Reinventing Swag - Amanda Hofman’s Mission to Make Branded Merchandise Sustainable and Stylish

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This is the Beyond the Story podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. And now, Sebastian Rusk I'm so excited to be here with you. I am excited to have the merch queen here herself in living color, ladies and gentlemen. So great you were able to take a few minutes out of your day to hang out with me. I know you got a lot going on over there. So I'm excited for our conversation, excited for what we're going to be able to do. We're going to dive into that. What exactly you do and what I'm excited about pertaining to that with our conversation. You and I connected on the wonderful world of LinkedIn, and I found you because of, well, merch. Look at that. I mean, swag.

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What do you know? Based on somebody else's post, too.

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And you commented, but that algorithm seems to know what we like and what we want, but either way, so great to be connected with you here. So I love to tell people's stories on this show. I like to back up to the beginning of the story, wherever the beginning is for you, for context purposes, help our listeners better understand how you actually started doing what you're doing right now and what Yeah, absolutely. So this is my second company. My first company was, uh, an events group for women in New York city called urban girl squad. And I love that business. I worked at 24 hours a day. Um, and we were doing 150 events a year and I was running it from my apartment in Manhattan. And it was really fun. It was awesome. But the one thing I never had was swag. And the reason I didn't have it, I understood the power of it at the time. I knew that I was running a community in a geographically limited place and that having my name out there and my logo would be so powerful and this beautiful conversation starter. And I can never do it. Do you know why? Why? I'm just waiting for you to ask. Because the process of ordering branded merchandise sucks so much. Every time I went to do it, I was overwhelmed by the minimums. I was overwhelmed by the number of choices I had to make. I was overwhelmed by the commitment. I was overwhelmed by not knowing what people would want. And the idea of going to the post office and mailing this stuff out to people made me want to throw up. I just hated it. So every time I looked into it, which was many times, I never did it. And then I sold that company. Then I was home with my kids for about six years. And then when I was looking for a new company to start, I came across Print on Demand technology. And Print on Demand is something that some people have heard of, but they don't really understand. What it means is that every item prints as it's ordered. So this whole idea of minimum order sizes and stocking inventory and committing to a design and putting your logo on everything is antiquated. We don't need to do that anymore. So you can set up a storefront. where every item prints as it's ordered and there's no more need for inventory. And I thought to myself, why the hell is not every single company in the world doing this? This doesn't make any sense. I want to be the person who's going to make this easy for companies to make the switch and to stop printing junk, to stop being wasteful and to start making branded merchandise that's like a fun, joyful expression of your brand and like a conversation point to really get your brand out into the world. And then I'll say one more thing that I love about it, which is that it brings together a community and an energy around a company. Like there's, there's so Well, you're not just like, Hey Amanda, I need some hats. And you're like, why hats? And there's a better way. You're actually creating an entire brand identity and extension of that by creating an online store, creating custom merch, coming up with catchy phrases and things that really compliment the brand. It was that really derived from you going, I can't deal with this boring swag and merch That actually came out sort of naturally because in the beginning, it's just kind of our gut reaction to be like, oh, you should put your logo on everything. It's just sort of like a basic knee-jerk reaction to things. That's what it should be. You should put your logo on everything. And then as I started really thinking about brands creatively, it was like, wait a minute. We connect to the values of a company. We don't connect to the logo of a company. We connect to how it makes us feel, how it relates to our identity. The reason that we wear branded merchandise is because a brand has become part of our identity, part of our world and our experience, and we want to have a tangible connection to it. So like, especially for service-based businesses and for remote teams, to have literally a tangible connection to these places and these people is very meaningful. So why waste the opportunity by like just putting your logo on it and calling it a day? Like you could do something fun or funny or meaningful or beautiful, right? Like you can put art on And I mean, some of the work you've shown me and the work you've done, we'll include some links in the show notes so you guys can check it out. But this is really catchy stuff so much so that I'm like, I'm in, I want to do this. I mean, I'm already kind of a swag brand tongue and cheap with my podcast suck brand as it is, but I'm like, what else is available? What else is there?

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And you kind of open my eyes to what's possible. And there's, I'm excited to see what we can come up with here in the near future on here. But for, for a brand that may be listening to this right now and they're like, yeah, our coffee cups or our Frisbees, really suck and it needs work. What are some of the things that people should consider when figuring out what it looks like to innovate things pertaining to Yeah, so there are two things to think about. The first is one size does not fit all. You are not going to make everyone happy by giving everyone the same thing, even if it's high quality. This is a mistake that a lot of people make. They're like, oh, well, I got everyone a Yeti mug. It was really expensive and it's really high quality. Well, some people like mugs that have handles. Some people like mugs that don't have handles. Some people want something insulated. Other people's don't want something insulated. And then you might think, well, I can't make everyone happy. And it's like, actually, you can, if you give them a choice, if you're like, here, choose this mug, or choose this hoodie, or choose this hat. And obviously, if you do a print on demand, you can offer lots of choices. But if you do bulk printing, like you can still offer people choice. Also, you can offer people the choice to opt out. Some people really don't want merch. That is not me, but there are, there are of course people in the world who are like, I really love your brand, but I don't want to wear it or own it. And like, let them not don't give them the burden of having to repurpose whatever you give them, throw it out, recycle it, give us a goodwill, et cetera. So that's on the choice aspect. The other side of things is on the design. So I would think about, I would look at your own Instagram feed. If you're ever posting like a text only post or like a bold idea, or if you're a coach and you're saying something again and again, or like podcasts suck, or just something like really zingy that like gets to the heart of what it is that you're doing, like print that on Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. So what would you say, well, two-pronged approach here. What's the most exciting part about what you do for brands? And then what's the biggest Yeah, so the most fun thing is when we nail the design and like a client feels such joy. Truly, this happens a lot. They feel such like elation at seeing their brand come to life in this beautiful, visual, tangible way. And then they get to go on and wear it in their social feeds, in their real life, like to school pickup or whatever it is they're doing. And it really helps them express their identity and like their values in this beautiful way.

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just a really beautiful part of the work. I think one frustrating thing is that sometimes people are like, we have this now with this corporate company, that they're like, we want to go really big. Like we want to go street. We want to wear like, we want to do like graffiti and these like awesome things. And then we show them everything.

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And they're like, you know what? I think we should just put our logo on things. And we're like, okay, okay, Yeah. You know, I think about that a lot too. I was like, should I get golf poles printed up with the podcast launch lab logo? And I'm, I'm bored thinking about that. But I'm like, when I go play golf at a country club, I cannot walk in with a podcast suck at on I've tried it once. And they look at you like you got, 10 heads and boogers and they are shaming you with their eyes. So I was like, I got to figure something out where I can, like tomorrow morning, I have a networking event at a country club in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow morning. And I'm like, what can I wear? Well, I guess I'll just pull out a golf polo and I'm not going to really wear anything at all because it is in fact a country club and there's a dress code there. What I have so many ideas for you. Like we could make a polo for you. Like imagine that it said podcasts suck, but in country club font. So it was kind of like you needed to take a minute with it. Like if you just glanced at it, you actually wouldn't, it wouldn't. It's not like yellow on black, right? It would look like, you know, we could come up with something like really, um, like snobby country club-ish, but like the text would actually say podcasts suck. And people who, here's the thing, when you're wearing branded merchandise as a founder, you're wearing something that is going to attract the right people to you. right? So like somebody who looks at that and is like, Oh my God, I got to talk to that guy. That is a lead for you. That's the person who you want to come over. The person who's like, Ew, that's gross. He's not your audience anyway. Go away. Who cares? Right. So I think there's, um, there's different merch for different settings, different situations and different audiences. And that's another reason to go print on demand, right? Like, I don't want to have to make you, 50 of this like polo shirt, right? You want to have the thing that you wear to the golf club, the thing that you wear to the nightclub, the thing that you wear to the diner, the thing that you wear to like on your Instagram posts, the thing that you wear when you're recording a podcast, right? Like I'm wearing my big merch is fun muscle shirt right now. Um, I'm, I wouldn't wear something that has like really small text on it because I want you to see it. But like, if I'm just like out in the world, like Yeah, absolutely. So, um, how So this year has been the year of LinkedIn for me, which is not surprising that we met there. I, and it is not surprising that you saw my comment on things because I am a commenting machine, or at least I was in the first part of the year. I used to live entirely in women's networking groups and that was awesome. That's how I got to know our mutual friend. Um, but I'm starting to realize like the tremendous opportunities that are on LinkedIn and not just for business opportunities, but I've actually, this is going to sound so cheesy, but I have made real friends on LinkedIn people who I think of as like Yeah, so same here. So being able to, you know, that's referrals, quality relationships, being in the right room, knowing the right people, and having people talk about what you actually do Yeah, it's also, it's actually fun. It's a grind for sure, because you do it every single day, but the results are Are you guys doing anything in the world of AI when it We use AI as a enhancer, right? So like I will come up with my own ideas, I'll write my own stuff, and then I'll run it through AI and be like, can you make this better? And then like half of the time it does, and then half of the time it doesn't. And so if it has good ideas, I Right. And same here, say when it comes to the world of the podcast and we're creating a strategy and idea and concept, I don't think there's any one, you know, push a button and it all magically happens, but AI is going to be there to, to make a life just that much easier on, on, on what we're doing. So, um, when it comes to brands that you choose to work with, is it any brand or We work with a shockingly wide variety of brands.

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We work with a lot of financial companies and we work with solopreneurs and we work with authors and we work with food companies. We work with a lot of food companies, a lot of wellness companies, skincare brands. There's just, if you think about it, every company makes branded merchandise, even like your local construction companies, like your pavers, your, um, and all the way up to like Google meta, like every single company is making branded merchandise, which means that there's room for every company to be doing it better, more sustainably, more efficiently. And with strategy, we haven't talked about this piece yet, but you alluded to it with the hats where it's like, there's nothing wrong with making a hat, but I would ask you to think about what your goal is before you print things. So many people print things just because they're like, well, somebody told me I needed branded merchandise. And so I'm going to print it. It's like, have a plan, have a goal, and then evaluate if the branded merchandise helped you reach it. And if it didn't, maybe it's because you weren't wearing it properly. Like you showed it once and then went away and like not enough people saw it. Or maybe it's because the message wasn't clear on it or it wasn't branded well enough. Um, but I encourage people to think about if the things that they're printing are accomplishing their goals. Because if not, you should pivot. Because the cost of this is not just financial. Like, there's a tremendous amount of waste in branded merchandise. We all know that because we all have drawers full of junk of this stuff, right?

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And we're all kind of grossed out by it. I think younger people more than older people are just like, ew. get this away, like we don't want to create more waste. So you should, but there's still a lot of reason to do branded merchandise. So I would say like the more thoughtful you Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's talk more about that. You said we haven't talked much, but we did, we dabble a little bit on that, but let's, let's chat a Yeah, I mean, I just think that there's this notion from the 1990s and early 2000s of just like branded merchandise is a thing that every company must do. And what it means is that you put your logo on t-shirts and notebooks and pens with your phone number and you give it to as many people as possible. So I like to draw the distinction between promo products and like promo items and branded merchandise and swag, which is a little insider baseball, but like, I think of a promo item as like, um, the people who like put flyers in your dashboard and like, um, like people on street corners who are trying to get you to like, take their flyer. It's just like not something you want. It's something that's pushed on you. It's something that's like usually not designed well, interesting, like it's free junk.

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Whereas branded merchandise and swag is like a valuable, beautiful reflection of your company and your company's values. And it should be as nice as the thing that you produce, whether that's financial advice, or a book, or your consulting services. Your branded merchandise should look, feel, and taste as good as that. And if it doesn't, don't do it. There's no rule that says you have to do Right. Oh, gosh, please no. I'm like, hey, every time someone puts one on my car, I live in Miami, it's like, unsolicited marketing central It was funny, this jazz bar just opened up around the corner, and they put yard signs on the corner. And I thought to myself, they're not even in a good area.

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And I'm like, no one is looking at that. And if they are at a red light, and they happen to glance over, they don't go, you know what? I think a jazz club Right, right. It's kind of mind-boggling how people But now imagine if that jazz club instead had really cool people in the neighborhood wearing a really attractive, interesting, eye-catching hat.

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And then you're like, who are these cool people? And what's, do you know the name of the club? You don't need to say it. And then you're like, what is that? Like, it piques your interest, especially in a local community, right? Then you can be like, hey, Of being able to. So what's your favorite project you've I will tell you- There's a favorite, but you don't have to No, it's okay. I'll tell you one. I'll just say the- No, I meant your children. She's an anti-diet nutritionist, and I happen to love the anti-diet movement because I grew up in a snack wall's house. And the anti-diet movement just means that diets are stupid and get rid of them. They're not good for you. And there's patriarchy and all this stuff. Anyway. We made these products for her that are so meaningful, funny, like they've all gone viral. Like she does so well with them and they're just like a rallying cry for her audience. It's beautiful. It just, it makes me so happy every time I see it. And I do want to add one thing, an amendment to something I've said before. I keep saying that these are storefronts, but you should really think of them as gifting platforms. So rather than saying, because some people listening are, I'm sure, thinking, well, I'm not big enough to have a storefront. And that may or may not be true, but you should think of it like a gifting platform, something that people who are your clients, fans, partners, sponsors, whoever, family, can go on and choose what they want with Yeah, I love that. Yeah, as we wrap up here, let's talk about those storefronts real good, because I really liked it. I like the fact that it's print on demand as well.

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So you have to sit around with boxes of T-shirts and hats or whatever your chosen swag is in your garage. Let's talk about the storefronts and also the print on demand. I love Yeah, so what it is is we'll make six to 12 designs for a client, and those designs can go on any number of things. So let's say it's on a hat, it's on a mug, it's on a t-shirt, it's on a crop top, all of that's available in the storefront, but it doesn't print until somebody chooses it. So if I go on and I'm like, I want the Merch is Fun tank top in black, in size medium, in this style, and ship it to New York, it's gonna come to me, the business doesn't, get it and then have to send it to me. Like the order goes straight to the printer, the printer sends it straight to me. So what that means is that you can be really flexible in what you're offering and in your design.

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So right now I'm wearing this Merch is Fun. If next year I'm like, I'm really over Merch is Fun. I don't want to wear this anymore. I can just take it down. I can put it away. Like I can bring it back the following year.

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Like it's a fully flexible, beautiful system Yeah, absolutely. And do your clients make money from the So, yes, but not in the way you think. So the profit margin on print on demand is very small. Anyone who tells you that merch is passive income is lying. It's.

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It can make you some money here and there, but the way that you should think about branded merchandise is that it fuels. It's an engine and a sales and marketing tool for your main source of business, right?

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So like it's a way to get sponsors. It's a way to get brand awareness. It's a way to get new clients. It's a way to create a VIP tier and, and. increase your loyalty for your best clients. It's a way to keep your clients for longer, right? So it's like, it's an engine within your business to help grow your Right, right, right. So you see your shirt. Yeah, you may have made 50 cents It would be like five or $10. But like, if you think about that in terms of the volume you need to sell for that money to like mean anything in your business, like you're not meant to be running a retail company.

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The merch is a support for the main thing that you're Yep, love it. Well, I'm excited to see what we figure out with Podcast Suck and the Podcast Launch Lab. I'm excited for that. I'm so glad we're able to make this interview happen today. You're wonderful. I'm glad we got a chance to connect. And I'm, again, excited about what we get to create together.

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I would love for anyone who's listening to reach out to me on LinkedIn. Just say hi, Love it. I'm gonna put all Amanda's contact information in the show notes. That's the description of this podcast episode. In case you were wondering what the hell a show note is.

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So make sure you hit her up, check her out. She's doing great work. I believe in what she's doing. I literally believe in what she's doing. I'm not just saying that. And You got it. Until next time, friends. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Beyond the Story podcast. We sure do appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. We sure do appreciate it. Signing off from the podcast, launchlab.com studios.