Big clothing brands such as Crooks and Castles shirts didn’t start out with millions of dollars in funding and global brand recognition. In fact, many of the world’s most popular brands of clothing started out very small, with just a handful of people. Is it possible to start your own clothing line? What exactly does it take? If you’re interested in doing just that, here are a few strategic tips.
Start Out with a Flashy Design
Almost all major t-shirt design companies started off this way. If you’re printing a boring logo, unattractive graphics, or just copying what others are doing, you probably won’t be very successful. The best thing you can do when you’re starting out is to have an eye-catching design. At the start, it might be helpful to stick with a few different fonts that make your brand look unique, along with a specific design language.
Brand Your Products
Just like a graffiti artist, you have to get your name out there. Make sure your logo or brand name is highly visible on your clothing. This will make it infinitely easier to sell more of your shirts. After all, you could have the greatest design in the world, but if nobody knows where to find your shirt, they’re not going to sell. If you haven’t settled on a logo yet, consider a logo that’s typographical instead of just a graphic. Coupling this strategy with a bold and highly legible font will make it even easier for fans to recognize and remember your brand’s name, and thus help them buy more of your shirts.
Market Your Product
You’re probably very sure of the market for your product. Obviously, all kinds of people from different age groups and backgrounds where graphic t-shirts, but you should be sure exactly what demographic you’re after. Are you after people in their teens, twenties or thirties? Are you targeting male or female? Consider this carefully, and then concentrate on making products that will resonate with those individuals first. You can always branch out later on. At first, however, it’s usually wise to keep things as simple as possible. This will not only cut down production costs and time, but it will also help that specific set of individuals to become very interested in your product line.
You also need to do a lot of work getting your products out in front of your market. If you’re targeting relatively young people, you’ll need to spend a lot of time on internet marketing. There are dozens of t-shirt blogs that get millions of visitors every month. If your design is bold enough, you might be able to get yourself featured there. Social media sites, particularly ones that focus on images, are another fantastic way to sell your shirts. In a few short years, you could end up with a major brand like Crooks and Castles Shirts.
