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E-Commerce (T-Shirt) Spotify Startup: Beginner

Spicymemer45

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Dec 30, 2016
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Hey lads!

Hope everyone is well!

I have started my E-Commerce T-Shirt store with Shopify as my front and Printful as a dropshipper

For the tactics I am using in the grand strategy I would love feedback

Entry (Attracting the customer)

I want my ads to not be about making a sale right then and there, I want to create value in my ads and weed out people who aren't interested while tapping into the interest of those who might be interested!

Middle (Immediate contact)

Typically if a sale is not made I want to invite them back and add them to an email list of some sort and make sure they find out if I offer what they want

End (Nurturing the seeds)

Do or die in a not so annoying way by offering them more value (A blog, article, discounts, etc) and then when the time comes they'll have become a real fan?

Thanks for the time!

Thoughts?
 
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TheKing

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Feb 9, 2016
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Well, lets keep it simple - is there a need for what you're selling?

Based on your other thread on the exact same topic (I think?) I'm guessing you intend to sell t-shirts with internet memes on them. Based on a quick Google search, it's not an original idea. So what sets you apart?

A Google search also reveals that it's extremely simple to start the exact same "business" that you have, anyone can do it. Seeing as you don't create the t-shirts yourself or even have them at home (you're letting Printful print and ship) you lack control over your business. The combined result of the fact that anyone can start your business (entry) and that another company can shut you down over night (control) is that you're not starting off very good for a long term business.

I'm not shutting you down completely, I still think you should try it. Any experience is better than non.
If you successfully attract customers in a saturated market and manage to sell them a product they can get anywhere - it's going to be much easier for you when you start your next business - experience is worth a lot.

Oh and regarding marketing, since you're 18 I assume you don't have a lot of capital to pour into your business - so don't do paid advertising just yet.
Do SEO and organic social media marketing (Instagram etc) and see how the market responds to your product.

How your website performs and looks is also crucial since you're going to sell through it, you should put a link to it in this thread so you can get advice on it.

Other than that, there are already threads on running a t-shirt business, these for example:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/successful-teespring-campaigns.68335/#post-541917
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/can-a-t-shirt-business-still-be-fastlane.34965/
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...-sell-t-shirts-in-a-overcrowded-market.22475/

And these:
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/tshirt-designs-will-they-sell.69556/
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/making-t-shirts-for-popular-trends.43226/

Plus, there is this awesome FREE tool you can use (the search tool):
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/search/?type=post
 
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Ethan_Scott

New Contributor
Mar 1, 2018
16
9
41
India
Hey lads!

Hope everyone is well!

I have started my E-Commerce T-Shirt store with Shopify as my front and Printful as a dropshipper

For the tactics I am using in the grand strategy I would love feedback

Entry (Attracting the customer)

I want my ads to not be about making a sale right then and there, I want to create value in my ads and weed out people who aren't interested while tapping into the interest of those who might be interested!

Middle (Immediate contact)

Typically if a sale is not made I want to invite them back and add them to an email list of some sort and make sure they find out if I offer what they want

End (Nurturing the seeds)

Do or die in a not so annoying way by offering them more value (A blog, article, discounts, etc) and then when the time comes they'll have become a real fan?

Thanks for the time!

Thoughts?

I will admit it takes a lot of guts to start an e commerce business, but I don't think an empire can be built in a day. What you are doing is really praise worthy and I think your concerns are legit.
I am a little too late to be replying to this post but I'll try expressing my opinions.
Any startup needs to look into a few major areas to avoid failure. Minor setbacks are common but they can be avoided if there is attention to details.

1. Customer Base: First of all you definitely need an audience. But target the right kind of audience, in your case teens who are just keen on the latest fashion. By this I mean you cant possibly expect to have a customer who is 50 years old to want ripped jeans. So targeting the right people is key.
2. Finance Planning: I think everyone is aware of the risks involved in a business. So i think it is essential to manage your resources so don't end up going bankrupt or run out of funds one fine day without your knowledge or you go into debt.
3. Business Planning: In my years of work, I have seen a startup take off really well and then crash a few years later. The reason for this is they tried to expand their product base. They tried selling new materials to people and failed. If you are opening an e commerce t-shirt store then I suggest you stick to it since that is what you might be good at. Broadening your horizons is not necessarily a bad thing but one needs to be aware of the consequences.
4. Advertising: Having basic amount of knowledge about advertising is not enough to create a wide customer base. Your priority is customers as long as you run the company and attracting customers is one of the biggest issues for any startup. I would recommend that you contact a company who are experts in Ecommerce marketing since you had a concern about filtering out weeds among customers. Instead of you tediously trying to figure out who is genuine and who isn't, these people will do it for you instead.
5. Employees: Hiring the right people is essential since the employees are the backbone of a company. Having dedicated and loyal employees will definitely skyrocket the sales and lead to a warm and nurturing environment where people will be happy to work at.

I hope this detailed answer will help you and many other out.
Cheers mate!
 
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