How to Make Custom Keychains for Promotional Giveaways

When was the last time you lost your keys?

Hey, it happens to the best of us… perhaps more often than we’d like to admit! Keychains can make your valuable keys easier to keep track of, whether house keys, work keys, car keys, or a jangly set of all of the above. Plus, they’re a fun way to show off your personality and make something mundane feel a little more you.

So if you’re looking for a fun, low-cost way to give back to your valued employees or customers… look no further than custom keychains! They’re lightweight, they’re genuinely useful, and – bonus! – they’re free advertising to everyone who spots them.

Since custom keychains are rather inexpensive, starting at just $0.24 each, they make an excellent product for promotional giveaways. They’re perfect as a freebie thrown in with select online orders, a free gift for customers who reach a certain order threshold, an employee appreciation gift, or even a prize for Instagram giveaways.

No need to DIY hundreds of keychains to sell or give away – after all, you’re busy enough already! But you don’t have to resort to giving generic wholesale keychains away either. With THE/STUDIO, you can create personalized custom keychains for promotional giveaways, with the help of our convenient online tool. All with no minimum order quantities, endless customization options, and 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

To create high-quality custom keychains, all you have to do is:

• Find a manufacturer
• Choose your keychain type
• Customize your keychain
• Design your keychain
• Approve a sample of your keychain
• Sell or give away your keychains

We’ll walk you through exactly how to create custom keychains, step by step.

1. Find a manufacturer

DIY is fun and all… but when it comes to creating complex products like keychains, you’ll save a whole lot of time and likely end up with a better, more uniform product if you outsource production to a great manufacturer. It’s possible to create a beautiful customized pin for a very low price… all from the comfort of your home! But with so many keychain manufacturers out there, your task is to find a reliable one that offers a great value.

A great keychain manufacturer will make it simple for you to design and customize high-quality keychains at a fair price, with satisfaction guaranteed. Here are a few other great qualities to keep an eye out for as you search for a keychain manufacturer to partner with:

• Multiple keychain types
• Wide range of customization options
• Free design services
• Top factories
• Great customer service
• Low MOQs (minimum order quantities)
• Great reviews
• Fast turnaround time
• Fair pricing
• Free shipping
• Customer satisfaction guaranteed

THE/STUDIO is a reputable, industry-leading manufacturing company that checks all of those boxes. If you choose to partner with THE/STUDIO to create custom keychains for promotional giveaways, you’ll complete the entire process using their convenient DIY product creation tool here.

2. Choose your keychain type

Next up, choose which type of keychain you’d like to create. The type you choose will affect the look, functionality, and price of your keychain as well as the customization options available to you, so choose wisely! You’ll have three types to choose from:

Embroidered Keychains

Soft, pliable, and lightweight, embroidered keychains add timeless style to any set of keys. With many color and thread options available and free design services, it’s easy to create an embroidered keychain that’ll make your customers smile. Embroidered keychains start at just $0.29 each. Start creating a custom embroidered keychain here.

Metal Keychains

Custom metal keychains are sturdy and durable, with many colorful enamel options and metal finishes available. Metal keychains start at just $1.17 each. Start creating a custom metal keychain here.

PVC Keychains

The most durable keychain option available, PVC keychains can withstand the messiest adventures without losing their luster. They’re perfect for flexible, vibrant designs, with unlimited color options. PVC keychains start at just $0.24 each. Start creating a custom PVC keychain here.

3. Customize your keychain

Once you’ve chosen your keychain type, select how many pieces you’d like to order, it’s time to start making it your own! Exact customization options vary depending on the type of keychain you’ve already selected, but you may be able to customize:

• Size – choose the length and width of your keychain.
• Style – select whether you’d like a design on one or both sides.
• Colors – select how many different colors you’d like to incorporate in your keychain design.
• Attachment type – Choose from a split link with curb chain, a split ring with link chain, a split ring with metal jump link, a split ring with swivel 8-link, a split ring with plastic jump link, a beaded metal cord, a lobster claw with metal jump link, a split ring with black rope, a cell phone string, a lobster claw with curb chain, or a round split ring + swivel lobster claw combo.
• Keyring size – Choose how large you would like your keyring to be.
• Thickness – Indicate how thick you’d like your PVC or embroidered keychain to be.
• Specialty thread – for embroidered keychains, choose whether you’d like to add on metallic thread, glow-in-the-dark thread, or puff embroidery.
• Material color/finish – for metal keychains, choose from shiny gold, shiny silver, shiny gunmetal, shiny nickel, antique nickel, antique brass, black paint, satin nickel, antique silver, antique gold, shiny rose gold, shiny brass, shiny chrome, brushed brass, satin silver, shiny copper, satin brass, satin gold, satin copper, or antique copper finishes. You can also choose to add two metal colors of the same finish for a multi-tonal base.
• Packaging – choose to add on clear poly bags, velvet boxes, velvet pouches, or acrylic cases to house your metal keychains, if desired.

Note that some of these customization options may come at an additional cost.

4. Design your keychain

Now, it’s time to present your keychain design! If you’ve already sketched out a design, simply submit it as a PDF, JPG, or other file type. (Even if it’s hand-drawn or scribbled on the back of a napkin!) You can also add additional notes about your artwork if you’d like.

If you’re not much of a designer, don’t sweat it! Submit your best effort along with detailed notes about your vision. Our expert design team will take it from there – design services are totally free with every order!

5. Approve a mockup

Our in-house design team will take whatever direction you’ve provided and create a mockup of your keychain. Then, they’ll send over a physical or photographed prototype for your approval.

If all looks great, say the word and we’ll move forward with production! If it doesn’t look quite right, send detailed feedback and we’ll tweak it until it’s perfect.

6. Sell or give away your keychains

This is the fun part! Once you’ve approved the final design, you’ll receive your keychains shipped for free within your quoted timeline, then you can use them for promotional giveaways to make your customers’ days!