Everything you need to know about selling for Veteran’s Day 2019

This year Veteran’s Day (U.S.) and Remembrance Day (U.K., Australia, Canada, and more) will be observed on November 11th.  Military and patriotic niches are always popular on Teespring but we’ll see a spike in sales particularly during the months of October and November.  While both events involve the armed forces, there are some key differences to keep in mind when it comes to creating designs. 

• Veteran’s Day (November 11th): Veteran’s Day is a federal holiday in the U.S and honors all of the brave people who have served their country in the armed forces—past and present. 
• Remembrance Day  (November 11th): Remembrance Day (also called Poppy Day or Armistice Day) has been observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War. On this day we remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.  

Continue reading for product recommendations, design inspiration and guidelines, charitable organizations you can donate to, cutoff dates, and more.

New products to try

Did you know you can sell hats on demand with Teespring? Just like our other on-demand we produce hats once the order is placed so no upfront inventory or investment is required. All you’ve got to do is create your product, share it, and collect the profit from sales. 

We’ve got tons of resources available to help you create custom hats. Just keep in mind you need to unlock this product in the Teespring Launcher first in order to start selling.   

Check out our embroidery style guide for more info on hat product options, design formatting, and more. When it comes to design inspiration for Veteran’s and Remembrance Day hats, we recommend incorporating patriotic colors, flags, symbolic images and words. We’ve compiled a few examples below to show you what can be done, and get the design ball rolling!

 

Get discovered

Make sure to incorporate relevant keywords into your listing’s title and description to increase its discoverability for marketplace search. Check out these trending keywords you can incorporate into your listing title and description when relevant:

 

Support a cause

Patriotic designs tend to incite emotional responses (loss, hardship, grief, pride, nostalgia) so we ask sellers to be as respectful as possible when creating designs. We also recommend you consider donating a portion of profits to a special cause. Adding a verified donation badge to your listing can help increase conversion rates by up to 45% and can make a real, positive impact on the world. 

To add a verified donation badge to your listing can contact [email protected] with your listing URL, the percent you’d like to donate, and the charity you want to donate to. Below is a list of available organizations in our charity database that support veterans.

• Folds of Honor
• Support Our Troops
• Wounded Warrior Project
• Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust
• Operation Homefront

 

Comply with copyright and trademark laws

Whenever creating designs it’s important to keep copyright and trademark laws surrounding the armed forces in mind; for example, no design can feature official military branch logos, do not include the words (or variations of) “marine” or “coast guard”. Also, avoid using “US” before any branch of the military in your design—for example, you cannot have a design featuring the text US Army Veteran…but you can have a design featuring “Army Veteran”. The best military-themed designs focus on the word “veteran” and incorporate messages about brotherhood, sacrifice, honor, etc.

 

Find design inspiration

With significant days like Veteran’s and Remembrance Day, we understand it’s hard to decide on the message you want to convey in your design. To help with this, we’ve identified some themes that could help direct and inspire your designs. 

Red: Red is a key color for Veteran’s and Remembrance Day. It is the color of the poppy which is an iconic symbol of remembrance. It also stands for Remember Everyone Deployed, which is a great theme to incorporate into your designs.

Proud Family: Veteran’s and Remembrance Day is a time for families to come together and support loved ones who have previously fought for their country, or still do. Creating thoughtful designs like these will help families wear their pride for everyone to see!

 

Cutoff dates to keep in mind

Below are the cutoff dates to ensure order delivery in time for November 11th. Once we’ve passed the standard shipping cutoff dates, buyers can still receive their products in time, they’ll just need to select ‘rush shipping’ at checkout. Plan to initiate your listing’s print cycle on the standard shipping cutoff date to ensure shoppers get their order in time. For rush shipping, buyers just need to place their order by the “order by date” listed below.

Don’t forget delivery timelines are usually faster than indicated above, but to be safe we’re suggesting the largest delivery window for calculating cutoff dates. Most importantly, make sure you’re offering rush eligible products in your listings!