T-shirts are a staple casual wear that reflects personality, identity and interest of someone wearing it, that’s why it is a booming online business for entrepreneurs seeking to start on a budget. Plus, custom T-shirt printing globally is expected to hit a $10-billion-dollar mark by 2025.
With the exponential growth and popularity in selling T-shirts, you will likely face competition. With a specific brand for a target audience, you can create custom T-shirt designs your customers love to edge competition and find your success there.
Steps to follow when starting an online T-shirt business are as follows:
Choose a niche
Choosing a niche will help your business stand out and attract the audience. When looking for T-shirt business opportunities, selecting a niche will help your business stand out to an interest group. Your niche must be targeting a specific group, for example, ‘funny slogans relating to dog owners.’
Source quality materials and choose printing options
Quality material is vital for your brand to stand out. Please give it a lot of thought before choosing your blank T-shirts. Don’t be tempted to compromise quality for a better profit margin because it can cost you sales opportunities. Quality T-shirts will keep customers returning to your brand, again and again, choosing quality T-shirts to encompass factors like size, fitting, material, weight, and softness. To start you on the right foot, check T-shirt magazines for some inspirations on blank T-shirts for printing. And then order for samples for embarking on a final decision to order a batch.
Create T-shirt designs
Before you create designs for your business, find the bestselling T-shirt designs for your niche. If you are stuck finding one, get inspiration from T-shirt marketplaces and see what sells and align your creativity in that direction. Once you have an idea of what you want, you can begin the design phase. Use design programs you are comfortable with or outsource a suitable design for your brand. You will get quality designers from design communities or freelance networks.
Mockup your design
Once you get the final designs, have some mockup images for your customers to see and have an idea of your final product. You can use digital mockups instead of actual T-shirts for samples. You can use T-shirt templates available online to perform a mockup.
Validate your designs
Before you pump good money into your business idea, it is advisable to validate your brand first and verify if there is a market for your designs. You can do this through your social networks by posting your T-shirt designs and listening to what people say. Don’t be mistaken by comments from close friends and relatives; they can give biased comments. Honest feedback comes from strangers and friends who don’t know you personally.
Set-up an online store
After you’ve validated your brand and made a mockup, it is time to build an online store. Integrate your designs with drop shipping companies so you can start selling as orders come in; this way, you do not need to hold inventory upfront. It is even better if you want to diversify your design brand to other products like mugs, tote bags, and more.
When your store is up and running, the difficult part starts – making your brand stand out of the crowd. Competition is stiff, and the unique your brand is, the better chances of you making sales.
Want to try customising a shirt? Design a shirt at thetshirtco.com.au.
