Promo Tees That Actually Work

Everyone has a promo tee (or ten) at their house. Whether they got it from a local bar, or got it when they did that 5K last year, most people keep these free tees around for at least a year. The question is, how do you get the most return for your investment when you buy promo tees to give away? How do you create an effective give away item that your customers will wear again and again? Most important, how do you stand out from the others? Using a promo tee can do several things for your business and I'm going to tell you the best way to execute on 5 promo tee ideas.

Before we talk about the five ideas, let's talk about the shirt. If you want to stand out - Don't use a tee shirt that cost $1.50. Spring and spend the extra couple quarters and use something like an Anvil Lightweight Fashion Tee or a Next Level Fashion Tee. Something that is a bit thinner and has more of an athletic cut. Your customers will thank you and the fabric is going to be a lot softer and the fit is not going to be boxy. The fastest way to turn your promo tee into a gym shirt, lawn mowing shirt, or cleaning rag is to use a low quality tee. Next, make sure your art is done well and is relevant. Picking out a cool heather shirt that grabs attention combined with some quality art will take your brand a long way. I have made modern designs for businesses like Barber Shops and Car Garages that incorporate their logo but look like a graphic tee you would buy from your favorite clothing store. That is the difference that will take your $5 investment from a one time thing, to something that people will wear out again and again, exposing your brand to new people every time!

Ok, now that we have gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about the 5 ideas to best use a promo tee.

Idea 1- Run a Social Media Contest

When you think about numbers and ROI strictly, spending under $5 to market to a few hundred to several thousand people doesn't sound too bad. If you run a limited contest where the first 50-100 people to share one of your posts, tag your business in a post or write a review about your company earns a free tee shirt, your going to get a lot of traction for not a lot of money relatively speaking. Especially if you use quality shirts like we talked about in the beginning of this post.

Idea 2- Sponsor an Event

Sponsoring events like Runs, Walks, or music events is a great way to get your brand out there with other companies who also want to support local events. A lot of times you will just have a logo on the back of the promo shirt. However, if you are one of the main sponsors and you can find out what kind of shirt they are going to use and can request a better quality tee, the shirt will be more likely to be worn in the future.

Idea 3- Give Out Tees with Other Products or Services

If your promoting a new flag ship product or just your services in general, include a tee shirt for people to wear and help spread the word. One shirt can get you as many as 1000 impressions every time they wear it. Giving your customers an awesome shirt that they get excited about is only going to push that number and bring your ROI way up. You never know who is going to see one of your tees.

Idea 4- Include a Promo Tee with Membership

Whether you are having someone sign up for your email list, someone joins your mug club, or for someone buys your services every month, people love free stuff for signing up for something new. By using a quality shirt, mixed with great art, and a quality action item like signing up to get updates from your blog, you will make a huge impact with your customers and get the most bang for your promo buck! Remember, promo tees are all about customer excitement and engagement.

Idea 5- Re Engage Dormant Clients and Engage New Clients

My last idea for you is to use some great graphic tees to promote your business to two different types of clients.

Dormant clients- Re Engaging these clients is a great opportunity to spend a little money to get an opportunity to up-sell and raise the lifetime value of your customers. Sending something as simple as a coffee mug, a hat, or a tee shirt means a lot to most clients. It gives them the feeling that you selected them personally - include a written note for extra points.

New Clients- Making a great first impression should always be a priority, especially in business. Sending new clients a new tee is one great idea to make a good first impression. Making sure you keep the shirt really nice and by making sure your design is really relevant and attention grabbing, will get your new customers to wear and support your brand as well as spread the word about your business. It will also say a lot about how much you care about quality.

These are just five of the many ways you can use a promo tee to promote your business. If you are ready to get your name out there and you think a quality graphic tee would really resonate with your customers, get a hold of us today!