Your first major decision when designing a band merch sticker is a simple one: Can you design it yourself, or do you need to get a graphic artist to help you? Often the first impulse is to do the work yourself to save money and perhaps a little time; however, your sales will depend on the quality and marketability of your design. A truly honest self-appraisal of your artistic capabilities is necessary. Not everyone has the expertise to create a professional-looking logo or design, and a small investment now can pay off for years to come.
Whether you will be designing your band merch sticker yourself or having someone do it for you, some careful consideration needs to go into the complexity of the design. Intricate patterns and illustrations with fine lines and details can be very impressive and eye-catching, however, they can be difficult to reproduce clearly and may be nearly impossible to decipher from a distance. A text-only sticker is more easily read, even from the rear bumper of a vehicle, but large block letters are also less visually interesting. Experimenting with a few different designs to find the correct balance between legibility and artistry is key.
Band merch stickers are most commonly made in rectangles or circles, so you may want to consider a more unusual shape for your own. Starbursts, triangles or custom die-cuts made specifically to match your order can make your merch stickers stand out, even if the design itself remains simple. Totally custom die-cuts will be more expensive than standard shapes, so keep your budget in mind while selecting shapes.
Black-and-white or full-color band merch stickers? This may seem like a simple question, but it plays a huge role in determining your printing costs later. Black-and-white stickers are cheaper to produce than two- or three-color stickers, and full-color (aka four-color) stickers are the most expensive. While the difference of spending 5 to 10 cents per sticker versus 25 to 50 cents may seem trivial, when you are selling stickers for only a dollar or two, the difference may be a 1,000 percent profit versus a 100 percent profit.
Your next task is finding a vendor who will produce the stickers you want at a price you can afford. Price differences between color options will obviously vary by vendor and quantity ordered. When shopping around, be sure to compare materials (i.e. vinyl thickness, UV inks, sizes) and quantity price breakdowns. Keep in mind shipping and art-conversion costs when comparing estimates as well; an extra $10 or $20 in your pocket makes a difference.
Once you have found a vendor for your band merch stickers, you can usually submit your artwork online. Most vendors will take your artwork "as-is" as long as you follow their artwork submission guidelines. If you submit art in a different format, they will charge an artwork clean-up fee.
Once you have successfully submitted your design, your vendor will generally send an email proof for your approval. If you wish to see an actual hard-copy sticker sample, be prepared to pay another small fee, as most stickers are printed in large runs on offset printers and the vendors will pass the cost of proofs on to you. Once you approve a proof, you have only a short wait before your band merch stickers arrive.