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How To Make A Million Dollar T-Shirt Design

How To Make A Million Dollar T-Shirt Design

make-millions-t-shirt-tshirt-design-business

Are you interested in making more money? If so, how much? A few bucks, hundreds, thousands, or millions? If you ask us, we will most likely stick to the million option. One way to generate millions of dollars is through incredible t-shirt designs. The truth is, if you spend some time conducting research, tests, experiments, and have an effective marketing strategy, you could soon become a millionaire. 

The founders of GoodLife did it; they made a multi-million dollar business by just selling t-shirts. And they did it back in the 1980s! Today, it’s a lot more straightforward, and you don’t need a lot of money to get started in this business. However, if you are considering testing the t-shirt business waters, there are a few things you should know. One of which is print-on-demand. 

Photo: Instagram | @coastalreign

What is print on demand?

Print on demand (POD) is a type of technology that allows you to only manufacture t-shirts after an order has been made. It also allows you to upload your designs to a t-shirt, and then print them off for customers without keeping a physical inventory.

This is ideal for artists, small-scale businesses, and anyone who does not have a brick-and-mortar store and little to no customers. It, therefore, saves you time and money by using services that are already available to you. One effective business for this is Coastal Reign which allows you to upload your designs to a range of t-shirts and other products for your customers.

How to make a million-dollar t-shirt design…

Now you have an idea of what print on demand is, let’s go into the essentials about how you can make a multi-million-dollar t-shirt design. To do this, you will need to do the following:

#1. Come up with your concept

make-millions-t-shirt-tshirt-design-business
Photo: June Liu | Unsplash

You must take some time to create your concept, i.e. what your t-shirt design is going to look like. Creating a t-shirt may sound simple, but the truth is, it’s could be complicated. After all, it’s about creating something that people would want to wear with pride, so you should take some time to ensure worth wearing. 

Make sure you conduct thorough research to help you come up with your concept. When researching, it may be best to do your investigation in an incognito window so cookies don’t affect your results. During this essential step, you will be able to see what colors, designs, and images are trending and this information help you start on the right foot. Similarly, you should look at websites like Amazon, Style Rave, Etsy, and more to see what’s popular.

But, at the same time, you must have your own identity, and ensure your product isn’t a cut-copy of others. You and your team should take some time to brainstorm in order to develop a unique, original, and memorable image. You might also want to create more than one version, as you might not know which design of yours may resonate with the public the best.

#2. Start designing

Photo: Pavel Danilyuk | Pexels

Once you have a few concepts in mind, it’s time to begin your design work. If you’re not confident with designing yourself, you can always hire designers to do the job for you. This may cost more, but professional designers do provide some epic images.

On the contrary, if you wish to save a few bucks, you might want to do the designs yourself. There’re plenty of online free tools you can use such as Adobe Illustrator and Canva, to help you come up with some quirky designs. The benefits of this software are that they also allow you to convert them into multiple file formats, which can be beneficial for the print-on-demand service you’re using.

#3. Test and tweak your design

make-millions-t-shirt-tshirt-design-business
Photo: Tobi | Pexels

As you become better at creating a t-shirt design, it’s important that you refine it and tweak it over time. We doubt your first design is what’s going to make you a million-dollar hit overnight. Instead, come up with a few designs and extensive market research to help you understand what is best for your business.

For example, you may wish to show a few designs to others and ask their opinion on your creation. When asking such questions, it’s also important to ask them the typical price they would pay for your t-shirt. Alongside this, you should try printing out your design to have an idea of what it looks like on the material.

#4. Register a business

Photo: Christin Hume | Unsplash

This is an optional step to making a million-dollar t-shirt design in the beginning, but eventually, you will need to register your business. Doing this will help establish some credibility, and it will induce a sense of trust for your potential customers to buy t-shirts from you. Ideally, when choosing a name, try to pick names for your t-shirts that match your business.

#5. Get trademarked and licensed

Once you start and your t-shirt business becomes successful, you will want to ensure that no one copies them. One way of doing this is by getting the necessary permits and licenses to help sell your t-shirts online. It’s also important you carry out a lot of research to ensure you’re not infringing on other companies’ properties. Trust us, the last thing you’ll want is to get sued. Similarly, you should make sure that your brand doesn’t match someone else’s.

#6. Price your shirts

Photo: Liza Summer | Pexels

After you’ve decided on your printing, manufacturing, and more, it’s time to decide your price. It’s important that you cover all the operation costs in your pricing strategy to make a profit and fulfil the one million dollars dream as quickly as possible.

#7. Market them

make-millions-t-shirt-tshirt-design-business
Photo: Xiaolong Wong | Unsplash

While you may have a multi-million dollar design, you can’t make it to a million dollars straight away without having the right marketing in place. By the time you reach the marketing phase, you should know what your market likes and use this information to help you generate more leads and sales. You should also consider using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and more.

These are just a few steps to make a million-dollar t-shirt design. Remember, the key to making a million dollars in your business through t-shirts is to begin. Good luck! 

Featured image: KOBU Agency | Unsplash


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