5 Tips for Packaging Custom Pins

You’ve spent hours laboring over those custom pin designs and weeks waiting for production. All while working hard online to market your custom pins and drive attention to your work. But congratulations! You’ve made your first sale. But wait! Don’t skimp on your packaging. Making the coveted sale is exciting, but a pin’s packaging is a customer’s first hands-on experience with your pin business and the extra effort of premium packaging elevates the experience from meeting expectations to wowing customers and bringing them back for another order. Here are five tips from All About Pins for enhancing your custom pin packaging:

Package Custom Pins in Flat Mailers Instead of Bubble Mailers

Bubble mailers are one of the most popular types of packaging envelopes for small objects like pins or coins because they’re cheap, light-weight and you can easily order a big pack of them off of Amazon. However, their bubble-wrapped exteriors are soft take much rougher treatment by the post office, often getting squashed or folded in transit. Also, because they’re so cheap and easy to get, bubble mailers don’t do much to enhance the perceived quality of your custom pins. Try stiff flat mailers made of fiberboard or chipboard instead, they have tougher exteriors, are less prone to folding or bending and can be bought in bulk for a few cents a piece. Stiff flat mailers also give your custom pins more of a unique “gift” feel to them rather than just another package to be ripped open. Flat mailers are found cheap from most shipping suppliers including ULINE, Staples or ShippingSupply.com. We recommend flat mailers sized 6 x 8 to fit most custom pin sizes while leaving room for any additional inserts or business cards.

Protect the Pin’s Surface

Rough handling or shipping can scratch or mar the surfaces of your custom pins against their package interiors. Adding a sheet of plastic or cellophane ensures your pins are protected and it gives your pin packaging a sleek and professional look. If you simply want to double ensure the protection of your products, wrapping them in a single layer of bubble wrap ensures they’re insulated from rough treatment. However, in this case, we’d recommend taking the extra step of adding a wrapped ribbon or colorful string. Personal gestures like this combining form and function in your packaging are small, but they’re noticed and appreciated by customers as they unwrap their custom pins.

Include Package Inserts With Pin Packaging

Unpackaging is a magical part of delivery, so magical in fact, YouTubers are attracting thousands of viewers online just of them unboxing new purchases or deliveries. Part of that magic comes from the excitement of tearing open a package and exploring the contents. Package inserts add an unexpected splash of color and personality to a delivery that would other be an empty pack with maybe some packaging materials. Adding an insert is as cheap as you make it from handwritten cards to professional business cards and they’re another opportunity to bolster your brand by asking for a product review, encouraging customers to give you a social shout out or giving personalized thanks. Unlike random posters or flyers, customers actually read a package inserts Package inserts can take the form of anything from:

• • Hand-written thank you notes

• • Coupons for their next custom pin

• • Business cards with your pin company’s contact
  • Unique art prints

• • Extra free pins or small gifts laying around from another project
    

Consider Eco-Friendly Packaging Options

Reducing your carbon footprint doesn’t just help save the world, it can help raise your custom pin sales. Heck, more than 52 percent of global consumers say their purchasing decisions are influenced by brands who use eco-friendly packaging. Knowing they help preserve the environment when they shop raises customer confidence in industries including groceries, cosmetics, energy and more. Making the move to eco-friendly packaging can do the same for your custom pin business. Tipping that ecological scale is not only easy, with most forms of packaging options you’d use for your pin including cheap biodegradable options or recycled alternatives, but also cost-effective, with most of those options costing the same or less than standard packaging. For example, we recommended earlier you use stiff flat mailers instead of bubble mailers with plastic wrap. Turns out, you can order bulk cases of 100 rigid mailers made of recycled paper from eco-conscious shipping suppliers like EcoEnclose or GlobeGuard. You’ve not spent a penny above your what you would’ve spent and you’re saving the world at the same time, something that’ll encourage customers to buy their pins from you if only to know that they’re doing their part for the environment as well.

Invest in Custom Cardstock Backing

Adding cardstock backing to an order of custom pins can be cheaply done in any size, color, and shape, and we recommend it for any client who wants to sell their custom pins online or for retail. It improves the perceived value of a pin and enhances its ability to nab attention. Not to mention, packaging your pin with a cardstock backing adds a customization layer for art flourishes highlighting your pin design, unique eye-catching shapes, and of course, showcasing your company name, logo, website or social media. As a free service, our design experts can work with you to choose the perfect size, look and color to complement a pin design. We’ve worked with creatives who’ve spent as much energy adding a unique card design as they did on the pin and pin companies who just wanted a consistently recognizable brand on their pins.

Make Your Pin Packaging Memorable