T-shirts are one of the most popular products across the globe and the trend of customized t-shirts has grown significantly over the past few years.
If you have always dreamed of setting up your own business, then why not creating an online T-shirt business?
Starting a T-shirt business is a smart choice for beginners since, in addition of being extremely popular, these products are cheap to source and relatively easy to customize and sell.
In this article, you will find 6 steps to follow to help you start your online t-shirt business.
Step 1: Defining your audience
When creating an online t-shirt business, it is important to take into account the market competition. In order to be as successful as possible, we advise you to target a niche market. That way, you will be able to create a business that is truly unique, both in terms of brand image, but also the products available, and thus to stand out from competitors.
There are many different ways to help you find a niche market. We suggest you to do research, to analyse competition to see what is working best or even to use analytic tools to scan current trends. All these elements will allow you to tighten your targeted audience and therefore to increase your chances for success.
Step 2: Designing your products
One of the most important factors in the success of an online t-shirt business is the products’ design. To help you find design ideas, it is always good to have a look at what is currently trendy elsewhere, by using Google Trends for example. If your products have great designs, it will be much easier for you to market them.
Once you have gathered some design ideas, you will need to get them actually designed. If you feel like being creative and you have the ability to do so, you can design your products on your own.
Otherwise, we suggest you to enlist some help from a designer. You will be able to find one via design communities or freelance networks. Overall, it is important to focus on what would relate to your brand and reflect your audience.
Step 3: Validating your designs
Before spending some money into the creation of your t-shirts, it is crucial to seek validation of your designs from others. This is a great opportunity to obtain various feedbacks and thus to know which improvements could be done. It is always better to receive unbiased feedbacks, and for this, you can rely on your personal social communities, such as Facebook or Instagram. Another option is to post your designs on discussion platforms or web content rating websites.
Always remember to put a watermark on your designs if you decide to post them publicly, so that no one can steal them.
Step 4: Sourcing your products
The success of your online t-shirt business starts with high-quality products, since it will allow you to create a superior customer experience and to stand out from rival competitors. It is important to keep in mind that it is very easy to build a bad reputation for your e-commerce which is why we advise you to select products that are built to last over time, and with the highest quality possible.
At Wordans, we offer a wide range of t-shirts, including diverse necklines and sleeve lengths. You will be able to choose among many different colours and sizes, with the best value for money. We also offer degressive prices, which is very interesting for bulk orders. Sourcing your t-shirts at Wordans will ensure you high-quality products and thus a good reputation that will help your business to grow.
Step 5: Printing your designs
Once you have your designs ready, you will need to get them printed on your t-shirts. Here again, it is crucial to be aware of all the different techniques you can use, and which one will best suit your products.
Here is a recap of the different textile customisation techniques:
- Embroidering
- Screen printing
- Flocking
- Sublimation printing
- Direct to garment (DTG)
If you do not know who to entrust your articles to for their personalization, you will be able to find on our website many printer partners in whom we trust and who will know how to enhance your articles for sure.
Step 6: Setting up your online store and your presence on social media
Now that you have your designs printed on your quality products, it is finally time to set up your online store. For this, you will need to use an e-commerce selling platform such as Shopify or Magento. These platforms offer a wide range of services including payments, marketing or even shipping.
Social media will then help you to link your business to your customers. It represents a main communication channel to target your audience and best market your products. It can happen that your buying community is more active on social media than on your actual website, and in this case, you will need to consider influence marketing and advertising to increase your chances for success.
We just presented you 6 steps to follow if you wish to start your online T-shirt business. No matter which audience you decide to target or how big you plan to expand, setting up an online T-shirt business is a great first step for new entrepreneurs
