promotional ideas??

I feel you!
I'm always thinking of new ways to knock my "rivals" off there feet, shut them down, and take over with my shop.
My [B]MAIN[B] customers are touring bands, clothing lines, record labels, tattoo shops.. mostly stuff like that; though i do print for a few stores in the mall, and other local buisness in our area.
The whole appearance of our shop is what mainly over powers other shops in the tricounty area. We give our shop an "up to date" look. ALWAYS useing eye catching logos to promote our rates, and not so much talking to our customers as customers, but as friends. Even though you're giving your customers a normal price, always make it seem like your cutting them a deal of a life time. That way they will spread the word.
Mainly, just kill it. Use great colors, dont so much blend in to the city/town your located in, stick out like a soar thumb.
my company is called Ghostwork Ink Printing.....enough said, it catches peoples attention.

myspace.com/ghostworkinc

Hi Laurie,
As the Ghost said, try color and flash. Sometimes being seen is as good as an offer. It's a tough time to try anything new with the economy in the toilet. Most people are so tight right now you couldn't pull a needle out of their butt using a farm tractor.
Once we raffled off a couple dozen tees with the winners name on them. We made several hundred bucks profit on that little deal.
Another time we held a contest where the customers would come up with catchy sayings and we put them in a big can and drew the winner out for a dozen shirts or hats.
Little things like that will have them talking about you for some time. Plus, you get some really good ideas for a line of "funny & serious" clothing you can sell on the web.
Have fun with the ideas and remember...deep breaths....if you find yourself in a pot being cooked by cannibals...pee in their soup. They'll remember that taste for a long time.
Wish I could tell you more...but there are some smart, creative people here and I'm quite sure one of them will have more to add.

Best of luck....
Greg
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couldn't have said it better Greg! hahahah!

what ive done is take white tshirts cheapest and and print say for a bar or anywhere theres large crowds and print what ever they want on the front and tell them there free of charge . but you want to print your logo saying sponsered by (company) on the back. ive done this for lots of events . and works pretty good.

I think white Tshirts should ALWAYS be cheaper then colored/blacks.
Only fair i think

good luck!

Maybe try some fishin' for Embroidery business.

You've got two customers, the ones you have and the ones you don't.

For the ones you have (or have used your business in the past), send them something.
Take their company name and redesign it or move it around their logo. If they used a stock design before, find something similiar but with a new twist.

It's probably standard but, when ordering for any customer, always order a few extra.
This way, you'll know what garment they prefer. Later on down the road, for example, when their hats or shirts are showing signs of aging, you send them a new one.
Of course this one will look new and different from the original, which may be enough to get the ball rolling.

The customers you don't have, well, this may be easier, especially for new start up companies which aren't advertising (or wearing promotional products).
You've seen from your existing customers what works and what doesn't.
Therefore, use your imagination. Use a stock design or use some creative editing and then, send them somthing.

It doesn't matter who it is, people enjoy getting something for nothing.
They will look at you differently. You didn't have to do this but you did.
It shows you are taking an interest in promoting their business (while promoting your own of course). They will spread the news of their good fortune (Hey, this guy is giving stuff away!!!)

Make sure to include a price list (a profitable one) and a couple of business cards with your free sample.

Good luck fishin'

Tim :cool:

Many school districts have a central office where you submit an application to be one of their approved vendors. Take one of those leftover shirts with a cool school sentiment/logo and your log in with you when you go to apply.

The applications generally ask you to demonstrate that you are a business, and what your offerings are. The nice thing is - orders over a certain $$ amount often have to submit their potential order to every single approved vendor for a quote.

In the schools there are also parent groups or individual clubs that have the rights to order from whonever they wish. Pick a very small overlooked club ( chess club?) and make up donations for their club with your name displayed and contact info. Also take in a receipt with the full retail price and at the bottom in huge letters, no charge. They will send this receipt to be processed giving more exposure. Make sure the owner signs the receipt to give him positive PR and a personal touch.We have gotten orders the same day we have distributed these kinds of gifts, and encouraged the students at the same time. Win win.