3 Reasons To Create Things That Make You Laugh
by Michael Essek · Updated: July 8, 2026Last week I created a particular design purely because I thought the concept was funny.
And as I was putting it together I could hear the voice in my head saying, “this is wasted time… no one is going to buy it… it’s too weird… there’s no demand… ”
But I ignored that voice and plowed ahead anyway – because I had this drive to create it, in spite of all those legitimate reasons not to.
There really was no evidence I could point to – no proof of people searching for this phrase (it was completely new/original) – no existing designs that bore any similarity – and no numbers, BSRs or trend data that would suggest anyone would ever even see it (much less buy it).
And here’s 3 reasons why I think you should do this too (create things because YOU like them);
1. You Can’t Fake True Funny
When I stumbled across this particular concept, it actually made me laugh out loud exhale slightly harder (no reason to exaggerate).
And if you’re looking for indicators that something is truly funny – you couldn’t ask for better evidence than “this made me *actually* laugh”.
Of course, you could attempt to verify if something is funny by sharing it with others first (eg. friends or family) – but that’s not efficient or practical, especially if you’re going to produce the volume of work that’s required to get regular, consistent sales.
So trust YOUR gut – especially if it is jiggling up and down with actual laughter.
2. You Don’t Know Where It Could Lead
Some of my first ever attempts at T-Shirt designs were related to an old film with a small cult following, and I created them not because there were similar designs out there – but because there weren’t (at the time there were no designs on Redbubble related to this particular film at all).
Turns out I was right – there was some ‘pent up demand’ out there – and within a few weeks I’d made my first few sales (my first few sales, EVER).
Later on, a movie-related blog reached out and promoted these designs for free – and then a group of fans who were organising a get-together and screening placed a bulk order and wanted custom stickers and more.
Just think – NONE of that (and in particular the morale boost this gave me as a beginner designer) – would have happened if I had said ‘well, no-one’s doing anything like this – so I’d probably be wasting my time’.
3. Morale Boosting
You NEED the emotional boost and encouragement that comes from having your original ideas and inclinations validated.
Making a sale from an original idea – from a stranger on the other side of the world – is a true high. It gives you motivation to continue – because it proves to you that you CAN do this, and that you do have an accurate sense of what people like and will respond to.
And if you’re near the beginning of your journey – you are going to need a lot of motivation – to keep you going through the drudgery of work you’re going to have to do (there’s no overnight success – and for a steady business you need a lot of designs.)
It really helps to know that there ARE other people out there who think like you – and you actually need that – and you need to PROVE that – if you’re going to make a success of this.
So go do that thing that YOU think is fun (or funny, or needs to exist)– the thing that YOU would want to wear – that fires your engines, floats your goat, and puts a pep in your step.
Certain ideas will cry out to you to be realised – and you’re probably causing yourself some kind of psychological or emotional damage by keeping it bottled up and not letting it out there into the world.
Create – not because you know it will make you money – but because you have something worth creating. The rest will follow.
(oh, and that funny design from last week – it just sold for the first time today.)
You can do it!
I hope you found this article useful.
This is a sample chapter from my book ‘How To Sell Funny T-Shirts Online’ – a book about how to actually make sales from original work, again and again.
