Polling Readers
Here are some great questions to pose to your readers to gauge their interest in merch:
Would you be interested in (book title or series) merch?
Yes/No
What merch products are you most interested in?
Multiple choice: Shirts/Apparel, Art Prints, Tote Bags, Drinkware, Home Decor
What designs are you most interested in seeing featured on merch?
Multiple choice (tailor to your genre/books): Character Names, Couple Names, Main Setting/Location, Book Quotes, Book Tropes
Limiting it to Yes/No or multiple choice answers will give you the best data as it forces your readers to choose an option rather than being able to put anything and everything.
Pose these questions wherever you have the most reader engagement and interaction, whether that is your email list, Facebook group or page, or Instagram, and see what your readers say.