All of the day’s festivities, of course, take place as a way to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence – declaring that the newly formed “United States of America” was free from British rule and the 13 states comprised a newly independent, sovereign nation. About 100 years later, July 4^th was made an official holiday across the USA, and we’ve been acknowledging our national independence in grand fashion ever since.

Will you close your business on July 4^th and join in the celebrations yourself? Or will you keep your doors open, ensuring you won’t miss out on sales that day? 

No matter which way you choose to go with your business on Independence Day, you’ll need to let customers know. And we’ll gladly help get your message out there – by providing you with free, printable Closed for July 4^th as well as Open for July 4^th signage templates.

Receive Your Free July 4^th Template

To get your free, printable July 4th signage template, all you have to do is go to our special 4^th of July template page on the Signs.com website. Then, simply choose from any of the professionally designed July 4^th templates we’ve created for you.

Within the hour (if not sooner!), we’ll e-mail you the requested template, and you’ll be all set to print the sign on your office or home printer. Then, all that’s left for you to do is to hang the sign in your place of business (see below for specific location suggestions).

In addition to receiving a 4^th of July template, you will also receive a discount code good for 10% off any custom sign we offer (one-time purchase) – everything from banners, A-frames, and aluminum signs, to window clings, posters, flags, and much more.

Plus, you’ll be able to choose to opt into our e-mail list. Doing so will ensure you don’t miss out on exclusive details on future Signs.com offers and products.

Location, Location, Location

You’ve chosen a free sign template or two (or more) and printed them out. Now, you just have to decide on the best placement for maximum exposure.

The obvious choice is at your store’s front door or main entrance – here, you can certainly grab the attention of customers coming in and out of your shop, as well as passersby. But there are other possibilities to keep in mind, too, such as:

• Secondary entrances – Don’t neglect side or back entrances; they may not be used as frequently as your main entrance, but they might be where your most loyal, local customers enter your shop.

• Cash register/check out – One of the best places to ensure that your buying customers are aware of your 4^th of July operating hours. Also consider placing a sign in a frame or easel at the checkout line.

• Vestibule/foyer — Place a July 4^th sign here next to your sale/special of the day message, or alongside pictures of satisfied customers, local sports team sponsorships, etc.

• Storefront window – Set a sign in a mannequin’s hand or at its base, or hang around its neck; place on a frame and make it part of your Independence Day window display.

• Interior walls – Any well-trafficked interior walls, including dressing-room walls, are good potential locations for July 4th signage.

• Racks/displays – Place signs in frames atop or adjacent to a few racks or displays, particularly your sale or promotional items.

Red, White, and Blue

Time will tell if this year’s Independence Day celebrations will be a bit more subdued due to COVID-19 – or, perhaps, the festivities will be even more raucous than in previous years, as folks choose to “get their summer on” after months of hunkering down and avoiding other people. You’ll have to decide if you, your business, your customers, and your employees will best benefit from your shop being open or closed on July 4^th.

If you choose to remain open, you might want to draw customers in by having a special Independence Day sale. You could put an emphasis on goods that might sell particularly well for a 4^th of July celebration – red, white, and blue anyone? Or, take a more generalist approach and think get-together/party, or consider a broad summer theme.

Finally, keep in mind that just because you opt to open on July 4^th doesn’t mean you have to keep standard hours that day. You can always set and announce limited hours ahead of time. Or, depending upon your type of business and customer mix, possibly close early if you find your foot traffic to be non-existent that day. Another option: Limit your staff to just one or two employees, particularly if your store design allows for just a few personnel to work it effectively.

Have a fun and safe 4^th of July – whether you’re at work or at home – from your friends at Signs.com!

Free Closed for 4th of July Signs

If your business chooses to be closed on Monday, May 25^th, ideally you’ll let customers know your intentions as early as possible. Sometimes, however, that’s just not realistic – and you then end up scrambling to produce a well-made sign that will inform the buying public about your decision. Or maybe you just don’t have the resources right now to order a custom sign.

Well, in either case, we can help! We’re offering free, printable Closed for Memorial Day Sign templates, so you can quickly get a sign up to alert your customers and passersby that your business will not be open this Memorial Day.

All you have to do is go to the page linked to above, and choose from any of the professionally designed templates our Signs.com design team has created. Within the hour (usually within a matter of minutes), we will then email the template to you.

In this email, you will receive a link to download the PDF file of the template – you can use this file to print the sign on your own office or home printer. And by the way, if your business will be open and you need a quick “We are open” sign for Memorial Day, we have added a few templates containing that message, too!

Pinpointing Your Best Locations

So, you have downloaded your template and you’ve printed out several Closed for Memorial Day signs on your personal printer – now, where should you place them? Every business and store will be different, of course, but here are a few suggestions to think about:

• Door/entrance/vestibule – Perhaps the most logical location, a sign placed here is visible to all entering (and/or leaving) your store, ensuring they won’t be surprised if they had planned on returning on Memorial Day and picking up a few more items.

• Storefront window – Even if passersby don’t happen to come into your store, they’ll still be able to see the sign in your storefront window. In fact, they might be more likely to enter your store right now, since they know Memorial Day shopping won’t be an option.

• Cash register/checkout – Everyone loves return clients, so make sure your paying customers are aware of your Memorial Day plans – just in case they had planned on shopping on the 25th. A sign at the register is sure to catch their attention.

• Interior walls – If you have some open wall space, particularly if it’s toward the front of the store, a Closed for Memorial Day sign can be effective here. Another good possible location: a dressing room door or adjacent space next to the dressing room.

• Displays/racks – A small sign set in a frame and placed atop a display or rack, particularly when next to sale or special merchandise, will surely get shoppers’ attention. It also serves to send the subtle message, “Buy it now (because we’ll be closed if you want to buy it on Memorial Day).”

Taking a More Custom Approach

Keep in mind that if you require a longer-lasting, custom sign, the Closed for Memorial Day template designs available to download and print for free are also available to be printed onto a variety of materials. You can choose any custom sign by starting on our homepage.

In fact, when you receive your Closed for Memorial Day sign template, you’ll also receive a 10%-off discount code that’s good for a one-time purchase of any sign(s) we offer. Furthermore, when signing up to receive your template, you can also choose to opt into Signs.com’s email list; subscribers to our emails will receive exclusive deals on relevant products in the future.

On this year’s Memorial Day, perhaps more than any other in recent memory, you may be able to reflect on having experienced significant and unexpected challenges to your business, to your customers, and to you personally. Here at Signs.com, we hope that our free Closed for Memorial Day sign templates can, in one small way, help lighten the load!

Free Closed for Memorial Day Signs

Since January 1st is such a common holiday and a day off for businesses and shops around the United States, those businesses need a way to notify their customers of their change in schedule. Signs.com has a team of professional graphic designers that created 25 printable sign templates for New Year’s. These sign templates are for anyone that is looking for a last minute sign to advertise their New Year’s hours. If you will be closed for New Year’s, there is a sign for you. If you are simply changing your hours for January 1st, there are templates for that as well.

If you have determined that you could use one of these free downloadable templates to print and display in your store, here is a quick guide on how to do it. Start by going to our free printable New Year’s sign page on our site. Browse the 25 templates and pick the one that is right for you. When you click on that template, you will be asked to fill out a form with your email address. We will send a PDF file of the template to that email address within 10 minutes of you submitting the form. From there you can download the PDF and print it on paper from your own printer. The email we send you will also include a promo code for 10% off any order from our website that is good for 2 weeks from when you receive it. The last thing you should know is that when you submit the form, we will invite you to subscribe to our email list. If you choose to subscribe, we will send you future emails about sales and special offers at Signs.com.

While these free templates are a great option for a last-minute display, most businesses will want a long term solution for future holidays. Signs.com is here for that too. Each of the 25 templates that we offer for free are also easy to order and print on Signs.com. Head to Signs.com’s homepage to find the perfect product for a long-term solution. Any product from Signs.com could help you with this, but a good place to start would be our opaque window decals or plastic signs. Feel free to use the 10% discount code that we are sending with the free templates if you want a discount on your sign order.

Thank you for supporting Signs.com in all of the ways that you do. We appreciate each and every reader of this blog. Keep us in mind as your business grows over the next year. We will always be here for any and all of your signage needs. We hope that you have enjoyed the holiday season and we wish you a Happy New Year! 

Free Closed for New Year’s Sign Templates for Small Business Owners

The Holidays are Here

Walk into any Walmart at 11:59 pm on October 31st and what do you see? Pallets of Christmas products, decorations and other assorted holiday items. Employees hover around like a pack of ravenous wolves waiting for the OK to pounce. The clock strikes midnight and the walkie-talkies light up like a trucker convention. The holiday season has arrived. Let the madness begin.

Ok, so that might have been a little dramatic, but seriously, you can’t help but notice that the holidays are being forced upon us earlier and earlier each year. It’s not surprising given the economic juggernaut that is Christmas. It can all seem a little hectic, especially if you are a small business owner or local retail shop. How can you compete with the big boxes and their crazy discounts? As a marketer, who has worked in both retail and Fortune 500 companies, I have seen both sides, and I have a few suggestion.

Here are my three tips to a successful “selling” season:

1. Customer Service Trumps Everything

I know we harp on customer service a lot on the Signs.com blog and rightly so. In fact, we feel that is so important, it is part of our core values. Early on in my career I worked at two different retail stores primarily doing in-store merchandising and visual displays. One was a basic clothing store and one focused on outdoor/ski/snowboarding gear. Different products but very similar clientele.

What set the two stores apart was the level of service customers received. In the clothing store, associates were forced to attend training and to learn in-depth details about the materials used, the latest styles and how to track down merchandise that was out-of-stock. During the holidays, this level of knowledge and ability to help the customer find exactly what they were looking for was invaluable.

In the outdoor gear store, things were done differently . . . not different as in associates were rude or not helpful, there was just a different vibe. Associates had minimal training, couldn’t really tell the difference between similar products and had no way to order out-of-stock products. In the end, the outdoor gear store closed down. Of course there were other factors involved, but I couldn’t help but think more could be done to satisfy customers.

Your retail business or small business isn’t any different. You can’t usually win on price or volume, but you can win on service. Go to any big box store and you know what I am talking about. Good luck getting the help you need. So going into the Christmas season, focus on service and make sure your associates focus on it as well.  If you can, give your associates the leeway to go all out for customers. Besides, they are usually the ones interacting with customers anyway. Your customers will love you and you can bet they will come back to shop the other 10 months of the year!

2. Focus on What You Do Best

The stress of the holidays causes us all to go a bit crazy. Why else would we wait in long lines for toys that our kids look at once and then just play with the box it came in instead (yes, this has happened to me multiple times). As business owners and managers, the stress to drive revenue can cause us to get a bit crazy as well. We try to think of “creative” ways to increase sales but in doing so, many times we create campaigns or activities that actually draw our attention away from what we do best.

Case in point. Another company I worked for offered 2 products and 2 products only. And they did a heck of a job doing it. They were the leader (for sure in the top 2 or 3) in the industry at the time. Unfortunately, upper management was like a revolving door for the better part of a year. During that time, each new manager wanted to put his stamp on the company. Some had great ideas, some didn’t. The problem was not the ideas per se, it was that they were constantly forcing employees to switch focus mid-project. What happened? Contention and a lot of wasted time and money.

This season, identify what your business does really well and focus on that. If you need to add products, find ones that are complementary to what you already offer. For example, here at Signs.com we developed a lot of new holiday templates. We didn’t reinvent the wheel, we just offered a new version of what we already had. You will find that your customers will be happier, your employees will be more confident because they know what they need to work on, and come December 26th, you can call the Christmas season a success.

3. Give

I know you are probably saying, “wait I thought this post was about how to make money during the holiday season.” You’re right; it is. But let’s not forget what this season is really about. On the flip side, I will let you in on a little secret . . . use the holidays as a time to get your business and employees in on the giving back action and you just might earn some new customers in the process.

For one, volunteering or getting involved with local charities during the holidays gives you and your employees the chance to meet other businesses owners in the community. I mean, you are a local business right? Doesn’t it make sense that the same people you meet might be a  customer or maybe a future customer? Back in May, we posted about inexpensive marketing ideas to do in and around your communities. These same ideas can be used during the holidays too.

Not only do you get a chance to give back, getting involved can open doors to lots of new opportunities. At Signs.com, we just joined a local chamber of commerce and I have attended a few meetings and events recently. I am amazed that every time I go, I meet new business owners and managers who are excited that a sign company like ours is involved in the local community and they even expressed interest in going online and ordering a new sign or two from us. Giving back definitely pays.

The wrap (pun intended)

No matter your industry, the holidays are a great time to grow your business. Just don’t get too caught up in it all and forget that special gift for your special someone! Always take an angry customer over an angry wife.

Here Come The Holidays: 3 Tips to a Successful Season