Of course, there are never any guarantees. But speaking from my own experience (as both a t-shirt blogger and a t-shirt entrepeneur), here are some things to keep in mind when you get in touch with a t-shirt blog about your own awesome t-shirt designs:
1) Most of us don’t get paid for this. We do it for fun! We can’t review everything, and we can’t like everything. There are a lot of t-shirt blogs out there, and each blogger has different tastes. We Bonanziers happen to prefer images over text, and we don’t really go for the whole streetwear thing. But that’s just us! So how should you know which bloggers to contact? Read their blog! See what they like. Getting a feeling for what a blogger likes and their style of communication will help you immensely.
Another side of not getting paid for t-shirt blogging is that it competes for our free time, so emails can sometimes slip through the cracks. If you don’t receive a reply, don’t take it personally! You might as well try emailing again with a friendly, personal reminder. (Sjors at Shirtlog definitely wants to hear from you.)
2) We want information. Just saying Hey, check out these cool new tees! doesn’t pique my interest as much as some interesting factoids about you, your company, your vision, whatever. It’s not that I want to publish what you tell me word for word, it’s that if I like your work, I’ll probably want to know more about you! On the other hand, some blogs will publish a brief blurb that you send them, so figuring that out before you contact a t-shirt blog is a good idea. (Both iloveyourtshirt and shirt2 often publish short company-provided blurbs.)
3) Imitation is boring. This has two implications: I see a lot of t-shirts, and if what you’re doing doesn’t set itself apart in some way, I’m less inclined to give it a second thought. I also read a lot of t-shirt blogs (last I checked, I’m up to 50 feeds), and we like to be original and unique, too! So when you contact us, if you offer us something special (like some extra information that you didn’t give to other people, and advance notice of something ahead of everybody else, a unique coupon code, etc.) we’re more likely to shower you with praise. (Adam talks about the problem of duplicate content on t-shirt blogs over at HipHipUK.)
4) Free t-shirts aren’t golden rings. That is, offers of free gear don’t guarantee you a review (with me, at least). I only enjoy writing about things I like, and I only enjoy wearing t-shirts that I like, so if you want to send some free swag over this way, that’s great! But if I like what you’re doing, I’l blog about it anyway. Which isn’t to say that freebies aren’t nice, but my favorites are tokens of appreciation for something Ive written about in the past. Just make sure you’re not pouring all your profits into free things for others! (Andy’s policy at Hide Your Arms* is to review any samples sent to him.)
5) We aren’t robots. We have feelings! When I get an email for a t-shirt review request, I like to see my name and something indicating that you’ve read my blog. If I feel like I’m just some free advertising for your company, I don’t feel very happy. So build a relationship with t-shirt bloggers. Leave comments on their posts with your own opinion, or a question, or something interesting and/or insightful. If you enter a website in the URL field when you leave a comment here, chances are I’ll check it out and maybe even blog about it before you contact me. (Last I checked, Rangga at Tshirt Island wasn’t a robot.)
Well, that’s about it from me I know other t-shirt bloggers have guides with advice on getting your t-shirts reviewed (like Tcritic’s), so you should look for one of those before contacting them. About and Contact sections often have relevant info as well that can also help you start a conversation; because a genuine conversation is infinitely better than a press release and an attached picture.
Originally posted by Joe at Fantastic Bonanza. This is copied from his original post on his blog
I also wanted to add that after you’ve become friends with these bloggers reward them for their hard work. Something as simple as a pair of glasses or and handwritten thankyou note will go along way.
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March 19th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
That dude is me! I do hang out at Emptees, and I used to hang out at T-ShirtForums. I originally posted this on my blog here: http://blog.fantasticbonanza.com/2007/08/17/how-to-get-your-cool-t-shirts-reviewed-by-a-t-shirt-blog/
Glad you liked it! Based on the positive response from other bloggers, I think it’s a pretty good overview.
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Great post. Lots of good info. Thanks.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Thanks for this info. I think it’s natural to assume that the best way to get your name out there is to mail a bunch of free tees to these bloggers, but as I eventually learned (and as you mentioned here), it’s really important to build relationships with these folks first, and see if they even dig your stuff. If it’s not their thing, you’re throwing away money!
March 30th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I guess I could add a 5.5 to my own list… a pet peeve of mine is when people leave a comment with an ‘SEO name’ that links to their website, like if I left a comment with the name ‘The Best T-Shirt Blog Ever’ instead of ‘Joe’.
And I’m glad you liked the post, Bryan and Eric!
September 28th, 2008 at 4:02 am
New website is looking sleek!
October 10th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Jon, great info, I just started my own brand, and have been searching for insight or advice, I will definitely go thru all your website pages.
Thanks for helping guys like me
December 5th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
I am happy to review & write about any upstart designer’s tees @ http://t-shirt-connoisseur.blogspot.com
January 29th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Hi Jon, My sister’s a starving artist -almost literally. She is extremely talented and clever. She and I have been best friends and college, and lifetime roommates. It has always been my dream to help her achieve hers. I married well, so I am in a position to help her get started but not sure how money would be best spent. I came across this article when searching the net for advise on t-shirt mark-ups to retail stores. I’ve never been a blogger but it sounds like a great way to get known if you have very clever ideas. Which, Cheri, my sister does.
Background Cheri is a graphic artist, divorced mother of 3 children, one who is Autistic. She struggles daily to make ends meet but continues to produce the most clever and marketable work I have ever seen. If there is any way you can help me get her work out there I would greatly appreciate it. Short of that I’ll take any advise about printing, marketing, anything. Thanks so much in advance for any help you can lend.
February 13th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Hey Jon, Thanks for your article.
It was good to see the point of view from a blogger. I have been struggling to get my own T-Shirt website (http://publicwear.com) recognised, it has been moving slowly a lot but I was curious if you had some comments or suggestions for you me?
I realise there are some really good websites out there. I guess I am in still in the amateur space but hopefully soon I will be moving on up.
Anyways, I would greatly appreciate any comment you might have on my site.
Thanks,
February 16th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Thanks for the help, Iv made a few mitakes by just sending out press releases but do love hearing from bloggers. Thanks again!
February 19th, 2009 at 10:28 am
I just wanted to say thank you for this information. I have been working on starting up my site and have been investigating ways to get it noticed. I think we have a great brand idea and it is just a matter of getting noticed. With this information, I will be able to get the word out. The best though, based on your advice, is getting to know the bloggers, what they like and their style. In doing this you gain tons of valuable information that they write about that will help me in my t-shirt biz. Thanks!
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:55 pm
This information is sooooo useful! I’m soo stoked to start up my own company, and coming from a past of trial and errors, I’m trying my best to learn as much as i can so i wont encounter many of those situations. This article is great, and is defiantly bookmarked :)!
Thanks Jon!!
March 12th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Thank u so much for this post,its so useful in many ways i cant imagine…
My name is Regie and i co-own a local clothing company in Bandung, Indonesia named Koffka.
Me n three other owners have set up the company since 2005 by designing and producing a clothing line which consists of t-shirts,sweaters,jackets,dresses mostly for girls/young adults but also have some products for guys as well(for now,but hopefully a full clothing line as we’re still developing) and we’ve been able to set up our own shop in Bandung and now working on expanding our business overseas.To be honest we’re still developing our website n we target it to run sometime this year.
I’ve personally been wanting to know how a product in this case t-shirts are able to be reviewed by t-shirts blogs and after reading this post it has helped me answer so many questions.
Once again thanks Jon for this wonderful post.
March 13th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
I rarely comment on blogs but yours I had to stop and say Great Blog!!
April 11th, 2009 at 4:22 am
jeez jon,
i m a 20 years old trying to real make in this kind of art.i almost gave up my thoughts of a t-shirt label till i read this,.what a great blog
June 30th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Thank you so much for this article. My sister found your site and told me about it and I have been reading every article. I just wanted to tell you I really appreciate all the info!
July 1st, 2009 at 2:00 am
No problem Monica, thanks for the kind words.