The Perfect PopSocket:
Popsockets are HOT. And when I say hot, I mean selling like crazy. The hooray and fun for Popsockets has “slowed” since they first released but it’s time to get your mind focused back on them. With Quarter 4 just around the corner there isn’t a better time to focus on these perfect stocking stuffers.
What is a Pop Socket:
Popsockets are a phone accessory that sticks to the back of your phone or case that allows you to comfortably hold your phone without dropping it constantly. They are a small circular disk that has a plastic cap on one side, and a round sticky pad on the other. The sticky pad sticks to your phone or case and the plastic capped side is what we get to design. In between the 2 pads, there is a circular rubber stand that can be compressed so the pop socket can lay flat against the phone, or expand out for your fingers to slide around for a better, more comfortable grip.
Now that you have a better understanding of Popsockets you may be wondering why in the world would anyone want that silly thing. I’ve had a Pop Socket for about a year now on my phone, and when I pick up a phone without one it just feels uncomfortable. No matter your age, whether you’re 13 years old or 113 years old, all walks of life can be found using them. Start looking around while in public at everyone on their phone, odds are you’ll spot a Popsocket or two. The world is slowly becoming addicted to technology, and even more so to their phones. Anything that can increases your comfort or productivity while on your phone will be a hot seller.
The Trend:
Pop Sockets BLEW the doors off the mobile phone accessory industry in back in December of 2016 and then blew up again in December 2017. But don’t think this just blew up over night. Popsockets originally started in 2010 and were just two buttons on back of phone to wrap headphones around. (This idea didn’t take or nor look good). In 2012 a Kickstarter Campaign has taken place to sell an entire phone case with a built in Popsocket. But in 2014 is when the Magic began. Popsockets launched as we know them today and has now sold over 40 Million Popsockets world wide.
What Makes A Perfect Popsocket?
The perfect question without a Perfect answer. To begin not every Popsocket you upload will sell on Amazon. But there are core principles that you can follow that will increase your chances of selling.
1. Graphics only works: Graphics work extremely well on Popsockets. Pattern Styled Graphics are the biggest sellers on Amazon for PopSockets. When I say patterns, think about granite or marble patterns. They look good, are crisp and clean and they are very pleasing to the eye. People want to show off something they are passionate about and something they might think is “cool” looking without people having to be in their personal space to see exactly the meaning behind the graphic. Think Scrapbook Paper for a moment here. If you look at scrapbook paper it’s either one of two things. Very large graphics that can easily be seen and understood immediately, or a bunch of small graphics repeated in 45 degree lines making a complete background of small graphics.
What is a Pop Socket:
Popsockets are a phone accessory that sticks to the back of your phone or case that allows you to comfortably hold your phone without dropping it constantly. They are a small circular disk that has a plastic cap on one side, and a round sticky pad on the other. The sticky pad sticks to your phone or case and the plastic capped side is what we get to design. In between the 2 pads, there is a circular rubber stand that can be compressed so the pop socket can lay flat against the phone, or expand out for your fingers to slide around for a better, more comfortable grip.
Now that you have a better understanding of Popsockets you may be wondering why in the world would anyone want that silly thing. I’ve had a Pop Socket for about a year now on my phone, and when I pick up a phone without one it just feels uncomfortable. No matter your age, whether you’re 13 years old or 113 years old, all walks of life can be found using them. Start looking around while in public at everyone on their phone, odds are you’ll spot a Popsocket or two. The world is slowly becoming addicted to technology, and even more so to their phones. Anything that can increases your comfort or productivity while on your phone will be a hot seller.
The Trend:
Pop Sockets BLEW the doors off the mobile phone accessory industry in back in December of 2016 and then blew up again in December 2017. But don’t think this just blew up over night. Popsockets originally started in 2010 and were just two buttons on back of phone to wrap headphones around. (This idea didn’t take or nor look good). In 2012 a Kickstarter Campaign has taken place to sell an entire phone case with a built in Popsocket. But in 2014 is when the Magic began. Popsockets launched as we know them today and has now sold over 40 Million Popsockets world wide.
What Makes A Perfect Popsocket?
The perfect question without a Perfect answer. To begin not every Popsocket you upload will sell on Amazon. But there are core principles that you can follow that will increase your chances of selling.
1. Graphics only works: Graphics work extremely well on Popsockets. Pattern Styled Graphics are the biggest sellers on Amazon for PopSockets. When I say patterns, think about granite or marble patterns. They look good, are crisp and clean and they are very pleasing to the eye. People want to show off something they are passionate about and something they might think is “cool” looking without people having to be in their personal space to see exactly the meaning behind the graphic. Think Scrapbook Paper for a moment here. If you look at scrapbook paper it’s either one of two things. Very large graphics that can easily be seen and understood immediately, or a bunch of small graphics repeated in 45 degree lines making a complete background of small graphics.
2. Text Does Work: While creating your designs, or transitioning your current shirt designs to pop sockets, you may want to take note on your word count. Popsockets are small, just bigger than the size of a half dollar coin in the United States. Designs with longer sayings on them will get jammed into a very small area on the pop socket. While they might sell well or look good, avoiding this may help with avoiding returns in the near future. While creating designs, you want to create a shorter saying, that can easily be placed onto the pop socket. This will allow the buyers to see their pop socket from further away and instantly be able to read and or understand the message on the pop socket. The same applies to the people looking at the pop socket and attempting to read it. Create messages that people can attach to personally, and want to show off to others. Think about what you are passionate about, and what you would want to show off to others.
3. Background Colors: This is a step some seem to forget and I understand why. With shirt designs, we generally tend to use transparent backgrounds allowing the color of the shirt to be the background color of your design. But with Popsockets, the color of your background matters, as this will be the color that the design is printed on. This can be very exciting for us sellers as we have a much wider range of colors we can now put our designs on but can also be extremely overwhelming. Personally I will create the background colors according to the niche. I will look at sites like Amazon, Pinterest, Google Images and more to find which colors are appearing regularly when searching a niche. This allows you to Create not only backgrounds that can be associated with a niche, but a great way to learn which color your designs should be focused on.
Can you Build a Brand With Popsockets?
Brand Building can be huge on Merch By Amazon if you stick to it. When it comes to brands which I talk about in another article, it can ultimately change the way you Merch. By having all of your items (Popsockets) under one brand, it allows customers to view your products, it also allows them to easily remember your brand for later purchases if they decide they would like to come back and shop again. One brand building technique that I have been working on is Local Business to Business Sales (B2B). Pop Sockets can be sold to businesses very easily, they don’t have to stock different sizes & colors like they do with T-Shirts, it is a one size fits all product. They are cheap, and companies can easily give them away to customers, or start a loyalty program with Popsockets as a “reward” that they can redeem points for.
Conclusion:
Popsockets are worth the effort in learning to design and or create. They are going to be a bigger hit in quarter 4 than we are already seeing as they make great stocking stuffers. When creating your designs, make sure they are the perfect specs and aren’t low quality/resolutions as Amazon has been cleaning up the site with Popsockets. Create niched themed Popsockets that people are extremely passionate about. If you can’t think of niches to create in, think about what you are passionate about. These phone accessories will be on the back of someones phone, and it needs to be something they like enough that they are willing to see everyday when they pick up their phone. I love my Popsocket, and if you haven’t ordered or purchase a Popsocket yet, I highly encourage you to, so you can understand and see the product in person.
The Perfect PopSocket Tool:
Link: https://goo.gl/NtxTMa
This tool is incredibly powerful, it allows you to save royalty free images from sites like Pixabay that are upload ready for PopSockets on your Merch By Amazon Account. This tool has more than paid for itself.
Note: Please always check original licenses on royalty free & paid images, patterns, graphics & fonts.
Have more Popsocket Questions? Use the comment section below and I will be sure to reply back to them as soon as possible.
