In this article of Creator Central, my newsletter on content creation, I’m covering the often overwhelming topic of how to start a clothing brand for your startup.
I did this recently for my latest product, Jetpack Creator and below are the mockups. I think it looks good.
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Steps on how to start a clothing brand in 2024
Starting a clothing brand for your startup is important because it allows you to establish a unique and recognisable identity in the market. By creating your own brand and wearing it proud, you can differentiate yourself from competitors. This can lead to increased brand loyalty, customer recognition, and people visiting your website.
You spend a lot of time working on your website, making sure it has good SEO but when it comes to real life – you’re a little scared to step outside and wear your own brand. Here’s the steps to starting a clothing brand for your business that others will be proud to wear too.
Step 1 – Choosing a print on demand clothing company
Partnering with a print on demand company that lets you create designs is the first step. As a startup you’re not necessarily going to have lots of free time to devote to a clothing brand setup. Here’s some options to get started and producing designs that you can wear within days.
I chose Printful because it was cheaper than Spr.ing and ships to the UK quickly. It also has the best order confirmation email in 2024.
Step 2 – Come up with clothing brand designs
If you have creative flair to come up with your own clothing brand ideas then go for it. If you’re struggling for inspiration in 2024 to know just how to choose a clothing brand for your startup you can reach out to chat GPT.
Here’s some more variants of the image above, you can quickly see how easy it would be to turn these into a full clothing brand for your startup.
With the help of image generation AI models you can be quickly and easily set up with a number of different t-shirt options, even ones which aren’t “on brand” as much as others but still get people googling and discovering you.
Step 3 – Consider why others might purchase too
If you can settle on a design that you’re happy with, but can also allow for flexibility in the designs so others may like it too you are on to a winner.
If the product logo on the front is a bit much, then think of other creative designs which can still get across your message and explore different logo placements.
Step 4 – Integrate Printful with your WooCommerce store
You need a website to sell your product. Luckily with Printful and WooCommerce it’s easy to connect your products on printful to your Woo store and run under your own branding.
Here’s how you can set it up:
- Create an Account with Printful
- Sign up for a free account on Printful’s website.
- Install WooCommerce Plugin
- Ensure that WooCommerce is installed and activated on your WordPress site.
- Install Printful Integration for WooCommerce
- Install the Printful Integration plugin from the WordPress plugin repository.
- Connect Printful to Your Website
- In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Printful.
- Click ‘Connect’ and log in to your Printful account to link it to your WooCommerce store.
- Add Printful Products to Your WooCommerce Store
- Use the Printful dashboard to create new products.
- Sync them to WooCommerce, where they’ll appear as shop items.
- Adjust Printful Settings
- Set up desired shipping and tax settings in Printful’s dashboard.
- Fine-Tune Product Details
- Modify product titles, descriptions, and images in WooCommerce to suit your branding.
- Test the Ordering Process
- Place a test order to ensure that everything works seamlessly from store to production to shipping.
- Launch Your Store
- Once testing is complete and everything is setup, launch your online clothing store to the public.
By following these steps, you’ll have your clothing brand available through WooCommerce, making it easy to sell and fulfill orders with the help of Printful’s print-on-demand service.
There – you’ve started a clothing line business and it’s taken you less time than mowing your neighbours lawn.
Bonus: Distributing your clothing brand at conferences
In the exciting and fast-paced environment of a conference, offering the ability to print custom t-shirt designs on-site can be a fantastic way to engage attendees and provide them with a memorable takeaway. By setting up a mobile printing station, complete with high-quality, speedy printing equipment, you can offer personalised merchandise in real time.This interactive activity not only serves as a unique type of swag but also fosters an immersive experience that encourages participants to engage with your brand and the event, creating a lasting impression.
Printing t-shirts isn’t instant so it gives you a great opportunity to talk to the person at your booth about your brand. They then take your clothing brand with them and if it’s good will wear it either at home on zoom calls or out and about in public.
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