# Creating a buzz



## lexnfx (Dec 5, 2013)

Hello all!

I start my company in March 2014. I'm already registered to sell in Illinois and I have my sales tax id number. I have a few screen prints already but have not printed them on shirts yet until next week (trial runs.) I would like to create a buzz for my line just to tell my audience, 'Coming Soon.' Then again just because you have likes on your FB page does not mean those people are buyers. Should I just wait until I have a website up and running and have all my products or would it hurt to create a buzz now? If I do create a buzz now, what type of updates would be appropriate?

Thanks!


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## Pane (Dec 22, 2008)

Hi Lenfx, In my opinion it would not hurt to start working on creating a buzz as soon as you can. I would create a few enticing ads with CADs and let your targeted market know your website & clothing line will be launching soon. I would think of something clever and incorporate a release date. I am no marketing expert but that is what I would do if I were you.


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## lexnfx (Dec 5, 2013)

Thanks for your input!!


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## treefox2118 (Sep 23, 2010)

I never create buzz before there's a real buzz out there. Fake buzz doesn't work well without a huge promotional budget.

Instead, start up quietly. Then hit the streets: find your niche audience and get yourself where they are. Bars, clubs, beaches, pools, bike and marathon races, whatever. Hand your garments out to the people who aren't the leaders, but are just beneath them. Get them wearing your stuff, buying your stuff.

Take photos of your garments being worn in real life.

Then, after 3-6 months, market your website. With photos of people wearing your goods. Run contests for people to "like" or "share" on Facebook and Twitter. Get more people wearing your goods.

My most successful t-shirt website (5 figures in December) started less than a year ago. Every time someone placed an order online, I included a business card that said "Take a photo wearing your shirt, use our hash tag on Instagram and Twitter, and I will send you a shirt FREE." And I did.

Instagram and Twitter is easy promotion. A few hundred people hash tagging my brand got me thousands of searches for it. Those thousands of searches, according to my analytics, led to hundreds of purchases -- and more people sharing on Instagram and Twitter.

I did ZERO promotion online. It was all real life promotion. And now the website is self sustaining. $0 in ads, $0 in promotion online, free shirts ($6 a pop, big deal) for actual customers, and photos of actual customers wearing my designs.


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## joey1320 (Feb 21, 2012)

treefox2118 said:


> I never create buzz before there's a real buzz out there. Fake buzz doesn't work well without a huge promotional budget.
> 
> Instead, start up quietly. Then hit the streets: find your niche audience and get yourself where they are. Bars, clubs, beaches, pools, bike and marathon races, whatever. Hand your garments out to the people who aren't the leaders, but are just beneath them. Get them wearing your stuff, buying your stuff.
> 
> ...


I myself just mailed out freebies for some people on my target market through a fashion forum. All I asked for the freebies was a fitment picture, and a follow on instagram. 

From that I ha e already had numerous questions regarding the release of the shirts (late February) and for more info. So the buzz is being created from a few freebies. 

I'll look into the buy one and promote and get a free one. Something to consider.

Sent from my HTC One X using T-Shirt Forums


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## treefox2118 (Sep 23, 2010)

joey1320 said:


> I myself just mailed out freebies for some people on my target market through a fashion forum. All I asked for the freebies was a fitment picture, and a follow on instagram.


Instagram = marketing gold, but you can not be the one doing it. It HAS to be from the audience, preferably not too many people from the same network of friends.




> From that I ha e already had numerous questions regarding the release of the shirts (late February) and for more info. So the buzz is being created from a few freebies.
> 
> I'll look into the buy one and promote and get a free one. Something to consider.


My "get a free shirt with an Instagram/Twitter photo share" deal might not work for you, or it might. The fact is, the cost for me was low. Let's say a shirt sells for $20 and costs me $6 to make (I print my own, though). Even if I ship a free shirt ($6 + $3 postage), I at least BREAK EVEN on that sale, AND I get free marketing. One person who shared the shirt they bought had 10,000+ Instagram followers. When I sent her the free shirt, she shared that one too (no free shirt with that one). Now I send her a free shirt every 3-4 months "for being a great customer" and she always posts a photo wearing the new one.

Can't buy that kind of crowd attention. One of her shares can equal 5-10 sales (every time), so I'm well ahead on the marketing costs.

Posting my own sales does very little for me. But fans posting their purchases = gold.


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## lexnfx (Dec 5, 2013)

Oh wow! Putting "Take a photo wearing your shirt........." on a business card is creative. That gives me something to think about when I launch. I will certainly take all this useful info into consideration

Thanks!


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## SavageRoot (Jan 11, 2013)

lexnfx said:


> Hello all!
> 
> I start my company in March 2014. I'm already registered to sell in Illinois and I have my sales tax id number. I have a few screen prints already but have not printed them on shirts yet until next week (trial runs.) I would like to create a buzz for my line just to tell my audience, 'Coming Soon.' Then again just because you have likes on your FB page does not mean those people are buyers. Should I just wait until I have a website up and running and have all my products or would it hurt to create a buzz now? If I do create a buzz now, what type of updates would be appropriate?
> 
> Thanks!


Forget about a COMING SOON landing page or anything like that,, nobody will even remember it. You're right about Facebook and it's the same for Twitter and Instagram.. lots of brands have hundreds of thousands of "followers" "fans" and whatever and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone liking, RT or sharing their content.. that's not buzz and it's not even a good customer base.

Make your website as nice as possible and start your marketing AFTER,, that's because it's hard to have updates on something that 's not even started yet,, and what updates will you have after you start,, have you even planned that? People really don't care about new brands as much as you would imagine and it's a harsh reality when you try to push your news and nobody gives a sh*t,, so please spare yourself the disappointment.

What I would suggest is that you gather a solid crew of local people, with accent on "LOCAL" because that way you can meet them on the regular and let them do the "buzz" for you on their social media,, it would be nice with good friends and/or artists who are hyped about your stuff and wouldn't mind sharing it and promoting it without you even needing to remind them to.

I know I have a rap group in Italy reppin my first product at all of their shows and events and in their pictures and all that and talking about my brand whenever they're asked about my hat.. it may have not led to much of anything at the moment, but I like that they take the initiative to do so without me having to breathe on their necks.. that's the kind of crew you need, the more people who do it the better


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## SBM (Aug 2, 2013)

Treefox, what is your site for this successful line/launch? I'd be interested to see it. Thanks.


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## SavageRoot (Jan 11, 2013)

the best way to make your brand popular is to have everybody you know support it by wearing it and promoting it without you even needing to do it.. the best promotion comes from people actually wearing the brand they love, that's how we get in contact with clothing lines.. so either friends or anybody with a solid following who's a good sport and genuinely likes your products enough to have them all at all times is a good beginning.. don't try to create news where there aren't,, you probably will run out of things to say and just get bored and annoyed yourself at the lack of attention your "buzz" is getting, work instead for bonding with some really cool, down to earth people who are enthusiastic and nice to work with and build a team from there


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## stickymy (Jan 25, 2014)

i agree with trek, you definitely want everyone you know wearing your product. Another thing is that you want to be able to make a product that will sell itself. Such as good designs on good quality shirts


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## zombie16 (Feb 22, 2009)

treefox2118 said:


> I never create buzz before there's a real buzz out there. Fake buzz doesn't work well without a huge promotional budget.
> 
> Instead, start up quietly. Then hit the streets: find your niche audience and get yourself where they are. Bars, clubs, beaches, pools, bike and marathon races, whatever. Hand your garments out to the people who aren't the leaders, but are just beneath them. Get them wearing your stuff, buying your stuff.
> 
> ...


I like your idea Treefox2118,

A few questions, I'm fairly proficient on twitter, gaining followers and such with real interactions not bought or begged for. Facebook seems to be really slow growth however. I also have not yet seen any twitter followers turn into sales. I do interact daily with my followers, joining in conversations, being helpful, etc. But I have yet to venture onto instagram, do you have any good info or any good links on best practices for businesses?

Also do you have people use your brand as a hashtag your @name or both? 

I guess I'm trying to figure out how a #brand vs @brand would turn into sales.

Thanks for posting the business card tip, I've been sending along a custom coupon code with each order, your approach does answer the question of how to get pictures of people wearing my shirts out there. 

Thanks again for sharing.


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## iggy05 (Nov 20, 2013)

First time posting on the forum but I've been lurking around quite a bit.

Heres my input on the topic. Creating a buzz before the launch of the website is a huge plus. People already somewhat know the brand, have possibly told people about it, and now the site is up and they can't be more excited to finally make a purchase. 

A couple of my friend started an incredible brand with a simple message and the feedback has been huge. The website itself isn't up yet but it's being worked on around the clock. Everyone we know is basically wearing them and the word spread fast. And not every person wearing it was a freebie give away either.

Instagram has been huge for us and has spread the word a lot nationally even internationally. You can do both, creating an actual page (@brand) for your brand/company and using a # as a way for the audience or the customers to check out anything and everything that has to do with your brand.


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## zombie16 (Feb 22, 2009)

iggy05 said:


> First time posting on the forum but I've been lurking around quite a bit.
> 
> Heres my input on the topic. Creating a buzz before the launch of the website is a huge plus. People already somewhat know the brand, have possibly told people about it, and now the site is up and they can't be more excited to finally make a purchase.
> 
> ...


Thanks Iggy05,

Read a lot on the instagram business page last night, probably going to dive in this week.

Anyone have tips on how often to update? It's not like I'm pumping out new shirts every day and 365 selfies should would get boring quick. =D 

Also looking into pinterest but not trying to spread myself to thin to quickly, speaking of is there any "sin" to posting the same pictures to both maybe even to facebook/pinterest/twitter/instagram all at once or maybe spread it out?


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## dlparham13 (Feb 2, 2014)

This was good information on creating a buzz.. I am in the process of launching a t-shirt line. I really appreciate yall guys help on this topic.


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## Walk Away (Apr 29, 2013)

Pre-release promotional ads and marketing worked for us, but that doesn't mean it works for everyone. 

If you have a solid marketing budget and plan, it's a must; get people talking and curious. The one thing you don't want to do, is start too early. There's not an exact time-frame to go by but don't start promoting 6 months out  

If possible, give people a sneak peek of your products and leave them wanting more. You might try leaking out a few peeks, leading up to your launch. 

Creating a buzz and marketing are things you will always want and have to do, just remember to have fun and it always helps to love what you do.


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