There are several different marketing strategies for selling products like hoodies and T-shirts online. These all revolve around the idea that you are not actually selling particularly exceptional products. T-shirts and hoodies are all pretty common items. Most of us will own several and what distinguishes a quality T-shirt or hoodie is not really something that can be very effectively communicated.
Hoodies are perhaps slightly different in that they have a function for keeping you warm and being comfortable, but what really marks out a T-shirt or hoodie is not so much the materials or the utility,but the designs printed on them.
For the vast majority of companies selling these products, this is where most of the marketing will be focused. Plurawl, a company specializing in Spanish T-shirts for the Latino community,offer a good example here. What makes their products popular amongthis market base is far more to do with the Hispanic-specific designs and mottos printed on the products and not the quality of the products themselves.
Of course, this is not to say that T-shirts and hoodies cannot be made of quality materials and that you cannot emphasize this fact in your marketing (you should), but it is nearly always subordinate to the unique designs and sense of self-expression and community belonging that these products lean into.
Nevertheless, when it comes to marketing such products, seasonal marketing is something you should certainly consider. We have mentioned that the designs are what sells T-shirts and hoodies, and holidays give you an opportunity to make designs specific to this time of year – a time which will hopefully be one where you see a real spike in sales.
The winter holidays in particular – Christmas, Hannukah, and so on – should be a busy time of year for those selling T-shirts and hoodies. This is because such products are often worn at this time, and novelty gifts which refer to the holiday are certainly popular for this very reason.
Therefore, holiday T-shirt/hoodie marketing is something you should learn how to do, as it can lead to some serious seasonal sales.
Tips for Holiday Marketing
So, how do you go about that? Well, here follows some tips:
Get the Right Designs
As mentioned, a sense of belonging to a community is one of the reasons why T-shirts and hoodies sell. That sense of community can be based around the holidays particular communities celebrate. Hence, if you are targeting, say, a Jewish customer base, it is wise to think about some seriously eye-catching Hannukah designs in order to shift products at this time of year.
Try Novelty
Most of us are aware of the appeal of the Christmas sweater or hoodie. These make for excellent stocking-fillers and are popular at this time of year. Fun novelty designs are what this is all about, so don’t be afraid to have your graphic designers emphasize the goofy and the fun.
Prepare for Seasonal Spikes
More of a practical consideration, but you may find that you can sell more of these types of products when the holiday season rolls around – that is the goal, at any rate. Accordingly, make sureyou put in placemeasures to handle the extra load.
Emphasize Your Brand
This applies all your round, and the visual dimension of these products gives you aterrific opportunity to include your logo somewhere in the design. It isa wonderful opportunity for fostering brand identification.
Hoodies and T-shirts can easily be boring generic products unless you begin to think visually. And for marketing during the holiday season, it is time to imagine those visuals in this context as well.
