If you’re looking for a tactile way to make your company stand out in a digital-first world, sticker marketing is a playful, memorable, and human way to do it. Custom stickers are a low-lift, high-impact marketing tactic you can use to showcase your brand’s personality. They offer a profitable item for you and an affordable add-on for your customers.
Muammar Reed, cofounder of MiJa Books, couldn’t agree more. He discusses sticker profitability on an episode of Shopify Masters, saying, “If we were to do another vertical, I’m bullish on stickers. I love stickers because we can get 80% to 90% margins on them.”
Whether you’re brainstorming fresh sticker ideas or already working with a printing service, this guide will show you how to effectively use sticker marketing.
What is sticker marketing?
Sticker marketing is the practice of using custom, promotional stickers to build brand awareness and affinity. Stickers are a convenient marketing tool because they’re so versatile. Tuck them into packaging, hand them out at an event, or sell them as low-cost merchandise. Customers put stickers on all sorts of personal items, turning everyday objects into roaming billboards that reflect your brand’s tone, humor, and values.
Benefits of sticker marketing
Fans who become brand ambassadors can use your stickers to extend your brand exposure in an organic, durable way. As a community-building tool, stickers can signal belonging. When you create sticker designs with slogans, inside jokes, or niche references, you give customers a way to identify one another as part of the same fan club. When stickers spark recognition, they fuel word-of-mouth marketing as well.
High-quality stickers are designed to last for years on laptops, water bottles, and cars, quietly promoting your business long after a marketing campaign ends.
Ways to distribute your branded stickers
Stickers are an affordable way to get your brand noticed by potential customers. Use these sticker ideas as inspiration for your distribution strategy:
Packaging inserts
When customers discover a free sticker included as a packaging insert, it can feel like a small personal touch. A well-designed sticker is a surprising gift that can encourage them to promote your brand long after a purchase. You can include one or two stickers in every order, reserve special designs for first-time customers, or give sticker books to high-value customers who complete large orders.
Limited-edition sticker drops
Scarcity marketing can help you sell by capitalizing on customers’ fear of missing out (FOMO). When people feel like they’re among the first or few to get a product, it can increase your brand’s perceived value.
Limited-edition stickers can create a sense of urgency and collectibility, so consider releasing special designs for holidays, collaborations, or company milestones. For example, you might release a short-run sticker alongside a product launch or company anniversary. You can also heighten the special feel of a sticker with premium touches like holographic finishes, foil accents, or custom shapes, which signal that the sticker is worth holding onto.
Make the scarcity explicit. Number the run on the stickers themselves, or clearly state on the product page that you only printed a hundred. Customers who snag them feel like insiders, increasing the likelihood they’ll trade, share, and show off their stickers through organic user-generated content (UGC).
Event and pop-up giveaways
Whether at a market, pop-up, or industry event, free sticker giveaways are an easy way to attract foot traffic and help your business stand out. If customers can leave your booth with something free and fun they can fit in their pocket, you’re already building a lasting impression.
For example, a skin care brand pop-up shop might design stickers with playful illustrations of hero ingredients or cheeky, event-specific slogans. Staff can hand them out with purchases or to passersby, using the moment to introduce the product line or point people to a QR code on the sticker linking to a landing page.
Evergreen merchandise
High-quality stickers with bold custom designs can stand alone as year-round merchandise. They’re inexpensive to produce, easy to price accessibly, and appeal to a wide range of customers. They give fans a simple way to support your brand, make great gifts, and help online shoppers get over the minimum spend needed to get free shipping.
Make it easy for customers to add stickers to their shopping carts at the last minute. In a brick-and-mortar retail environment, that means putting them in point-of-purchase displays by the register. For your online store, incorporate stickers into your checkout flow as recommended add-ons.
Tips for successful sticker marketing
- Research your competitors
- Consider the user experience
- Stay on-brand, with a twist
- Draw inspiration from popular interests
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you design your sticker marketing campaign:
Research your competitors
The best stickers are creative and unique. To avoid getting lost in the noise, do a competitive analysis. If your competitors tend to distribute flimsy rolls of stickers, make yours larger with more durable materials. Play around with fun and clever sticker design styles, like bold typography, playful illustrations, seasonal references, or inside jokes tied to your brand. The more differentiated you can be from your competitors’ stickers, the better chance you have of gaining brand recognition.
Consider the user experience
Think about where you might want customers to place your stickers. What’s the ideal situation in which a prospective customer would see your sticker in the wild? Do you want your stickers showing up in professional coworking spaces or at the beach? Should your stickers be able to withstand the elements, or will they be more at home in personal journals and birthday cards?
Think about the sizing options as well. A very large sticker may fit on the back of a laptop, but not a water bottle, for instance—great for a tech brand but less so for an electrolyte packet company.
Stay on-brand, with a twist
Every sticker is a tiny stamp of approval for your brand. Fonts, colors, tone, and messaging should align with your broader branding. That doesn’t mean everything you put out there must bear your company name. But it should look recognizable and be consistent with your overall aesthetic.
For instance, makeup brand Glossier repurposed its name with a new typeface and color palette for a seasonal sticker drop. Because the design debuted in the summer, the sticker was cut into a surfboard shape. The caption is just as fun: “Sticky summer weather and a new summer sticker.” In one move, Glossier refreshed its branding, evoked summery vibes through the sticker’s design, and created a sense of urgency for customers.
This sticker from Fishwife may not bear the brand’s logo, but it clearly captures its spirit. The mermaid aligns with Fishwife’s nautical branding, while the slogan—“It’s tinned fish time!”—is a conversation starter. Anyone who enjoys tinned fish and spots this sticker on a friend’s personal item is likely to receive a word-of-mouth recommendation to try the brand.
Draw inspiration from popular interests
When your brand aligns with a lifestyle or the broader cultural zeitgeist, you don’t have to start from zero to attract customers and make your first sale. The trends or interests themselves do most of the legwork.
Turtle’s Soup is an online sticker shop with a plethora of design options. While the brand maintains a consistent artistic style, it’s not afraid to draw from different lifestyles and cultures to create unique stickers. For example, a recent line featuring the National Park System targets customers who love the outdoors and serves as an entry point to the larger brand.
Keep track of designs that outperform others so you can spot trends that inform your next design.
Sticker marketing FAQ
What is sticker marketing?
Sticker marketing uses custom-printed stickers as promotional tools—distributed free in packaging, handed out at events, or sold as low-cost merch. It’s a low-budget tactic with long-lasting visibility.
Are stickers a good marketing strategy?
Yes, stickers are good for brands looking for inexpensive, creative, and affordable tactics to reach new customers. Stickers offer long-term visibility, a personal feel, and flexibility across campaigns, events, and packaging.
Does sticker advertising work?
Sticker advertising works because it blends promotion with utility. When stickers are well-designed, relevant, and high-quality, people willingly display them. Good stickers turn everyday objects into organic advertising that travels far beyond your original audience.
What’s the difference between kiss-cut and die-cut stickers?
Kiss-cut stickers come on a sheet of paper backing, and die-cut stickers are cut to shape.
