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How to Sell T-Shirts Online to Make Money

Last Updated on 24/07/2020 by Steve Wanjie



Table of contents:

• Why educating you and your customers is a requirement to sell t-shirts
• Why you need Video Marketing to sell t-shirts online
• Why you need to engage customers consistently on social media
• Why you need to cultivate trust and honest to sell t-shirts online
• Best t-shirt advertising channels to increase sales
• Frequently Asked Questions

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how to sell t-shirts online - hoodie blue detective
t-shirt store

How to sell a t-shirt online to make money is the focus of this article. You already have ready t-shirt designs that is my assumption. The question is “how do you start selling? I assume too, that you have an online t-shirt store. That is on a print-on-demand platform such as one of the following platforms.

• Printiful Account and Etsy Store
• Teespring Store
• Redbubble Store
• Spreadshirt Store

I also assume that your interest here is on how to sell t-shirts online to make money and not how to start an online t-shirt business. This article is about the t-shirt market.

If you’re frequently on Social Media you probably stumbled across at least a dozen posts or ads promoting t-shirts, tee designs and t-shirt styles. But how effective is digital marketing for apparel? And what are the do and don’ts of digital marketing for t-shirt designs? Here is what you need to know if you want to sell shirts and hoodies online.

If you are not using social media to generate leads and sales for your business, you are potentially missing out. Even with a small budget, you can easily reach thousands of people at once. But wait, there are rules to follow and you need to put some tools in place if you want to be successful.

How to Sell T-shirts online: Educating you and your customers

To succeed in this life you need to take learning as a serious need. As much as you want to make money invest time on learning and then teach prospective customers. People hate to encounter selling on social media. They don’t want to see “shop now” or “buy today” because it feels like a command.

What prospective customers need is education on the product. Before you sell, presell. That is, educate the potential customer about your t-shirt design. Talk about the design, the material used, and the style. Tell them why they need to buy that t-shirt design. After pre-selling (educating) ask them to buy it for themselves, family, or a friend as a gift.

Tip:

make a prospective buyer feel respected by being kind to explain why they need the product. Talk benefits and how the t-shirt will help them.

selling t-shirt online - lady wearing a top without bra
A lady wearing a top without bra – image credit: qoura.com

How to Sell T-shirts Online: Video Marketing

You still need to write articles to help market, promote, pre-sell and sell t-shirt designs. After writing, turn articles into videos to help promote t-shirts on YouTube. Use the video to show how to wear the t-shirt. Let prospective customers see you wearing the shirt live on YouTube. This is not only entertaining but will help build relationships with your audience. Go live on Facebook and Instagram, as well. This will increase your audience and you can send the video to potential customers via email.

How to Sell T-shirts Online: Consistent Engagement is a Necessity in T-shirt marketing

Selling is a process. Yes, it is about quality, but quantity also matters on social media. If you want people to remember you and your products, you need to engage on a regular basis.

Studies have shown that it takes about 7 encounters before someone buys. From seeing a product the first time to actually buying takes time. That is the reason to keep engaging potential customers via social platforms.

That doesn’t mean you should spam your audience. Your strategy should be scheduling posts once or twice a day at the same time.

Create categories that you are posting about or have a theme or logo that people will be able to identify you with.

Cultivate trust and honest in t-shirt marketing

If you don’t believe in your product, it will be hard to convince your audience why they should buy from you. Be authentic, share your story, even if it means admitting that a product didn’t quite live up to its promises. In the end, people won’t buy the product because of the company, but because of the face behind it: You.

Create a meaningful and trusting relationship between you, current and prospective customers. Be honest with your audience. And your customers will return to you and even recommend you to friends and family. The most important customer for your business is the repeat buyer. Repeat customers sustain your online operation and thus demand trust and honesty.

lady wearing t-shirt only
lady wearing a t-shirt only – image credit: breakbrunch.com

Best T-shirt Advertising platforms

Facebook and Instagram do let you create paid ads. Placing ads on these platforms help target a more specific audience. They are a great t-shirt marketing tools, but you need to follow the guidelines otherwise, it can be a waste of money. Taking that advice on board, here are the top 6 platforms to place t-shirt adverts online:

1. Facebook

With more than two billion active users, Facebook is the most popular ads platform. Start by setting up a business page. Then link Facebook business page to your online store. Next upload products to the business page. The next step is to place ads on Facebook. Facebook as easy to follow the instruction on how to advertise on their platform. Once ads go live people can buy t-shirts without even leaving Facebook.

Pros:
. Audience targeting
. Wider reach
. More options

Cons:how to sell

. Cost can increase
. Can only reach Facebook users
. Less organic reach

2. Instagram

Instagram has over one billion users. It is another popular social media platform. This social website can help sell t-shirt designs online considering women dominate here. Women buy t-shirts more than men. Women love t-shirts. This is the place to meet and target your customers. Follow Instagram advertising rules and instructions to successes.

Pros:

• Drive traffic to your website
• Increase visibility
• Increase brand awareness

Cons:

• Less effective than Facebook
• Limited audience
• Less advanced

3. YouTube

Videos are the most effective way in t-shirt marketing. This is the best way to increase your business sales. Make sure to use the right keywords on YouTube. This will help your video to appear on YouTube search results page. And also in related searches and increase your chance of building your audience. When you create entertaining video ads for YouTube, you increase the chance of selling and making money online tenfold.

Pros:

• Advertising platform of choice
• Ultra-targeted advertising
• Content marketing possibilities

Cons:

• Lack of control
• Ad skipping

4. Twitter

Using Twitter for t-shirt marketing can be successful if done right. Twitter has over 300 million users every month and most of them are young. People who use twitter are savvy. They are likely to buy a nice t-shirt design when they see one. Twitter advertising is effective when instructions observation is strict.

Pros:

• easy posting
• easy campaign set up
• narrows down the target market
Cons:

• targets to random people at times
• not noticeable enough

5. Pinterest

Pinterest is a search engine too. People come to this platform to search for ideas. Anything a woman wants, they come to Pinterest for ideas before making a buy thus, placing a t-shirt ad is good. Pinterest users engage with topic and themes. Remember people pin images a lot. Hence Pinterest ads with eye-catching imaging are great.

There are two easy ways to create Pinterest ads:

a) Turn your pins into ads through the promote function that always appears on a pin

b) Ad Manager

Use the ad manager to create advanced ads. With the Ad Manager, you can build and edit ad campaigns, ad groups, and custom targeting.
You are at liberty to decide your budget and the platform cannot charge you more. You can turn the ads off at will.

Pros:

. Visitors from Pinterest to your t-shirt store are more likely to buy
. It is free to target

Cons:

Majority of users are women under 45 years

Images must be specific

6. Google Ads

You need to create an account to start using Google ads. If you have a Google email account you can use it to create a Google ads account.

Google Adwords is one of the oldest ads platforms on the internet. Businesses have used this platform to promote their products on Google search. The platform is effective and its ads sell.

Google ads help you reach your prospective customers regardless of their location globally. If you are in New York and want to sell t-shirts to people in London, Google will make it happen.

The 5 steps to t-shirt selling success with Google Ads:

a) Tell Google

Tell Google your goal to place an advert with them. Based on the results you looking for, Google gives 3 choices. You choose one of the following:

• get more calls to your business
• increase visits to your t-shirt store
• drive people (traffic) to your website

b) Choose a location

Who should see your advert? If you want people in Paris to see your ad, Google will oblige. You have 2 choices. Stay local or go global.

c) Create an exciting message

You need to create an advert that catches the eye of a prospective customer. Make use of 3 sentences to tell the story about your t-shirt design.

d) Set your monthly budget

Google does not charge you until someone clicks your ad. And if nobody has seen your ad, you don’t pay.

e) Your ad goes live

Your ads are on display at Google Search result pages, and Google maps. for the location you chose. Your ad will also appear on Google partner websites.

Pros:

• Keywords keep your ad competitive
• Measurable success
• Rich organic reach
• Precision targeting of the chosen audience
• Global reach

Cons:

• Keywords must be specific
• Unnecessary features

How to Sell T-Shirts Online to Make Money - unique tee design
a unique tee design – image credit: Pinterest

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is selling t-shirts online profitable?

Yes. Selling t-shirts online is a profitable business. But it is not a get rich quick scheme. You will have to work hard, be patient, and work smart. On Print-On-Demand platforms such as Teespring, you could make up to $10 per t-shirt sold. If you sell 1000 t-shirts your make $10,000. Many t-shirt designers have reached that earning level. It depends on your t-shirt design, marketing skills, and drive to succeed.

2. Who buys t-shirts online?

Many people buy t-shirts online. Interest driven groups such as environmental advocacy groups buy t-shirts online. Human right groups, nurses, pet lovers and many more. Others buy in bulk such as sports groups. Almost every person on the planet owns a t-shirt thus, even individuals, like you and me buy tees online.

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Steve Wanjie

Founder – Dijito Marketing

By Steve Wanjie

Steve Wanjie is a digital marketing specialist, SEO Expert, expert article writer, blogger, sex educationist, and businessman. He is the founder of Dijito Marketing and Laikipo.com. He works and lives in Nairobi Kenya.

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