June 30, 2020

Are you a skilled artist with a dream of turning your art into fashion? Starting a t-shirt company is one of the best ways to make this dream come true. Establishing and running a successful t-shirt company takes more than a few good designs, an accessible website, and profitable sales. This guide will give you the advice you'll need to prepare your future business and ensure your success in a competitive global market.

Related: Pond Threads FAQ

Find Your Target Market 

Knowing your target market is a cornerstone of success in the world of business. Having broadly appealing designs may seem like the way to go initially, but targeted marketing is vastly superior. For example, if your company designs t-shirts for the heavy metal subculture, you're going to want to appeal to heavy metal fans with elements of their subculture such as dark colors, skulls, fire, and demons; not pastel colors, fairies, and hearts. Going too hard against the grain of your target market will turn off most prospective customers, but failing to stand out from the pack is equally detrimental.

Remember, the world is a diverse place of ideas and culture. Finding the right market for your designs may seem daunting at first, but a little research goes a long way. If a market appears too crowded, there’s always another to target. Just remember to research your target market thoroughly and always get critical feedback before launching your final designs.

Design Your Shirts

Designing your product is a two-way street dependent wholly on your creativity and ability to create a winning design. If you're creatively inclined and you've done the research on your chosen target market, then the next step is to get to work. The key to developing a great design is combining your understanding of your market with your innate creativity. Take inspiration from existing designs, develop a fresh take, and eventually create something original and captivating.

If you’re finding that your ideas aren’t transferring well from mind to paper, don’t throw in the towel just yet. The internet has revolutionized almost every industry in the world, including the arts. There are countless websites where you can find experienced, high-quality artists at competitive rates.

Once your design is ready and your website is up and running, Pond Threads can help make your design come to life and your eCommerce more manageable.

 

 

Test Your Designs 

Before you even consider launching a design, you’re going to need feedback. The first logical step is to show your work to your friends and family. While these are people we’d like to trust for an honest opinion, our friends and loved ones are more likely than a stranger to cushion your landing even if your design isn't the greatest. Therefore, as scary as it sounds, the next step is to put your work before the public's mercy.

While strangers on the internet have the nasty reputation of being unnecessarily savage with their critiques, a stranger's feedback is critical to your success. A stranger is far more likely to give you a straight and honest opinion over a family member or a close friend. While not everyone is going to like your designs, it's in your best interest to sift through the negativity in search of those golden coins of honesty. One of the best pieces of advice one can give is to find the value of constructive criticism.

So, where do you go to get that valuable critical feedback on your work? Social media sites such as Reddit and Instagram are two of the most popular destinations for showcasing your designs, while Facebook and Twitter are also useful. However, in the case of Facebook and Reddit, the trick is finding groups and subreddits related to your target audience. 

Source Quality Materials

Quality is the backbone of any successful t-shirt business. If the customer buys your shirt and they're dissatisfied in any way, they're far less likely to buy again. So how do you ensure a repeat customer without bloating your budget?

For most small businesses, the logical approach would support a fellow small business, preferably in the local area. While this approach is commendable, it can also bloat your budget far more than going with a reputable online source that can offer bulk purchase discounts. Of course, not all small suppliers are immediately out of your price range, so research your home city or state for the best prices and quality possible.

If nothing meets your standards, shop around online for reputable suppliers. Thanks to the internet, there are numerous affordable services with perks like free shipping and bulk discounts. Of course, be careful before you buy. The best price doesn't always translate to the highest quality. Customer reviews are an asset at this stage of developing your business and are critical in determining the actual quality of the product you're considering purchasing.

Another thing to consider when sourcing your materials is a company that can not only provide your materials and printing services but also take orders directly from your website.

Related: Pond Threads Products

Select a Business Model

Crafting a business model is one of the most critical steps you'll have to overcome to establish a successful t-shirt business. Fortunately, we've already covered a few key concepts for a clothing business model, such as choosing your audience and supplier. One of the things to consider is your overall budget and operating costs, like website hosting, design costs, and prices. The objective of any business is to turn a profit, hence creating an airtight business plan is integral before crafting your marketing campaign and launching your business.

Create a Marketing and Branding Campaign

Now that you have a demo product and a business plan, it’s time to move on to marketing and branding. A solid, multifaceted marketing campaign is the key to victory in a crowded market. Luckily, you’ve already completed the first step – you researched your market.

With market research out of the way, you should know where to target your advertising and marketing efforts, but your job is half-done. What's next is building brand identity by sharing your mockups with your name and brand logo in those social media groups and carefully studying your competition. Once you've caught on to their strategies, it's wise to buy some virtual ad space.

Of course, social media groups and targeted ads are only so effective in the long run. To reach new brand awareness levels, you're going to need to reach out to influencers who hold sway over your key demographics. After all, the word of an influencer goes a long way among their followers and often comes as cheaply as free merchandise.

Once your business is up and running, be sure to establish a website and a social media page for each platform. Facebook allows companies to accept reviews similar to Amazon and other online retailers. Use this to your advantage, for like the word of an influencer, customer reviews can speak volumes about your product. Of course, not every review will be favorable. Use lower scored reviews as a learning opportunity and a chance to engage with the customer. Interacting with your customers not only builds brand credibility but can help improve your product and possibly turn a bad experience into a second chance. 

Print Your Shirts

Your designs are ready; your supplier is chosen; it's now time to take one step closer to finality by choosing how to print your shirts. This step is surprisingly more complicated than some might think. There are several ways to print a t-shirt, but we'll go over the main options: screen printing, heat transfer, and direct-to-garment.

Screen printing is one of the most popular means of printing a t-shirt. While it's expensive initially, it's quite cost-effective for bulk orders. The critical drawbacks for this option are the limitation of colors – usually five at most – and the inability to print intricate designs. 

Heat transfer is a quick and easy approach to t-shirt production that favors the DIY crowd thanks to its print-on-demand nature. Designs can be printed and ironed onto a t-shirt quickly and cheaply. The downside of this approach is that the final product will have a lower quality appearance, less durable, and more prone to cracking. Additionally, heat transfer has a high startup cost, which, along with the quality issues, may outweigh the value of this option. 

Direct-to-garment is arguably the best option for a small t-shirt company. Unlike screen printing, there's no limit to the number of colors that can be used, and the process can handle intricate designs with high quality. It's easily the most cost-effective option but is not suitable for large operations. Instead, it's best suited for small orders and limited runs. 

 

 

Set Up Your Online Shop

Now that you have your designs approved and mocked up, your business plan set, and your marketing campaign prepared to take the internet by storm, it's time to build a website to sell your shirts. Fortunately, this is the easiest part of this entire project.

As mentioned before, the internet has revolutionized the way we do business. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of platforms available to set up your e-commerce site. Some are user-friendly and come ready with templates to get your product on the virtual shelves fast, while others require a bit of coding experience to take advantage fully.

Related: Pond Threads Services 

Closing Thoughts

Now that you've gone through this guide, you should have a strong understanding of how to establish a successful t-shirt business online. From choosing your market and designing your shirts to crafting a business plan and marketing campaign, you have what you need to get started.

Things might start off slow, just remember that building a successful business takes time, and the custom t-shirt is competitive. Quality products will eventually stand out from the rest, and new ideas will be needed to keep your business growing. Keep your eyes on your competition, update your marketing strategies when necessary, and stay creative. That's the key to success in any industry.

For more information on our services, visit us at the official Pond Threads website.