Custom Apparel Startups

Custom Apparel Startups

By Custom Apparel StartupsBusinessEntrepreneurshipTechnologyEducation
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Custom Apparel Startups episodes

  • Episode 102 – Advertising and Marketing to Your Niche

    In this CAS Podcast episode, you will learn how to advertise and market to your niche.

    Episode 17 https://customapparelstartups.com/episode-17-know-numbers-value-customer/

    LTV spreadsheet is a lead magnet.

    1. Intro
    2. Knowing your numbers
      • Episode 17
      • we're going to cover the very basics
        1. Actually Marketing and Advertising
          • you have a niche, how do you reach them

            • First, we'll divide between reaching them locally or online, then we'll discuss ways to reach them in each.

            Off-line Marketing and Advertising + Local Customers:

            Number 1 Goal of this is that everyone in your niche, in your area, knows who you are and what you do.

            • Networking in the niche - including events
            • Where what you do - all the time
            • Actual Sales - Active Word of Mouth
            • Like approaching the owner of an archery range/store
            • Visiting your niche directly - if you sell to hair salons, for example
            • Advertising locally
            • In Print
            • Facebook Marketplace
            • Craigslist
            • Local FB Groups and Meetups

              • Online Advertising

              Free:

              • GoogleMyBusiness
              • Facebook Page/Group Marketing
              • Facebook Dos and Don'ts https://customapparelstartups.com/episode-26-facebook-business-dos-donts-facebook/
              • Getting Found Online: https://customapparelstartups.com/episode-19-getting-found-online/
              • Instagram
              • Growing FAST
              • Images are King
              • Searchable # are great for niches

                • Paid:

                • Google Ads - paid search is hard and can be expensive because you're competing with big sellers
                • Facebook ads can be a big win
                • Platform Ads:
                • Etsy Promoted Listings
                • Amazon Ads
                • Listings in local group sites / boards
                • e.g. Florida Fishermen's Forum
                  • 55 min
                • Episode 101 – Marketing Plan: Picking Your Niche

                  This is Part 1 of ”t-shirt business marketing plan” series and we talk about how to pick a niche that is going to be successful for your custom t-shirt business.

                  The action steps we share apply for people who are just getting started or are already in business and want to learn how to take advantage of other profitable niches and grow their business.

                  What is niching down?

                  • Outdoor Life
                  • Hunting
                  • Bow Hunting
                  • Female Bow Hunting
                  • Deer Bowhunting
                  • Geographical

                    • Bow Hunting:

                    • FB – multiple groups with 5-10k+
                    • Reddit – 15k+
                    • Instagram – 1.6 million posts

                      • Outdoor Life:

                      • Fishing
                      • Freshwater Fishing
                      • Noodling

                        • Noodling:

                        • Youtube – numerous accounts with 100k + subscribers and videos with 100k views.
                        • Instagram – 37k posts with #
                        • Facebook – largest on FB 1400 – ding against the idea
                        • Reddit – no subreddit

                          • How do you know it’s a good niche:

                          -Passionate community

                          • Big enough to support you
                          • Not over-served
                          • You have some affinity for (best if you’re a “member” but you definitely can’t hate it)
                          • Have money to spend
                          • Search online e.g. hashtag

                            • Where do you find that information:

                            • Facebook Groups – search the large Market and look at Group Memberships and posts per day.
                            • Meetup.com and look at membership to Market Groups in different areas
                            • Conventions and Markets
                            • Reddit
                            • Instagram

                              • Exercise: Big to Small Choosing your Niche – follow the logic down from Outdoor themes to Competition fly fishing or something

                              What to do once you choose:

                              Determine the vibe of the Group?

                              • Environmental
                              • Aggressive
                              • Political
                              • Funny
                              • Write down what gets the most attention
                              • Been there – Tournaments, places
                              • Tools – all about the equipment
                              • Mavens – who does everyone follow

                                • Create Stock Designs to test

                                • Participate
                                • Ask for feedback “Hey all, working on some new shirt designs. -Which do you like best?”
                                • Share images if appropriate. like an Instagram hashtag or –Facebook group or Reddit post
                                  • 45 min
                                • Episode 100 – Best Episodes

                                  Top 10 CAS Podcast episodes:

                                  1. Episode 76 – How to Build Your Online Store – The Right Way!
                                  2. Episode 87 – What to Do When Bad Things Happen
                                  3. Episode 83 – Insights From The Apparel Geek – Monty Mims From Sanmar
                                  4. Episode 86 – What Success Looks Like in DTG Printing and More!
                                  5. Episode 85 – 12 Steps to Grow Your Home Based Business
                                  6. Episode 73 – Copyrights and Trademarks in the Custom T-Shirt Business
                                  7. Episode 81 – Today’s Best Marketing Opportunity FACEBOOK With Manuel Suarez [Facebook Blueprint Certified]
                                  8. Episode 84 – Good Better Best (Sales Strategy)
                                  9. Episode 82 – Lessons Your Kids Can Teach You About Owning a Business
                                  10. Episode 90 – Your Cricut Based Business Next Steps

                                    11. We've got over what the most popular of our previous 99 episodes have been - but here are the ones that we think are the most IMPORTANT. The ones that are most valuable and we wish all of you would listen too.

                                    Mark S.'s most important episodes:

                                    Episode 67 – How to Add $$ to Every Sale

                                    Episode 68 - Re-Upselling | Making the Most of Current Customers

                                    Episode 69 – The Science of Upselling | The Best Ways to Talk to Your Customers

                                    Episode 29 – Make More Money Next Month – Creating Active Word of Mouth

                                    Episode 30 – Make More Money Next Month – Small Business Phone Skills

                                    Episode 31 – Make More Money Next Month – Using Email for Profit

                                    Episode 86 – What Success Looks Like in DTG Printing and More!

                                    Episode 73 – Copyrights and Trademarks in the Custom T-Shirt Business

                                    Episode 96 – Beat The Competition: Evaluating The Competitor

                                    Episode 97 – Beat The Competition: Rebranding, Restructuring or Reinvesting

                                    Episode 98 – Beat The Competition: Turn Competitors To Partners

                                    Episode 82 – Lessons Your Kids Can Teach You About Owning a Business

                                    Episode 78 – 4 Steps to Hiring Your First Salesperson

                                    Episode 72 – Profit FIRST! Interview With Mike Michalowicz

                                    57 min
                                  11. Episode 99 – How To Be An Amazing Business Person

                                    In this CAS Podcast episode, we share 9 important things on how to be an amazing business person. If you follow them it can massively improve your business like never before!

                                    First in – Last out

                                    • As your business is growing, it’s all you.
                                    • You put in the time to get things done. You make sure every order is perfect.
                                    • You ensure every customer is happy.
                                    • You make sure all the bills are made.
                                    • You know your staff is doing the job.
                                    • You’re on pace for goals.

                                      • Relationship building expert

                                      • Your employees want to work for you.
                                      • Your customers like giving you money.
                                      • Your vendors want a long relationship with you.
                                      • Your partners see value in you.

                                        • Crisis Management Adept

                                        • Know how to handle an upset customer
                                        • Prepared to work through financial issues
                                        • Have a plan for equipment downtime
                                        • Inventory management problems
                                        • Working through staffing problems

                                          • Financial Acumen

                                          • Ability to make a good judgement on financial decisions
                                          • Know what you have coming in and out
                                          • Having knowledge of cash-flow
                                          • Making quality quick decisions that have a big impact

                                            • Flexibly Minded

                                            • Your business is going to change
                                            • You will have to roll with the punches
                                            • Maybe you aren’t doing something the best way
                                            • Learn from mentors and friends

                                              • Thirst for new connections

                                              • Network with potential partners
                                              • Sometimes just help people
                                              • Build relationships because you never know where they will go

                                                • Hunger to learn

                                                • Take the time to learn things you don’t know
                                                • If you are going to add on a new service, do research
                                                • Before you hire someone to do something, understand the jargon

                                                  • Handles Competition

                                                  • Don’t fear competition
                                                  • Don’t fold every time
                                                  • Be as aggressive as you feel good about
                                                  • Understand and research them

                                                    • Internally Motivated

                                                    • You have to want to do it
                                                    • Hunger to get up and make things better
                                                    • If you are going to think, think big
                                                      • 54 min
                                                    • Episode 98 – Beat The Competition: Turn Competitors To Partners

                                                      After listening to the past two episodes you might find you have a few competitors that are clearly going to be long term struggles for you.

                                                      They might have a great formula down for business practice, production, sales, pricing, etc. These competitors might be right in your vertical market or maybe is a market close to yours.

                                                      You may sell spirit wear, and they focus on sports uniforms.

                                                      You might deal with dance, and they deal with ice skating.
                                                      You may sell corporate wear, and they do as well but offer a different decoration method. Screen printing vs embroidery.

                                                      Either way, they are here to stay and you might have to go head to head with them on some sales.

                                                      What else can you do?

                                                      Turn your competitor into a partner

                                                      So first why should you? Aren't they the enemy!?

                                                      • It makes you look like a good company/person
                                                      • If you and your competition are friendly, customers will trust you are a good business/person. "Oh, yea... Marco from The Print Shop. Yea I know him, we have worked together on projects..."
                                                      • If you are friendly with Marco, he is less likely to be hostile towards your business. Respect you / your staff / your customers.

                                                        • People outlast business

                                                        • You never know what will happen with Marco and his business.
                                                        • Maybe he will call you up to sell you his business one day.
                                                        • Maybe he will downsize and ask if you are looking for an employee, he has a great person for you.
                                                        • Maybe his embroidery equipment will die and will outsource to you.

                                                          • It puts customers #1

                                                          • You want to get 500 shirts with 1 color as cheap as possible. Let me send you over to Jackie's shop. she can do this fast and cheap.

                                                            • Competition becomes a friendly challenge vs a war

                                                            • You are like sports competitors that practice and compete, but after the game you can go out to eat together.

                                                              • What are the things you can do together?

                                                              • Refer business when it should be
                                                              • You don't have an engraving machine, they do. Send the customer that way

                                                                • Outsource

                                                                • Customer wants hats, shirts, bags and engraved glass awards
                                                                • You do all the rest. Take the order for the awards. Your new partner sells the award to you at a discounted rate so you can mark it up.

                                                                  • Partner up at events

                                                                  • If there is a local event, make one big booth together. Pool resources and agree on the specific products you will show off.
                                                                  • If you get leads / sign ups... split them up.

                                                                    • Create an economy of scale

                                                                    • Do you both stock the same caps? Order them together and save $$ for qty discounts.

                                                                      • Enter a new market together

                                                                      • You both have wanted to get into the restaurant uniform business. Partner together to maximize potential
                                                                      • This is great if you are both small, and have a large business that's hard to go up against. Join forces.

                                                                        • How do you get started?

                                                                        • Make the first move
                                                                        • Call them, email them, visit them
                                                                        • Compliment their business
                                                                        • Tell them you want to work together
                                                                        • Advise you want to join forces to improve each other
                                                                        • Have some of your strengths ready to share (especially you researched them and it compliments their weakness)

                                                                          • Attend events

                                                                          • Go to events where your competition will be & meet them

                                                                            • Refer them business in an obvious way

                                                                            • Call them and say. Hi this is Marc from MM Embroidery. I have a customer here who needs 20 awards made. I've been hearing you are the shop to go to. I am going to send him your way, his name is Jose.
                                                                            • Once you do this... follow up with another call or email. Tell them you'd like to work on doing this together more often.

                                                                              • Share struggles with them

                                                                              • Maybe a huge plant closed down and you know all the apparel businesses are suffering. Come at them with this and say, I'd love to work together on getting our business back up.

                                                                                • We surveyed 100 business owners and 80% are currently doing this. There will be times you get burned and times you make out like a bandit. Keep your guard up while also opening up a friendly relationship. The more you do it, the better you will get.

                                                                                45 min
                                                                              • Episode 97 – Beat The Competition: Rebranding, Restructuring or Reinvesting

                                                                                After listening to Episode 96 you should have a great insight on your competition. Chances are there are many custom apparel shops in your area, but only a few seem to be direct competition.

                                                                                Holding tight to your business structure and running a great business should put you on the path to leading the pack. These include:

                                                                                • Mastering your craft
                                                                                • Having awesome customer service
                                                                                • Delivering orders correctly and on time
                                                                                • Balancing the right price for the right product
                                                                                • Have a solid sales / marketing plan

                                                                                  • The above are essential to leading the pack of your competition. If you are lacking in any of the above, spend the time and effort to take things to the next level. (you can try listening to more podcasts first, as we cover all of these topics)

                                                                                  However, sometimes it's not that simple. What happens when the competition is so much better at all of the above?

                                                                                  For example, imagine you own a small donut shop. You make some delicious glazed donuts and people line up every morning to get their coffee and breakfast.

                                                                                  One day a new donut shop opens up. They:

                                                                                  • Are in a parking lot easier to get into
                                                                                  • Have brand new automated machines which means less staff cooking, and more to serve customers
                                                                                  • They have new coffee equipment that lets them whip up lattes at 2x the speed
                                                                                  • They are priced better because everything is less work for the staff
                                                                                  • And.. you tried the donuts.... they are really good.

                                                                                    • How do you compete with this? You notice your line is shorter and profits are down. You cant lower pricing, you can't serve customers as fast.

                                                                                    This story can be true of any business, how do you handle if your market seems saturated or the competition in your niche is beating you across the board

                                                                                    What's next?

                                                                                    You have some choices to make that involve:

                                                                                    Rebranding, Restructuring or Reinvesting

                                                                                    Rebranding - This involves changing the look and feel of your company. It can involve a complete name and style change, or just an overall look to help appeal to your demographic.

                                                                                    Reasons to Rebrand:

                                                                                    • You are selling to too tight of a vertical / niche market and need to expand
                                                                                    • Only selling spirit wear but want to open up to corporate
                                                                                    • Only selling ladies dance apparel and want to offer sports apparel too
                                                                                    • Your message and business don't match
                                                                                    • Your company is Tampa Embroidery - but now you offer UV printing and t-shirt transfers (in fact that might even be more than 1/2 your business)
                                                                                    • When people are looking for you, they might make assumptions about what you do.
                                                                                    • Your style / name / message seem dated in a sea of modern competition
                                                                                    • Which one of these granola bars would you buy for kids

                                                                                      • Restructuring - This is when you change the way your business operates. It can involve any facet of the business.

                                                                                      Reasons to Restructure:

                                                                                      • Need to improve sales force
                                                                                      • More sales people, or new sales people, or ANY sales people
                                                                                      • Production methods are inefficient
                                                                                      • Alter the flow of production, tracking of orders, etc
                                                                                      • Removing product offering
                                                                                      • You might offer engraving, but the machine is old, slow and you aren't making much profits
                                                                                      • Changing pricing structure
                                                                                      • Focus on pricing that brings in larger (or smaller) orders
                                                                                      • Going ONline - or focusing locally

                                                                                        • Reinvesting - Putting more money into your business to revamp it. Taking from profits and putting back into the business for the sake of growth / maintaining business.

                                                                                        Reasons to reinvest:

                                                                                        • You've got old equipment that doesn't perform.
                                                                                        • Slow machine
                                                                                        • Breaks down
                                                                                        • Quality of the product is down
                                                                                        • You've got old technology
                                                                                        • You are using a transfer style that was in its peak in the 90s
                                                                                        • You are still loading embroidery jobs with tapes
                                                                                        • Your computer is running windows 98
                                                                                        • You don't have anything new to offer or different than the competition

                                                                                          • Obviously, we are a bit biased because we are in the machine business, but we hear about companies reinvesting consistently. The results are amazing. We have embroidery companies who see the value in offering UV prints. We have companies running a 20 year old embroidery business than realize no one local is offering bling.

                                                                                          Reinvesting is one of the ways long standing companies stay on top. Bringing in new technology and new structured for the business to outpace the competition.

                                                                                          Be sure to build a plan and make changes like the mentioned above after you've determined one or all of these are necessary to win.

                                                                                          46 min
                                                                                        • Episode 96 – Beat The Competition: Evaluating The Competitor

                                                                                          Another store has opened up or YOU are the new store. Business is slow and you really feel its because of that competition. Their prices are too low, or they seem to draw in all the big accounts. Whatever it is, you suspect it's them and they are holding you back from success.

                                                                                          Here is the catch.. how do you really know? What evidence do you have?

                                                                                          In this episode, we are going to take a dive into your competition to figure out a few things.

                                                                                          • Are they actually taking business from you?
                                                                                          • Are you competing in the same market, for the same customers?
                                                                                          • Are they targeting your business/customers?
                                                                                          • A step by step guide to answering the above and more.

                                                                                            • Step 1 - Identification

                                                                                            This step is crucial. You may have an idea who your competition is, but it's important to dig deep and find out all of your potential competitors. The shop down the street with the big sign might feel like your biggest competition, when in fact they don't deal within your niche. So it's important to dig deep.

                                                                                            • Online - Google, Bing, FB, Instagram, Linked in - These are the big 5 to start searching for competition.
                                                                                            • What keywords do your customers find YOU with? For example, if you search Custom T-Shirts Your City - who shows up?
                                                                                            • Ask your customers- Talk to local business owners that do buy from you.. and those that don't but own custom apparel.
                                                                                            • Hit the streets - Go to places where your customers go and look for signs of competition. Ball games, local businesses, events. Ask THEM where they got their gear.

                                                                                              • Step 2 - Look at their marketing/branding.

                                                                                              Check out their facebook account, ads they run, website, store location. This is going to help you determine what customers they attract and how they get the business.

                                                                                              • Use this to build a profile for each competitor. Write it down!
                                                                                              • What is their brand personality?
                                                                                              • Do they spend a lot in ads?
                                                                                              • Do they appear to have a sales team?
                                                                                              • What type of customer do they attract? (corporate, sports, schools, etc)

                                                                                                • Step 3 - Shop them

                                                                                                Become their customer or shop with them acting like you will be. Check out their pricing and their process and answer the following:

                                                                                                • What is their price for: 1 offs, 10 shirts, 100 shirts, hats, etc
                                                                                                • Do they charge for set up, digitizing, art, etc
                                                                                                • Do they require a deposit?
                                                                                                • What is their delivery time?
                                                                                                • What shirts do they use?
                                                                                                • What technology do they use? (DTG, embroidery, screen, etc)
                                                                                                • Look at their online reviews

                                                                                                  • Step 4 - Compare and Contrast

                                                                                                  Create a spreadsheet and start with you. Take all of your research and compile it into something easy to read and evaluate.

                                                                                                  What you will do with this data is :

                                                                                                  • Determine who toughest competitors will be
                                                                                                  • Determine where you shine
                                                                                                  • See room in the market for new technology or niches
                                                                                                  • Find out if someone even competes with you at all
                                                                                                  • Help you figure out the next steps.

                                                                                                    • In the next episode, we are going to discuss if you need to work on any rebranding, restructuring or reinvesting. Now that you know about your competition you know a few things.

                                                                                                    1. Is the competition real or is it you aren't doing well enough drumming up business in your nice.
                                                                                                    2. Are you competing way to close in a tough market and need to make changes
                                                                                                    3. If you were to make changes... what might they be?
                                                                                                      4. 48 min
                                                                                                    4. Episode 95 – How to Build Your First Website With Wordpress

                                                                                                      Wordpress makes up a huge portion of websites... way more than you would expect. About 25% of all websites are built on the WordPress CMS (content management system)

                                                                                                      What is Wordpress?

                                                                                                      Wordpress is an online website creation tool. It allows you to create and post web pages and blog posts without needing to know any code. AKA a Content Management System

                                                                                                      Who should use Wordpress?

                                                                                                      -You want to build a website with limitless possibilities that can be altered or changed to your personal preferences at any time.

                                                                                                      -You aren't sure if you want an eCommerce store

                                                                                                      -You are considering posting articles/blog posts

                                                                                                      -You'd like to manage your own pages/blog posts without knowing code.

                                                                                                      -You don't want to pay the huge fees and maintenance costs of custom coding an entire site.

                                                                                                      What are the downsides?

                                                                                                      Wordpress will require some maintenance. You are going to have to update the websites software regularly.

                                                                                                      When doing updates, there is a risk you can 'break' something. So have help handy.

                                                                                                      How to build your first website with Wordpress

                                                                                                      Step 1 - Pick a place to search and purchase your domain

                                                                                                      -There are plenty of places to register and purchase your domain name. It's actually a bit more like leasing it... you have to continue to renew it or you lose it.

                                                                                                      -We will focus on two for the podcast for reasons explained later

                                                                                                      BlueHost.com

                                                                                                      Godaddy.com

                                                                                                      -Once you are here begin to check if the domain you want is available. The #1 you should go for first is yourbusinessname.com

                                                                                                      If that is not available, consider other options:

                                                                                                      Yourbusinessname.net

                                                                                                      Yourbusinessname.co
                                                                                                      youtbusinessname.biz
                                                                                                      yourbusinessnameonline.com

                                                                                                      -If you have a very common name, you may have to get creative. Just make sure its something that makes sense and your customers can find easily.

                                                                                                      -Purchase the rights to the domain now... this should be about $15 a year. (buy more years, save more money)

                                                                                                      Step 2 - Get your Hosting set up

                                                                                                      -Hosting is essentially where the data for your store will live.

                                                                                                      -Godaddy and Bluehost both have 'Wordpress Hosting" - this means its all set up for a WordPress page. You don't have to hire a web developer to set it up for you.

                                                                                                      -Choose your plan - monthly or annual fee (usually about $80-150/yr)

                                                                                                      -Essentially the lowest cost option is probably enough to get you started.

                                                                                                      -Look at the list and see if upgrades make sense to you.

                                                                                                      -If you aren't sure call the company and tell them about your site, they will advise the right plan.

                                                                                                      -Here's where you also get your business email address - you can get Google suite or Office online with a domain email for $5-$15/month.

                                                                                                      Step 3 - Initial Site Set up

                                                                                                      -This step will be easy if you used Godaddy or BlueHost. In a few clicks they complete all the steps for you.

                                                                                                      Step 4 - Picking a Theme / Template

                                                                                                      -The theme is the overall look and design of your site that has been pre-build by a developer. These are going to be from Free up to $100.

                                                                                                      -Going with a prebuild theme is one of the benefits of WordPress. A lot of the work to set the site up is done, you just fill in the blanks.

                                                                                                      -Under THEMES in your Wordpress Dashboard you will see an option to add new themes. You can search from tens of thousands of themes.

                                                                                                      -Free themes are tempting, but they are free for a reason. Paid themes usually come with tech support and have more options.

                                                                                                      -You can also check out Themeforest.net - this is a marketplace for themes. They are known for having great themes for a reasonable price. $50 will usually buy you a very good quality theme.

                                                                                                      Step 5 - Install and Set up your theme

                                                                                                      -Installing is easy, its right under that ad theme area of the WordPress dashboard. There are 100 youtube videos on how to do this.

                                                                                                      -Once installed follow their instructions/documentation to the T! Start at step one and finish at the end. The theme has this set up for a reason.

                                                                                                      Step 6 - Begin customizing

                                                                                                      -Now that your site and theme are set up, you can begin to add your own text, images, menus and posts.

                                                                                                      TIPS:

                                                                                                      -When uploading images make sure they are the right size. e.g too small will look BAD. Here are examples of sizes

                                                                                                      -Small image within text / Logo 150-300 pixels wide

                                                                                                      -Large featured image - 500 - 1000 pixels wide

                                                                                                      -Background image - 1500 - 3000 pixels wide

                                                                                                      -If the page/post doesn't look like it should in the theme, contact support for the theme. Include screenshots and they can tell you if you missed a step.

                                                                                                      -Work on one thing at a time - don't try to build the entire site in a night.

                                                                                                      -Basic frame should be
                                                                                                      -Home Page
                                                                                                      -Contact Page
                                                                                                      -About Page

                                                                                                      Should you hire help?

                                                                                                      -If you are struggling with some of the above steps, you might want to hire some help to get the job done. You can find WordPress experts for a fairly low price on places like upwork.com or fivrr.com.

                                                                                                      -Hire someone to help you with customizing, designing and getting things right. Since you are working with a WordPress theme, you likely aren't going to have to pay a ton.

                                                                                                      -When hiring someone go to USERS in your WordPress dashboard. There you can give them a login, that you can later revoke if you no longer need their help.

                                                                                                      -If you aren't a good artist yet, get some help with the images are your site.

                                                                                                      -You don't always need custom images, check out places like Shutterstock, or istockphoto and you may be able to purchase some nice images for a professional looking site.

                                                                                                      The next step is to continue watching videos online and reading about WordPress. You can get pretty proficient at updating and designing your site with practice.

                                                                                                      Eventually you will figure out what parts you like, and which parts you want to always hire out.

                                                                                                      1 hr 3 min
                                                                                                    5. Episode 94 – Planning Your First Successful Marketing Campaign

                                                                                                      You can create amazing marketing content. Creating an effective marketing plan is the goal of all entrepreneurs, but the execution is often lacking.

                                                                                                      In this episode of the CAS podcast, we are helping you get set up to create a successful marketing campaign. As a custom apparel business owner, your success in marketing not only depends on having good ideas, but also executing those ideas to make sure you have measurable success.

                                                                                                      Stage 1: Make a Plan

                                                                                                      Define your Brand - what is your business personality? One exercise would be selecting 3 words that describe how you want to be seen to your customers.

                                                                                                      Examples:

                                                                                                      Professional - Funny - Masculine - Feminine - Edgy - Witty - Artistic - Soothing - Rustic - Retro - Mature - Jolly - Glamorous - Graceful - Rebellious - Youthful - Urban - Country - Vintage - Active - Intense - Lush - Inspiring - Religious - Hip - Fun - Timeless - Contemporary - Casual - Athletic - Classic

                                                                                                      Do you have a plan/strategy for what this marketing will do? Specifically.

                                                                                                      • What is your GOAL
                                                                                                      • Brand awareness
                                                                                                      • Sell a particular item
                                                                                                      • Drive people to your event
                                                                                                      • Get people to buy from your website
                                                                                                      • what kind of customers will you bring in?
                                                                                                      • What is your audience?
                                                                                                      • What is a number of customers and revenue you want to gain?

                                                                                                        • Where do you want to deliver your message?

                                                                                                        • Facebook
                                                                                                        • Google Search
                                                                                                        • Print
                                                                                                        • Local Advertising
                                                                                                        • Organic Search
                                                                                                        • Boards/Newsletters/Hand-Outs
                                                                                                        • Outbound Sales - Knocking doors

                                                                                                          • What will the message be?

                                                                                                          • Coupon / Promo
                                                                                                          • Let people know your business exists
                                                                                                          • Offer free consultation
                                                                                                          • Advertise specific designs / styles

                                                                                                            • Does this align with your brand?

                                                                                                            Be sure your marketing aligns with your business personality. Is your message and delivery method lined up?

                                                                                                            • Consider your message and if it makes sense.
                                                                                                            • If you have edgy/rebellious brand... it might not work well with a message designed for making corporate apparel.
                                                                                                            • If your brand is feminine and glamorous ... marketing to a soccer team might not work as well.
                                                                                                            • Location matters too
                                                                                                            • Local youth sports.. bulletin boards / Hand Outs, YES
                                                                                                            • Paid Google search .. NO
                                                                                                            • Skater t-shirts - Facebook, YES
                                                                                                            • Church bulletin board, NO

                                                                                                              • What is your Goal?

                                                                                                              Set a number of sales, revenue earned, number of new customers. Essentially answer the question.. "If i can earn $X then I would do this marketing again"

                                                                                                              Stage 2: Set Up

                                                                                                              Creative

                                                                                                              Do you need art? Images? pictures? Video? How will they get done? What are the specs?

                                                                                                              CTA

                                                                                                              What do you want your prospect to do? Visit website, call you, attend an event.

                                                                                                              Offer

                                                                                                              What is the specific offer? Why are they going to follow through with your CTA? Coupon, deal, special, freebie

                                                                                                              Shareable

                                                                                                              Get the best bang for your buck. Make it shareable... website, social, email sign up, Facebook page like, etc.

                                                                                                              Stage 3: Create

                                                                                                              Sketch it out

                                                                                                              Briefly sketch it out on paper/computer. What will it look like? is it just text? Have an idea of what your marketing content will look like. a concept.

                                                                                                              Well Designed

                                                                                                              Your art should meet requirements of ad needs. Always overshoot on quality, you don't want poor quality in your design, art, pics, etc. Don't DIY if not in your skillset

                                                                                                              Matching pieces

                                                                                                              Be sure your images, colors, fonts and word styling all match. If your images look casual, be sure your wording/brand is. If it feels corporate, don't wear flip flops in the video

                                                                                                              Free of Typos and poor grammar

                                                                                                              Stage 4: Execute / Test

                                                                                                              Usually this is a stage where you take your first shot (or shots) and see how it works out. You aren't always looking for a massive win, but signs that this is the right direction.

                                                                                                              If you plan to advertise in every local park for sports apparel, start with one and see how it works.

                                                                                                              If you plan to advertise on Facebook, start with a couple of ads with different offers or images and a small budget. Once you see its working, bump up the budget.

                                                                                                              Step 5: Revamp or Scale Up

                                                                                                              Two things may have happened here:

                                                                                                              1. Marketing landed somewhere between terrible failure and below your goal. If this is the case, revamp your ideas. Try something different. Try a different offer or goal.

                                                                                                              2. SUCCESS - if this happened don't mess with it! Spend more, scale it up, and keep an eye on it until it reaches max potential.

                                                                                                                1 hr 3 min
                                                                                                              3. Episode 93 – Marketing Questions You Should Be Asking

                                                                                                                Small business owners ask a ton of questions, a lot of great ones too. Yet, there are a handful of really important questions that rarely get asked about marketing. We have put together the most important marketing questions you should be asking to help drive your business towards your dreams.

                                                                                                                Here are the questions you should be asking:

                                                                                                                1. What’s the best marketing for my business?
                                                                                                                2. Understanding your options
                                                                                                                3. How much should I spend?
                                                                                                                4. Should I do it myself?
                                                                                                                5. Should I be Email marketing?
                                                                                                                6. What KIND of website do I need? If any!
                                                                                                                7. before asking “How should i build my website?”
                                                                                                                8. What should I be doing on social media?
                                                                                                                9. Is what “Bob” does right for my business?
                                                                                                                10. How do I LEARN ABOUT MARKETING?

                                                                                                                  11. Types of marketing we discuss:

                                                                                                                  • Internet marketing
                                                                                                                  • SEO
                                                                                                                  • Social Media
                                                                                                                  • Print
                                                                                                                  • Search Engine – PPC
                                                                                                                  • Video
                                                                                                                  • Relationship Marketing

                                                                                                                    • Having a plan for marketing and knowing what you are talking about sets your business up for success.

                                                                                                                    Be sure to listen to the rest of the episodes to learn all you can about marketing and setting your business up for success.

                                                                                                                    1 hr 5 min

                                                                                                                  About Custom Apparel Startups

                                                                                                                  From the publisher's feed

                                                                                                                  The Custom Apparel Startups podcast was started simply because we love both the apparel decorating business and the idea that almost anyone, with a small investment and a little dedication, cannot only start their own business but thrive!