Some alternatives to Facebook Ads for T-Shirt designers to help out people that are starting out because Facebook Ads are expensive and have crappy reach. Most of the time it is fraudulent fans and likes anyway from Indonesia etc.
The best and classic way that I have experimented with is old school. Like caveman style. It is to network on site, reciprocal links and blogrolls, especially with other designers. They may be competition but they share the same targeted demographic for traffic. It balances out. People see it as losing sales to the competition etc. It really isn't the case. Not if everyone is honest about the numbers. If people weren't making sales to begin with then they can't say they are steering all their customers away. T-Shirt Shoppers like to browse and see as many options as possible. Most of the time and don't get heartbroken, people simply don't care about who designed what and what the title of the tee is. Designers that get their stuff on Limited Edition Tee sites like on the ones on the TeeFetch homepage are the exception to this because of the way the tees are promoted, even then a majority of the customers are about the tees and the brand selling them not the designer. If you don't have your own website then you are making it really difficult for yourself. Yes, it's a lot of work and tedious as all Hell. There is information on this site about SEO if you need the help. It takes months to get a site known, possibly even years. The thing is to keep at it.
Another method similar to the suggestion above is to focus on sites like TeeFetch (Not meaning to be biased), TeeReviewer, Shirtoid and HideYourArms because shoppers come to sites like these because of the invested Niche. Designers come here specifically for information such as what is on this page, and brands contact us all the time wanting to be promoted. Whether a site like this has a lot of traffic or a little, it still reaches a highly targeted audience that want t-shirts. Compare this at the Facebook and Google Pay Per Click Models and Pricing for any T-shirt Related keyword or key phrase. The last time I checked it was around $5 a click ( FOR JUST ONE EFFING CLICK!!!). That's what a lot of brands fail to see when comparing devoted sites to social media. You can also go to themed sites and buy ads on them such as Geek/Nerdy, Pop Culture based sites if that is what your designs are based on. For instance, if your tee is a Futurama based design then GotFuturama is a good way to go.
Now Social Media Alternatives To Facebook Ads ... Think Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest and forget about Facebook completely as far as ads go. Keep it as an Online Presence as it will ad value to your website and brand when considering factors used by WooRank, but other than that it truly is a waste.
More Alternatives To Facebook Ads For T-Shirt Designers.
For more information check out the Marketing Your T-Shirt Designs article.
Affiliate Programs such as Refersion are a much more affordable way to go if you own your own brand and website. Ideal if you print things yourself and or drop ship. The industry's average commission rate for an affiliate is 10% per sale. Unless you have an in-house program there will be a monthly or annual fee for whatever platform that you choose.
