Seasonal Products
When you are deciding on products to offer, the season the book is set in and/or the season the merch will be launching can both be factors in choosing products. Here are some product options for each season:
Summer: tank tops, flip-flops, beach towel
Fall: long sleeve shirts, mugs, joggers/leggings
Winter: blankets, ornaments, crewneck/hoodie, stockings
Spring: glass drinkware/tumblers, zip hoodie, garden flag
Marketing your seasonal merch can be done in a couple different ways: limited time offerings or new products without a new design.
Limited Time Offerings: You have a Christmas themed novella launching this year and you want to add some merch. You create a cute design for a Christmas ornament and you only offer it from October to December and then it is gone.
New Products: You initially launch a merch design on more summery products, and you notice it is a popular design with your readers. So when winter rolls around, you can offer that same design on a new product like a blanket or hoodie. This keeps your shop fresh with new products without having to create a brand new design.
Hope these ideas help when picking the products for your merch store. Don’t put your design on everything up front, so you can expand the product line later if you want to.