Stitch Witch Increases Exposure Through Radio Tradeouts
May/120
To be successful at marketing, frequent exposure is key. You want potential customers to become familiar enough with your company and name that when the need arises, you’ll be the first business that comes to mind.
This can be a challenge for small shops that have limited budgets and only so much time to be spent on getting their name out there. Megan Boos, owner of Stitch Witch, Fortuna, Calif., came up with a great solution that has resulted in four local radio stations talking about her company every single week.
As part of the trade-out deal, Boos creates a logoed cap for each station. Everyone is familiar with the many contests radios hold during the day to give away free merchandise. Typically, the DJ poses a question and a caller with the right answer wins the prize. Usually the call is recorded so everyone hears the answer and the interchange between the DJ and the listener.
When the cap is awarded, the DJ gives Stitch Witch approximately 30 seconds of free air time talking about the company and what it does as well as additional mentions throughout the week. So Boos gets weekly exposure to four different demographic audiences in her area for the price of four caps.
The DJs supply Boos with the name and address of the winners for her to mail out the caps, which also gives her new names to add to her marketing list when she sends out mailers or fliers.
Boos always includes a Stitch Witch flier that describes what the company does and contact information. “This provides the winner with an opportunity to call, ask questions, and hopefully place an order,” she says.
“Traditional advertising is expensive,” she notes. “The advantage of the barter system is that it allows me to get great exposure with very little money out of pocket.”
“I’ve been doing this for two years now. People come in and tell me they heard our spots on their radio station. I’ve found it’s been a great way to get my name out there and increase my recognition. Caps are inexpensive and easy to decorate so I’m getting good value for my time and material expenses.”
On the left, production assistant Dawn Allardice handles most of the transfer and lettering orders while Stitch Witch owner Megan Boos concentrates on the embroidery. Boos has negotiated tradeouts with four local radio stations, which give her shop great exposure at a basement bargain price.
Free Tools to Help You Sell More Apparel
May/120
Based on customers’ suggestions, we have added several tools to our site to help you sell more apparel. These tools can be printed out and added to your Idea Book™ binder to be used as needed. All of the items are in the Help & Education section at www.transferexpress.com, Tools, listed as Idea Book Bonus Pages.
The first is an index of our entire collection of clip art. When online, the search tool can quickly find the art needed, but if you are sitting with a customer with the book, we know an index can help. The clip art is listed alphabetically with the corresponding page number the art can be found in the full color binder Idea Book.
The second item is the complete alphabet for every letter style. Sometimes you want to see what the D looks like in a particular style which is again easy to do online, but this will also give you a reference. These are pdf files so you can zoom in to see the details of each letter.
The typestyle pages show every character for each of the Easy Prints® typestyles available.
The third printable bonus page is a gang sheet chart, a grid that given your print image size, you will know how many of that custom transfer/print will fit on each sheet.
The fourth is a type arrangement page which shows the terminology needed to describe different formats to be done to the text. For example, a visual is given to show the difference between an arc and an arch.
Show customers all the different type arrangements available with this Idea Book Bonus Page.
The final two pages show the patterns such as zebra, tiger, leopard, and polka dots as well as the distress effects that can be added to any layout to make your apparel stand out or look vintage.
Stitches Offers Embroidery & Heat Printing Category In 2012 Golden Needle Awards
Apr/120
Enter your heat printing and embroidery designs to increase your company's exposure!
Have you ever combined a heat transfer with embroidery? If so, you may want to consider entering Stitches 2012 Golden Needle Competition™. This year there is a category for Embroidery & Heat-Printing Decoration. The winners will be featured in the November issue.
Now before you discount doing this because you may feel that you have not done anything exciting or creative enough to have any chance of winning, here’s a few things to consider.
Even if you don’t win, entering a contest creates an opportunity for you to increase your company’s exposure. Be sure and take several photos of every entry you submit. These photos should be posted to your website and your Facebook page with the announcement that you have entered them in a national decorating contest.
If you choose a garment you have done for a customer, you will want to obtain permission to submit the design. If the client grants permission, when you post the photo of the client’s shirt to your Facebook page, be sure and tag your client’s Facebook page so it also shows up there. You might also include a thank you for the use of the shirt as an entry. Your post will then show up on your client’s page, which brings your business to the attention of potential new customers.
While you may think that the competition is stiff in these competitions, in some cases this really is not the case. If you have ever viewed entries from other decorated apparel contests such as the Impressions Awards, you might notice that some categories attract only 10-20 entries. So you really have a much better chance than you think of winning.
If you do win, not only are you featured in Stitches Magazine, but you now have a reason to post again to your Facebook page, Twitter, Linked In, and submit a press release to your local media about winning this award. And of course, this should be on the home page of your website.
Ideally, you also create a nice framed piece of your published winning entry in Stitches magazine that you put up on the wall of your showroom or area where customers walk in and can see it.
Stitches is accepting entries until Monday, May 21. You can view the categories here:
http://cdn.asicentral.com/idesign/stitchesAwards/index0311.htm
You can download an entry form here: https://www.asisafe.com/asiinternet/htmlemails/stitchesAwards/form.htm
If you enter and would like to be featured in this blog (whether or not you win), please contact Deborah Sexton at dsexton@sbcglobal.net.
A winner from 2011 with a vibrant design.
Winning Future Orders by Packaging Your League Order
Mar/120
You’ve won the league bid but had to accept a lower profit margin than you normally make. Leagues are typically a lot of work with low profits, but you can win future orders with higher profit margins with creative packaging.
The key to success is to package each player’s uniform. Not only does this give you the chance to impress the league director, typically a volunteer, who will be sure to come back to you next year, but you can also use this opportunity as free advertising (with just a little extra sweat investment).
On the insert that identifies the player whose uniform is enclosed, include a flyer advertising what you can do for upcoming summer events. Include family reunions, corporate outings, fundraising walks and festivals. Show some examples of what you have done in the past or use our flyer documents and Easy View™ to personalize even further. When the player’s parent needs an order, they will remember you as the place to go.
For the outside of each package, order stickers to identify your company as the company that delivered to the order. To further personalize, order them for the league order specifically, such as Good Luck Mayfair Youth League from Pro Sport Performance. Stickers are inexpensive and can be ordered at the same time as your team logos.
Package each uniform of a league order individually and include a flyer in each package.
Why do our top customers buy from us?
Dec/110
Recently I was listening to a webinar by Jeff Gitomer who has written many great publications about marketing and has a weekly email newsletter, Sales Caffeine. He challenged each person to ask your best customers, why do you buy from us? As he said, if your top customers buy from you for these reasons, others will want to for the same reasons. Your customers have written your marketing materials. This is a great exercise for your own store as well.
5 reasons our top customers buy custom transfers from us:
Speed – all commented on how fast our service is, and not only how quickly we get it out the door but also, especially for those on the west coast, how fast it arrives with Speedy Air service, 2 day air for the price of ground.
Reliability – as often as speed, customers commented that not only is the order fast, but it ALWAYS ships on the day we tell them it will.
Education – many of our customers complimented the many education resources we offer, all at no charge, videos, blog tips, webinars and innovative website.
Choices – we are known for our Easy Prints®, and they are ever growing with the largest collection of professional created art that can be customized.
Ease of Business – every company has a system, but customers complimented our dealer service team, the speed we reply to emails and get back to them with quotes sent via upload.
Layout QAL-219
Christmas Transfers for Gift Giving Apparel
Nov/110
Help your customer with gift giving shopping—Transfer Extreme™ Christmas gives you a choice of 5 different stock transfers, 3 with Puff ink that can be applied to cotton, polyester and cotton/polyester blends in seconds.
Our new line of full color transfers can be applied to tees, tote bags, fleece, towels and even pillowcases! They are sold in packs of 10 for just $20. You can buy a pack of your favorite design or a multi-pack that includes 2 of each of the 5 designs.
Full color, screen printed Christmas transfers are perfect to sell as gifts. Pictured here is Christmas design HOL-56.
Want to add customization? No problem! Text can be ordered as Express Names™ for individual personalization or in gang sheets for group personalization.
You can even create your own “gift” by adding your store name to the prints! One customer told us they gave a personalized tote bag, with every order over $100. Not only did their customers buy a little more to reach the $100 plateau, it was great advertising when carried in public, generating more business.
The Ins and Outs of League Business
Nov/110
Yesterday with Doug Wilcoxson of Bomark, we hosted an all day seminar on the ins and outs of league business here at Transfer Express.
Ben Reutter and Chris Ulrich of Transfer Express hosted an all day seminar on league business.
Doug discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the league business. The advantages are a reputation in the community, many uniforms to decorate and the stability of the league business even during down times. The disadvantage is a lot of business all with the same delivery demands, add-ons, and low margins.
He reviewed ideas for overcoming these disadvantages such as getting them to buy an extra uniform right from the start, the use of transfers so that you do have the one extra to apply in seconds and using the delivery as an opportunity to advertise for more profitable business.
He also emphasized the importance of getting 50% down when ordered, and the rest on delivery because leagues have all of their money paid when sign up ends before the season starts, and as the season progresses payment for grass cutting, lights, umpires, etc may drain an ill planned budget.
Doug from Bomark explains the ins and outs of league business at an all day Open House Seminar hosted by Transfer Express.
Doug also brought samples of the uniforms distributing by Bomark. He will be presenting this same seminar at upcoming ISS shows, so if you are at a show it is a great investment of time in your business.
Embroiderer Caters To Conferences With Print-On-Demand Transfers
Oct/110
Conferences are a great niche for custom transfers because they allow you to offer a customized shirt without committing inventory. You may be left with some extra designs, but these can be used for follow-up orders after the event or for next year’s gathering.
By visiting a website like http://www.allconferences.com/, almost any decorator can easily identify if there are any worthwhile conferences near them that would make it feasible to pack up a truck or van with shirts, designs, and a heat press and spend a busy weekend selling logoed merchandise.
For Marjorie Corrow, president, Life’s a Stitch Embroidery, LLC, Niskayuna, N.Y., (http://tinyurl.com/6k6tzsw) custom transfers have been a profitable decorating method to use as she travels to conferences held by Christian youth groups and child abuse prevention organizations. Although Corrow is primarily an embroiderer and brings a few pre-embroidered items with her, the majority of her merchandise is printed onsite.
One lucrative niche that Marjorie Corrow, president, Life’s A Stitch, Niskayuna, N.Y., caters to is conferences. Although she is primarily an embroiderer, she has found that transfers allow her to easily expand her offerings and increase her overall sales.
“I invest in a lot of blanks and about $200 in transfers,” she says, “and I use them for a couple of years. For example, I have two logos I use every year for my Christian youth group.”
One secret to success in catering to conferences is knowing what to bring. Corrow selects a nice variety of apparel appropriate to the event, which typically includes T-shirts, sweat shirts, caps, and women’s tops as well as miscellaneous little things.
“I usually have hoodies and T-shirts with the conference logo on the front chest, down the sleeve, or down the leg. I also bring a selection of blank flannel pants. I typically buy a lot of closeouts that I don’t pay a lot on. I have a good relationship with the wholesaler, and it will let me return closeouts,” Corrow says. “Of course, you have to be at a certain sales volume, and you have to return goods within a certain amount of time. But it allows me to send back apparel that isn’t logoed even though I have to pay the shipping.”
“I have a pretty good feel for how much and what sizes,” the decorator notes. “I only bring things I can sell in subsequent years. That is something that you learn over time.”
Corrow has found that even though she’s often bringing back an old design, she can still sell another piece to last year’s customer by changing the garment it’s applied to.
“For a prevent child abuse conference, I have a design that is hands with spread fingers and thumbs entwined in different colors, sizes, and configurations. They form a U-shaped necklace, and I apply it to the neckline of either a scoop-neck ladies’ shirt or a regular T-shirt.
“This conference is mainly women in helping professions, and the hands symbolize helping. They absolutely love it, and every year I put the hand design on a new piece,” she says.
Each year, Marjorie Corrow exhibits at a Prevent Child Abuse conference where one of her most popular designs is intertwining hands, which she embroiders on women’s wear and bags. She uses transfers for hoodies, flannel pants, and doggie Ts.
Heat Printing Zone at SGIA featuring Ted Stahl
Oct/110
Visitors to the SGIA Expo in New Orleans will experience many interactive exhibits, from hands-on demonstrations to product giveaways. Don’t miss out on your chance to interact with industry pioneer and Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame member Ted Stahl.
Ted will be hosting question and answer sessions in the Stahls’ Heat Printing Zone on Wednesday, October 19 and Thursday, October 20 at 1:15 pm. Ask Ted any questions you may have on heat printing and garment decoration and benefit from his over 35 years in the garment graphic industry.
So get to the Heat Printing Zone and see Ted – he wants to hear from you.
Find the complete schedule of events in the Heat Printing Zone here.
