The Design Part of Embroidery Designs

Often, I get company logos that very clearly weren’t originally intended for embroidery, to digitize. When a company designs their logo, they rarely think the design through for all the mediums it will be used with and focus completely on what the design looks like in print. This is detrimental later, once all their letterhead and signage is finished and they begin to think about doing shirts for employees and promotional give-aways. Then, they have an issue with consistency between all their different marketing efforts and their chosen logo.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when designing your company logo with regard to embroidery:

If you choose a design with too small or too much lettering, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to sew in thread. You may have to resort to screenprinting since the size of the text can be printed smaller rather than sewn. Of course, screenprinting doesn’t look nearly as nice ;)

Don’t use cool gradient color effects or multiple borders around anything unless you plan to make the embroidery very large. Gradients only work in larger areas of fill and with colors that will blend smoothly like several shades of the same color. For instance, there is no natural color blend from purple to green so this isn’t a good idea. Two and three (or more) borders/shadows around letters look great in print but cause embroidery problems; everything from too thin to sew and distorted letters to registration problems and most likely you’ll have to drop all but one. If the letters are minimum size, the border won’t work at all.

Remember, when designing your logo, simple is better. Choose cleaner text that is readable at a distance of about 3 feet. A normal sized embroidery logo for left chest is about 2.5” to 4” wide. Leave the phone numbers for your business card; no one is going to rush up with a notepad to scribble down the number from your shirts. Have the graphic artist set up your design on light and dark backgrounds so you can see what it looks like against different colors and be sure to tell him/her that your design will be used for embroidery also. If you stick to design elements that translate well to embroidery, you’ll be proud to wear your logo on all your garments.

NeedleUp has the experience to consult with you on the embroidery side and digitize your design, translating it to embroidery while keeping the integrity of your logo within your marketing vision. Visit our website: http://www.needleup.com  or call us at 303-287-6633 for impressive results!

Embroidery - Treading, Sinking or Swimming

The current economic state of our world makes our industry a scary place to try and make a living right now. We, of course, don’t work in a “recession-proof” industry, not even close (that is if there are any recession-proof industries). If fact, when corporate belts are cinched tighter, the custom embroidered apparel, printed shirts, custom logoed swag, coffee cups, pens and magnets are the first to go. Company budgets are smaller or non-existent and this early in the year, they have a tendency to hold on to them longer to see what the year has in store.

Merriam Webster defines economy as: thrifty and efficient use of resources.
How do you deal with this in your business? How do you keep your head up and revenue flowing? Are you treading, sinking or swimming?

Firstly, you’re gonna have to do that marketing that you keep putting off. I know, believe me…but it can mean the difference between feast and famine (OK, maybe not feast in this economy but you know what I mean). Carve out some time every day, even if it’s half and hour to devote to getting some new customers. Right now local is better because you can save your customer shipping fees and meet people in person. They’re more likely to buy from someone they feel they know. Phone calls and emails are free.

If you’re an embroiderer, wear your logo everywhere! This is you, marketing your business and a great way to show potential customers your quality. Pass out business cards like Halloween candy. Narrow your efforts to the area that’s most likely to pay off.

Get serious about your receivables. Current customers that owe you money and go out too far wreck havoc with your cash flow. If you have a policy, stick with it and work to collect. If you have no policy, make one.

Really talk to your customers. Remind them that now is the time to spend a bit on their marketing, not stop it completely. Just make sure that you are the go-to person to help them with that and reassure them that they’re getting the best bang for their buck. Get creative and find them options they can afford on a tighter budget.

Make sure your customers always get the best quality for their money and realize that great customer service doesn’t cost you anything; that’s your advertising. Trust me, if you help them when times are tough, they will be with you when things get better.….and they will get better…. right?

Embroidery - New Year, New Plan

I know, I know. Don't you hate the New Year's Resolutions? Do they really help or is it just another sign post to later pinpoint exactly where your good intentions went astray?

This year, don't make yourself a resolution, make a plan. Put it down on paper. Hang it up by your desk if you have to. Decide what you need to do to grow your business and how you are going to get there. You don't want to go tripping and stumbling into the new year. Baby steps though; making an unattainable and unrealistic goal is sure failure. Sure, the lofty idea of what your business should be is a mighty inspiration. But take smaller steps in that direction and adjust when need be to reach each incremental goal along the way.

If it's marketing you wish to accomplish, adding more customers to your base, decide the best possible route to add new clients while keeping the ones you have already. Maybe an incentive program for referrals and a new ad placed where your target customers are abundant.

Maybe you feel the need for additional training for you or your staff in some area of the embroidery business. Nowadays, on-line training is offered by many software manufacturers and independent companies in the industry. Maybe you feel pulled to add a service to your current offerings. Great! Find out all you can about the new service, how the costs will affect your business and weight all your options before jumping.

Whatever it is you need to work on in 2008, be thorough and organized. Thinking through your plan and how you're going to get there will help you foresee the obstacles in your path and hurdle them easily. Set it in motion and do a little every day. Have a prosperous 2008!

Embroidery - Marketing your Talents

You know you need to market your embroidery business but you're just not sure what to do....exactly. Sure, you wear clothing with your logo out into the world and you carry your business cards with you at all times. You may have even sent out fliers in the hope of securing a few new customers but it's a slow-go and nothing is guaranteed, right?

Well, it is said that the best advertising is word of mouth so why not inspire your current customers to speak...about you and your business! Offer them a benefit to talking about your talents and reward them when you acquire a new customer through an established one. Word of mouth works better because it appears to be an unsolicited, let-me-give-you-a-hot-tip sort of thing. Everyone wants to know the inside scoop and feel like they are "in the loop". Talk to 5 of your best customers and ask them for what you want. Ask them to tell every business contact they know about you and give them some of your cards to pass out.

Of course, you still want to pass out your cards like Halloween candy yourself. If there is a retail business board where you can leave your cards, do it. Always post them in places where you have the highest content of people interested in your services and they will do the most good! Search out new niches to go after. You never know, the next customer you may be embroidering for just might be the person next to you on the bus, in line after you at the store, or the owner of that cute little fashion clothing store around the corner that you like.

SO, tell us what you do to market your embroidery business and what works the best for you!