If you’ve been on social media lately you’ve probably noticed there are some huge political trends happening right now. Quinisha, a Teespring Creator from New York, noticed the #ShePersisted movement on her Twitter feed and sprung into action. After launching her design on Teespring the campaign went viral and sold over 700 units within just a few days.
If you’re looking to gain design inspiration from trending topics check out Tweetdeck, Tweetbot, Facebook Trends and Reddit. Learn about other trend-watching tools here.
Quinisha’s “She Persisted” campaign is the perfect example of how an individual can use the power of Teespring to capitalize on trending events. Learn more about Quinisha’s experience with Teespring and her tips for finding success with trending topics below.
Tell us your life story in 3 sentences
Lover of food, conversation & travel from Rochester, NY – professionally I’ve run companies ranging from web development, commercial & textile printing to marketing & advertising. I grew tired of investing my experiences into other people’s’ concepts & companies so I decided to invest them in myself. Now I’m bouncing around the globe in my second childhood discovering an even bigger sandbox than before, designing & dialoguing as I’m so inspired.
What’s the story behind the design? Where did you get your inspiration?
I’m 12 hours ahead of everything going on in DC so I woke up & caught up on twitter as I’d normally do. I saw McConnell’s words & thought “seriously, does he not know what he just did?” then as I eased into my day (or night for everyone on the east coast) I walked into the living room and said aloud “I’m going to design a shirt – yeah, I’m going to design a shirt.” It’s been awhile since I’ve designed anything, so this was sorta my resurgence back into the creative world.
I see a bajillion t-shirts designed daily, most are just text thrown on a shirt & people buy it. There is someone for every design. But, I don’t often see clean designs, timeless designs that can just be worn on any day. While this is a powerful message, a rally cry even, not everyone wants the words to be so bold and flagrant – some people want a classic design with a bold message & that’s what I was hoping to deliver. A shirt that can be worn anywhere on any day, while being clear that the person wearing this won’t back down. Shorter: don’t let the basic tee fool ya!
What made you choose Teespring to sell your products?
In the past I would have designed an e-commerce website & produced them myself. Except I’m currently backpacking SE Asia so that’s not feasible. I’d used Teespring when you guys first launched and didn’t have any success. From there I took things into my own hands and started apparel printing on my own. I’m grateful that I didn’t go that route this time because I would have so much heavy lifting to do & I doubt I would have achieved the level of success depending solely on my own social media reach.
“Collaborating with Teespring by leveraging the platform & reach
had a lot to do with the success of this shirt.”
In addition being able to design and sit on the couch and hit refresh, while knowing I don’t have to do any production was a welcomed change of pace. Sure on my own I would have been able to keep 100% of the profit & I’d be on the hook to do 100% of the work. Having done that for several years I have an appreciation for that end of the equation & am happy to know you guys have that covered.
How did you feel when your campaign started to go viral?
Believe it or not I was shocked when I sold two. I’d been sharing my progress with the design on my SnapChat (I attached the video so you can get a sense of how shocked I was initially) & sharing with my friends there as the numbers progressed. When I hit 100 shirts I remember thinking, ok, this has legs. The first 100 sold in less than 12 hours & then started doubling. At that point I was sure FB ads wasn’t responsible, something else had to be happening. I didn’t know it had gone viral until your email, I just figured this was a pretty successful design that resonated with a large cross-section of America.
What audience is the design intended for—how did you know where to find them?
I designed this for women, for sure. Thankfully, they found me. Friends that commented on my post said they’d been looking for a design right as I’d shared She Persisted on Facebook. I think a lot of women have been looking for words that sum up the Intersectional experience of Womanhood around the globe, who would have thought Mitch would give them to us.
Did you use Facebook ads to promote your products? If yes, how did you go about it? If no, how did you promote your products?
First I shared the design on my personal FB page & from that share several friends shared my post. I also shared the design on my Facebook apparel page & Instagram, from there I started running FB ads. The greatest referral wasn’t Facebook thought, it was sites like The Atlantic and Mashable, followed by Teespring’s ads integration.
Any other tips for other first time Teespring users?
Just do it. Nothing has to be perfect, get the idea out of your head & see where it goes. It’s ok if your first, fifth or twentieth design doesn’t sell, it only has to work really well once. When that happens you’ll be glad you didn’t give up.
