Do you want to start a profitable print-on-demand T-shirt business but have no idea how to kick things off?
If yes, this is your lucky day!
This article features everything you need to get started.
But before you do anything, gather all relevant information, make sure you have the right budget and familiarize yourself with some key metrics in the print-on-demand T-shirt business.
To launch a successful print-on-demand T-shirt business:
- Understand the Print-On-Business T-Shirt Business
- Select the Right Market
- Know Your Rivals
- Craft Your Name and Logo
- Set up Your Online Store
- Pick a Print-On-Demand Company
- Design Your T-Shirt Catalog
- Vet Your T-Shirt Designs
- Validate the Quality of Your T-Shirts
- Set Competitive Prices
- Promote Your Print-On-Demand T-Shirt Business
Ready? Let’s get started!
1. Understand the Print-On-Business T-Shirt Business
To launch a lucrative print-on-demand T-shirt business, understand what the business really is about. Very simple.
With a print-on-demand T-shirt business, you produce and sell customized T-shirt designs without storing them or shipping them to customers. Someone else—a print-on-demand service—takes care of everything for you.
Just mesmerize your potential customers with unique and compelling designs. Come up with singular designs that make everybody say “wow”!
Yeah, that’s the deal! You think that’s easy, right? Not so fast. It’s not. It takes hard work and lots of trials and errors.
2. Select the Right Market
To launch a successful print-on-demand T-shirt business, be picky about the market. Some people call it “niche” or “segment.” Whatever you do, pay attention to three things:
- T-shirt style
- Demographics
- Trends
Select the T-shirt that fits with your business model—V-neck, girl’s, boy’s, men’s, baseball, etc. Your T-shirt style must be in sync with your demographics.
Speaking of demographics, decide which population you want to target—teenagers, young adults, men, women, unisex, sports aficionados, religious…the sky is the limit. But keep your eyes on the ball, and start with a niche you know.
Talking about trends, you want to position yourself in a market with high demand and low-to-average supply. That’s where the sweet spot is at.
Use specific tools such as Google Trends and Ubersuggest’s Keyword Tool to zero in on all these three things—T-shirt style, demographics and trends.
3. Know Your Rivals
To start a winning print-on-demand T-shirt business, know whom you’re playing against. Study similar print-on-demand T-shirt businesses within your niche—and see what works and what doesn’t.
No need to copy your rivals’ designs, though. Be proud of your own designs and constantly up your game. It’s all about continually bringing your print-on-demand T-shirt business game to the next level.
No pain, no gain! Keep your hustle on.
See reviews that customers leave on your competitors’ stores, and peek into these very stores to learn about everything from T-shirt design and product placement to web store design, pricing and shipping policy.
Put your CSI Miami cap on and do some investigative work. Don’t sleep at the wheel—go through your most direct rivals’ stores with a fine-tooth comb.
Do some digging…some deep digging!
Bottom line: Identify deficiencies in your competitors’ business models as well as unresolved customer pains the market so you can position your print-on-demand T-shirt business in an exclusive, untapped spot…making money all by yourself.
4. Craft Your Name and Logo
To start a lucrative print-on-demand T-shirt business, come up with a compelling business name and craft a catchy logo. The whole idea is to imprint a singular identity on your brand.
Do the work yourself or outsource it—your call.
- DYI: Brainstorm a unique name for your business and use tools such as Canva or Logo Maker to design an exciting logo.
- Outsource the work to freelancers on platforms such as Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer and TopTal.
Choose whatever option fits your budget.
5. Set up Your Online Store
To launch a successful print-on-demand T-shirt business, create an online store on a platform that allows you to customize your offerings and integrate print-on-demand services into your store.
Pick Shopify or Amazon, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Square, Wix… the list goes on.
Make your store user-friendly, SEO-optimized and responsively designed to fit all devices—laptops, desktops, iPads or Phones, especially on mobile devices. (In case you didn’t know, most customers buy nowadays from their mobile devices.)
Popular platforms include Shopify, Wix and Square—but again, the right platform for you depends on your niche, needs and target audience.
6. Pick a Print-On-Demand Company
To start and thrive in your print-on-demand T-shirt business, choose a print-on-demand service that will handle the back office of your business—printing the actual T-shirts when customers place orders and shipping the shirts to them.
Printify and Printful are the biggies in this space. Each has its pros and cons, but whatever print-on-demand service you choose, make sure:
- It can support different products in various colors.
- It integrates very well with online store platforms like Shopify and Amazon.
- It has affordable prices.
- It has excellent customer service.
- It has the right printing mode for your business.
Speaking of printing modes, you can choose between screen printing, direct-to-garment printing, heat press printing, dye sublimation and vinyl cutting, among others—it’s up to you.
7. Design Your T-Shirt Catalog
To launch a profitable print-on-demand T-shirt business, create unique T-shirts that set your brand apart and speak directly to your target audience. Make sure potential customers can recognize themselves in your designs.
Keep your designs simple but classy, and use all manner of illustrations, quotes, slogans and symbols to catch your target audience’s attention.
Here, again, you can do things yourself—if you’re artistically inclined—or hire designers on platforms such as Fiverr, TopTal, Freelancer and Upwork.
8. Vet Your T-Shirt Designs
To start a thriving print-on-demand T-shirt business, vet your T-shirt designs to make sure they fit what your audience wants. Create several designs, perform A/B testing and conduct reviews to get proper feedback.
Create mockup T-shirt designs and share them on social media platforms. Liaise with your print-on-demand service to generate mockups for your T-shirts. Share the designs on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram—and watch closely the feedback you get from your followers.
That way, you have relevant data on your target audience’s thoughts and needs. Make necessary corrections after the reviews.
9. Validate the Quality of Your T-Shirts
To kick off a lucrative print-on-demand T-shirt business, validate the quality of your T-shirts—meaning the garments themselves.
Right off the bat, go for quality products and avoid substandard materials in a bid to boost your profit margins. Substandard T-shirts will cripple your brand over time—and you definitely don’t want that, right?
To ascertain your T-shirt quality:
- Test the sizes: Order some samples before you start marketing your T-shirts. Check the kinds of sizes your print-on-demand service produces. Examine variances in sizes. T-shirts that bear labels with “large” (L) sometimes come as “medium” (M) in reality. Confirm these variances.
- Test the quality: Be sure the T-shirt retains its original color after washing. Remember, selling low-quality products affects your brand over time. Also, vet for typos and font misplacements.
10. Set Competitive Prices
To launch a profitable print-on-demand T-shirt business, set competitive prices that are neither too high nor too low.
Factor all your costs (web hosting, domain name, cost of T-shirt design, print-on-demand fees, promotion, etc.) in your price—and then add your markup.
Check your competitors’ prices to see what kinds of pricing games they’re playing. The whole thing is to set a competitive price that grabs the buyer’s attention but also gives you a nice chunk of change in terms of profit.
11. Promote Your Print-On-Demand T-Shirt Business
To start a successful print-on-demand T-shirt business, find the right promotion channels.
You want everybody to know about your T-shirt business, right? So get the ball rolling on the promotion front!
You have many opportunities; just choose the ones that work for you:
- Social media
- Online store
- Blog or website
- Email newsletters
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube are very popular with regards to the print-on-demand T-shirt business model.
Email campaigns are kind of cool, too. Ensure you collect emails from customers and direct them to your landing page. Use email plugins to automate your email collection process so you can market your T-shirts through email and spend less on promotion in the future.
Recap
To start a profitable print-on-demand T-shirt business, make sure you understand the business and select the right market. Get intel on your rivals so you know whom you’re up against. Choose a catchy store name and logo and find launch your online. Then, pick a print-on-demand company and design your T-shirt catalog, vetting your designs and garment quality. Also, set competitive prices and invest some time and money in promoting your print-on-demand T-shirt business.
Now, go make that money!
