How to make text based t-shirt designs that sell

I explain how to make text based t-shirt designs that sell on print on demand sites like Redbubble and Merch by Amazon. This tutorial contains tips and tricks for beginners and pros. If you found the information helpful, you should subscribe as I'll be releasing new content regularly.
**In this video, I mention that tags on Redbubble are limited to 15 now rather than 50. Please note that you can actually use more than 15, but RB *suggest using 15 tags. It has been theorised that their algorithm places less value on people that choose to use more tags. Person A uses 15 tags and gets prioritised as "more relevant" than Person B who uses 50. That info hasn't been confirmed by RB as far as I'm aware, but they do officially recommend using less tags.***
Being authentic and up front is important to me and I believe in transparency, so I want to let you know that you will find some affiliate links below. This means that if you click through them and end up purchasing something, I might receive a commission. This supports my channel without any additional cost to you and allow me to keep producing free content. It's much appreciated! If anything changes with this, or I decide to accept payment in exchange for promoting something, I will disclose that. I get contacted regularly by businesses offering me money to make content for them, but I only ever recommend resources that I actually use and think will be helpful.
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𝗧-𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡
► Canva T-Shirt Designer - bit.ly/canva-de...
► PlaceIt T-Shirt Designer - bit.ly/placeit-...
► PlaceIt 15% off discount - bit.ly/PlaceIt...
𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗨𝗕𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗢𝗦
► How to find what sells on Redbubble: • How to find what sells...
► How to use tags on Redbubble (This is the updated version!): • How to use tags on Red...
► Best FREE Photoshop alternative online: • Best FREE Photoshop al...
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► Printful: bit.ly/printful...
► Printful tutorial to TRIPLE profit: • Easily TRIPLE your Red...
► MerchInformer for Amazon niche research: bit.ly/MI-passi... - (20% off code: PASSIVEOWL)
𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗨𝗕𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗨𝗘
► Rev for subtitles: bit.ly/rev-pass... ($10 off coupon with this link)
► TubeBuddy for keyword research. FREE via this link: bit.ly/tube-owl
► TubeBuddy discount code if you go for the paid version: OWLBUDDY
I only link resources that I actually use/endorse. Clicking through these links helps support my channel so I can keep making free content for you. Thank you very much :-)
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00:00 - Why do text based designs sell?
00:52 - Examples of best-sellers
01:52 - What makes them popular?
02:42 - Real life examples
04:06 - Font discovery tool
04:48 - Thumbnail technique
05:11 - Creating the designs
06:00 - Coming up with ideas
07:42 - Ensuring your products get found
09:16 - The downside of text based designs
10:38 - Text based design resources
► Thumbnail design from Fiverr: bit.ly/fiverr-p...
& Mockup model from Redbubble. The cha-ching sound was downloaded from freesound.org under the Creative Commons 0 License, no attribution needed.

[@junglejane9979]

I'm going to make a shirt that says "Super Obscure Reference That Nobody Searches For"! LOL JK, but it goes to show that ideas are EVERYWHERE! Thank you. I appreciate your videos!

[@PassiveOwl]

"Super Obscure Reference That Nobody Else Gets" might actually be a wining t-shirt design. The hard part would be figuring out what someone would search for to find it :)

[@mstexasg6243]

The idea of using idioms has opened an entire universe of tshirt ideas

[@elvenatheart982]

Yes, indeed

[@khushboosharma1135]

Thanks . Yours and wholesale Ted channel are the two channels which I really find genuine. Thanks a lot for the efforts 😊

[@PassiveOwl]

Love Wholesale Ted so it's an honour to be included alongside her, cheers!

[@tenneshaskyers]

I love @wholesaleted too 😍😍😍😍

[@khushboosharma1135]

@@tenneshaskyers yeah she's amazing!!🙏

[@bigwavemedia658]

thank you, i was overthinking it and trying to make it fancy was helpful to hear you say that it didnt need to be fancy !

[@LivingSwedish]

Why are your videos so awesome?! 😉 Every video adds so much value, it's insane. I would subscribe to your channel again 🙅🏻‍♀️ Thank you!

[@PassiveOwl]

Thank you again for your kind words

[@ekokurniawan1087]

I second this !

[@LivingSwedish]

@@ekokurniawan1087 👌🏻

[@abdelalimhassouna9573]

Couldn't have said it better myself

[@YanksandBritsProductions]

Totally agree, …..the guys is exactly what the U.K. needs Millions more of ….Positive Minded People!!

[@tommullinerart]

FYI - Chestify uses the classic Helvetica font. Great video as always - many thanks

[@leslierojas2030]

I just started my first Print on Demand store on Etsy called, Rebel In The Making! Thank you for all the helpful advice.

[@blablabla55555]

How did it go?

[@DannyDangerOz]

Thanks as always for another brilliant video. Your hard work and insights are always appreciated!

[@jorgem18]

Thank you for reminding me & validating that There's Still a very viable market for Text-based designs... It really 'Found' me at precisely the Absolute Best time... that being at a time that I really needed the motivation that it gave to me to 'pick myself up, dust myself off & get back into the ring ... thank you P.Owl ,sincerely.

[@PassiveOwl]

Excellent :) glad to hear it. Best of luck to you!

[@wasimawan2458]

i got inspired and made a strategy to do print on demand after watching your video. thanks a lot

[@johnta17]

everyone who watches this video is going to rethink their whole strategy.

[@3PairDesigns]

Thank you for this video, it was really helpful. I started a RB account but haven't done much with it and I have a lot of material to use. I am a new subscriber and have seen a few of your videos and they are always extremely well prepared, easy to follow and just very informational! 👍

[@PassiveOwl]

Thanks so much! Really appreciate you saying that. Hopefully my info pays off and helps you make some money :-)

[@claireleeee]

Thank you Passive Owl! I'd been struggling a little with art block recently, but you've just given me some great places to get some inspiration that I'd never have thought of.

[@PassiveOwl]

I'm so glad! Thanks for the feedback Claire. Best of luck to you with your new designs.

[@Irland_mindset]

Claire it's been two years, are you still doing PoD? How is it going?😊

[@siranthim2726]

I am a beginner, hopefully, found the correct place to learn more about designs for free. I am glad.' SUBSCRIBED' Thank you...!

[@PassiveOwl]

Thanks and welcome :-)

[@payvielgamer278]

Worth every second of this video. Thank you.

[@PassiveOwl]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for commenting - appreciated!

[@EnigmaintheRain]

Your video is a treasure chest! I was spending hours to find fonts which look good on T-shirts!

[@PassiveOwl]

Glad I could help!

[@simorghfeather5119]

Very useful! I focus on my art first but text based designs could take a load off of my shoulders

[@akramabbes7495]

Awesome and Simple Tips My Friend! I congratulate you, you will be Famous in no time. Keep up the good work 👍😎

[@anas.g]

i may have found your channel late, but it's better than ever

[@rynierpotgieter8274]

Simple, to the point and uncomplicated video. Thanks

[@cabbagedavidge]

Great video. No fluff and to the point. Lots of useful good information. Thank you.

[@PassiveOwl]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the feedback 😇

[@kitchenholic8038]

You really create great content.. glad i found you.. being a proud subs.

[@islandgirl5382]

Can't believe I am just now discovering this channel. Thank You

[@artistrobfuller]

Thanks so much, Mr Owl. I started doing some text-based designs (of my own) but perhaps they're not appealing enough, perhaps it's my sense of humour or way of thinking (being autistic) maybe I'm not connecting properly but I feel encouraged to persevere thanks to your advice! Also, I had no idea that tags were now limited to 15 as I've seen so many mixed messages on this, including from Merch Titans who's free tag tool is brilliant but there's not an entirely clear message as to how many should/could be used. I went with some advice to go with as many as possible as that was what so many big sellers were doing on Redbubble but maybe that's no longer the case and now I'm stressing at the thought of having to go through and change every single listing accordingly! If only this was clear from the start from Redbubble! Anyway, thanks again! New subscriber here, much appreciated.

[@PassiveOwl]

You're welcome Rob. Thanks for commenting about the tag situation. I was sure that I'd been limited to 15 recently, but it's actually that RB **suggest** using 15 tags to get featured. This mental limit became fixed as far as I was concerned. It is bizarre that they allow 50 despite recommending 15, but it has been theorised that their algorithm places less value on people that choose to use more tags. Person A uses 15 tags and gets prioritised as "more relevant" than Person B who uses 50. That info hasn't been confirmed by Redbubble as far as I'm aware but they do officially recommend using less tags. As for your sense of humour and being autistic - I think that's actually quite a good niche to look into. Autism, neurodiversity, etc. Might as well target what you know and there's definitely a big market for it.

[@artistrobfuller]

@@PassiveOwl Well I've mainly played it safe and gone for about 15-30 of the most relevant tags imo. So I'll have to see how it goes a bit longer! I appreciate the feedback regardless and you that may be a good shout re. neurodiversity themes - it's been something I've pondered but never implemented - Maybe I should just go for it! All the best - Your channel's a Hoot!

[@nonsookoye3163]

The psychology aspect got me... Thanks....

[@PassiveOwl]

You might also like this one! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qn7XdKBmoLyBpJI

[@CeritaQinara]

@@PassiveOwl please give me an Indonesian translation or subtitles so that I understand when I continue your video on this channel give me a good response to my question, I wait, keep my enthusiasm🎉🎁🥰🎆

[@Alan-mi1lp]

Thanks for the quality info, nice to hear a Northener on KZbin.

[@blueskieskoda2833]

Very informative video. thanks for the help!

[@Cu_Dau]

Great infomation ! Thank Passive Owl !

[@Honey1913]

This was really freaking helpful. Definitely some gems in this video! Thanks.

[@kasemetetenogah984]

You're like my hero of the year but can you please add videos of jobs I can do on my phone. Cause I really need one and you're like the only non boring one I'd watch continuously.

[@PassiveOwl]

Added to my to-do list!

[@maimoonamirza5626]

I just got so convinced with this idea that I subscribed right away because I knew I'm getting some useful information

[@Youngajumma]

I haven’t had a single sale so far ... thank for your tips maybe I can improve myself

[@AtlisDe]

depending on what you're selling and where, may have something to do with it. Try teepublic, I find that they do alot of sales that encourages new buyers.

[@madeline6043]

I love it, thank you! You're the best! it's easy to watch your videos, always on point!

[@PassiveOwl]

Thank you 🥰

[@bentationfunkiloglio]

Really great suggestions that I haven't seen elsewhere.

[@PhillipP93]

Thank for this, it really gave some guidance on where to start with selling T-Shirts.

[@joannaduplessis7231]

You rock Passive Owl! Thanks a million.

[@lamonefelder7084]

greetings Brother...that's some great advice. I will definitely incorporate text based tee's into my shop. Thanks again, Peace ...The S.O.I.L Man

[@IrajMatthee]

I wish there was a regulator for the pod market because thieves copying others ideas and designs is definitely the worst. There are 3 solutions to stop this: 1. Time stamps of every design will show who the first person was to the idea. 2. Disabling right-click on every image to avoid "save image as" 3. And watermark, watermark watermark.

[@PassiveOwl]

Yep, that’d be great. I’m all for it! Number 1 relies on the site admins actually caring, and 2/3 can be bypassed easily by just re-making the design but at least it’s a deterrent.

[@osmanburlington1265]

For #1, make a screen recording of you uploading your design to a platform with the date and time visible somewhere on the screen.

[@younismazin802]

great information. your videos are one the best regarding POD.

[@PassiveOwl]

Glad you think so! Thanks very much.

[@neelamiller5348]

Great info, very helpful for my project designing a shirt for my local bike org too. Thanks!

[@elvis723]

Love your videos. Always full of value. Your channel is a Hoot...

[@PassiveOwl]

Thank you! I can tell you'll have a very successful future making pun shirts on Redbubble 😅

[@kofiasare6191]

Your videos are awesome yet people give thumbs down for reasons I just can't understand 🤣

[@sharonwilkins1821]

Glad I came across this video. Very helpful. Thanks for sharing!

[@NoelMauriceMarketing]

Extremely good info and tips, thanks very much!

[@ch3rizzleMom]

Very informative, thank you

[@YogiOabsReborn]

Yes I really appreciated this video. One must not solely rely on these designs, but they can be funny.

[@VirtuaWaves]

This video is highly underrated. Keep up the great work.

[@AtlisDe]

Its kind of strange, because I wouldn't think to use text in that format of leaning to one side like that. Yet, its interesting that they're popular, showing maybe layout isn't the most important aspect of a design like I tend to overthink.

[@lesliecodron5185]

Great tips, thank yiou!

[@shahbazalishaikh3526]

Really helped Bro! Very Nice and Genuine Information.The Idea of Using Idioms was Awesome! It opened a big can of new ideas..

[@PeterStawicki]

This was an excellent video and you provided so much info. Thank you very much.

[@MeMeChrisMe]

Thank you for this, I’ve been having trouble getting sales and will try to implement this

[@osmanburlington1265]

What were your designs: text only or text & pictures?

[@pekabhoo9653]

Thank you for sharing this.

[@MP-mg7og]

Ppl download other people's YT videos? Wow! Creators should add their logo to the screen so viewers can tell. Anyway - this is a very clear video 👌

[@PassiveOwl]

There are even guides/courses on how to do it! They go after my popular vids then try to monetize on their own channel. It's quite easy to submit a takedown request, but gets annoying.

[@MP-mg7og]

@@PassiveOwl Smh. Greedy and selfish. They sould disable the download video feature. I do see some channels put their logo on screen throughout, I can see why. Good luck with it - you're good at this 🍀

[@yacouba4401]

Hey, this video was helpful its make my mind open thank you a lot

[@youshinet-shirtsplus7116]

Thank you so much! I just , subscribed you are awesome, thanks for looking out for us. 👍

[@anniekj6421]

Thank you ! I’m new, not yet uploaded a design, that new ! But found your video easy to follow and logical Very helpful tips . I liked and subscribed😀🙏

[@marooka]

This is super helpful, thank you so much!

[@tonykaizen2203]

Thanks for such a great video.

[@BEASTNYC]

Very decent video. Question for POD, do you design using CMYK color mode? And making sure you are within "gamut for printing" range? thanks

[@PassiveOwl]

Thanks! It varies as I had no idea what I was doing when I started out, so many of my designs aren't optimised in this way. It's never caused a problem (that I'm aware of) though. It's my understanding that CMYK is a good idea, but it's still confusing as different POD sites use different colour profiles, so it depends what site you're using.

[@BEASTNYC]

@@PassiveOwl aren't most of them use CMYK color code? because most of them cannot print real RGB colors?

[@savagecabbage895]

Great ideas thanks !

[@JK-jm6kd]

Really good video and thank you for your advices xx

[@ramise5932]

Great advice thank you.

[@mindz2743]

Thank you for being honest with us subscribed

[@goldeneagledesignstudio3956]

I truly appreciate your videos!

[@vsbelieve]

AMAZING VIDEO, WITH PURE CONTENT AND IDEAS

[@roselemessiah5129]

hey man i just subscribed to your channel and i appreciate your time to put this together

[@PassiveOwl]

Thanks for the sub and comment! Much appreciated.

[@nataliashubina1206]

Thank you very much! Very helpful and informative!

[@RoguePixel]

Chestify uses Helvetica which is a paid font. Just so you know :)

[@PassiveOwl]

Thanks for that - not sure how I didn't recognise that since it's so iconic. There are many free alternatives that look the same :)

[@RoguePixel]

@@PassiveOwl I wrote that comment before seeing some of the similar ones you found. Some of them are a pretty good match!

[@lauraantos3105]

Great video! Very clear and informative. Thank you!

[@DRAWSKWA]

Wow love your editing. My shop I made a week ago is princess mochi designs

[@hils1015]

Your content is BRILLIANT!!! I tried to sign up on RedBubble the other day, but it wouldn't let me complete the process because I didn't enter a GST/VAT number, but I don't know what that is or how I get it in the first place. Please help. Also, would you recommend getting someone on Fiverr to create my shops and manage them for me as a beginner?

[@PassiveOwl]

Thank you! :D the GST/VAT field is optional so you should be able to ignore that if it isn't relevant. As for Fiverr - no no no no! You can outsource the design process to Fiverr if you'd like, but don't let people create/manage stuff for you as it can result in your account being banned, plus they probably won't do a great job at it anyway. I'd recommend creating your own designs at first anyway so you can get used to it. I'm releasing a video TOMORROW avoid how you can do this as a beginner without any skills :-) hopefully it'll help you.

[@living4thekingdom170]

Very helpful, thank you

[@anupkumardas1314]

Thank you so much ,your tips is very useful

[@VionixFilms]

Thanks for this. I have made over 170 designs . Learned photoshop and still not a single sale. I hope this will help me move a bit forward now as i need to really get off my bills somehow 😔

[@pxaesthetic6994]

oh no ! what is your store ?

[@assortedbibssundayfootball1312]

As requested, here's a comment. Nice video, nice voice.

[@PassiveOwl]

Thanks for taking the time :) much appreciated.

[@ewamankowski9678]

Great video. Thank you!

[@absmeeya6358]

Nice one 👌

[@anastasiaderiavova4220]

thank you ! great video

[@fotos_monograms591]

Very good information. Thank you so much

[@findingtheanswerwithin348]

great information....

[@tishamanda36]

I have a real question, i have a slogan that no one has. Its really brilliant. Is there a way to copyright/trademark it when you publish it on a site?

[@shabanismail]

best video on youtube about redbuble !

[@B.and.A]

Super helpful, thank you!

[@whifling]

I'm pretty sure if you report those videos that are just pure copies or your own, then you can automatically get any ad revenue that they generate.

[@PassiveOwl]

Thanks for the advice! They actually aren't monetized most of the time because they are new accounts. They just direct people to their affiliate links or other scams in the description. I just report them when I see them and get them removed. It's sad because I see people commenting and getting scammed by the fake accounts. I've seen the same with huge channels like Wholesale Ted - she probably gets ripped off way more than me!

[@assortedbibssundayfootball1312]

Nice video. One tiny point - you're confusing self deprecating with depreciating. Other than that, it was outstanding. Much better than some other t-shirt channels and easier to understand.

[@KevinBrightman]

Awesome information

[@soulfullust8730]

Thank you so much, this is so insightful

[@mariamsargsian5194]

Thanks for the video♥

[@GVSHvids]

So much useful info!

[@nikoladragovic186]

Great video.

[@sweetpiegwesu8399]

Thanks for the great content.I just wanted to know ,how do you check for copywrites on some of the texts.

[@maitreya1906]

which part of UK is your accent bro? Great video, a thousand jewels. Greetings from Nairobi

[@luisraphael8374]

Thanks for the tip mate...

[@thementorempire]

Well done

[@ZeeMadison123]

These video was helpful thanka

[@sarahberesford6669]

Nice info, thank you :)

[@stroke2202]

This video is amazing. You helped me get on task. You’re the man. #Subbed

[@algerianeagle9529]

I like your videos keep the good work

[@simonchills]

Thank you, this is great!