It’s Christmas time – there’s no need to be afraid….

Well there may be cause for concern if you are in the garment decoration industry.This time of year is full of festive spirit and cheer but traditionally it is a quiet time for small and medium sized print & embroidery businesses across the country – the schools orders have stopped, the workwear orders are at a minimum and production is just trickling along.

We can approach this in one of two ways to make sure that your business makes the most of the quiet period and gives itself the best chance of success:

Run a Tailored Campaign To Ensure Your Business Ticks Over…

It’s a simple one to do in the personalisation game running festive campaigns or seasonal flash sales. Of course there’s great reward but there’s also great risk, prices have to be just right and the quality ideas have to be there (after all you are competing against high street brands providing festive clothing, so the bar is set pretty high) and then conversely you compete against specialist gift stores both on the high street (or not!) or in-store.

So the value has to be there for customers, but to be successful you need more than great ideas you need a great campaign! This is where you need to be savvy and smart and not rely on an ad-hoc approach. Just ask yourself a few simple questions…

• When do I want my seasonal campaign to run? When will things get quiet?
• What do I want to sell to both my existing customers and potential new customers?
• How much I reach them? And how often?
• What mediums will I use – Email, Blogging, Social Media or Traditional Advertising?

Put together a plan of attack before a seasonal lull and watch your sales increase over the quiet period!

Alternatively, Use The Time To Grow Your Online Business…

If you don’t fancy running and online campaign and just accept seasonality on face value – then so be it, just ensure that in some way or another you add value to your business.

Throughout the year, we deal with a number of print & embroidery businesses often questioning their online efforts. The problem for garment decorators is a simple one – time constraints & prioritising. Whereas throughout the year a traditional print & embroidery company focus on prioritising, winning orders, getting the jobs in and out the ‘online stuff’ is left as a lesser priority and something that will be looked at when we are not busy or when we have the time…. so now is the time!

Prepare email campaigns, set up social media accounts, schedule posts, write blogs, create some optimised content, and create customer shops, promotional artwork and so on. Get all the things you would not ordinarily have time for in your day to day schedule done in time for 2016. Implementing just a few of these Online Marketing Techniques will go a long way in determining the future success of your online business, grow your online presence, increase your brand awareness, increase your traffic and most importantly online sales with all the hard yards you put in in the quiet period… Don’t just accept seasonality, make the most of it!

For more information on how to get more from your site & online marketing efforts don’t hesitate to get in touch via email on info@etraderwebsites.co.uk or give us a call on 029 2075 5733 today!

Last month we exhibited at The Schoolwear Show for the first time ever! The show was a busy one full of many of the Schoolwear, Print & Embroidery industries leading brands exhibiting to garment decorators from across the country.

A number of the people we met knew what they wanted to do but did not know how to go about doing it, which is a common thing for our customers the everyday garment decorator.

The eTrader stand was busy with many people facing the same problems:

‘I don’t know where to go next online…’

‘My site hasn’t been touched in years….’

‘I’m not really sure of how to make best use of our site….’

‘My site doesn’t offer everything I want it too’

Thankfully we were there at The Schoolwear Show to help… we chatted to a number of garment decorators across the country offering live demos, chatting through their current online business, how it is doing online and how we could possibly help them.

Our sites proved popular with the shows attendees (especially those seeing for the first time!), with many loving the industry specific nature of it, all the tools it offers and the simplicity of it all.

The show proved a huge success. We have signed a few new customers up who we are excited to be working with over the next few weeks.

It looks like we are going to be back next year… watch this space!

For more information on eTrader and what we do email info@etraderwebsites.co.uk or call 029 2075 5733

For the first time ever, we have decided to make an appearance at The Schoolwear Show. Taking place Sunday 11^th October till Tuesday 13^th October in Solihull it promises to be a busy show for not just us by a number of the garment decorating industries brands.

You can find us on stand 3 where we will be presenting and chatting to both new and existing potential customers through the day.

With a whole host of exciting new benefits & features to show off and a special show offer of 20% OFF (now just £1199) our sites feel free to pop by to find out more about how we help the online garment decoration industry and more importantly how we can help your business.

We will be offering live demos throughout the day and it promises to be a busy but exciting few days for eTrader and everyone else at the show. With just a few days to go, we cannot wait for the show to kick off - we look forward to seeing you all there!

For more information or to book yourself in for an exclusive demo email info@etraderwebsites.co.uk or give us a call on 029 2075 5733

To find out more about The Schoolwear Show visit www.theschoolwearshow.co.uk

We recently launched an update with several new features for our valued customers. Our focus was on giving them as many sales tools as possible that are simple to use but add value to their business.

One of our new updates allows our customers to download customer records into a CSV format, a simple data tool – and we have been asked why is this important? What does it do for our business?

Existing and previous customer data plays a huge role in retaining business and contact with the old customers, reminding them that you are still out there should they need personalised garments again there is only place they need to go….

A number of businesses place too much emphasis on lead generation, winning the new orders and finding new customers. We are not saying this is not important (as it is!) but also do not forget about retention rates and how to go about increasing them and winning the repeat order.

This is where the pieces of the puzzle fit together nicely, so you have your customer data for the past X amount of months, the key is to use it wisely! Email campaigns are a great way to make the most of the data you have available. Often overlooked by everyday business as quite a specialist facet of Online Marketing and disregard it straight away. But it is an amazing way of communicating and increasing your customer retention rate and despite the number of articles out there that over-complicate the issue with A/B testing, click through rates and so on it is relatively straight forward.

eTrader has been carrying out email campaigns for a long time and through experience found out what works, what does not and how to make the most of the data you have available.

We have put together our top ten tips for beginners looking to improve their online efforts and carry out their first email campaign:

1. Use FREE Software: There is a whole host of email marketing programmes available, of course there will be PRO versions but with a programme like Mailchimp the options, tools and features you get for free are ideal for small businesses.
2. Email Only Offers: Create specific offers for email customers, exclusive codes, discounts only available to subscribers. An effective marketing ploy to measure effectiveness. You can scrutinize click rates, opens etc but the real measure of success is sales.
3. Don’t Over-Complicate it: Email campaigns are an odd one, of course they are sales and marketing tool and you want to make a return from them. But conversely, don’t make them boring – customers will just disregard them and delete instantly which leads us to point four.
4. It’s All about the Subject Line: This is the first thing a customer sees so you better make it eye catching. Offer a punchy line which will leave them left with only one option opening your email. Make it smart; salesy and quirky but avoid sounding like spam of course.
5. Quality Content in Your Email: Now that your interesting subject has got a potential customer to open it, the last thing they want to see is a pretty boring piece of content. Have some fun; use visuals, sales speak, be topical and put together a little bit of content that you think would be interesting. Put yourself in their shoes – would you read a boring email.
6. Call to Actions: An obvious one, but often a big mistake. Don’t forget to put call to actions in place whether it is typed or a button to automatically take care of it. Customers often make buying decisions within 30 seconds of reading your email; if there are CTA buttons in place you give yourself more of a chance of winning the order.
7. Personalise Emails: Even though you customers are essentially part of a mass marketing technique, give them a personalised touch to make them feel special, unique and give your business more of a chance of grabbing their attention. Programmes like mailchimp allow you to break up lists for campaigns for certain products, preferences and so on.
8. Time Your Campaign: Optimum timing is everything! You want your email to land in an inbox at the right time, schedule your campaign for a certain time ensuring it goes out exactly when you want. Customers are more likely to read emails at the start of the day, midday or just after lunch!
9. Get Cute with Automation: An advanced technique of email campaigns that comes across as difficult but in reality is straight forward. Simply plan a series of emails (4-5 per fortnight as an idea) which can be used once a customer has clicked a certain part of your email to send this customer an email X amount of hours after clicking a certain area
10. Lastly and Most Importantly, Trial Run Your Email: Before you send anything send a test version to your inbox, see how it looks, how the content comes across, does it do what you want it do? Trial your email before sending it to customers, save yourself the embarrassment of noticing a mistake after sending a campaign (we’ve all been there).  

Our beginners list is comprehensive but covers all the basics of email campaigns and how to make them successful for your business. Use these tips with the right software and a bit of planning and your business will reap the rewards – sales will only go one way!

For more information or any advice on how to get more from your eTrader site don’t hesitate to get in touch on info@etraderwebsites.co.uk or call 029 2075 5733

This week saw us launch our newest update for all our customers. This update to your eTrader site focuses on both you & your customer’s user experience on an eTrader website.

Our List of Latest Updates Includes:

• Manage Colours in Shops: Create a list of colours for your shops and add a variety of colours for individual products.
• Updated Product Description Box: Brand new box allowing HTML descriptions and much more for each individual product.
• Brand New View Orders Tab: This new feature gives you an accurate break-down of orders carried out on site featuring customer info, product info and much more.
• Export Customer Data: Download your customer’s information in a CSV file with just a simple click. 

Schoolwear Show 2015!

This week, eTrader confirmed confirmation at this year’s Schoolwear Show. Taking part in Solihull between the 11^th -13^th October it will be our first time visiting the show but we cannot wait to get up there and meet lots of garment decorators who may be interested in what we can do for their business.

On top of meeting new customers, we would love to hear off you if you are visiting this year’s schoolwear show, and catch up over a coffee – so don’t hesitate to drop us an email!

For more on the show visit www.theschoolwearshow.co.uk

For more of the latest of what is going on at eTrader don’t forget to check your hints & tips email or get in touch on info@etraderwebsites.co.uk today!

eTrader Websites gives businesses the perfect opportunity to compete in the industry, marketing and sales tools aimed at generating new leads and potential new customers but most importantly tools to retain existing customers!

Why use Customer Shops?

Most of our customers deal with large customers from different backgrounds, organisations, businesses, schools, sports clubs and so on. These larger customers make up a large proportion of trade for SMEs in the industry and garment decorators are working hard than ever before to retain these customers as competitors put the squeeze on and undercut in an attempt to gain new business.

Our websites ‘Shop’ function allows your customers to have their very own bespoke shop on site. The shop function makes ordering as simple as possible and can have your customer checked out in just a few moments – Another satisfied customer!

Click here to view our How To: Create Customer Shops

A Two-Way Sales Tool

Both our website as a whole and our shop feature works in a two-fold way, with over 25 years’ experience in the industry we understand the demands of competing in the garment decoration industry. Your business should consider all its potential customers, how it can benefit new customers and how it can appease and retain existing ones and that’s what features like our shops do.

Your future business is safer than ever before using a private/public shop function. Simple to create, easy to use and a variety of options to make each customers experience bespoke we help take businesses online sales to the next level using our wide range of tools and online facilities.

Create personalised products to buy in just a few simple clicks….

eTrader makes ordering for your larger customers as simple as possible!

Retaining large customers couldn’t be easier, click here to view our simple video tutorial. You can have a shop set up in just a few moments!

For more information don’t hesitate to get in touch on 029 2075 5733 or email info@etraderwebsites.co.uk for more on how we can help your garment decoration business.

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your businesses rankings on search engines for organic searches that your business wants to be found for.

How does it affect my Business? 

On average 69% of your websites traffic comes from organic searches online which accounts for a large percentage of most online businesses sales. Sites with good SEO & prominent rankings perform much better financially in the long term. 

How do I get my website to rank?

There is a combination of factors to consider when it comes to how your website ranks online. There is no set magic formula for SEO (as nobody will ever be able to pin down the exact algorithm) but here are some simple tips to get you on your way:

1. Set up your Businesses Google Accounts Properly: Set up Google Analytics, Google Places, Google Webmasters for your business to best track your online businesses traffic.
2. Keyword Research: Putting it simple think ‘What will I have to search for to find my business?’ Consider the level of competition for each term and pick out keywords to build your content around.
3. Content is King: Create relevant content for your website's pages built around your targeted keywords. Creating content is time-consuming so work on it gradually starting with main pages and working towards the less important pages. For more on Content check out our Blog dedicated to it.
4. Use Social Media: Not an obvious one, who’d have thought Social Media & SEO go together?! Businesses that use social media to good effect are much more likely to outrank businesses not using Social Media. For more on this click here.
5. Blogging for Business: Sites that create high-quality blogs also stand a higher chance of ranking well in search engines. It’s also an easy way to both promote your business and build in some keywords. To read more click here...

Mobile-Mad SEO

A growing percentage of your website's traffic is coming from portable devices (smartphones/tablets). The latest SEO update from Google ‘Mobilegeddon’ focuses on mobile-friendly websites and makes it a bigger ranking factor than ever before. Websites with responsive design are more likely to outrank websites that are not mobile friendly. We wrote a piece on this recently and it proved popular... click here to see it for yourself!

One Final Thought…

SEO is a tricky thing for small businesses, our top tip is to plan a natural approach that works for you - you don’t have to waste £1000s with ‘experts’. Create a realistic plan/strategy that works for you & your business!

This week saw Google roll out what many experts are calling one of its biggest algorithm update dubbing it ‘Mobilegeddon’ (it is as epic as it sounds). Following on from the ‘Panda’ & ‘Penguin’ updates the latest algorithm for online success with Google brings more focus than ever on Mobile-Friendly sites.

With more customers than ever before shopping online using tablets & smartphones, this was an inevitable change that was going to be rolled out by the Google developers. Online retail trends in the past five years in all sectors have shown a gradual increase in website traffic & online sales from portable devices. It’s no longer simply a case of having a website, an online presence and hoping it takes care of itself.

What does it mean for Garment Decorators?

Your site must have the ability to operate across different types of platforms and ‘respond’ to each different device it is displayed on. Whether it is a PC/Laptop, tablet, iPod or Mobile Phone your website has to perform and be user-friendly to your online customers wherever they come from.

For small businesses, the effects could be massive; mobile-friendly sites are an expensive solution. The next few months online are going to be ‘eat or get eaten’, sites will need to adapt to survive in the Google habitat.

The go-to option for businesses seems to be ‘Responsive Design’, we have previously discussed this (in far too much detail) so for more of that just click here.

An example of responsive design. Mobile friendly (left) Webpage (right)

The latest update will have a huge effect and cause a stir on most online markets – the garment decoration one included. Being such a traditional industry, it is considered slightly behind when it comes to technology, so who knows how it’s going to play out over the next few months for print/embroidery businesses SEO.

Sites in our industry with mobile-friendly design are few and far between, so they will undoubtedly flourish. Whereas the majority of the businesses in our industry will be fighting with the rest competing for the remaining rankings available for their business, after all good SEO brings good rewards (financially, of course).

What if I don’t go Mobile-Friendly?

Mobile friendly plays a huge part in how Google ranks you online - the SEO performance of your site will struggle to keep up with the competition. With traffic & sales affected, businesses will all eventually switch over to ‘Responsive’ but the longer it takes the more difficult it becomes to climb back up to the top of the Google Mountain for all your businesses keywords. Click here to see if your businesses website is mobile-friendly.

Is your site fit to survive Mobilegeddon? Use Googles Mobile-Friendly Test

All is not lost just yet…

What we suggest it check Google Analytics – see what percentage of your websites visitors are on a mobile or tablet….

If it’s a low percentage (i.e. <10%): Keep an eye on it but there’s no need to hit the panic button yet!

If it’s a middle of the ground percentage (10-40%): Your business needs to adapt and get moving with a responsive site.

If it’s a high percentage (>40%): PANIC! You will need to get responsive ASAP or risk losing customers.

If you are not too sure about mobile traffic and Google analytics - Firstly, where have you been hiding?! Secondly, do not worry. Get in touch with us and we can help you and your online business!

With a brand new responsive option available for existing and new customer’s eTrader has prepared for Mobilegeddon.  Get in touch on info@etraderwebsites.co.uk or call 029 2075 5733 today to see how we can help you & your online business survive!

Following on from all things SEO the past few months, our latest blog gives small businesses and overview and insight into the crazy, weird and wonderful world of Digital Marketing. Our SEO, content advice and opinion blogs have helped point your business in the right direction in its online journey. But in our industry, we know it’s all about sales and online performance so we’ve put together a few little practical bits aimed at adding value.

Marketing Your Business Online Doesn’t Have To Be a Chore:

Many small business owners in the garment decorating sector are notorious for downplaying the importance of Marketing for their business, especially online. The industry is traditional, leap years behind other sectors; many businesses see it as simply setting up a site for their business and doing the occasional tweet or post on Facebook or Twitter. But what they don’t see is that everything online works together in a synchronized way. 

It’s all about collaborating… Online marketing brings together all aspects of your businesses online presence. Just put together your online content and keywords and mix that with your Blog & Social Media and the online/SEO world is at your feet. What we recommend for our customers is an integrated online strategy, covering all the bases.

eTrader Top Tips:

• Understand Your Customers/Audience: Treat your online customers like you would treat your in shop customers. Nobody knows your customers like you… Online it shouldn’t be any different. Using demographic tools, such as Hootsuite Analytics or Google Analytics makes identifying your online audience easy. 
• Research your Businesses Online Keywords: Know what your audience are looking for to find you, or what you want them to look for to find you. Plan your content strategy around your keywords and build your online presence from there. Use them in Blogs & Social Media and the rest is magic!
• Develop a Social Media Plan: This doesn’t have to be a strict structure. But Social Media plays a wide role in SEO and developing your online image. We recommend a mix of the planned an unplanned. See our Social Media Blog for more on this.
• Keep Up With The Times & Be Innovative: The internet doesn’t stand still. An amazing strategy one day may be wasted the next. Continuously work on new creative ideas to engage both current and new customers, try new things and keep up with current trends.

We know how difficult small businesses in our sector find operating online – It’s breaking tradition. The aim is to make it as simple as possible for your business to have all the tools required to help them succeed online, that’s where we’re happy to help.

We strive to offer our customers as much as physically possible (we want all our customers to get the best returns possible on their sites). This includes things such as auditing, ‘logmein’ sessions and optional Marketing Packs covering areas such as analytics analysis, social media analysis, content review & advice, keyword help and online marketing strategy advice.

We have all the bases covered when it comes to helping take our customers businesses forward.

For more information on improving your online business, all things Online Marketing, SEO & e-commerce in the garment decoration game don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Following on from our recent blog ‘Blogging & Business: A Match Made in Heaven’ where we looked at the art of writing a good blog and how it benefits your online businesses image. We left one stone unturned...(deliberately so we could write this piece!)

We wrote very (very!) briefly on the SEO benefits of Blogging, but this week we have decided to go one further and examine how exactly it works for you & your businesses.

SEO & Blogging: A Surprising Match….

Googles latest SEO guidance is on all things ‘real & quality content’across everything platform you use. The misconception is SEO is just all things backlinks, your landing page and site content but Googles Latest SEO Update focus on providing your businesses customers the whole experience - that’s where Social Media & Blogging come into things.

Google Loves Real Content from Real People….

 Blogging for SEO is all about communicating, collaborating, sharing you & your businesses views, news and opinions – keeping both current and potential new customers in the know.

Just be yourself, write naturally… nobody knows more about your business than you! Creating quality content is ‘two-fold’. It should generate more traffic to your site for potential newer customers but also keep current customers coming back for more (providing you write some interesting/relevant content).

The key is to be transparent, create interesting and relevant blogs. SEO is all about real sites providing real quality content and it couldn’t be easier than with Blogging!

There Will Be Sceptics Out There….

Some organisations hire fake ‘Guest’ bloggers, some key-word cram, but here at eTrader we promote quality content and ethical SEO practice. We encourage customers to actively create quality content across every medium they use. The results are more fruitful in the long term, both on and offsite. We understand that quality content is king as it plays a heavy part in your businesses Online Marketing & SEO performance.

 Here at eTrader we understand how Blogging benefits your online business. That’s why we have started rolling out our fully integrated blog for customers at very affordable prices. Get in touch to find out more!