# Do swear words lead to a lower conversion rate?



## CG Kid (Apr 1, 2017)

I came out with a shirt and put it on Facebook, almost instantly it went viral, but there wasn't a lot of sales for the number of impressions it got.

People were voting with their minds but not their money "I NEED THIS! I WANT THIS! MY WIFE WOULD LOVE THIS!" etc. it's incredibly frustrating lol.

The conversion rate was 10 out of 91,000 impressions, it got 1,500 shares, 4,200 reactions and 130 link clicks. I'm having people go through Facebook checkout which drives conversions on other shirt designs so the site is irrelevant.

The one thing I can think of that makes people "LOVE" the shirt in their mind but not willing to buy it is that I don't offer a uncensored version. I'm curious if any of you have had profanity on shirts with a uncensored version and did uncensored sell better?

I commented asking the people and they all said "NO UNCENSORED IS BETTER!" But none of them are actually buying it. They're just voting with their mind. You can love a shirt without wanting to wear it in public AKA not wanting to buy it.


----------



## CG Kid (Apr 1, 2017)

The word I use is the F word. I'm hiring a designer to cause the original design is flat. Maybe, rather then just censoring effing and providing a censored and uncensored I should just make it "FREAKING"

It gets the same message and point across. People can say they love profanity, but if you're not buying, your vote doesn't count lol. 

Personally, I don't wear shirts with profanity and see no need for it as long as it can get the same message across without the profanity. I'm pretty wild, a "dare devil" of some sorts, and I still feel awkward wearing a shirt with profanity and having to cover it with my arm cause a 9 year old is around. I'm sure if I feel that way a lot of people do. And adults know what censored is, it's just kind of trashy even if censored in my opinion. "Freaking" is a lot more clean, gets the point across, I imagine the conversion rate would be a lot higher. Plus I'd only have to worry about printing one design.


----------



## Maxcat (Nov 23, 2014)

I'd try the toned down version. I find things with profanity funny/amusing but would never even consider wearing an F bomb shirt. There's definitely a market for these shirts but you'll lose just as many people as will appreciate it.


----------



## CG Kid (Apr 1, 2017)

Maxcat said:


> I'd try the toned down version. I find things with profanity funny/amusing but would never even consider wearing an F bomb shirt. There's definitely a market for these shirts but you'll lose just as many people as will appreciate it.


That's exactly what I'm thinking. If I was in the right environment, a site with a brand that had explicit shirts, then it would all be good. But since I'm display network marketing on Facebook, I'm really just hitting the general population.

People can appreciate that something exist but not want to buy it cause they'd never wear it. I feel like that's what's going on in a lot of people's minds, especially the ones saying "I NEED IT!" but don't buy it.


----------



## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Early during the primary elections, I had a shirt with Clinton's photo on one side and Trump's on the other. Under that in large letters: F*CK! I put the asterisk in at the last moment.

Any time I wore that shirt out in public, people asked where I got it. Wearing it to a concert, or the like, I gave out tons of business cards. People f*cking _loved_ it! But few actually bought it.

Though they felt a strong affinity for the message, most people are more timid sheep than lone wolf when it comes to strongly expressing themselves and.or going even slightly against the grain of "normal" society. That's what millions of years of evolution as a social/tribal species will get you: repressed, overanxious monkeys who idolize individuality and freedom, but are mostly too afraid of standing out in the crowd to practice either.


----------



## jennGO (Mar 11, 2014)

I think sometimes people just treat the products like a funny "meme" on Facebook that they want to like and share with their friends but wouldn't bite the bullet on. Kind of like the covfefe phenomenon that lasted a few hours... 

Hopefully though once you censor it people buy!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## henrygreger (Aug 23, 2016)

From my experience I can say that swearing doesn't increase conversion but using a casual, easy to understand language with emojis increase conversions and response rate. Goodluck!


----------



## pippin decals (Aug 26, 2015)

I just recently bought a bad A#^ heatpress 16x20 to start doing shirts and I tried this once like you did , and found out that most like what they see but do not want to wear it publicly.I got tons of likes,shares etc and only a couple bought them, and the ones that did ,well they fit into that category of people who ummm are of less popularity of a normal person that your grandma would hang out with , if you get my drift.. 

So i wont advertise a shirt like that anymore.No loss of money either way since i make mockup shirts for people to view instead of actually making them and wasting material..... 

And facebook has been my largest selling place,My website pippin decals is basically for having most of my work view-able and a constact number for everything i can do and to contact me...The website company i use is really really cheap like 18 bucks a months for everything i use ,and I have unlimited pages etc i cam make as well as photos as well...


----------



## decipherdev (Aug 13, 2017)

That conversion rate for facebook is normal.


----------



## number1talent (Sep 5, 2017)

I think many people love swear word t-shirts, but most would feel embarrassed wearing it in public. I know I would feel nervous, even though I liked the shirt. I believe that's why you receive so many likes and shares, but not enough conversions. Instead of completely spelling out the swear words, how about using special characters to complete the spelling and see how that goes.


----------



## elcielo (Jan 20, 2012)

Just throwing this out there: maybe swear words on t-shirts would violate some places' obscenity laws.


----------



## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

elcielo said:


> Just throwing this out there: maybe swear words on t-shirts would violate some places' obscenity laws.


Well #$*% them! 

Not an issue in the USA. Of course, in some parts of the world it would be an issue, as could be criticizing the government, exposing your hair, expressing a different belief about religion, etc


----------



## decipherdev (Aug 13, 2017)

facebook conversion rates are absolutely terrible, i wouldn't beat yourself up about it. Try youtube!


----------



## MadeDesigns (Feb 19, 2013)

you want to know why no one bought it? Because they took a picture of it to their local T-shirt guy/gal and had them copy it for less. People don't understand the time it takes for a design. I get requests all the time to copy a picture OF a shirt. So I just play dumb and print the actual picture OF the shirt onto a shirt. So it is literally a picture of your ENTIRE shirt on a shirt in a big white box.

Why? because I don't respect copying the same shirt over for less. You want a nice shirt buy it where you saw it noobs.


----------



## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

MadeDesigns said:


> you want to know why no one bought it? Because they took a picture of it to their local T-shirt guy/gal and had them copy it for less. People don't understand the time it takes for a design. I get requests all the time to copy a picture OF a shirt. So I just play dumb and print the actual picture OF the shirt onto a shirt. So it is literally a picture of your ENTIRE shirt on a shirt in a big white box.
> 
> Why? because I don't respect copying the same shirt over for less. You want a nice shirt buy it where you saw it noobs.


Ha! Can't wait to see a shirt printed with an image of a shirt printed with the image of a shirt printed with ... 
It would properly reflect the "uniqueness" of most shirts and their begged, borrowed, and stolen ideas.


----------



## fallendesperado (Aug 16, 2017)

I think i want to buy the "swear" shirt....I wear some vulgar a&& s%!t sometimes


----------



## GunnyJeeves (Nov 27, 2017)

Really cool thread here...

I'm a deep rooted "Techie"... Actually the propellers on my beanie are visible from space...

So for me:
I drink coffee religiously and my mug has the F-bomb on it. "What do we want? coffee! When do we want it? I'll f-ing cut you!"

I wear t-shirts with:
Sexy girls (but clothed) - TankGirl for the win!
Computer, geek, and video game references - "No I will not fix your computer." 
I will wear curse words "hidden" in a design... "EllGY POCR Off!" Fold and it says F'off, and my computer programming flow chart... (one part is "you're F'ed")
I love political shirts... but I usually don't wear them:

Ex: my design btw...
Picture of a Marine's prosthetic leg, a football and "Don't take a knee for the anthem until you're willing to give one."
- Wouldn't wear that because it's too soft. It doesn't do justice to the rage I feel on that one...

Ex: My real design...
Front - "Why do professional athletes take a knee during the anthem?"
Back - "Because they're too much of a pu--y to do it during the game."
I'd happily wear that one, but I'd get shot 

Political shirts are basically a wash. Everyone that's wearable in public is too weak... every one that is accurate would get you shot.

I also wear extremely understated ones.
Religious - "I AM" - Meaning is that's basically God's name. But in a non existent tense in modern language called permanent tense. So I AM translates to the one word that means "I always was, I am now, and I always will be". (Cool huh? But the shirt just says "I AM"... the conversation can go to how the world changed to no longer need an eternal tense, to all sorts of other directions.)

"PEBKAC" - Computer lingo. Problem exists between keyboard and chair. (LOL)

Hobby Shirts - "CAUTION: RC Heli Pilot... If I duck, you should run."


----------



## dlanthripe (Jul 19, 2010)

I have done the same thing. I think people like the sentiment of the shirt a lot, so they share it. But most people have no where to wear it.


----------



## GunnyJeeves (Nov 27, 2017)

Yep. Blatant f-bomb shirts are like Ferraris....

Everyone secretly wants one, but only a tool would actually buy one.

I think you have more market with truly private products. (Coffee mug, mouse pad, T-Shirt no, but night shirt? Probably so.)


----------

