Introduction: Make and Sell Custom Shirts w/ Merch by Amazon

In this intro video, your instructor, Chris Green, gives an overview of the Merch by Amazon platform.

In this video, we upload the artwork and create a brand new shirt listing on Amazon using Merch by Amazon to show just how easy it is to create product pages. The finer details of this process are broken down in later videos.

Merch by Amazon is so new that it is developing and changing even as I make the videos for this course! They now have a max price of $49.99 on shirts and are limiting designs to a maximum of five color options. When I made several of the videos in this course, there was no color choice max. So please keep this in mind as you go through the course and open your own Merch by Amazon account that some things may look different over time. I expect many of the changes to be for the better such as more options and more control over the product details. Time will tell.

Just three weeks into the launch of Merch by Amazon and there are already two big changes!

First, they are limiting the number of shirt designs that a creator can upload. They now have a tiered system where you will be limited on how many listings you can upload related to how many shirts you are actually selling. I was worried that this may happen because in all of my experience with Amazon, I know that they want a great customer experience on the Amazon website and it wouldn't take long for some creators to start uploading 'I Love Frogs' and 'I Love Sushi' and 'I Love Leaves' and then 'Bill Loves Frogs' and 'Bill Loves Sushi' and 'Bill Love Leaves' and then 'Sally Loves Frogs' and well I think you get what I'm trying to say.

BONUS TIP: Even if your shirts aren't selling (yet), you can still up your design limit with a PAY TO PLAY model of just buying your own shirts. Think about it; if your ideas and designs are wrth putting on Amazon, then buying a single copy of one of your shirts should be worth it.

Second, the program has seen such a great response that they are extending their shipping lead times to customers from 2-3 days + Prime shipping to 5-7 days + Prime shipping. This is not something that content creators can control but pass it along to any customers or traffic that you may be sending to your Amazon listings.

In this video, we walk through the basic account settings that need to be configured prior to uploading shirt designs. These settings include your business info, your banking info (to receive royalty payments), and your tax information.

In this video, we take a detailed look at the Merch by Amazon dashboard. The features here include Creating, Promoting, Managing, and Analyzing your items.

Merch by Amazon provides some amazing resources for their users. In this video, we walk through each section and outline the information in each.

These are the Best Practices directly from Amazon. Direct link also provided to stay up to date on any possible changes.

These are the Royalty Calculations directly from Amazon. Direct link also provided to stay up to date on any possible changes.

These are the Content Policies directly from Amazon. Direct link also provided to stay up to date on any possible changes.

These are the Promotions Policies directly from Amazon. Direct link also provided to stay up to date on any possible changes.

These are the FAQs directly from Amazon. Direct link also provided to stay up to date on any possible changes.

In this video, we take a detailed look at the Photoshop PSD file and how you can use it to create great Merch by Amazon shirt designs. Direct downloads of Amazon templates included.

This is a BLANK PNG file, 4500 pixels wide by 5400 pixels high. 300 DPI with a transparent background. Use this to make new shirt designs.

I ordered several shirts with the full 4500 x 5400, 300 dpi images used and they are a bit big. This is a 15" x 18" images on a shirt. Amazon's own Best Practices state:

Artwork sizing and placement

• While you can certainly use the entire 15" x 18" in space, often customers find a print that is 18 inches to be overwhelming. By and large we find that keeping your maximum dimension to 12 inches or less results in higher conversion rates.
  
  
  I will be making many of my shirts with 12" x 12" images moving forward, and this video will show you a few tricks to making sure that they stay centered on the 15" x 18" required template size.
  

In this video, we do a more detailed walkthrough of the Merch by Amazon upload, design, and product page creation process. We talk about each setting and give examples of when you should use different options.

In this video, see exactly why anyone who uses Merch by Amazon has an unfair advantage when listing on Amazon. We talk about the benefits of being eligible for Amazon Prime and how Merch by Amazon shirts can quickly be the #1 result for searches on Amazon.

In the video tutorial series, I use Photoshop CC. Others are using GIMP or Paint.NET.

Need to learn to edit photos? There are some awesome sites out there that can help you learn photo editing including YouTube, Udemy, and Lynda.

In most of my videos, I use Photoshop CS5. Full installs of Photoshop can be expensive. Adobe does offer a version for $9.99/month called Photoshop CC (Creative Cloud). In the following videos, I'll show the Photoshop techniques that I use within Photoshop CC. There are many different photo editing programs out there. Some install on your computer, some run in a browser, some are free and some are paid. There are A TON of free videos online (YouTube especially) with free tutorials for any specific Photoshop task that you are trying to do.

If you use Photoshop CC, PLEASE watch the free tutorial videos in their Welcome section.

In this video, we look at using the Photoshop tool called Magic Wand as well as demonstrate Photoshop Layers.

In this video, we look at a couple of different ways to remove the background from images. Find other ways by searching YouTube. There are also websites and services that will remove the background from your images for you (for a fee).

In this video, we look at adding and editing TEXT. We look at how to change the font, change the size, stretch and transform, change the color, add outlines, and even arc the text up or down. Adding text to shirts to use with Merch by Amazon is a fast and easy way to get shirts designs up quickly.

In this video, we take an image and copy & paste the part that we want to edit into a new image. Then we transform and resize the image. We use the Magic Wand and several keyboard shortcuts. This video will help you learn how to manipulate images in Photoshop.

In this video, you'll learn how to take a screen capture or screen cap, create a new image, and paste the screen capture to create an editable image. On Mac, use Command + Control + Shift + 3. For PC, you may have to Google how your setup takes screen captures. Once you have a screen capture created, you can then crop the image to get just the part that you want.

In this video, see a full example of taking an idea, getting an image, removing the background, copying, pasting, transforming, adding and editing text, and resizing the canvas.

In this short video, we look at how to search for someone to hire on Fiverr.com to help you with photo editing. You can see their response time, their delievery times, and even contact them ahead of time.

In this video, we'll look at a shortcut way to see ALL of the Merch By Amazon listings, how to see if your keyword or design idea is currently being made by any Merch By Amazon sellers, and a bonus tip on learning new vocabulary words in order to be first to market with trending topics.

Here is a list of five popular websites to check daily to stay on top of current events, news, politics, sports, pop culture, memes, trends and more.

There are many other funny graphic t-shirt companies out there. Visit their sites to get ideas and inspiration for your own shirt designs. Compare designs for what is NOT on Amazon or on Amazon with NO Prime Eligible offers. Also watch for awesome SEASONAL ideas that you can bring ot market on Merch By Amazon.

You can use Merch By Amazon for yourself OR you can teach it to others. You can LEVERAGE your knowledge of the platform to help those with audiences, with existing designs, or with shirt needs that they don't want to mess with. The following series of videos will give you real examples of places that you can go and sell your services either for a flat set up fee, royalty split, or lisence agreement. There really are no rules here. This is new territory. Find something that works and make it happen.

Bands want to play music, not sell shirts. But often they are forced to sell CDs and shirts out of the trunks of their cars after their shows to make money. What if you could offer them a new way to make money selling shirts that makes it easier for them, and easier for their fans? How about setting them up with Merch By Amazon? How about taking a flat fee to set them up or get their artwork on Amazon for them and oay out a royalty split? There are many ways to do it that benefit both sides. And if you don't know any bands, just go downtown to any place where they play live music and talk to the owner. Easy peasy.

Think about all of the opportunities at your local restaurants with Merch By Amazon. They want to sell shirts to get their name/brand out there in the community, but they are NOT interested in dedicating a closet to inventory of three designs, two colors, and eight sizes. You can offer them a system that gives their customers selection and availability without them having to do the work. They give you the artwork, and you put the shirts on Amazon. Maybe you charge $19.95 and pay them a $5 royalty for every shirt that sells (and remember that they are the ones promoting the Amazon pages). Then you keep the rest for setting it all up. Maybe they pay you a flat fee to set up their account for them. Find what works.

Findraisers are an awesome way to use Merch By Amazon. When raising funds, groups are looking for a SYSTEM that they can use to turn their efforts into CASH. Setting them up with a Merch By Amazon listing that they can promote door-to-door, to friends, and to family, give them a system that can earn them $5 for every sale (or whatever numbers are set). Help fundraisers get set up on Merch By Amazon themselves for a flat fee, or partner with them and pay out a royalty for each shirt that they sell.

Many businesses have needs for shirts but keeping an inventory of styles, designs, and colors is not what they really want to spend their time doing. Find a better solution for them with Merch By Amazon. Set up a private page where they can order just what they need and only when they need it. Put their logo or designs in your store and earn a royalty on their orders in exchange for setting up their Amazon pages.

In this video, you'll learn how to search the USPTO.gov website for existing trademarks or word marks. Keep this in mind when designing your shirts for Merch By Amazon as well as to use if you get a trademark notice form somebody.