Design Shirts – Make Money – No Out-of-Pocket Expenses

Updated on: by Amy Kennedy

Make Money designing and selling shirts through TeeSpringWhether you are creative with words or images- you could be using that skill to make money designing t-shirts.

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There are a lot of companies you could choose to set up your own online t-shirt shop but one in particular grabbed my attention.

TeeSpring offers you the ability to quickly and easily design a t-shirt and sell it at affordable prices.

The catch? You must have a minimum number of orders before the shirts will go to print.

Let’s look closer at how you can make money online designing shirts at TeeSpring.

What is TeeSpring?

TeeSpring is a website designed to allow anyone to create custom t-shirts and then offer them up for sale to the world.

As a designer at TeeSpring, you earn a set amount per sale. TeeSpring handles the printing and shipping of all orders, you just design, market and collect the profits.

How Does it Work?

TeeSpring has an easy to use designing tool. You can choose to either upload images you have created or add text with their editing tools. A lot of the most popular shirts are simple text words.

Once you are finished with your design you can choose through a variety of t-shirts, tanks and sweaters/hoodies. TeeSpring has a suggested price that shows how much per sale goes to you. You can adjust the price up or down, scaling your own profits.

Prices will vary based on the minimum number of orders you choose. The more shirts guaranteed to print, the cheaper the cost.

Before TeeSpring will print and ship out the shirt you designed, you must meet your minimum number of pre-orders within the time-frame you set.

If you do not meet your minimum, the shirt doesn’t print, those who did pre-order are not charged.

You can create as many designs as you like and even set up your own online shop with your own URL.

See below for step-by-step directions and guide to designing your own shirts at TeeSpring

What Makes TeeSpring Different?

I’ve attempted to design and sell custom shirts for a few other sites. I found TeeSpring offers the lowest prices, mostly in part because of the minimum order. Most other sites do not have a minimum order requirement but the cost for the buyers is about twice what TeeSpring can offer.

Additionally, TeeSpring is simple and easy to use.

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Are There Any Risks?

The only risk is having your pride hurt if your shirts don’t sell (I speak from experience).

Using TeeSpring allows you to avoid trying to guess how many shirts you need in each size, buying them yourself and handling the shipping. There are no expenses on your part to designing and selling shirts through TeeSpring.

Refer-A-Friend Program

Currently TeeSpring is running a refer-a-friend program. You can earn a $1 of every t-shirt sold by people who have signed up to design shirts at TeeSpring using your personal referral link.

Such as: http://teespring.com/invites/wbj6ue

What are Other Sites Like TeeSpring?

Other sites that allow you to design shirts and sell them online:

1. Printful

Printful is a popular print-on-demand platform that enables you to create and sell custom-designed shirts online.

You can upload your own designs or use their design tools to create unique shirt designs.

Printful takes care of the printing, packaging, and shipping processes, allowing you to focus on the creative aspect and marketing of your shirts.

They integrate with various e-commerce platforms, making it easy to set up an online store and start selling your shirts.

2. Teespring

Teespring is a user-friendly platform that allows you to design and sell custom shirts online.

You can create your shirt designs using their design tools, and Teespring takes care of the production and shipping when customers place orders.

Teespring offers various styles of shirts, including t-shirts, hoodies, and tank tops.

They also provide options for setting pricing, profit margins, and creating promotional campaigns to market your designs.

3. Redbubble

Redbubble is an online marketplace that allows artists and designers to upload their artwork and sell it on a range of products, including shirts.

You can create your shirt designs, upload them to Redbubble, and they handle the printing and fulfillment processes. Redbubble offers a wide selection of shirt styles, sizes, and colors.

It also provides additional features like setting your own pricing and the ability to join artist communities.

4. Spreadshirt

Spreadshirt is an online platform that enables you to create and sell custom shirts and other merchandise. You can design your shirts using their design tools or upload your own artwork.

Spreadshirt handles the production, shipping, and customer service, allowing you to focus on your designs and marketing. They offer a range of shirt styles, colors, and sizes.

Additionally, Spreadshirt provides options for setting your own pricing and creating an online storefront to showcase and sell your designs.

5. Custom Ink

Custom Ink is a popular platform for designing and selling custom shirts online.

It offers a user-friendly design interface where you can create your shirt designs using a wide range of fonts, graphics, and templates.

Custom Ink provides various shirt styles, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, and performance apparel.

Once your designs are finalized, you can set up a fundraising campaign or create an online store to sell your shirts.

Custom Ink handles the printing and shipping processes, ensuring high-quality products and reliable fulfillment.

6. CaféPress

CaféPress is an online marketplace that allows you to design and sell shirts and other merchandise.

You can create your own shirt designs using their design tools or upload your artwork. CaféPress offers a wide range of customizable products, including t-shirts, hoodies, and accessories.

As a seller, you can set your own pricing and earn royalties on each sale.

CaféPress takes care of the production, shipping, and customer service, allowing you to focus on your designs and marketing efforts.

7. Threadless

Threadless is a vibrant community-driven platform that allows designers to create and sell shirts online.

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You can submit your original designs to Threadless, and if approved, they may be featured in their online store.

Threadless handles the printing, production, and shipping processes. They offer a variety of shirt styles and sizes.

Additionally, Threadless provides opportunities for designers to participate in design challenges, receive feedback from the community, and potentially earn cash prizes or royalties for their designs.

Read more: 22 Best Places to Sell Your Custom T-Shirts Online

Step-By-Step Guide to Designing Shirts at TeeSpring

Before you go- let me show you just how easy it is to design your own custom shirts for sale through TeeSpring.

Step1. Sign up

Create an Account at Teespring

Step2. Launch Campaign

Look for the “launch campaign” tab at the top of the website

Step3. Design

teespring tutorial

Using TeeSpring’s editing tool  you can design your first shirt.

Place text by typing in your trendy slogan or saying.

Choose your font and grab the text to move, stretch or bend whatever way you want!

You can also upload images from your computer (you should be the creator or have a license to use for profit).

Step4. Quality Shirts

Choose the quality, cut and color of shirt you would like your design offered in. You will later have the ability to choose multiple cuts including tanks and hoodies.

Step5. Set your Price, Minimum Sales and Campaign Time

Using the sliders, you can adjust your minimum sales amounts as well as your profit margin per sale. You can see exactly how much money you have the potential to make if your design makes it to print.

shirt design sample for teespring

Step6. Set your campaign title and launch period

Choose a title for your shirt campaign and decide how long you want to give your personal audience to pre-order. TeeSpring has it pre-set to their suggested time frame, so if you are unsure, you can stick with their recommendations.

When describing your shirt in this step, be sure to explain it in a way that users might be searching for exactly what you have. For example, “Crochet and craft lovers unite with this  heart shaped yarn skein holding a crochet hook”.

Using words like “yarn, craft, crochet” will help searchers find my design.

Step7. Launch and Market

Hit the “Launch your Campaign” button to make it official. You can then market your design to your friends on Facebook, twitter or wherever people hang out that would have the most appreciation for your shirt.

You can return to the site and monitor your sales and progress.

Good Luck!!

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Comments

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Tameka

January 23, 2015 at 6:48 pm

I really enjoyed this article Miranda and I am excited to get started with it. I do have a quick question for you. What software do you use for your artwork on the shirts?

Miranda Grimm

January 23, 2015 at 7:38 pm

I am very fortunate to have Adobe Illustrator. GIMP however, is a free program you can download and I hear it is really good

Gabriel Nepenthe

February 5, 2015 at 11:21 am

Inkscape is a good free program for people that want vector draw/edit capabilities similar to Adobe Illustrator, though of course not as powerful or varied… but you can’t argue with free! 🙂

Oh, and be sure to download from the .org site, as some other sites are a bit less than scrupulous and might have toolbar addons and other annoyances bundled with the installer.

Miranda Grimm

January 23, 2015 at 7:41 pm

Also, you can buy images on sites like Vectorstock– you just have to pay more for the “expanded license” of the images you choose to use in anything you intent to profit from.