1. What is the Best Way
to Market T-Shirts
Info Taken From
T-Shirt
Forums

2. Choosing the Right Domain
Name
Prepared by
SCORE 476
Staten Island, NY

3. 5 Top Keywords
When you first begin your domain name search, it helps to
have 5 terms or phrases in mind that best describe the
domain you're seeking.
Once you have this list, you can start to pair them or add
prefixes & suffixes to create good domain ideas.
For example, if you're launching a mortgage related domain,
you might start with words like "mortage, finance, home
equity, interest rate, house payment" then play around until
you can find a good match.
Start with TShirts

4. Create and Fulfill Expectations
• When someone hears about your domain name for
the first time, they should be able to instantly and
accurately guess at the type of content that might be
found there.
• That's why I love domain names like Hotmail.com,
CareerBuilder.com, AutoTrader.com and
WebMD.com.
• Domains like Monster.com, Amazon.com and
Zillow.com (whom I usually praise) required far more
branding because of their un-intuitive names
• TShirtsforEveryone.com

5. Make the Domain Unique
• Having your website confused with a
popular site already owned by
someone else is a recipe for disaster.
• Thus, I never choose domains that are
simply the plural, hyphenated or
misspelled version of an already
established domain.

6. Only Choose Dot-Com Available
Domains
• If you're at all serious about building a
successful website over the long-term, you
should consider taking .net or .org in
addition to .com
• The .com is critical. With the exception of the
very tech-savvy, most people who use the
web still make the automatic assumption that
.com is all that's out there - don't make the
mistake of locking out or losing traffic to
these folks.

7. Make it Easy to Type
• If a domain name requires considerable
attention to type correctly, due to spelling,
length or the use of un-memorable words or
sounds, you've lost a good portion of your
branding and marketing value.
• Avoid dashes in name or short cuts such as
mixing letters like 4 instead of “for”

8. Make it Easy to Remember
• Remember that word-of-mouth and SERPs
(Search Engine Results) dominance
marketing (where your domain consistently
comes up for industry-related searches) both
rely on the ease with which the domain can
be called to mind.
• You don't want to be the company with the
terrific website that no one can ever
remember to tell their friends about because
they can't remember the domain name.

9. Keep the Name as Short as
Possible
• Short names are easy to type and easy
to remember (the previous two rules).
• They also allow for more characters in
the URL in the SERPs and a better fit
on business cards and other offline
media.

10. Avoid Copyright Infringement
• This is a mistake that isn't made too
often, but can kill a great domain and a
great company when it does.
• To be sure you're not infringing on
anyone's copyright with your site's
name, visit copyright.gov and search
before you buy.
• QualityTShirts.com

11. Set Yourself Apart with a Brand
• Using a unique moniker is a great way to
build additional value with your domain
name.
• A "brand" is more than just a combination of
words, which is why names like
mortgageforyourhome.com or
shoesandboots.com aren't as compelling as
branded names like bankrate.com or
lendingtree.com

12. Reject Hyphens and Numbers
• Both hyphens and numbers make it
hard to give your domain name verbally
and falls down on being easy to
remember or type.
• I'd suggest not using spelled-out or
roman numerals in domains, as both
can be confusing and mistaken for the
other.
• TShirtsforEveryone.com

13. Subdomain vs. Subdirectory – When to
use what?
The question of whether to have your blog in a subdirectory on
your site (yoursite.com/blog) or on a subdomain or microsite
(blog.yoursite.com or yoursiteblog.com) comes up often. The
quick answer for the best SEO is usually to have it in a
subdirectory, though there are a few exceptions.
Subdirectory Subdomain
Subdirectories are a partitioning of a single domain, whereasSubdirectories are a partitioning of a single domain, whereas
subdomains manifest a virtual split from that single domainsubdomains manifest a virtual split from that single domain

14. Subdomain vs. Subdirectory – When to
use what?
• Google has basically made the two virtually equal in the
SEO game, where previously subdomains were given an
edge for the ability to provide a sense of unique linking.
• What is the case for using either on your primary
domain? With subdirectories, the answers are more
simple to understand, as the structural difference is
rather minor.
• Subdirectories are a partitioning of a single domain,
whereas subdomains manifest a virtual split from that
single domain.

15. When to use a Subdirectory
• If you have a site that isn’t updated very often, the fresh
content on your blog brings search engines back
regularly
• If your site has high PageRank, TrustRank, and Domain
Authority, your subdirectory inherits these rankings
• If your blog is new, you’ll be verified and indexed by
search engines more quickly and often on an established
domain
• If the content in your blog is closely related to the your
site or industry, you strengthen your brand
BLOG

16. Advantage of Subdirectory
• SYNERGY
• Consolidating content and relevance in one spot, all
links, tweets, likes, and other forms of sharing point to
the same domain
• Updates anywhere on site or blog keep content fresh
and relevant for search engines
• Your blog inherits the authority of your site so it can rank
immediately for relevant search terms
• One site architecture, one navigation scheme, and one
design improve usability
• Google Analytics reports are all in one spot

17. • If you use a different language
• If you use different products or services
• If the content on your blog is considerably different from
that on your website and draws a different audience
• If you want the blog to have a URL with a distinct brand and
descriptive name separate from your site
• If you plan on selling advertising on your blog and want to keep
blog traffic data separate from site traffic data to attract
advertisers
• If your blog and site already both dominate search results and
you appear twice at the top of search engine results with the
two sites
When to use a
Subdomain

18. Advantage of Subdomain
• SEPARATION
• You can more easily brand your blog separately
• You can have a catchy, memorable domain name
• You can keep analytics data separate from that of
your site for advertisers or buyers
• You can appear more than once in SERPs
• You can improve security by keeping eCommerce
functions on a separate server

19. Forum Quotes
• What kind of t-shirts do you sell? What age
range/gender are they focused around?
• If the target is teenagers, hand out some free
shirts at a local event, and exposure will
push business.
• Alternatively, if you're looking to hit the
parent buyer, send out coupons in the
newspaper; parents cannot resist a deal, and
once they've purchased once (and have been
satisfied), they'll be likely to return.
• Howie G.

20. Forum Quotes
• Create a unique shirt and sell it online
and at carnivals and other small
events.
• The best location is to sell shirts at
colleges. Many have "market days"
where the central plaza becomes a
market. Rent is cheap for the space you
will get. Average space rent is between
5 and twenty dollars.
• George L

21. Forum Quotes
• The quickest way is with a CafePress shop. You upload your
files, and people can order tee-shirts (and tote bags, and coffee
mugs, and other stuff) with your design.
Their quality is so-so. If you want real screen-printed shirts,
you can try offering your designs to a place like tshirts.com.
Or you can really do it yourself. Find a printing shop in your
area to get the shirts printed (look up "printers" in the yellow
pages). You can shop them around to local stores (talk to the
manager) and/or open up a web site.
• eBay is pretty popular for things like that. It's not just for
auctions; it's really a centralized flea market for all sorts of
stuff. You essentially use eBay as your store front. (Look into
becoming an eBay Merchant.)
• Angel Y

22. Forum Quotes
• Hi Dena,
Living in California gives you lots of opportunity to participate
in plenty of fairs, festivals, and other events
• Depending on your target market you should be highly
selective in choosing your venue. There is so many out there
that its overwhelming just trying to pick where to display and
sell your items
• . I have done well at specialized events with theme t-shirts.
Good luck and best wishes on finding those events where your
t-shirts will do well.
Bill M
Reply With Quote

23. Forum Quotes
• Here are some good topics on fairs that
I've found in the events keyword tag
search.
Test key words on Google Search for
Events...what I knew & what I learned!
Flea markets vs. Retailers
going to our first craft show/ fair
__________________
Rodney

24. Forum Quotes
• Contact Party Planners –– Design for each
event.
– Show Samples
• Give free Shirts to Local Food Vendors
– With your website and logo and contact
information.
• Look for Caterers who offer parties T- Shirts
commemorating event.
– Show Samples
• School events for Children – Identification.
– Milt Z www.joinblogging.com