Marketing Direct to Garment Output     

So, you took the plunge, you bought a direct to garment printer (hopefully a DTG), and now you want to start making some money with it.  How does one go about finding business for a new product like a DTG?  It all depends on your current business model.  Remember, your customers do not know what direct to garment printing is, YOU have to educate them.  Following are some examples of ways that you can generate business for your direct to garment printer.

If you have an existing apparel decorating business, there is no need to look further than your existing customer base.  Everyday you are delivering orders to your customers; why not add a little advertisement in the form of a printed shirt to the order?  With the holidays upon us it may be a good idea to come up with a good holiday design and print it on a t-shirt and include it with every order you deliver.  Make sure you put your logo on the shirt (small is okay) and include a brief note “introducing” your customers to the direct to garment process, maybe even offer a discount on their first direct to garment order for a limited time if they mention the note you included.  If you want a more generic approach (for times other than the holiday season), try coming up with a collage design that shows a family reunion, little league sports team, In Memory of, Looks who’s 40 and the like on it.  Any type of event that may merit a t-shirt to commemorate it would be good on this shirt.  Use your imagination and watch the orders start coming in.

If you are starting up a business with the direct to garment printer, more than likely you had some direction prior to your purchase.  It doesn’t hurt to “fish” a bit for more business, however.  If you have a passion (soccer, football, fishing, dogs, cats, etc.), try to find a local group that will provide a venue for you show custom t-shirts that you can produce either onsite or by taking orders.  Going to a dog show or a custom car show with a “generic” custom shirt, a digital camera and an order pad can be a good way to get orders.  Make sure to include enough profit in the order to be able to Priority Mail the finished garment to the customer ($4 should be enough).  You can also try taking out ads in small, local periodicals as well – they are usually inexpensive and target specific geographic areas or demographics. 

If your business model is more business to business (B2B) – like promotional products companies – then a slightly different approach will work.  Invest in one of the inexpensive business card scanners (they are available for less than $150) and simply pick