# Launched my website, NEED HELP - how do I reach people?



## nation03 (Sep 2, 2008)

Hey guys, typical issue many people probably have when launching... how do I reach people?! I have a facebook page for fans and I sent out an update when we launched. Got some traffic from that but no orders. I'm still working up a few more designs, maybe I should hold off till everything is in stock? I'm aiming towards the rock/extreme sports crowd. If someone in the same general market can give me some advice that helped get them going I'd appreciate it. I'm sure there is more threads like this, but I couldn't find any. I apologies if this was covered, just direct me in the right direction and I'd appreciate it.


----------



## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Maybe it's your site? What's the address, let's have a look.


----------



## pukingdeserthobo (Jun 3, 2008)

no address?


----------



## nation03 (Sep 2, 2008)

sorry. Its a plain bigcartel site at the moment, I'm awaiting a response from the web designer to add pages and make it more spiffy.


----------



## grimreaper (May 13, 2009)

It'll never make out. Only a few designs there. Don't like the wrinkle look of the tees. PayPal only? Not good, that means you're a tiny or shady operation. About Us = nothing there? Strike 2. No phone number or address on contact page? BIG STRIKE 3. Not good at all. You'll NEVER get any business with no phone or address. PLUS there's a load of people trying to make out with a "line" or "theme". Slim chance to none yours will ever take off, especially with only a couple designs but good luck anyway.


----------



## GrowndFlore (Mar 25, 2009)

I think you have a lot of things going for you here... you know exactly what market you want to reach and your designs fit what's hot in that market right now. One thing that you should try is sponsoring some athletes, the cost is very little, send them some free tees and some stickers. You might even know some people in the industry, a sticker on a helmet or a bike and tee on a body go a long way. This will also provide the opportunity to maybe add a press section to your site. Also your specific customer has a large amount of trade shows... the forums here can give some great info as to dates and how you can get in there to show your merch and also network. 

I agree with some of the other comments that the site is generic, but you mentioned that... work on improving this and continue to network with your fan base on facebook. Good luck.


----------



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Hey guys, typical issue many people probably have when launching... how do I reach people?


You need to do a lot of marketing and advertising to get your products in front of your target market.



> I have a facebook page for fans and I sent out an update when we launched. Got some traffic from that but no orders.


What other marketing and advertising plans did you have for your business when you started?



> I'm sure there is more threads like this, but I couldn't find any


What terms were you searching for? There's a good starter thread at top of this marketing section of the forum that links to some great information and tips on how to get customers to your t-shirt site:

Start here: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-marketing/t20419.html

Then read these:

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-marketing/t4115.html

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-marketing/t4650.html

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-marketing/t4636.html

With a little research, I think you could build up a good marketing plan for your line. 

Here's some more discussions that could help you:

branding related topics at T-Shirt Forums


----------



## Idakoos (Apr 24, 2009)

If you are small, being extremely targeted is good - exactly what you do with your extreme sports shirts - but your site still needs to be complete to expect some orders coming from the internet. Work on your online store, choose the best design for your target audience and promote your shirts in every event you can.


----------



## nation03 (Sep 2, 2008)

grimreaper said:


> It'll never make out. Only a few designs there. Don't like the wrinkle look of the tees. PayPal only? Not good, that means you're a tiny or shady operation. About Us = nothing there? Strike 2. No phone number or address on contact page? BIG STRIKE 3. Not good at all. You'll NEVER get any business with no phone or address. PLUS there's a load of people trying to make out with a "line" or "theme". Slim chance to none yours will ever take off, especially with only a couple designs but good luck anyway.


Like I said, I'm working with a web designer to make the site look and operate more professionally. Those are not my only designs, I have a good 5 more on the way that are currently being drawn up by some great artists. I understand and appreciate your honesty, but I think what you are trying to say is I should wait until my site and designs are fully ready before I launch? I was thinking I should've waited, but once a few of my designs were ready to sell I got anxious, which was a big problem. And it isn't just paypal, when you check out there is an option to click for credit card payments. 

Everyone else, thanks for the advice, I think I'm going to close the site until the rest of my designs are in stock and the website is a lot more unique.


----------



## nation03 (Sep 2, 2008)

Thanks for the links rodney, tons of great information.


----------



## buwa (Jul 18, 2009)

nation03 said:


> Hey guys, typical issue many people probably have when launching... how do I reach people?! I have a facebook page for fans and I sent out an update when we launched. Got some traffic from that but no orders. I'm still working up a few more designs, maybe I should hold off till everything is in stock? I'm aiming towards the rock/extreme sports crowd. If someone in the same general market can give me some advice that helped get them going I'd appreciate it. I'm sure there is more threads like this, but I couldn't find any. I apologies if this was covered, just direct me in the right direction and I'd appreciate it.


check this link out. great twitter info

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-marketing/t82754.html


----------



## AndrewNg (Jun 29, 2009)

You can give away the t-shirts as part of a new member registration giveaway or as part of a guerrilla marketing campaign.


----------



## puncha (Jul 25, 2009)

Promote your website by doing seo.


----------



## jkruse (Oct 10, 2008)

grimreaper said:


> It'll never make out. Only a few designs there. Don't like the wrinkle look of the tees. PayPal only? Not good, that means you're a tiny or shady operation. About Us = nothing there? Strike 2. No phone number or address on contact page? BIG STRIKE 3. Not good at all. You'll NEVER get any business with no phone or address. PLUS there's a load of people trying to make out with a "line" or "theme". Slim chance to none yours will ever take off, especially with only a couple designs but good luck anyway.


I have gotten tons of orders with 1.) Just paypal 2.) No phone or address 

With bigcartel and paypal you don't need to have a paypal account. You can use a credit card number and not sign up.



Anyways all of this doesn't answer his question.

You get traffic and sales by doing a number of things. I have always used blogs and PR the best that I can. I've got a couple articles about contacting blogs and Liz at pop culture tees just wrote another good on.

Going to Forums and specific to your market. If it's the rock extreme crowd go to where those people talk and join the conversation. Don't just try and sell your products but be a person.

SEO. Get google traffic by doing SEO, there are tons of websites about it on the web.

Shows, festivals. Get a booth at a rock festival and hand out business cards with your name on it.

Just find your consumer and talk develop that connection with them.


----------



## AithinDesign (Aug 12, 2009)

jkruse said:


> I have gotten tons of orders with 1.) Just paypal 2.) No phone or address
> 
> With bigcartel and paypal you don't need to have a paypal account. You can use a credit card number and not sign up.
> 
> ...


Best advice yet Jkruse. Nation03 if your web designer is slacking off... check out Joomla! and VirtueMart... you can do it yourself! They have a great built-in SEO and their free, you'll just need hosting. There are also a ton of templates that you can choose to start out with. You'll be up and running in just a few days!


----------



## Pwear (Mar 7, 2008)

grimreaper said:


> It'll never make out. Only a few designs there. Don't like the wrinkle look of the tees. PayPal only? Not good, that means you're a tiny or shady operation. About Us = nothing there? Strike 2. No phone number or address on contact page? BIG STRIKE 3. Not good at all. You'll NEVER get any business with no phone or address. PLUS there's a load of people trying to make out with a "line" or "theme". Slim chance to none yours will ever take off, especially with only a couple designs but good luck anyway.


Telling someone they'll never make it because they only accept paypal or have no phone number is just ignorant. Ever try to call up google to ask them a question? Guess what, there is no tech support number for their public services. Want to call Ebay? Out of luck again. Having trouble at Etsy.com? Oops, looks like there's no phone number! Crap, all of these multi-million dollar companies are going out of business!

I started a line a couple of years ago in a SATURATED market with a simple website, only accepted paypal and gave out only my email as a contact. We did all of our payments and refunds on Paypal's servers, and corresponded with customers only via email. We did endless marketing and achieved mid 5 figure sales the first two years we were in business, and then sold the company to an investor last year. Point being, anything is possible, and there is no set list of "things" that will make a company fail. We were a great example of bucking the trend, both with our product line and business practices, and we did it without adhering to a list of things we "must" do in order to succeed.

If you have an idea, go for it. You can't succeed if you don't try, and the longer and harder you try the sooner you'll succeed. Don't pay any heed to those who doubt you or condemn you to failure, because at the end of the day you're doing what you love, you're one step closer to success and you are the one in control of your own destiny. If there are 100 people doing what you do, do it _better. _Be the best, and people will follow you. The people who are shooting you down now will be the first people to congratulate you (and think they're your best friend) when you make it. Just smile and know that you did it despite them.

Can you tell I'm a little bit passionate about this topic?


----------



## Retro Campaigns (Jun 27, 2008)

grimreaper said:


> It'll never make out. Only a few designs there. Don't like the wrinkle look of the tees. PayPal only? Not good, that means you're a tiny or shady operation. About Us = nothing there? Strike 2. No phone number or address on contact page? BIG STRIKE 3. Not good at all. You'll NEVER get any business with no phone or address. PLUS there's a load of people trying to make out with a "line" or "theme". Slim chance to none yours will ever take off, especially with only a couple designs but good luck anyway.


I think you misread the original post. He was asking "How do I reach people?" not "Please give me lots of wrong information and try to be as discouraging and negative as possible."


----------



## nation03 (Sep 2, 2008)

Pwear said:


> Telling someone they'll never make it because they only accept paypal or have no phone number is just ignorant. Ever try to call up google to ask them a question? Guess what, there is no tech support number for their public services. Want to call Ebay? Out of luck again. Having trouble at Etsy.com? Oops, looks like there's no phone number! Crap, all of these multi-million dollar companies are going out of business!
> 
> I started a line a couple of years ago in a SATURATED market with a simple website, only accepted paypal and gave out only my email as a contact. We did all of our payments and refunds on Paypal's servers, and corresponded with customers only via email. We did endless marketing and achieved mid 5 figure sales the first two years we were in business, and then sold the company to an investor last year. Point being, anything is possible, and there is no set list of "things" that will make a company fail. We were a great example of bucking the trend, both with our product line and business practices, and we did it without adhering to a list of things we "must" do in order to succeed.
> 
> ...



Great words man, I really appreciate it. 

Jkruse and everyone else, also a big thanks to you. 


Just an update. I found a great freelance web designer via emptees.com. He is working on the site now and his price range was perfect for my budget. I wanted to ideally relaunch with 7 designs, but I'm going to go with 5 since getting them professionally printed is quite pricy, especially since many of my designs are 4-6 colors. The more time I put into this clothing line the more I start to think for the future. It is really exciting. I understand that the first year or two can be a total bust on sales, but I'm now confident in my ability to get the name out. Whenever I wear one of my shirts out I get so many looks and questions on where to get one and that feels really cool. I'm really working hard to do things right and make the customer feel like they are getting what they pay for. That being said, I'm looking into posters and stickers for free gifts with each shirts. Going the extra mile will pay off in the end in my opinion.


----------



## Aslosman (Aug 24, 2009)

Someone just asked me what my secrete formula for web site success is. My response to that question is always there is no secrete formula. Well, the truth is there is one but it is not so secret. In fact the secret is know by every successful business owner world wide. The secret is hard work and an undying passion for what you are doing. 

You need the passion because the work is hard and it takes a sustained effort. Most business owners are not marketers. But you don’t have to be a marketer you just need to do marketing. 

Let’s start with marketing basics: You need to figure out a couple of things. First, who is going to buy your product? In marketing terms this is your audience. Second, where can you go to get a message to them that they will pay attention to? We call this the venue and it is entirely dependent on identifying the audience. If you are selling skate boards looking for customers in a discussion of convalescent suppliers is not the best use of your resources. 

Once you know who you are speaking to and where they are you can start crafting your message. Then you send the message in what ever way you believe is effective for your audience. 

Finally, you need to keep close track of your results. This is the step where most people fail. No one starts off in business an expert in everything. Some things are going to work, some things wont. Your job is to identify both. Then you repeat what works. 

Now you need to analyze what did not work. Try to figure out why the results were not what you thought they would be. The chances are, if you did a good job identifying the audience, the original idea was a good one and success is just a matter of making some changes in how you did it. 

All of this is pretty easy to put into 4 paragraphs. Actually doing it is another story. Remember, I said this would take a sustained effort. Give it a try. Do some web research on how to conduct business market analysis. Take a look at the free management library on line (www.managementhelp.org) there is a wealth of information here. The Small Business Administration has some material you might find useful as does the Service Core of Retired Executives both of which offer free and low cost business educational resources.

Above all don’t give up and don’t listen to those who say this way or that thing will never work. If you are still stuck in how to proceed feel free to contact me directly I’d be happy to discuss the specifics of your situation and the details of how to move forward.

Good luck. You can do this. 
-Alex-


----------



## jtroche (May 6, 2009)

You mentioned that people comment on the shirt when you wear it. I would get mini cards printed with your site address (and maybe a discount). Keep them with you and give them away when someone asks about the shirt. 

Take a look at MOO | Custom Business Cards, MiniCards and Postcards | moo.com USA.

Good Luck!

Jamie


----------

