Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1491555
3 8 G R A P H I C S P R O • A P R I L 2 0 2 3 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M S U B L I M A T I O N Pet rescue shelters Helping rescue shelters is a great way to get your name out to the community! Establish a program with an animal shel- ter to provide no-charge pet tags. The tags can include the new owners' infor- mation on one side of the tag and shelter info or a promotion on the other. With the delivery of the pet tag, you can offer many additional personalized products for sale through your website. It's a great way to make a lasting connection with a pet lover that will be looking for personalized pet products in the future. Dog parks Often dog parks have community foun- dations and support. Like shelters, you can promote your products by giving away pet tags. Find out if the park has a support organization with fundraising events. Get permission to promote your organization again with a donation for products pur- chased. Be sure to promote your dona- tions to the park to let folks know how you are helping. Blessing of the pets Around the first Sunday in October, catholics worldwide celebrate the Feast of Saint Francis by bringing their pets to church to be blessed. I recommend part- nering with a large Catholic Church that participates in the blessing to sublimate pet products on-site. Donate a portion of profits to the church and be sure to promote other products that can be pur- chased later. Also, collect email addresses for your mailing list so that you can send them product information and/or pro- mote your website. On that web- site, you should create templated artwork themed for the church with space for personalization. Pricing Perhaps the biggest mistake that sublimators make is to underprice their products. is is even more critical when a third party is receiving a portion of the sale. I have put together a free pric- ing spreadsheet that lets you determine your product costs and experiment with prices to select your desired profit level (to receive your copy, call your Condé account manager to have them send it to you). If you are selling into many of the markets discussed above, you should be able to sell at the top range of the pric- ing. I do recommend testing your pricing strategies to determine the optimum level. Bundling Building and offering a selection of related products at a special cost is a great way to provide value. Pet products make excellent gift sets, especially around the holidays. Also, this is a different way to get customers to try out a various array of products at one time. A customer will spend $15-$25 for a personalized dog col- lar. But throw in a matching personalized dog tag and leash and you can easily raise the cost to $40. Artwork When determining the value of a deco- rated product, I consider a few variables: the value, quality, functionality, and need for the blank imprintable product as well as the transferred artwork's qual- ity, color, and composition. is includes the incredibly important pre-made design template and the added personalization. For events or products tied to an organiza- tion, their logo or other information needs to be part of this design. It makes folks feel good about their purchase! e added personalization may be a name or favorite photograph. I recommend that a date be added to the personalization as this will mean a lot over the years. Referral information To grow your business, you must let folks know what you can do! So, when you deliver a product, make sure that your contact information can easily be found on it for reordering and referrals. Some products can be sublimated on the backside while other products may need a sticker placed somewhere as inconspic- uously as possible. Always include your business card with a QR code incorporated into it (QR codes really make life easy). (Images courtesy of Condé) Oliver Rupert shows off his all-season headwear. (Image courtesy of Sara Reese)