tshirtalert.com - good pr, good content, bad income. Help!

[JakeThePeg]

I've created quite an enviable position for myself recently, almost by accident.

I offered several of my peers within the tshirt industry the chance to become Guest Authors on my longwithstanding tshirt blog, tshirtalert.com. I now have about 20 writers, who write good content, frequently. It's good for them, as they get free exposure and traffic, and it's obviously good for me, because the content is flowing in steadily without much of my own input.

The thing is...I am really struggling to monetize the site to gain any significant income.

I'd love to hear some of your suggestions on what I might be able to do to receive at least a little bit of consistent revenue.

[MichaelHiles]

Since US Screen Institute went down in flames, I think there's probably a very big void in the "how to" instructional part of the business. Scott got into the digital t-jet garment printing and out of the profitable publishing side he enjoyed for many years. Everything was liquidated at auction last year and the domain screenprinters.net was even bought by another company that still runs the forum they started.

His books and DVDs were staples in the screenprinting business for a very long time, but the status of the intellectual property is questionable with the bankruptcy - and I don't even know if they are on the market anymore.

He was doing basic how-to's of things like setting up a press, etc... for startup screen people.

I know all this because I started a screenprinting company in 2003 that I sold to a larger competitor that bought my processes and marketing systems.

I still own some great domains that I might do something with sometime like howtosellshirts.com and fundraisingapparel.com

[JakeThePeg]

Originally Posted by MichaelHiles

Since US Screen Institute went down in flames, I think there's probably a very big void in the "how to" instructional part of the business. Scott got into the digital t-jet garment printing and out of the profitable publishing side he enjoyed for many years. Everything was liquidated at auction last year and the domain screenprinters.net was even bought by another company that still runs the forum they started.

His books and DVDs were staples in the screenprinting business for a very long time, but the status of the intellectual property is questionable with the bankruptcy - and I don't even know if they are on the market anymore.

He was doing basic how-to's of things like setting up a press, etc... for startup screen people.

I know all this because I started a screenprinting company in 2003 that I sold to a larger competitor that bought my processes and marketing systems.

I still own some great domains that I might do something with sometime like howtosellshirts.com and fundraisingapparel.com

Hey Michael - thanks for your message. Are you suggesting that I branch out into producing more content specifically about screen printing?

To be honest, I was hoping to leverage off the existing content that Tshirt Alert is already attracting, and then implement some strategies to turn this traffic into revenue...

[jyzackoh]

Hi Sir/Madam,

I'm not very good at internet marketing but I have some ideas though.

It would be really cool to sell advertisement space for people who own their own T-shirt shops. Maybe you could give them a trial period for a start like $25 for the first month and then if it's good then you could work out a better deal with them?

You could also design your own T-shirts and put it at the top of your "Buy" page. Then people will see your designs and they might buy your T-shirts.

Those are the 2 ideas I can think on the top of my head. I will update you if I think of more =)

All the best,
Zack

[josspam]

WHy don't you put adds related and may be use cafepress to buy some of your own creation.

If people go to your page they're looking for something unique... may be you can do that!

Jocy

[MichaelHiles]

Originally Posted by JakeThePeg

Hey Michael - thanks for your message. Are you suggesting that I branch out into producing more content specifically about screen printing?

To be honest, I was hoping to leverage off the existing content that Tshirt Alert is already attracting, and then implement some strategies to turn this traffic into revenue...

Well, not sure really.

Just blogging about "tshirts" is sort of this nebulous thing.

I wasn't quite sure who your defined market was when I looked at the site before I responded. I know that you were talking about "shirts" in general.... designs, etc...

But who is that audience? Buyers for retail chains? Teenagers who just like to collect shirts?

I didn't pick up on any rifle scope targeting when I briefly looked at the site. Your about section listed a whole bunch of target markets. Quite frankly, far too broad within the vertical. Each one of those candidates listed have very different interests within the industry - although the broader market is "t-shirts". In that sense, you've cast too wide of a net, and it will be too hard to capture a volume because you don't have a defined, narrow scope.

So my response was based on my own knowledge of the broader industry because I know there's presently a big gaping hole left at the top where millions of dollars of info-products were once sold.

To be frank, if I had a production shop right now, I'd be scrambling to shoot video to fill the hole. But that was a different chapter, etc...

So... my answer was based on my own understanding of the need to identify a very specific niche customer when it comes to selling.

Who is your very tight, small target market? What do they want to buy? How can you sell that to them?

Start answering those questions, and you will probably find your content strategy changing - simply because you haven't necessarily had any editorial framework to guide the contributing writers.

It might mean scrapping some, all, or none... depending on your marketing positioning.

[JakeThePeg]

Originally Posted by jyzackoh

Hi Sir/Madam,

I'm not very good at internet marketing but I have some ideas though.

It would be really cool to sell advertisement space for people who own their own T-shirt shops. Maybe you could give them a trial period for a start like $25 for the first month and then if it's good then you could work out a better deal with them?

You could also design your own T-shirts and put it at the top of your "Buy" page. Then people will see your designs and they might buy your T-shirts.

Those are the 2 ideas I can think on the top of my head. I will update you if I think of more =)

All the best,
Zack

Hey Zack - thanks for your ideas mate. I occasionally sell advertising space on the site, and it seems to perform ok.

Your idea about selling my own tees is also a great one. The only problem is, I am a terrible designer, so I would hate to impact the quality of my site with my own below-average tshirt designs

[JakeThePeg]

Originally Posted by josspam

WHy don't you put adds related and may be use cafepress to buy some of your own creation.

Jocy

Hey Jocy - I'm not sure I know exactly what you mean. Do you have any specific examples of this idea in action?

[JakeThePeg]

Originally Posted by MichaelHiles

Well, not sure really.

Just blogging about "tshirts" is sort of this nebulous thing.

I wasn't quite sure who your defined market was when I looked at the site before I responded. I know that you were talking about "shirts" in general.... designs, etc...

But who is that audience? Buyers for retail chains? Teenagers who just like to collect shirts?

I didn't pick up on any rifle scope targeting when I briefly looked at the site. Your about section listed a whole bunch of target markets. Quite frankly, far too broad within the vertical. Each one of those candidates listed have very different interests within the industry - although the broader market is "t-shirts". In that sense, you've cast too wide of a net, and it will be too hard to capture a volume because you don't have a defined, narrow scope.

So my response was based on my own knowledge of the broader industry because I know there's presently a big gaping hole left at the top where millions of dollars of info-products were once sold.

To be frank, if I had a production shop right now, I'd be scrambling to shoot video to fill the hole. But that was a different chapter, etc...

So... my answer was based on my own understanding of the need to identify a very specific niche customer when it comes to selling.

Who is your very tight, small target market? What do they want to buy? How can you sell that to them?

Start answering those questions, and you will probably find your content strategy changing - simply because you haven't necessarily had any editorial framework to guide the contributing writers.

It might mean scrapping some, all, or none... depending on your marketing positioning.

Heck - you've made some excellent points there.

I'm going to have to take it back to basics aren't I. Work out a specific target market - one which I am passionate about, and one that offers good monetization prospects, and then start building the content around that.

Darn it. Here I was with high hopes someone would just come and say "all you need to do is x,y,z and you'll be earning $1000 a day by the end of the week".

[MichaelHiles]

Originally Posted by JakeThePeg

Heck - you've made some excellent points there.

I'm going to have to take it back to basics aren't I. Work out a specific target market - one which I am passionate about, and one that offers good monetization prospects, and then start building the content around that.

Darn it. Here I was with high hopes someone would just come and say "all you need to do is x,y,z and you'll be earning $1000 a day by the end of the week".

Sorry man. Didn't mean to ruin your weekend. It's tough sometimes. We get into the thick of creativity and lose sight. I know that I do it.

I work with a lot of early stage, high tech companies. I see so many brilliant, world class engineers solving real science problems. But there's a huge gap between truly solving a real problem, and solving a specific, percieved problem for a specific person. If you're not building your business around a specific customer profile by solving a specific problem, then you're likely going to have a much harder time.

[JakeThePeg]

Originally Posted by MichaelHiles

Sorry man. Didn't mean to ruin your weekend. It's tough sometimes. We get into the thick of creativity and lose sight. I know that I do it.

I work with a lot of early stage, high tech companies. I see so many brilliant, world class engineers solving real science problems. But there's a huge gap between truly solving a real problem, and solving a specific, percieved problem for a specific person. If you're not building your business around a specific customer profile by solving a specific problem, then you're likely going to have a much harder time.

You're wise beyond your year Michael

[Dave777]

A few Quick ideas and well known T-Shirt website resources to Study, brainstorm and incorporate into your business plans...
(if any of the links don't work, just do a full copy & paste)
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/145816-jason-sadlers-back-news-iwearyourshirt-com-revenues-increasing-very-nicely.html
T-Shirt Newsletter
T-Shirt Links directory - tshirts, original designs, screen printers, wholesalers and more

Dave

[JakeThePeg]

Originally Posted by Dave777

A few Quick ideas and well known T-Shirt website resources to Study, brainstorm and incorporate into your business plans...
(if any of the links don't work, just do a full copy & paste)
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/145816-jason-sadlers-back-news-iwearyourshirt-com-revenues-increasing-very-nicely.html
T-Shirt Newsletter
T-Shirt Links directory - tshirts, original designs, screen printers, wholesalers and more

Dave

Thanks Dave. Looks like I've got some thinking and research to do!