The Top 10 T-Shirt Affiliate Programs For This Growing Niche

by Lewis Ogden | Last Updated: May 27, 2022 | Blogging

The rise of Print on Demand (POD) programs has ushered in a new era when it comes to T-shirts. Not only are consumers able to create their own, but they also have a plethora of options beyond the traditional designs that most retailers offer. We can now purchase t-shirts that align with our causes and carry a message that we embody.

As of 2016, the custom t-shirt printing market was valued at $1.16 billion. It is projected to double in value by 2025. In 2020, it stands at over $1.7 billion. It is worth noting that custom printing only makes up a fraction of the t-shirt market. [Source]

As affiliate marketers, we have an unprecedented opportunity to get these unique t-shirt designs before the right audience. Regardless of what your overall niche is, there are t-shirts that your audience would love. You can find them on one of the platforms that we recommend below.

The vastness of the products that you will find on some of these affiliate programs creates a lot of room for growth. There is an opportunity for customers to get larger basket values when they checkout, which would mean more commission for you.

The Top 10 T-Shirt Affiliate Programs To Promote

• Teezily Affiliate Program
• CRAZY DOG TShirts Affiliate Program
• Design By Humans Affiliate Program
• Redbubble Affiliate Program
• JiNX Affiliate Program
• Busted Tees Affiliate Program
• Design A Tshirt Affiliate Program
• 80sTees Affiliate Program
• Spreadshirt Affiliate Program
• Textual Tees Affiliate Programme

1. Teezily Affiliate Program

• Commission: 80%
• Cookie Duration: 30 Days
• Link to Program

Teezily is a Print on Demand affiliate program that allows individuals to upload their own designs for printing. Once these designs have been uploaded, customers who fancy them can make a purchase. What does this mean for affiliates?

Well, it means that there are loads of designs that you can choose from. The platform is fairly easy to navigate. While there are a lot of t-shirts to choose from, you will be pleased to find that the product range is not limited to just t-shirts. They also feature tank tops, sweaters and mugs among other products.

This creates the potential for larger basket sizes. While you can only buy so many t-shirts, there is always room to add a matching sweater.

Why Should You Promote

The affiliate program offers an incredible 80% commission rate. If you sell products for $100, you pocket $80. There is no reason to say no to that. Their payment rate is 5 days, which is almost unheard of. Most affiliates take at least 30 days.

Products You Could Promote

Themed t-shirts would be great products to promote. You can find ones that your audience would resonate with. A golf website could feature gold themed t-shirts.

2. Crazy Dog T-Shirts Affiliate Program

• Commission: 12.5%
• Cookie Duration: 30 Days
• Link to Program

Crazy Dog T-shirts run their affiliate program through Shareasale. What they offer is a wide range of novelty t-shirts. Their products are divided into various categories.

These include Men, Women, Kids, Maternity, Accessories, Funny Socks, and Custom Tees. This is probably the only platform of its kind that we have come across that caters for maternity. Their t-shirts are comfortable and breathable. Not only do they make great products, but their design catalog is ever increasing.

Why Should You Promote

As previously mentioned, Crazy Dog T-shirts are about more than just t-shirts. They produce high-quality products, including socks. Their commission rate is fairly generous, at 12.5% per sale. Their products are designed for various demographics, of which your audience will be a part of one.

Products You Could Promote

The custom tee market alone would be a massive draw. If you have a creative audience, you can direct them to a platform that makes it easy for their creation to come to life in print. The socks are another attractive prospect. They are reasonably priced, and would potentially lead to larger basket sizes at check out.

3. Design By Humans Affiliate Program

• Commission: 3-10%
• Cookie Duration: 30 Days
• Link to Program

One of the downsides of most affiliate programs is that they only ship to their immediate region. In most cases that would be confined to either the US or Europe. This is one large hurdle that Design By Humans gets you over. They ship to over 180 countries on all continents. Their platform features designs of some of the most popular franchises, artists and brands in the world.

This means that as a marketer, you will not run short of people who are willing to spend money on these products. Star Wars is probably the most prominently featured one on the website. This is a franchise that has brought in over $10.32 Billion. The fans are keen to show their love for it.

Why Should You Promote

Design By Humans carries some of the most sought after brands in the world. These are products that will sell themselves if placed in front of the right audience. The sheer size of their catalog allows you the option to test various products until you find the one that your audience loves.

Products You Could Promote

Star Trek and Star Wars would be the first ones that one can look at. These are wildly popular franchises. The t-shirts should be easy to market. Another tip would be to be mindful of upcoming releases. Market whatever is coming or is hot at the time.

4. Redbubble Affiliate Program

• Commission: Up to 10%
• Cookie Duration: 30 Days
• Link to Program

Redbubble has been around for a while now. In that period, they have risen to be one of the largest print-on-demand platforms. No matter what your taste is, there are products on their platform for you. We must mention that this is another platform that is not limited to t-shirts. They have a wide range of products such as tote bags, mugs, stationery bags and so on.

Most of the products are user created. This means that the catalog will continue to grow at an alarming rate. Not only will this mean more products that you can market, but it will also mean that their brand recognition is improving. That is a key trust factor which will help increase conversion rates. This affiliate program is also managed through ShareASale.

Why Should You Promote

Their platform is packed with exciting designs that would attract most of us. They provide a global marketplace with worldwide shipping. The product designs are from users, which means that there will never be a shortage of them.

Products You Could Promote

Most people would like to brighten up their homes with colorful designs. This is why Wall Art is something that you could promote. There is a wide range of it. The best part is that it is certainly much cheaper than purchasing paintings.

5. JiNX Affiliate Program

• Commission: 7%
• Cookie Duration: 30 Days
• Link to Program

Jinx has been around since 1999. It is a platform that was developed for gamers by gamers. As such, all of the content and products that you will find on this platform are well-curated. They carry four product categories. These are t-shirts, outerwear, toys and plush. They also have products that do not quite fit into these categories.

They include joggers, caps, beanies, and accessories. What’s even better is that they have partnerships with world-renowned game development companies and brands such as Minecraft, UbiSoft, Overwatch, Rocket League, World of Warcraft, Tom Clancy’s, among others.

Why Should You Promote

The gaming brands that they are in partnership with are some of the biggest in the world. The products will, in turn, have a large market out there. If you can get it in front of the right audience, you will be rewarded. The shops are divided by their brands, which makes it easier for brand-loyal fans to find what they are looking for.

Products You Could Promote

T-shirts tend to be a no-brainer among gamers. These would provide you with a starting point. There are loads of t-shirt designs that you can test. Beyond the t-shirts, the plush toys are another product line that is worth trying. The Minecraft ones to be specific.

6. Busted Tee and Tee Republic Affiliate Program

• Commission: 11-12%
• Cookie Duration: 30 Days
• Link to Program

Busted Tee and Tee Republic are owned by the same company. As such, their affiliate programs are run together. What sets this platform apart is that they have a focus on creating revenue streams for independent artists. Each sale goes into supporting independent artists, podcasts, streamers and so on.

We all love being part of those that champion the underdog. Having said that, the designs are quite iconic. They will appeal to even those that couldn’t care less about independent artists. The products that they stock include Home Goods, Phone Cases & Stickers. You are not limited to apparel when promoting.

Why Should You Promote

Beyond the social cause that this affiliate program is tied to, they have some incredible designs. What is even better is that they are often released timely, to match current affairs in the world. It gives the buyers an opportunity to immortalize history, be it in a small way. They ship worldwide.

Products You Could Promote

The best products to promote would be the current affairs ones. These are relevant to most people at the time. That makes it easier to convert visitors into customers. At the time of writing this, the Club Quarantine one would be the best one.

7. Design A Tshirt Affiliate Program

• Commission: 10%
• Cookie Duration: 30 Days
• Link to Program

Design A Tshirt has been around since 2003. Their brand has managed to grow into a mainstay of custom t-shirt printing. There are two ways that their products could be divided.

They can be placed in four categories, t-shirts, juniors, performance and outerwear. The other styles that they carry are business wear, athletic, women, children and speciality.

This is a fairly extensive catalog of products. While not all of us will have the creativity or skills to create a design that is worth being printed. You can always find some inspiration from the Idea Gallery on the website. The designs can also be used as templates for creating something of your own.

Why Should You Promote

The range of products that are featured on the website is a good reason to promote them. At 10% commission, you stand to make about $2.6 for every t-shirt that is sold. This will usually be significantly higher, as the average order value is $400. In which case you would be pocketing $40. This affiliate program does not have a minimum payment threshold, which means that you can withdraw your earnings no matter how little they are.

Products You Could Promote

The Hanes Beefy T is the product that we used to reach the $2.6 earnings estimation that we mentioned earlier. It is a high-quality product that you could promote. A great idea would be to always encourage bulk purchases in your copy.

8. 80sTees Affiliate Program

• Commission: 18%
• Cookie Duration: 60 Days
• Link to Program

At first impressions, this may seem like a program that is bottlenecked by targeting the 80s. This is not to say that there isn’t any money to be made there, but there would always be a ceiling based on the target market. To evade this issue, 80s Tees expanded its product line to cover the 90s and 2000s. This, of course, means that they essentially cover everyone. There is hardly anyone that would fail to hold dear, anything from all three decades. The nostalgic categories that they cover include wrestling, cartoons, movies, superheroes, video games, horror and holiday themes.

This company has been around since 1999. They have carved a niche that is set to stay. People will always want retro designs.

Why Should You Promote

80s Tees trades within a market that has proven demand. It is an evergreen one as well. This means that you will be able to make sales from the traffic that you drive at any time throughout the year. They also ship worldwide and do so for free if the order value is over $50.

Products You Could Promote

Going with a nostalgic theme, the movie t-shirts would be perfect. There is a wide range of them to choose from. You could also promote the Ex-president’s mask set. They are one of the most popular products on the website. These retail at $173, which would mean a cool $31.14 for you per sale.

9. Spreadshirt Affiliate Program

• Commission: Up to $3/lead & 25% Commission per sale
• Cookie Duration: 60 Days
• Link to Program

Spreadshop streamlines the process of creating an online merch store. Where one would have had to find designers for the merch, developers for the websites and so on. It can all be done in one place.

What’s more exciting is that there is no cost for setting up a store on this platform. For every person that signs up as a store owner from your website, you are rewarded with $3.

This may not be much, but considering that these people are not paying to signup, it seems fair compensation at this point. Another stream of revenue would come from the sale of products from these stores. You also earn 25% for each sale that you refer to them.

Why Should You Promote

The signing up is such a low bar of conversion. There is no payment required to get started, which should remove the major barrier of entry to this market. That would mean higher conversion rates for you. Being able to earn from both the sign-ups and the products that are sold is fantastic.

Products You Could Promote

The sign-ups are probably the best product to promote. This is down to that low barrier of entry. There is a 60 day cookie period for those that may decide to come back and finish another time.

10. Textual Tees Affiliate Programme

• Commission: 10%
• Cookie Duration: 60 Days
• Link to Program

You cannot discuss the novelty t-shirt industry without bringing up Textual Tees. Their designs are light-hearted and affordable. They offer a platform on which you can find t-shirts that can bring some laughs to any occasion.

All of the designs that you see on the website are done by their in-house team. There are none that are sourced from users. The brand was born out of the founder’s desire to find a service that could deliver for his family what he is now delivering through this website.

The themes cover movies, holidays, sports, sci-fi, names and so on. Their repository is evergrowing.

Why Should You Promote

The catalog of designs is extensive. They offer high-quality products for all sorts of events at a reasonable price. Their cookie tracks for 60-days, which is plenty of time for a customer to convert. The 10% commission falls within industry standard rates.

Products You Could Promote

The best way to approach this would be to find the collection that is best suited to your audience. This can be based on their gender, age or interests. Other than that, you could promote holiday products.

Conclusion

The affiliate programs above will give you a lot of room to find the one best suited to your website. As I’ve shown in my previous case study, the sky’s the limit when it comes to the opportunities that these t-shirt affiliate programs present. Finding a sweet spot between conversion rate and good commission rates is the best approach.

Tags: Affiliate Programs