more loyal your audience is, the more of an impact your social platform is going to have within the online community.

So, why are more and more influencers creating and selling their own merchandise? Well, here’s the thing: Influencer Marketing isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, it’s only getting bigger and better. The difference between those who succeed as an influence marketer versus those who get it wrong lies almost entirely within your authenticity. 2019 is a time of progression and people are becoming more aware of the schemes and sell-outs that plague modern social platforms. Originality and genuine endorsements are what separate the scammers from the real deal. Promoting your own branded products and giving an authentic opinion is going to have a much larger appeal to your audience.  

Another reason for the growing popularity of pushing custom merch is that with helpful platforms like Moteefe,  influencers are able to get to work right away creating their own merchandising operation. Even if you have little-to-no experience as an influencer or with e-commerce in general, getting started has never been easier. Nowadays, you can literally launch your store over a cup of coffee. Modern Print-On-Demand platforms eliminate the hassle of processing orders so that you’re able to stay focused on fulfilling your role as the marketer. With this method, regardless of experience, influencers have the opportunity to quickly and efficiently launch a successful merch store. 

Your audience wants to see you and your brand prosper, so your direct communication with your followers will have its own influence on the amount of support you receive. When you explain that purchasing your merch is going to help support your channel, your audience is going to feel much more obligated to help you out. The key in this is to promote a line of merchandise that they actually want to purchase.

The era of promoting your own merchandise is quickly outgrowing that of promoting someone else’s. While you can still profit to a degree by endorsing products from a separate brand, this doesn’t come across as very credible, least of all authentic. Why? Well, because it’s not your brand that you’re promoting. If you have someone telling you exactly what to say about their own merch, you lose that validation of genuine opinion, and your audience knows it. If you plan on truly succeeding as an influencer, you need to acquire trust and loyalty from your supporters by delivering real, authentic promotion toward your branded merchandise. 

Aside from credibility, authenticity will dramatically generate more revenue from selling your merch. Here’s a great example: Logan Paul is arguably one of the most popular YouTubers in the world, with nearly 20 million subscribers and counting. Loyal fans know that he is constantly promoting his “Maverick” gear in not only his videos but on his website as well. Because of this, he’s managed to accumulate an estimated net worth of over $12.5 million, most of which is generated directly from loyal fans purchasing his merchandise.

So, just to recap, here are the highlight benefits of creating and promoting your own merchandise and why you should do it.

• 1) Build your brand
• 2) Engage your audience
• 3) Increase and diversify your income

The only setback is that if you’re still a beginner, you might not know exactly where to start. Luckily, with Moteefe, launching a campaign is made easy. Moteefe is a Print-On-Demand platform that specializes in helping users easily create their own merchandise and merch stores. Moteefe eliminates all of the hard work by allowing you to get straight to printing your design onto your preferred line of merchandise and quickly start earning money by promoting your brand. The best part is that launching your store can be done in less than 15 minutes. So, what are you waiting for? Get your merch store up and running today! 

By offering your own merch, you are providing your followers the opportunity to show their loyalty and support by purchasing a unique, high-quality product that represents your brand. When it comes to deciding to create and promote your own merchandise, it isn’t a question of whether or not you should. It’s a question of why you haven’t already.

So, what are you waiting for? Get your merch store up and running today! Launch your 1st campaign now!

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