How to open an online T-shirt store in 2021 | New business ideas for 2021 | best ways to earn money

Why open a T-shirt store?

Selling T-shirts online is another option for a successful business and additional, and possibly main, income.

Everyone buys T-shirts, and so this niche seems to be successful and promising.

So where do you start? The fastest and easiest way is print on demand.

What is Print on Demand?

Print on demand is a form of dropshipping that allows you to make and sell custom T-shirts online without the hassle of managing stock, order fulfillment and delivery.

Take print services like Printful or Printify, for example. There you choose a T-shirt, edit it to your liking, and add it to the store. Many of these services have layout generators that allow you to virtually place a design on a T-shirt and see how it will look on finished products. These examples can be placed on the site in the product catalog to show customers your products.

By syncing your site with the print-on-demand platform, you can sell printed T-shirts on your online store. The service will then print the product and send it directly to your customers. This method simplifies the business start-up phase and reduces the initial cost.

Selling T-shirts is profitable?

Yes! Hundreds of companies are making great money selling T-shirts, some even millions.

Beautiful designs, interesting writing and powerful marketing are the main ingredients for the success of a T-shirt project. The main thing here is to stand out in order to attract new customers and retain existing ones.

Before you get started, there are three factors to consider:

• There is a lot of competition in this market.
• Since the products are inexpensive, your profit will be low with small volumes.
• Business development takes time.

You must build a strategy to generate significant profits. Avoiding common pitfalls and overcoming obstacles requires getting creative, spending mindfulness, and promoting your T-shirts well.

Let's take a look at how to create a T-shirt company that stands out from the competition and really makes money.

How to Start a Successful T-shirt Business - 13 Easy Steps:

1. Create an online store
2. Integrate it with print-on-demand service
3. Define your target audience
4. Create a beautiful design
5. Choose quality products
6. Choose a printing technique
7. Manage your stock balances
8. Use a mockup generator
9. Get feedback
10. Calculate costs
11. Set a price
12. Build a brand
13. Scale your business

1. Creation of an online store

A professional online sales platform gives customers the confidence that you are a reliable supplier and enables them to make a purchase faster. Therefore, choosing a site for placing an online store is one of the most important stages in this business trip.

Use a platform that makes it easy to connect a print-on-demand service to your site. Here are a few more factors to consider.

Price

Plan your expenses carefully. Find an inexpensive platform to start a small investment business. Some platforms allow you to get started for free - this will give you the opportunity to test the idea.

Tip: Choose a platform that scales easily afterwards. Check if your chosen platform has powerful marketing tools and a CRM system to help you grow your business.

Design possibilities

You will need a platform that offers great design flexibility and customization. This will allow you to create a website that fully meets the mood and philosophy of the brand.

Tip: Use a platform that offers beautiful pre-made store templates. They can be easily customized to suit your design concept and corporate identity.

mobile version

More than half of all purchases are made from mobile devices. Make sure your store is smartphone-friendly so shoppers can shop whenever and wherever they want.

Tip: Choose a website builder that automatically optimizes your site for mobile devices.

Having a platform, start creating an online store:

• Name your business. Come up with several options and concepts related to your business idea. If you need help and inspiration, you can use a name generator.
• Choose your domain. Your domain name must be the same or nearly the same as your brand name. This will help your customers find you online.
• Create your store. Choose an online store template or create a website from scratch.
• Add payment options. Use Yandex.Checkout or Fondy to accept payments online or provide the option to pay in cash upon receipt.

2. Integration with print-on-demand service

After creating your online store, integrate it with a print-on-demand service.

If you're selling on Wix, you can add Printful or Printify from the Wix App Market. These companies allow you to upload designs and create beautiful T-shirts. Once you start receiving orders, they will ship and fulfill them all over the world.

3. Define your target audience

Why buy your T-shirts when there are a million other offers on the market? The answer is simple: you make your product specifically for those specific customers.

First, define the personalities of your customers and understand what their wants and needs are. This will make it easier for you to target them by interests, age, behavior, and other criteria.

4. Create stunning designs

Customize your T-shirts with an original design.

Use the shirt as a blank canvas to convey your message and your vision. Simple and fashionable design will attract buyers.

You don't need to be an artist to create cool designs. But if you are exactly him, then your time has come.

Come up with a creative concept and sketch. Then use a design program to create the image. If you don't have access to design software, try Canva or design a logo with a logo maker.

Create an image with a transparent background (PNG file) if you don't want the background to be part of the design. Please note that each print-on-demand service has criteria for production. Please read them carefully to avoid mistakes and get high quality.

For example, Printful's requirements are as follows:

Images must be at least 150 DPI. The design can be uploaded in JPG and PNG formats.

5. Choose quality products

It is unlikely that anyone will like a poorly fitted, poor-quality T-shirt with a picture.

If you use print-on-demand services, buy the products you intend to sell yourself and test them. Try different t-shirts. Are they comfortable to wear? Are the colors bright enough? How does the T-shirt look after washing?

The material must be durable, hypoallergenic, pleasant to the touch, and must also be breathable. Most often, T-shirts are sewn from cotton, polyester, viscose, linen and silk, as well as from their various combinations. The most popular material is cotton. It is a natural fabric that is pleasant to the body and does not require specific maintenance.

6. Select a printing technique

The choice of technology for applying colors depends on how many things are to be painted over, what is the area of ​​the drawing, the number of colors and the type of fabric. Each method has its pros and cons to consider before printing.

Silkscreen

Silk-screen printing is a method of applying designs to fabric using stencils. It is suitable for printing images in which there are no more than six colors, because making stencils for more shades is very laborious and not justified in terms of investment.

• It is profitable with a circulation of more than 100 copies.
• Produces a very rich, convex image.
• It belongs to the most persistent, makes the image almost eternal.
• The ability to create unique effects (metallized, reflective paints).

The only difficulty of silk-screen printing is the laborious process of preparing stencils. Therefore, it is not used to apply images to a couple of things - it is irrational.

Direct print

Direct printing on fabrics is also called digital. This is the most modern and advanced way of applying images, which conveys all the richness of colors and detail of any degree. Suitable for printing both synthetics and cotton.

• The drawing is obtained as detailed and clear as possible, the photographic quality of the print.
• The fastest way to apply an image to textiles.
• Quite a budget option with a small / medium circulation.
• The colors of the blue spectrum are obtained in violet, blue shades.
• After the image, the structure of the fabric retains its "breathable" properties.
• High wear resistance of the print.

However, digital printing has its drawbacks - low speed. Therefore, it is better to use it when sealing one or more items.

Sublimation

Sublimation is carried out using thermal paper, which is soldered to the fabric.

• The technology requires the use of a heat press.
• Belongs to the super-resistant class.
• Multi-color images and complex graphics can be produced.
• The most sustainable technology.
• Possibility to print any edition.
• Allows you to get products with a two-sided (through) image, which is especially important in the production of flags.

It can be applied only to synthetics, and after printing, a noticeable paint layer remains on things. It cannot be ironed, and it may crack during washing. Another disadvantage is that sublimation is a rather slow and expensive process.

Thermal transfer

Thermal transfer or thermal application is the printing of images using a special flex film or applique. It is considered one of the most convenient options for applying images.

• The best option for making promotional T-shirts, caps, sports uniforms, overalls, flags.
• Suitable for natural fabrics and some synthetics (withstand high ironing temperatures).
• Requires light (white) color of products.

True, thermal transfer will not be able to print an image with a large palette of colors or too much detail. Therefore, it is often used for printing logos, quotes, etc.

7. Manage your stock balances

If you do not use print-on-demand services, then you will need to manage your inventory yourself.

In this case, it is best to start with a small number of different sizes of T-shirts. Use t-shirts in one or two colors to reduce risk and overhead.

With print-on-demand services, inventory, shipping, and order fulfillment are handled for you. However, it is a good idea to have a small amount of product on hand to sell here and now, especially when an urgent order comes in. It can also be useful for promotional offers or for showcasing your product to potential clients and investors.

8. Use a layout generator

Once you've designed and chosen your t-shirt, make sure it looks good live.

Print-on-demand services offer layout generators that show you how your design will look on products before printing. Just upload an image to see real-life T-shirt mockups.

Depending on the e-commerce platform you are using, product images may automatically sync with your product catalog on the site.

When you're done uploading images, create a product description and provide specifications. Add a sizing chart to make it easier for customers to find the right one.

9. Collect Feedback

Now is the time to check if your T-shirts will appeal to potential buyers?

Post product photos on social media to see what your friends and acquaintances think. Listen to their comments, especially if they are in the target audience for which you were designing.

In addition, you can post to specialized groups and see user reactions. For example, if you're making T-shirts for gamers, look for groups where Warcraft and Star Wars fans gather.

In addition to valuable insights, this is also a great way to draw attention to your product and learn more about your target audience.

10. Calculate your costs

Before setting a price for items, you need to determine your unit costs. Review this list and estimate how much you pay for each service. Such an analysis will help to form the correct price and quickly recoup production and marketing.

Online store:

• Hosting service
• Domain
• Corporate email account

Design:

• Site design
• Logo
• T-shirt design

Seal:

• Printing equipment
• Additional charges for custom print-on-demand services

Product:

• T-shirt cost
• Stocks
• Storage

Shipping:

• Free Shipping Cost Compensation
• Domestic delivery
• International shipping

Branding and Marketing:

• Promotional materials
• Marketing and PR
• Branded packaging

11. Set the price

In the previous step, you estimated how much money is being spent on a batch of T-shirts. The easiest way to set a unit price now is to divide the cost of a batch by the number of T-shirts in it and add 50% on top.

In addition, you may impose additional fees for urgency, originality, express shipping, etc.

Check out how much similar products cost from competitors and international sites like Etsy and Amazon.

12. Build your brand

It's time to start selling and promoting the brand. Here is a list of tips that will come in handy in this matter:

• Create a logo with a logo generator. Find ideas and inspiration to create a logo that matches your corporate identity.
• Run ad campaigns to promote your products. Find bloggers who are popular with your target audience and offer them a free t-shirt in exchange for advertising.
• Use advanced SEO tools to rank your site at the top of Google's SERPs. Find keywords that potential customers can search for and include them in the headlines and text on the site.
• Create memorable branding - fonts, colors, site layout, promotional materials, social media design and product packaging should reflect your brand identity.

13. Scale Your Business

Scaling a business requires regular analysis of sales performance and cost optimization. We recommend paying attention to the following factors:

Net Income: How Many T-Shirts Do You Sell Per Month? What are your general expenses? How much money do you have left at the end of the month after spending?

Overhead Costs: Which Investment Doesn't Pay Off? Can you minimize your manufacturing costs?

The cost of expanding your business. Will you need to hire a designer? Will you need to buy more inventory? Need more storage space for your belongings or equipment?

Do you realize that you are ready to expand? Here's how you can take your T-shirt business up a notch:

Develop a line of designs. Focus on your niche audience. Determine which T-shirts sell best and create more similar prints.

Change your marketing strategy. Use email marketing to drive customer returns. Run Facebook and Instagram ads to find new customers on social media. Divide your audience into several parts and determine the best targeting criteria for each of them.

Thank you for reading !

Created with Tgraph.io