Merch Minds Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Merch Minds Podcast - Episode 075: Interview with Anthony Zubia aka Brother Hacks Apr 09, 2018

Show notes

Finally, Brother Hacks is on the show! This week Anthony Zubia, brother of Hustler Hacks, and a Jeremy Piven lookalike is a guest on the show. Anthony is also a graphic designer based out of Austin, Texas.

Anthony talks about how he had his Merch by Amazon suspended. Since the suspension, he's not capitalizing off of other POD sites such as Etsy and TeePublic. He is also offering courses now on Skillshare that is relevant to the Merch by Amazon community.

Anthony also talks about how he is available to do freelance work. If you're interested in hiring Anthony, you can find all his information below.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/anthonymzubia

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/anthonymzubia/

Skillshare http://bit.ly/2HtAJd7

Sponsors Merch Informer https://merchinformer.com/223.html

Merchinator https://merchinator.com/s/e66c4a55

Merch Minds Podcast - Episode 074: Interview with Eric Rosner Apr 02, 2018

Show notes

Eric Rosner is an internationally beloved illustrator based in Los Angeles. He started his career working in animation, but he's now trying to launch his Merch career. The guy is so talented his work has been featured in CB2 and various publications. He's also done work for celebrities such as Jeff Bridges, Alec Baldwin, and Ed Begley Jr.

As talented as he is why is he struggling on Merch? The boys talk with Eric and give him an honest critique on how he can improve his numbers. After hearing his story both Glen and Yong gave him the following advice.

He should follow trends and current events. As great as his artwork is people tend to purchase items that are currently trending.

Eric should build a brand under his name. Eric is already an established artist. His style is so unique it will be difficult for people to copy his work without Eric taking action.

Yong suggested he focus more on his Etsy store. The style of work Eric puts out has the potential to attract a large audience on Etsy.

What do you guys think? What else can Eric do to improve his numbers? Check out his work, and if you have any suggestions, please let us know. We will relay your suggestions to Eric.

Website http://erosner.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/erosnerart/

Sponsors Merch Dojo https://www.merchdojo.com/go?affiliate_id=1020263

Merch Informer https://merchinformer.com/223.html

Merchinator https://merchinator.com/s/e66c4a55

Merch Minds Podcast - Episode 073: How to Make $10k per Month in Royalties Mar 26, 2018

Show notes

Glen might have his groove back! His editing skills seem to be back on point. Thank goodness because the people were demanding his head on a platter.

This week Glen and Yong discuss what it takes to make $10k in royalties on Merch by Amazon. After talking to Michael Essek who makes double-digits in royalties almost every month, they were inspired and try and dissect what people can do to make $10k.

Making $10k has been Yong's goal for some time now. However, he was never in a rush. His approach to Merch was to put out quality designs, and for the most part, it has worked for him. Tune is as the boys discuss what it takes to make $10k per month on Merch by Amazon.

Sponsors Merch Informer https://merchinformer.com/223.html

Merchinator https://merchinator.com/s/e66c4a55

Merch Minds Podcast - Episode 072: Interview with Michael Essek Mar 17, 2018

Show notes

Maybe Glen should be fired! It seems as if he's losing his mojo. His editing skill has been subpar, and the quality of the podcasts have been mediocre. That's okay, we still love him, and he promises the audio quality will get better.

In the meantime, try and listen to this week's episode of the boy's interview with Michael Essek. Michael is one of the few people who found success early on Merch by Amazon. As a designer in the U.K., he utilized his skills to scale his account to where he's making significant income.

Michael talks about he scaled his account to where now he's at the 16,000 tier. He has hired both his sister and brother-in-law to help him with his business full-time. He also hired two designers, and he's now playing the role of project manager and no longer designing.

Make sure to follow Michael on his blog. It's a little outdated, but the content on there is still relevant today. His ebooks are also available for purchase on his site.

Michael Essek https://www.michaelessek.com

Sponsors Merch Informer https://merchinformer.com/223.html

Merchinator https://merchinator.com/h/e66c4a55

Merch Minds Podcast - Episode 071: Talking POD with Chris The Thrift Shop Hustler Mar 12, 2018

Show notes

Glen was out of town and couldn't record this week's episode. Yong argues that he's lazy, but Glen was actually at a reselling event in Kansas. So Yong called upon the presence of the always reliable Chris Avalos aka The Thrift Hustler.

There wasn't much Merch news this week. Amazon did post a video in the dashboard that clarifies their content policy. They also added Guideline 2.6, which discusses the promotion of violence on Merch by Amazon.

So Yong and Chris took over Glen's YouTube channel. They talked Merch and POD in general. Chris has a unique strategy for his account. Instead of chasing trends and current events he just cruises along and is in no rush to scale his account.

Make sure to subscribe to Chris's YouTube channel. He talks about all kinds of things on his channel from reselling to print on demand. Tell him Yong sent you and say "hello."

Thrift Shop Hustler YouTube Channel http://bit.ly/2DlgyKD

Sponsors Merch Informer https://merchinformer.com/223.html

Merchinator https://merchinator.com/h/e66c4a55

Merch Minds Podcast - Episode 070: Saint Patty's Day Shirts and Penji Review Mar 04, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 70 Glen and Yong talk about Saint Patty's Day shirts. If Saint Patty's day is anything like last year, then the shirts will sell. Hopefully, the listeners have designed some as well.

Yong is one week into using Penji, which is a design agency that offers unlimited designs. While he can't compare it to other services, he gives Penji an honest review. So far he is very impressed by the designs that they have submitted.

They also talk more about Glen's suspension. Glen is positive that he was suspended for some kind of IP address issue. He's confident that it had nothing to do with his design or trademark violations.

Penji https://penji.co/ 10$ Discount Code: n0va (The "O" is the number zero)

Sponsors Merch Informer https://merchinformer.com/223.html

Merchinator https://merchinator.com/h/e66c4a55

Merch Minds Podcast - Episode 069: Glen AKA Hustler Hacks Merch Account Was Suspended! Feb 26, 2018

Show notes

Yes, you read the title correctly. Glen's Merch account was suspended. His account was actually suspended a month ago, and it was finally reinstated last week. While Glen was open to talking about it, he wanted to wait and see how it played out.

First off, we should all be grateful for Glen being transparent and sharing his experience with everyone. Not everyone would be open to talking about what their suspension. However, Glen not only talks about it but he was open to answering questions that were thrown his way.

So what happened? Glen received an email from Amazon asking questions about his IP address. There was a list about five to six questions. After Glen and Yong reviewed the questions, they concluded that the there was some issue with his IP address,

While they're not certain, that was the conclusion they came to. Maybe there was a trademark violation but Glen always careful about the type of his designs. So there is really no way to know for sure.

There is no way to be certain why Glen's account was suspended because Amazon is always vague in their emails. The one thing we can learn is that Amazon has full control of everyone's account. While the boys are grateful for the opportunity, they wish Amazon was more explicit about what mistakes were made so they can learn from it.

Sponsors Merch Informer https://merchinformer.com/223.html

Merchinator https://merchinator.com/h/e66c4a55

Edit Content: Merch Minds Podcast - Episode 068: Interview with Johnathan Grzybowski from Penji Feb 16, 2018

Show notes

This week the boys talk to Johnathan Grzybowski from Penji. Johnathan is the co-founder of Penji, which is a design agency that offers high-end designs from in-house graphic designers. Unlike other agencies, they focus more on quality instead of quantity.

Penji is unique because they have a streamlined back-end where you can communicate with your designer. They are also capping off their services to only 300 clients. Currently, there have 200 clients, but the spots will be filled up fast.

Johnathan talks about how he hires students and graduates primarily from Rutgers University. He specifically hires students going through a design program. He also puts them through extensive training before they can be hired as a designer at Penji.

You can submit unlimited designs and get unlimited revisions. Most of their work is completed within 48 hours. Their convenient month to month plan makes it easy to join with no contracts. You also get the original source files and have complete ownership of them.

The best thing about Penji is you get real in-house designers that sit in the office with Jonathan. You don't get people online who claim they are designers. And Johnathan is generous enough to give the Merch Minds listeners a 10 percent discount. Just use the discount code listed below.

Also, check out Johnathan's podcast where he interviews entrepreneurs from various backgrounds. Make sure and subscribe to his podcast, which is also listed below. The podcast is called the Blind Entrepreneur.

Penji https://penji.co/ Discount Code: n0va (The "O" is the number zero)

The Blind Entrepreneur Podcast http://theblindentrepreneur.com/

Sponsors Merch Informer https://merchinformer.com/223.html

Merchinator https://merchinator.com/h/e66c4a55

Merch Minds Podcast - Episode 067: Is Merch by Amazon Passive Income? Feb 11, 2018

Show notes

Passive income is a term that is being thrown around in the Facebook groups. Many content creators are claiming that they are earning passive with Merch by Amazon. While it's been discussed by Glen and Yong in the past, they discuss in-depth in this week's episode on whether Merch is really passive income.

By definition, passive income is when you do all the necessary work up front resulting in cash flow on a regular basis. Glen argues that Merch is the closest thing to passive income. However, Yong strongly believes that you have to constantly work on your Merch account.

What do you guys think? Merch by Amazon is not hard labor, but it does require effort. Whether you are a designer or not Merch can bring in a nice income stream. Regardless of whether you believe Merch by Amazon is passive income or not let the boys know what your thoughts are.

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