# Tip Create A Dedicated Marketing Budget



## Deborah Sexton (Jan 16, 2007)

One of the most common mistakes apparel decorators make is not setting aside money for marketing. Even if you are a small business, ignoring this critical area will affect your success. 
There are many financial modeling methods to determine a budget, most of which are too complex. The simplest is the “percent of sales method.” This allocates a certain percentage of your revenue for marketing. If you are a startup decorated apparel business and have no data, you can use your projected income as a basis to get started.
Commit to 12 months of consistent, uninterrupted spending or consider consulting with a professional agency. Constantly monitor your performance and never use your marketing budget for any other purpose. 

Don’t forget over time dollars spent will produce more sales through exposure, new leads and long-term customers. Whenever you get anxious about expenditures remember: Marketing makes you money.

Committing to a dedicated marketing budget will ensure you are continuously generating awareness, interest, new leads, and keeping your sales funnel full.
JP Hunt is a founder and partner at InkSoft in charge of sales and marketing. He can be contacted at [email protected]. The website offers additional tips, white papers, and blogs on how to increase sales, get started in online Web stores, social media marketing and more at www.inksoft.com.


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