Marketing Your Sewing Business Through Print Advertising

HE-732, February 1996. By Carol B. Centrallo, Extension Apparel and Textile Management Specialist, Assistant Professor, Consumer Affairs

In the early stages of growing a business, sewing entrepreneurs may rely on the patronage of family members and friends. This gives the new business the jump-start it needs to grow. As the business expands, a more advanced marketing approach is needed to reach people outside of the small business owner's personal network.

Marketing is a very broad term that includes pricing, promotion, and distribution of products and services in order to satisfy company objectives and consumer needs. Marketing methods range from selling at fairs and trade shows to sponsoring community events. According to marketing experts, print advertising is the basic to any marketing campaign, Print advertising is one of the most widely used and effective marketing methods for small businesses. A small sewing business can look just as sophisticated as a large business in a print ad. Contrary to popular belief, a small marketing budget is not a handicap to effective marketing, Advertisements can be developed and distributed inexpensively by small establishments.

To be effective, and advertisement needs only to be written and places so that it reaches the right audience with a motivating message. This publication will focus on writing and placing print ads. The pointers outlined will help small sewing businesses use print ads effectively.

SECTIONS

I. What Is Print Advertisement?

II. Setting Goals For Your Business

III. Does Your Business Sell Services Or Products?

IV. Who Is Your Target Group?

V. Choose A Publication For Your Ad

VI. Design Your Ad

VII. The Cost Of Advertising

VIII. What To Expect

IX. Conclusion and References

I. What Is Print Advertisement?

Before considering ways to develop and distribute a print advertisement, let us consider what a print ad is.

A print advertisement is a message designed to let people know what you have to sell, how they might benefit from it, and how they can do business with you. Ads are flexible and can be targeted to specific groups in a community. A well-written ad is brief, straightforward, and contains only the information most relevant for creating interest in your business. The two major types of print ads are display and classified. A third less common type is the scatter ad. Entrepreneurs can purchase space for ads in three major kinds of publications: newspapers, magazines, and directories.

Benefits Of Advertising

Change brand loyalty.

Create a new demand.

Educate and inform.

Reach the undecided.

Reinforce existing decisions.

Heighten customer consciousness.

Enlarge the market.

Types Of Advertisements

Display ads include text, artwork, and a border. This type of ad not only informs but incorporates creativity. A clever heading is usually added to capture attention. Complementary artwork and borders convey your business image.

Classified ads consist of a few well-written lines of text. Classified ads are designed to be brief and to the point. Most contain a few concise statements and no artwork. Some words may be abbreviated to save space and money.

Scatter ads look like display ads but are much smaller. Scatter ads are only one-twelfth or one-sixth of a page in size, while a single display ad can be large enough to cover an entire page. A scatter ad includes artwork and text. Scatter ads generate an immediate reaction. One type of scatter ad begins by stating a problem and goes on to tell where to get help. For example, and ad might say "Haven't a thing to wear?" or "Problems fitting pants?" A scatter ad can be used instead of a display ad.

Display Ads Versus Classified Ads

Display Ads	are more expensive than classified ads. work especially well for products or services associated with easily recognizible names.
Classified Ads	work best for specialty, professional, and educational services. are more basic in appearance than display ads. are read by more people who have already identified a need. As a result, classified ads produce a more immediate response. are cheaper and less commercial than display ads. When trying to reach the general public, use a classified ad before trying a display ad.

Types Of Publications

Newspapers, magazines, and directories offer opportunities to publish advertisements. Each type of publication serves a different purpose. Consider pros and cons of placing an ad.

Newspapers may be distributed throughout a community or circulated to a small segment of the community. This gives you the advantage of targeting certain groups with advertising. However, newspapers have a short life-span. Readers are likely to see the ad only once before getting rid of the paper, and this can be a disadvantage. An ad can be seen more frequently if it's placed in daily or weekly newspapers.

Magazines are particularly beneficial if color and texture are important selling features. for example, magazine photographs can show the true color and texture of fabrics. The life-span of a magazine is longer than that of a newspaper. People tend to keep magazines for several months and spend a lot of time reading the ad section. Special interest magazines, designed for people involved in a particular hobby or pastime, like knitting, craft-making, or French handsewing, enable you to target advertising. Industrial magazines provide timely information about suppliers of equipment and other resources.

Directories may be general or industry specific. The Yellow Pages represent a general directory, containing ads from a variety of businesses organized by category. Yellow Pages are targeted to the general public within a specific geographical area. Industry-specific business directories are designed for suppliers and producers in a particular industry. Ads are organized by geographical area, product or service type, or some other category. Most of the people who see ads in the Yellow Pages or a business directory will be seeking to fulfill a certain need. The general public is not likely to see ads in industrial directories.

II. Setting Goals For Your Business

Never advertise just to keep the name of your business before the public. Advertise only if it helps to achieve your business goals. To set goals, think through your current situation:

• What is your current position in the marketplace?
• Where is the potential growth in the marketplace?
• What is the best approach to protecting or expanding your market share?
• Who are the customers you want to reach?

Based on your current situation, identify your most immediate goal. For most new businesses an immediate goal is to cover monthly expenses. Consider the number of customers you will need to bring in to meet the goal. What amount do you need in sales to achieve the goal? Concentrate your efforts on immediate needs first.

Once immediate needs are satisfied, turn your attention to more long-term goals. A long-term goal would be to break even for the year. To reach this goal, select methods that allow you to reach a segment of the market you have not reached before. Other long-term goals might be to gain a certain percentage of market share, build your business image, or establish your reputation as an expert. Choose marketing methods that are consistent with your goals, product or service, target market, and budget.

III. Does Your Business Sell Services Or Products?

To determine where to put your print advertising efforts, consider whether your business sells products or services.

Sewing businesses that sell services such as dressmaking, alterations, or window treatments depend on a pool of local customers. These and other service businesses require direct contact between seller and buyer. Newspapers, regional magazines, and the Yellow Pages reach people who live in the area surrounding your business.

Sewing businesses that sell products like patterns, books, fabrics, and sewing notions do not require direct contact between seller and buyer; therefore, potential customers who live in neighboring states or across the country can be targeted effectively. Nationally distributed consumer and special interest magazines allow you to reach potential customers over a wide geographical area. Industrial magazines and business directories are used bu wholesale buyers in a specific industry.

Service-Oriented Businesses Versus Product-Oriented Businesses

Service-oriented Businesses	sell directly to consumers who will use the service. advertise in local newspapers, consumer magazines, special interest magazines, and the Yellow Pages.
Product-oriented Business	sell to consumers who will use the product. sell to wholesale buyers who will resell the product. reach wholesale buyers with ads in industrial magazines, business directories, and industry newspapers.

IV. Who Is Your Target Group?

Before placing an ad, identify your target market and determine how to reach them. Service-oriented businesses sell directly to the person who will use the service. Some product-oriented businesses sell directly to the person who will use the service. Some product-oriented businesses also sell directly to consumers who will use the product. However, these businesses may also sell to wholesale buyers who will resell the product to consumers.

A marketing campaign must be designed with the target group in mind, To reach customers directly, advertise services and products in a variety of local newspapers, circulars, consumer magazines, the Yellow Pages, or appropriate business directories. To reach wholesale buyers, place ads in the Yellow Pages and in relevant industry newspapers, business directories, and industrial magazines.

V. Choose A Publication For Your Ad

When deciding whether to use newspapers, magazines, or directories for your ad, find out where your competition advertises and do the same. Chances are if businesses similar to yours advertise in a particular publication, it will work well for you too. Look at a variety of different publications in the chosen category. Take note of how the ads look and what they say. Notice what attracts your attention and what type of ad provokes a response. Include the best elements in your ad.

Talk with other sewing entrepreneurs at meetings, conventions, and other events. You can learn which publications pay off for small sewing businesses and which ones do not.

Before investing in advertising, request a reader's profile from the publication's advertising office. You want to reach prospects, not just people. Prospects are people who want or need your product or service. To avoid wasting advertising dollars, place ads in publications that target your specific prospects. Do not try to reach everyone but concentrate on those most likely to purchase your service or product. Examine articles and advertisements in the publication to get a feel for the audience that it reaches. Design an ad that will be attractive to a particular audience.

Test to find out what type of publication is most effective. Place coded ads in several publications. A code will allow you to trace inquires back to a particular ad. For example, include your full name in one ad, but use an initial or your first name only in another. For example, Ann Doe, A. Doe, or Ann. By tracking which ad results in the most inquiries, you will know which is doing the best job of attracting customers.

VI. Design Your Ad

As a business owner, you will want an ad that is designed to show your business in the best light. Many newspaper or magazine companies will have a technical writer or artist on staff to assist you in preparing the ad. But remember, no one knows your business and its products or services better than you. Only you know what message or image you want to convey to readers. Allow newspaper staff to help you design an ad, but maintain control yourself.

Start by reading ads in the publication you are considering. You will want to create an ad that is similar in size but stands out from competitors with its own distinct message and style. Here are some pointers to help you make wise choices, whether designing an ad yourself or with the help of a writing professional.

Designing Display Ads

Advertising copy for display ads should be simple and easy to understand. Write from the orientation of the reader in a newsy fashion.

Include three parts in the copy:

• A headline that gets attention.
• Artwork that is complementary to the headline.
• Text that is informative.

Text should include:

• Product / service benefits.
• Business address -- street or PO box
• Telephone number and fax number.
• Special product or service features: superior product, on-time delivery, volume discounts, reliable service, unique style, convenience, friendly service, personal attention, reasonable prices.

When writing text:

• Use short headlines.
• Leave some white space.
• Use regular talk. Try not to sound fancy or like a commercial.
• Include bare-bones facts.
• Try to create word pictures.
• Use a few adjectives to motivate.
• Take a "you" approach rather than a "me" or "we" approach.

The location of a newspaper ad influences the number of people who see it. Ask to have your ad located:

• On the right-hand page.
• On the top half of the page.
• In the main news section of the newspaper.
• In the Sunday, Monday, or Saturday paper. Avoid Wednesday and Thursday because of sale ads.
• In the newspapers where your competitors advertise.
• In the section where products and services similar to yours are advertised.

Designing Classified Ads

Though it will cost more, do not skimp on words when writing a classified ad. Give the reader enough details to make a decision. Give specifics. Rather than saying, "Better fit" say, "Made to fit your body's dimensions."

Emphasize benefits to the customer instead of features and characteristics. Describe benefits from the point of view of the customer. Identify specific needs, desires, or problems that the product or service can help solve. If you can satisfy a desire for one-of-a-kind clothing, say so. If your specialty is making draperies to fit odd-shaped windows, let readers know. If your products are made for people who have trouble finding quality handcrafted gifts, do not keep it a secret. These are benefits that potential customers will want to know about.

Use words that make an impact: new, proven, free, save, convenient, improved, best, dependable, complete, time-saving, guaranteed, effective.

VII. The Cost Of Advertising

As a business owner, you will want to know the true cost of placing an ad before making a commitment.

Cost Of Display Ads

The standard used to determine the cost of placing a display ad in a newspaper or magazine is cost per thousand or CPM. CPM tells you what it will cost to have 1,000 subscribers see your ad. To calculate CPM, divide the newspaper's or magazine's circulation by 1,000. Circulation refers to the number of people who subscribe to or purchase a publication. The following examples show how to calculate CPM.

In the examples, the magazine ad has a higher cost, but its CPM is lower. Reaching 1,000 subscribers with the magazine ad costs only $9 compared to $10 with the newspaper ad.

Use CPM to compare the cost of different advertising sources. But don't let cost be the only factor in your decision about where to place your ad. Place your ad where it will reach the greatest number of people who want or need your product or service.

Cost Of Classified Ads

If you decide to purchase a classified ad, the actual cost will be based on the number of words, lines, or inches required. When trying to save money, avoid the temptation to skimp on words. Use as many words as necessary to communicate clearly.

Save money on a classified ad by taking advantage of frequency discounts. A frequency discount allows you to run an ad several times at a lower rate. The more often the ad is run, the lower the cost. For example, the cost to run an ad once might be $12, the cost of three insertions might be $10 each, and the cost of five insertions might be $8 each. A small business should start with a community newspaper which is cheaper than a regional newspaper. Use a successful ad over and over again to get the most out of it.

Cost Of Directory Ads

To determine the cost of ads in the Yellow Pages and business directories, obtain an advertising rate card from the publisher. Compare the circulation, advertising fee, and anticipated life of the publication.

VIII. What To Expect

Marketing experts caution that marketing involves trial and error. No one can predict how successful an ad will be. Here are a few suggestions to improve your chances of success:

• Start small. Place several small ads in different publications rather than one large expensive one. You will make mistakes in the beginning. Everyone does. Make sure that your mistakes are not expensive ones.
• Give an ad time to work. An ad usually needs to be seen more than once.
• When an ad pays for itself, repeat or enlarge it.
• If the ad gets only a minimal response, rewrite the copy to highlight a different benefit. Experiment with rewriting until an ad brings in at least three times its cost.
• Do not continue to run ads that do not work. Change the ad or place it in another publication or type of publication.
• You will grow more comfortable with each success.

IX. Conclusion

Print advertising is more than letting people know where your sewing business is located. Use print advertising to provoke an immediate response from real prospects. Select publications that will help you achieve this goal. Then carefully design an ad for your service or product.

References

Brodsky, B., and J. Geis. 1993. Finding Your Niche. . . Marketing Your Professional Service. Berkley: Community Resource Institute Press.

Davidson, J. 1994. Marketing On A Shoestring: Low-Cost Tips For Marketing Your Products Or Services. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Levinson, J. C. 1989. Guerilla Marketing: New Strategies, Tactics, And Weapons For Winning Big Profits For Your Small Business. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Levinson, J. C. 1984. Guerilla Marketing: Secrets For Making Big Profits From Your Small Business. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Ross, M., and T. Ross. 1990. big Marketing Ideas For Small Service Businesses: How To Successfully Advertise, Publicize, and Maximize Your Business Or Professional Practice. Homewood, Illinois: Dow Jones-Irwin.

For more information, contact your county Extension office. Visit http://www.aces.edu/counties or look in your telephone directory under your county's name to find contact information. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.