Today is the best time to start a career as a T-shirt designer, as you no longer need to stock the item in a warehouse and don’t need to deal with the messy printing. With a turn-key e-commerce platform and mockups, you can conveniently start an online store selling print-on-demand T-shirts with dropshipping business model worldwide. And it requires almost zero capital.

In this article, we’ll discuss what a T-shirt mockup is, why you need it to sell your products, and how you can start the dropshipping business immediately from anywhere in the world.

First things first, a T-shirt mockup is basically the photograph of a blank T-shirt that you can add your own image design later on. The mockup usually includes the photo of an attractive model wearing the T-shirt, so the prospective buyers can envision how it looks like. The image looks so natural that no one would know that it’s a mockup.

Second, you need T-shirt mockups to help sell the products without having to hire expensive models. To start using a mockup for the store, you simply need to add another layer, which is your design, to the PSD file. This translates to very minimal or even zero costs, depending on whether the mockup is paid or free. If paid, the price varies, ranging from $10 to tens of dollars. Here is a good list.

A “good” T-shirt mockup has these characteristics:

• Clear and clean
•  With or without the models’ faces
• If with faces, they come in different races
• The model’s torso is straight
• Clear, colored, or nature background
• Male and female variations
• Various styles: tank tops, round neck, V-neck, hoodies, short sleeves, long sleeves, etc.

Third, start an online T-shirt business with Shopify e-commerce platform (free for the first 14 days) and Oberlo dropshipping app (always free). The e-commerce platform allows you to use all the tools, including professionally-designed free themes for fashion stores. The dropshipping app provides you with the convenience to start a dropshipping store by sourcing pre-vetted suppliers directly from the dashboard.

Dropshipping business model is one of the most accessible ways to start a store immediately, as it allows the entrepreneur to pay for the product to the supplier, after it has been purchased by the customer. This being said, you merely need to post images of the products on your store and promote it through social media and other online advertising avenues.

In conclusion, here are the steps to starting an online store selling T-shirt with mockups and dropshipping business model.

1. Sign up for an e-commerce platform, like Shopify.
2. Install a dropshipping app, like Oberlo.
3. Download T-shirt mockups.
4. Add another layer, which is your image design, to the T-shirt mockup.
5. Publish print-on-demand T-shirt products on your online dropshipping store.
6. Start promoting your store online.

Once you’re comfortable selling T-shirts with mockups, you can cross-sell other products that also come with mockups, such as tote bags, hoodies, shorts, baby clothes, pullovers, phone cases, sweatshirts, and others. There are many ways to sell online conveniently these days. If you don’t capitalize them, you’re leaving money on the table.[]

About the Author

Jennifer Xue is an award-winning author, columnist, and serial entrepreneur based in Northern California. She is also a digital strategist for Oberlo. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, Fortune, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Business.com, Business2Community, Addicted2Success, Good Men Project, Positively Positive, and others. Her blog is JenniferXue.com.