# How To: Get Your Cool T-Shirts Reviewed by a T-Shirt Blog



## Mymil (Nov 23, 2006)

Of course, there are never any guarantees. But speaking from my own experience (as both a t-shirt blogger *and* a t-shirt entrepeneur), here are some things to keep in mind when you get in touch with a t-shirt blog about your own awesome t-shirt designs:

*1) Most of us don't get paid for this.* We do it for fun! We can't review everything, and we can't _like_ everything. There are a lot of t-shirt blogs out there, and each blogger has different tastes. We Bonanziers happen to prefer images over text, and we don't really go for the whole streetwear thing. But that's just us! So how should you know which bloggers to contact? *Read their blog!* _See what they like._ Getting a feeling for what a blogger likes and their style of communication will help you immensely.

Another side of not getting paid for t-shirt blogging is that it competes for our free time, so emails can sometimes slip through the cracks. If you don't receive a reply, don't take it personally! You might as well try emailing again with a _friendly, personal reminder_.

*2) We want information.* Just saying 'Hey, check out these cool new tees!' doesn't pique my interest as much as some interesting factoids about you, your company, your vision, whatever. It's not that I want to publish what you tell me word for word, it's that *if I like your work, I'll probably want to know more about you!* On the other hand, some blogs _will_ publish a brief blurb that you send them, so figuring that out before you contact a t-shirt blog is a good idea.

*3) Imitation is boring.* This has two implications: I see _a lot_ of t-shirts, and if what you're doing doesn't set itself apart in some way, I'm less inclined to give it a second thought. I also read _a lot_ of t-shirt blogs (last I checked, I'm reading over 50 feeds), and *we* like to be original and unique, too! So when you contact us, if you *offer us something special* (like some extra information that you didn't give to other people, and advance notice of something ahead of everybody else, a unique coupon code, etc.) we're _more likely to shower you with praise_.

*4) Free t-shirts aren't golden rings.* That is, offers of free gear don't guarantee you a review (with me, at least). I only enjoy writing about things I like, and I only enjoy wearing t-shirts that I like, so if you want to send some free swag over this way, that's great! But if I like what you're doing, _I'll blog about it anyway_. Which isn't to say that freebies aren't nice, but my favorites are _tokens of appreciation_ for something I've written about in the past. Just make sure you're not pouring all your profits into free things for others!

*5) We aren't robots.* We have feelings! When I get an email for a t-shirt review request, I like to see my name and something indicating that you've read my blog. If I feel like I'm just some free advertising for your company, I don't feel very happy. So *build a relationship with t-shirt bloggers.* _Leave comments_ on their posts with your own opinion, or a question, or something interesting and/or insightful. If you enter a website in the URL field when you leave a comment here, chances are I'll check it out and maybe even blog about it before you contact me.

Well, that's about it from me... I know other t-shirt bloggers have guides with advice on getting your t-shirts reviewed, so you should look for one of those before contacting them. 'About' and 'Contact' sections often have relevant info as well that can also help you start a conversation; because *a genuine conversation is infinitely better than a press release and an attached picture.*

[Republished from my blog, where I originally posted it. Thought people here could find it useful!]


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Hey Joe, great writeup! I think I'll be linking to it from my t-shirt blog. 

It answers a lot of questions that I get and it sounds like we have similar "philosophies" when it comes to doing reviews.


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## firemac2d (May 13, 2007)

What kind of readership do T-shirt blogs get. I've recently become intrested in the industry and untill reading this forum I had no idea about T-shirt blogs. What kind of numbers of hits per month do these blogs get? I hope I'm not ofending anyone with this type of Q/A, as I siad I'm very new at all of this.


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## Mymil (Nov 23, 2006)

firemac2d said:


> What kind of numbers of hits per month do these blogs get?


I can only give you solid numbers for my own t-shirt blog, so here they are for the past month:

4,592 visits
11,594 pageviews (2.52 avg. pages/visit)
2:18 avg. time on site
58.08% new visits

153 avg. subscribers each day in the past month (steadily increasing!)

These stats are from Google Analytics and Feedburner, respectively. Of course, all of this is small potatoes compared to http://tcritic.com/ , whose Feedburner widget boasts over 4300 subscribers...


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## mothertongues (Aug 8, 2005)

My problem is my t-shirts don't necessarily target the college/kid crowd (although I have students wear my Ts, I also have 75 year olds wearing it...). I've found that the t-shirt blogs *mostly* target the <25 year old crowd, and is just not interested in me/my Ts. I did have one blog, t-shirt-alert, write about my Ts, but I barely saw my visitors go up, and I don't think I sold any more t-shirts than normal. Any ideas? Is it worth it for me to keep pursuing blogs? Or rather try other ways of marketing? Thanks for any and all insight! Michelle


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Is it worth it for me to keep pursuing blogs? Or rather try other ways of marketing? Thanks for any and all insight! Michelle


I think you already answered your question 

The t-shirt blogs don't seem like a good fit, but that doesn't mean that ALL blogs aren't a good fit. 

Just find blogs that are more related to the products you sell. That's what all advertising/marketing is about. Finding where your target market is, and putting your products in front of them.

If they don't read "t-shirt" blogs, maybe they read "community" blogs or "language" blogs, or other newsletters that fit your market.

And yes, you should consider other ways of marketing as well. Every type you can think of that would hit your target market


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## Binary01 (Jun 2, 2007)

i understand the whole idea of reading blogs/etc.... but sometimes it's hard/etc to comment..... more less i'm just a ghost reader on sites..

blogs can also get real boring and repetative with info and "this is cool" designs...... 1 color "slogans" and goofy graphics can get old real quick.....

then you have the graphics that look like splashed paint and some "designed" graphic that can be anything really ....

as for myself...... i'm trying to represent a "character" in my "themes" i'm going for....so how can one market/push that idea ...... seems that you need to really get your stuff on blogs to really get the hits/views for the gear...

b


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## Mymil (Nov 23, 2006)

237am said:


> i understand the whole idea of reading blogs/etc.... but sometimes it's hard/etc to comment..... more less i'm just a ghost reader on sites..


Thanks for reading, Brian! But I feel as if you may have missed the point of my article.



> blogs can also get real boring and repetative with info and "this is cool" designs...... 1 color "slogans" and goofy graphics can get old real quick.....
> 
> then you have the graphics that look like splashed paint and some "designed" graphic that can be anything really ....


Part of what I'm trying to encourage you to do is to get to know the blogger. That includes, but is not limited to, reading their blog to see what kind of t-shirts they like. If they like 1-color slogans, then maybe they're not the blog for you!

And like I said, 'imitation is boring'. So unless you as the t-shirt entrepreneur provide the blogger with something to make their posts interesting, it's going to be hard for them to not be, as you say, 'real boring and repetative'.



> as for myself...... i'm trying to represent a "character" in my "themes" i'm going for....so how can one market/push that idea ...... seems that you need to really get your stuff on blogs to really get the hits/views for the gear...
> 
> b


I don't mean to be confrontational, but the email that you sent to me yesterday didn't follow any of these guidelines. It doesn't give me much incentive to feature you on my blog. Now that you've read this article, feel free to give it another shot! I'll give you a blank slate. I can't promise that you'll get a feature, however, because from the glance I took of your site, they're not my style. But based on the tees you know I like based on my blog, feel free to point out a specific one that you think I'd like!


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## Binary01 (Jun 2, 2007)

understandable....

i just was a little restless i guess......

glad to see you received my email..... not really sure if people like long winded b.s. stories of why their shirts are cool or if just dropping a quick link to show the product then give the blog owner the chance to feature/etc.....

products should stand for themselves really........ so if a blog owners likes the graphics then they do......

at the festivals i had a booth at last year...i showcased my first run of t's....not sure if i did it right or not...i just sat there and had people look at my stuff and bye.... i didnt have to sales pitch.... and there was other 'detroit tshirts" there also..... but i received alot of compliments because of the "style"..........and sold a decent amount considering of what i had in stock..... from all walks of life also... young/old/ladies/guys/etc....... so i think maybe it reads right???????....i dont know

i guess people have to play the "game" in order to get the gear posted....... 

everyone has a taste i guess.... maybe it's the cut/simple look that's popular......not sure.....

i apologize if i sounded like an azz...but no pun intended...... just dealing with all the b.s. reasons why i dont get a break at my work...ranging from architecture to everything else..... seems that there's always a "game" to play instead of letting the work stand for itself.....




b


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## phillymatt (May 13, 2008)

Great post. Thanks for the info.


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## Binary01 (Jun 2, 2007)

joe,

i can see where you are coming from and respect your view/etc......maybe i'm just a newb at this and see things a bit differently...i dont know.....

i did re-review your site and i actually think that i might have a scheme you might like.....

but based from my previous email, i might have already burned that bridge...but i will relook this and go from there....

take care

b


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## Mymil (Nov 23, 2006)

237am said:


> joe,
> 
> i can see where you are coming from and respect your view/etc......maybe i'm just a newb at this and see things a bit differently...i dont know.....
> 
> ...


Nah, no bridges burned! But when I get such a terse email, it makes me feel like the sender couldn't care less whether I review their tees or not. So I guess just try to flesh out emails, and make them more personable. Because when you're dealing with a blog, it's not just the designs that sell themselves, it's the creator who has to sell them.

And as for whether somebody wants to hear an inspirational story about the founding of the company or where they get their inspiration, that all depends on the blogger. Personally, it doesn't float my boat because the stories are often so similar. But if either a) I really really really like the brand or b) there is something that's actually really cool/unique about it, then I do like to hear.

I look forward to getting your next email!


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## dr8ggnbomb (Mar 7, 2008)

Joe, that's some very good advice. Thank you.


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## shubo (Feb 14, 2008)

mothertongues, you may not have gotten any more sales after the review, but the important thing is now there is another in-bound link for you. The more in-bound link you have, the higher your Google ranking will be.


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## MiNGLED (Aug 22, 2007)

Good article. I've found in my limited experience is that it's good to try and build up a relationship with the blogger. When sending an email to them, don't just send a standard mailing but try to personalise it. Keep sending them stuff, even if it's just news about your store etc. and comment on what they post. There is no guarantee that they will blog about your stuff, it's a matter of personal choice for them but remember that it's a 2 way street; they need new and exciting stuff to write about and you need your stuff promoted. Give them good stuff and it's more likely they will write about it.


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## aquamonkie17 (Sep 26, 2010)

thanks for the info


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## ktsaShirts (Jan 26, 2011)

can someone contact me with advice on how/where to advertise my new line of shirts which are on zazzle.com but on other websites to draw traffic. thanks. [email protected].


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## kioas (Mar 16, 2009)

Thanks for the write-up! Appreciated!


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