Discuss the fun task of marketing a t-shirt shop. Where to advertise, link building, word of mouth, press releases, search engine marketing, keyword advertising, magazines, etc.
I have started a online t shirt shop in Europe, we have been online now for about 6 months. I got 1000 flyers printed and hoped to boost the number of people on my site, but it didn't really work out that way. I got a group of people together, and went to Innsbruck (Austria) and gave them out with a smile and a wink, but it really didn't have much effect at all. Has anyone had any succsess with this method of advertising? tips???
chris
Last edited by Comin'OutSwingin; May 18th, 2008 at 01:40 PM.
Reason: removed url from post per forum guidelines...please feel free to add your url to your signature.
I never had any luck with flyers. I had great luck with making a sample shirt and giving it to someone to wear. This generated a lot of interest for me. ..... JB
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I have been doing flyers for years. I print them myself and mail them to local companies I think could use my services. I must admit I don't get a huge response, although a few years ago I did get one very good customer that has stayed with me and made every flyer I ever sent way more than worth it. I work out of my home, advertising is very expensive and I absolutely HATE doing cold calls, so flyers are an easy, inexpensive alternative.
Marketing is not easy. You need to find out where and how you want to sell. Are you selling single shirts. Are you selling direct to customers one at a time then flyers are a waste of time. Flyers to stores, retailers are your best solution. Otherwise then you just need to drive traffic to your webs site. make sure you site is SEO. Search engine optimized. Lou
Handing out flyers to individual customers probably isn't going to bring a big return. The standard rate of return for most things of this sort is about .5 to 1%. With that rate of return, you want to get your flyers in the hands of people who might be thinking of placing an order for multiple shirts, not just one.
If you do want to do flyers, the idea should be to get as many out as possible into as many hands as possible, without needing to spend a lot of time. I also wouldn't rely on flyers as your sole method of advertising.
First thing I'd do is add the link to your site to your signature. This is a great place to showcase your product to people who love shirts! If I liked your product I'd tell a friend to check it out or I'd send them the link. I'd offer more advise but I don't have any idea of what type of market you're going for. Good luck!
Ive made folders with information on what we do inside. These brought us a bit of business. I found out on friday, that one of these folders was passed on to someone and that person called me. We are meeting on wednesday.
The type of handout that has worked best for us has been postcards! I design them myself, and get them printed up at vistaprint.com Cheap and a very nice quality. I have some contacts that look forward to see what Ive come up with next. We usually have to order our "feeling naked?" postcards once a month. Everyone likes them.
You need something interesting that people are going to want to keep. If they keep it.....it is highly likely they will look at it again. The more they look at it, the more likely they will remember you. Which is what you want.
I have started a online t shirt shop in Europe, we have been online now for about 6 months. I got 1000 flyers printed and hoped to boost the number of people on my site, but it didn't really work out that way. I got a group of people together, and went to Innsbruck (Austria) and gave them out with a smile and a wink, but it really didn't have much effect at all. Has anyone had any succsess with this method of advertising? tips???
chris
I must say you have a very nice website, Chris. Love the colours, layout, navigation, etc. Actually I love almost everything about it. You have definitely got yourself a new fan here.
Some extra plus points for me:
- Your site is bi-lingual
- Love it that you ship worldwide (i've lived in 4 different countries in the last 10 years, I always hate to let go of a favourite online shop just because they don't ship to wherever I live or where I next live...)
- Designs are on the site for a year, so the designer gets to keep earning throughout! This is very attractive for a designer..I think it'll keep them coming back.
- Did I already say I love your website?
Frankly, your site and its concept are almost flawless. I would think the people who visit your site are ppl who spend a lot of time online, or at least people who like to purchase things online. I might say the way to go would be to do more online marketing, not flyers.
Linking your URL here was already a good suggestion - that's what first got me to your site and now I'm a fan. Heaps of other things you can do to drive traffic to your site I'm sure - trawl the forums here for a start, ideas are abundant!
[/quote]The type of handout that has worked best for us has been postcards! I design them myself, and get them printed up at vistaprint.com Cheap and a very nice quality. I have some contacts that look forward to see what Ive come up with next. We usually have to order our "feeling naked?" postcards once a month. Everyone likes them. [/quote]
This is how I would like to begin marketing. My question is how did you find people to send the postcards out to?
I agree with tjacks7. I do digital printing and am just getting into tees. I don't know what kind of shirts you are printing, but you might get some postcards made up and take them to an event (like a trade convention or women's show, or whatever best fits your line). What I do is find a strategic place to put the postcards. Since I'm a printer, I can get pretty flashy with the printing. I let the postcards work on their own. What I do next is carry my sample case around with me and engage in conversation with vendors that I think would benefit from my services. Since I'm showing samples, I usually just hand out a business card and maybe a pricing sheet (how convenient). You might even have a saddle stitched catalog done up. Be selective in handing out the samples and catalogs if your budget is small. If vendors ask where my booth is, I tell them I don't have one. I say that they (the vendors) are usually too busy to go around visiting booths, so as a service, I go around and visit them. Many vendors are flattered by this approach. Never interfere with their other customers coming in. Remember, they are there to sell, too. If they are too busy, I leave a card and a flyer and try to get back with them later. If security or anyone says something to you, tell them that you are calling on some of your clients and they will leave you alone. After a successful convention, I get calls for months.
This is how I would like to begin marketing. My question is how did you find people to send the postcards out to?
I quit mailing out postcards over a year ago. Mailings for us just dont work.
Every postcard is hand delivered. If you are networking (everywhere) you should go thru 100's of cards. I keep them in my purse, and in my folder. When I hand out my business card, I usually hand out a post card as well.
I belong to several networking groups and pass them out to every new contact. I attend every speed networking event that comes up and hand out almost 75 cards at each of these events.
It seems if the customer can put a person behind the postcard, they are more inclined to make the call or stop in the shop to get more information and place an order.
Another form of very cheap contact...once you have built a customer base is constantconact.com I love this service!! My first mail out paid for my first months fee within 10 minutes of mailing it out. Awesome!
i'm starting to see people rock stickers on cars/etc
flyers are good for promotional parties...... maybe give a few to some hott people that you flirt with.... but random flyering isnt good.... been there and not worth it......
just keep some with you and if you strick up a conversion with people.... give them a flyer or sticker
Do Flyers work??? I couldn't do it. 
