Teespring isn’t just a marketplace. It can also be a place to spark new ideas for your next t-shirt design…
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If you want to start a t-shirt business, your success heavily relies on finding a profitable design.
But how can you ensure your design will sell and avoid wasting time and money?
One easy way to is spy on other successful t-shirt designs that have already made sales.
And what better place to spy on t-shirts than Teespring—one of the largest online Print on Demand marketplaces.
Teespring is a great platform to get the ball rolling if you’re low on start-up capital and looking for free ways to make money.
And in this article, we’re going to share five t-shirt designs on Teespring that recently have sold like crazy.
Learn from them. Study them. And most importantly, use them as inspiration for your next t-shirt design!
But first, for readers who aren’t aware, let’s take a quick look at how Teespring works.
What is TeeSpring?
Teespring is a website where you can sell custom Print on Demand merchandise — the most popular being t-shirts.
Once you’ve signed up for a free account, selling on here is simple.
Just upload a file of your design, and immediately start creating your own t-shirt to list and sell. Easy!
“How do I send orders?”
For every t-shirt you sell, Teespring fulfils the order on your behalf. From their production warehouses, they create the t-shirt, package it, and ship it to your customer.
In the industry, this method of fulfilment has a name: Print on Demand. And it works great because:
- You don’t need to store inventory. Orders are fulfilled from Print on Demand’s third party suppliers.
- Low costs. You only manufacture what is sold, so save on inventory costs.
- You don’t need money to start. You only pay for the t-shirt after you receive money from the customer.
“How do I get paid?”
Of course, how do you receive your well-earned kerr-ching?
Rather than a cheque or pay-out, Teespring rewards you with a commission for each sale you make.
For every order made by a customer, they deduct the cost of the t-shirt, and pay you the difference in profit.
Likewise, selling on Teespring is absolutely free. You aren’t required to pay any hidden fees or costs for your t-shirts.
This lowers the barrier of entry to sell t-shirts online if you don’t have any money to build your own Print on Demand store.
But while Teespring eases the process of starting a t-shirt business, it’s also the home of top-selling t-shirt designs.
Here’s five you can gain inspiration from.
T-shirt design #1
If you are an engineer, or you’ve studied it in the past, you know how passionate people are about this subject. And this makes it the perfect niche to sell your own engineer-related t-shirts!
That’s what this seller here has done with this funny yet smart design around engineering. Marketed through a fan page on Facebook, this t-shirt generated over $200,000 in sales.
A fan page is a great way to warm prospects and eventually encourage them to buy your t-shirts.
While it requires time and dedication to build a solid follower base, the results can be astounding. Especially given the fact you aren’t investing any money.
Just keep in mind that free traffic is a slower process as opposed to paid ads, but just as effective in the long-term.
If you want to learn more about building a Facebook fan page, head over to this article.
T-shirt design #2
Generating over $300,000 in sales, this t-shirt proves there’s nothing parents cherish more than their own kids.
T-shirts that feature close-knit family relationships always prove to be big sellers. There aren’t many things as fulfilling as a genuine, real life bond with another human being. And to mom’s, their kids mean the world to them.
So if you aren’t keen on what design to sell, maybe give this niche a try.
Beside mom’s, you can test other family relationship designs. Mum-son, dad-son, and dad-daughter designs could work just as well.
T-shirt design #3
Similar to mom-and-son, father-and-daughter designs are equally profitable. This design alone amassed over $200,000 on TeeSpring.
Why did it sell so well? Because hunting is a joyful memory shared both by dads and their daughters.
People love gifts that bring them back to a memorable time or place. So this t-shirt won’t fail to make whoever is lucky to receive it smile.
Besides its sentimental touch, the t-shirt scores a high for engagement. With the overwhelming amount of attention it has received on Facebook, it’s clear this t-shirt was received well on Facebook.
T-shirt design #4
If you’re still coming up with niche ideas, birthdays might be one to add to the list. This birthday t-shirt made over $300,000.
The Birthday niche is one high-in demand.
A birthday literally falls on every day of the year, so people are constantly spending money on fun gifts to treat or surprise a friend.
Want to give this niche a try? As a tip, focus on selling t-shirts that mark birthday milestones (e.g. 21, 30, 40, 50 years old), as these tend sell best. Alternatively, birth year’s (e.g. 1969) are also effective.
T-shirt design #5
This t-shirt made over $100,000. But it wasn’t because of its design.
This t-shirts huge success was arguably due to the promoter behind it – the famous YouTuber, Philip DeFranco.
While you don’t need to be a famous YouTuber, this is a great example of how powerful promoting your own brand can be.
If you have a personal brand, or you’re a well-known authority your space, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.
If you truly believe in your product, promote it. Wear it. Show it. Demonstrate on camera how to use it.
YouTube is just one of many platforms to market your products. For some, this might be more applicable to Facebook where running a video ad.
This is one of many whacky yet effective way to market your products. There’s more inside this article.
The Bottom Line
Testing previously successful designs is a smart way to save time and money when you first start a t-shirt business.
These are just five of many other top-selling designs you can gain inspiration from.
While you shouldn’t copy them, there’s nothing wrong with modelling these designs in your own style.
