Did you just launch a clothing line and you seek ideas to promote your clothing line? If YES, here are 10 effective marketing strategies for your fashion line. Now that you have successfully launched your clothing line, I guess congratulations are in order. But you wouldn’t be wearing all your designs yourself, would you? This is where a business plan comes into play? Here is a sample clothing line business plan template you can use.
The whole point of launching a clothing line is so that you can get a fulfillment from having people wear your designs and of course, make money for yourself. All this is not going to happen unless you employ effective marketing strategies to get your designs noticed and create a demand for them.
You may be thinking “oh well, I’m going to just sell to stores and all the marketing would be their concern” but trust me, most stores would not carry your designs except they are sure that they would be able to make sales and sales can only come when there is demand. How does demand come? Through awareness of course! So what are the top 10 ways to promote and market your clothing line?
Promote your Clothing Line – 10 Marketing ideas & Strategies
1. Fashion Shows
You can start by organizing a fashion show. You can pair up with other designers in the industry to stage a fashion show that you would use to showcase your designs. Fashion shows attract a lot of fashion enthusiasts and professionals in the industry. Owners of clothing boutiques may be able to pick some pieces they really loved on the runway to sell in their stores. You can also use your fashion show to promote a humanitarian cause.
For instance, you can stage a fashion show to create awareness for cancer or HIV/AIDS and some of your earnings can go towards the financial support of that cause. This would not only draw the attention of fashion industry professionals, it would also draw the attention of the general public especially people who are passionate about the cause you are promoting.
2. Increase your publicity
You have to literarily rub your clothing line in the faces of the general public. This means using any means within your grip to promote your brand. This is where a marketing plan comes into play? Here is a sample clothing line marketing plan template you can use. First, you can ask bloggers to do a blog post on your clothing line. You can also ask for a feature article in a local newspaper where your brand can be talked about.
If you are very good with penning down interesting words, you can ask to have your own fashion column in a magazine or newspaper, where you would talk about trends in the fashion industry and also promote your clothing line too. Another idea is to give out free samples to fashion bloggers and have them write about your brand on their blogs. You should also consider teaming up with fashion stylists to have them dress their clients up in your designs.
3. Create your own website
It is mandatory that you have your own website. These days, more people are embracing internet shopping and you should take advantage of that by creating your own website. After creating your website, you can employ search engine optimization techniques that you know to make your website highly ranked and more visible.
You should also make your website easy to navigate. Most people cannot be bothered with a website that is too complex. You can also make your website fun by regularly posting video clips of your fashion shows, updating your content with new styles and offering promotional codes and discounts regularly.
4. Event Hosting
Another idea to employ is event hosting techniques. You can organize seminars and conferences that teach people how to dress. For instance there’s a popular event known as “dress for success” where women are taught how to improve their public image and perception through appropriate dressing.
You too can organize something similar and have your clothing designs displayed at the event so that attendees can also buy your stuffs so that they can start dressing for success.
5. Tele-media Marketing
You can also consider advertising using television, radio or billboards. You should also make out flyers and place them in public places or have people hand them out for you at bus parks, train stations, shopping malls, etc.
6. Celebrity Endorsement
Another way to get awareness for your products fast is by getting a popular celebrity to endorse your brand. When a celebrity endorses your brand, his/her fans would like to patronize you as a way to show love and support for their favorite celebrity. If the celebrity is someone known to be very fashionable, people would want to buy your stuffs because they would believe that you are selling quality items.
7. Newsletters and Catalogues
You can also consider sending newsletters and a catalogue containing pictures of your products as well as a description and prices to your mailing list regularly.
8. Social Media
The social media is also a very powerful marketing tool. You can use the social media to drive traffic to your website easily.
9. Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is another good way to promote your brand. By using affiliate marketing techniques, you can easily have other people join in your marketing campaign and together, you would be able to increase awareness and generate more revenue. Affiliate marketing means allowing other people to promote your brand and then paying them commission for whatever they are able to sell.
You can also introduce a referral program whereby people get attractive discounts for every new customer they are able to bring you. Note that the discount has to attractive to get people interested in your affiliate program. Don’t expect a lot of people to take you serious if what you are offering is $1 worth of discounts.
10. Street teams and Store branding techniques
Lastly, you can engage the services of street teams to promote your clothing line. You can have them wear your designs while they do some fun displays which would attract the attention of passers-by. To make it effective, make sure you target a very crowded place where your targeted customers are.
For instance, if your brand is men’s wear, you would want to use a place where a lot of men frequent like bars gyms etc. You could also ask store owners to allow you brand their stores with your promotional materials.