Your band is pretty amazing (naturally), but you haven’t got a whole lot of cash to splash just yet. You will one day, of course. One day, it’ll be gold-plated toilet seats and caviar baths (umm, ew) but in the meantime, we’ve got a couple of hacks to help you make the big time faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.
The great thing about cheap merch is that it tends to travel further. You're not too precious about giving it away, and chances are your fans aren’t going to be either. That’s good news, for both of you. The more your merch travels, the more eyes are on it and the more exposure for your band. CAVIAR BATHS HERE WE COME! (Nope still ew).
Here’s our top ten tips for Australia’s cheapest custom merch — that your fans will still go crazy for.
Stickers:
An oldie but a goodie. You can print stickers up for bargain basement prices and hand them out at your shows. Print out heaps and stick them on noticeboards and other visible places around your city, or the cities you visit on tour to get your band noticed. Stickers are highly visible and last for ages, making them the perfect entry-level merch option.
The guy who reads my meter reckons I have the best music taste.
Guitar picks:
Practical AND awesome, what could be better? Seriously, guitar picks are super cheap and are a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Shower them on your punters at the end of your shows like confetti, or just get the hottest member of your entourage to stand by the door at the end of your show with a bowl of them for sale.
Keyrings:
Keyrings are always a winner. You get lots of cool creative options in terms of the styling of them, and people are happy to spend a few extra dollars on them, because a keyring is usually something we hang on to for a while.
4. Postcards:
We’re talking the postcards that are held onto as a memento rather than the ones your fans will send off to Aunt Sally in the mail, so you can still go crazy with the design. The great thing about postcards is they tend to end up on fridges, and fridges are a pretty prominent piece of in-home advertising real estate. Your fans will be fielding questions about your uber-cool postcard from their visiting friends and family for many months to come.
5. Condoms:
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this item lacks the high visibility of some of the other options here, but they tend to sell well purely due to the novelty factor (and also because your music turns your fans into horny sex fiends, naturally).
6. Enamel Pins:
Who doesn’t love a cute enamel pin? Really, who? Enamel pins are an enduring favourite because of their vintage charm and because they, well, endure. They work particularly well with bright colours.
7. Totes:
Totes are another high scorer on the cost vs visibility scale (which we just invented, by the way). They’re practical and super-cheap to produce, and you know your fans are going to be totes (sorry) happy to tote your latest record around the streets of Sydney with one of your custom printed band totes.
8. Stubby coolers:
Always a winner, because who doesn’t prefer their beer somewhat chilled? And don’t these things just stick around? Here at Jungle Merch HQ we’re reasonably sure we’ve got stubby coolers dating from World War Two somewhere in the back of the cupboard under the sink. Once you own them, you own them for life.
9. Posters:
If you’re lucky enough to have a great graphic designer who’s produced you some artwork truly worthy of celebrating, posters are a great tool in your merch toolbox. You could consider doing a run at a smaller size too, so fans who aren’t quite ready to commit to giving you the primo spot above their mantelpiece can still hang your merch somewhere to remind them, forever more, of your awesomeness.
10. Mugs:
Everyone needs mugs, and they’re an item we do tend to get a little attached to. Wars have been started over incorrect usage of mugs in the workplace. If you’ve ever felt even just a LITTLE peeved at the sight of your flatty/girlfriend/husband/boss using your favourite mug, you’ll understand how attached we can get.
I am moving the fuck out if you touch that it again, Carly.
Branded band mugs are a surefire crowd pleaser guaranteed to be a hit on your merch stand.
