Get paid to design t-shirts! Merch by Amazon is Amazon’s print on demand platform. You upload a PNG and Amazon does the rest (prints the t-shirt, delivers it to the customer, takes care of returns, etc.). You get paid every time one of your t-shirts is sold.
Get over 50% OFF my new course on Merch By Amazon, an Introduction to Selling Print On Demand Products. The course covers everything about Merch, applying, niche selection, design, and more!
It’s a great way of earning passive income online however it’s slow in the beginning. So if you’re interested, you’ve got to get started NOW!
The Merch journey
You only have the ability to sell 10 different designs at first. This is why it’s really slow in the beginning. After you’ve sold 10 t-shirts you get “tiered up” to the tier 25 where you have the ability to sell 25 different designs. And then, allegedly, after you sell 25 you go to the next tier which is tier 100. Personally, I had to wait until I’d sold about 50 and then I got tiered up to 100 tier.
Now I’m on the 500 tier (I can have a massive 500 designs live on Amazon at any one time) and I’m really starting to see the benefit – I’m selling three to four shirts a day and making money!
How to design t-shirts that sell on Merch?
There are two sides to Merch t-shirt design. On one hand is the niche or the message. On the other hand, there’s the actual design. Here’s an example of a successful shirt design to illustrate what I’m talking about.
As you can see, the niche of the above design is vegans. This is a group of people that are passionate about something – when choosing niches, passion is really important.
And, you can see the “design” or the “look” of the t-shirt. The font of the work “VEGAN” is distressed which maybe works for this market. It also chose the above design because it’s not really that good as far as traditional design is concerned. The font choice for the words “DAMN IT FEELS GOOD TO BE A” is uninspired. Helvetica bold? And the line height as well as the juxtaposition with “VEGAN” to me seems all wrong!
But that’s Merch! Traditional design rules go out of the window. 🙂 Maybe that’s why I like it.
How to get Merch t-shirt design ideas
Here are three possible sources for t-shirt ideas.
- Go topical. You can see what’s trending on Twitter, or on Google Trends.
- Go evergreen. This is where I’ve seen the most success. T-shirts for professions, hobbies, inspirational messages, etc.
- Go for events. Fathers’ day, Valentine’s day, Christmas, Halloween, the eclipse, Thanksgiving, etc.
You don’t have to concentrate on one particular niche on Merch although it will help you, at first, to concentrate on niches that you are passionate about.
There is no limit to the amount of ideas you can have for t-shirt designs. Get creative!
What sort of shirt designs sell well on Merch?
These designs do well:
- Distressed designs
- Light, colorful designs on dark shirts or simple dark designs on light shirts
- Silhouettes and “simple” imagery
- High contrast colors
- Active or action “characters”
However, don’t stress on the above, just keep at it. Keep uploading to Amazon. If you can’t upload there, upload on the other sites!!
Get over 50% OFF my new course on Merch By Amazon, an Introduction to Selling Print On Demand Products. The course covers everything about Merch, applying, niche selection, design, and more!
The future for Merch by Amazon?
At the moment Amazon’s Merch is only doing t-shirts in America. You don’t have to be American to take part.
Merch is a money maker for Amazon, so I’m hoping it’ll be rolled out to other countries. It would be interesting to design shirts for the UK, France, Germany, etc. Amazon in Europe is actually a bigger market than the US.
And it’s going to go on to baseball caps, mugs, hoodies, etc. So there’s great potential in this area.
You want to get accepted on Merch? This is what you do!
This is a perfect online business in many ways. It doesn’t cost you anything. So you may as well do it. I got accepted straightaway but other people had to wait for many months – even over a year in some cases.
I discuss in the above video possible reasons why I was accepted onto Merch by Amazon so quickly.
Head over here: merch.amazon.com/landing. There you’ll see an invitation form. The problem is you have one go at this form, so you’ve got to get it right!
Under Organization Name I gave my company name as that is the entity I use to pay tax and use on all my Amazon exploits.
Under Website I gave my website robcubbon.com which looks good as I’ve been blogging for 10 years.
Under Industry Type I chose “Small Business”.
Under the Addition Information field in the form I said that I sell Kindles, paperbacks, and video on Amazon and that I sell on Amazon FBA
I also said that I’ve been a designer for 20 years and that I run a design company. I think this is a good thing to say. And virtually anyone could say this. I doubt if they look into your background and you could have outsourced all of the design
You could also explain that you do t-shirt design on RedBubble, Spreadshirt, or any of the other print on demand t-shirt sites (Sunfrog, Zazzle, Cafepress, Teespring, Teepublic).
After you’ve filled out the form, that’s it! You just have to wait. Sometimes Amazon doesn’t even email to notify you of your successful acceptance so you should check back at merch.amazon.com every so often while you’re waiting.
Get over 50% OFF my new course on Merch By Amazon, an Introduction to Selling Print On Demand Products. The course covers everything about Merch, applying, niche selection, design, and more!
Useful resources
- Elaine Heney‘s Merch Entrepreneur podcast and Merch Entrepreneur Facebook group.
- Jacob Topping – search on YouTube for Jacob. And he has a great Facebook group called Merch By Amazon Top Sellers for Newbies & Pros Facebook group and, more importantly, Jacob has a fantastic ebook called Merch and the World of Print On Demand which is a great book, not only about Merch, but also about the other platforms where you can make money selling all sorts of merchandise.
- Lisa Irby at Passive Shirt Profits a podcast and some great courses.
- Merch by Amazon Facebook group founded by Chris Green.
- Great suite of tools can be found at MerchInformer.
You can do it!
If you’re at all interested in design or creativity you should have a look at Merch by Amazon.
You don’t have to be a designer. As long as the design and the message works for the target market and people can identify with it, you will have success.
Good stuff! Do you use any apps or tools or stick with Photoshop and Illustrator?
I’ve got 2 accounts on the 100 tier now so it’s time to take it seriously now!
Cheers,
Joe
Hey Joe, I stick with Photoshop and Illustrator because I’ve been using those two programs from longer than 20 years (don’t I sound old?!). Wow, I didn’t stop long at 100 tier, only a few weeks before you’re up to the 500 tier and can upload 10 a day. As you say, time to take it seriously now! 🙂
With havin so much content do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright infringement?
My blog has a lot of exclusive content I’ve either written myself or outsourced but it appears a
lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my permission. Do you know any ways to help stop
content from being stolen? I’d genuinely appreciate it.
Actually, Kora, this is the best thing about Google. Google will always treat the first time content appears as the original version of that content so will never (or hardly ever) return duplicate content in search results so no one benefits from duplicate content. And, also, all my courses and books have been stolen and are available for free on the net but I doubt if anyone gets them from these very dodgy sites that do that. And the people who get my paid content for free are never going to buy it anyway. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
I’ve heard about people swiping top-selling t-short designs. I don’t know if you can stop that.
But my question is, how does this compare to Printful or the other retailers? Some retailers let you set your own price so you get whatever you set above their base price. I haven’t really looked into after I’d heard (years ago) that people would swoop in and duplicate any design that sells. But I’m always interested in what you’re up to, and why!
Hello Louise, a lot of people are mentioning the idea stealing that goes on on Merch. This is something I’ll deal with in my course but it never bothers me. It’s like being worried about people stealing my books and my video courses that are on sale. They do but it’s no big deal. I’ve got 200 designs live on Amazon at the moment. Some of them sell a few a month. No one’s going to bother stealing them. If they do I can ask Amazon to take them down and they will. But it’s not an issue for me at the moment.
Amazon is 10x bigger than any other retailer in terms of sales of t-shirt and I’ve tried a lot of the other ones. You set the price at Amazon as well. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Thanks Rob. I figured SIZE was in Amazon’s favor 😉 It’s been only 3 days but I checked and am still on the waiting list. Can’t imagine how I’ll add another thing to my plate, and am always impressed with how you do it!
Had to check back to see when I applied! Just got an email yesterday that they’ve changed the application process and I need to apply again ? After more than 4 months ?!? Oh well, I’m not in a hurry.
Hi Louise, yes, this seems to be an extra step that they’ve added, however previously you had to go through this step after you were accepted. Best of luck!
Sounds interesting, Ron. I’m in the process of setting up a newbie (me) Affiliate Marketing Network and writing my first Online course through Thinkific (an affiliate, of course).
I’ll follow your future details and learn more once hurricane Irma, (hopefully) blows far north of Florida. Gotta run and cover stuff. :/
Dave
OK Dave, I wish you the best.
Great ideas. Is there anything stopping you adding your designs to all the available T-shirt design websites to maximise your income?
Good question, Kelly. No, there’s nothing stopping you doing that.
Great idea Rob. Sounds easy enough and will provide me with my first step into passive income. Do you need an account with Amazon.com first though? And as regards to the other merch sites (Redbubble etc) you mention in the sign up process; I guess I need to sell there first? Thanks
No, Mark, you don’t need an account with Amazon to fill out the invitation form but, if you have one, I would use that email address and company name in the form. If you don’t have an account, I believe you would set up an account afterwards. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Great article! Do most of your buyers just find you through organic searches through Amazon?
I assume the benefit is the free search traffic from Amazon?
Have you had good momentum with other print on demand platforms?
Thank you
Hello Doug. Good question. It’s just organic Amazon traffic. That’s why I love it! 🙂
That’s good to know. I’m selling about 1 a day with 16 shirts live. Really need to sit down and spend a day to do some research to fill those 100 slots.
How much are you making per month roughly, if you don’t mind me asking.
I’d love to hit a £1,000 a month!
Do you use Merch Informer? I’ve signed up so need to use it more!
Good luck!
Joe
Joe, 1 a day with 16 shirts live is amazing!!!!!! Keep at it. I’m only making $300-400 a month. I’m sure I can make $1000/month if I manage to fill all my slots. Yes, I use MerchInformer it’s great help finding niches. I’m doing some videos on it.
Thanks, Rob. They are all from one niche (multiple shirts targeting the same keyword, different designs) so I need to find some more niches!
The ones that aren’t selling are from other niches.
Look forward to seeing the MI videos. I’m still not entirely sure how best to use it. I read there is a big update coming for it and maybe an android app. Would be great to be able to do research and design on a phone – could Merch be a truly mobile ‘business’?
Cheers,
Joe
Interesting, Rob! I’ve gone through the comments but not sure if I’ve seen this: what share does Amazon keep? I know they put in the t-shirt so that’s quite a bit of work on their part. However, I’ve recently decided to take ALL my photos and illustrations off the various Fotolia, iStock etc because artists are so badly ripped off. I don’t particularly feel like joining another scheme that pays me only 20% of the final price for my great ideas and skills. What’s the cut here? I’m on the fence to be honest.
I’m not sure if your photos would do well on shirts, Piccia. It’s more about messages for niches. Here are the pricing and royalty figures.
Price Royalty
$11.99 $0.39
$12.99 $1.24
$13.99 $2.09
$14.99 $2.94
$15.99 $3.79
$16.99 $4.64
$17.99 $5.49
$18.99 $6.34
$19.99 $7.19
I hope this helps. More info coming up in my Merch course. 🙂
Hi Rob.
How about digital illustrations?. I’m planning to do some graphic designs with text aiming at specific niches, but i also would like to upload quality artistic pieces. Artistic design takes way greater ammount of time and work compared to designing text alone in my opinion. So the question stands: do you know or at least heard of a digital artist being succesfull with his/her artwork on Merch Amazon? Thanks in advance.
Actually, I haven’t heard of a digital artist being succesfull with his/her artwork on Merch By Amazon. It’s more of a question of selling to niche audiences. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for this!! This is something I’m interested in but working on becoming more established. Great step by step!
Thank you, Brittany
Great article! I love that it really is passive income, and you don’t necessarily have to promote it. In the article, you mention other t-shirt sites. Which other ones would you recommend besides Amazon? Also, are your earnings a percentage of the sale?
Yes, Tana, your earnings are a percentage of the sale (on all these sites). The site I’ve had the most luck with is RedBubble. However, nothing beats Amazon! I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
I agree with Rob. I’ve started with Zazzle but you only get 5%, you can increase this but it makes the items very expensive. I’ve moved onto RedBubble, T-Shirts are cheaper for the customer and you get 20%. RedBubble pays out anything you earn each month where as Zazzle you have to wait until you reach £30. Still waiting to be excepted with Amazon so not sure how they both compare with Amazon.
Thanks Kelly, good to have your input on this one.
Boy this is SO interesting! I would LOVE to do something like this! Thanks for the information
Thanks for the comment, Ola.
Never realized you could do this as a small business. Definitely adding it to my to do list!
Great! Thank you, Nicole.
I’m somehow amazed at the many ways to build passive income, this is one I have to try or pass on to those around me that are motivated by low startup opportunities, Rob thanks for sharing sincerely.
Thank you, Nelson, it’s always good to pass on these passive income opportunities to others.
Hi, do you know if it helps if i use my Amazon Associate Account to sign up with them for this program and in the “invite” to mention that I am an affiliate with them? Thank you!
You can mention that, Khim, if you want but I’m not so sure that it will help. Maybe.
Can you help me?
What do I do when I do not have a website?
Hello Thien, you don’t need one. Set up a Facebook page of your designs and give that as a web address.
haha, it’s really funny. I was looking up stylish slogans and came across some Amazing ones that i want to share with you.
Great, share them anytime.
how can i get ITIN, i’m from Egypt…. please Answer
You don’t need an ITIN, Mahmoud, you just need to give Amazon your Egyptian tax details and bank account details. You can ask Amazon about this.
Great Article Rob, A really good passive income idea and if one manages to go up the Tiers, this can be more than just passive income. I am planning to get into this right away..Thanks again.
Awesome Tom. Go for it! Best of luck and let me know if you have any questions.
Hi Rob,
My order has been rejected 4 times in a row !!!
What’s the solution?
Please help me!
I’m sorry, I don’t have a solution for that.
Hello Rob would you reccomend using Facebook ads to market your t-shirts?
Hi Keisha, no, I wouldn’t recommend it. Not unless you’re a FB ads genius. I’ve never done any marketing or advertising for my shirts.
Hi Rob, what is your advise to get accepted in MBA ! and what is don’t really have designs currently what do you recommend to add in FB account ! graphic designs or words only !
Hello Aisha, my advice is in the article. Words, generally do better than graphics.
Nice article, It is very informative and useful for me. Thanks for sharing
Thank you very much. What would happen if I applied for an MBA and was rejected?
And what if I get rejected?
Please help.
If you get rejected you can’t join, I’m sorry.
Hello Rob,
Thank you for the great work you are sharing with others for free, i do tho have a quick question joe.
i dont have an official registered company for my business, i only have an online business through
e-commerce platform which is called souq (Owned by amazon recently).
would that hinder my application ? not having a registered company ?
No, Abdullah, you can register as a company or as an individual. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Hello Rob,
You’re making a great job and thank you for that.
I have applied to MBA twice but I still get rejected even I added a link for my shop on Etsy (new shop and there’s no sales).
Also I wrote that I have nearly 1 year experience on photoshop.
I have 2 questions about
1. Which way I have to follow while Iam appying (3rd time XD)? Does it effect if I applied with same information?
2. Does MBA rejectes some people because of their country (likd Turkey)?
And thank you again
Turkey is on the list of countries that can apply for seller registration, Muhammed. Unfortunately, I can only give you the best advice I can. I don’t know why Amazon accepts some people and rejects others. Unfortunately, they are not a very transparent company in that way! Sorry!
Hello ,
thanks for your cours , i ve declined 4 times i don’t know why ?
I’m sorry but Amazon write the rules and don’t even tell us what they are. All we can do is guess. At the end of the day, there is no answer, unfortunately.
bonjour rob , s’il vous plait j’ai une question que je cherche sa réponse pas mal de jour maintenant . Es-ce qu’il a des coordonnées fiscales pour le maroc (genre si on paye une taxe sur le revenu ou bien amzon va retiré ces 30% )
j’attend votre réponse avec impatience et merci d’avance
Hello Sarah,
Thank you for your message.
You should definitely contact Amazon about this issue. Definitely, you’ll be able to sell on Amazon from Morocco, no problem.
Hi Rob ,
Thank you for your free helps,
I have a Facebook page with all my designs ..and i ask if that helps under presentation or under website??? Or both..?
By the way i have 14 years experience in a puplic company that i am not the owner ! Is that help too??
Hello Ayoub, it certainly won’t harm you to mention those things in your application. But we don’t know for sure. Personally I think it would be better to share a Redbubble or Zazzle shop or your own site rather than a Facebook page. But up to you. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Hi Rob ,
Thank you for your valuable helps,
I would like to know if there will any other opportunity to update the sign-in information to add a website or new skills for example in case of the waiting time is long
Thanks again
Hello Said, Once you’ve applied, there is no opportunity to update any of your details. 🙁