Crafting merchandise is a no-brainer for most musicians. However, learning how to ship and sell your music merchandise is a whole other skill set.
Thankfully, this process is a breeze with the help of some strategies outlined by music marketing professional Andrew Southworth. Below, we’ll detail how you get music merch to your fans in 3 simple steps.
How To Ship Out Music Merchandise In 3 Steps
Crafting music merchandise is one thing, delivering it to your fans is another. Assuming you have a physical inventory ready to go, here’s how you can efficiently get your merchandise to your fans.
1. Create Inventory and Packaging
Before shipping out your merchandise to fans, make sure you have a basic inventory with various sizes ready to go. You’ll also have to account for basic packaging supplies as a part of your expenses. You’ll need shipping containers, labeling, tape, and time to personalize any of your orders.
This could be as simple as signing some of your merchandise or writing a quick note to your fan. Little touches can go a long way in deepening your connection with fans.
2. Host A Link In Bio Marketplace
Once you’ve ironed out your merchandise packaging process, it’s time to find a marketplace for your creations. One of the most convenient spaces to do so is your link in bio:
“Koji gives you a direct way to sell your merch without needing a website or subscription. Your fans can purchase merch directly all without leaving your link in bio”
– Andrew Southworth
Use mini apps like Sell Physical Products or Shopify Storefront to list products directly in your link in bio. Fans can shop, purchase, and pass on their shipping information all without having to leave their browser. You can also model your merchandise via Pop Up Shop allowing your fans to purchase your looks in full.
3. Create Your Shipping Labels And Send It Off
As soon as an order comes in, it’s time to get to work! Customer service reflects on you as an artist, so make sure you’re shipping out your creations as quickly as possible to your customers. First and foremost, it’s important to catalog all of the information surrounding your order:
“Keep diligent track of all of your merchandise information and stats. You’ll need to know the weights of each of your items before shipping them out”
– Andrew Southworth
You should know the weight of each item with packaging so that you can successfully create a shipping label. Once you’ve packaged your goods, you can use a site like Pirateship or Shipstation to create your custom labels. You can print your labels via a label printer or regular printer before securing them on to the outside of your package. Make sure the label is flat, secure, and easy to read.
Once you have your goods labeled, you can drop them off at the post office or schedule a pick up and provide a tracking number to your fans.
Shipping out merchandise is simple with these three basic steps. Enjoy the process of getting your goods out to your audience! For more tips, check out the full video from Andrew Southworth:
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