Hey Hannah. I’ve been doing Merch for 5 years. Occasionally I’ll go to UA-cam for reminders and inspiration. There’s a lot of junk out there, but having viewed three or four of your videos I can honestly say that you’re bringing great value. Keep it up!
This means so much to me! Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. It’s definitely scary starting a new channel, but it makes me want to keep sharing when I hear feedback like this-especially from someone who’s been doing merch longer than myself!
I'm binge watching all your videos Hannah. Great info, no unnecessary editing, no noise, that's so rare nowadays 🙂. Just applied for Merch and planning to start selling soon. Thanks
Hannah, I just got approved a couple of days ago, and jumped in with both feet, just uploading some designs that *I* love. Now that I've watched this video, I'm wondering if two things: 1. Should I only be creating designs for ONE niche? Your example with the DIY woman niche - do you never put any other designs in that shop? My challenge is that I have SO many niche ideas - would you suggest creating a different merch account for each of these niche ideas? Like how do you branch out from one niche into multiple niches? 2. My first few designs have already been approved and are live, but they are not all in one niche: some are kiddie T-shirts, and others are fun tote bags. Would you recommend removing all of them and starting again, focused on just one niche and just T-shirts? Or did you mean one niche and one product type? Or??? Thanks for any insights. And a giant thank you for starting this channel and sharing what you're learning! I was going to just go buy my own merch as gifts for family and friends (based on one of your more recent videos that I watched yesterday!), but this idea of actually picking a niche and promoting it and getting organic sales makes MUCH more sense, now that I'm thinking about it. So, yeah, thank you so much! 😍
Thanks so much for watching and congrats on getting accepted! If you do want to go the social media route, I’ve found it very hard to promote multiple different niches on one Instagram. I think you just don’t find the right audience always. I think for each “brand” you create, it’s best to have at least 4 designs. You could certainly do another niche store, or just leave the items you have up for 30-60 days and if they don’t sell in that timeframe, switch them out with something new.
@@hannahebeling Thanks for the quick response! So: one merch account with multiple brands (one per niche)? Or one merch account per niche? :D Sorry, I'm just so new and don't quite know what I'm doing here! And yes, I've already learned from my social media experiments that it's one IG account per niche. Just trying to figure out the AMZ side of things now. So, suppose I want to do kiddie shirts and say wedding shirts - 2 IG accounts, yes, but do I also need 2 merch accounts? I *think* it's just one merch account with multiple brands under it - yes? After having binge-watched every single one of your videos so far (keep 'em coming, they're EXCELLENT!) I think I'm going to have to step back delete my current designs, do some research, pick a micro-niche and upload some different designs focused on one single niche, especially if I want to get out of Tier 10 quickly!
Thanks so much! I think you may have mentioned that you found this answer in another video, but you just need one merch account. By filling out a different phrase in the "brand" section during uploading, you'll create new pages for each of the items that share that same brand phrase. It's confusing to explain, but easy once you do it the first time.
@@hannahebeling Yes, that other video of yours really helped! I was thinking I needed to create one brand and put everything in there, but you pointed out the flaw there: that just makes it easy for someone to scoop up everything you make under that brand! So the idea of multiple brands under one merch account makes perfect sense now! 😍🙏
life-changing sales..oh Hannah!!, a question for ya, if you lost your job, and with the knowledge, you have gained, what's the quickest way to try to get that monthly income ya just lost, what would you do, I guess doing what you're doing now??
Great question! I’d definitely get on merch by Amazon first and then quickly start trying to diversify the platforms I was on, probably Etsy next and then redbubble and teepublic. Like I talk about in my tier 10 video, I’d probably start making a social media account too to help be a sales funnel for some of my designs and to get out of tier 10 fast.
I've heard several other creators talk about merch informer but this is the absolute best step-by-step tutorial on how to use it I've found. I've been using some of the free features for the past year but this made me want the pro account. I wish I would have seen this before buying Pretty Merch Pro+
That is so kind of you! I definitely love Merch Informer and it’s been solely what I’ve used for a little over two years. I haven’t experimented with Pretty Merch Pro+ yet, but I think it would be really cool to do a side-by-side comparison in the future, as I’m sure they both have great features. If you ever do want to try out Merch Informer, the coupon code in my bio will get you 20% off. Best of luck to you, Lisa!
For Etsy, I personally use and love printify since they are priced very low, have tons of products and great quality. I have a full tutorial on how to integrate with your Etsy shop here on my channel.
I'm always searching for ways to become successful as a beginner seller on Etsy cause I wasn't approved for Amazon :( I've loved every video I've watched of yours, specially the one where you mention to not spend too much time trying to create unique designs that could take hours, which is what I was doing, but I'm learning not to lol Thank you!
Thank you so explaining this. I have a question, the number of products that competition checker gives does not match the number of products when I type the same phrase into Amazon. Where do they get the number?
MI uses their own data method to calculate these numbers, but this video is also almost a year old, so many more products may have been added during that time too.
Great question! I think merch informer could be a great starting place for Etsy too, but you just have to keep in mind that the shoppers on Etsy are a little different-often looking for a more boutique, custom looking designs. However, I know many of the same niches do well across both platforms.
Thanks for sharing these precious information Hannah. I have a question though. Can I use Merch informer to understand whether a niche might be profitable even on Etsy? Or is it a tool that I should be using only if I want to sell products on Amazon Merch? Thank you
Great question! I have a tool linked down in the description called sale samurai that is made specifically for Etsy sellers. I definitely have used merch informer to find great niches for Etsy too, but if you are mainly selling there, I’d recommend SS. (I also have a tutorial on my channel).
Hi Hannah. Great video! Does Amazon own my designs when I submit them? I see the word "royalties" in the contract and wonder if you could explain this to us since you're the expert/guru.
what if my Murch account has been stuck in tier 10 for almost a year because I gave up on it and opened an Etsy shop instead? Is it too late to try Amazon Murch? Should I close my account start over? Can I close my account and start over any advice. Thank you so much. 2:17
Great question! I think the 9.99 is probably best if you’re just getting started. I only recently upgraded to the pro version, but the more basic one has all the capabilities I talked about in this video!
Ok great, thanks for answering! and for beginners would you suggest that Amazon merch is best to start with vs Etsy? Which would be best to focus on more for more profits?
@@fancyempress1368 I think Amazon merch is great, but you are limited to just 10 products when you first start, so I would definitely pursue at least one other POD site at the same time too. Etsy is a great one.
@@hannahebeling thanks, I absolutely love your videos I binged watch all of them. Can’t wait to see what you will post next. Have an awesome day and happy fourth quarter!!
Hi Hannah, thanks for your video. Question for you: Let's say a niche I plug into merch informer gets an A, can't that just mean that there's not a lot of competition? How would I know if people are actually searching for that niche?
The grade is actually based on competition and sales. So something might be good to pursue even if it had tons of items but still made thousands of sales a day.
Hannah, sorry for commenting on one of your older videos, but I have a question about Merch Informer. I was just following along with you in the video and I have found there to be a huge discrepancy between your search results and mine. When you searched Yoga, it gave a grade of F with roughly 38K (or so) products. When I do the search it gives me an "A" grade with 44 total products online? My results clearly are not accurate, and wondered if you might know why I am getting these results? Anyway, love the Vids....keep it up. John
@@hannahebeling Still doing it, so there must be a problem with Merch Informer pulling data. I just wanted to make sure that I didn't screw something up, but if you are seeing it as well then I'll wait for them to fix it. Thanks for the reply, it's much appreciated....and really cool that you take the time to do that.
This is the tool that I use across the board for all platforms, but it is more tailored to Merch by Amazon. I know there are similar services just dedicated to Etsy like everbee, but I haven’t dived into them too much yet, so can’t speak to how well they work.
@@sweetbeep i definitely think it’s a great tool for finding and validating niches that are selling well online since Amazon is pretty much the biggest e-commerce site. Most of the items that sell well for me on Etsy are ones I found using Merch informer. I definitely think it’s a great tool for any pod site even though not specific to Etsy.
Do you know if MerchInformer is down (or not accepting subscriptions at the moment)? I just tried signing up with my Yahoo email address that I use literally everywhere, and MI tells me it's an invalid email address, whether I try to sign up for a free or a paid account! I've tried several other email addresses now as well, including from domains I own, and all of them give me the same error. I'd love to subscribe, but they sure don't make it easy!
Hi Hannah, I watch all of your videos and you’re great but I’m beyond frustrated. I’m a single mom and an artist which just doesn’t pay the rent. I believe I’m pretty good at designing and creating as well as color and I’ve been doing the research, but I suck at social media marketing. I do not know how to sell myself and I’m drowning while trying to make POD work for me. Can you help me with figuring out how to market my shop and myself?
Thank you so much for your support and kind words! I can imagine how frustrating that would be. If you are trying to sell through social media, I think good mockups make all the difference even if you don't really have great captions to go with them. I know there are several shops on etsy that sell them, but I use and love Placeit because they make making mockups super user friendly and have a lot of good options. Wishing you all the best of luck.
It’s my first time watching your content thanks for being unique and light not as other UA-camr, throwing junk. God bless
Welcome!
Hey Hannah. I’ve been doing Merch for 5 years. Occasionally I’ll go to UA-cam for reminders and inspiration. There’s a lot of junk out there, but having viewed three or four of your videos I can honestly say that you’re bringing great value.
Keep it up!
This means so much to me! Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. It’s definitely scary starting a new channel, but it makes me want to keep sharing when I hear feedback like this-especially from someone who’s been doing merch longer than myself!
she does! she shudda be a teacher, cause she can teach ;-) lol
I'm binge watching all your videos Hannah. Great info, no unnecessary editing, no noise, that's so rare nowadays 🙂. Just applied for Merch and planning to start selling soon. Thanks
That is so so kind of you!! Glad you are enjoying and getting inspired!!
I'm binge watching your videos and taking notes! You must be doing something really right. Thank you so much for a fabulous content!
Yay! Thank you!
Answered everything I needed to know thank you.😊
So glad!
Hannah, I just got approved a couple of days ago, and jumped in with both feet, just uploading some designs that *I* love. Now that I've watched this video, I'm wondering if two things:
1. Should I only be creating designs for ONE niche? Your example with the DIY woman niche - do you never put any other designs in that shop? My challenge is that I have SO many niche ideas - would you suggest creating a different merch account for each of these niche ideas? Like how do you branch out from one niche into multiple niches?
2. My first few designs have already been approved and are live, but they are not all in one niche: some are kiddie T-shirts, and others are fun tote bags. Would you recommend removing all of them and starting again, focused on just one niche and just T-shirts? Or did you mean one niche and one product type? Or???
Thanks for any insights. And a giant thank you for starting this channel and sharing what you're learning! I was going to just go buy my own merch as gifts for family and friends (based on one of your more recent videos that I watched yesterday!), but this idea of actually picking a niche and promoting it and getting organic sales makes MUCH more sense, now that I'm thinking about it. So, yeah, thank you so much! 😍
Thanks so much for watching and congrats on getting accepted! If you do want to go the social media route, I’ve found it very hard to promote multiple different niches on one Instagram. I think you just don’t find the right audience always. I think for each “brand” you create, it’s best to have at least 4 designs. You could certainly do another niche store, or just leave the items you have up for 30-60 days and if they don’t sell in that timeframe, switch them out with something new.
@@hannahebeling Thanks for the quick response! So: one merch account with multiple brands (one per niche)? Or one merch account per niche? :D Sorry, I'm just so new and don't quite know what I'm doing here! And yes, I've already learned from my social media experiments that it's one IG account per niche. Just trying to figure out the AMZ side of things now. So, suppose I want to do kiddie shirts and say wedding shirts - 2 IG accounts, yes, but do I also need 2 merch accounts? I *think* it's just one merch account with multiple brands under it - yes?
After having binge-watched every single one of your videos so far (keep 'em coming, they're EXCELLENT!) I think I'm going to have to step back delete my current designs, do some research, pick a micro-niche and upload some different designs focused on one single niche, especially if I want to get out of Tier 10 quickly!
Thanks so much! I think you may have mentioned that you found this answer in another video, but you just need one merch account. By filling out a different phrase in the "brand" section during uploading, you'll create new pages for each of the items that share that same brand phrase. It's confusing to explain, but easy once you do it the first time.
@@hannahebeling Yes, that other video of yours really helped!
I was thinking I needed to create one brand and put everything in there, but you pointed out the flaw there: that just makes it easy for someone to scoop up everything you make under that brand!
So the idea of multiple brands under one merch account makes perfect sense now! 😍🙏
Wow! So many rules and variables w Amazon merch. I might just stick to Printify.
Either are great choices! Amazon is much more passive than Etsy, but you have to play by their rules.
Would you suggest Kittl over Canva now?
You are FANTASTIC!!! Thank you!
Thank you so much! I'm a very new channel so this kind of support means the world to me!
life-changing sales..oh Hannah!!, a question for ya, if you lost your job, and with the knowledge, you have gained, what's the quickest way to try to get that monthly income ya just lost, what would you do, I guess doing what you're doing now??
Great question! I’d definitely get on merch by Amazon first and then quickly start trying to diversify the platforms I was on, probably Etsy next and then redbubble and teepublic. Like I talk about in my tier 10 video, I’d probably start making a social media account too to help be a sales funnel for some of my designs and to get out of tier 10 fast.
Hello Hannah, thank you for these great information you shared with us. Fiy the code for merch informer is not working
Thanks so much for letting me know! I’ll check with their team and see what’s up!
I've heard several other creators talk about merch informer but this is the absolute best step-by-step tutorial on how to use it I've found. I've been using some of the free features for the past year but this made me want the pro account. I wish I would have seen this before buying Pretty Merch Pro+
That is so kind of you! I definitely love Merch Informer and it’s been solely what I’ve used for a little over two years. I haven’t experimented with Pretty Merch Pro+ yet, but I think it would be really cool to do a side-by-side comparison in the future, as I’m sure they both have great features. If you ever do want to try out Merch Informer, the coupon code in my bio will get you 20% off. Best of luck to you, Lisa!
Hi Hannah! Thanks for the videos! Who do you use or is best to use as a printer for ETSY, EBAY, SHOPIFY etc? Printly? Printify?
For Etsy, I personally use and love printify since they are priced very low, have tons of products and great quality. I have a full tutorial on how to integrate with your Etsy shop here on my channel.
I'm always searching for ways to become successful as a beginner seller on Etsy cause I wasn't approved for Amazon :( I've loved every video I've watched of yours, specially the one where you mention to not spend too much time trying to create unique designs that could take hours, which is what I was doing, but I'm learning not to lol Thank you!
So glad you’ve found something helpful! Thank you so much for your encouragement and comment! Wishing you all the best in your pod business!
Thank you ❤❤❤
You're welcome 😊
Thank you so explaining this. I have a question, the number of products that competition checker gives does not match the number of products when I type the same phrase into Amazon. Where do they get the number?
MI uses their own data method to calculate these numbers, but this video is also almost a year old, so many more products may have been added during that time too.
Would you use Merch Informer for Etsy's too?
Great question! I think merch informer could be a great starting place for Etsy too, but you just have to keep in mind that the shoppers on Etsy are a little different-often looking for a more boutique, custom looking designs. However, I know many of the same niches do well across both platforms.
very useful thank you!!!!😘😘
So glad you found something helpful! Appreciate the comment!
Thanks for sharing these precious information Hannah. I have a question though. Can I use Merch informer to understand whether a niche might be profitable even on Etsy? Or is it a tool that I should be using only if I want to sell products on Amazon Merch? Thank you
Great question! I have a tool linked down in the description called sale samurai that is made specifically for Etsy sellers. I definitely have used merch informer to find great niches for Etsy too, but if you are mainly selling there, I’d recommend SS. (I also have a tutorial on my channel).
@@hannahebeling I’ve just watched your tutorial, thank you! Would you suggest using Sale Samurai to monitor niches also on other e-shops?
Hi Hannah. Great video! Does Amazon own my designs when I submit them? I see the word "royalties" in the contract and wonder if you could explain this to us since you're the expert/guru.
Nope, Amazon states that they will stop selling your product once you have removed it from their program.
what if my Murch account has been stuck in tier 10 for almost a year because I gave up on it and opened an Etsy shop instead? Is it too late to try Amazon Murch? Should I close my account start over? Can I close my account and start over any advice. Thank you so much. 2:17
Not at all too late! Definitely don’t close it. There are so many people that wish they had an account and can’t open one!
I didnt know if being stuck that long would give me no hope to come back in the algorithm? @@hannahebeling
Hello thank you for this video. Which level of merch informer would your recommend? The 9.99 or the 19.99 plan? Thanks!
Great question! I think the 9.99 is probably best if you’re just getting started. I only recently upgraded to the pro version, but the more basic one has all the capabilities I talked about in this video!
Ok great, thanks for answering! and for beginners would you suggest that Amazon merch is best to start with vs Etsy? Which would be best to focus on more for more profits?
@@fancyempress1368 I think Amazon merch is great, but you are limited to just 10 products when you first start, so I would definitely pursue at least one other POD site at the same time too. Etsy is a great one.
@@hannahebeling thanks, I absolutely love your videos I binged watch all of them. Can’t wait to see what you will post next. Have an awesome day and happy fourth quarter!!
Hi Hannah, thanks for your video. Question for you: Let's say a niche I plug into merch informer gets an A, can't that just mean that there's not a lot of competition? How would I know if people are actually searching for that niche?
The grade is actually based on competition and sales. So something might be good to pursue even if it had tons of items but still made thousands of sales a day.
@@hannahebeling Got it. Didn't know that. thanks!
Hannah, sorry for commenting on one of your older videos, but I have a question about Merch Informer. I was just following along with you in the video and I have found there to be a huge discrepancy between your search results and mine. When you searched Yoga, it gave a grade of F with roughly 38K (or so) products. When I do the search it gives me an "A" grade with 44 total products online? My results clearly are not accurate, and wondered if you might know why I am getting these results? Anyway, love the Vids....keep it up.
John
You’re totally right! Try refreshing your browser or logging back out to try again.
@@hannahebeling Still doing it, so there must be a problem with Merch Informer pulling data. I just wanted to make sure that I didn't screw something up, but if you are seeing it as well then I'll wait for them to fix it. Thanks for the reply, it's much appreciated....and really cool that you take the time to do that.
Does TESS cover just the US, or is it global? Thanks.
Just the US, but most other countries have a trademark check if you google them!
Would this apply to Etsy as well?
This is the tool that I use across the board for all platforms, but it is more tailored to Merch by Amazon. I know there are similar services just dedicated to Etsy like everbee, but I haven’t dived into them too much yet, so can’t speak to how well they work.
@@hannahebeling ... I only have Etsy right now and I'm just starting out. Do you think I should use Merch Informer?
@@sweetbeep i definitely think it’s a great tool for finding and validating niches that are selling well online since Amazon is pretty much the biggest e-commerce site. Most of the items that sell well for me on Etsy are ones I found using Merch informer. I definitely think it’s a great tool for any pod site even though not specific to Etsy.
@@hannahebeling ...thanks so much! If we use the free trial, does your coupon code get integrated somehow?
@@sweetbeep I think it should! I appreciate you using the links I provided!
Do you know if MerchInformer is down (or not accepting subscriptions at the moment)? I just tried signing up with my Yahoo email address that I use literally everywhere, and MI tells me it's an invalid email address, whether I try to sign up for a free or a paid account! I've tried several other email addresses now as well, including from domains I own, and all of them give me the same error. I'd love to subscribe, but they sure don't make it easy!
Oh man! I wasn’t aware of that. I will try to get in touch with my contact and see what’s going on.
@@hannahebeling Cool! I'd really appreciate the help there! 🙏
Tess.
I want to learn about amazon wholesale business
Hi Hannah, I watch all of your videos and you’re great but I’m beyond frustrated. I’m a single mom and an artist which just doesn’t pay the rent. I believe I’m pretty good at designing and creating as well as color and I’ve been doing the research, but I suck at social media marketing. I do not know how to sell myself and I’m drowning while trying to make POD work for me. Can you help me with figuring out how to market my shop and myself?
Thank you so much for your support and kind words! I can imagine how frustrating that would be. If you are trying to sell through social media, I think good mockups make all the difference even if you don't really have great captions to go with them. I know there are several shops on etsy that sell them, but I use and love Placeit because they make making mockups super user friendly and have a lot of good options. Wishing you all the best of luck.
Is Tess just USA or worldwide?
It is the USA database only.
Tess.