Copywriting tips to sell t-shirts?

If the image of the design doesn't sell the shirt - copy won't help. IMO this is a case where the product sells itself...or it doesn't.


Copy could be useful to highlight the quality of the fabric, ''made in usa', or 'free shipping' however.

Gotta figure here what people wanna shout out loud from their boobies an' pecs.

For sum people, a quality T combined with neat visyools an' a slogan sayin' sumthin' like PROUD TO BE UNMASKED could be a winnah.

Flipside, a similah offah runnin' I AIN'T STOOPID or THE FUTURE BELONGS TO ME might play well with certain groops.

Thing is, T slogans fizz in the air, growl in the gut, burn your heart, an' swell like an undercurrent turned wave.

Listen to what is gowin' on an float summa that onto your Ts.

When hooman beings fluff out their chests an' adorn them with value staements an' imagry, this is trooly 'bout PRIDE.

So ... what is important rn ... what do people care about ... how might they wanna change the planet c/o a thought-provokin' one liner slapped on their titties?

Ordered a shirt 2 days ago....simple message

There is no such thing as "Sells Itself", people have to buy it! There is always room to add humor or inspiration, or info and value to an image using text!


Disclaimer: I DO NOT own a successful t-shirt shop!

Even still, I was a printer for 23 years on large sheet-fed presses, like the amazing Heidelberg Speedmaster, and the mighty Man-Roland 700.

The Man-Roland was 50 feet long and 7 feet high. (8 color/ unit 40 inch!) Similar to this one:
Also, my son is a graphic artist, and he and I gab about it. So I know a few things about commercial art:

The following system should get you some results if you work it. The first thing you want to do is develop some basic writing skills. Don't worry, this'll be easy and fun.

Get your friend to give you 10 images that he needs titles for. Why 10 images and not 1 or 2? You'll need to warm up. Also, if you publish 10 on the internet, probably only 1 or 2 will be hits. But you only need 1 hit to start off with.

If it takes him very long to get the 10 images to you, he's not serious about the business.

Your option at that point is to grab some images yourself from the internet. Make sure they're royalty-free and in the public domain to be used legally. No need to get sued by the real content owner. And you don't want to give illegitimate content to your friend either, I assume.

An alternative is to create your own. I'll take simple pics of odd stuff around town with my cheap-ass cell phone camera, and write captions to turn them into memes. This is easy to do.

See attached examples: Copyrighted Scott Erickson, all rights reserved

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1awr...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uvg...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J0S...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V7Y...ew?usp=sharing

If I already have images, I can make one meme every 5 or 10 minutes. So you can see how easy it is to do. Ok, so now you have 10 images.

Start with the MOST appealing image. Then, try to think of a title AND subtitle for it. This is a basic "joke" structure: 1. Set-up, 2. Punchline.

Sort of like: the title is the situation or environment that you're telling the reader about. Then the subtitle can be the second bit of information.

It doesn't have to be funny, it could just be an observation about the HIDDEN STORY behind the image.

You must tell a basic story. Did I say it DOESN'T have to be funny? This will allow you to relax a bit, and help get your creative energies going. If some of them are funny, so much the better.

This is the secret to attracting readers, fans, and t-shirt buyers. An odd or compelling quick story.

So do this using 5 or 10 images, write titles, and make 5 or 10 memes.

Anyways, I usually use meme creation site https://imgflip.com/ The free version will have a little watermark in the bottom corner, so you may want the paid version. For testing purposes anyway, the free version might be ok.

In terms of content, be careful of just modifying some existing slogan, eg "The Future is Female", because this is weak. First, it's unoriginal and deriviative, and everybody knows it's been ripped off. If you bore people, it'll drive people away.

Second: what demograph are you or your friends are trying to sell to? Since you're just starting out, it'll likely be easiest for you to sell to YOUR demograph, since it's like trying to sell a t-shirt to someone like you. Should be a minimum of friction using this angle.

So I'd recommend sticking a little close to home. Writing from your own perspective will be a little harder in the beginning, but will develop into a more engaging and ATTRACTIVE "voice".

If you can learn how to create and sell decent content, it's very much in demand. So if you're a content creator, treat it like the business asset that it is.

Remember, you can sell this kind of content on Fiverr etc. So get your friend to pay you for what you created, or get a percentage of profits from the shirt sales.

Check out Fiverr, search "write memes, jokes"

If it was me, I'd want at least $5 per image/caption. And no picking and choosing only 2 images out of 10. Have to buy the whole package, for $50 minimum. IMO only

Later on, you can install and use "Keywords Everywhere" (only works on Chrome) to get some ideas for t-shirts so that keywords you use for your t-shirt will have a chance to rank for free on Google. So you could get free traffic, if you choose some low-competition Keywords.

Also, Google Trends is supposedly really good for extremely up to date keywords.

Anyways, hope this helps, good luck!

Scott Erickson

Please think about thanking me: I'm trying to give some great advice and valuable info, and consequently get my "Thanked" count to increase.

That seems presumptuous - the friend did not ask for designs or for image titles...the friend has no obligation to send sample designs to anyone - let alone do it quickly.


The OP is asked if there is 'something' he might to do help...such as writing sales copy...not how to design tshirts or memes. It seems he would like to help market the shirts his friend is selling....

If I am faced with 2 t-shirts from 2 different companies each with a design I think is amazing but have money (or the desire) to buy only 1 t-shirt, how do I choose?

By the copy around that image.

Kay already pointed out to some of the things you can cover.

I want to add this: the site that seems more trustworthy gets my money.

By the way, if I am faced with 2 designs, from 2 different companies, one is a 10, the other a 9 out of ten and the design that's a 10 is on a site that doesn't make me trust them completely, I do one of three things:
1. buy the 9 out of 10
2. don't buy anything now; do more research and buy later.
3.decide to not buy at all.

Focus on adding copy that builds trust while matching whatever other emotions the t-shirts are creating.

3.

The copy CAN sell the shirts - as DABK mentioned above...the copy is what you go to when more than one site offers what appears to be the 'same' shirt.


Often it's the same logo but the shirt is not the same quality.


When I order something like that (and I do it frequently) - I want to know how long ship time is (that says a lot about where the shirt comes from) - I want to know the fabric and the washing instructions. I will choose 'made in USA' over 'printed in USA' - and choose 'printed in USA' over no info about location.


To me that paragraph I just wrote above is where the copywriting opportunity is. It is shocking online and on Amazon, too, to read the copy descriptions of a product and realize it's not English first language. no, my dog does not have 'cute upturned nostril'...nor does my cat 'jump happy to bed'...


I think everyone answering the OP's question has made the same basic point....YOU HAVE TO GET IT RIGHT. From the photo to the description to factual product info and location, and the language/grammar use in the text....the better you are at writing that copy, the more products will be sold.

kay

When it comes to writing copy for products like this, there are two important things to keep in mind.

Benefits presented as features.

"High-quality cotton/materials" - Meaning it won't break after a couple wears, makes them feel like they don't waste money on low-quality products.
"Made with recycled materials" - Meaning the buyer cares about environment, makes them feel conscious about their Planet.
"Fabricated in ___" - Meaning the buyer cares about supporting their economy, makes them feel like patriots.
etc.

Information buyers need.

"Shipping from ___" and "Shipping cost" - Because you need to know that right there, not after going through the buying process to find out that it costs a lot.
"95% cotton, 5% elastane" - You need to know what your T-Shirt is made from.
"Size guide - How to pick your size" - How hard is to have a proper sizing guide? I'm asking useless shops that I abandon for those that have one.
"Returns and size change" - Make it clear that they can return it for free and change the size of it if they got it wrong. Eliminates the fear of buying online.
etc.


This is what you call effective copy in this case. If you want to have a message for your brand and make the buyers feel cool, that should be done on the front page, social media and ads, not where people buy the shirts.

Cool copy could be sprinkled on this page, but you need an expert to do that. Because it has to be subtle. Like "Buy this cool shirt" instead of the boring button "Buy now".

But don't be cool if you are not useful first, oke? Being useful is the new cool.

U may want to do some research on the competitor or market leader and see what keywords are most searched on that leads to traffic going to their site.

Do up a list then decide which are the keywords that are relevant to the characteristics of your friend's product and tweak your copy/ad according to that. Basically SEO used on ad.

That's what I do as certain keyword evokes consideration and grab attention.

The solution is to get a great designer to design something mind blowing. Images sell clothing and shoes more than anything. Someone with a low quality product but with high quality designs will outsell the guy with a high quality product with poor quality designs. Thank about it.

Nowadays, people are more attracted with the design of the shirt. So, it is important that it's aesthetically pleasing, cause it not, a marketing copy won't work as much

Because it's not usually used when selling t-shirts/clothing/etc (at least to my knowledge) what about highlighting a guarantee? (It would depend on the t-shirt. However something like ...)

"Unless you absolutely love this t-shirt, and your Friends
think it's cool, just send it back (in the enclosed packaging)
for a complete 100% refund."

Thoughts?
: )

P.S.
Generally, would this one work?

"... Unless you absolutely love this t-shirt ― and your
Friends think it's cool ― just contact [email] and you will
get a full refund ... Plus you can keep the t-shirt for FREE as a
'Thank You' for being a valued, repeat customer."

You have to build your social present for your specific product for example mine is (lil peep crybaby shirts), I see you have only fb with two like's. You needed to increase these by sharing you products in Facebook groups that relates to your niche. Get on Instagram ,twitter, Pinterest and market your product, you need to create a social proof for it. You also need a blog as well to get free search traffic.

Don't sell a t shirt... Sell a cause.

You can write all day about a shirt, but nobody cares. You can describe a cause and start a viral movement.

These shirts support the elderly who have walked on the moon and are now suffering anxiety...

A story sells anything if told right.

Everybody sells t shirts... Not everyone supports elderly moon walkers.

Good copywriters are creative...

It isn't accessible to interest a potential buyer with poorly written text. In a successful project, a selling text must be professionally written.

@Tamim,
Writing inspiring content, slogans, or catchy phrases on t-shirts is a trend. I am also a copywriter and have done much work on creating compelling phrases for t-shirts, mugs, beauty products etc. The purpose is to engage the watchers and sell the products.
These phrases grab the buyer's attention for sure.
e.g Think High, I am born to inspire, I am motivation etc.
Thanks

I guess I buy the wrong t-shirts. I've bought 3 'specialty' tshirts in the past month....


HumanKind
Be Both

Underestimate Me
That Should be Fun


And my favorite - with the printing upside down ...

If you can read
this please
put me back
on my horse