Being a photographer can be glamorous and get you access to lots of different types of events, not to mention the endless line of friends wanting pictures taken, which of course means you will never be without a model. Lenses, cameras, tripods, flashes, memory cards and maybe now some cool printed t-shirts. In the bag of a good photographer, professional or enthusiast, there’s always room for cool gadgets. I’m sure you’re always looking for new ways to make a profit of your passion. Have you ever considered selling t-shirts?
How to make money of your art
Covering events and doing studio photo shoots is fine, but you want to go to the next level. Have you thought about creating some merchandise? How about t-shirts? Consider some of the reasons why you should start your very own online shop:
- Increase exposure of your work
- Make some extra income
- Everyday more and more people are buying online
- Setting up an online shop is easier now than ever before
In this day in age, it is relatively easy to set up an online t-shirt selling business and, when done well, it can earn you a considerable amount of money. Don’t think you have what it takes to run your own merchandise selling business? Then reflect on the following:
Do you have a following?
Are there people currently waiting for you to publish new material? Do you have social media profiles? Do you update them often? Do you engage with other people through these profiles? Having an audience will ensure that when you start selling your products, the announcement won’t fall on deaf ears
Do you have a niche?
Having a niche will make it easier for you to design a product that someone will appreciate – instead of a random creation that no one will want to buy and will remain floating as a mockup in the cyberspace for ever.
Do you have enough material?
One of the reasons people don’t venture into this type of business is because they don’t have the ability or resources to come up with their own designs. Do you have enough material to come up with a handful of great garments? Use your favourites to start with and from there, see how people react to make future decisions.
How to set up your own online shop
Luckily for you, you live in the age of one-click (ok, several) virtual shop creation. All you’ll need is a working computer and connection to the internet. You can even leave your wallet at home since some of this services are for free (at first, at least) and will only charge when you start selling your products.
Sell quality
This one might be obvious, but still there are many instances where people will sacrifice quality in order to save a couple of quid. The key to a successful brand is to sell quality products that your clients will want to buy again. Also, chances are that if you sell a good quality garment your customer will recommend it to someone else. Some might also ask, “Where did you get that cool tee?”. It’s all about the word-to-mouth.
