How Heather used Teespring + Merch Shelf to launch her brand

Heather Kell is a dog mom and Alabama native. She’s also a wicked decorative planner, which lead to the birth of her YouTube channel, Kell of a Plan. Heather creates videos to inspire others to organize their lives in a fun, creative way—called decorative planning.

Heather’s created her own recognizable brand with Teespring and range of products that suits her and her audience’s busy lives. Check out Heather’s top tips for creating products her audience loves and promoting her merch line effectively.

 

Choosing a platform to sell merch

In 2018, Heather designed posters to hang in her new home office. Her followers “went crazy” for her hand-drawn, unique artwork. After searching for a platform to sell merch, Heather chose to create her custom posters with Teespring because it offers cost-free and hassle-free selling.   

“I love that Teespring handles all of the printing, shipping, and customer service. I run another business on the side as well, so I know how much time that takes—and I just didn’t have enough hours in the day to do that. I love that I can upload my designs, add them to my shop, do some advertising, and then Teespring handles the rest. They make it so easy to run your own merch shop! I also love that Teespring is constantly adding new items to their shop. It helps keep things fresh and fun for the customers.”

 

Designing products your audience loves

In terms of creating your own designs, Heather recommends listening to what your followers like and can relate to. Her most popular design features the quote, “She Planned a Life She Loved”—perfect for her audience!  

“I think my favorite product I have created so far is my planner backpack. I had envisioned for a long time having a black and white floral bag with my favorite quote on it, but I’m not a graphic designer so I struggled with getting the florals to look the way I wanted them to. I was able to work with a graphic designer from Teespring through a special program to design the perfect bag. I think it’s beautiful and I’m also so proud when I see other people carrying it.”

 

Promoting

Heather partially credits her success to enabling YouTube’s Merch Shelf on her channel. This allows her audience to easily see what she’s referencing in her videos and make purchasing easy. Heather recommends showing your products in real-world settings on YouTube and social channels to increase engagement and sales.

“I typically get the most sales or engagement with my merch when I share it in a YouTube video or an Instagram post in a way that shows viewers HOW they could use the product. For example, if I just show them the backpack, they may think, “Oh that’s cool, another backpack.” But when I do a video of “What’s in my planner bag” and show the SAME backpack but show all the different things that can fit into the bag and talk about the features of the bag, more people are excited to purchase it for themselves. Another promotional tip that works well for me is offering free shipping. I price my items at the right place that offering free shipping doesn’t cut into my profit too much, but my viewers LOVE not having to pay shipping. I see a lot more sales when I offer that promotion. I also love that Teespring gives me the opportunity to offer promotions-—it’s another great feature of this company!”

 

Heather now has over 800 videos on decorative planning on her YouTube channel and a community or people wearing her custom merch around the world. She’s a perfect example of how to build your brand and connect with your audience through custom merch!