Tshirt Business?? Anyone have/had a successful run at this?
- Thread starter eyekon1
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I tried out the Cafepress thing for awhile because I didn't want to keep inventory (set up a seperate web store to promote, though). Found that having unique ideas was the best way to sell shirts (for instance: don't make another "More Cowbell" shirt, make one that says "Don't ruin this for us Gene!" or something).
I was fairly successful until they started cancelling all my designs because they mentioned the movie/show that the quote was from in the description (not even in the design!). At some point I might explore finding a local printer, but I don't currently have time to deal with packaging, shipping and inventory.
OTOH, it's a lot of fun, especially if you're handy with Photoshop/GIMP and absorb a lot of pop culture (or you can think of some creative graphic designs). Plus you can give out free shirts at bars or to friends with your addy on the back. Who doesn't whore themselves out for free shirts?
I was fairly successful until they started cancelling all my designs because they mentioned the movie/show that the quote was from in the description (not even in the design!). At some point I might explore finding a local printer, but I don't currently have time to deal with packaging, shipping and inventory.
OTOH, it's a lot of fun, especially if you're handy with Photoshop/GIMP and absorb a lot of pop culture (or you can think of some creative graphic designs). Plus you can give out free shirts at bars or to friends with your addy on the back. Who doesn't whore themselves out for free shirts?
I own a clothing company based here out of San Antonio, we market through bands, if you have any questions or want some tips PM me and can get you started.
Very competitive space but you don't have to be a genius to know how to move product. The paradox lies within what SniperRyan said, though...
You don't want to make the same shirt that everyone else has already made. And profit margins on tshirt sales are very slim. So what you're doing is putting a product out there that, by design, will appeal only to a specific group... but you are dealing with advertising technology that cannot target to that level.
Sure you can come very close... Facebook targeting and funny news sites and shit like that. But my point is that the thinner your margins are, the more every centimeter of that target starts to matter. Sure you can make a funny slogan, give out some shirts, and wait for someone to see one and go home to google it... but is that kind of volume the big payday you're working towards?
You have to figure out if you're trying to sell funny tshirts or brand a funny tshirt company, because there's a big difference.
If I were going to do it, I'd select 3 groups that I knew I could reach with no guesswork, and who I thought were anxious to wear their hearts on their sleeves, and make shirts tailored (no pun intended) to them.
So for example...
Group 1: Hardcore conservatives
Group 2: "Child-free" advocates
Group 3: Anti-Scientologists
Measure which perfroms best in terms of cost per sale, volume and repeat business. Then analyze the market surrounding it and expand in that line. Political? Activist? Edgy? Misanthropic?
Just food for thought.
You don't want to make the same shirt that everyone else has already made. And profit margins on tshirt sales are very slim. So what you're doing is putting a product out there that, by design, will appeal only to a specific group... but you are dealing with advertising technology that cannot target to that level.
Sure you can come very close... Facebook targeting and funny news sites and shit like that. But my point is that the thinner your margins are, the more every centimeter of that target starts to matter. Sure you can make a funny slogan, give out some shirts, and wait for someone to see one and go home to google it... but is that kind of volume the big payday you're working towards?
You have to figure out if you're trying to sell funny tshirts or brand a funny tshirt company, because there's a big difference.
If I were going to do it, I'd select 3 groups that I knew I could reach with no guesswork, and who I thought were anxious to wear their hearts on their sleeves, and make shirts tailored (no pun intended) to them.
So for example...
Group 1: Hardcore conservatives
Group 2: "Child-free" advocates
Group 3: Anti-Scientologists
Measure which perfroms best in terms of cost per sale, volume and repeat business. Then analyze the market surrounding it and expand in that line. Political? Activist? Edgy? Misanthropic?
Just food for thought.
Good ideas here. I understood my market a bit before I got into it, but there are certainly segments of that niche that perform better than others. There are tons of factors too: age, sex, sizes (don't offer the "I beat anorexia." shirt in XS), etc.
If something works well then promote it as hard and fast as you can, because you'll be ripped off within a few days. I guess that applies to most AM anyway.
Tshirts have also become very social between Threadless and Cafepress and Kaboodle, so hit the social side hard before you start handing out free samples at the local greasy spoon. I did PR for a well-known Tshirt company who will remain nameless and they used to send tshirts to celebrities and their assistants day in and day out. Once in a while, a tabloid would have a picture of some star wearing their gear and people would go wild. You may not get Ashton to wear your shit, but there are enough bloggers out there who will pose in the shwag you send them.
You can definitely still make decent $$ by copying popular designs. Making different design variations of "More Cowbell" (or anything else popular) can do very well. I've seen many, many different versions of this design and some are excellent and some are just shit. Often the simple designs sell the best.
And t-shirts have great profit margins. A 2-3 color design including t-shirt can be made for $5-6 each. Depending on the popularity of the design they can easily be sold for $18 + shipping.
And t-shirts have great profit margins. A 2-3 color design including t-shirt can be made for $5-6 each. Depending on the popularity of the design they can easily be sold for $18 + shipping.
I love the whole idea about not having any inventory, the online store pretty much already set up and not having to worry about shipping. Where it gets me is the lack of control I have over the designs. I mean, what if I wanted to place a design right under the left armpit!? Cafepress and Zazzle doesnt allow that.
Thats why I was leaning towards more of the traditional route.Whats your thoughts on having a 'serious t-shirt business' but using services such as cafepress or zazzle? Would people think your 'company' is not to be taken seriously?
I had a little run at Cafepress a few years back. I mostly took existing designs and improved on them. Did about 20-30 designs over about a month and then lost interest. However, I am still getting occasional sales and a surprise $30 check in my mailbox ever 2-3 months.
Some cafepress shopkeepers are earning over $100k a year so you can definitely be taken 'seriously'.
There are pros and cons to each but using companies like cafepress or zazzle are great ways to test your designs out and see if people like them first.
Are you reading to invest money into a screen press and your time learning how to use it and ship, deal with returns and customers over the phone and all the other daily hassles?
This t-shirt business question has been asked several times. Here are a couple of other good threads I recommend you read.
http://www.wickedfire.com/affiliate-marketing/17248-tshirts-ecommerce.html
http://www.wickedfire.com/shooting-shit/7279-selling-tshirts.html
Funny t-shirts, Funny shirts, Crazy t-shirts, Crazy shirts, Cool t-shirts, Cool shirts has an affiliate program and some kick ass shirts
Depending on your audience I don't think it really matters. I had Google analytics tracking clicks on my "buy buttons" and when comparing to actual checkout completion there was probably only a 25% dropout even though they went from my (wordpress) storefront to Cafepress for checkout.
I agree about the designs on the side or shoulder issue, it was one reason I mentioned "artistic" designs vs. funny shirts or the like. I saw a shirt where the side had a kid on a swing and the front and back had a nice tree image (hard to describe). Would've loved to rip it off, but you just can't when dealing with the cookie-cutter services.
If you're going to stick to quotes, jokes and inflammatory sayings I'd think you can do a good enough job to make some $$s.
Hey eyekon1!
Great to hear you're thinking about starting a t-shirt brand! Trust me, it's an adventure. The industry is booming, so make sure that you differentiate yourself from the sea of competition. When thinking up your brand, it's important to specifically identify your target audience. Who are they? Where do they hang out? How old are they? What do they stand for? Once you know these things, make your brand align. Your image should be strong, themed and consistent!
A great way to test some t-shirt designs is with eBay. That's how I got started, now it's full time! Hope this helps!
Great to hear you're thinking about starting a t-shirt brand! Trust me, it's an adventure. The industry is booming, so make sure that you differentiate yourself from the sea of competition. When thinking up your brand, it's important to specifically identify your target audience. Who are they? Where do they hang out? How old are they? What do they stand for? Once you know these things, make your brand align. Your image should be strong, themed and consistent!
A great way to test some t-shirt designs is with eBay. That's how I got started, now it's full time! Hope this helps!
BustedTees.com has an affiliate program on CJ as well, I've made a quick buck or two with them
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