# Creating a Buzz



## Sarcastik (Jan 2, 2007)

I am working on putting together a t-shirt site and I'm really excited about it. I know it can often take a while to get a steady flow of orders (and sometimes it never happens), but I really want to set myself up to hopefully be selling some shirts as soon as the site opens (or at least soon there after). I want to not only create a buzz, but also impliment a super intense marketing plan that will help generate sales. I was writing a few ideas down in my PDA, but I thought maybe you guys could offer up some of your best and most noteworthy marketing techniques to apply to my launch. Here is what I got so far.

1. Mailing List (Got one on the coming soon site right now...)
2. Myspace Page (Got that too, already added 850 people to it...)
3. Ebay
4. Craigslist
5. Hip-Hop Directories/Forums (It's a hip-hop T-Shirt Site)
6. Google Adwords (this can be pretty expensive is why I shyed away from it with my previous business ventures...anyone swere by it for t-shirts?)

Thanks for the help guys. The site is just "coming soon" right now, but I really want to cover all the bases and do my homework so I'm not left with 10 boxes full of shirts that no one wants.


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## Jasonda (Aug 16, 2006)

One thing you really need to do is create a press release. 

Also, you need something for the buzz to be "about". Right now your website doesn't say anything about your company or have any pictures of your products. You need to give people something to be excited about besides "Oh.. just another t-shirt company".


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## swainy (Jan 15, 2007)

Hey Sarcastik, are you selling you own products on the site or other brands ? Just wondering.


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## Sarcastik (Jan 2, 2007)

I'm going to be selling my own products. Funny T-Shirts that are dirive their sayings from hip-hop music. Actually the myspace page has a little more info then the site along with a picture (my little brother wearing a white t-shirt...lol), but I was hoping keep people interested based on the name because the product top secret for right now. The name on the other hand inmywhitetee.com has been a fad in hip-hop for a while. There was a song about it and then it just kinda caught on. I bought the name 2 years ago and had the idea for the site around the same time. The url actually got a crap load of traffic even before I had anything up there. With that being said, it wasn't nearly enough to get good business.

I really like the idea of writing a press release though. What types places would I send it to? Could I just send one to a hip-hop blog or hip-hop news site's email or is there more to it then that?


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## Jasonda (Aug 16, 2006)

Sarcastik said:


> I was hoping keep people interested based on the name because the product top secret for right now. The name on the other hand inmywhitetee.com has been a fad in hip-hop for a while. There was a song about it and then it just kinda caught on. I bought the name 2 years ago and had the idea for the site around the same time. The url actually got a crap load of traffic even before I had anything up there. With that being said, it wasn't nearly enough to get good business.


I don't think this is the best strategy. Honestly, it might be enough to get people to visit the site randomly, but it's not enough to get them to sign up for your mailing list (which should be the goal of your website if you don't have any products to sell).

Why keep your product "top secret"? Sure, there will always be people ready to steal your idea. That's a risk you have to take in any business. You really can't sell something (or even create buzz about it) if you don't let people see it.



Sarcastik said:


> I really like the idea of writing a press release though. What types places would I send it to? Could I just send one to a hip-hop blog or hip-hop news site's email or is there more to it then that?


Yes, you can send it to those sites, and you can also send it to sites like this one: PR Leap: Free and Paid Press Release Distribution to Search Engines


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## Sarcastik (Jan 2, 2007)

I definitly understand where you're coming from Jasonda, but at the same time I think my ideas are are so orginal and different that I need to hold on to them until launch. I'm just tired of seeing the same designs on site after site after site. I wrote my shirts from my own head and I know once they come out although the ideas are mine I can't really stop people from running off with concepts, tweaking them and reselling them. So after I won't be the only one, but I will be the first. Thanks for the press release info though I'm going to start working on that as my next big project.


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## rook1200 (Jan 25, 2007)

I agree with Jasonda, people are going to steal your stuff anyways. To hype it up before launch is one of the best secret weapons of our time. But you'll need a marketing guru to help with that since the promotion will have to have some strategy behind it. What I used to launch my designs were simple t-shirt contests where you get your stuff out to the masses rather quickly. building our myspace page to 850 doesn't really cut it. Use threadless dot com website to submit only one design. Those types of US based sites will pay you for your design. Threadless already have hundreds of thousands of people that are looking to buy some cool ****.


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## Sarcastik (Jan 2, 2007)

I get what you're saying except the part about the threadless dot com site. Not sure exactly what that is, but I definitly want to sell my desings on my own. As far as the myspace page its just 1 point to a marketing plan then will have between 10 and 15 points to it. I've had the page up for 2 weeks so my plan is to have it up to 5,000 or so by launch. Thats not a huge amount, but I have another business with a myspace page of only 1,000 that really gets a lot of business due to the myspace page. I know this because on my mailling list for that site I have a drop down menu where customers can say where they heard about the site from. If you add people who already in groups/pages that show they may have in interest in your product then you can get a very directed friendslist of potiential customers


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## Blacksheep 78 (Oct 27, 2006)

IMO, I think if you have a nice enough brand and sales pitch/product description you can begin to generate some interest. If you’re not looking for sales the first day you have your site up, then get your shirts produced, launch your site and then do the press release and whatever marketing you plan on. It may take more ramp up time, but like you said, at least your shirts will be the first of their kind out there. That way people will be able to purchase them ASAP too... But yea, they'll more than likely get ripped off. 

-Tim


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## Jasonda (Aug 16, 2006)

Sarcastik said:


> I get what you're saying except the part about the threadless dot com site. Not sure exactly what that is, but I definitly want to sell my desings on my own.


Threadless is an ongoing t-shirt design contest. If your design is chosen they will print and sell the t-shirts and you get $2000. However, if your design is printed there, you can't print it on your own shirts. So it's probably not what you're looking for.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Sarcastik said:


> I think my ideas are are so orginal and different that I need to hold on to them until launch.


Everybody thinks that, and the majority of people are wrong. If you're right your product will sell itself, so all the more reason to show it to people.

I like Kathleen Fasanella's perspective on this, which was something to the effect of people who are so paranoid about having their ideas stolen mustn't come by good ideas very often.

As Jasonda said, if you want people to "buzz" about your product they need to have some idea of what the product is. There are hundreds of brands out there, and a blank page isn't going to garner as much attention as some content.


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## rook1200 (Jan 25, 2007)

I know this tshirt brand company my buddy started called FOKUS and all they did was put their shirts on athletes for 2 years before starting to sell their line. Buzz is better than the real thing, because buzz is speculation and everybody likes to speculate...


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## RisingBlue7 (Oct 8, 2006)

Why don't you go to events where "hip-hoppers" attend and giveaway some t-shirts, at concerts or showcases for upcoming hip hop and/or rap artists... Do you know Complex Magazine? Its a hip hop urban magazine. Marc Ecko of Ecko Clothing is the founder of Complex. You should peruse through that magazine and other hip hop urban era periodicals and find out when the next event will be and where. When you do give some t-shirts away, give them out to "the right people" and not just "Joe Shmo". My friend is the CEO of Magic Johnson's new Media Company, Magic Media, Inc. He is heavily involved in the hip hop era. 

What you could also do is find out who the fashion editor is, get their information and contact them and tell them about your clothing line and find out if you can send them samples of your line. Get them interested! Don't sound nervous on the phone. You are your own salesman! You would need to sound like you "walk the walk and talk the talk". You need to get them to perk up and want to know more about your line. When you do send them samples, follow up with them. Try to get them to write an editorial on your clothing line in the magazine. It would be best to deliver them in person if you can. Better yet have some hot girl deliver them to the fashion editor personally, if the fashion editor is a guy. Actually Complex's fashion editor is a male. 

Hey guerilla marketing is the way to go if you don't have advertising capital. This would cost you nothing. Again you are your own salesman! You are home free if you can get a magazine to write an editorial about your line.

LOL! I remember when I used to design custom made dresses, with my first buyer, actually, I walked in and "sold myself", I would not stop talking about my line and would not shut up about it...so the buyer put his hands up and said "OK! OK! I'll carry them! I'll carry them! He liked the product alot but was not sure if he wanted to take the risk because my line was not being sold anywhere else and he was the first buyer I approached. With that being said, selling yourself is the key...I talked to him about how and why my line would be an asset to his boutique. I made eye contact with him and was intensely focused on getting him to carry my line. Well, it worked obviously and I did well.


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## Sarcastik (Jan 2, 2007)

Solmu said:


> I like Kathleen Fasanella's perspective on this, which was something to the effect of people who are so paranoid about having their ideas stolen mustn't come by good ideas very often.


Kathleen is a fool because that is the silliest thing I have ever heard in my life. I think that it is more realistic to think that people who don't care if their ideas are stolen probably realize that: (A) The idea isn't that great anyway and it doesn't matter if its taken, or (B) The idea isn't all that orginal and has probably already been done...


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## Comin'OutSwingin (Oct 28, 2005)

I hardly think that she is a fool. She probably knows more about the apparel industry than the 8,000 people on this forum collectively.

And if that's the silliest thing you've ever heard in your life, you probably don't get out much!

I think the point is that if you are so paranoid about someone stealing your ideas, it's very difficult to see those things through to fruition. You limit your creativeness, and possibly your potential for success. You get so focused on "keeping the secret" that you don't have the opportunity for true market research to see how your particular product will be perceived.

As Lewis said, everyone thinks they have the next great idea, and he was correct in saying that most of them are wrong. Could you possibly have a great idea that will be successful? Of course. But how do you know if you keep it top secret. 

You invest a lot of time, energy and money, and then wait to see if you are successful? That's not the smartest way to go about it. You can still be successful this way, no doubt, but why risk it just because you're afraid someone might still it?

You didn't invent hip-hop. You didn't invent the white t-shirt. Whatever it is that your are planning and keeping a wraps on, probably has been done in some fashion or another. Just because you haven't happened to have seen it, doesn't mean you're the first!


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## Sarcastik (Jan 2, 2007)

I really wasn't trying to create an argument here. I also didn't know that Kathleen was a person on this forum otherwise I wouldn't have called her a fool. She isn't a fool, but at the same time I don't agree that people who don't want people still their ideas, are people who don't have many ideas. I just don't agree with that and there is no way you can convince me. As for my idea, yea, it has been done before and I didn't event hip-hop and I didn't event the white t-shirt, but I want my shirts to be really creative and catchy. I thought of about 25 designs altogether, but only about 4 of them meet my criteria of being over the top in terms of creativety. So I guess I don't have that many good ideas...all the more reason to keep them under raps. I've had a steady stream of mailling list adds every day so once I get to a couple hundred then my product should be ready. I'll post it up on the site and see what happens. There's nothing more I can really do, right?


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## Comin'OutSwingin (Oct 28, 2005)

I'm not trying to argue, either, just enlighten you.

Kathleen is (was!) a member of the forums, but hasn't really been active. She is also an author, and has a website: Fashion-Incubator

You should check it out. It has some very useful info for people that want to break into the market. Her book is also excellent.

I'm kind of in the same situation as you. I happen to be doing some things that I think are quite unique, but I had to test those things out and see if they could work. By doing this, I have been able to take my ideas and concepts and make them better. This has also saved me a lot of money!

The thing about having great ideas is that you don't really know if they're that great unless you have the proof. Being paranoid hinders your ability to garner the proof!


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Sarcastik said:


> I also didn't know that Kathleen was a person on this forum otherwise I wouldn't have called her a fool.


It's better when the person isn't around eh?



Sarcastik said:


> She isn't a fool, but at the same time I don't agree that people who don't want people still their ideas, are people who don't have many ideas.


It's by no means always true, but it's an interesting idea and I definitely think it has merit (and you don't, and that's fine).

(I also said "paranoid about" - most people don't want people stealing their ideas, but not everyone spends much time worrying about it)



Sarcastik said:


> There's nothing more I can really do, right?


Indeed. Building up the mailing list so you have an audience when you launch is a good idea.


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## LoneStarBrand (Feb 3, 2007)

looking at your website Myspace it looks more like a representation of a movment, bandwagon type deal...

you have your friends but keep your competition closer.

you have no icon, logo, seeing you are targeting the hip hop industry and have a home base....theres nothing like taking from the back of your trunk and getting in the streets...since its attched to music hit your local underground-coledge base radio staion usually 88.1 on a sunday. Get booths at your local show and do a test run with your product at a limited run...

whats better losing 150 bucks or a 10 boxes of t's.... then you'll get into cost which is whole nother senario...What you are doing is nothing new or original, its becoming apart of it that makes you known...let alone putting your product on a celeb...


For example i created an icon, label etc. I created a test run, sought out the least inexpenvie screener but did not give up quality! I hit the streets and local hip-hop shows to let myself be known!!! targeted my own city...so a sale was a hand shake away!! with 26 shirts i made over 650 dollars in the street! IN ONLY 4 DAYS!!!!!!! Hence the name the agenda is clear, who im targeting.
I did not even use my own money!!! I had t's made for local artist and took a percentage form sales then in return flipped that! 

if your waiting for it to come to you its not...its all a hustle when you start out with nothing.


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## Headhoncho (Jan 17, 2007)

Controversy sells too.
-jm


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## qlbdesigns (Feb 5, 2007)

Try to do the same thing we are doing...Grass Root Technology...


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## swainy (Jan 15, 2007)

May i ask what Grass Root Technology is ? If that's your company name, I must state that L-R-G's main slogan and on a huuuuuge range of their t-shirts it to do with grass roots & technology.


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## T-BOT (Jul 24, 2006)

Sarcastik said:


> Kathleen is a fool because that is the silliest thing I have ever heard in my life. I think that it is more realistic to think that people who don't care if their ideas are stolen probably realize that: (A) The idea isn't that great anyway and it doesn't matter if its taken, or (B) The idea isn't all that orginal and has probably already been done...


hummm, I do happen to know someone who is in T-shirt Design Idea Vogue and does get the ideas/shirts knocked off.  

The funny part is that it does not bother this person much. I guess you get use to it.  ....when you get to the point of t-shirt heaven success.

I find it's the terrible t-shirt designers that worrie the most of getting their stuff lifted. I can't figure it out but I do encounter such on a daily basis.

As for your Ideas, they sound great.


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