We were lucky to catch up with Madi Hebert recently and have shared our conversation below.

Madi, appreciate you joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

In the wedding signage industry specifically, clients tend to gravitate towards some sort of acrylic-based sign and are shying away from wooden signs. Additionally, as opposed to just clear acrylic or painted back acrylic with brush strokes, I’m seeing that more often than not, clients are preferring colored, fully painted back (no brush strokes), or frosted acrylic. In terms of shape, arched signage totally blew up within the last year and, in my opinion, is here to stay!

Madi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! My name is Madi and I am the owner and hand lettering artist behind Lettered by Madi. I first got into hand lettering during quarantine as a fun hobby. As I continued to practice and better my lettering, I started to show my family and friends and asked if I could make anything for them. They were incredibly supportive of my hobby and I made a few signs and keychains for them. I loved the back and forth collaboration process and, of course, actually making the products. It was at this point that I knew I wanted my hand lettering to be more than just a hobby,

I had my first experience making acrylic wedding signage for my brother- and sister-in-law’s wedding in January 2021. I truly cannot thank them enough for trusting me to make their signage. It really lit a fire within me and I knew that was what I wanted to specialize in and that I wanted to start my business. Being able to focus on the little details of their day and bring out their personalities via signage was so much fun! Through social media, styled shoots, and word of mouth, I continued to gain experience in making wedding signage as well as making signage for other small businesses.

When clients inquire with me, I love when they think outside of the box. I am always down for the classic wedding signs, but when clients have special phrases they want to use, want to incorporate their pets, have a very specific color palette, etc., my heart melts!! The more I can tend the signs to the couple, the better! While details like wedding signs seem small when it comes to the grand scheme of things, they don’t have to be! There is nothing that makes me happier than when clients gush over their signage and tell me how big of a hit it was amongst their family and friends.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I started my business, I really struggled with imposter syndrome and ended up underpricing my work. When people would tell me to raise my prices because my work is worth it, I would assume they were just being nice. Since I was undervaluing myself and my work, I let a good number of people walk over me. As I gained confidence in myself and my work, I felt more comfortable raising my prices. I wish I would have believed in myself the way I do now when I first started my business; I think it would have put me in a better place mentally, emotionally, and financially. If there’s any advice I could give to new business owners, it would be to believe in yourself and your abilities to deliver.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Once I decided to start my business, I started an Instagram page and linked it to a Facebook page. After setting it up with all of my information, I decided to start following people in the lettering business, AZ wedding businesses, and small businesses that I enjoyed. This allowed me to cater my viewing to what I wanted to see and what inspired me, but I was also able to see social media strategies others used to gain a following. Through attending small business events, styled shoots, and open houses, I was exposed to more and more people in the industry. The more connections you have, the larger your audience will become.

I’ve also listened to a number of podcasts that discuss social media strategy and increasing engagement. For example, Instagram has shifted the type of posts it feeds to its users to focus on reels (video content) over photos. Once I started posting more video content, I saw that more eyes were seeing my work than if I was strictly posting photos.

On the note of video content, I really struggled with (and still do, honestly!) posting videos that included me as a person as opposed to just my work. I’ve found that people are more likely to follow, engage, and support you when they know more about you as a person. Anyone can recognize work they like, but when they see they like the person as well as their work, it makes them want to stay engaged even after their project has finished up.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.letteredbymadi.com
• Instagram: @letteredbymadi
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/letteredbymadi
• Other: TikTok: @letteredbymadi Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/letteredbymadi

Image Credits
Some photos are by Rayann Marie Photography (white welcome sign, mirror with paper on it, place card on table, place card on plate).