Creator’s guide to ugly Christmas sweaters

Last year “Ugly Christmas Sweaters” were one of the top trending clothing items during the holidays and this year is no different! Just to refresh your memory, Ugly Christmas Sweaters first became popular in the 1980’s when celebrities began wearing them on television, in early 2000’s tacky sweater parties started happening in Canada and nowadays Christmas sweaters are as popular as ever in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia. Ugly Sweater Day is celebrated December 16th but people wear these items during the entire month of December.

(You get the idea!)

How do we know Teespring customers love ugly Christmas sweaters? Ugly sweater campaign sales increased globally by 85% between October and December 2015! Based upon current sales and trending designs, we expect this percentage to increase even more during the 2016 holiday season.

 

 

Design tips: For the PSD/SVG design files there is a background layer so you can easily see the artwork – this can be deleted or changed. Also, all PNG elements are opitmized so that you can upload as many as you want using the Teespring Design Tool and still qualify for Goal of 1 (300+ DPI).

 

Ugly Sweater Design Tips

1. The tackier, funnier, more ridiculous or obnoxious the design the better!

Google search “funny Christmas sweater” online and hundreds of hilarious designs will appear – you can find tons of design inspiration and ideas in minutes. Review your top selling niches and designs and think about how you can “holidize” them – over 40% of Teespring buyers become repeat shoppers so look back at your best selling designs and see if you can incorporate a holiday theme your buyers will love. 

Example: this pug design references a famous expression from
the popular novel “A Christmas Carol”

2. Ugly sweaters don’t actually have to be “sweaters”

If you’re selling ugly sweater designs on Teespring you should use sweatshirts as your featured product; sweatshirts were the most popular item featuring this design last holiday season but people also purchased “ugly sweater” long sleeve tees and t-shirts too! Mugs are also becoming a favorite add-on so consider adding them to your holiday campaigns as well. 

PLEASE NOTE: We strongly recommend Creators do not add hoodies to ugly sweater campaigns – this is because the printable area for hoodies is smaller than sweatshirts, t-shirts, etc. Designs cannot be printed over pockets so adding hoodies to your campaign will reduce the printable area for the other products as well – if you want to have the traditional “large” print area associated with ugly sweater designs you should offer sweatshirts, t-shirts (including v-necks and other styles), long sleeve tees, and mugs. 

3. Don’t limit your ugly sweater designs to Christmas only

Hanukkah is also a big gift-giving occasion during the holidays! Don’t limit your designs to just “Christmas” themes – you’d be surprised how many “ugly Hanukkah sweaters” there are out there too. Keep in mind Hanukkah colors are blue, white and silver – not red and green like Christmas. 

4.Take advantage of Teespring tools to maximize sales

You’ve got a collection of useful Teespring tools at your fingertips! Increase conversions by 60% using discount codes, cross-sell your products using storefronts, sell even more items with shopping carts and boost your unit sales by 20% with Teespring Driven Sales!

5. Market your designs globally

2015’s top selling markets for Christmas sweaters were the United States followed by the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Creators should maximize sales this season by expanding their promotions and ad targeting to encompass a global audience. Submit your EU campaigns to be featured on the homepage here.

Cheers, to the Ugliest time of the year!