This classic product is recognized worldwide–it’s a must when it comes to your product offering. Mugs are trending right now, especially as buyers globally are finding ways to enhance their day-to-day routine working from home. Last season, we saw a 240% increase in mugs being sold compared with last year. Throughout recent months, sales are still growing exponentially.
If you’re not featuring mugs in your campaigns, you could be missing out on extra sales. Here’s a rundown of the product specs:
11 oz ceramic mug
Dishwasher friendly, microwave safe
The front and back print area dimensions measure 2.943” x 2.553”
White base color
Poly-coated for sublimation print, ensuring vibrant print quality
The mug base cost is $8, we recommend you sell them for $14.99
The perfect complimentary item
Not only do conversion rates on campaigns that include mugs as additional items stay consistently high, we’ve seen the amount of items added to baskets at checkout increase as well when they’re involved. Consider applying your current merch designs to a mug and add it to your current listings.
Mugs are an affordable option to add to listings in addition to other types of products. Be sure to enable cross-selling in your store settings, so mugs can be suggested when previous fans are viewing your listings. Also consider creating a promo code to entice your first group of fans to purchase your newly dropped products with a reduced price mug included.
Ready to design and sell custom mugs and supercharge sales? Visit the Launcher.
We’re kicking off August with the arrival of unisex zip hoodies. They’re super wearable, comfy, on-trend, and have arrived just in time for fall. Visit the launcher now to customize and create this product instantly.
Unisex zip hoodies are the perfect staple item for any wardrobe and a great addition to your merch offering.
Available in 6 different color options
Soft 50/50 cotton + polyester blend fabric
Triple-needle top coverstitching along cuffs, a waistband and pockets.
A full-zip front
Single-ply hood, tag-free neck label and a dyed-to-match drawcord
Available in sizes S-3XL
File formatting
Zip hoodies can be customized in two areas; the front left chest area and the back. The front design area is 4” height x 4” width (1200 x 1200 px). The back printable area is 16.5” height x 12.4” width (4,950 x 3,720 px). When creating designs for this product keep these printable dimensions in mind—you’ll want to create high resolution design files that are 300 DPI at the scale of print for the best print quality possible.
Design inspiration
Coordinate your designs with top trending products like face masks, fanny packs, and more to increase shoppers’ cart size and increase sales. Simple, understated designs are currently on trend for this product and can create a “premium” aesthetic for your merch collection. Check out our Pinterest inspiration board for design ideas and examples of what’s trending now.
Head to the launcher now to create your own zip hoodies.
Teespring has released new statistics demonstrating the power of creators monetizing their audiences through creating and selling their own merch. Powered by a category dubbed as ‘creator commerce’, the platform has reported four quarters of compounding growth with 97% growth in Q2 2020 alone.
Teespring pivoted in 2018 to focus on building a creator-first platform and forged deep partnerships with YouTube, Twitch and Instagram that has resulted in explosive growth of 300,000+ creators signing up to the platform to build their socially integrated ecommerce stores. Teespring revealed it has on average 2400 global creators signing up to its platform every day, and has paid out over $80M in creator profits over the past 2 years. Average revenue per successful creator has grown by 31% since lockdown, showcasing the power of creator commerce during COVID.
In response to ongoing monetization challenges for creators, Teespring has focused on building a platform-wide approach, making many, if not all of its features available to creators of all sizes. Whilst the platform hosts some large creators eg. Phil DeFranco [6mil YT subscribers], Liza Koshy [17mil], Faze Clan [8mil], Will Smith [8mil] and Mr Bean [21mil], it also supports more niche creators—the likes of Team Kentucky, Mauna Built, and the Fitness Marshall. The effects of COVID-19 on online shopping have been monumental – retail websites generated 14.34 billion visits in March 2020, up from 12.81 billion global visits [Statista.com] in January 2020.
Teespring stats show that its growth in successful selling creators on the platform has been monumental with 213% growth since 2018. One key catalyst of success for the business has been moving away from its roots of tees and apparel. In mid 2019, Teespring rebuilt its technology to allow creators to design their own bespoke products. Bespoke and non-apparel products have driven $49M in sales since launching and are currently growing 109% YoY. As they continue to accelerate, it is expected that non apparel categories will be the majority of all sales by the end of 2021.
CEO, Chris Lamontagne comments “For us, tees and apparel should be like what books were to Amazon—it was only the beginning. It will always be core to our business, but the future is deep diversification of product range, allowing our creators to sell anything to their communities. Teespring is leading the way in bringing an unrivaled offering to creators which can only be achieved through our deep-rooted relationships with the creators we work with.”
The company’s return to ‘hyper-growth’ follows a dramatic and well documented turnaround led by Lamontagne. The business has pegged its next phase of growth as potentially its most transformative, as it undergoes a radical facelift [due in early September] as well as a product redesign that will help carve the way for selling digital goods and a new set of deep social partnerships soon to be announced.
Teespring, CEO, Chris Lamontagne comments “It’s our continued objective to make ecommerce social. We continue to strive to create a platform that will act as a utility for our creators in helping them build their businesses. By removing all of the difficult parts of selling online – eg, design, social selling, customer service and fulfillment, we are in essence, creating a Shopify designed specifically for creators. We have a lot of work to do, but it’s great to be back on our growth track”.
Teespring is the leading social commerce platform which empowers creators with an end-to-end solution to design, promote and sell customized on-demand products without cost, risk or hassle. Integrations with YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, Discord and Streamlabs have helped Teespring to become the go-to company for over 300,000 creators to monetize their content creation and create and sell authentic products to their fans. Teespring has most recently announced its Brand Partnership Program, connecting creators with enhanced merchandise options from top-level brands like Champion, changing the face of e-commerce for creators. In 2019, Teespring became the fourth top visited apparel website in the United States and announced its profitability.
*UPDATE* We strive to ensure all the products you create and sell are of the highest quality for your community. We make meaningful relationships with our vendors to do so. Unfortunately, our Pet Hoodie vendors have been unable to make the products adhere to the highest standard that we hold. Therefore, we have made the decision to discontinue pet apparel as part of our product offering. We are very sorry for any inconvenience and would like to thank you for your patience.
As of today you can create merch for *all* members of the family including dogs, cats, bunnies, pigs, and more! Create pet hoodies instantly in the Teespring Launcher and offer a variety of size and color options to fit all your customers’ furry friends.
Product details
Not only do pet hoodies look adorable, they’re also designed for comfort and durability.
Features quality poly/cotton blend material with a soft interior
Available sizes range from S – 6XL
Double stitched for durability
Features an opening on the back so leashes can be clipped onto collars
The printable area dimensions are 7.5″ width x 9.5″ height (720 x 912px) For sizes S-M, art work will be scaled down to fit.
The recommended retail price is $25.99 for this product
We’ve also provided a sizing chart on listing pages so shoppers can see the correct size based on their pet’s measurements and weight. There are even size suggestions based on breed. 😏
Design inspiration
We’ve collected popular pet apparel design trends to help inspire you! Check out our Pinterest design board below and think about your top-selling designs; would they look good on pet hoodies too? Pet hoodie inspiration
Try offering product combos to increase cart size (image source)
Increase shopper’s cart size by offering matching human + pet design combos (like in the image above). You can also add different designs to different products within your listings to create funny product combinations like “fur mom” and “fur baby” (learn how).
If you don’t have a design handy, you can use the text tool in the Teespring Launcher and add playful slogans or phrases like “sleep, eat, bark, repeat” to your pet hoodies too.
Feeling inspired? Head to the launcher now to create pet hoodies.
Lifestyle YouTuber Sanne Vander is passionate about creating health and fitness content for her community. Sanne’s wellness–focused channel educates and inspires viewers with beauty tips, healthy living and fitness plans.
Continue reading to discover how Sanne built her brand (VNDR), created a dedicated community of fans (a.k.a. her “Vander family”), finds design inspiration, promotes her products, and more.
Building a relatable brand
“I fell in love with the concept of being able to create video content, upload it from your bedroom and share it with the world. Whether you are making videos or merch, all creative processes start with a story. What message do you want to get out to the world? Don’t be afraid to change your direction along the way.“
Sanne’s brand VNDR official has rocketed since growing her following across YouTube and Instagram. The secret behind her success is being able to engage with fans on a personal level. On Sanne’s YouTube channel you’ll find the “girl chat” playlist, discussing her personal struggles—covering everything from mental health to periods and shaving. Opening up in such a genuine way helps her connect with viewers, building trust around her brand. Fans are able to join Sanne on her fitness journey too, following her work–out experiments and transformation challenges. Her engaging, relatable video content has enabled Sanne to establish a large, loyal following of people who are proud to wear the products she creates.
Designing products fit for ‘Vanders’
“Creating merch with Spring is super easy and efficient. I use the launcher to create designs directly without using other software like Photoshop or Illustrator.”
By creating her own sleek storefront, VNDR official merch, Sanne joined a network of thousands of influential, young entrepreneurial women using Spring to grow their personal brand.
As well as making design concepts personal to her story and identity, a lot of Sanne’s merch inspiration comes from her fans directly. Sanne’s products include not only variations of her branding, but uplifting messages on her clothing and accessories. For example, her Let’s Glow hoodie features two dragons on the back, encouraging Vanders to “become the strongest, most powerful” versions of themselves.
Selling a range of products from athletic wear to hoodies, Sanne motivates followers to get #vanderfit and wear them while following her workouts. Take note–she’s successfully integrated top trending loungewear and is seeing promising sales from new products like fanny packs, sports bras, socks, and beanies.
‘Glowing up’ social media to promote merch
Sanne excels at promoting on social media. She’s got Instagram totally figured out, taking full advantage of the platform’s full range of useful tools and features. Sanne follows promotional techniques on Instagram like highlighting her store link within her account bio, using Instagram stories to feature fans wearing VNDR products, as well as posting photos and videos wearing her own products too.
“My Vanders share a lot of photos of themselves wearing VNDR official merch on social media. It makes me happy seeing how amazing the designs look on them.”
Sanne also effectively promotes her products on YouTube. She’s set up the Teespring x YouTube merch shelf integration to showcase products and increase sales. She’s also optimized her channel banner to feature merch images and most importantly, wears her products in her video content too. As viewers watch her content they’re able to preview and purchase the same product from her merch shelf below the video.
Deon Appelcryn, the director of Untamed Brewing Company, has one mission—to save Africa’s wildlife, one beer at a time. Centering their work around conservation and inspired by the African wild dog, they collaborate with non-profit organizations. Using income from sales, they support the ongoing struggle to preserve endangered animals and their habitats. Untamed Brewing embraces their passion for beer, Africa and wildlife to fuel their business, vision and product collection.
Diversifying income with their social store
Unfortunately, like many other small businesses worldwide, COVID-19 has severely impacted Untamed Brewing. Being locked down for several weeks has forced the company to close its doors, unable to sell alcohol or even distribute merchandise to their international customer base. Despite their recent hardships, the team is finding new ways to keep themselves afloat and stay active with conservation efforts through merchandise.
“COVID-19 has already caused a huge impact on our business, so if it’s extended further, we don’t know how we will recover. However, we have plans in place and are positive we will see this through. In the meantime we can continue to sell our merchandise globally through Teespring to fund our business and raise awareness.”
Finding ‘wild’ inspiration
Untamed Brewing’s products are created around the face of the business—the African wild dog, making their most popular design the ‘Logo Dog Range’. Deon’s volunteer work with the species is the inspiration and story behind Untamed Brewing’s merch designs. Apart from their popular t-shirts, they offer sweatshirts, hoodies, athletic wear, and kids clothing too. Based on recent sales trends they’ve also expanded their collection to include a range of homeware and accessories like mugs, pillows, wall art, phone cases, bags and socks.
Selling on social media
As a passionate, global group of supporters on social media, Facebook is their primary platform for promoting merch. By following our Facebook promo guide, they are able to generate high engagement and click through rates on the content they share. Notably, the team also wears samples of their products regularly to raise awareness for their brand, conservation efforts, and drive sales.
“We use Facebook adverts as well as selling merchandise at events. All staff are always wearing branded clothing. We get people stopping us on the street asking for shirts! Our adverts on Facebook cause spikes in sales on Teespring, so we’re pushing those more and more.”
Building a conservation community
From connecting with locals at events to spreading awareness of their work (and beer) on social media, Untamed Brewing’s story demonstrates how you can turn a passion (or two) into a successful business that makes a real, positive impact in real life. Their merch enhances brand building by creating opportunities for followers to support their business, contribute to a worthy cause, and raise international awareness.
“Creating a custom store on Teespring provided the best option–from fast products to customer service. It enables us to build our brand and sell products at scale without having to worry about fulfillment logistics and customer support.”
Despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic the Untamed Brewing team maintains a positive mindset and looks to the future. We’d like to thank them for sharing their story and wish them the best of luck in the future!
Want to support Untamed Brewing Company and their ‘pack’?
You can instantly create and sell custom cloth face masks in the launcher. This product is fulfilled globally, meaning we’re able to optimize production and delivery timelines based on your fans’ location. Adding face masks to our product offering is the direct result of numerous requests from our user community. We hope this new product offers creators and their followers a sense of community and self-expression in the process.
Product details: Cloth face masks provide full nose and mouth coverage when worn. Each mask’s exterior is made of 100% polyester and can be customized using sublimation print. The interior of the mask contains 100% cotton lining in white. Masks include two white, elastic ear loops on each side so people can comfortably wear them over their face.
Please note cloth face masks are not medical grade products. You can reference the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for recommendations on the best types of face coverings to use for self-protection
Single-sided print (exterior)
7″ w by 3.5″h size
Two elastic, white ear loops
Covers mouth and nose
100% polyester exterior with 100% cotton lined interior
$7.50 base cost and $12 – $15 recommended retail price
Care instructions: machine wash cold, line dry, do not bleach
Design formatting tips: Face masks are fully integrated in the launcher so you can create them instantly. The exterior of each mask is decorated using sublimation print so you can create a variety of vibrant and eye-catching designs. If you plan to add a logo or text to your mask, consider using our design template to check the ‘safe’ area for placing these elements (see image below)—when worn, the sides of the mask may fold to fit the curve of the face, so design elements outside of the safe area may be hidden under the folds.
Keep in mind we recommend creating design files that are 8.3″w by 7.8″h (2490 px x 2340 px) @ 300 ppi. Check out our free pattern collections that can be uploaded to the launcher as well as our inspiration board for more design ideas. Quick tip, you can easily apply your existing t-shirt designs to this product and choose a colored background in the launcher too.
How your design will look from template to preview
Head to the launcher now and select “Cloth Face Mask” to upload your design. If you’re new to Spring you can check out our full launch tutorial here.
Fanny packs, also known as waist bags or hip packs, will continue to trend as one of the hottest selling accessories this year. You can earn $15+ with each fanny pack sale while giving customers a stylish way to carry their stuff with plenty of storage options and an adjustable fit. Head to the Teespring Launcher to create this exciting new product instantly.
Designs are printed on the front of fanny packs (single sided print) and the back panel is black, which matches the adjustable strap, interior lining, and zippers. With a base cost of $19.75, Teespring users can expect to make $15+ in profit when selling fanny packs at our recommended retail price of $34.99.
Fanny packs are made of lightweight, 100% spun polyester with a fully lined interior.
They also feature a strap which can be adjusted to 52” at full length to accommodate a variety of sizes.
The back panel is made to protect from wear and tear and is easy to clean.
Fanny packs offer a variety of storage options and feature a back pocket with zipper plus an interior pocket with zipper and three card holders.
Design inspiration
You’re able to customize the entire front area of this product, which leaves a lot of room for imagination. Check out our free design patterns linked below plus our fanny pack inspiration board on Pinterest to see what’s selling. When designing fanny packs, keep in mind the printable dimensions are 15.56″ x 5.72″ (2,334 x 858 pixels) for the main panel, and 15.56″ x 2.04″ (2,334 x 306 pixels) for the top panel. We recommend creating designs that are 300 DPI (minimum of 120 DPI) for highest quality print possible.
We’ve streamlined the process to help you easily source and sell custom patches. This product is perfect for adding a personal touch to items like backpacks, beanies, jackets, and more. Now you’ve unlocked patches in the launcher, you’ll be able to submit your product request for processing.
Just like lapel pins and keychains, patches cannot be produced on demand and require a minimum order quantity of 100 units. You have the option to pay for inventory upfront, or you can create a pre-order listing and we’ll process orders using the money generated from pre-order sales. Don’t forget as part of our TeespringGo service we’ll handle inventory storage, order fulfillment, custom support, etc. for you too. Continue reading to learn more about how you can source and sell custom patches.
Part 1: Customizing your patch
The patch type you choose will depend on your design.
Embroidered patches make the most of high-contrast designs and are the perfect combination of affordability, durability, and design potential. Embroidery makes designs look sharp and textured by highlighting details
Printed patches offer a higher level of design detail compared to embroidered patches. Choose printed patches if you want to create a vibrant, full-color design.
Patch Characteristics
Backing: embroidered patches feature iron-on backing—this way customers can easily attach their patches to various fabrics (following these steps for example). Keep in mind customers can also attach patches to clothing and accessories by sewing them on or using safety pins if they prefer.
Base material: patches feature polyester blend twill base material. This provides each patch with a stiff base to embroider on.
Border: patches feature a merrowed border (overlock stitch) to secure design threads.
When submitting your embroidered patch request, these are the characteristics you can customize using the form:
Design file
Vectorized design files are preferred, but we can accept JPEG, .JPG, .PNG, .AI, .EPS,.PSD, .TIFF and .PDF design files. We recommend submitting high resolution files (300 DPI) with at least 2.5” x 2.5” (750 x 750 pixels) dimensions. If you’re not able to submit a design file through the form you can provide a design link in the comments section of the form instead. Keep in mind small fonts/details are not recommended for embroidery. We recommend limiting designs to 9 colors or less; adding 10+ colors will increase the base cost of your patches. Keep in mind if your patch design features neon colors this may increase the base cost slightly as well.
Embroidered patches: Small fonts and details are not recommended for embroidery. We recommend limiting designs to 9 colors or less; adding 10+ colors will increase the base cost of your patches and/or require the use of printed patches instead. Keep in mind if your embroidered patch design features neon colors this may increase the base cost slightly as well.
Printed patches: Printed patches enable you to use full-color designs. Keep in mind the complexity of your design will determine the print method used; for example screen printing is typically used for basic designs and patterns, while direct-to-garment printing is used for photo-realistic images and complex, multi-color designs.
Patch size
The most popular patch size is 3 Inches, however, if your design features text or lots of details we may recommend choosing a larger size. Keep in mind the larger the patch size the more the base cost increases. Standard sizes range from 2 inches to 6 inches. Custom sizes are available upon request.
Quality (base cost)
Because patches are not produced on demand they require a minimum order quantity of 100 units—meaning you must order (or pre-sale) at least 100 units for your inventory to be produced. Keep in mind that the more units you order, the lower the base cost. Please note we also recommend ordering an additional 5% of inventory for replacements and exchanges. Below is a table with examples of price ranges, please note your quote may vary depending on the number of thread colors in your design and patch size.
Selling price
Popular pricing for patches ranges from $4 to $12. You will decide what selling price you want your patch to have and how much profit you’ll earn per sale. Spring charges a fulfillment fee that is 15% of the selling price (minimum $2) which covers inventory storage, order fulfillment + packaging, customer support, etc. This fee is collected each time a patch is sold.
Part 2: Sourcing & selling patches
Here’s a breakdown of how the sourcing process works.
1. Submit request
Once you’ve unlocked patches you’ll see the ‘Custom patch’ product icon in the launcher. Click the icon and fill out the form with your patch characteristics and submit your request. We aim to process all requests within 24–48 business hours.
2. Pay deposit
Once we receive your submission we’ll send you a non-refundable deposit payment link for $50. The deposit will go towards the inventory cost once you’re ready to place your order.
3. Approve quote
Once the deposit is paid we will process your request and follow up with a quote and product mockups in the next 24-48 business hours. These will require your approval before we continue with processing your request.
4. Source + sell
You have the option to source patch inventory upfront, or you can run a pre-order listing and use the funds from pre-orders to pay for inventory. Here’s how it works:
Quotation 1: Pay for inventory upfront
When you approve the quote and the mockups the next step is to pay for the full inventory. Once full inventory payment is received your patch order will be processed and we’ll confirm the estimated delivery time for your patches to reach our facility. Once payment is processed your patches should reach our facility within 14 business days.
Once inventory arrives we’ll take product photos and create the patch listing for you. We’ll make sure to set the listing to ‘private’ so you can make it public and start selling when you’re ready. You can sell your patches until stock runs out.
Quotation 2: Pay for inventory upfront
We offer a pre-order option for creators who are unsure how much inventory to order or would like to avoid paying for inventory upfront. Here’s how it works:
After approving the mockup you’ll need to confirm the minimum order quantity (MOQ) you’re comfortable with — i.e. the minimum number of patches you plan to sell. Note the MOQ must be at least 100 units and the quoted price is locked in once the listing is created (i.e. if you sell over 100 units the base cost will not change).
Next we’ll create a pre-order listing for buyers to reserve their patch. The pre-order period usually lasts two to four weeks. The limited time aspect can create FOMO (fear of missing out) and result in more orders placed within a short period of time.
We’ll inform buyers of the estimated delivery timeline for their order on the listing page and within confirmation emails. We’ll also advise them of the minimum order quantity so if the MOQ isn’t reached they’ll understand why their order is cancelled.
After the pre-order period ends (and MOQ is reached), we will use the funds from orders to pay for the inventory. Please note we also recommend ordering an additional 5% of inventory for replacements and exchanges.
Inventory should arrive within 14 business days once production begins. At that time we’ll send the orders to your buyers.
5. Get Paid
After patch orders are shipped to buyers, profit from sales will be available for withdrawal within your Spring account.
Visit the launcher now to see if you’ve unlocked patches.
Social proof is an important marketing tool, especially when it comes to online shopping. Social proof normally includes user-generated content like customer testimonials, case studies, online reviews, etc. Considering 84% of millennials are likely to be influenced into making a purchase based on user-generated content (social proof) it’s clear just how powerful social proof can be!
Lots of creators incorporate social proof into their promotional efforts by collecting and sharing their community’s photos. Photos of fans wearing and using your products generate hype, as well as affirm the value and quality of the products you’re selling. This content also functions as positive reviews of your products. Sharing them is an engaging way of generating trust in your brand. Not only this, but it also brings your community together, leading to more sales in the future.
Check out our video and complete guide below for examples of how creators are using social proof to leverage more merch sales—get inspired and try them out for yourself.
