Why Amazon Merch is Today's Best Passive Income Opportunity (and What to Know Before You Get Started) 


In 2017, I discovered Merch by Amazon, a lucrative passive income option.

Merch by Amazon is Amazon's version of Teespring.


You develop a t-shirt design and upload it to Amazon, and a percentage of each t-shirt sale is yours to keep.
Royalties are calculated based on the price you specify for your shirt.


As of this writing, Merch by Amazon's royalty calculation is rough:


Shirt Price * 75.5 percent Equals $9.71 Royalty

I recommend listening to Episode 216 of The Side Hustle Show with Elaine Heney if you want to learn more about this program.


This podcast episode is a 45-minute crash course on Merch by Amazon that gives you everything you need to know to get started and uncovers some unique methods from an experienced seller who made over $53k profit in a year on the program.


This was the first site I came across when I initially started looking into Merch, and it was quite useful.
I've joined Elaine's Facebook page, which is a fantastic resource for Merch merchants. 

Merch by Amazon is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for a few reasons: 


Only rudimentary abilities are required:



Because many of the best-selling designs are text-based, you don't need to be a great graphic designer to thrive on Merch by Amazon.
You can sell shirts if you can develop a simple text-only design.


You also don't require any prior experience with Photoshop or other design software.


To make simple designs, you can utilize a variety of free tools and even mobile apps.
Canva is the one that comes to mind because I already use it.
Can appeals to me since it is both basic and user-friendly.

Katharyne Shelton has a YouTube explanation on how to use Canva to quickly and easily make Merch designs:

It only takes a few minutes:



Elaine estimates that she works on her Merch business for roughly 10 hours per week, which includes time spent doing "market research" or brainstorming t-shirt ideas.


She also creates a lot of designs, which I'll go into in further detail later.


So, I believe you can do this in less than 5 hours a week and still succeed.


In reality, by utilizing virtual assistants and freelancers, it is possible to cut even this amount of time in half.


In the future, I intend to experiment with this.


There is no need for marketing:



The best thing about Merch, in my opinion, is that you don't have to do any marketing (if you don't want to).


I prefer making things (writing, designing, etc.) but not so much marketing or advertising.


The traffic is already there by collaborating with Amazon, the world's largest marketplace of customers.
Amazon is already used as a search engine by millions of buyers.


The Merch by Amazon t-shirts, unlike other Amazon items, do not require user reviews to perform effectively.
So you don't have to be that annoying person who begs for a review.


There is no need to invest:



There are no expenses involved with using the Merch platform, as far as I can determine.


All inventory, printing, shipping, and customer service are handled by Amazon.
You essentially have to do nothing but upload designs.
This is enormous.


Participation is also free of charge.


Each t-shirt sale is only worth a percentage to Amazon.
You can buy paid design software if you like, but it's not necessary to make designs.


I'll tell you about a paid resource that I'm now using.



It's called Merch Informer, and it's a research tool.


I subscribe to Merch Informer because it saves me a lot of time when it comes to researching designs and assisting me in creating designs that I know will sell.


Merch Informer is now $9.99 per month, with a six-month or one-year subscription offering a discount.


I'll tell you about a paid resource that I'm now using.



It's called Merch Informer, and it's a research tool.

Currently, there is an approval process with a considerable wait time:


At the time of writing, you can't simply join up for Merch by Amazon and be approved to sell right away.
The approval procedure can take months due to the high demand for the program.


In March 2017, I signed up for Merch by Amazon.
I was accepted in May and began uploading my initial drawings.


However, you should not be discouraged by this.
While you wait for approval, you may start generating designs and have them ready to go.

You can also start consuming educational stuff while you're waiting. 


I've found the following Merch by Amazon materials to be useful:


Books:


Amazon Merch Blueprint: Create a Six-Figure T-Shirt Business in One Year


Chris Green's Merch Life: An Introduction to Using Merch By Amazon to Design Shirts and Make Money. 


Blogs:


Pursuits of Merch


Merch Informer's blog


Podcasts:


Merch Entrepreneur: Make Money Selling T-Shirts and Merch on Amazon by Merch Entrepreneur


Glen and Yong discuss merchandising on the Merch Minds podcast.


Of course, the first resource you should consult is Amazon's Merch informative page, which includes an introduction to the platform, best practices, tools, policies, and FAQs.


The number of designs you can post is limited:


As you reach specific sales criteria, the limits, or "tiers," grow.


The first tier is capped at ten t-shirt designs, so you can only make that many at first.
You are "tiered up" to the next level after selling 10 shirts, which is 25 designs, and so on.


The current Merch by Amazon tier structure is as follows:


10 25 100 500 Pro (by invitation only) —
I've heard of folks with tier levels of 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, and even 8,000.

Many of your designs are unlikely to be purchased:



Expect to be turned down.
There's a lot.


For whatever reason, many t-shirt designs fail to attain popularity.


Because there are so many comparable designs on popular topics, your design may not sell if you weren't one of the first to market.


The most amazing thing I learned from Elaine's interview was that she has uploaded over 6,000 designs in total, most of which were duds.


So, while she was successful, she had to put in a lot of effort to get there.

Success on Merch by Amazon, like anything else, is all about being consistent.



Merch by Amazon is the best passive income option I've seen in a long time, despite the challenges.


I'm still new to the game and have a lot to learn, but I'm enthusiastic about the prospect of making some extra money doing something I enjoy.


If you're reading this and haven't already signed up, I strongly advise you to do so.


There is minimal danger and a great potential reward.
Also, this chance may not be available indefinitely...
What are the chances?


Continue reading: My Amazon Merch Side Hustle in 3 Easy Steps