[continued] Press releases for your clothing line are a must. Do not depend on others to write for you for free. I’ve had this tossed at me numerous times and to be honest, its the quickest way for a successful person to ignore you.

Asking for freebies from a person who is successful makes no sense because it benefits them probably nothing and they already have a stressful lifestyle maintaining their own business and bills. Why would they add to that stress trying to work for you? Writing a press release for your clothing line is not hard and the only excuse to not create them for yourself is laziness.

A press release for your clothing line should be interesting to readers and publications that might pick it up. You want to write about things important to your clothing line and use keywords throughout the release that your target audience might Google search or browse for on a news site.

The launch of your clothing line, new milestones, announcement of new collections and events, are a few things you should easily be able to develop a press release for. Remember to mention your brand name throughout the press release as well because it’s important to beat your brand name into the reader?s head.

Getting advertisement space for your clothing line in publications on-line or off-line will not be cheap. Again, expecting something like this free will be pointless. If a web site webmaster is a fan of your clothing line they may trade off ad space for some clothing, but this will rarely happen today. Most web sites ask for a flat rate per 1,000 impressions (better known as CPM) of your banner advertisement or give a monthly rate. Monthly rates are better in my eyes typically because you have room for negotiation. If you purchase 2 quarters of ads in advance, those sites will usually give you a lower cost per month for paying up front.

Clothing Investors for fashion designers

[continued] A third and last idea for expansion is finding a financial backer or investor for your clothing line. Investors, sometimes termed angel investors, are always looking to let their money work for them but usually are very strict on what you must present to them for a plan. If your plan is not looking 100% lean/fit they will reject your proposal and you will be back at the drawing board. With an investor, your first appearance is everything so make sure you are giving your best shot. A full business plan should be presented with numbers everywhere, graphs, statistics, and history.

A method I’ve always though about but never tried was simply sending out a press release about your clothing line looking for investors to expand. As simple as that, I think it can help raise awareness of what you are trying to do in a good way but should be done before you actually need the funding so your options are open.

All of the above methods for raising capital for your clothing line have been used in fashion and found many success. It does take a person with business savvy to land deals so do your research about laying the proper business plan. For help with a clothing line business plan visit the Entreprenuer.com ‘how to create a business plan’ (click here) page.

[continued] Do not ask for a multi-month plan which you pay the discounted rate each month. It shows your lack of seriousness to many and may get you ignored by a publication that could have done great things for your clothing line.

My favorite aspect of business is the promotional tactics. Giving away free clothing always brings people to your web site. Having a weekly giveaway planned into your budget might help you build a good e-audience. People will return to your site like it’s a gambling habit they can’t shake trying to win free clothing. Random giveaways in person also work. Don’t be afraid to visit places locally and abroad where your target audience are known to be in the open. If you can legally hand out free items, why not do it? It may help your brand catch on and take the attention of local store owners.

Last, remember all of these costs for your clothing line with additional spending money without hesistation. Create a nice budget that you can operate your clothing line under and do not look like a ‘joke’ asking for everything free. It never hurts to ask questions but know your limits. If you do not have a non-business relationship with a person its best to not pretend you do. Do not try to persuade someone into doing something for free. Your motives are usually obvious in business to a person who’s successful in the clothing industry because to be successful you have experienced a lot already.

[continued] Once established, you have a few options to expand your clothing line. Angel Investors, celebrities, and pre-orders with store accounts are all ways of funding expansion.

Going backwards, taking pre-orders from store accounts is the riskiest way to expand your clothing line and I would not recommend it typically. It is sure to cross your mind when looking to expand but I assure you it?s a lot harder than you will expect to manage that money properly. If you choose to go this way, put everything on paper and stick to that paperwork only to save money. If you come across an option that keeps some in your pocket, go for it, but do not spend against your clothing line expansion plans.

A second option, is celebrity backing. If you have celebrity contacts, a solid history, and a great expansion plan for your clothing line, you can always pitch the idea to a person with money and influence. If popular they already know their influence value and if a product is already successful on its own, the combination will only take the brand to global sales success. You will need to reinvent your marketing plan to utilize the celebrity?s image in association with the brand, but this is an almost sure way to sell your clothing line to store accounts internationally.

[continued] The designs you have created to start a clothing line will be turned over to a garment manufacturer for production after you complete designs. If you want, you can find an American garment manufacturer but your costs will of course be higher. If you are not familiar with garment manufacturers overseas, use sites such as AliBaba as a networking resource. Quite a few clothing manufacturers list here.

Beyond only manufacturing your clothing line, using ApparelSource.com as another great resource for listings and knowledge would be wise.

The key points to starting an original fashion line in my opinion would be quality, price point, fabrics. If you take the time to find a clothing manufacturer, you might as well talk with a few to see who offers the best price for what you want. Also ask for turnaround times and how fast you can get samples sent to you. A good manufacturer should be able to provide samples before all your designs are finalized for production.

Typically, clothing lines today are produced in some part of Asia or South America. Google the names of manufacturers you are thinking of working with to see if you pull any prior customer statements, good or bad.

Always ask questions to whomever you are thinking to work with because if you don’t have questions, you might not be sure about what you are getting in return. Always get things put on paper and do not go by word when dealing with such a major action. Honorable references are always great in international business.

A last mistake I have seen with many clothing line owners is once they get into the fashion industry brushing shoulders with celebrities, they think they have made it. Clothing designers and brand owners that feel entitled to something because they have seen a little progression and gotten above the other new clothing lines. Do not stop treating the clothing line work different from your first days, dreaming of success,or you will start falling downward. Do not get caught into the models, image, and other vices that can attach themselves to you being around the industry.

If you want to succeed, you must continue looking for ways to improve. Nothing can ever be perfect, therefore you should always be looking for things to change about your clothing line. Progress very rarely comes without change. That is about rare as an all white Zebra or something most people just will not see, in short. 

Executing the above mistakes I have seen clothing lines fail. However, many will still go on to commit these actions because of improper planning or forgetful memory. Most that do not take heed to other’s experiences, there is a high chance your clothing line will fail just like those observed by the person speaking.  Not much changes since everything, including fashion, recycles itself.

There are exceptions to every rule but the majority will fall to these flaws. I give you the knowledge of operating a clothing line I have in hopes to push you away from these fatal business flaws. How to start a clothing line is not an easy question to answer but with these steps, it will help with your success guaranteed.

Getting your clothing line in stores is not the hardest thing as many would like to think. As anything else dealing with your clothing line, it is about your knowledge of the clothing industry. There are many ways to get clothing stores purchasing your brand and hopefully with my help you will be able to this faster than the typical brand.

Be aware, to get your clothing line in stores nationally and internationally it will cost money at some point.

The first way to get your clothing line and least expensive is probably good Internet marketing for your web site. Clothing store buyers will see clothing lines on blogs, in forum communities, and other publications they frequent. If it catches their eye they will then research your clothing line name and try to land a web site and contacts. If your web site is up and they can find it with a quick search, you will get yourself an easy account and money with less hands taking from it.

Another way to sell your clothing line is to print a catalog with your collection pieces and mail it to clothing stores. If you are a hip-hop clothing line I recommend using google, Street Wear Web site, and Sneaker Stores Web site. Other sites are available for helping find store addresses on Google search so use it to your advantage.

[continued] Be well aware the quality of t-shirt prints can vary printer to printer. As a clothing line designer you should know the different types of print, from screen printing to heat transfers to foil transers.

Foil transfers, which is seemingly harder to find these days can be done with companies such as Jimmy Jam Foil Printing, Print Wear, and We Need Merchandise.

Two great printers to work with for normal t-shirt prints are Power Digital Printers and Custom Ink.

Starting a clothing line with custom garments? This may get a bit more complicated but really is more-so mental than physical.

To start a clothing line with your own fashion designs, instead of just having a design transferred onto another brand’s garment, is not hard. You do need to have creativity however or have a designer that knows about fabric materials, fashion, and has an eye for detail.

Detail is everything in designing your own clothing collection from scratch. You will need to create a layout that shows how many pockets on pants or a jacket, zippers on a coat, and rips in the denim jeans. You should have an easy to read design that gives proper terminology for each feature you add whether talking about pleats of a skirt or frills versus tears. If you do not know what the proper name is, find a photo of it and ask your manufacturer.

It’s not easy to start a clothing line .  When you find a resource like ClothingLineHelp.com, it’s important to share with other fashion minds the pricess knowledge given. 

 If you are a clothing designer, it’s important you group yourself with other talented individuals and help build because the fashion circles are TIGHT.  The only way for one to succeed is to start thier own movement.  That is the core essential of most business.

Happy Holidays to all and please pass a link to every friend you have in fashion. Also please post us in forums for discussion to help improve any information found here.

The second mistake of many clothing lines is simply low creativity. A clothing line will have a hard time creating a valued name consistently taking designs from other brands or presenting weak designs. A clothing line designer should be creative, keen to the target audience, and not afraid to try something new.

 If you want to create a knock-off clothing line, honestly you do not need to learn how to create a clothing line, you just need to build ties to stores that will sell the ?junk? you are putting out.

A third mistake of clothing lines is not having the proper web presence. A new clothing line must have a web site to be successful today. It does not matter who is backing the clothing line, how much money is behind a clothing line, or how hot the clothing line is.

A clothing line without a web site today is missing out on all the advantages of controlling the attention of their target audience. The youth of the information era, or current day society, are always browsing things on-line and a good SEO plan and web site layout can help you pick up store accounts and direct consumers for no-hassle clothing sales.