Branded packing tape vs. regular packing tape 

<YouTubeVideo videoId="JGy4jwR-oqo?rel=0&showinfo=0" />

Custom packing tape is the best kept secret of the Internet’s smartest retailers. It gets your brand exposure while your shipments are in transit, improves deliverability by making your packages more noticeable when delivered and reinforces your brand so customers are more likely to reorder. This is why retailers that switch to using custom tape rarely change back.

Yet many businesses are still relying on clear unbranded tape.  Before we convince you to start using them, let’s take a closer look at custom shipping tapes. 

## What is a custom packing tape? 

Packing or mailing tape is an essential part of your [product packaging](https://www.stickermule.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-packaging-design). Custom printed packing tapes are also called logo tapes (because you can print your logo on the tape for branding purposes), personalized mailing tapes, and custom package tapes. 

You may think that customers just rip them out but your printed packing tape serves more than one purpose. Visually, the difference between a box using branded packing tape and and a box using unbranded tape is obvious. And you might expect to pay a hefty premium for switching to custom tape. But the cost difference is less than you’d expect.

## Why you should use custom packaging tape? 

Aside from the reasons mentioned above, we have prepared more reasons to convince you to use custom printed tapes.

### Cost per roll of packing tape is not that expensive

You can get a 300 foot roll of [custom packing tape](https://www.stickermule.com/products/packaging-tape) from Sticker Mule for $29.

While a roll of [standard clear packing tape](https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Shipping-Packaging-Dispenser-142-6/dp/B000J07BRQ/) only costs around $2.25.

That’s a big difference. However, at 300 feet, a roll of Sticker Mule custom packing tape is 4.5 times longer than a standard 800 inch roll of clear packing tape.

That puts the price per foot at:

- Custom packing tape = $0.10
- Standard packing tape = $0.03

### Custom tapes save you from a lot of trouble when packing

When using custom packing tape from Sticker Mule, 1 pass of tape is all you need to securely seal your box. Our tape is water-activated which allows it to quickly create a strong bond to your package once applied.

When using standard clear packing tape, 2 or 3 passes are usually necessary to seal your box. And even with multiple strips of standard packing tape, [boxes are still more susceptible to theft.](https://www.stickermule.com/support/how-is-your-packaging-tape-different-from-other-tape)

For a box that is 12 inches long, you’d want to include an extra 3 inches on each side for both the top and bottom with each strip of tape. That puts the length of tape needed for a 12-inch box at roughly:

- Custom packing tape - 36 inches
- Standard packing tape - 108 inches

If we take our cost per foot numbers from above, we can calculate the cost of tape per package at:

- Custom packing tape = $0.30
- Standard packing tape = $0.27

This means __it only costs $0.03 extra per box__ to create branded packaging.

But there is still one more important factor to consider…

### Branded packing tapes cut down your packing time

Since Sticker Mule’s custom packaging tape is water activated, we include a sponge with every order. If you’re only shipping a few boxes at a time, there won’t be a noticeable difference in the time it takes to seal a box with either type of packaging tape.

But if you’re shipping larger quantities, [a water activated tape dispenser](https://www.stickermule.com/support/what-tape-machine-or-dispenser-do-you-recommend) can cut the time it takes to seal your boxes in half. This does require an upfront investment of around $400 - $1,300, but it quickly pays for itself the more you ship.

And when you are shipping larger quantities, you can order custom packaging tape from Sticker Mule for as little as $19.50 per roll when buying in bulk.

In fact, most companies shipping 100 or more packages per day could actually save money by using Sticker Mule’s custom packaging tape, compared to clear packing tape.

## Where to get branded packing tape?

Are you ready to grow your business with custom printed tapes? If you want to improve your brand exposure and your package deliverability, while saving time and money, try custom packing tape for your packaging.

Upload any image and we'll format it for you, or easily [design your own tape](https://www.stickermule.com/blog/how-to-design-packaging-tape).

![Custom packing tape applied to box](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/6a27e0973a183c8a09fcd68a0e314d02a3c5d5cf "Custom branded packing tape being applied to package")

See for yourself the difference custom packing tape can make for your business.

<ButtonCta text="Try custom tape for $4" size="large" variant="secondary"  align="center" href="https://www.stickermule.com/products/packaging-tape-sample?ref=blog" />

We compared the difference in cost and quality between custom packaging tape and regular unbranded packing tape. 

Branded packing tape vs. regular packing tape: Which should you choose?

What your customers want from their shopping experience 

Your customers are your business. Without them, even the most fantastic, life-changing product will get no sales.
 
And if you aren’t delivering what people want, you’re basically going out of business… be it quickly or slowly.
 
That’s why smart owners spend a lot of time pondering, testing, and asking what their customers want.
 
So what do *your* customers want? And how are you going to give it to them?
 
There’s a bunch of ways to answer this. One way is to focus on giving them the product they want. 
 
The other part is about their experience of getting (and using) that product. It’s the product discovery, the ordering, the shipping, and all the customer service interactions in between. It’s the second part – the customer experience part - that I’m going to focus on here.

## The customer experience

As many of you know, this “customer experience” aspect of your product is becoming more and more important. To some shoppers, it’s basically part of the product. Their customer experience part will determine whether they ever order again.
 
Recent [research from Marketing Sherpa](https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/purchase-experience-customer-satisfaction) makes this clear:

![1- Marketing Sherpa Customer Experience](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/c219a4971d9d0e83242f16588216a54dd6e30bb7)

So how can you give your customers want they want in terms of customer experience? Well, there’s been some research done on that. We’ve rounded it up for you, and listed it here in order of importance. If you can apply even a few of these ten suggestions, you should see higher conversion rates, larger order sizes, and better customer loyalty.

## 1. Offer free shipping
 
What’s the most powerful word in the English language? Depending on who you ask, it could be “you” or “because”… or “free”. “Free” is especially powerful for ecommerce for obvious reasons. The trouble is where to use it.
 
Ends up, using it with shipping is crazy effective. That’s because almost all of us hate to pay for shipping. In a survey of over 2,000 U.S. consumers, “provide free shipping” came in at the top of the list for ways retailers can improve the customer experience. It beat out the runner-up by 21%.

![2 - Mrketing Sherpa research of shopping experience](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/81459baeee8ce6e9205610187f513fc09f55cc40)

So offering free shipping could get more sales. But… there’s a reason retailers charge for shipping. It’s expensive (duh). You can’t just eat that cost.
 
You could:
 
* Add the average cost of shipping to every item.
* Figure out a minimum order size that you’re willing to cover the shipping for.
 
Most retailers opt for the second choice. That’s probably the best one for you, too. 91% of [online shoppers say they’re willing to spend more just to qualify for a free shipping offer](http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/infographic-what-consumers-want-most-online-shopping-experience-174564).

## 2. Include customer reviews
 
Everyone hates purchase mistakes. You know – when you buy something you end up not liking very much. It’s called “buyer’s remorse” if you’re on the marketing side. If you’re on the customer side, it’s just a bummer.
 
One of the most trusted ways for customers to know they’re ordering something good is for them to read reviews. They may not even read all the reviews – just seeing that an item has over a dozen five-star reviews is usually enough to build trust.
 
The power of reviews has even been quantified. According to [research from Bazaar Voice](http://media2.bazaarvoice.com/documents/Bazaarvoice_Conversation_Index_Volume8.pdf), just one review is enough to increase sales by 10%. And the more, the merrier.

![3- More Reviews Means More Orders](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/a675d9797e1199ec90727846d9db1b90c8af25aa)
 
No wonder sites like Etsy make it so easy to leave a review… and keep asking shoppers to leave a review… and make each seller’s reviews so prominent on product pages.

![4- Etsy Reviews on product page](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/1e03f7ad8d4b5eacac91cc8ee32d21ee77d9873e)

## 3. Give them packaging that’s easy to open
 
It’s not just you. And it’s not because you’re getting old. Some packaging is just difficult to open. It's getting so bad that [77% of consumers reported to have been injured](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrap_rage) by product packaging in their lifetimes. They also said that difficult packaging is the most irritating and annoying thing about ecommerce packaging.

![5- Packaging frustration research](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/9e3214573546b5847064f19600a081e64c979db8)

## 4. Make sure your site loads fast
 
People like to get their orders shipped to them fast. They like placing their orders fast, too. In fact, they just generally like fast when it comes to being online.
 
So what’s “fast”? A page that loads in two seconds or less. Any more than that, and you’ll start losing customers and orders. The slower your site gets, the higher the page abandonment rate for your site will go, as this [data from Kissmetrics](https://neilpatel.com/blog/loading-time/) shows:
 
![6 - Page Load Time Chart from Kissmetrics](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/3ca42d62dd1dbca80759e2c3d74f0006d40af5d8)

Site speed can have huge effects on your earnings. [Just 4 seconds of pageload time](https://www.portent.com/blog/analytics/research-site-speed-hurting-everyones-revenue.htm#:~:text=The%20first%205%20seconds%20of,(between%20seconds%200%2D5)) can impact your revenue by 3X. That means if your pageload time is over 4 seconds, you could be losing out on a lot of revenue!
 
All you folks on ecommerce platform sites like Etsy and eBay and Amazon don’t have to worry about this, of course. It’s one of the best benefits of sticking with a platform.
 
## 5. Don’t hide your shipping costs or any other unexpected fees

Trust is a really big deal online. It can make or break an order. Adding a surprise shipping fee (even if it’s a legitimate shipping fee) damages any trust you might have built up. It raises a red flag with your buyer.

![7 - Chart of cart abandonment reasons](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/cf1b0f98524b8564e63471e0fa894a5d5ba13d08)

Here’s an example of an unexpected shipping fee. It’s a $9 extra charge for insurance, and it was enough to make me decide to buy from a different site.

![8 - Image of Surprise Fees at checkout](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/3913f0bc22eeb7854fb57a375da960eb988591ce)

## 6. Don’t force them to register when they check out
 
Let’s be honest: Online ordering can be a bit of a pain. There’s all these options (shipping, fast shipping, gift wrap, gift message?). And then all those form fields (Name, address, zip code, email… email again).
 
You finally get through the whole exercise… and then the retailer wants you to register, too?
 
Grrr!
 
I know I’m not alone on this. And here’s proof: The second [most common reason people bail on their shopping carts is because they’ve been forced to register](http://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate).

![9 - Chart of cart abandonment reasons](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/55c3215a00c59237fd2471aa9766a210b886e9d6)

So be nice. Don’t make people register. Let them check out as a guest.
 
## 7. Give them custom packaging
 
We’ve written about how much packaging influences a [customer’s experience](https://www.stickermule.com/blog/how-to-make-memorable-shipping-experience "shipping experience for customer packages"). But it can increase their loyalty to your online shop, too.
 
30% of the consumers in a recent survey said they are more likely to order again if their package came in a custom-printed box. Big spenders are particularly influenced by this: The more someone spends on online shopping per month, the more likely they are to be influenced by the box.

![10 - Custom Packaging Increases Loyalty](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/ad00e2a4deb47fcd4e39a40ad0feb76e540a819b)

## 8. Let them get their orders shipped fast
 
Want proof of how impatient we’ve all become? Here: [90%](http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/infographic-what-consumers-want-most-online-shopping-experience-174564) of consumers will choose a delivery option that ensures their order arrives within seven days. Even if they have to pay for the upgrade.
 
Amazon’s Prime shipping has spoiled most of us. (Sticker Mule offers free 2-day shipping on orders in the U.S.)

## 9. Put their needs ahead of your own business goals
 
We mentioned trust earlier, and how it can make or break a sale (and over time, your business). This is another perspective on that. It highlights how critical it is to do more than just say you care about your customers. You have to demonstrate it.

![11 - Marketing Sherpa: Put Customers Needs First](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/f56016a6418aa42b6e02705ffc2c47b132b717ce)

There’s no one tactic that will cover you on this one. You’ll need to prove it at every step through the purchasing process and beyond.
 
## 10. Help them make the best decision (for them, not you)
 
This is similar to the last point, but it shows how customers expect help with their buying decisions. And not just any help. Useful help. Unbiased help. Help that puts their needs first.

![12 - Marketing Sherpa: Help Customer Make Decisions](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/026df2f4ab8614893aca789a579dc062d46beaf7)

If you’ve heard of content marketing (attracting an audience through useful content), you may have heard that for it to work, the content has to avoid selling. If the publisher (aka, the company) is too focused on their products, or too salesy in their approach, their content marketing fails. These last two points back that belief up well.

Same thing applies to shopping ads on Google. [KlientBoost](http://klientboost.com/) has come up with something called [The Gold Pan Technique](https://klientboost.com/ppc/gold-pan-technique/) that helps you narrow in on the products your potential customers are actually searching for.
 
So how can you help people make a decision? All the usual things. Lots of pictures, videos even. Good product descriptions with technical details. Reviews and other types of user generated content. And good customer support. But it all has to be in support of the customer – not your own sales goals.

## Conclusion
 
There’s a new buzzword in marketing that sums up everything we’ve been talking about: customer-first marketing. It is exactly what it sounds like – putting the customer’s needs above your own, at every stage of the customer lifecycle. In every decision you make.
 
Many of the most successful companies in the world have already embraced this idea. If you aren’t able (or willing) to make any of the changes mentioned here, consider just that one question: What more could you be doing to put the customer first?

There are countless ways to delight your customers using stickers and other custom printed products. Check out more ways Sticker Mule can help your business grow.

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We have to deliver what customers want. It’s the whole point of being in business. That's why figuring out what your customers want is so critical. 

10 ways to save on shipping costs 

Did you notice what happened in January? USPS and FedEx raised their costs. So did CanadaPost. 

These weren’t massive price hikes – only about 3-5%. But it may have been enough to cause you to furrow your brow when you tallied up the month’s expenses.

Shipping costs are unavoidable, of course. But there’s every reason to keep them down. So here are 10 ways to save on shipping costs for your online shop, Shopify store, or your brick-and-mortar business.

Apply even a couple of these, and you’ll more than make up for the price increase from January. You might even trim your costs by 20% or more.

## 1. Join a professional organization that offers shipping discounts
There’s safety – and power – in numbers. It’s true in life, and ends up being true in shipping, too.

There are a bunch of professional associations that offer shipping discounts to their members. Here are just a few:

* [The Specialty Food Association](https://www.specialtyfood.com/specialty-food-association/membership/member-services-benefits/shipping-supplies-savings-programs/) gives its members
 * Up to 29%† on select FedEx Express®
 * Up to 20% on select FedEx Ground®
 * Up to 10% on select FedEx Home Delivery®

It costs $300 and up to join.

* [The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors](https://www.naw.org/busservices/shipping.php) offers
 * Up to 36% on UPS Air letters including UPS Next Day Air®†
 * Up to 32% on UPS Air packages (1 lb.+)†
 * Up to 34% on UPS International imports and exports
 * Up to 24% on UPS Ground shipments

† Many local Chambers of Commerce also offering shipping discounts.

## 2. Get a good scale
If you’ve been guessing about the weights of your packages, please stop. And if you’ve been trying to make do with a bathroom scale for the larger packages, it’s time to upgrade. You need to get a precise weight for every package, or you could be overspending.

Which scale you get should depend on what you’re shipping. If your orders tend to be really light (like less than 4 lbs) a regular light-duty postal scale might be fine. But most scales like that will become useless for packages over 4 lbs.

Look at it this way: A good-quality scale for packages of 4 lbs or less will cost you maybe $30. If it saves you even 50 cents a day, it’ll have paid for itself in two months.

## 3. Save time, too – get your packages picked up
Unless you’re a post office nerd, you probably don’t relish running to the post office every day to drop your packages off. So don’t: The US Postal service will pick up First-Class, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, International, or Return Service packages for you. It can kind of be a lifesaver.

[Schedule your USPS package pickups here](https://tools.usps.com/schedule-pickup-steps.htm).

If the pickup area is secure, you don’t even have to be there when the packages get picked up. Just tell USPS where to find the packages when you fill out that form.

Voilà: One less thing to do.

## 4. Print your labels online
Have you been buying your shipping labels at the post office counter, or at one of those self-self kiosks? If so, you’re overspending. It’s cheaper to buy those online, and then just print the labels at home. You’ll save up to 22% on First-Class packages and up to 54% on Priority Mail Express.

## 5. Consider the weight of your shipping materials
Know why so many companies use peanuts to fill boxes? Because they’re really light. Same goes for those air pillows you’ve probably seen in some packages.

But what if you can’t afford those air pillows, or you don’t have a spare closet empty to store shipping peanuts in?

Just scrunch it. Some paper, I mean. Scrunch up newspaper, or any light paper. It’ll fill the packages nicely, is super light, and doesn’t cost so much. It’s a great way to keep kids busy, too (though you may need some fun paper to keep them interested).

Almost any paper will do. Ideally, you want it to be just strong enough to hold its shape, but light enough not to nudge your scale.

Word to the wise: Don’t try to shave grams off your shipping weight by using flimsy shipping boxes. Exterior boxes need to be sturdy enough to make it through an occasionally rough journey through the post office.

One way to conserve costs? The [poly mailer](https://www.stickermule.com/products/poly-mailers). If you’re shipping items that aren’t likely to be damaged by a bump (like clothes), a simple poly mailer could shave a couple of ounces off each package. And you could dress it up (ahem) with some custom printing.

![Yukon Built Custom Poly Mailers for Online Shops](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/cf319a3005f8345277811eb9eb3ba3e06bf8067f)

## 6. Use boxes that fit the item
It may mean you have to buy a couple of different box sizes, but you’ll probably save money in the end anyway. And you won’t be one of those [companies that ships a tiny item in a huge box](https://twitter.com/USAbox/status/575329675754532864).

![Huge box with a tiny item](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/dfb97617391245c1b88be5fc471b2540073cd224)

## 7. Consider skipping shipping insurance
Any package shipped via priority mail is automatically insured for $50. So if your orders aren’t usually worth more than $50, you probably don’t need insurance at all.

For the packages that are worth more than $50, you may want to do some math. (No really – this is math you’ll want to do).

Let’s say your package is worth $100. If it gets lost, you’re out $50. The cost of insuring it for that extra $50 is $2.65.

Not bad, but if you bought insurance for 100 of these orders, it would cost you $265. If you skipped the insurance, you could lose up to five $100 orders and still break even. That’s because you’d be covered for the first $50 of those five $100 orders. And the remaining $50 for the five orders comes to $250.

But are you really going to lose five out of every 100 packages? One out of every 20 packages? Probably not. So maybe you could skip the insurance for $100 packages.

The math would change (of course) for more expensive packages. So maybe you’ll only want to insure packages that are worth $150 or more. It depends how much risk you want to take, how often packages go missing, and how valuable each package is.

## 8. Use a rewards card
We’re not sure if this is cheating, or just a creative way to cut your shipping costs. But there are plenty of “rewards card” credit cards that give cash back with every purchase.

Usually it’s only 1%. But some cards give much more (up to 6%) in certain categories. If you pick the right card and if you’ve got the credit rating to qualify for the card, you could finagle a way to get 6% back on your shipping costs.

Just don’t carry a balance, or the interest rates will rapidly eat up anything you’ve saved.

## 9. Use Stamps.com, Endicia or Etsy’s shipping option.
Some shipping services and sales platforms give generous discounts if you use their shipping features.

For instance, [Stamps.com](http://www.stamps.com/shipping/) gives its users:

* 26% off first-class package service
* Up to 53% off priority mail
* 10% off priority mail express.

Their site also says you can save up to 40% on package insurance “compared to USPS rates”.

Other sellers have gone with [Endicia](http://www.endicia.com/), which is more sophisticated than Stamps.com (and better designed to support larger operations). They also offer serious discounts.

And then there’s Etsy. According to some sources, Etsy’s “create a shipping label” will let you save almost half the cost of what the USPS would charge.

## 10. Shop and negotiate for prices
There’s a thread running through all the tricks we’ve mentioned here: It pays to shop around.

So here’s how to act on that: Open accounts with all the big shippers. Then plug in some numbers and check their prices for the package types and sizes you’re most likely to ship. Usually there are significant differences in price points across the different carriers.

The best choice depends on your business and your packages. And maybe, based on which other deals you can get through the tactics mentioned above. Who knows - maybe all your packages below 2 lbs should go by USPS, while most of the ones over 2 lbs should go UPS… and the international orders should go via FedEx.

Until you do some homework, you’ll never know.

## Extra credit 
Want to really surprise and delight your customers? See if you can ship their package for less than your checkout cart quoted, then refund them the balance. So if they paid $10 to ship their order, but you can get it to them for $7, refund the $3.

Then send an email notifying them of the refund.

Something like this will cost you a bit to set up. And it’ll take some time and skill to manage. But who would ever forget getting a refund for something like that?

Maybe this isn’t something you can do for every order. Maybe only your very best customers will get this kind of treatment, or you’ll only be able to do it for orders over a certain size. But this kind of white-glove treatment will not go unnoticed. It’s this kind of above-and-beyond care that makes customers stick around.

## Conclusion 
As you can see, there’s plenty of ways to cut shipping costs. But don’t get totally focused on the money. Service – for your customers and for you – matters, too. 

At Sticker Mule, we help you wow your customers with custom printed products. Why not try our [poly mailers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/poly-mailers) or [address labels](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/address-labels) today? Get $10 off your first order when you sign up by clicking the button below.

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Shipping costs are unavoidable, but that’s every reason to keep them low. Here are 10 ways save on shipping costs for your business. 

How Grado Labs built their word-of-mouth marketing machine 

When I first heard of Grado Labs, my immediate thought was: here’s *another audio company*. Probably not much different than the rest.

Boy was I wrong. Grado Labs is totally different.

Before Beats came along, Grado Labs was unleashing sweet, melodious tunes into their customers' ears with award-winning headphones.

In fact, Grado Labs has now been around for 64 years.

And while Grado’s competitors spend millions on marketing — with a flashy internet ad here and  another commercial there — Grado has built their brand without any advertising since 1953. They rely completely on word-of-mouth.

Some of Grado’s successes:

* Massive companies, like Microsoft, beg Grado to commission special limited pairs of Grado headphones
* Musicians, like John Mayer, swear by Grado headphones in the studio when recording and mixing an album
* Celebrities, like Elijah Wood, retweet Grado tweets *just because they love the brand so much*

![Grado Labs 1995 Tweet - Retweeted by Elijah Wood](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/1ae9d906e15c17b83e64ec2a6efa9c154bc5795e)

For Grado, this is business as usual.

Random retweets from Elijah Wood? Regular occurrence.

("I just wish Elijah would retweet some of my better tweets," VP of Marketing Jonathan Grado laughs.)

For audiophiles everywhere, Grado Labs stands above the rest. What makes this brand special? Why are they so successful?

I went on a mission to find out. Here’s what I discovered.

<YouTubeVideo videoId="BfQQrReQmkw" />

## Grado Labs timeline

__1950__ — Joseph Grado, a watchmaker at Tiffany & Company, had an idea to start producing audio equipment. 

“Joe was making phono cartridges out of his house,” grandson and current VP of Marketing Jonathan Grado explains. “These phono cartridges hold the needle for a record player to play a record”

![John Grado and Jonathan Grado in the Listening Room](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/ccbe17487f2ccfacbeaab8d637c102e4efad5a52)

__1953__ — As phono cartridge production outgrew the family’s kitchen table, Joseph took over the small building of his family’s struggling fruit business and officially created Grado Laboratories.

__1961__ — Fueled by the unexpected success of phono cartridges, Grado Labs started growing rapidly. They released new products for record players, including the Dustat Record Cleaner, speakers, turntables, and more.

![Grado Cartridge Gold](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/32596f5fc93abd1a8c6679f38113c882f8ccde10)

__1965__ — John Grado, Joseph’s nephew, starts sweeping floors at Grado Labs at age 12. In between cleaning duties, John learns about sound and electrical engineering from Joseph. 

“I’ve been working at Grado for 52 years now. But it doesn’t seem that long. Feels like I’m just getting started,” John told me.

__1974__ — John graduates from college (and sweeping duties) and joins Grado full-time.

__1984__ — Phono cartridge development is at its peak. Grado is making 120,000 cartridges per year. All cartridges are hand-made at a small Grado Labs building in Brooklyn, where the family also lives on the top floor.

__1990__ — Tides quickly turn. Turntable sales slow down, and so does Grado Labs and their phono cartridge business. Joseph retires, and John buys the company, becoming President and CEO. 

Jonathan: "Grado went from 10,000 cartridges per week in the mid-1980s to 10,000 cartridges per year in the early 1990s."

__1991__ — John needs an idea to keep Grado Labs from closing down. He decides to enter the headphone market. "I noticed headphones were considered second-class citizens. Most people focus on speakers, so I thought we could have the best impact on headphones."

__1993__ — The SR325, Grado’s first pair of headphones, is released.

__1994__ — A second pair of headphones, the SR60, gets a glowing review from a popular magazine and goes “viral”

__1997__ — The popularity snowballs. *Forbes* magazine profiles John and calls him “one of the finest names in stereo headphones”

__2003__ — Grado Labs celebrates their 50th anniversary

__2013__ — Jonathan, John’s son, joins Grado Labs full-time after graduating college. With a $0 marketing budget, Jonathan has to rely on word-of-mouth to grow the brand. He uses stickers and social media to push Grado products, and Mashable names Grado Labs a top 8 most social small company in America. The praise continues as Wired says Grado builds the "best headphones in the world."

__2016__ — Grado sees record revenue. And they’re just getting started.


## From the brink of extinction to massive success

“I was having the most fun when we were struggling the most,” jokes John Grado about the early days of Grado Labs.

In 1965, vinyl records were growing in popularity and Grado Labs phono cartridges were a popular choice for enthusiasts.

Over the next ten years, Grado would make almost 500,000 phono cartridges each year.

Every cartridge was build by hand in their small Brooklyn building, manually tested part-by-part, and carefully packaged and sent to stores.

But then, it all came to a screeching halt.

![Grado Labs Building](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/c14635b028c2a2643dff4537a808ca5a7950be6f)

*The unassuming Grado Labs building, as it stands today. It’s still used by Grado Labs 60+ years later.*

In 1988, phono cartridge production had slowed to a crawl as consumers moved to portable audio devices.

Overnight, Grado Labs went from “growing business” to “uncertain future.”

Deciding to retire, Joseph sold the business to his nephew John as big questions loomed on the horizon. Will phono cartridge sales ever pick up again? Is the business doomed? Where do we go from here?

“Business is like being a captain on a ship,” John explains. “There are ‘up’ times, where the weather is nice and anyone can steer the ship. But there are also ‘down’ times when you’re in the middle of a storm. It’s during the storm the talented people survive.”

Down to three employees and a lot of uncertainty, John made a critical decision for the future of Grado Labs.

Pivot the business.

"At first, I considered getting into the speaker business. I tinkered, looked around at what others were doing, and ultimately decided against it. There was so much competition and I thought there was a bigger opportunity with headphones."

![Grado Headphones SR225e with stickers](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/3869dc751bd98c805455833a22ca8ed324cc8f1f)

Taking lessons he picked up working under Uncle Joseph, John started experimenting.

Failure after failure, and iteration after iteration, John tested until he built the perfect pair of headphones. 

"Even today, people tell us everything we put out is a hit and it’s perfect. But what they don’t see is a big pile of stuff on the chair we didn’t put out because it didn’t match our standards."

In 1994, two years after starting headphone tests, John and Grado Labs released their second pair of headphones called the SR60.

They were a massive hit. An [unexpected review in Stereophile magazine](http://www.stereophile.com/headphones/532/#HmF46HjTERkOesAt.97) put the headphones on the map in the audio community. The headphones started selling like crazy.

In 1994, just a few years removed from near-extinction, Grado Labs saw revenue of seven figures.

Within a few years, audiophiles everywhere were raving about Grado Labs headphones. The business was growing again.

## Building word-of-mouth marketing to the next level

"Every ad says it's the world’s greatest product. Everything can’t be the world’s greatest. Wherever I look, I see ads I don’t believe. Why would anyone believe ads for Grado headphones?"

When John re-focused Grado Labs in 1990, he refused to pay for advertising — just like Joseph, going back to 1964.

Instead of spending money on ads, John decided to reinvest the money back into the business to create more incredible headphones.

Relying solely on good reviews and word-of-mouth from loyal supporters, Grado Labs grew their reputation.

Generation to generation, the headphones were passed down.

Grandparents handed down SR60s to their children — who then handed it down to their children.

Kids gathered around the living room to listen to a record player using a Grado phono cartridge made 40 years earlier.

And entire families would bond over the near-perfect sound Grado products produce.

Grado’s reputation didn’t stop with just families, though. Celebrities, musicians, and audiophiles obsess over their Grado headphones.

(Plus, unlike traditional headphone brands, which pay money for celebrity endorsements, Grado has never spent a dime asking people to wear their headphones.)

For example, Jimmy Fallon wears Grado headphones live on his award-winning show.

![Jimmy Fallon wearing Grado Headphones on the Tonight Show](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/d3aa1df2b2515254d2e39d19d3697039ca91249d)

Music producer Rodney Hazard — who’s produced for Joe Budden, A$AP, and Meyhem Lauren — uses Grado SR80s to help him create the best possible music for his artists.

![Rodney Hazard wearing Grado Headphones](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/179359e4e94f00c546d7a321bd50af4e7801ecef)

*Rodney Hazard rocking a Heritage pair of Grados.*

And Grammy Award winner John Mayer bought a pair of PS500e Grados to make sure his music sounds the best it can (and to enjoy the music of other artists).

![John Mayer wearing Grado Headphones](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/1131f7563be83941296d317e127001eb00844308)

*John Mayer, listening to music on a pair of Grados.*

Families, musicians, celebrities… for music lovers everywhere, Grado is synonymous with “premium.”

Recently, Grado Labs had another trick up their sleeve to grow the brand: social media marketing.

While in college, Jonathan Grado wanted to help his dad with the family business. “I had the idea to start marketing our brand to more people and hopefully help us grow.”

But Jonathan was in for a big surprise.

“My dad said I could help with marketing, but he couldn’t give me a budget. I had $0 to work with.”

Forced to be creative, Jonathan turned to Facebook and Twitter, “I wanted to create a place for Grado Lab fans and audiophiles to congregate.”

Almost every day, Jonathan would tweet and post on Facebook. His most successful posts were photos of Grado’s beautiful, hand-made headphones. 

> Photos pull people in, and the sound of our headphones keeps them here."

Since Jonathan started using social media to showcase the headphones, Grado’s popularity has skyrocketed.

In 2014, the leading social media news company Mashable named Grado Labs one of the top social media small businesses in the United States.

And over the past three years, revenue has more than doubled.

Now, with a Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter page, photos are just as important. “Photographs of our headphones drive a ton of great comments and draw a lot of potential buyers to our brand.”

## What will Grado Labs do in the future?

“The major focus here is behind-the-scenes. We’ve never paid for an endorsement. We’d rather random people like our stuff than become a name-brand enterprise.”

As Jonathan shares the vision of Grado Labs, it’s clear the team is careful not to grow too quickly and lose their quality.

Even with healthy revenue, there’s no talk of building an ad budget. No talk of buying celebrity endorsements. And definitely no talk of mass-producing the headphones in China to lower cost.

“We don’t need to be the world’s largest company or conglomerate to be successful,” CEO John is quick to remind the small team at Grado.

With steady, focused growth there are two other marketing strategies Grado Labs is using with success:

* Beautiful, high-quality stickers to match the brand (and grow viral marketing)
* Monthly email newsletter — including a birthday surprise for subscribers

Jonathan has always been a big fan of cool stickers. Going forward, he plans to further incorporate stickers into the Grado Labs brand. 

“I keep some stickers with me at all times and some on my desk. They’re great to share with friends or include in orders.”

![Grado Headphones Stickers](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/5cc883d11882a94a7205a9406c54a73836287993)

Over the years, Jonathan has used [die cut stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/die-cut-stickers), [rectangle stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/rectangle-stickers) and [transfer stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/transfer-stickers) from Sticker Mule. "No matter where our customers put the stickers, Sticker Mule quality speaks for itself. The stickers always last and look great."

Going forward, look for even more stickers from Grado Labs.

On the email side, Jonathan has been building the Grado Labs newsletter.

Over the years, Jonathan heard from thousands of dedicated followers who wrote to Grado Labs begging for updates.

Add in people who entered Grado contests and purchased headphones, and there were about 15,000 email addresses Jonathan had saved. 

To appease their raving fans, Jonathan built a newsletter. Every month, he sends out new stories, films, photos, and more for the Grado Labs faithful.

The results have been positive. "Email works pretty well for us. It’s a good sign for the future."

## What can you learn from Grado Labs?

After talking with John and Jonathan at Grado Labs, three key principles come to mind:

1. Quality
2. Creativity
3. Contentment

These key focuses bled through everything they shared:

“Give people the best product you can and eventually you’ll be successful.”

“We had a recent 5-year gap between new headphone products. We only release when it’s needed.”

“All the work and experience of 64 years leads to creating high-quality headphones today.”

The craftsmanship, care, and focus is what makes Grado Labs different. Instead of nickel-and-diming, or focusing on revenue and satisfying shareholders (like so many other companies), Grado focuses on releasing amazing products and let everything else take care of itself.

Today, 64 years later, you can still find Grado Labs in the same unassuming Brooklyn building. While they continue to grow, they’re doing it on their own terms. 

There’s no sign on the door, and if you’ll have to knock loudly because John, Jonathan, and the rest of the team are hard at work building perfect headphones.

If you want to say hello to John and Jonathan (and the rest of Grado Labs), [click here](http://gradolabs.com/).

![Grado Labs Stickers and RS2e Headphones](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/db04cf67206f7eaeeee939e12da211fcf3ff58f4)

There are countless ways to delight your customers and build *your* word-of-mouth marketing machine using stickers and other custom printed products. 

Check out more ways Sticker Mule can help your business grow.

<ButtonCta text="100+ ways to use Sticker Mule" href="https://www.stickermule.com/uses?ref=blog" />

Learn how Grado Labs has built a successful business that has stood the test of time through word-of-mouth marketing. 

How No Treble grew with sticker giveaways 

We all have unique passions — and we want to be around people who share similar passions and hobbies. The best websites bring content and passion to their audience and avoid trying to make everyone happy. 

Every day, there are millions of other people waiting to discover websites and join communities for their specific interests  — from design sites like Dribbble to cooking sites like the Pioneer Woman to startup news like Techcrunch.

For an entrepreneur, this means opportunity.

It’s a chance to create a community for obsessed, dedicated fans who share similar obsessions. Plus, it’s a way to grow a loyal audience who return to your site, and buy your products, again and again.

To give you an example of someone who has created an incredible community for a passionate niche audience, take a look at Corey Brown.

![Corey-Brown-of-no-treble](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/fc41c8285118c298d631d91f419e424a1f6cf7dc)

Corey, the founder of [No Treble](http://www.notreble.com/), saw an opportunity to create a community for his biggest passion: instruments.

A web consultant and entrepreneur since 1995, Corey wanted to combine his experience with the web with his obsession over bass to create a side project.

The site started small, and he heard concerns from his friends and family:

* "You’re targeting a really small group, maybe you should pick a larger audience."
* "You’re wasting your time. There’s no way this could be a profitable business."
* "How are you going to make money? Are you sure you don’t want to focus more on your actual career?"

Instead of listening to the doubters, Corey pushed ahead. Today, No Treble is one of the most popular niche music sites on the web with 450,000+ monthly visitors and healthy revenue.

We’re going to show you how Corey created his small community for niche bassists and grew it into a thriving business.

Let’s get started.

## How Corey grew a unique niche and community into a successful business

Corey’s idea for No Treble started because he wanted to share his passion for bass with a larger audience.

Obsessed with finding the latest news on bass, Corey couldn’t find any bass-focused online magazines like he craved.

For example, on one site Corey would read a great interview with a bass guitar legend. But if he wanted to find information on new amps, or tips for improvising, he’d have to spend hours searching other sites until he found what he was looking for.

To fill his own need, Corey came up with the idea of a “one-stop shop” for bass aficionados like himself. 

![Fender-Mustang-Bass-PJ-Torino-Red-main](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/7948c139d1e43233ad1060b0b2d78bff0ab36347)

At first, Corey didn’t care about making it into a business. All Corey wanted to do was build the best collection of bass articles, videos, and content on the web. “I never did create it to make money, I never created it to be big,” Corey explains.

Coming from a career in web consulting, Corey put his idea into a website he called No Treble. It only had a few blog posts and a couple photos of bass instruments, but it was a good start.

Every day, as Corey kept adding content, he thought about how he could introduce other bass fans to his No Treble site.

Getting the brand in front of the right faces would be difficult. Corey had a shoestring marketing budget and he had to make every dollar count.

After exploring a few inexpensive marketing solutions, he found an effective way to grow the brand inexpensively. He found his magic bullet.

## How stickers helped Corey skyrocket his niche website into a massive success

In June of 2009, with No Treble only a month old, Corey realized something: "I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do to grow the website. But I knew I was a sticker guy, so I wanted them to be part of the mix."

![No-Treble-Stickers](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/e42da3af3de70650b458b6844037b751c2a31140 "No Treble custom stickers")

Corey used stickers as an experiment to grow the site and fan base.

> I even saw my stickers on the amps of famous bass players. They were everywhere I looked."

As a trial run, he printed 1,000 three-inch [custom circle stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/circle-stickers). He wrote a notice on his website: anyone who mailed him a self-addressed envelope would get a sticker sent to them for free.

The results blew Corey away. "As time went on, I could barely pull the envelopes out of the P.O. Box. There were just so many."

Every day, dozens of letters would arrive. People wanted to show their love for bass wherever they could — and they wanted to do it with No Treble stickers.

Seeing how successful the sticker trial run was, Corey doubled down.

Riding on the interest of his fans, he urged anyone who received a sticker to send pictures.

Hundreds of emails came in.

No Treble stickers were on cars, computers, bass cases...and even bass guitars!

Corey posted every picture on Facebook. Soon, his stickers started going viral. Every time he posted, he had dozens of curious bass fans writing, “I NEED THIS STICKER! Where can I get it?”

Day in and day out, Corey sent new stickers to everyone who asked.

To keep up with the growing demand, he started searching for companies to print his stickers en masse. It was at this point that Corey heard about [Sticker Mule](https://www.stickermule.com/). “I loved what Sticker Mule was doing, so we switched over our business.”

With more stickers printed, the chatter surrounding No Treble kept growing.

Passionate bass fans were sharing the No Treble stickers every day. They’d post about it on their Facebook. They’d tweet about it. They’d even tell their friends in-person over drinks.

The "small" website that friends told Corey would be a waste of time was exploding with an obsessive, highly targeted audience of fans.

"I was getting pictures from friends who saw No Treble stickers on cars in different cities. I even saw my stickers on the amps of famous bass players. They were everywhere I looked."

As the stickers continued to go viral, international bass fans caught on.

But because of postal restrictions, Corey wasn’t able to mail self-addressed envelopes back overseas. So he decided to create and sell a special pack of stickers anyone could buy.

![no treble sticker sheet](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/d11bc03651bf72e38866fb27b5779d9270b2adcc)

"I started a simple online order form where you could buy 1, 5, or 10-packs of stickers. It was incredible because I sold more 10-packs than anything else," Corey told us.

Selling stickers helped No Treble scale the brand and reach more people — and it helped push this “small” niche website into a sustainable business.

With No Treble’s sticker experiment, success is in the numbers. As the main marketing tool the brand used, stickers helped grow the community into 450,198 monthly pageviews.

Corey is quick to point out how stickers were responsible for No Treble’s success. “Free stickers made it a turning point for us. It was the catalyst for us getting involved in product sales and building a sustainable, passionate business. I never would have guessed we’d mail out 10,000 stickers like we did in 3-4 years.”

Today, No Treble still has stickers as their product staple — and the growth from stickers has allowed the brand to start selling t-shirts, books, and more. Even better, it brings in enough revenue for Corey to keep it going, hire world-class writers, and create a thriving niche community.

And if Corey was able to grow his niche community into an exploding business, you can too.

To help you get started, here’s our step-by-step system on how to use stickers to grow your own niche website or idea.

## How to use stickers to take your idea, product, and website to the next level

__Step #1: Follow No Treble’s lead and order stickers.__

[Die cut stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/die-cut-stickers) are a great place to start. Use a logo or another piece of branding that your customers and fans will identify with. Our stickers are weatherproof and waterproof, so your biggest fans can put them anywhere they want  — from [their cars](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/car-stickers) to [laptops](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/laptop-stickers) to their [outdoor gear](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/outdoor-stickers). Stickers are a great way to help push viral growth and skyrocket word-of-mouth marketing 2-5x for a fraction of the cost. (Also check out our [custom sticker sheets](https://www.stickermule.com/products/sticker-sheets).)

__Step #2: Give away stickers as a free email sign-up perk.__ 
Corey gave away stickers to anyone who sent a self-addressed envelope to his P.O. Box. But keeping track of a P.O. Box can be a hassle. Instead, we recommend creating a simple form to request a user’s name, mailing address, and email. Getting an email address gives you the chance to add them to your email list and send offers in the future. 

__Step #3: Once you start gaining traction, sell special stickers to generate revenue.__ 
When No Treble received too many requests for stickers (especially internationally), they saw it as a potential revenue stream. Today, you can [buy six different kinds of stickers on their website](http://shop.notreble.com/category/stickers). Although the greatest benefit is still to spread the word and brand, it can bring in additional cash too.

To see the exact stickers No Treble used to grow their niche community from 0 to 450,198 monthly views, [visit their store](http://shop.notreble.com/).

![no-treble-circle-stickers](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/ddaf728da7fb7348b18c2047e8d5f8781fb5403e)

## Over to you

There are countless ways to delight _your_ customers and grow your brand using stickers and other custom printed products. Check out more ways Sticker Mule can help your business grow.

<ButtonCta text="100+ ways to use Sticker Mule" href="https://www.stickermule.com/uses?ref=blog" />

No Treble used a simple sticker giveaway to expedite its growth to more than 500,000 pageviews a month. 

How Ugmonk grew from a side hobby into a profitable business 

What if you could share your unique gifts with the world?

What if you could create gorgeous, life-changing products for your obsessive customers...who buy from you at the drop of a hat?

What if you could make money doing what you love — on your own terms, without having to answer to any bosses or clients who ask, "Can you create a version with a little more red and just a tiny bit less blue?"

![Ugmonk's Jeff Sheldon Sketching & Designing](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/a4654883264db65c9e1de2263cda86aa8825982a)
*Jeff, the founder of the highly-respected apparel brand Ugmonk, designing on his own terms.*

Maybe some of you have already started down this path.

For example, you might have a side business creating art and selling it on Etsy. Or, you might have a small tent at at your local artisan fair selling hand-crafted organic candles.

Or, maybe some of you are still dreaming about getting your passion off the ground. You know you have creative gifts to share with the world, you just haven’t had the time to get it going yet.

Either way, whether you’ve already started a small business or you’re still in the idea stage, the goal is usually the same: eventually evolve and grow your side hobby into a full-time business.

But, __while we dream about the day we can write our own check, it’s easy to get stuck__. You might be asking questions like...

What are the actual, no-B.S. ways to get a business started?

Where do I find customers?

How do I grow a business idea into a brand people love, represent, and obsess over?

The good news is, today we’re going to introduce you to someone who grew his side hobby into an exploding business. __A business where he gets to share his passions with the world, on his own terms, and exactly the way he wants to do it.__

Meet Jeff Sheldon, the founder of the acclaimed, gorgeous, and evolving brand [Ugmonk](http://ugmonk.com/).

## The beginnings
> Design is something that's always been in me. As a child, I'd sit there and draw for hours with my pencils and crayons."

Growing up, Jeff couldn’t stop scribbling and designing on pieces of scrap paper.

Everywhere he went, he brought pieces of paper so he could draw for hours. Shapes, words, people. It didn’t matter. Jeff was obsessed with creating beautiful designs, and refining until it was perfect.

Creating and refining beautiful designs stuck with Jeff as he got older too. When Jeff graduated college in 2008, he moved to northern Vermont to start a design job at a small marketing agency.

But when Jeff jumped to the professional world in 2008, he was unimpressed with the designs he saw. He wondered why the art and so-called “creative work” he noticed was so bland.

“I wanted to know __why it was so tough to find fresh, high-quality, unique items in a modern aesthetic__. I felt like the design culture at the time was really lacking in this area,” Jeff told us.

Coming home from his job every day, he put his design skills to work on the side. He’d sit down with a pencil and paper, brainstorming ideas until the early hours of the morning.

Every night, Jeff spent hours drawing, refining, and evolving his ideas.

After a few months, he launched a group of his favorite designs on a small batch of t-shirts under a new brand he called "Ugmonk." The designs were based on his love for typography and minimal design shapes.

![Early Ugmonk Designs](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/180fddffdcfea241ba9360c304077cc690b4ac32)
*Early Ugmonk t-shirt designs*

In August of 2008, three months after graduating and spending hours every night perfecting his designs, Jeff put four different t-shirt designs, on 200 t-shirts in total, up for sale.

After sharing on social media and sending to a few friends, Jeff’s designs were posted on a few smaller design blogs. And he sold out of his first batch of orders.

## Staying patient

> Through the first two years, I continued building Ugmonk by working late nights and weekends. I wanted to be extra-careful with my growth."

Sold out of his first batch, Jeff could have reacted by quitting his full-time job and throwing everything into the Ugmonk brand.

But he didn’t.

Knee-jerk reactions and rushing around without stopping to think was counter to what Jeff believed.

__He wanted to grow Ugmonk slowly. Methodically. With a careful eye.__ He wanted to let it evolve naturally, and he wanted to make sure everything was perfect — even if it meant intentionally slowing down the opportunity to grow.

"Ugmonk was born of __a desire to create products and designs that I personally liked__. It’s not designing for the trends, not trying to please the masses," Jeff says.

So every night, Jeff kept working in his studio. Away from the chaos and pressure, he created.

And revised.

And revised again.

In 2009, a year after Ugmonk started, Jeff hit the jackpot. He launched an insanely popular t-shirt called [And Then I Woke Up](http://shop.ugmonk.com/products/and-then-i-woke-up). It continues to be one of Ugmonk's best sellers today.

![And Then I Woke Up Tee by Ugmonk](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/8187b6e03206b2832d27be331d580b10c664b3b3)
*Jeff’s And Then I Woke Up t-shirt design. Beautiful and sold like crazy.*

"When I launched the *And Then I Woke Up* shirt, I knew Ugmonk was here to stay. It got picked up on all design blogs and got a lot of positive feedback which fueled me to keep going," remembers Jeff.

The success of *And Then I Woke Up* is another chance Jeff could have taken to quit his job. But he didn’t. He still didn’t want to feel rushed with his Ugmonk brand.

Jeff put in another year building out Ugmonk on the side. He worked more late nights and weekends to refine designs, organize logistics, and pack orders by hand.

And with each new design, word-of-mouth spread like crazy and the t-shirts would sell out.

Finally, almost two years after starting the brand (and with momentum continuing to build), Jeff decided it was time to make the full-time move. He left his job so he could take Ugmonk to the next level.

## Going full-time
> I wanted to focus all my energy on creating amazing designs at Ugmonk. I decided I had to fully focus there so I could do that."

With attention now fully on Ugmonk, Jeff could expand and grow his ideas for the brand.

But in order to keep Ugmonk growing and fund his new plans, Jeff had to make sure the business was generating revenue. In other words, Jeff had to find brand "staples" he could rely on for steady income.

This flies in the face of conventional wisdom in the apparel industry. Typically, apparel companies only sell products for a year. After the year is finished, they discontinue the old designs no matter how well they’re selling.

Once again, Jeff decided to take the unconventional route.

Instead of discontinuing designs after a year, he decided to keep his most popular designs indefinitely (like *And Then I Woke Up*). Jeff wanted to give people who discovered his brand the chance to buy a design he poured his heart and soul into. 

Jeff says, "These designs are as fresh and exciting to someone seeing it for the first time as they were to me six years ago."

This gave Jeff the chance grow his business from stable income on proven designs while he focused on creating new designs that were riskier bets.

![Custom Stickers for Ugmonk by Sticker Mule](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/f26fb8ea0561553ff912c00bc5a6624c785503c1)
*[Custom rectangle stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/rectangle-stickers) by Sticker Mule*

## One-off products and special collaborations
> I don't mind asking for help. Outside of design, I never consider myself an expert who knows everything."

As Ugmonk gained more attention, the t-shirts sales were increasing. Jeff could have stopped and created t-shirts with the same designs for the rest of his life, resulting in a good living.

__But it was never just about t-shirts. And it was definitely not just about the money.__

Jeff knew he had to evolve the Ugmonk brand as his own interests evolved. "Ever since the beginning, Ugmonk has really been about my passion for design," Jeff says.

He started looking for the chance to create gorgeous one-off products — and collaborate with other experts.

"These projects apply my design sense to a new product and industry, and they [the collaborative partners] bring their own expertise."

A recent collaboration was inspired by Jeff’s love of specialty coffee. Specifically, a small local family roaster in Lancaster, Pennsylvania called [Square One Coffee](http://www.squareonecoffee.com/).

![Designer Coffee by One Square & Ugmonk](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/51818e7458b56ccdd9af2c90318342f3828fba9a)
*The Ugmonk x Square One Coffee collaboration.*

“Square One is one of my favorite coffee roasters. It felt like the perfect fit,” Jeff said.

The result is a [premium Ugmonk x Square One Coffee product](https://ugmonk.com/blogs/journal/ugmonk-x-square-one-coffee), including a limited number of hand-crafted leather Chemex collars. Unlike the t-shirts which have been around for years, once the Ugmonk x Square One coffee products are sold out they’ll be gone for good.

At the end of the day, there's no secret game plan for Jeff to get into the coffee industry. It's a way for him to have fun and combine his expertise with another expert in their respective field.

"I'm not interested in making coffee as a part of my business going forward. It was a fun collaboration that had incredible results. People loved the coffee and the design. For me, that’s success," Jeff explains.

And sometimes, Jeff creates one-off products on his own. "Not every product that I design is available indefinitely, but __I love exploring new product categories and experimenting with different types of products__ all based around the same minimalist design aesthetic."

For example, to celebrate the 8th birthday of the Ugmonk brand this year, Jeff [created a special 8th anniversary set for his followers](https://ugmonk.com/blogs/journal/8-years-of-ugmonk).

The anniversary collection includes...

* Special 8th anniversary tee made from tri-blend fabric (making it the softest Ugmonk shirt ever)
* Metal coaster laser cut from 3/16” raw steel and sealed with a matte lacquer
* Custom-designed slide-out box Jeff created from scratch to hold the tee and metal coaster in ultra-premium packaging
* Numbered letterpress card, each with a unique numbering from 1 to 200

Like the limited edition coffee products, once the 8th anniversary set is sold out it's not coming back. Jeff launched with two hundred 8th anniversary sets priced at $75 each...and within 24 hours he only had 50 left.

Combined, the limited edition coffee products and the 8th anniversary set have made five figures for the Ugmonk brand. Plus, more importantly, they’ve let Jeff express his artistic vision and grow Ugmonk in new and exciting ways.

## Quality is never sacrificed
> Quality is more important than quantity. I'm focused on refining designs and making something I’m proud of."

__Jeff refuses to let "average" happen with Ugmonk.__

Everything about the Ugmonk brand is premium, "It’s worth paying a little extra for way nicer quality. I make sure everything, from the labels to the packaging, is the way I envisioned it and the quality people deserve and anticipate.”

In a recent blog post, we were honored when Jeff mentioned he used Sticker Mule for his [premium label packaging](https://www.stickermule.com/custom-labels) on his coffee. "Sticker Mule is really well priced, and the quality is premium," Jeff wrote.

We asked him to explain more: “I knew when I was creating labeling and packaging for anything, I had to use Sticker Mule. I didn’t even give it a second thought.”

Jeff’s obsession over quality can be seen across the other Ugmonk products too.

Coffee products made with premium leather? Check.

Tees made with an ultra-soft hybrid of cotton, polyester, and rayon? Check.

Laser-engraved coasters crafted from special steel? Check.

When it comes to quality, Jeff doesn’t make any sacrifices with the Ugmonk brand.

Never satisfied, Jeff made some recent critical changes to the brand in 2016 to make the quality even better.

Eight years after the Ugmonk brand originally launched, Jeff introduced the biggest change in Ugmonk history "over a year in the making." The end result was a total rebranding Jeff calls "Ugmonk 2.0."

![Ugmonks-Rebrand](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/e1082541ce929411b0a8fa00596640507184c96b)
*The new vs. old Ugmonk logo*

At a glance, Ugmonk 2.0 might look like just a new logo and a prettier website. But there’s a lot under the hood. The redesign goes much deeper than a simple logo change.

To carefully evolve into the next phase of Ugmonk, Jeff crafted a creative brief, tweaked hundreds of logo concepts, designed a secondary logo, and even produced new custom packaging.

There were no stones left unturned. Jeff re-imagined Ugmonk from the bottom up to make sure version 2.0 matched his vision and how the brand has evolved over the past eight years. In the process, he set up the brand for success years down the line.

So with upwards growth, a new design, and the freedom to create whatever he wants, what’s next for Jeff and the refreshed Ugmonk brand?

"I don’t know honestly," Jeff tells us bluntly. "I have a few ideas, and that’s to keep things going down the same path because it’s working at a scale and at a pace that allows me to do it. Of course, remaining small and on purpose is huge too. And I'm always thinking about new product categories."

As Jeff carefully plans the next steps for Ugmonk, transparency with his fans and followers is critical. To show a full view behind the curtain, Jeff shares his insights, step-by-step artistic process, and other behind-the-scenes details in the [Ugmonk Journal](http://ugmonk.com/blog/).

Whatever Jeff decides is next for Ugmonk, it’ll be beautiful, created with the best quality in mind — and uniquely Jeff.

[Follow Jeff and the Ugmonk brand](http://ugmonk.com/) as it evolves.

Plus, while you’re starting your own side hobby, you can use the same [premium labels](https://www.stickermule.com/custom-labels) and [stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/die-cut-stickers) Jeff obsesses about and uses.

And to help you understand how to evolve your own side hobby into a full-time business, we partnered with Ugmonk to create two unique challenges to get your side hobby growing into a flourishing, full-time business.

## Your Ugmonk & Sticker Mule Challenge

### Collaboration challenge

"I love the power of collaborations and one-off projects. I think it can benefit both designers and artists wanting to start a side hobby, and those of us who are a little further down the road."

One-off and collaboration projects help get your foot in the door with new contacts who can help cross-promote your business, and they create a sense of urgency so your customers and fans will act quickly. And, my favorite part is collaborations and one-offs give me the chance to experiment and try something totally new.”

How can you grow your side hobby with a one-off, limited edition product or service? Or, who can you reach out to about a potential collaboration?

__Action Steps:__

1. Brainstorm 3-5 potential businesses or people you can collaborate with
2. Reach out to the expert or business you want to collaborate with (if you need inspiration, check out this blog post called [How to Get a Meeting With Anyone (and Email Scripts You Can Use Right Away)](https://medium.com/@Bitladon/how-to-get-a-meeting-with-anyone-and-email-scripts-you-can-use-right-away-9f78ffcf2f68).

![Ugmonk and Square One's Coffee Collaboration](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/39b59aede863c36dae5d6b8764e0adfbfe6f196f)

### Premium experience challenge

At Sticker Mule we love to surprise and delight customers with experiences that delight and surprise. That’s why we provide free artwork help, customized packaging, expedited shipping and we even include special thank you cards signed by our team members. Similarly, Ugmonk used ultra-soft tri-blend tees for the 8th anniversary set, instead of standard cotton like others would have. 

These "little things" add up and they can separate you and your products or services from all the noise and competition in your industry.

Similar to Jeff using [Sticker Mule’s rectangle labels](https://www.stickermule.com/products/rectangle-roll-labels) for his labeling to showcase the quality of his brand, how can you separate yourself from your competition or other businesses out there with a “small” increase in quality?

__Action Steps:__

1. Spend 15 minutes writing down the different cogs in your business from messaging, packaging, shipping, and unboxing.
2. Identify 2-3 areas you can improve the quality and give your customers a premium experience.
3. Price out what the 2-3 premium experiences will cost, and pick 1 premium experience based on the cost and the potential positive impact for your business or idea. (For example, a label or [die cut sticker](https://www.stickermule.com/products/die-cut-stickers "die cut sticker") used to seal a box is a cost effective way to improve your customer’s experience and spread your branding.

There are countless ways to create premium experiences and grow your brand using stickers and other custom printed products. Check out more ways Sticker Mule can help your business grow.

<ButtonCta text="100+ ways to use Sticker Mule" href="https://www.stickermule.com/uses?ref=blog" />

8 years ago Jeff Sheldon started Ugmonk on the side. Today, Jeff runs a highly successful business that features brilliant designs and bespoke collaborations. 

How Lauren James used stickers to help build their business 

__*Bzzzzzzzt...*__

That's the sound of another text message hitting your customer’s phone.

Go ahead and add it to the tally. Every day, your customers:

- Send and receive 67 text messages
- Get bombarded with 122 emails
- Exchange dozens of Snapchats with friends
- Tune out most of the 3,000 different product advertisements they see (like yours)

In other words, your customers are overloaded with options and the digital market is crowded.

This is especially true for ecommerce companies, which make up about 12% of the Internet and where competition is brutal. The Internet graveyard is littered with failed ecommerce companies like One Kings Lane, which was valued at $920 million in 2014...but sold for $30 million this year.

For ecommerce brands, failure comes at an especially massive cost.

So with so many other ecommerce businesses out there, __how do you gain traction and separate from the pack?__

__How do you create loyal customers who keep coming back__ — and excitedly tell everyone they know about your brand?

__How do you grab the attention of new customers__ who will spend hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands on your brand over their lifetime?

Today, we're going to show you the secrets. __You'll learn:__

1. How to separate your brand in the crowded ecommerce market
2. How to retain your current customers with ease
3. How to get new customers at a fraction of the cost

We’ll introduce you to an ecommerce clothing company that created a thriving brand, grew to 8-figures in only three years, and hacked their way to success using unconventional — and effective — marketing tactics.

And the best part is, you can implement their strategies starting today.

## Joining the crowded ecommerce space

Meet [Lauren James](https://www.laurenjames.com/), an ecommerce clothing company with thousands of deeply loyal customers spending thousands on their brand.

Lauren James was founded in 2013 by husband-and-wife team Lauren and Lance Stokes.

Inspired by the blend of southern classics and modern clothing for women, Lauren fell in love with fashion and wanted to share her inspiration with the world.

![Lauren James Lifestyle Brand for Women Southern Inspired Designed Tees](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/eca2a4f996d0625236a93855010d50b465058a08)

Starting out, Lauren and Lance decided to focus on fashion for women ages 18-35. After designing a small batch of clothing, they launched a small private label line as a market test — and sold out.

With the business idea validated, Lauren and Lance knew they had a product market fit.

Next, they wanted to grow the company.

With the private label line, they successfully got their business in front of a couple hundred customers...but how could they reach thousands? Or even millions?

With so many “traditional” marketing methods overused and ineffective, they knew they had to go an unconventional route to effectively (and inexpensively) attract potential customers.

In other words, Lauren James needed to:

1. Separate their customer experience from the millions of other ecommerce websites
2. Attract new customers at a fraction of the cost
3. Keep current customers coming back and avoid churn

Embracing a nontraditional growth hacking mindset, Lance took the first step: create unique, breathtaking designs for their sweet "tees" collection. Today, they have more than 500 designs that customers love.

"We try to maximize the artwork and original content," Lance says. "A ton of time is spent on artwork for tees."

With their new beautiful designs now on tees, they needed a way to get them in front of a large audience.

__And, most importantly, they needed a way to generate word-of-mouth marketing buzz (and ROI).__

![Lauren James Tees](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/24c0a2238ecbeef08c4edc62d638673e2d46e27e)

## The surprising way Lauren James generated tons of revenue and increased customer loyalty

Lauren James decided to try a fast, easy marketing test: custom stickers.

With every order Lauren James shipped, they also sent the customer a free beautifully designed [die cut sticker](https://www.stickermule.com/products/die-cut-stickers).

![Life is Better in LJ Sticker](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/82971ed7a72cccc077e5891e6236c76a0c244d10)

At the start, they knew most new customers were only wearing Lauren James clothes and repping the brand once or twice a week  — not every day.

But stickers can go anywhere. Customers can put them on...

- [Car windows/bumpers](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/car-stickers)
- [Phones](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/phone-stickers)
- [Laptops](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/laptop-stickers)
- [Notebooks](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/scrapbook-stickers)
- [Water bottles](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/waterproof-stickers)

And dozens of other places people see... Every. Single. Day.

To market their ecommerce brand, Lauren James didn't use expensive SEM management. They didn't use a PR firm. They didn't use consultants creating expensive marketing videos.

Just a few stickers placed in every order.

This simple addition to each order cut through the noise and secured customer loyalty.

> Our team is always finding new ways to connect digital convenience to tangible experiences — stickers are a part of that."

It was crazy inexpensive word-of-mouth marketing for the creative startup, and it helped them hack their way to growth and success.

It wasn't just vague "brand awareness" either. 

__The results were in the numbers — word-of-mouth took off, organic search tripled and sales increased.__

For only about $0.10 per sticker, Lauren James was surprising and delighting customers (and seeing a direct effect on its bottom line).

![Lauren James Die Cut Stickers](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/f9e6e82f69e23d151a63b8ef5014f22c41f110d4 "Lauren James custom die cut stickers")

Today, if you go to YouTube you’ll see more than 7,000 unboxing videos for Lauren James. These videos cost the company absolutely nothing.

Lauren James’ rabid fans are ecstatic to open their Lauren James package, show the world what they got, and proudly place their stickers anywhere they can.

"Our team is always finding new ways to connect digital convenience to tangible experiences — stickers are a part of that," Lance said.

Today, stickers are an integral part of Lauren James. And, they provide a massive ROI.

![Lauren James Box](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/6929612f4c52742ec675be49ba36ae326d90392e "Lauren James box")

## Lauren James used stickers to:

### 1. Launch a blog 

"When we were launching our blog, [Styled Sweet](http://www.styledsweet.com/), we sent out special Styled Sweet stickers with every order. It drove traffic to the new blog which in turn increased social sharing," Lance says.

### 2. Create a gigantic newsletter list with ready-to-buy customers

"If you sign-up for our newsletter, we'll send you a sticker," Lance says. "We capture emails, shipping addresses, and generate future customers just for the price of a sticker. It's also a great way to create a positive first connection with soon-to-be fans."

### 3. Generate sales 

Lauren James saw such incredible results with giving away stickers that they started selling them. Today, they have over [100 different stickers their customers love](https://www.laurenjames.com/collections/all/stickers). 

![Lauren James State Stickers - Die Cut by Sticker Mule](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/045249af8f6cc6438ea18428cdd24071786d9574)

Customers often share their love for the stickers on social media or on YouTube in unboxing videos, for example a customer recently said, "The stickers are such nice quality, I'm so excited to stick this on my car" in an unboxing video.

Today, the team has grown to over 115 employees and three retail stores with more on the horizon  —  business is booming for Lauren James.

So what’s next?

Lance told us, "More sticker promotions!"

> Capturing emails and future customer information for only the price of a sticker!"

## 5 proven tactics Lauren James used to become a 8-figure business

To grow your own ecommerce business, here are 5 proven tactics Lauren James used to grow to a multi-million dollar company with 115 employees. You can start implementing these today.

### Strategy #1: Use newsletter opt-ins — with a twist

Lauren James, like most websites, tries to get users to opt into a newsletter. From the business side, a newsletter lets Lauren James nurture prospects and turn them into paying, happy customers...who come back again and tell their friends.

But, growing a newsletter in such a crowded market is easier said than done.

To combat the noise, they offer an incentive: a free sticker.

"Capturing emails and future customer information for only the price of a sticker!" Lance says.

And it’s worked — with opt-in rates far above the industry average Lauren James sends out thousands of free stickers to future customers every month.

To get start this for your own business, create an simple email opt-in page asking for a prospect’s name, email address, and mailing address. Use Wufoo, SumoMe, or any other tool that allows you to collect their email address and information.

Then, you can put the email address in a lead nurturing campaign and increase your chances to sell to the prospect by 2x or more. If you already have a large email list or email your customers regularly, try creating an "Insiders' List" and use stickers an incentive. Use this list to grow referrals, offer special deals for promoting your company online, and more. 

![Die Cut Stickers by Lauren James](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/1291369f5cd509f323d73c748ccda8123243a96a "Die Cut Stickers by Lauren James")

### Strategy #2: Make an amazing unboxing experience

On YouTube alone, there are 7,000+ Lauren James unboxing videos. These videos are posted by excited fans of the brand and they don't cost the company a dime.

Best of all, they sell Lauren James’ products without Lauren James having to do anything.

To make the unboxing process special and create viral marketing, Lauren James gives beautiful stickers away for free with every purchase.

In your own business, think of one quick change you can make for your unboxing to be better.

When your unboxing is better, your customers will want to share with their friends and the world (and they’ll also want to come back and purchase).

![Lauren James Packaging and Box](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/8c82391bc29e399034db3eec761cac24808a32cf "Lauren James Packaging and Box")

### Strategy #3: Create a viral sales loop so your customers sell for you

Lauren James started putting stickers in every package they mailed. Their customers put stickers everywhere — on laptops, notebooks, cars, and anywhere else.

The key lesson here is make it easy to share: it’s common for loyal Lauren James customers to give their stickers in their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th orders to friends who will then visit the website (and maybe purchase).

Instead of wasting time on marketing and advertising, Lauren James puts a sticker in each order — which only costs about $0.10 extra. How's that for effective bootstrapped marketing?

[Stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/die-cut-stickers) and other items like [custom magnets](https://www.stickermule.com/products/custom-magnets) or [custom buttons](https://www.stickermule.com/custom-buttons) are an inexpensive and effective way to build a viral sharing loop so your customers sell for you.

### Strategy #4: Pour gasoline on the word-of-mouth marketing fire

Lauren James creates a viral marketing loop for their stickers, which can cost 60-75x less than traditional marketing methods.

And after seeing the success of free stickers, they realized they could sell stickers too.

Today, Lauren James sells dozens of different eye-catching stickers. This gives them extra revenue, creates free brand ambassadors, more word-of-mouth marketing, and makes their customers extra happy.

If something is working for your business, do more of it. Offer upsells or variations for customers to buy. It’s not necessary to always reinvent the wheel.

![Custom stickers by Sticker Mule for Lauren James](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/0f9933128683dbd2ce35819eb6966d9414485d5d "Custom stickers by Sticker Mule for Lauren James")

### Strategy #5: Use original designs to blow customers away (and increase ROI)

Lauren James became successful partly because of their unique designs for clothing, packaging, and their brand.

For example, most clothing companies send clothes in a boring brown box.

But not Lauren James. They send their clothing in a gorgeous pink box or mailer with stunning typography and hand-crafted care.

The same opportunity is available for every company to improve upon mundane ways most ecommerce companies do business. How can you surprise and delight your customers?

---------------







Looking back, Lauren James could have gone the traditional route to market their brand. A few thousand dollars on Facebook Ads here, a full-page advertisement in Elle magazine there...but where would they be now?

The truth is, if you follow the same traditional marketing methods in the oversaturated ecommerce market you’re going to get the same traditional results. Now more than ever, it’s critical to follow nontraditional ways to market your brand.

For inspiration, check out more ways Sticker Mule can help your business grow.

<ButtonCta text="100+ ways to use Sticker Mule" href="https://www.stickermule.com/uses?ref=blog" />

How a women's lifestyle brand and ecommerce clothing company created a thriving business in only three years. 

How to win customer loyalty with every shipment 

When it comes to buying clothes online, I’m sure you’ve had great and poor experiences. If you’re looking for clothing brands that understand how to surprise and delight their customers, then you’ll love this post.

Without a brick and mortar location, online brands must think carefully about the entire customer experience from first click to the moment the box is opened — and beyond. Clothing brands  face unique challenges and opportunities. They have an especially difficult task to create a rewarding customer experience as they have to consider clothing fit, returns, and also find unique ways to spread word-of-mouth.

Sticker Mule aggregated a list of ten online clothing companies that include free, unexpected gifts in their packaging to win their customers’ loyalty. Adding a small gift or sticker to a package is often the final step in taking a first time buyer into a fan that promotes the brand online and in real life. 

*Quick note: We selected these companies based on Twitter and Instagram mentions and in no particular order. We really hope you enjoy this list and maybe decided to implement sending stickers with customers purchases in your company. If you would like to feature your own clothing and apparel company here, please email us at help@stickermule.com and include your information and customers' photos.*

### 1. Lauren James | [laurenjames.com](https://www.laurenjames.com/) | [@ShopLaurenJames](https://twitter.com/ShopLaurenJames)

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/Megan_1116/status/650861221004992513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" />

In mid 2013, Lauren James was founded by a registered nurse turned fashion designer. Lauren James bases its brand on incorporating modern styles into classics and creating clothes that could be worn on every occasion. 

[Lauren James customers love that they receive small free gifts with their purchases.](https://www.stickermule.com/blog/how-lauren-james-used-stickers-to-help-build-an-8-figure-lifestyle-brand) Many customers share their orders on social media and take photos of their purchases with the free sticker or gift that was included. The tweet above is one such example where a customer received a sticker and a koozie as a free gift and shared it on Twitter. As customers share their purchases on social media they expose the brand to a whole new set of potential customers as well as increasing the amount of people reordering from Lauren James.

Lance Stokes, COO at Lauren James, says, “Our team is always finding new ways to connect digital convenience to tangible experiences — stickers are a part of that. I tell our team daily that 'if you're not winning in convenience, you better be winning in experience'. The real goal, however, is to do both."

> Our team is always finding new ways to connect digital convenience to tangible experiences — stickers are a part of that."

### 2. Fraternity Collection | [fraternitycollection.com](http://fraternitycollection.com/) | [@fratcollection](https://twitter.com/fratcollection)

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/IrisIsabellegut/status/744252914781167616" />

Fraternity Collection formed its roots in Jackson, Mississippi. Fraternity Collection was started by two fraternity brothers who aimed at creating a clothing company catering specifically toward the collegiate Greek community. 

Through its stickers, Fraternity Collection has created a very recognizable brand all over the world. Their signature sticker that they send out with every order is a bowtie. Customers collect the different bowtie stickers and attach them everywhere, [especially on cars](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/car-stickers) which creates an easy way for drivers on the road to recognize Fraternity Collection. Fraternity Collection also loves to send surprises to customers such as koozies. These small surprises really build the brand’s connection to the customer and help Fraternity Collection reach new potential customers.

### 3. Cotton Bureau | [cottonbureau.com](https://cottonbureau.com/) | [@cottonbureau](https://twitter.com/cottonbureau)

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/Doomworks/status/748110134786809856" />

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/edcasey/status/742476127663357952" />

Founded in 2013, Cotton Bureau sells high quality, custom designed t-shirts by different designers from around the world. Cotton Bureau allows anyone to submit a custom t-shirt design, but then the Cotton Bureau team selects only the best designs to be sold online. 

Cotton Bureau has a lot of different sticker designs that they send out to their customers. Some stickers are sent out only with certain shirts while other stickers are sent with every purchase to promote the brand.These designs can be found all over social media shared by happy customers. The two most popular designs are the hotdog and ice cream stickers, customers can’t wait to receive these stickers with their order. 

### 4. Roxy | [roxy.com](http://www.roxy.com/) | [@Roxy](https://twitter.com/Roxy)

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/AngAtwood/status/1076471275999150080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" />

Roxy was born when the brand Quiksilver decided to start a women's line in 1990. Starting a surf brand for women was something that had never been done before. Shortly after Roxy was formed, the brand started paying off. Quiksilver saw what a huge opportunity the women’s surf market was. Today, Roxy has expanded into a sportswear, denim and snowwear brand with many more products. 

The tweet above shows just how much customers love stickers and especially stickers from Roxy. Their [iconic black and white sticker can be found on surfboards](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/surfboard-stickers) along dozens of beaches across the United States. Customers are driven to attach these stickers mainly due to their love for the company and as a way to build and display their personality. 

### 5. Vineyard Vines | [vineyardvines.com](http://www.vineyardvines.com/#) | [@vineyardvines](https://twitter.com/vineyardvines)

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/AubreyVandyke/status/619269283000881152" />

In 1998 two brothers, Shep and Ian Murray decided that the wearing suits everyday to work wasn’t for them and instead decided to create a brand that shows off “the good life”, they named this brand Vineyard Vines. Vineyard Vines sells preppy clothing and accessories for men, women, and children. Today it has grown into a huge brand with many outlets and retail stores throughout the United States. 

With unique, creative designs, Vineyard Vines grew their already popular mascot (a smiling whale) into a cultural icon. The smiling whale that comes in many different designs such as the one pictured above inspired people to start collecting the stickers and even reselling them to collectors. Whenever people see the smiling whale they automatically think of Vineyard Vines and "living the good life.” The smiling whale and the Vineyard Vines stickers also took over Twitter receiving hundreds of tweets about them. Stickers have definitely been very successful for Vineyard Vines and their customers love them. 

### 6. Stark Originals | [starkoriginals.com](http://www.starkoriginals.com/) | [@starkoriginals](https://twitter.com/StarkOriginals)

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/StarkOriginals/status/683422230102077442" />

Stark Originals is a very popular and fun clothing company. Stark Originals likes to have fun, play outside, and drink beer. Their designs are very creative and very often contain [really cool art featuring beer bottles](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/brewery-stickers). The company sells t-shirts, sweatshirts and many different accessories. 

Stark Originals knows how to promote on social media well, through their Twitter account they share their sticker designs and promote that they include stickers with every purchase. This proved to be very successful for Stark Originals because customers loved knowing this beforehand and it pushed more people to order from their website. 

### 7. Rivet & Cuff | [rivetandcuff.com](https://www.rivetandcuff.com/) | [@rivetandcuff](https://twitter.com/rivetandcuff)

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/rivetandcuff/status/754364858355843072" />

Rivet & Cuff is a company that first had its roots as a project determined to use technology to solve online sizing and fit. Today there are developing technology that brands and online retailers can license so that customers can find the best fit. In addition to their main goal of solving online sizing and fit they never lost their passion for jeans. Today, they have a large selection of men’s jeans from the best brands for sale.

One of their growth tactics is to send stickers with every purchase. As customers receive these stickers they usually share them on social media and paste them around the neighborhood facilitating a guerilla marketing campaign for a relatively low price.	

Rivet & Cuff explains that “At Rivet & Cuff, we take enormous pride in our brand and our logo which captures the vibe of our boutique specialty denim business. We've been selling premium men's jeans since 2013, and with every pair from day one we've included our Sticker Mule stickers as a way for our customers to remember us, and share their stories. We've tried shirts and other promotions, but our customers seem to want the stickers. They wear our jeans, but  they put our stickers on just about everything else. Our learning is that if you love your brand and your logo, and you have a passionate customer base that share your values, they'll love your brand too - and stickers are the perfect way for them to express it.” 

> We've tried shirts and other promotions, but our customers seem to want the stickers.

### 8. CLE Clothing Co. | [cleclothingco.com](http://www.cleclothingco.com/) | [@cleclothingco](https://twitter.com/CLECLOTHINGCO)

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/danbobbillray/status/457930729163206656" />

Two friends, a graphic designer and an entrepreneur, founded CLE Clothing Co. in 2008. They were both looking for an awesome new project to work on and decided that a clothing company would be a great adventure. Eventually one night after talking it over at their favorite place and having a couple of beers and burgers, CLE Clothing was founded. 

CLE Clothing does a really cool thing with their stickers by sending them out with purchases but also selling the stickers on the website. This a great idea because when the customer get a sticker, they are surprised and are extremely happy that they received a product that usually costs money, for free. CLE Clothing shares their many sticker designs on social media platforms such as twitter to show off their stickers designs and promote purchasing their products. 

### 9. SidemenClothing | [sidemenclothing.com](http://www.sidemenclothing.com/) | [@SidemenClothing](https://twitter.com/SidemenClothing)

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/Loser_Anthems/status/753954708021211136" />

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/_nicolastewart/status/730016437146927104" />

<YouTubeVideo videoId="gcjVYgw5SqA" />

Sidemen Clothing is a brand created by a group of very famous gamers on YouTube in association with their YouTube channel. On the website they sell many different products including clothes, phone cases and gaming controllers. 

The YouTubers behind Sidemen Clothing made the brand incredibly incredibly popular among teens. They built this amazing following through their YouTube channels where they have millions of followers as well as on social media giving the brand a huge head start through their amazing reach on these platforms. They also use stickers to grow their brand and channels, for example with every purchase they send different stickers of the brand and a certain YouTuber that is partnered with Sidemen Clothing. This proved to be incredibly successful and inspired fans to create unboxings with the stickers and share them heavily on social media. 

### 10. Runyon Canyon | [runyon.co](http://runyon.co/) | [@runyonusa](https://twitter.com/runyonusa)

<Tweet tweetUrl="https://twitter.com/runyonusa/status/596770665736368128" />

Runyon Canyon Apparel is an outdoor company that specializes in outdoor & performance sportswear. Runyon Canyon was started as the outdoor brand of Los Angeles inspired by the Runyon Canyon and its urban wilderness. Runyon Canyon allows all people from different places to blend with the animals, art, fashion and the outdoors. 

Runyon Canyon has a great following on social media. On their Twitter account Runyon Canyon shares regularly that they send out free stickers with every purchase. This is also a really cool twist because their followers and customers get to see the design of the sticker before they order. This twist to the usual surprise is also a push for some people to order. This method proved to be very successful for Runyon Canyon because it serves two purposes, helping facilitate orders and reaching the potential customer that will see the sticker and will visit Runyon Canyon’s website in return. 

Runyon Canyon loves stickers and says, “Stickers are great way to extend your visibility and plus people think it’s really cool. We’ve seen our stickers on [Nalgene bottles](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/waterproof-stickers), cars, books, iPads, [laptops](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/laptop-stickers), [skateboards](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/skateboard-stickers), skis, [bikes](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/bike-stickers), helmets… you name it.  It’s worth spending the investment just by watching the creative ways people utilize them sticker alone. Not only do stickers make a fun free gift… They also make a great way to decorate and personalize packaging and branding.”

> Not only do stickers make a fun free gift… They also make a great way to decorate and personalize packaging and branding."

## Concluding thoughts

A great customer experience, branding and packaging doesn't have to cost fortune. Resonate and evoke a positive emotion from your customers when they open your package, see stickers and pick up their apparel for the first time.

There are countless ways to delight _your_ customers and win customer loyalty using stickers and other custom printed products. Check out [more ways](https://www.stickermule.com/uses?ref=blog) Sticker Mule can help your business grow.

<ButtonCta text="100+ ways to use Sticker Mule" href="https://www.stickermule.com/uses?ref=blog" />


Ten online clothing companies that include free, unexpected gifts in their packaging to win their customers’ loyalty. 

How this hummus startup used stickers to grow 

![Black Market Hummus stickers](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/be8bc47dbbb7be3cbd6cd2789225295b84fc8e06)

Today, we want to introduce you to Nabil Fahel — the man whetting the appetite of the tech elite.

Nabil is the mastermind behind Black Market Hummus, the hottest secret food devoured by the technology world in Canada. Here's what some of the world's greatest tech leaders have to say about his hummus:

   *"Honestly the best hummus I have ever had." -Joanne Wilson, CEO, Gotham Gal Ventures*

   *"As expected, hummus is out of this world good!" -Alex Iskold, Managing Director, Techstars*

   *"Holy smokes this hummus is scary good!" -Carol Leaman, CEO, Axonify*

Did you ever think an underground hummus business would have such ferocious supporters?

Every month, he and his team deliver small, hand-made batches of hummus to employees at Google, Shopify, Electronic Arts, Open Text, and other  of other multi-billion dollar tech companies in Waterloo, Ontario.

Best of all, he started his business for under $1,000 (and was profitable in the first month).

![Black Market Hummus Preparing for Shipment](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/9614a75e918933ddc873b9de56ecf2d7ebf0b551)

## Word-of-mouth marketing

Nabil never planned to start a hummus business. Instead, [Black Market Hummus](https://blackmarkethummus.ca) started from Nabil bringing his mom's hummus everywhere. When he shared with friends at poker tournaments and tech community gatherings, they'd salivate  — and DEMAND he bring more the next time.

__No paid marketing spend, no SEO, no print advertising budgets...just total word-of-mouth.__

Seeing the potential for more after sharing with friends, it wasn't long until Nabil was secretly trekking unmarked plastic containers of his homemade hummus across international borders to share at a conference. He would give it to everyone...and it worked.

> How do I spend as little as possible and launch a brand people love?"

As the word-of-mouth snowball continued rolling, even diplomats wanted in — one day, a Canadian diplomat got Nabil's phone number and reached out asking for hummus.

Nabil's response, "If you can meet me in 10 minutes, I'll bring you a container of hummus."

The Canadian diplomat didn't even bat an eye.

The Mayor, diplomats, poker friends, conference goers...Nabil couldn't fill orders fast enough, so he thought about how to expand on a shoestring budget. In Nabil's words, "How do I spend as little as possible and launch a brand people love?"

At this point, Nabil didn't even have a name for the business. But after talking with a friend, the name was clear.

"We should name it Black Market Hummus," his friend Tony said. "Street-side deals... international trafficking... it just makes sense."

![Custom-Food-Labels-StickerMule-BlackMarketHummus](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/dabb582f1647222be78cb72249592d4d032c77d0)

## Branding Black Market Hummus

Around this time, Nabil also joined [Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/) to help lead their enterprise partnerships program. As part of their employee onboarding, Nabil was required to create and build a "test" Shopify store. He decided to create one for Black Market Hummus.

With a business name, a website created, and a [free Mailchimp account](https://mailchimp.com/resources/create-your-brand/), Nabil decided to ship only to commercial addresses once a month to save on shipping costs, keep the hummus exclusive, and to make it easy for his customers to spread the word...and the hummus.

> I knew it had to be Sticker Mule."

To brand his hummus and label his containers, [he picked Sticker Mule's die cut stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/die-cut-stickers) and soon after that, Black Market Hummus was officially born.

He mocked up a quick design and worked with our expert artists, for free, to revise it to perfection and make it production ready. As Nabil said, "I didn’t even shop around. I knew it had to be Sticker Mule." 

Using [die cut stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/die-cut-stickers) was a turning point for Nabil. Using the stickers as labels made his hummus recognizable from across the room — and the name sparked curiosity too.

With beautiful labels now on his hummus, he started to legitimize the brand, increase word-of-mouth sales, and go from "that guy who brings amazing hummus to parties" to "CEO of an exploding hummus business."

Best of all, a pack of 200 die cut stickers cost him 3-5x less than a typical ad spend. He was able to quickly create a brand people would recognize and excitedly share with their social circles.

With his idea validated through the demand of friends, colleagues, and even Canadian diplomats — and now a brand and beautiful design to back it up — Nabil sent a single email to customers who bought his hummus in the past. He announced he was doing a large batch order and was curious who wanted to buy hummus.

__That one email resulted in $1,600 in sales.__

Already, in his very first month of "official" sales, Nabil was profitable.

Today, Nabil's business is still exploding with growth following the same strategy: using Sticker Mule [roll labels](https://www.stickermule.com/custom-labels) on all of his hummus containers, freshly made hummus shipped once a month, and delivery strictly to commercial addresses.

"Reaction from the local community has been incredible," Nabil says.

![Worlds-Best-Hummus](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/2ef6b9712f7192853d5ffa7a9a7002b7e22db7cc)

## How to build a brand people love 

Here are the 3 lessons from Nabil about he grew Black Market Hummus for less than $1,000 into a brand people love:

### 1. Validate 
Validate your idea through friends to make sure there's demand first — and then slowly expand to other social groups, friends-of-friends, and acquaintances to keep validating. Free is okay at the start, but to truly validate you need paying customers — even if they are friends.

### 2. The power of scarcity 
Think of creative ways you can generate demand and scarcity mentality in your customers. For example, Nabil only ships once a month to commercial addresses. This encourages people to place larger orders and share with friends so they don't miss their "window of opportunity." At the start of the business, his website was locked with a password to limit demand and feed the brand’s exclusive "black market" status.

### 3. Get eyes on your brand
On a shoestring budget, get creative with marketing. Nabil used die cut stickers to create brand recognition and save 3-5x on his marketing costs. His customers were eating the hummus at work and at parties so the hummus was already visible — adding branding sealed the deal.

![Black Market Hummus delivered](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/5648388f0b0a5bdcff62eabf6e254f5003a9be79)

Visit [Nabil and Black Market Hummus here](https://blackmarkethummus.ca/).

Then order the same stickers Nabil used to grow his brand on a shoestring budget [using your own logo here](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/business-logo-stickers). 

With your stickers you’ll get free online proofs, unlimited design revisions and custom stickers and labels that are weather resistant, waterproof and can be run through the dishwasher.

To get you started, we'll [take $10 off your first order](https://www.stickermule.com/unlock?ref_id=7980330701&ref=blog) when you sign up by clicking the button below.

<ButtonCta text="Get $10 credit" href="https://www.stickermule.com/unlock?ref_id=7980330701&ref=blog" />


Black Market Hummus is the first HaaS (Hummus as a Service) business and has created a successful brand for less than $1,000. 

How a viral blog uses stickers 

- __About Space Beards:__ Space Beards is a popular Tumblr blog (30,000+ followers) that replaces the hairy beards of celebrities (past and present) with cosmic galaxies created by Joshua Arter.
- __How he uses stickers:__ Space Beards went viral early on. Josh uses galaxy styled mustaches and beards as stickers to continue growing traffic and bringing attention to the popular site.
- __Results:__ Space Beard stickers have driven traffic and awareness for the site as it continues to grow beyond this galaxy.

>It was the perfect storm of internet gold: beards plus space.

At first, Josh Arter's popular Tumblr blog "[Space Beards: The Facial Frontier](https://web.archive.org/web/20140309023539/http://spacebeards.com/)" was just a joke that Josh shared with friends. Those friends said he should start a blog so Josh set up a Tumblr site.

Within a few months, it was featured on major sites including Mashable and The Daily Dot. Then, it was featured as a trending blog on Tumblr Tuesday's "Blogs you should be following."

He knew he was on to something when his traffic took off through organic shares and went viral, "It was the perfect storm of internet gold: Beards plus space."

![SpaceBeards Stickers for a Viral Blog](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/9b77fb9d2e89b8fd39169adb0369c0349b2363e1)

So he took his galactic momentum and set up an online shop with t-shirts, phone cases, and coffee cups.

##Building a constellation
As part of his strategy to keep growing traffic, he printed off stickers with Sticker Mule of the space beards he posted on Tumblr.

When asked about how a digital blog bridges the gap between online and offline worlds, Josh says, "The key is to stay true to yourself. If you have a strong brand, stick to it and keep it consistent across all channels."

Josh wasn't content to just make stickers that were selfishly self promotional. Instead of stickers with a URL or his name, he made the stickers as whimsical as the blog itself. Each design is a die-cut sticker in the exact shape of the beard design. With rich, full color on quality vinyl, the stickers are as original as Josh's blog.

"The Space Beards stickers are essentially the blog logo, but like the characters Space Bearded on the site, each sticker represents a different look at the cosmos, keeping the Space Beards offline brand fresh yet familiar."

"I wanted to give away something others could put up around town to gain organic, local traffic to my site. Friends gave them to their friends, I see them around town and in bars."

> People will walk up when they see the sticker and say 'Hey I love that site!'

When traveling around Milwaukee, the center of his bearded galaxy, Josh (and now many others) has space beard stickers on his car, laptop, and bike helmet. And when he's traveling, he brings a stash of stickers and puts them up around cities in prominent places.

"Space is infinite, the chances of creating a viral blog just the same, discovering a Space Beards sticker wild on the street is just as fun. People will walk up when they see the sticker and say 'Hey I love that site!'"

Others asked to have their own stickers and placed them in famous spots around the U.S including Seattle's infamous Market Theater Gum Wall.

![Eddie-Murphy-SpaceBeards](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/eae63e21ea97127ed4f03a8f91f722b173a1b063)

##An Ever-expanding Universe

Josh attributes the stickers to increasing blog traffic, stoking interest, and driving sales of his other products like t-shirts.

"Stickers definitely brought in more traffic. In Milwaukee, some of the stickers are used in hip parts of town… The stickers stand out because of their shape and unusual mix of color."

Josh has found other ways to promote his blog and keep it trimmed and fresh.

>Stickers definitely brought in more traffic.

Last November, Josh partnered with a blog about Milwaukee mustaches (yes, there is a blog for everything) for a Movember event. The theme of the party? Facial hair for a good cause! It was complete with custom shirts. The party was an easy way to promote his blog within his community.

At the event, [mustache stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/mustache-stickers "Custom mustache stickers") were available for attendees to pick up to show their beard love and to continue to boost traffic to the site.

An altruistic artist, Josh has shared his artistic power away through a space beards app for iPhone and iPad.

##Why Sticker Mule?
He originally heard about Sticker Mule through a friend. “All he could talk about was quality” and said that they last forever.

Before Space Beards, Josh used Sticker Mule for another blog "[Thanks for the love MKE](http://thanksforthelovemke.tumblr.com/)" — a website that showcases the city of Milwaukee through photos taken by residents to give a more intimate view of the city.

"I love the city and wanted to show it off. It's underrated and a well kept secret."

The stickers he made for the MKE blog have become a common sight throughout the city.

> The quality, reordering, and turnaround time is the best in the business.

"At one of our meetups, we handed out stickers and ran a campaign for people to take a photo involving their sticker and their favorite Milwaukee spot. It ended up being a broader campaign as people threw them up around the city in general.”

With two popular blogs that use stickers to drive traffic, Josh exclusively uses Sticker Mule because of "the quality, easy reordering, and turnaround time is the best in the business".

<ButtonCta text="Try the best in the business for $1" href="https://www.stickermule.com/samples?ref=blog" />

The viral Tumblr Space Beards shares their experience, advice, and strategy for bridging the online/offline gap with readers. 