5 Ways to Market Your Pre-Order Store

Hey shirt heads! Have you ever ran a pre-order for a customer, and then that customer has a confused Pikachu moment when magical sales from heaven don’t fall from the sky? Same 💖

As garment decorators, we literally make an l-i-v-i-n selling merch, so we’re used to the idea that there’s a lot of competition when it comes to places people can buy merch. But for customers who aren’t familiar with what it takes to sell a shirt, sometimes this can result in an awkward situation if their pre-orders don’t go as well as they had hoped.

Lucky for you, I have a handy dandy framework that you can steal and share with clients so that both of you are on the same page when it comes to pre-orders. Your client will be thankful for your help, and you’ll look like a pro for giving them tips to succeed. Ka-chow.

If a customer asked me what my top 5 recommendations would be for setting their pre-order store up for success, they would be:

1. Have a plan before you launch

Schedule the pre-order store during a time where you’ll have the bandwidth to put on your salesman hat, because promoting anything will take time and effort during this limited window.

Want to go the extra mile? Gauge interest virtually or in person with your audience to feel out whether people would like to buy some merch from you.

This can even give you a shortlist of people to bug once your store is up — make sure to send them the link directly!

2. Model Pics > Mock Ups

People prefer looking at humans vs. a digital mockup. Yes, it’s an extra step, but it gives the products a more polished look.

Be sure to ask your shop whether making a sample ahead of time is possible, because not all shops are able to provide this service.

“Model” photos do not have to be anything crazy.

Find a nice outdoor space or an indoor space with natural light, have your model casually move around, or try a few on-brand poses.

This is your best chance to give your piece some personality and pizazz, and for shoppers to buy into the emotion or persona your brand has.

3. Curate your options for sale

Less is more. It’s recommended to simplify the options for customers to choose from to avoid analysis paralysis for shoppers.

This will also give you the best chance to hit higher numbers per piece, which will be better for your wallet if your shop offers price breaks.

4. Shove it down everyone’s throat! (nicely)

Post about the pre-order daily if you can. It may seem over the top, but with limitless options at our fingertips, it’s got to be easy AF to click that store link and impossible to ignore to anyone in your ecosystem.

Use the collaborate function on Instagram with your print shop’s IG account if you’d like, add the shop link to your IG bio, add it to your story slides every time, and email that puppy out to your email list. A lot.

5. Have realistic expectations

The amazing thing about pre-order stores is that they are so convenient for the seller.

However, if you don’t already have a dedicated, loyal following — every pre-order store you have may fall flat if you’re trying to push your product to an audience you haven’t yet built, from scratch, and with zero preparation.

Bonus Tip:

If your pre-order store flops, don’t let it get you down.

Use it as a learning experience and motivation to brainstorm how to grow your brand or level up your marketing so that your audience is dying to buy from you.

It’s all data, baby!