4 Tips to Prepare for Holiday Orders

The holiday shopping season is here, whether we’re ready or not! Online retailers of all sizes are busy preparing for the surge of expected holiday orders. Is your embroidery business ready?

It can be difficult to predict what your holiday workload will be like but you can make sure you’re prepared for anything by stocking up on supplies, working ahead to keep yourself from falling behind, and looking back at the growth of your embroidery or monogramming business to estimate what your holiday sales might be like.

Start by looking back.

Take a look at the past year. How have prime shopping holidays affected your workload

• Did you experience a boost in sales last holiday season?
• How has your business grown since last year?
• Use these numbers to estimate how much your holiday sales might be boosted.

Pay attention to peak holiday shopping dates, such as Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. The weeks leading up to Christmas are also popular with last-minute shoppers.

Work ahead as much as possible.

“Made to order” isn’t always the best plan when you’re expecting a big surge in orders. Stock up on popular products and holiday-themed items so you can get your orders shipped as soon as possible. The sooner one order is finished, the sooner you can get to the next!

If you offer custom work that can’t be made ahead of time, prepare as much as you can so that everything is ready to be customized when an order comes in.

Keep extra supplies on hand.

Nothing cuts into your workflow like having to stop to go buy more supplies. Stock up on extra embroidery thread, extra needles, stabilizers, and anything else you’ll need to create your most popular products. Remember, it’s better to be over-prepared than unprepared.

Don’t forget about shipping and packaging supplies! Keep extra boxes, shipping labels, tape, and other supplies on hand so you can fill your orders as soon as possible.

Stick to your deadlines.

Holiday shoppers are most likely looking for gifts for their loved ones or for the perfect piece of embroidery to fit their holiday décor. Either way, your customers want to know they’ll be able to get their orders on time. Decide on cutoff dates for holiday orders and alert your customers to these deadlines. If you can, figure out the last possible day someone could order and still be guaranteed to receive their order on time. Don’t forget to include extra time for production!

 

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20 Instagram Marketing Tips to Grow Your Embroidery Business

Are you marketing your embroidery business on Instagram? With more than 200 million active users each month, Instagram is a growing platform that’s perfect for showcasing your products. Marketers find that users engage on Instagram 15x more than they do on Facebook, which means a much higher potential for your store to get noticed.

If you’ve been wondering how to get more Instagram followers or how to get more embroidery sales online, this list is for you! We’ve put together some great Instagram marketing tips that will have you posting like a pro in no time.

Instagram Marketing Tips

–Create a business account rather than using your personal Instagram profile. Try to choose a username that matches your business name or that is easy to identify with your brand.

-Make sure your profile is complete by adding a profile picture and link to your business page or website. Don’t forget a fun bio to tell people about your business!

-Use a link shortening tools like Bitly that allow you to track and monitor link clicks. Remember that links can’t be clicked from posts, so update your bio link.

-Use hashtags (#) to help expand the reach of your posts. When typing in hashtags, you’ll be able to get a glimpse of how popular they are, but you can also browse other embroidery-based accounts for ideas.

-Create your own branded hashtag so your customers can spread the word about your business! Make it trendy and easy to remember.

-Take high-quality images. It’s all about the visuals on Instagram, so make sure your pictures stand out! Instagram images use a square format. While it is flexible to rectangular images, it still only shows a square when you’re looking at your profile. So it’s best to stick with the square format more often than not.

-Create a posting schedule and stick to it. There’s no golden rule to posting on Instagram, but you’ll learn over time what times and frequencies work best with your followers.

-Post image galleries and videos, not just images. Different formats encourage engagement and might get noticed more than a standard picture post.

-Include behind-the-scenes images to give customers an inside look at your process and how your products are made.

-Share the love! Follow other embroidery accounts and share their work. They might return the favor!

-Pay attention to trending hashtags by checking out the ‘Explore’ section on your Instagram app. You might find hashtags you can use in your posts to help get your account noticed.

-Host giveaways on your account! Encourage followers to tag their friends in order to win free stuff. It’s a great way to spread the word about your business. Make sure you follow Instagram’s rules regarding contests or giveaways on the platform.

-Spread the word about sales and other promotions in your shop.

-Show off what’s new! Take pictures of new products and “product previews” to get people excited.

-Interact with your followers. Respond to comments and give shoutouts by tagging customers in your posts. This will encourage others to interact with your account.

-Tell people what to do. Include a “call to action” with every post, especially if you’re showcasing a product or sale.

-Create shareable content. Post inspirational quotes, pictures of cute puppies, and more that people will want to share with their friends.

-Be creative. Experiment with Instagram filters, take photos from different angles, and have fun with your posts!

-Show your products in action. A display image is nice, but your customers want to know what your embroidery is going to look like in their home or when they’re wearing it. Don’t limit yourself to sharing photos, include looping videos of your products too!

-Find out what works for you! No two Instagram accounts are ever alike. You never know what’s going to get your followers excited about your account, so don’t be afraid to try something new now and then!

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Embroidery Business Tips: How to Price Your Products

We all take different things into consideration before making a purchase, but for most of us there’s one common factor: price. As an embroidery business owner, you want to price your products in a way that fits the value your customers see for your products, but you also want to maintain a profit so you can stay in business. Every product has a pricing “sweet spot” where value and profits meet.

There are many things to consider when deciding how to price your embroidery products. We recommend trying a “top down” approach to pricing embroidery products, which means starting by calculating your upfront costs and overhead. This includes the cost of materials, shipping, outside costs such as marketing, and of course your time spent.

Cost of Materials

When pricing embroidery products to sell, start by calculating the cost of your materials. Some materials will be easy, such as a garment that will only be used for a single project. Other materials, such as embroidery thread, are purchased in bulk but will be used for many different products.

For these items, give your best estimate to figure out the average number of projects you can finish with that material, and use that to calculate the cost per project.

For example, say you can embroider 100 shirts from 1 cone of thread that costs $8.
$8 ÷ 100 = $0.08 per project. If you use an average of 5 colors per project, your thread costs per project is about $0.40, on average. Do this calculation for every material used to complete a project and add the costs together. This is your base cost.

Cost of Shipping

If you charge shipping separately, try using a flat-rate based on the average cost of shipping for orders. If your orders vary in quantity and weight, it may be more cost effective to create a small series of scaled shipping costs based on what’s sold. Beyond the cost of shipping itself, don’t forget to include the cost of packaging materials and any add-ons included with an order, such as coupons, business cards, etc.

You can save on shipping costs by using flat rate packaging when possible. It’s also a good idea to invest in a small scale you can use to weigh your items and then you can pre-purchase packing slips.

Overhead Costs

You’re making investments in your embroidery business all the time, so don’t forget to factor those costs into your product pricing. Think about everything that goes into making your business possible. These are also known as “overhead” costs.

• Marketing
• Website hosting
• Photography equipment
• Embroidery machine maintenance
• Space for your business (rent, utilities, etc.)
• Vendor fees at craft fairs
• Listing fees on sites like Etsy or Ebay

Your Time

So many of us forget to value our time! Always keep track of the time spent on a project, and include the cost of labor in your embroidery product prices. Products that take a higher skill level than others should be adjusted accordingly for price.

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Tips for Starting an Embroidery Business out of Your Home

Are you thinking about starting a home embroidery business? Working from home has many pros and cons. The flexibility and freedom are a trade-off for distractions and interruptions. When setting up your home embroidery business, follow these tips to stay on track and make the most out of working from home.

Select your home studio space.

Try to choose a designated workspace that’s separate from your home’s living spaces. This will help you stay focused during the workday. Choose a space that’s quiet and well lit, and large enough to fit all of your supplies, including your embroidery machine. Even if you can’t reserve an entire room as your home studio, it’s a good idea to make a certain corner or desk “for work only.”

Tip: Organize all of the supplies and materials you need for your business in labeled bins to keep track of inventory levels and save time!

Stay away from distractions.

It’s not always easy to stay focused when you’re working from home, so do your best to minimize distractions. Clear away any clutter and close the door to block out any noise. If you don’t need your cell phone for work, set the ringer to silent or put it away completely. Create a phone message that states you are at the machine and will return the call at the next opportunity.

Tip: If you’re having a hard time getting into “work mode” during the day, try dressing in more professional attire to get yourself into the right mindset. It’s hard to work when you’re in pajamas!

Organize your home embroidery studio.

Increase your productivity by giving every part of your business a designated place in your home embroidery studio. Keep supplies well organized, and have a separate area for packaging and shipping. Decide where completed orders will go so you never lose anything.

Tip: Organize your invoices and other paperwork from the start, before you get buried! Decide where all your important documents will be stored, and keep track of monthly costs and profits in a spreadsheet.

Set “office hours” for yourself.

The flexible hours when you’re working from home can be both a blessing and a curse. Many of us get caught up in the freedom of not “having” to work set hours and end up working extra late nights in order to catch up! It’s fine to give yourself some flexibility, but try giving yourself set hours to work during the day so you don’t fall behind.

Tip: If business is slow and you have some free time during your working hours, that’s a great time to work on marketing your business!

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18 Jan How to Get Return Customers and Grow Your Business

You put a lot of effort into growing your embroidery business. Whether you’re working on setting up your business online, creating the perfect product listings, or marketing your business, there are plenty of ways to attract new customers. But you might be forgetting about your most important customer base–the ones you already have!

Studies show that repeat customers account for up to 40% of a store’s revenue.

Here are a few ways to show your appreciation for those customers you worked so hard to get and encourage them to shop again!

Start by saying “Thank you.”

Showing your appreciation can go a long way! Too many companies place their sole focus on getting to that “next” customer while forgetting to care for the customers they already have. Include a thank you message following their order and consider adding a note during shipping. Handwritten notes show you’re personally involved in their order and will help you stand out from your competitors!

Keep your customers in the loop.

Even though they love your store, your customer won’t always be thinking about you. Stay on their minds by keeping in touch. Consider building a mailing list and having a monthly or quarterly email newsletter that lets your customers know what’s happening with your embroidery business. Maintain an active online presence and announce sales, new items, and giveaways on your social media pages.

Offer incentives to shop.

Referral rewards and discounts for return shoppers are a great way to show your customers you want them to keep coming back. Add cards with discount codes to your packages and offer perks such as free shipping on larger orders. Recommend gift certificates for your customers who are buying linens for wedding gifts and other special occasions. Gift certificates are also perfect for baby showers when you aren’t sure of the new baby’s gender or name!

Engage!

Shoppers love building connections with the brands they buy from. Whether you’re telling the story behind a product you’re offering or showing a behind-the-scenes video of your workspace, it never hurts to take the time to engage with your customers. When posting on Instagram or Facebook, ask questions and interact with your followers, and remember to answer any questions in a timely manner. Engaging is also a great way to get feedback from your customers!

Let’s recap! Here are some of our top tips for growing your embroidery business:

• Include a thank-you note when delivering orders to show your appreciation.
• Create a monthly email newsletter to let your customers know what’s new.
• Offer discounts and perks for shopping with your store and for referrals.
• Build connections with your customers via social media.

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Patch It Up! Your Guide to Creating Stylin’ Machine Embroidery Patches

Patches, they’re everywhere!

You’ve seen them on jackets, jeans, shirts, backpacks, even sneakers…

The cute embroidered accessories from your youth are making a comeback in 2017, and they’re not just for girl scouts! Popular retailers like Urban Outfitters and Forever21 are pushing patches into mainstream fashion.

As an embroiderer, you want to get in on the fad! Whether your stylish niece wants a custom patch, or you just want to deck out your favorite shoulder bag, it’s time you learned to make your own patches!

How to create an embroidery patch on your commercial embroidery machine

The tools you’ll need:

A digitized patch design: Make sure your design has a reasonable level of detail that will translate well when it is scaled down to patch size.

Sharp needle: The high thread count of most patches means a worn down needle could cause damage. It’s best to start fresh with a brand new sharp needle.

The fabric of your choice: Since you will be using a heavy satin stitch for the outline of your patch, we recommend a sturdy fabric like cotton or canvas.

Water soluble stabilizer: These stabilizers dissolve when rinsed, leaving your patch with a clean finish after your hard work is complete.

1. Choose your digitized patch design and load it into your embroidery machine.
2. Hoop a piece of heavy water-soluble film or water-soluble mesh in a suitable hoop size. Water-soluble mesh allows you to stitch multiple patches in a single hooping, while the film type perforates, limiting you to a single patch per hooping.
3. Begin by embroidering a placement line of your patch design directly onto the water-soluble stabilizer.
4. Place your patch fabric over the placement line and stitch the tack-down line.
5. Edge the outside of your fabric using a zigzag stitch to connect your patch fabric to the water-soluble stabilizer.
6. Cut around the fabric with scissors, keeping close to the tack down stitching.
7. Stitch the elements of the patch, finishing with a satin border, using a density of about 3 points.
8. If using film type stabilizer, just punch the patch put and it is complete. If using water-soluble mesh, submerge the patch in water or moisten around the edges using a moistened cotton swab.

There you have it! Once fully dry, you can attach your patches with adhesive or sew them onto a garment for a fun custom twist on your favorite clothes.

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6 Winter Embroidery Accessories to Add to Your Product Listings

Socks

Let your customers make a stylish statement without sacrificing warmth. Add monograms, borders, or even patches to knee-high socks and offer the designs in a variety of colors and sizes.

Shoes

Whether you’re going for boots or flats, embroidery with dark colors or a wintery motif are a great statement piece. If you offer custom embroidery work, shoes are a great item to add to your list.

Gloves

Gloves are a must-have winter accessory, but they don’t have to be boring. Leather, knitted, and cloth gloves all offer space for a simple design or even a monogram. Be sure to stock up–everyone will want a pair!

Hats

Berets, knitted beanies, and ear covers will look even better with a bit of embroidery around the edges. Pair with matching designs on gloves, scarves, or shoes to make the perfect winter accessory set to sell!

Patches

Embroidered patches have made a comeback in fashion world and can be used to add a touch of glam to bags, hats, jackets, and more. Be sure to showcase images of your embroidered patches on different types of clothing and accessories to give your customers ideas.

Tips for Selling Embroidery Accessories:

• Your customers love having options. Offer the same design in a variety of colors.
• If you’ve sold items such as monogrammed boots before, look at the most popular sizes and use the data to determine which sizes to stock this winter.
• Can your customers see themselves wearing your products? In addition to your normal product photos, include images of your embroidery accessories being worn.

Why Does My Embroidery Business Need to be Scalable?

What Does it Mean to Have a Scalable Business?
Scalability is a common term in the business world, but what does it mean for a small home-based business? A business is considered scalable when it has the ability to easily adapt to business growth.

Small businesses need to be scalable because they have the biggest potential for growth.

Too often, small businesses that experience sudden growth go through “growing pains” as they struggle to make their existing employees, processes, and equipment function beyond their normal capacity. Scalability in a business means the flexibility to function despite the ebb and flow of a business experiencing growth.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A SCALABLE BUSINESS:

Meet your customer’s demands

Unless your business model includes ongoing customers with repeat orders, chances are your workload will fluctuate throughout the year, with peak sales seasons as well as low points. If your embroidery business is scalable, you’ll be able to function at any time, whether you’re processing 10 orders or 100.

Stay competitive

Having a business with the flexibility to scale up when needed means you’ll be able to handle unexpected surges in sales. If you’re unable to keep up with larger or more frequent orders, you could be convincing people to shop with your competitors instead.

Stay efficient during growth

If you managed to double your sales this year, would your business be able to keep up? If you’ve taken steps to making your business scalable, you’ll be prepared for growth and won’t have to struggle to keep up with your own success.

Tips for Scaling Your Embroidery Business:

 

Don’t let your embroidery business be held back. Make sure multiple parts of your business are scalable, including production capacity, customer service, and marketing.

Consider your plans and goals for your embroidery business, and decide what you would need to do in order to meet those goals. This will help you decide where to place your priorities when scaling your business.

Things change, and your plans for growing and scaling your embroidery business today might not match your future goals. Take time at least once or twice per year to review your progress and re-evaluate your plans and processes whenever necessary.