Update 1: I wrote this post a few years ago and since then I’ve made even more money (total is up to $980k) using t-shirt marketing and sold the company.
Update 2: I sold my marketing agency and moved across the country from SF to Minnesota (wtf, right?) to work at When I Work. We’re using t-shirts for marketing purposes: Grab yours here: http://wheniwork.com/free-shirt
Update 3: A few hours after I posted update 2, one of my awesome readers submitted us to Reddit. Long story short, we gave away 30,000 tshirts. We honored every order but had to stop offering free t-shirts as being on the Reddit homepage cost us $280,000 🙁
I’m going to let you in on a little secret… When it comes to business, I’m passionate, motivated and driven. But when it comes to a lot of other things in my life, I can be pretty lazy.
As soon as I started making money with Single Grain, one of the first things I did was to go out and get some t-shirts made. Not because I thought it’d be some genius marketing move, but because I knew I’d be able to wear them every day and never have to go clothes shopping again. I started out with an order of 25-30 shirts, and since this was more than enough to fill up my closet, I decided to give the rest away to friends.
I posted to Facebook to see who wanted a few shirts and was surprised when I ran out just a few hours after I put up the message. Clearly there was a demand for my shirts!
Since my supply was short, I put together an email list of people who were interested and started sending out the shirts with personalized notes. Not only did this allow me to help capture people’s physical addresses for use in future t-shirt giveaways, my friends were so excited that they personally thanked me on Facebook and started wearing the shirts around town.
That excitement told me that I was on to something. Versions 1.0 and 2.0 of the t-shirts were in pretty short supply, but once I started to notice that people knew Single Grain’s name, I decided to go all in on Version 3.0.
My next order of shirts was much larger. I ordered multiple colors and enough that I could give 4-5 shirts to every person that wanted them. I told these people – “I don’t care whether you wear them or wash your car with them, just take a few shirts.” I even donated a bunch to the Salvation Army and later came across a homeless person wearing a Single Grain t-shirt.
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By this point, our shirts were everywhere. More than 500 people were supporting our brand by wearing the shirts around town – allowing both the shirt project and our company to start gaining some serious traction.
These days, our Single Grain shirts are our uniforms. Everyone on our team wears them, so when we all go to lunch together, we roll deep. Even our book keeper wears our shirts every single day. In our SOMA neighborhood – where we’re surrounded by hundreds of other startups and entrepreneurs – this kind of publicity and name recognition is huge.
But we definitely aren’t done with this project yet. Our team creates a new design every 6-12 months, which keeps things fresh. The people on our email list always want to have the newest designs, which keeps our name out there – bringing in new business day after day.
So how did I make $500K from this?
Now that you know how my t-shirt project worked, here’s how it generated results for me:
It helped me strike up business conversations
Because I wore my shirts everywhere, the people around me would ask, “What is Single Grain?” Then, I could give my 30-second elevator pitch and hand out business cards to people who were interested in our services.
No joke – this happened everywhere. It happened while I was waiting for a haircut at Super Cuts, while I was working out at the gym and while I was racing at the track. Hell, I even landed a 50K client while I was getting a massage! These conversations alone led to about 40% of the 500K I made through my t-shirts.
It helped me get into larger companies
Since I gave away shirts to my friends, they wore them to their jobs – some of which just happened to include positions at companies like Apple, HP, Google, Cisco, Yahoo and Wells Fargo. Their coworkers and bosses would eventually ask what Single Grain was, which led to another 30% of my 500K returns.
It helped me to grow my brand recognition
Right now, Single Grain is a 16-person with almost zero marketing budget (and what we do have, we spend on t-shirts!). Since we don’t have the money for huge ad campaigns, nobody really knew who we were at first. The t-shirts changed that.
These days, most of our business comes from referrals and word-of-mouth. But what’s interesting is, because of our t-shirts, prospective clients are a lot more familiar with our brand. Whenever I’d talk to a new customer, I’d find out that they were a lot more comfortable with us and a lot more trusting of our services – all because they knew our name from seeing our t-shirts around town.
The remaining 30% of my $500K can absolutely be put down to the new calls that we got from our shirts and the deals that we were able to close as a result of this brand recognition.
How can you launch your own t-shirt program?
Clearly, creating and distributing Single Grain t-shirts has made a huge difference for me. If you’re growing a business and want to put your own similar program into place, the following are a few of the lessons I’ve learned:
Don’t cheap out
From the start, I ordered the best quality t-shirts I could find. They’re American Apparel shirts and they cost around $10-15 a piece with the design included. It’s also worth checking out some merch by Amazon.
Could I have found cheaper options? Absolutely. But I chose to buy the best shirts I could because I knew that people wouldn’t wear them if they weren’t comfortable. Buying great shirts meant more publicity because the people that received them recognized that they weren’t just “throwaway” shirts intended for publicity purposes (plus, I wear them every day too and I like to be comfortable!).
Keep your design simple
Our current batch of shirts features our logo on the front and a simple message on the back – that’s it.
Not sure how you feel about your logo? Check out this post on logo design tips and lock down your logo design before buying too many t-shirts.
Keeping the design simple means that anyone can wear them without feeling like a walking billboard. Even my mom loves wearing them!
Wear it everywhere
If you’re going to buy shirts to promote your brand, it’s sort of a no-brainer to say that you have to actually wear them. Don’t buy them, throw them in your closet and call it a day.
When you wear your shirts everywhere, people start to get curious. And when they get curious, they go out of their way to learn more about you and your company. In some cases, this might turn into more business. But even if it doesn’t, people who are interested in your shirts might be willing to wear some of your extras around – leading to more business down the road.
And finally, make sure to thank the people who do wear your shirts. Whenever we send out new batches of shirts, we add personalized notes thanking people for wearing them because we recognize how important this form of promotion is for our brand. As a result, they feel good and we get more publicity – everybody wins!
Does your company give away free t-shirts? If so, share the best place you’ve spotted one of your shirts in the comments section below:
I build and grow SaaS companies.
“When it comes to marketing, Sujan is the best. I’ve never met someone with such creative tactics and deep domain knowledge not just in one channel, but in every flavor of marketing. From content, to scrappy guerrilla tactics, to PR, Sujan always blows my mind with what he comes up with.”
Sujan, I’ve seen this, recognized it as powerful, but never even considered implementing.
Reading this was a great reminder and has sparked some great ideas.
Thank you!
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Thanks Matt. Glad you liked it.
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Awesome idea only thing is I make t-shirts so giving them away can only go so far for me but I’m going to give it a shot!
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I some times give my t shirts away because customers do not pay up or dissapere for more info on this topic please visit http://wwwfranklinehan.blogspot.com.au
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You know what else is great? There are comments and replies that span more than three years, from Jun, 2013 to July, 2016.
Beyond the t-shirt marketing strategy, this demonstrates the value of writing evergreen articles/blogposts and pointing to them over and over in new articles/blogposts where it’s relevant and reinforces the point you’re making.
The only problem? When you click on the link at the top to get a free t-shirt, you get the bad news that they no longer exist!
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[…] How Giving Away T-Shirts Made Me Over $500K in Revenue […]
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Send me one!
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This post makes me happy! I always felt funny wearing my shirts around. Especially considering my company, at this point, is just me.
Now I won’t feel weird rocking my own brand!
ReplyPJ, You should be proud to wear your company’s shirts! At the very least it’ll be something unique.
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I always wear my shirts around and I always get comments from people wanting more information about them and etc.
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Great story on how internet marketers can still bring their cunning (even if on accident) skills to the brick and mortar arena and be effective.
Printing up some shirts next week.
ReplyRob, good luck! And remember don’t cheap out. And hey, if you have any extras send one my way.
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Awesome story. I second what you said about getting the most comfortable t-shirts you can find, easily justifies the additional cost. Our team wears them all the time as well in and out of the office because they are so comfortable. If you try to go for the cheap ones nobody will wear them and it defeats the whole purpose.
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That’s a cool concept. I have never tried this marketing aspect. But the quality and comfort comes here first, even if you are giving out free.
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It’s a common brain washing marketing trick that’s been used for years and extends to all kinds of products including pens, mouse mats, mugs, calendars and planners, umbrellas, sticky notes etc.
It works for sure but measuring its value to an exact sales figure, impossible, you can only estimate.
It also only really works with big brand name building, Joe the builder would have little success using this technique.
To be really clever get affiliated with the printing business first!
Great t-shirts is the only marketing expense we’ve ever invested dollars into. We’ve given out hundreds of Verge t-shirts to members in our community and only 100 shirts were produced for our Powder Keg conference last year. I see them all over the place in our startup community and half the time, I haven’t met the person who is wearing the shirt! It always leads to a good conversation.
It’s like wearing sports gear. People will only we’re your logo if it looks good and, more importantly, believe in your brand.
ReplyBrian, Joe the builder would benefit from this technique and especially in a local market where it would help to establish him as the “Go To” expert.
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Thanks for sharing this, Sujan.
Out of curiousity, did you order the shirts online or did you speak to someone at American Apparel?
ReplyI ordered them a brick and mortar screening company in san francisco called: babylontee.com. I worked with Mike.
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Great idea! Well done. If you happen to have one laying around, I am and XL 🙂
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Great post Sujan. Working for a personalised gifts and t-shirts company, we never thought this strategy would help us a great deal until I read this. We have finally decided to implement this in our marketing strategy and hope to seek more than a positive outcome.
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Well Sounds great, but like to know tone thing, before getting first lead how much you spend?
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I’d wear Joe’s t-shirt!
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Sujan, You hit the nail on the head.Comfortable tees, clean looking silkscreen makes the tee a walking billboard..and creates conversation without jumping into someones aura.
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I would love to get one T – Shirt Sujan. 🙂
Replyplease email me your address and size
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Hi Sujan,
What a fantastic story. I have a quick question though, how did you handle t-shirt sizes? Did you order them all in the most popular size?
Would love to know.
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Hi Sujan, who are you using to print your AA Single Grain t-shirts?
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Sujan,
Thanks for sharing your experience and wisdom. My husband and I recently started our own waxing studio business. Deciding how and where to spend marketing dollars can be daunting to say the least. This solidifies our idea about printing shirts for marketing our business. Send me your address and email and I will send you a shirt! Thanks again.
Chantelle
Reply[…] eventos y otros esfuerzos de marketing offline (como un proyecto de playera), los cuales son todos eficaces en términos de […]
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Thanks for sharing your marketing idea. I would also like to get a t-shirt.
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Hey Sujan,
This is a fantastic concept and I’ve tried it before with some success (although I didn’t splurge on the really good shirts like I should have). Anyway, it looks like your shirts just have your logo on the front and a saying on the back. What about URLs or phone numbers? What’s your thought on including or excluding contact information like that?
All the best,
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Love the t-shirts and the advice, especially the “don’t cheap out” part.
Too many people would just go the cheap route since these will be free, but these will result in nobody wearing the shirts if they sucked, which would be a waste of dough!
I’m a hat guy, so I’m planning on doing something similar with my business but with baller ballcaps!
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What is single grain… and is there a possibility that I could get a shirt??
Reply[…] Date Published: 12th June 2013 Link: How Giving Away T-Shirts Made Me Over $500K in Revenue Description: The story of how one company used branded merchandise (in this case, tee-shirts) to […]
Reply[…] Check out how Sujan Patel, CEO of Single Grain, a Digital Marketing agency in San Francisco, made $500K in revenue for his business by giving away free t-shirts. […]
Reply[…] Check out how Sujan Patel, CEO of Single Grain, a Digital Marketing agency in San Francisco, made $500K in revenue for his business by giving away free t-shirts. […]
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Hello Sujan, I am waiting for one of your T-shirts, too. Hope it reaches me in Europe!
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I work for a company that makes shirts, I could get you a quality t-shirt for WAY cheaper. Send me a note!
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Hey I am a newbie starting a non profit organization. I would love to have the info on the t shirt supplier.
Thanks!
ReplyMaria,
I recommend using https://www.startupthreads.com/ They have great quality and are very reasonably priced.
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Hi Sujan,
I came across this post accidentally. So I feel sometimes accidents are good. A friend of friend shared link of this and out of curiosity I cliked on it.
Happy to share that, I share same thought process for some points as mentioned by you. Like t-Shirt for self and even my partners, Quality of Tees.
I was just thinking of giving away some Tees and a cake to people who can’t afford to buy it. This will be on recommendation from somebody who know them. Like on the occasion of Birthday of son of a maid servant.
Thanks to you for sharing, i has increased my trust….Regards, Ashish Parik
PS: Before writting here, I have thanked the person who directed me here…
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hi
I have an interview, where they have asked me to name 2 major companies to work with in the UK, where the t-shires and cloths they sell can work into some kind of marketing partnership idea.
They have worked with dr pepper, where the customer can go on their website and complete a sentence on the t-shirt etc.
I wanted to know if you could help me with an idea I could potentially sell in the interview?
thanks
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Sujan,
Your story was light a light bulb suddenly coming on above my head. I left the UK Armed Forces a year ago to set up my own printed clothing business and have struggled to get noticed.
I create designs to support and show off the pride in our brave men and women and I help veteran charities too.
I would love to read your introductory messages on FB that you did for v1.0 because I will be following your lead with my own clothing label.
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[…] HomeAboutContact ← How Giving Away T-Shirts Made Me Over $500K in Revenue […]
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I would love to promote the T-Shirt,please send me one
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I am trying to market t-shirts. I have a passion and ideas. But reading your story makes since I like it.Now I have to make it happen
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Do you think that I can get one of your t’s. We own a business as well and to help out another self motivator would mean a lot.
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This way you will be in a position to save lots of money too.
These five-star Hotels in Las Vegas with all of types of facilities for
that customer. Now you are aware why paying for upgrades can wind up entailing more than one cost let’s consider
ways in which you will get new Tom Tom maps for free.
Nice post. Made me curious about sending out my own Batrepreneur – Shirts.
Do you think that this kind of branding may help increasing attention when there is obviously no sales offer so far?
Heat article. send me one!
Reply[…] 1.How Giving Away T-Shirts Made Me Over $500K in Revenue […]
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Sujan,
Great article. We’ve been producing and promoting Apparel as Media for 40 years. After more than 35 million producted for companies like Apple, Google, and the like, one this is crystal clear, great shirts NEVER lose their appeal.
There’s a common thread in the comments above, but it’s really not that obvious. It’s really simple and captures the power of this form of promotion.
Every TShirt Tells a Story.
When you make the graphic compelling to the point where a conversation is initiated, you’ve accomplished step one, awareness. To reach the real value, make sure everyone knows the story behind the shirt and the graphic. Then when the conversation starts, you have the ultimate viral word of mouth.
I would respectfully disagree with Brian Moreau in the comment stream above. There are many, many ways to directly trace back the value of doing an apparel promotion. From your own experience, the ROI can be amazing, if done right.
As many people have observed, the key is not to “cheap out.” Everyone has a favorite shirt, why not make your images their favorites? The promotions can live on for years and everytime you wear the shirt, the memories come back. Fantastic for conferences and events. Invest in great design work, excellent quality garments, and professional screen printing and you will be delighted with the results.
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Hey, I would love one of your t-shirts! I love the idea and maybe we’ll try it out. I’m also a big fan of american apparel shirts
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many thanks, I believe your visitors could possibly want significantly more posts similar to this carry on the great do the job.
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Hi Sujan,
Great article. However, my company sells shirts. How could I apply your method to my business? Maybe give away a promotional item? But that seems like what everyone else does.
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I have a small company myself and we do mostly sites and SEO. Reading these article from head to toe leads me to start thinking about where I get good quality ones and what will be the first design.
I live in Brazil since 2013
Tx!
Hi Sujan
Great Story really enjoyed it. I will be using this right away…
send me one if you can.
Hi Sujan,
Its a great story i liked it. As i am also stepping into t-shirt business this would be the best thing i have read.. All the best great job..
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I would love to get a t-shirt Sujan. Thanks!
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Can I please get 3 tshirts ? One for me , my hubby & daughter ? Sizes LG, MD & 4T size for my 4 year old ! Thanks & happy holidays
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Thats Great , I had that idea sometimes back but i failed to find reason , Now i do ! I run a small company in Kenya . Thanks for your words.
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This post was awesome. I’m starting my business soon and will definitely be implementing this idea. Thanks Sujan.
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Hi! LOVE this post, because we love t-shirts! For promo purposes, our first batch of tees we ever printed included our company logo and name and website! They were good quality and simple. People actually loved wearing them as well as the message they carried! So, I can attest to this method. Great post! And, if you get a chance, stop by our e-store and subscribe to our blog! We love comments too! Thanks a bunch and best wishes to everyone!!!!
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Hi, I do think this is an excellent blog. I stumbledupon it 😉 I am going to return yet again
since I book marked it. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide other people.
[…] Grain doesn’t ship products (unless we’re sending t-shirts to our followers), so we haven’t had to worry too much about the expenses that this process […]
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Great blog on the power of t-shirt advertising. Thanks for sharing your story.
For what it’s worth, there are less expensive but comparable quality shirts from brands like Hanes and Fruit of the Loom. AA shirt is a 30’s single (thin but strong), ring spun (soft) cotton, with a fitted look, and many companies make a similar shirt.
If you’re interested doubling the amount of shirts you can buy without giving up comfort and quality, send me an email.
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Hello,
Iam currently starting a T-shirt line however,Iam having a very hard time finding a reputable supplier overseas.
Do you have any helpful info.
I would really appreciate it.
Best of continued success with your line
Best Regards
Joli
Hi Sujan,
Wanted to let you know I own a cotton company and can supply you with the same quality as AA tshirts but at much lower prices. Send me an email if your at all interested.
Dima@dimaricotton,com
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Hi,
Does anyone know of any other good T-shirt companies? For example the top 3.
Thanks
Bri
Gildan, Hanes, Alstyle
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Caught your blog post when looking for marketing strategies as I trying to determine what to put on our new shirts for events with Jerkyspot.com Didn’t find what I was looking for, but found something better. I was going to non american apparel and you changed my mind. I always decided to go with something people could wear around instead of something they would only wear while working.
This also sparked me to gear up and finally get a ton of tshirts for our marketing firm in Orlando. Great post, I already know its a no brainer investment. You had an impact on two business today that already have some significant traction and 12 employees. Even other internet marketers need inspiration sometimes. Great post.
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Great article and very inspiring! Definitely going to share this with my customers!
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great idea , and would also love one of your shirts 🙂
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Hi! Exactly which style of AA tee-shirt do you use?
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This is awesome to hear! I spend all my time helping companies design cool shirts and ship them to their customers (we built an API for this) so I can say you are giving some solid advice. Its a great way to spread your brand, people love shirts 🙂
ReplyHi! I stumbled upon this story while looking at marketing stuff online! So TRUE! And yes, for every business I’ve ever helped market, tees were a big help. Ironically, I ended up in the business of selling t-shirt, myself, just with a niche! SommaBaby Clothing Company DEFINATELY gets attention when our tees are worn with the logo and website on them! Thanks for this post…..
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I’m currently focusing on my t-shirt marking strategies,I have great designs but business wise I’m lacking greatly……btw I would love to try out one of your shirts
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Hey! I’d love one of your shirts! And to send you one of mine when they’re printed!!
Reply[…] As soon as I started making money with Single Grain, one of the first things I did was to go out and get some t-shirts made. Not because I thought it’d be some genius marketing move, but because…Continue Reading via How Giving Away T-Shirts Made Me Over $500K in Revenue @sujanpatel. […]
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Greetings! Very useful advice within this post! It is the little changes that produce the largest changes.
Thanks for sharing!
Sujan,
Very interesting article about your tee shirt give aways and the increased business this created for you. I am very intrigued by this story. I am in the Tee shirt printing business and this never crossed my mind. Thanks and we will defenatly give this a try.
Jason
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That’s revolutionary! If you’re still doing it, I’d like a shirt or two!
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Sujan,
I am in the t-shirt printing business and have been trying to promote our site and our services. This is an awesome idea! Thank you for the information. We would love to wear your shirts as well. I think it would be great for companies to cross sell/market each other. Also if you ever need great pricing on your shirts let us know! We carry high quality products at an excellent price.
Felecia
Create My Ink
We make T-shirts using rhinestones for the designs/Logos! If you’re looking for a t shirt that Really Stands Out, check us out. We offer free design services and only use the Bella brand of shirts. The ladies absolutely “Love Them”!
Kellie is the owner and is absolutely fantastic to work with.
You can contact her through our site.
Sujan,
I am Samuel Gier from India and I loved your marketing strategy. Please drop us an email if you need best quality -Organic Indian cotton T-shirts printed with your company logo/name at very reasonable rates.
Thanks !
Hey, love the article. Do you have any advice you would give someone looking to start a T-shirt line?
Reply[…] that talks about how giving away T-Shirts made him over $500K in revenue. You can find it on his personal blog and it’s definitely a good […]
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I love Tshirts. We own a dental office and are opening a brand new satellite location. I am trying to design our new tshirts now. I hope I can hand them out to the kids in the local middle schools etc. We only specialize in braces and invisalign so most of our patients are pre teens and teens. Hope it works just as well for us!
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As an entrepreneur, musician, believe it or not 33 years in the tile industry to make ends meet to chase my dreams of music, I am beginning to embark on what I feel to be quite an amazing idea. Yes we’ve heard this a million times but I want to let you know that I in a quite unique individual. I say this with exponential yet braggadocio .I’ve always believed in checking your ego at the door. Life should be fun exciting in a constant adventure so why shouldn’t business. I want to applaud you on an amazing adventure you have embraced the world with. Please don’t let this pass by. If there is any chance that I could obtain marketing genius Mr. Sujon Patel to contact me not only would I be so very appreciative but my story is extremely incredible. The best gift anyone can offer in this world is the gift of time. I hope somehow I can earn that opportunity. I sincerely wish your entire team continued success and above all smiles always warn like your t-shirts. Respectfully, brian allan bode
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Hi,
What an amazing story. Very excited about this idea and I am seriously considering implanting this.
Anyone know where in the UK would be a great place to order such T-shirts?
What do we think – URL or not on the t-shirt?
Thanks all
Thomas
IT Enterprise (UK)
[…] more ideas on T-shirt marketing, check out the online posts by Cameron Herold, Mike Riches and Sujan Patel. In the coming editions of PhotoSparks, we will be showcasing cool business cards of startups! Got […]
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Great article, thanks, I’ve published a collection of photos of startup T-shirts which shows these principles in action:
http://yourstory.com/2014/09/photo-sparks-t-shirts/
Happy reading… 🙂
Great story I actually do the same thing except since my brand sells tees I printed up some limited edition tees sold some and gave some away to key people and though I haven’t made 500k I loved your approach and it’s coming. Thanks Sujan
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great article. if any of you guys need shirts for your business give me a email at greenteefactory@gmail.com great quality dtg(that means your print is infused in the garment) shirts (american apparel style) for great price with a great customization. i guarantee you will love your shirts. mention this article and get a 10% discount. @sujan not spamming came across your article took a chance. thanks.
Reply[…] How Giving Away T-Shirts Made Me Over $500K in Revenue […]
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Hiii bro this is sunny from India , next month m going to open my print T-shirt business like you…bless me …I too success… I am opening this business through heat transfer machine, is this good or u suggest other machine???
Reply[…] Read More: How Giving Away T-Shirts Made Me Over $500K in Revenue […]
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Love this article, such a simple yet effective method to get your brand out there. How do I get on the distribution list for future shirt releases? In return I’ll send you one of ours.
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This article was super helpful! Thanks a million for sharing I will be using this strategy in my t-shirt business as well. I’m currently pending funding through kickstarter! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/meetshelli/embrace-your-inner-warrior-t-shirt-project
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This is a great article!
Next time, let us compete for your business. http://www.leadapparel.com
We are the best in the business and carry more premium items than any one else.
As you said, don’t cheap out! Order a quality shirt that people will have for years to come.
Thanks for writing this! And congrats on your success!
#leadapparel
[…] one from Single Grain was also a GREAT story. He made 500k and opened new doors for him and his company! […]
Reply[…] feel like part of the team, place any branded materials you offer on the desk, such as a custom t-shirt, a work bag, a coffee mug, pens, or a pad of paper. Not only will this build brand loyalty right […]
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It’s amazing how giving away something like a t shirt could actually increase a companies business! Incredible idea. Congrats on the success.
Reply[…] Mr. Sujan Patel showed us just how effective this T-shirt marketing is. When they have enough money, they have shirts printed with their company […]
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Your advice is right on the money and what I tell my customers on a daily basis. It doesn’t matter they are trying to promote a fortune 500 or a little league baseball team quality shirts get worn. Cheap shirts don’t hold up to regular wear and do not feel as good to wear. A design doesn’t need to be 6 colors. It has to be designed well. Thank you, this was a good read.
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Awesome article. Oh…. and I’d love to get one of your t-shirts 🙂
ReplyCindy, I’ve sold Single Grain but I can offer you t-shirts of the new company I’m involved in. Grab yourself a free shirt here: https://dashboard.startupthreads.com/giveaways/when-i-work-social-shares-2/claim
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Sujan, I would love to have and wear your shirt! DO you send to Canada!
Cheers,
Mark
I was wondering where you purchased the tshirts with the design on them. I know you said they were American Apparel, but did you order them from their actual site?
ReplyCaitlin, I used http://www.babylontee.com for design
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Now that’s one creative way of marketing and branding. Thanks to Facebook and Twitter, publicity for such a creative strategy could be simple and fast. Just wondering what type of messages you had on some of these shirts.
Thanks,
Ray
Great read feel inspired.
Might sound strange but we actually are t shirt printers / suppliers of blank t shirts to the printing trade….lol
Having only recently launched the business (after moving to dubai with my young family) and also on my own at present – seems silly that something so obvious just didn’t strike me to do as a marketing method.
Time to think of a catchy slogan/design to make them everyday wearable.
Any ideas will be greatly welcomed…
Momin
Emirates Apparel
http://www.emiratesapparel.com
I love free shirts! I sent you an email.
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Tshirts have been an integrated part of my marketing plans since I started my first business a very long time ago! Now with the advent of the Internet and a keen, easy to remember name or url, it can be more powerful. There is a lot to say for Old School advertising. Even the use of business cards and post cards is still very powerful. My friends that work in the Digital world of Social Media Marketing don’t want you to think that, but when someone sees you in a company Tshirt and comments, it should be very simple to pull out a two-sided, beautifully printed, high quality, business or post card and hand it to them. Starting at only $29.00 per thousand that small 2 x 3.5″ tool can wallop a great punch in a partnership with your Tshirt campaign and help your company reach a level of success beyond what you could imagine.
Even on its own, the Tshirt has been a huge success even from the get go. The “T-Shirt” surfaced in the United States as a standard issue by the U.S. Navy sometime around the Spanish American War period. But way before that the original Tshirt was invented during the Middle ages as an undergarment. Of course the Navy adopted this and featured the crew-neck and short sleeved garment to be worn as underwear beneath the uniform. Shortly after this, the Army followed as part of the standard issue ensemble given to recruits. Of course, it got its unique name from the simple fact of its shape resembling the letter “T”. It became popular very quickly as it was such an easy to clean garment mothers loved it for their sons as outerwear for chores and play. By the 1920’s the “T-shirt” became an official American-English word in the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.
So how did it become a printed product? The earliest printed shirt was a tee made for promoting The Wizard of OZ in 1939. Official historical credit of the first printed Tshirt worn in a photo usually goes to the Air Corps Gunnery School “promotional” T-shirt featured on the July 13th, 1942 cover of LIFE magazine (there’s one you need Sujan for your collection). Then good old Mickey Mouse would follow in those footsteps a few years later as an exclusively licensed print for Tropix Togs, a company founded by Sam Kantor in Miami, Florida.
One might think once Tshirts were used to promote Mickey Mouse that was it, but actually it wasn’t until Marlon Brando wore one in A Streetcar Named Desire that the Tshirt skyrocketed to even greater heights. It became fashionably cool to wear as an outer garment.
When the 60’s came along, the T-shirt was now the impetus for self expression and wearable art for an entire generation and movement of primarily young, creative minds! The commercialism of theTshirt began as it took off as an advertising tool, souvenir messages, promotional campaigns, and even protests.
The 1960’s Psychedelic artist Warren Dayton pioneered several political, and pop-culture art Tshirts featuring images of Cesar Chavez, several political cartoons, and other many other cultural icons of that era. Many of the designs produced in the 1970’s are just as popular today as they were back then, maybe even more so. Some of the more notable shirt designs over the decades include the yellow “Smiling” Happy Face Tees, The Rolling Stones’ “Tongue and Lips” logo, “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” St. Patrick’s Day slogan, and the legendary “I ♥ SF”, “I ♥ N Y” or any of the “I ♥ __” variants and spoofs. Of course there is the ever popular Tshirt message “My parents went to ______ (name of place), and all I got was this lousy T-shirt!”, “Who farted?”, “I’m With stupid —->”, and a multitude of other crazy tees.
Sujan, you have lived it so have I, the success from using Tshirts. We don’t need the above article to convince ourselves the value and power of a Tshirt campaign. We know something, what I like to refer to as “The Power of the T” or “Power to the ‘T’ Degree”! Tshirts have always been powerful and IMHO, are even more powerful today!
We are about ready to launch a product that will certainly change how people live, attend events, purchase, acquire and receive whatever they buy at any given time, wherever they might be. You can bet we’ll have a Tshirt for this as well!
Sujan, I would love to get a Tshirt from you and send you one of ours when we have them printed.
My best to you in your continued success,
Nolan Apostle
Founder & CEO
Event City(tm)
PS. Sujan, I posted this as an open letter to you at the online magazine for Event City – http://tinyurl.com/ECmag1
I hope it helps you spread the word about Tshirts and how well they work as a marketing tool, and to have a few new visitors see your business.
Hi, Sujan patel, great story, seriously gave me great idas for simple marketing and letting your customers. friends and family market for you. very subtle.
Just a quick one, were you using your own money to purchase the shirts, have you ever made ROI on the shirts?
I have a similar plan but dont want to run at a major loss.
Any advice?
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Sujan
Thanks for giving out good rationale of using good quality T-shirts. We have an event app (@getNVOLV) that people use to engage at conferences or Festival they are attending. We were trying to find a good giveaway for people who use photo frame feature of our app and post on Facebook/Twitter at the event, I think we will just use T-shirt as giveaways 🙂
Any good quality T-shirt supplier out there?
Hasan
ReplyHasan, contact Wild Printers (http://wildprinters.com) and ask for Felix or Philip they are the best, they give their customers what they want.
Cheers
Nolan
Hey!
Noval will u suggest me that which method is best for printing 8000 tshirts per month,(400 per day).
And which method is best for
1. Bulk product
2. High quality
3. Cheaper in cost
4. Low maintainance charges
5. Less complex
Is there any method having all these qualities..
Thnx
That’s a huge money, however you’ve got great minds. Kudos guys!
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Your start up story really inspired me to just get to it!!!
I really wanted to have my own business, and felt I couldn’t because
1. I know nothing about graphic designing
2. I have no start-up funds
3, I am a busy stay-at-home mom
4. I lack confidence.
5. I just believed I CAN’T
Thank you for posting this article. I love it!!!! I have been searching for days how to market my store. I opened my store a a few days ago after teaching myself for 3 months how to design and make a brand & build my E-Commerce store. I hope to learn from you and others how to get and keep long-term customers from around the world.
P.S. I am wear an XL if you think to throw 1 of your shirts my way I would proudly wear it.
Best wishes for continued success.
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A great inspiring story Sujan. I resonate with what you said about how you are passionate and driven when it comes to work but often lazy otherwise. Only goes to show you love what you do!
It’s great to see that the passion you had enabled you to see and allow flourish the wonders that the t-shirts had for you. Being a web print shop owner I’m very much considering putting this blog in my signature so my clients can see it, lol. Quality always wins!
Jiten
InkMASH T-Shirts Dubai
Sujan,
Your story is very inspirational, I’m in the process of going through a law firm regarding intellectual property to protect an expression through a trademark,this expression will be the name of the store. I would love to receive a T Shirt from you, I hope you have my size XXXL even a 4XL would work. I look forward to receiving it, I thank you in advance. Respectfully Dwight M Triplett
Great example of entrepreneurial success Sujan! I enjoyed reading your story 🙂
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I love all of the insights you have given in this article. I was thinking about using Amazon to sell and ship my new t-shirt line. Need to get started on the trademark as well!
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Great T-Shirt story sujan. Interesting read and well well done. We have been using T-shirts in dubai UAE for our marketing and we feel exactly the same and we would love to share this link to our users to gain insight into a real Experience.
Thank you for sharing and all the best.
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Excellent Post. please send me one T shirt.
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I clicked the link to get a tee but you’re all out. I had to laugh though because you had a gif of Supernatural! I thought I was the only one who watched that show…
I make tees. Should I just give them away?
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Great article! The soft shirts I’ve been looking at run $30-$35 per shirt with the design. This is for small batches because my budget is small. Where did you get shirts for $15 each?
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Man, I have to try this. I hate wearing dress shirts and suits even to meetings. This would be a great way to lose the ties AND, more importantly, get the word out about my business. Where did you order your first shirts? Was it like TeeSpring or something?
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This is great information for any size business! We always encourage our customers to giveaway shirts that they order from us because it is an invaluable tool to gain more publicity.
For people looking to order t-shirts, we have a deal going on for any quantity over 12, white shirts with one print for $4.50 and colored shirts with one print $6.50, this deal is a great opportunity to test your idea and test our product! Find out more at http://www.mutinyink.com
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Great story! Would love to know where did you order your t-shirts?
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Hey Sujan,
Loved the blog and the idea. I totally agree with your ideology and want to implement the same at my organisation. However, my boss is very analytical would allow this project if we can prove the ROI for the project.
Any suggestions on how I should go about it?
P.S. – The ROI has to be in $$. Brand awareness, marketing, relationship building and polite gestures are intangible. :\
ReplyGreat tips, Sujan! I’ll always remember to choose the most comfortable t-shirt.
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Hi
This is so cool. Such an activity i must say. I could completely connect as we also started our venture in a much similar way. We went for free goodies promotion and even celebrity/bloggers give-aways. Suddenly people started wearing them along with many Indian celebrities too. Thereafter, those styles (jackets) became popular and as we are fashion students, there is no compromise with the quality.
Kudos to you! Great idea!
You can check our website here : http://www.reesyn.com | A design innovation platform of Print On Demand products connecting designers to customers.
Currently we have an upper hand in Apparel for Men and Women. Very soon we are entering into other printable categories.
P.S. :- Loved your article.
Cheers!
Reply[…] founder of WebProfits, considers branded apparel a key element of his growth marketing strategy. Patel attributes $500,000 of the company’s revenue during his time at Single Grain to giving a… The tees, which were redesigned every 6-12 months, were given away to hundreds of people including […]
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Omg I loved this story! I think i read it like 3 years late, but… I would love a Tshirt to Venezuela :)!!!
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Another fantastic blog, Sujan! I’m not sure which is more impressive…the advice you give in the blog or the fact that an evergreen blog is still so relevant you’re still getting comments on it (3 years after it was published!). Thank you for sharing this information.
I found it interesting that you would send a handwritten note thanking the person for wearing the t-shirt. If you don’t mind sharing…what was the general gist of the wording you would use?
ReplyThanks Kate. Enjoyed your questions on the CROday webinar 🙂
Here’s a helpful article on handwritten letters: https://medium.com/@Pensaki/how-3-startups-use-handwritten-growth-hacking-tactics-6fa6b44019f5#.z9o1xmre4
Just say thanks for being awesome or something short and sweet that you really mean 🙂
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I have a small business that sells personality and cognitive ability assessments to corporations; a lot of my contacts are in HR and sometimes at the VP and above level…do you think this sort of thing would work for this? I’m near Toronto and while all of North America is my sales territory…I’m just not sure if this sort of thing would work. I mean, psychometrics aren’t as cool as marketing is…
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I’ve done something similar with bottle opener credit card sized business cards. I can’t tell you how much I’ve made, but everyone loves them, and they actually keep them.
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Hello Sujan,
I read your article, it is very useful and I really appreciate the post your article.
Hello Sujan,
Was reading your book called “100 days of growth” which led me to this post and you know this post is so insightful to the business which is just going to launch their products or in the initial phase.
Will surely share this with my colleagues.
PS: Can I get that T-shirt Now. Please let me know whether yes or no. 🙂 🙂
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We got hats made at Mittun.com and people used to ask us about it all the time. It led to at least a handful of our high profile web design clients.
Thanks because this post just reminded me to get new ones with our new logo. 🙂
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Very insightful information I must say. Thanks again for great idea.
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