I’m still a noob to this community so I’m not sure how many of you actually own your own tee shops, but for those who do, I’d be interested in picking your brains for marketing stuff.
I guess we’re ultimately each others' competition, but to even those odds I’ll share some stuff I’ve found pretty helpful in boosting shirt sales:
1) Bloggers! It’s amazing how many blogs there are out there dedicated entirely to tshirts. While the audience for these sorts of pages are obviously a niche, I’ve found that getting my shirts reviewed always boost traffic, and usually sales.
Funkyduds & Tshirt Review are 2 examples.
2) Promo stuff. Stickers, buttons, cards, etc. It seems these sort of mini-goods are really hot all of a sudden and people are always asking me for stuff to sport.
...One thing I’ve considered is getting decals for my car and going into the city to sell stuff from my trunk to concert crowds, since they’re typically the demographic that’d buy anyways. Of course for this it’s best to have some sort of card reader and this has been one of the things keeping me from trying it out. Has anyone done this, though? It seems like it’d be a blast.
46 Comments
gameyy said 11 months ago
Nobody...?
njonas said 11 months ago
postcards! at least if you’re looking to get a response from retail shops, it’s a great unobtrusive way to get their attention and potentially get new accounts lined up.
seibei said 11 months ago
I’ve been kinda waiting for someone else to jump on it, but here goes:
other t-shirt blogs you might wanna check out are addic[tee]d, Hide Your Arms, tcritic, tee shirt blog, fantastic blognanza, indie threads, and preshrunk (now that jason has started posting again). Each of those bloggers has slightly different tastes, but they’re all pretty good. There are also a ton more out there; those are just the ones I check out on the regular.
there are also lots of arts/culture blogs that feature t-shirt designers from time to time, like Crown Dozen.
selling stuff to a crowd by yourself is tough, ESPECIALLY if money and credit cards are changing hands. I’ve never sold from the trunk of my car, but if you’re gonna do it, bring a friend, and good luck! I’d like to hear how that goes...you could also look into "indie craft fairs" like Renegade Craft Fair, Bazaar Bizarre, and others. those already have a crowd of people wanting to buy, and are more legit than a car.
justgeoff said 11 months ago
How do you know about Bazaar Bizarre? Is it a traveling thing? I though it was just local to Cleveland.
gameyy said 11 months ago
Thanks!
Actually I think I remember seeing some pics on your site (or flickr maybe??) where you’d done a craft show. There aren’t too many here in Atlanta, but I’ve signed up for the Indie Craft Experience in summer (just waiting to hear back). I’ll see how I do here and if it’s good I’ll think about traveling for the next.
As for the trunk thing, I’m definitely planning on bringing a pal. I figure one person in the van rummaging for sizes and the other up front making the sales.
I’ve been to most of those blogs you mentioned and sometimes I’ve found that they’ve reviewed my stuff without me even knowing it. The style preferences is a good thing to note, though. It does seem that traffic from certain sources has a higher sale percentage...
Well very cool then. I appreciate it!
seibei said 11 months ago
Indie Craft Experience, eh? Rad, I’ll have to check that one out! Traveling to shows is a blast - you get to meet all kinds of new people, hopefully catch up with friends you haven’t seen in awhile cause it’s a great excuse to visit people, checking out new places...if you think you can at least cover the cost of travel, it’s worth it.
The key is to be organized. Every extra second that someone is rummaging around trying to find a particular size is more sales down the tubes.
Also, Geoff, BazBiz has the Cleveland show, and a SF show, and a Boston show, all around the same time.
jared said 11 months ago
http://www.aktenterprises.com
We used to really use Myspace, but it became way too difficult after a while. Now, we rely solely on word of mouth.
Similarly to using other peoples' blogs, creating your own blog is a great way to build a community around your business. Ideally, this would generate more business, more importantly, it help grow your business.
If you’re interested, we just launched the AKT Insider blog:
http://www.aktenterprises.com/insider
We periodically write advice columns and give sneak peaks inside projects and the company/shop.
Maybe we’ll write a piece on marketing in the independent music industry.
gameyy said 11 months ago
Jared, I actually just got LF a myspace (here), but I haven’t done too much with it and honestly I hate myspace. It’s such a poorly put together site. I do have my own blog though (here), though the traffic there is pretty low.
And David, yeah, the more I think about it, the more a road trip to a show sounds like a blast. I’ve only been doing my own shirts for a couple years and have kept it pretty strictly web-based so I really want to test the waters for other things. By the way, the Indie Craft Experience, to the best of my knowledge, is only in ATL. They do it twice a year though, so that’s nice. Check it out here.
seibei said 11 months ago
dude, yeah, going out to shows is a great way to test the waters. I did crummy local shows for about a year in VA, then when I moved to NY, I did Renegade Craft Brooklyn and didn’t expect much and was BLOWN AWAY by the good response and stacks of cash rolling my way.
MySpace is pretty much terrible, but it doesn’t hurt, I figure. I’ve made some good artist connections on there, so I think it’s been worth the few hours I’ve put into it.
I write a blog as well, and it’s a fun way to communicate with fans and contemporaries - I’ve been meaning to make it more regular (I update it in spurts every few days as it stands).
njonas said 11 months ago
facebook works great for me. I have ads running, and a group set up where I can send out messages to everyone in the group immediately. I do agree myspace is poorly put together, but it’s worth using if most of your target market is on there using it.
jared said 11 months ago
once you break like 1000 members (or something), you can’t send a message to all of them. i learned that the hard way :(
{miles to go} said 11 months ago
you should definitely work the street hustle too. phoenix has a first friday where people go down and set up tables and sell for free. and its been great, in nov i did over $800 and close to $500 each of the two months before (dec rained out).
getting love on those sites helps too im sure, but doing fares and selling on the street gives you a good indicator on your product and what people dig.
njonas said 11 months ago
that’s good to know - right now i’m at about 700 so i’ll have to start removing people when I get close to 1000!
gameyy said 11 months ago
That makes a ton of sense. It seems that those blog sites are increasing awareness and getting me more exposure (and a small peak in sales), but I think people are more likely to buy in person when they can feel and see the shirt directly. I know I’m that way. Plus it’s instantly gratifying. They see, they have the impulse to buy, you make the sale. Online they have to worry about shipping cost and time, entering their card number, and weather or not they’ll like it once its in their hands... I’m really itching to do this now!
thebutcher said 11 months ago
I usually just cut a hole into a posterboard outside concerts and stick my ween in it. Maybe write something above it, depends what kinda sharpies I have handy.
Weston said 10 months ago
We press 1" buttons for super cheap. You might consider it a good investment for your website/store.
30 cents per button in quantities of 25 to 99
(up to 2 separate designs @ no x-tra charge)
25 cents per button in quantities of 100 to 249
(up to 2 separate designs @ no extra charge)
23 cents per button in quantities of 250 to 500
(up to 3 separate designs @ no extra charge)
20 cents per button in quantities of 500 to 1000
(up to 4 separate designs @ no extra charge)
Here’s a pic of some we’ve pressed
Weston said 10 months ago
Oh yeah. Send any quote requests to decadetees@gmail.com.
gameyy said 10 months ago
Thanks man, but I just got a button press myself. It’s a 1-1/4" and I’m in love with it currently... :D
heavyprints said 10 months ago
Where’d you get yours, if you don’t mind my asking? I’m in the market.
As far as marketing...ever looked into Affiliates?
Weston said 10 months ago
Got mine from americanbuttonmachines.com. Heavy duty steel, fast production, inexpensive supplies. Opt for a punch instead of a cutter. It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s a helluva lot faster.
gameyy said 10 months ago
Yeah I really wanted to go that route too but I just wasn’t ready to shell out the $300 for the whole package. I went instead with the badge-a-minite deal. It’s not nearly as quick but I find that the results are just as good.
gameyy said 10 months ago
Yeah they’re a lot of fun. Just save up a bit and check ebay. There’s always a ton for sale there. It’s where I got mine.
Time Without the E said 10 months ago
how much did it set you back? and im super curious how the artwork works and what the process is.
seibei said 10 months ago
button machines are a BLAST. badg-a-minit is okay, but if you are willing to drop a bit more, get a graphic punch (to punch out the circular artwork) and a button press from TECRE. it’s a bit more than badg-a-minit etc, but you get what you pay for. they’re so rad.
gameyy said 10 months ago
David is right. The presses are way awesome-er, but they cost about $300 (if you get them with the punch). I got mine for $45.
quixotic said 10 months ago
I’ve had my press for about three years now, I think. It’s been one of the better investments I’ve made. I started with a badge-a-minit and I’ve got to say that I’m much happier with the tecre style. I got mine with like 250 or 500 free button parts for about $175? I still need to get the graphic punch though...
Fortunately, I can take my stuff into my brother’s work and have him use some hydrolic press thing and cut through 10 sheets at a time.
gameyy said 10 months ago
Wow, that’s a great deal. Where from?
quixotic said 10 months ago
It was a lucky deal I found on eBay. I had been lurking for weeks before I pounced on it. I don’t remember who the seller was now though.
...wait, I think it might have been Dr. Don’s. I remember a magnet that came in the package.
gameyy said 10 months ago
Sweet. I shall start lurking.
quixotic said 10 months ago
You won’t be sorry. Production time is way quicker. And your hands hurt less using this one. At least my hands hurt a little after hand pressing all the pins with my old badge-a-minit.
gameyy said 10 months ago
Yeah, I get blisters after the second hour or so. I’m thinking of hiring some small children to do my buttons.
quixotic said 10 months ago
That’d probably work well. You wouldn’t even have to pay them a fair wage. Just the occasional cracker and a sip of water.
gameyy said 10 months ago
That’s what I’m saying. Let’s bring back child labor for real. Make em useful.
quixotic said 10 months ago
Now that’s a marketing strategy.
Guatamalan Apparel. Made in downtown Guatamala by three year old children.
seibei said 10 months ago
Ballin'. making tecre buttons is a blast; when I first got it I sat on my bed for like three hours grinding them out. I can’t even imagine it without the graphic punch, though - I’d eat a bullet before cutting out hundreds of circles by hand.
also, the plus side of owning a button press - EVERYONE has a friend in a band that needs buttons. it’s not a feasible money maker, since everyone on the internet has a button press and offers low low prices, but it’s a good way to make some money in an afternoon now and then.
gameyy said 10 months ago
Good point. What’s the dimensions on yours? I’m so lazy I’m not even going to go to Seibei to check... :)
quixotic said 10 months ago
I’m pretty sure the standard are all one inch. They look a little snazzier than 1 1/4 inch.
seibei said 10 months ago
yeah, they’re one inch.
I haven’t actively tried whoring myself out as a button maker, but I’ve scored a couple of button-making gigs just through casual conversation ("oh, you have a button maker, don’t you? well...").
gameyy said 10 months ago
Sober up and have another go at it mate. ;)
TShirtReview said 10 months ago
hey hey hey, tshirtreview.com here. You inspired me to join and get involved!
gameyy said 10 months ago
Yo, matt! Good to see you on here!
collisiontheory said 10 months ago
Welcome! you’ll find your hands full for t-shirts to review here!
gameyy said 10 months ago
Yeah, but the tough part will be finding ones that have actually been printed...
collisiontheory said 10 months ago
Lol yeah! But doesn’t he review like t-shirt entries to contests or something?
gameyy said 9 months ago
I don’t think so. Just printed tees.
derek said 27 days ago
Sorry i was trying to find an old thread about blogs, but i just wanted to shout out about my first review by Hide Your Arms. Honestly i am SO chuffed to have had my website / T-shirts reviewed, and big thanks to Hide Your Arms for being brave enough to blog about maternity tee’s.