The definitive guide to opening an online T-shirt store

Are you thinking about starting an online T-shirt store, but don’t know where to start? Do you have some really cool designs, but you don’t know how to sell them? After the boom that this kind of business has seen, there are a lot of people trying to earn some extra money by selling T-shirts. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy. As with any other business, it has its peculiarities, advantages, and risks. Even so, if you want to create an online T-shirt store that starts selling from day one, keep reading and we will explain how you can achieve it step by step.

Why an online T-shirt store?

Opening an online T-shirt store is in fashion. The success of brands such as Kukuxumusu made a lot of people want to sell their own designs. But, what is it that people find attractive about these types of stores?

• Low investment : an online shirt store doesn’t require you to spend as much money as a physical store .
• Automatization with dropshipping: this is one of the main advantages. Once you have your designs ready, you just need to find a dropshipper that will deal with printing and shipping each T-shirt. You will have a business that is nearly 100% automated.
• Compatibility with other businesses: the fact that you can automate your store means that it is a type of business that you can combine together perfectly with other projects that you may have.

The 5 keys to creating a successful online T-shirt store

Lots of people started their personalized T-shirt e-commerce thinking that money would start flowing in just by opening the store. Do not make the mistake of thinking that—it is not easy to make money with this system. We will give you the 5 key points to focus on so you can actually succeed:

1. Specialization: focus on a very specific audience. One of the main mistakes is trying to reach everyone. The clearer you know who your buyer persona is, the more you will sell.
2. Quality: do not sacrifice the quality of the material to get a bigger margin. The only thing that will grow will be your store’s bad reputation.
3. Design: there are a lot of competitors, so just any design won’t do. Don’t forget who your audience is and bet on creating something different.
4. Brand: if you don’t develop a brand , you will just be someone else on the Internet. Even if your designs are better, your competitors will get the sales.
5. Marketing: to succeed with an online store, you need to develop a digital marketing strategy to get you closer to your clients.

How to create an online T-shirt store step by step

This is the most practical part of the article in which we are going to detail all the steps that you need to follow to create your e-commerce. Let’s get to it!

1. Where to get the design

In the same way that you can create your own designs, you can also get in touch with freelance designers and buy their designs . Both options are good. The most important thing here is to find out what kind of designs are selling the best. Visit Teeview and Zazzle to get some ideas.

2. How to choose the T-shirt

This is a very important step regarding quality. The best thing to do is to find 2 or 3 suppliers and check the material by buying one T-shirt from each of them. Both here and in this other post you can find information about suppliers.

3. How to print T-shirts

Printing is also a determining factor for the final finish of the T-shirt, so it is very important for you to choose well. You have the following options:

• Heat transfer: you can do it yourself at home but the quality is not very good, Not recommended.
• Serigraphy: you would have to find different companies and value the costs. The main advantages are quality and discounts for large amounts. It is difficult to start using this option without a big investment.
• Direct printing: good quality and you can do it yourself. The disadvantage is that you need to buy a special printer that is quite expensive.
• Dropshipping: the best option if you are starting. While you can deal with designs and marketing, they will print and ship the T-shirts. The only bad thing about it is that you have smaller margins.

4. How to sell your designs

And now we reach the last point, the selling. You have two options: to create your own store or to sell them through special platforms.

• Your own website: if you use either WordPress or Shopify, you will have a lot more options to personalize your store. This is very important for your marketing strategy and you have several e-commerce platforms to try.
• Online platform: you can try with Spreadshirt , la Tostadora or Positivos . These are easier ways to sell, but they are also more limited.

When will you have your T-shirt store ready?

Now that you have all this information, you are actually ready to create an online T-shirt store. Take advantage of this and start selling T-shirts from day one!