When starting out in your own t-shirt business, it can be difficult to think up design ideas for your first run of tees. Or maybe you're absolutely buzzing with thousands of concepts, but aren't quite sure where to start...
The t-shirt industry is booming, and because of this, competition is fiercer than ever. As with any business, it's important to find out what the market wants. After all, you don't want to be stuck with a huge stack of tees that you can't seem to sell, even though your friends thought they were the coolest thing since Reebok Pumps.
The Internet gives you an amazing opportunity - the opportunity to find out what is already popular and has mass appeal. Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying you should imitate. The last thing this world needs is another 'Vote For Pedro' tee shirt. But what I am saying, is that without a design that appeals to many people, you will struggle to make a profit.
Here's what I suggest: once you have thought up a basic concept for your tees, check out these sites below. Each one has a voting section that lists designs according to popularity. This will give you a good idea of what people are already buying.
If you plan to target a subculture or niche, then I suggest you skip the above sites and look for something more suited to to your target market. Remember to keep it original. The idea is not to copy someone else's success, but to assess whether people might be interested in your designs.
So, now that I've told you my method, what are some of the ways that YOU use to think up new design ideas?
There is know sure way to know if your design will sell. You just need to get opinions from people you know and promote your product. .... JB
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If you have a booth at a Granma convention and you are selling *I'm With GRANDMA" childrens tees you are gonna sell shirts. Point being the market and how you get in front of the market are more a factor than a thousand clever designs. That might bend some of the artist folks who think design is king but unless that design is in front of the right person its just portfolio filler.
If you have a booth at a Granma convention and you are selling *I'm With GRANDMA" childrens tees you are gonna sell shirts. Point being the market and how you get in front of the market are more a factor than a thousand clever designs. That might bend some of the artist folks who think design is king but unless that design is in front of the right person its just portfolio filler.
Couldn't agree with you more, David! Well said. I think PPC is one very effective way of getting your product in front of the most obscure of crowds.
I 2nd that. Just about every market is flooded with competition. I think it is getting to the point where those who are trying to get involved (Not just with t-shirts but with every market) need to not necessarily reinvent the wheel, but maybe try to find a niche that isn't really being filled.
Predicting designs that are cool and designs that sell is actually hard even with a voting model. Sometimes people think a design is great and vote on it, but the mass appeal just isn't there. Othertimes it just takes a while for a new style to take off. Cost control and brand positioning I think are important. It takes a while to get noticed no matter what you do, but once you get noticed you want to be consistent.
Last edited by Rodney; May 30th, 2008 at 03:25 PM.
Reason: removed link to website as per forum rules. Feel free to start a post in the reviews section for feedback
Predicting designs that are cool and designs that sell is actually hard even with a voting model. Sometimes people think a design is great and vote on it, but the mass appeal just isn't there. Othertimes it just takes a while for a new style to take off. Cost control and brand positioning I think are important. It takes a while to get noticed no matter what you do, but once you get noticed you want to be consistent.
Agreed - it's sort of like Exit Polling in politics. It's not always a true predictor of the winner.
Last edited by Rodney; May 30th, 2008 at 03:25 PM.
Reason: cleanup
Agreed - it's sort of like Exit Polling in politics. It's not always a true predictor of the winner.
Totally agreed! Voting sites can be used as a start, but the real power at play here is the opinions of people within your target market. If the people voting are the type of people that you are trying to sell to, then the results will be more accurate. So it's important to only use this method if the voting site is clearly within your niche.
Of course if you already have a list of 'fans' that have bought from you before, it would be much more beneficial to get the opinions of your existing customers. Perhaps get them to vote on a handful of designs and give away some free stuff in a draw as an incentive. Knowing what appeals to a specific market is invaluable in business and is the reason for many companies spending millions of dollars each year on market research. Unfortunately, most of us don't have that kind of money! But by asking the people who matter the most (our current and potential customers), it takes a lot of the guesswork and assumption out of launching a new design.
Having said that, the true test of course are the sales figures after you finally take the step, launch the design, give it your best marketing efforts and see what happens!
If you have a booth at a Granma convention and you are selling *I'm With GRANDMA" childrens tees you are gonna sell shirts. Point being the market and how you get in front of the market are more a factor than a thousand clever designs. That might bend some of the artist folks who think design is king but unless that design is in front of the right person its just portfolio filler.
I totally agree. A lot of times the people you associate with will be in your target market. What I did was created a spreadsheet in excel and had my friend, co-workers, associates etc rate the shirts. I tallied the points and that's how I decided which shirts to get printed first.
This is a discussion about How To Know For Sure If Your Design Will Sell that was posted in the General T-Shirt Selling Discussion section of the forums.
How To Know For Sure If Your Design Will Sell 
