T-shirts are a staple in a casual wardrobe, and almost everyone wears them. Not only are they classic fashion pieces, they’re a blank canvas for creative entrepreneurs. Selling shirts online has become a popular, low-cost startup business option. To stand out from the crowd, you’ll have to come up with a T shirt design that people love, a brand they cherish, and quality they trust. Below are some tips on how to design a shirt that will get your buyers’ attention.
It Takes Effort
Although the technology and tools available these days for creating, printing, and shipping shirts makes it easy to get started, the hard part is differentiating your brand from everyone else’s. When competition is combined with thin profit margins, selling shirts becomes a bit more complex than it seems. To successfully create a shirt and sell it online, you’ll have to make good choices from the start.
What You Need to Succeed in the T Shirt Business
A successful shirt seller meets several criteria. Each of the below elements should be carefully considered before you move forward.
- Niche: Choosing a target market will help your brand stand out without going over budget.
- Design: Most people who buy graphic tees are looking for designs and slogans that resonate with them and reflect their personality. When you learn how to design a shirt, consider your customers’ tastes before anything else.
- Quality: Your shirt and print quality must be top-notch.
- Brand: You need an interesting, strong brand to succeed in shirt sales.
We’ll evaluate these elements in detail in the sections below.
Niche
As an online seller, you may hear this term a lot, but nowhere is niche more essential than in the T shirt design field. One of the most crucial factors in running a successful business is the ability to stand out, and to do that, you have to cater to a certain niche.
Design
Your buyers don’t want to see copies of designs they can find elsewhere. While your shirts don’t have to be complex; in fact, many of today’s most popular tees are simple. However, they do have to be different than everything else, while remaining relevant to your audience.
Quality
Another vital factor in the sustainability and success of a T shirt design business is the quality of the apparel. While most people can be fooled once, it’s hard to do it twice. A pattern that cracks and fades or a shirt that rips and shrinks won’t help you build a fan base. Not all shirts are alike, and every print job is different. As we said earlier, quality is an instrumental part of success, and you should choose your shirts wisely. It may be tempting to skimp on quality for higher profits, but you should consider how low quality may affect your customers’ decisions to come back or share the brand.
Printing Methods
Today, there are three primary ways to print t shirts. Each of these methods has its benefits and drawbacks, and your decision will depend on the printer you choose and the length of time you can invest in apparel design. Below, we’ve explained these methods in detail.
- Screen printing: This technique has been in use for years and it produces durable, long-lasting results. However, the labor-intensive setup process means that it’s more financially sensible for large orders. If your design has more than five colors or is complex, you’ll pay even more.
- Heat transfer: Another long-standing method, heat transfers exist in multiple forms. Although transfer paper makes it easy to print your own designs and press them with an iron, these aren’t good enough to base a business on. Professional printers have access to better supplies and equipment, and many have low minimum quantities.
- Direct to garment: This process, also known as DTG, operates similarly to the inkjet printers many of us use at home and work. DTG puts the ink directly onto the shirt, and it can produce full-color images with stunning accuracy. Beause there are no setup costs, it’s inexpensive and easy to print a small order. However, if you’re placing a large order, don’t expect a significant volume discount.
Find a Top-Selling Niche and Design Ideas
If you’re drawing a blank on design ideas, start by looking at what’s selling well. Sites like Teeview, Zassle, Snorg, and Kickstarter will give you a sense of the topics people are interested in.
Create the Design
Once you’ve come up with some ideas, it’s time to design them. If you have Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, you can do it yourself with the help of our online tutorials. Online designer communities will put you in touch with other t shirt designers, from whom you can draw inspiration and get advice.
Mock Up the Design
Once you’ve finalized some designs, the next step is to put mocked-up images on real shirts. Your customers will want to see what the design looks like printed on a shirt, as it’s sometimes hard to tell from an online photo. There are several ways to get images onto shirts, including ordering samples and doing your own photography, or using an online template to create a fully digital mockup.
Adobe Photoshop templates are a common mockup file type, and they allow you to easily and quickly see how your designs will look on the shirts you order. Most PS templates come with layers that allow you to change colors and apply unique designs that blend with the folds, creases, and contours of your shirts.
Design Validation
Before spending your savings on a new business, you should determine whether there’s a market for your concepts. There are multiple ways to go about it, such as:
- Using personal social media pages. By posting your designs to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites, your friends and potential buyers will take notice.
- Reddit. With an almost endless list of subreddits, it’s possible to find a targeted niche and ask them for their opinions before you create a shirt.
- Kickstarter. This and other crowdfunding websites have made it easier to validate and collect capital for new business ideas. Launching a campaign may be time-consuming, but the benefits are significant.
- Open testing: With e-commerce platforms, it’s never been simpler to set up a functional store to test and validate your designs.
Setting Up Your Online Store
Creating and launching a shirt brand is relatively quick and inexpensive. If you’ve already come up with ideas on what to sell, you can get up and running in just a few hours. With your apparel design skills, you’ll have shirts ready to ship to customers in no time at all.
There are a range of print-on-demand drop shippers that integrate with your chosen e-commerce platform, which allows you to make money faster. These printers and shippers will send out orders on your behalf, automatically.
Create a Business Plan
Although learning how to design a shirt sounds simple, selling them is more complicated. Without a business plan, you’ll only waste your money and time. A business plan outlines your product offerings, your target market, your sales goals and your financial expectations.
Choose a Company Name
It’s possible to design and sell t shirts in a single day, but if you’re going to turn it into a steady income stream, you’ll have to form a real business. Starting a company begins with choosing a name. The name you choose should reflect the shirts you sell, but not inhibit your ability to grow and expand.
Make Things Legal
Along with choosing a name for your t shirt business, you’ll have to select a business structure (such as an LLC or sole proprietorship) and get the required state and local permits and licenses. If you use an online service and sell shirts via drop shipping, you might not need a sales tax permit. However, if you’re selling your designs in person or through your own site, you’ll have to get the right permits. Business licenses are typically issued by a county or city business office.
Protect Your Designs
Just as you want to avoid infringing on others’ trademarks and copyrights, you don’t want other sellers profiting from your work, either. Learn about using copyright and trademark law to protect your designs.
Set a Fair Price
Before sending your designs to a printer, review your different shirt creation options (such as local printers and online resources) to find one who offers the services you need at a price that’s affordable. Your per-shirt cost depends on the complexity and colors of your design, the printing method you choose, and the shirt quality you select. Price your shirts so you can cover your costs (shirt expenses, marketing, overhead, and other business expenses).
Selling t shirts online can be fun, but it’s a lot of work as well. From the design process to the marketing effort, it’s more complex than you think. However, by following the tips we’ve given here, the process may become a little easier. For more tips, design inspiration, and advice, browse the rest of our site.
HINT:
Learning how acrylic paints work and visiting some tips on watercolor painting may give you creative inspiration for your next big tshirt design idea.