Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is nothing new. It’s a strategy businesses have actively employed for years to rank their web pages higher than their competitors in order to generate new leads and sales opportunities. These days, it’s a necessary component to any digital framework, promotional companies included. So, whether you’re ready to graduate to…
Read MoreEditorial Type: Tips and Tools
Heat Printing: When and Why?
When choosing a decorating method, it’s important to consider the substrate, what finish is necessary, placement of the decoration, the quantity required and how quickly the job needs to be turned around. Heat printing, also known as heat transfer printing, offers advantages in these key areas over other methods like screen printing or embroidery. Although heat printing has been around for decades, innovations in heat-applied materials and heat application machinery are making it more popular…
Read MoreInsider: Why It’s Never Too Early to Have an Exit Strategy for Your Promo Business
What happens when your professional goals are met, your business has grown and matured, and you’ve decided to transition out of it? You’ve built your business from the ground up and you have a proven track record of success, which can translate to big resale value—if that’s the way you want to go. Now is the time for you to plan for the future…
Read MoreFourth Quarter Fun: Fill Up on Q4 Promo Products and Sales Ideas
It seems like just yesterday we were scraping New Year’s Eve confetti off of our shoes and checking the weather for snowstorms. But, thanks to time’s ability to fly, 2019 is almost over. And many distributors are deep in the throes of planning for their fourth quarter sales. If you’re not, that’s OK! There’s still time to get the ball rolling. But now is the time to start thinking about what Q4 promo products clients are looking for at year’s end…
Read MoreWhat to Know About the Booming Promotional Socks Category
The global footwear market is expected to hit $11.6 billion by 2023. What does it take to provide buyers and wearers with promotional socks they’ll love? Promo Marketing talked to Vincent Goralczyk, president of Custom Sock Line LLC, Dumont, N.J.; Chloe Ayres, marketing manager for Sock Club Enterprises LLC, Austin, Texas; and Kelly Yarborough, CEO of Sock101, Lee’s Summit, Mo., to find out…
Read MoreInspired Employees, Happy Customers: Core Values, Company Culture and Continuous Improvement
Companies grow and evolve. Culture and values have to evolve with them. Our first Core Values were about who we are at work. Our new ones are more about how we work together. The biggest learn for the management team through the Core Values project was that people want to be part of something that inspires them. If employees are inspired and happy, it shows—and it leads to happy customers…
Read MoreWhat’s Trending in Promotional Hats and Headwear (and How to Sell It)
In case you haven’t noticed, hats are having a moment. From the giant Jacquemus straw hat Rihanna and Jessica Chastain donned all last summer, to the Dior visor Kim Kardashian showcased on Instagram, to Hidden Valley Ranch’s must-have branded dad hat, headwear has become the latest must-have fashion accessory. We can’t say we’re surprised…
Read MoreHow Kmart and Sears Looked to Promotional Products to Launch Their Retail Comeback
Everyone loves a good comeback story. Bill Feldberg, chief marketing officer for Something Inked, Nashville, Tenn., recalls a promotional products campaign he did with Sears and Kmart—two former titans now looking to revitalize their brands and reinvent themselves for the new world of retail—that felt especially personal and successful…
Read MoreGrowing Your Business: Advice From Two Fast-Growing Promo Distributors
As part of our 2019 Top Distributors list, we looked at some of the industry’s fastest-growing promo distributors. Winbrook increased its promotional products sales by 42.86 percent last year. Real Sourcing Network LLC grew its upstart promotional products business by 744.44 percent. We talked to both companies to find out how they did it—and what other promo businesses can learn from their success…
Read MoreHow Promo Is Changing: Client Expectations, External Challenges and Shifting Distributor Dynamics
When I started in this industry 20 years ago, I was simply known as “the T-shirt guy.” People on campus didn’t know my name, but they knew what I did. At the start, we weren’t even proofing artwork digitally. That concept is unfathomable today, but it’s just one area that shows how much things have changed. Now, it’s about more than just selling products…
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