2 builders who never spoke to each other

Test whether they want your brand on a shirt

The question is not whether readers like merchandise but whether they want yours, and the cheap check is whether nearly all of your hundred keenest readers could describe one of your logos, catchphrases or recurring images from memory. Readers already asking to buy the stuff is the clearest signal of all. Handing shirts out in person at a conference keeps them appearing in photographs long afterwards.

The method

1. 01

   The question to ask about branded merchandise is not whether your readers want merch in general but whether they want merch carrying your brand.

2. 02

   Take readers already buying or asking to buy your merchandise as the clearest signal it will work as a referral reward.

3. 03

   Run a lower-bar brand test before ordering merch: list the things tied to your newsletter such as its logo, catchphrases or recurring images, then ask whether nearly all of your hundred keenest readers could describe one from memory.

4. 04

   Start with the five items that perform best as newsletter merch: mugs and glasses, water bottles, hoodies and sweatshirts, caps, and t-shirts.

5. 05

   Make merch when you want the product to feel like a movement rather than a tool, and use it as a thank-you to your best customers.

What it returned

• 70

  About 70 shirts given away at The World Domination Summit

• SparkLoop has seen merch rewards work for audiences ranging from students to working professionals to retirees, and the biggest referral programs use it: The Skimm, The Hustle and Morning Brew.

Sources

• How to create t-shirts for your startupNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · 2015-09-02
• Referral Rewards 101: Guide to using merch & swag as rewardsLouis Nicholls · sparkloop.app · Would merch work for my newsletter? · undated