Selling t-shirts online is profitable as you earn a 40% to 50% margin per t-shirt. Therefore, you can quickly earn a good amount of money from selling t-shirts online in high volume.   

But you might not see much profit during the early stage because niche and marketing strategies can greatly influence your business’s growth. 

It is estimated that the t-shirt business will grow by 9.6% by 2025. So, making money through an online t-shirt business makes sense. Follow this step-by-step guide to start your online t-shirts selling a business successfully.  

Guide on How to Make Money Through Online T-shirts Business

#1 Find the Right Niche 

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As an entrepreneur who wants to sell t-shirts online, finding a niche is important. Many online shoppers are driven by the process of exploration, while some are simply window shopping. 

So, there is a high chance that these shoppers might stumble upon your t-shirt company website. You can align with shoppers’ needs and attract more customers if you have a niche. 

You can either make fashion statements with your t-shirts, sell t-shirts related to music, or do something else. Here’s how you can find your niche and build a memorable brand identity. 

Identify Your Passion and Interest 

When you start a t-shirt business, focus on the theme idea you enjoy and are passionate about. 

Following your passion will also motivate you to write compelling stories, launch a blog, or maintain social media to make your own t-shirt business more successful. 

Do Your Research 

When finding a niche, it’s also important to conduct proper research, so you always have a clear idea of your customer’s needs. But, maintaining a fixed position in the online t-shirt-selling business is not easy. You will most certainly have to research and update the strategies regularly to keep up with the trends. 

Common tools to conduct research include surveys through social media hashtags, message boards, online communities, published consumer research, and more. In addition, you can check social media trends. 

Solving a Problem

Before you start a t-shirt business, you need to decide if you want to establish your brand as “just for fun” or if you want to solve a problem. 

If you want to simplify a pain point that shoppers might be navigating and offer a solution, you must have a clear purpose. 

For example, you can market your t-shirts for people dealing with hyperhidrosis (a condition where a person sweats a lot). Or you can make trendy t-shirts to make fashion statements. 

#2 Source Your T-shirts 

After you have found your niche and customers, the next step is finding suitable suppliers. Educate yourself about different suppliers before making a decision. 

Try investing in quality over quantity. After all, quality will greatly affect a buyer’s purchasing decision. Also, you can gain your customer’s trust by maintaining better quality. 

#3 Create Designs for Your T-shirt Business

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T-shirt design plays an important role when you launch a t-shirt website. With amazing t-shirt designs, you can attract more and more customers. As a result, fancy and trendy products will be easily accessible in the market. 

Here are two ways you can create your own t-shirt designs:

Do It Yourself (DIY)

If you want to try designing your t-shirts, take the help of designer websites. In addition, check Google trends for inspiration. Or you can use non-digital tools to create better t-shirt designs online. 

But if creativity is not your thing, you can 

Hire Freelance Designers or Illustrators 

With a team of skilled designers and illustrators, you can create fantastic t-shirt designs online that your customers will like. In addition, designers can help you execute your vision in a better and much clearer way. 

Experienced t-shirt designers can help you create the right product line for your company. Even if you have started with a DIY approach, work with designers later to skyrocket your online t-shirt business. 

You can find professional designers through social media websites or freelance hiring websites. Or approach local designers for the work. 

#4 Get Feedback on Your T-shirt Concepts

When you get feedback, you can only know how customers feel about your t-shirts. So create mockup t-shirt designs online to get the much-needed unbiased perspective. In addition, it will help you understand whether or not your products need any improvement. 

Getting feedback before investing in a product will help you save money and give you an idea of what the customer wants. 

Here’s how you can reach out to your potential customer base to get authentic feedback:

Work with Influencers

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Working with influencers helps you get closer to the potential audiences who will eventually purchase your products. You can reach out to influencers on Twitter and Instagram. 

The best way to get feedback through influencers is to conduct surveys with them. Or host polls and collect comments. But, of course, contests and sweepstakes also make a great opportunity to garner customers. 

Tap Into Facebook Groups 

Another way to get feedback from potential buyers is through Facebook groups. You can join a group related to your area of interest. 

Many entrepreneurs use Facebook groups to know customers’ opinions about products. But before you join any group, check its policy, as some groups do not allow posting business content. 

Join Online Communities 

Besides mainstream social media platforms, you can also join online communities to get feedback on your product. It would be helpful if you joined communities relevant to your niche. 

Pre-sell Your T-shirt 

You can consider pre-selling your t-shirt if your brand has an established customer base and online marketing presence. 

The transparent way is to let your customers know you are testing new t-shirts. Also, tell them about your refund policy if you decide not to mail out t-shirts. 

Run Paid Ads 

You can even run paid ads on Instagram, Amazon, or Facebook if you have a good budget. Show your t-shirt design through paid ads and use performance metrics to see which of your t-shirt designs are getting more attention. 

#5 Print Your T-shirt

There are many ways you can print designs on your t-shirt. So, you must do detailed research to understand your options before making a choice. Common printing options are heat transfer, direct-to-garment, and screen printing. 

Heat transfer is popular because it uses high heat to melt the t-shirt design into clothing. In addition, it helps in producing better quality color images very easily and quickly. 

In contrast, direct-to-garment printing uses special water-based ink. It’s a cheap option, great for small printing orders. 

Lastly, screen printing offers a higher level of vibrancy, but it’s an expensive setup. So instead, the printer applies ink on t-shirts using screens or stencils. 

#6 Create an Online Presence 

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Once you are confident about your t-shirt designs, create an online presence to sell them. Start by setting up an online store and getting a domain name. 

Choose Ecommerce Platform

You must choose an ideal ecommerce platform so customers can easily find you online. But if you are still unsure about your customers, conduct research. This way, you can rest assured that you have selected the right platform. 

For instance, if your customers are active on Instagram, the chances of them looking for t-shirts through Google search are less. So, you must get their attention through influencer marketing. 

But if your targeted audience spends time doing Google searches, you can spend time and resources on search engine optimization. First, you need to find the right platform so your customers can find you without hassle. 

After mapping your customers and competitors, create an online presence that helps your online t-shirt business grow. 

Click clear pictures of your t-shirts under proper lighting if you use a print-on-demand service. Next, include a product description with details, like material and size. Lastly, set prices for your t-shirts. 

#7 Make Your First T-shirt Sales 

With your business model having an online presence, you can start selling t-shirts to generate revenue. Here’s how you can kickstart your customer acquisition engine:

Work with Social Media Influencers 

Collaborate with social media influencers to run successful campaigns. It’s better to work with relevant influencers in your niche so your online t-shirt business can get attention from the right people. This method allows you to create content instead of ads to market your t-shirts. 

Host Giveaways or Contests 

You can also host contests or giveaways through fun social media campaigns. It will increase your brand visibility and reach. 

Conclusion 

Making money online by selling t-shirts is possible without hiring a team of experts. But remember that it’s a popular market. That means you would be competing against numerous brands. 

You can, however, stay on top of the game by putting in extra time and care. Try deciding on a niche, finding your targeted customers, creating t-shirt designs and online presence, and marketing yourself on the right platform.