Author: Accounts Amaze

Categories
Insights

12 ways to increase sales on Twitch

Twitch’s 15 million+ daily active viewers and massively engaged audience makes it the perfect place for streamers to promote their products. Plus you’ll get even more out of the platform using our powerful integrations; the Twitch Merch Store Panel Extension provides customers with a fully-integrated shopping experience and our Streamlabs integration enables buyers to create personalized merch alerts post-purchase that are visible to you and all viewers on stream. 

Don’t forget Teespring is one of the only platforms that enables you to create subscriber-exclusive merch for Twitch too. Whether shoppers access your products through the panel extension or your merch store, they’ll have to verify their subscriber status to purchase these exclusive products. This can be a good tactic for increasing subscriber count while driving sales through limited edition products.

Learn about the top 12 ways streamers are promoting and selling merch on Twitch in the video below. Pick and choose your favorite tactics or use them all to supercharge your sales. Don’t forget to check out Teespring’s complete promo guide for in-depth details and real-world examples of these tips in action. Complete Twitch promo guide.

Categories
Insights

The top Twitter features for promoting products to fans

Twitter has an average of over 300 million monthly active users and it’s the 7th most visited website in the world! Also, over a third of Twitter users buy from a brand they follow—making it a great platform to promote and share your Teespring products. Most brands and organizations have Facebook accounts already, but if you’re new to Twitter you can learn about getting started here.

Using Twitter to promote your products is very easy…but there are a few things you should keep in mind to get the most out of your tweets. The video and complete guide linked below, which are full of examples of how creators are using Twitter’s features successfully—get inspired and try them out for yourself!

Categories
Creators

Chef Christian’s tips on creating profit with merch during COVID-19

Christian Hayes is passionate about food. After starting a successful catering company with his wife, Christine, the couple decided to open their restaurant, The Garrison. Located in Yarmouth, Maine and surrounded by the rushing Royal River, their restaurant serves ‘thoughtful food’ and prides itself on having a brilliant and kind team. 

Generate pure profit

Business was booming until COVID-19 spread across the world. Like many small businesses, social distancing and lock downs have hit The Garrison hard and forced Christian and Christine to make some very difficult decisions. 

“It’s been awful. Restaurants, hospitality, and catering are all centered around the pretty basic concept of humans congregating. When a pandemic’s direct response is for people not to gather for an unforeseen amount of time – that decimates our industry. We already function on the slimmest of margins. One week off, and you start to feel the pressure. Having to lay off our invested staff who have built these companies beside us was heartbreaking.”

Despite the hardships Christian and his family continue pushing forward. He’s committed to finding new ways to generate income until this passes and life returns to normal—including creating branded merchandise.  

“Business is about playing offense and defense, and adapting. You got to pivot. Teespring allowed us to add a revenue stream of pure profit, with no expenses. That’s invaluable in times like these.”

Create appealing designs

Christian was able to create a new merch collection, a custom store, and started getting sales within a week of signing up to Teespring. His designs are inspired by his love of rock & roll and motorcycle culture, and similar to his restaurant the aesthetic uniquely combines a high-end look with a bit of attitude. The main thing for Christian was creating products he would want to wear. 

The Garrion’s merch features several different design collections. Their most popular product so far is the premium tee in the Snake Bite design. Apart from tees, Christian also offers sweatshirts, hoodies, tote bags, tank tops, women’s tees, and die cut stickers featuring each design.  

Community is key

Christian’s merch collection has enabled his community and loyal patrons to show their support for the business. He’s utilizing social media to let people know about the products and has been overwhelmed by the response. Following promotional best practices like sharing visual posts is effective for creating engagement and driving sales. 

“Obviously social media is paramount, and staying ahead of the curve on those platforms is key. We have an incredibly loyal customer base who desperately want to help, so fueling the fire by creating things they can get excited about is priority. The way the community has gathered around us to offer support and words of encouragement has been so overwhelming and humbling. It reminds us that human beings are incredible.”

Never give up

While no one knows what the future holds, Christian plans to further diversify income through merch and creating new services at the restaurant like prepped meals, staple boxes with fresh ingredients, and more.  

“Stay up. It’s times like these that make us who we are, so keep swinging, and look out for each other. It’s the only thing we can do.”

Want to support Christian and his family? Check out his store and follow @thegarrisonmaine.

Categories
News

How communities are supporting local businesses

With the global outbreak of COVID-19 many businesses find themselves in a challenging situation. Establishments that traditionally rely on foot traffic and appointments are taking a hard hit to their income with social distancing being practiced in countries worldwide. So how can businesses garner support from their loyal customers until things return to normal?

Creating new opportunities through merchandise

A growing number of local businesses have started selling merch on-demand in an effort to supplement income during this time. This concept isn’t new, in fact we’ve seen many businesses use branded merch over the years as a marketing tool and source of diversified income. Selling merch on demand is free because there’s no upfront inventory required, plus Teespring handles order fulfillment and customer support so valuable time can be focused on running your business instead of dealing with logistics and hassle.

Jamie and Evan Shipp, owners of GoodShipp Alpaca Co. in Louisville, Kentucky, used merchandise to supplement their income as they expanded their Alpaca shearing products and services. The revenue earned from merch sales has gone toward general farm expenses, but has also helped expand their herd with a new alpaca named Hank!

D&B Performance and Automotive Repair, located in Burrillville, Rhode Island is owned by Dawn and Bob Tufano. This local auto shop has been family owned and operated since 2000. After customers began to inquire about their employees’ unique uniforms, daughter Rachel Tufano created print-on-demand apparel and added them to a store on Teespring.  Current profits are put towards funding daily expenses, such as payroll, new uniforms, and garage supplies, and customers wearing their merch around town helps to attract new customers.

“The customers were actually a pretty big part of why I chose Teespring as well, because I’d be able to just give people the links to the designs and they could purchase them on their own versus us having to order hundreds in bulk and either give them away for free (which is SO costly) or make little to no profit on them because they were so expensive to buy to begin with (again, SO costly).”

Emily and Marc Vance of Dill Farms created branded merch is another example of a small business using merchandise to market their services and engage with their local community in Fort Scott, Kansas.  

Do you know a business that needs support?

If you know a business going through a tough time due recent events send them our way. We’ll help them set up their own online merch store and provide additional promotional tools and assistance if necessary. This service is totally free to use, and businesses will keep all profits from product sales. Plus we’ll handle order delivery and customer support too so they can focus on running their business.

supporting businesses through merch
Categories
Creators

PLASMA Magazine: Earth Day designs

Earth Day will be celebrated on April 22, 2020 by millions of people around the world. This year is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and this year’s theme is “climate action”—the pressure is on to take action (and fast) and combat climate change! Earth Day aims to increase awareness of the planet, pollution, climate change, endangered species, and many other environmental issues to drive transformative change. 

With the recent launch of our Conscious Collection, now is the perfect time to create eco-friendly products in line with Earth Day 2020. PLASMA Magazine is an international publication that combines art + science to inspire curiosity and appreciation for the planet and the space that surrounds it. PLASMA have just launched their own Conscious Collection, so we caught up with them to learn more about their publication and how it inspires their designs.

Diana Wehmeier, CEO and Creative Director of PLASMA Magazine

Creating product collections

The team at PLASMA was initially drawn to Teespring’s sustainable business model, where products are only produced on demand. After seeing trusted companies use the platform for merch needs they decided to give it a try for themselves. 

After the success of several product collections, PLASMA has incorporated new items from the Conscious Collection into their store, which aligns perfectly with Earth Day. These products give buyers the chance to purchase apparel and accessories with reduced environmental impact while supporting environmental non-profits.

“Researching space exploration and planetary studies only bring us closer to our own planet and helps you appreciate everything a little more. There is no other place like earth (as far as we know). This planet is precious and the only home we have, it is imperative to save and protect it for future generations.”

PLASMA Magazine’s Conscious Collection

Finding design inspiration

The magazine’s content is designed to engage younger people and communicate science and technology in a more fun and appealing way. Each issue is jam-packed with stories, behind the scenes sneak peeks, photo series, posters, nerd guides, all things art + science, plus interviews featuring scientists from diverse fields  talking about their personal motivations and passions.

The magazine’s content is also what inspires the unique design featured on their products. 

“The latest science news and events is what influences and inspires our merchandise designs. For the focus of our eco-conscious collection we selected a few fan favorite pages that create an awareness not only for planet Earth, but also other celestial bodies like the moon and Mars!”

A page from PLASMA issue 5 that inspired one of their top selling product designs.

Promoting products

PLASMA successfully launches new products using a combination of promotion best practices. During the pre-launch phase they generate hype and interest by sharing ‘sneak peek’ sample photos with their online following.

“First we test with a teaser or sneak peek, by ordering samples and taking photos we can see the products firsthand and gauge the response on social media.” 

PLASMA also asks fans to share photos and videos with the products once they arrive. This enables them to collect social proof which can be used in the future to drive more sales. 

“We often get mentioned in stories or tagged in posts or people send us lovely messages about their merch, that’s always very sweet and motivating.”

PLASMA fans and readers repping their merch

Categories
News

COVID-19: Full production capacity restored as growth continues

It’s been a challenging few months but we’re happy to report our production facilities are running at full capacity once more. Record-breaking sales and site traffic continue as we enter Q3 2020, and we’re optimistic for what the future holds in the world of social commerce and merchandise.

Members of Teespring’s support + operations teams at our US facility (February 2020)

Full production capacity restored

New orders are being produced and shipped on time and we’re so grateful to our wonderful print partners around the world who helped us keep production going uninterrupted over these last few weeks. We’re also pleased to confirm orders are no longer being re-routed and will be fulfilled within their corresponding regions moving forward.

Support team updates

While all new orders are being produced and shipped on time, some orders experienced delivery delays during COVID-19 lockdowns. We have contacted customers who were impacted by delays and are working to find a suitable solution for them. If you have any buyers who need assistance or have questions regarding their order, please send them to our support team (learn more).

Please note due to the unprecedented volume of sales alongside COVID-19 lockdowns, our support teams are currently experiencing longer-than-normal response times. We’ve hired new support team members and are working around the clock to assist everyone as quickly as possible. It will take us some time to get back to our normal 24 – 48 hour response time so please bear with us and thank you for your patience. 

Looking forward to the future

We’ve added new hires across departments to reinforce our teams to better support you and your customers during this time of growth. In the coming months we plan to roll out many new product options as well as feature enhancements to help you take your merch business to the next level. As we return to a ‘new normal’, our team is excited to provide you and your customers with the quality service and support you deserve. Thank you for your continued trust and understanding. Stay safe and take care!

Categories
News

The conscious collection: merch that makes a difference

It is impossible to deny the impact of the fashion industry on the environment. Conscious consumption and rising awareness of sustainability issues demand action, and fast. That’s why we’re excited to announce the launch of our new Conscious Collection—a product line that empowers you to create and sell eco-conscious merch you can be proud of. To start, the collection will feature organic tote bags, eco unisex tees, organic long sleeve tees, and eco unisex hoodies. 

The Conscious Collection products are fully integrated in the Teespring Launcher and can be designed and launched instantly. They’re also global products, which means we’ll offer the best shipping prices and delivery timelines no matter where your customers are located. 

[button href=https://teespring.com/design-launcher/pick/d2321c4a-09e6-4329-a9d2-b1dc3c2acb78=_blank]Create your collection[/button]

Introducing the Conscious Collection

The collection features four global products: tote bags, unisex shirts, long sleeve tees, and hoodies. All products are either made of 100% organic cotton or feature a combination of organic cotton and recycled materials. Each product is eco-friendly in its own unique way, but overall the collection shares characteristics such as:

  • All products are made of fibres that require little or no pesticides to grow and avoid contributions to air, water and land pollution. 
  • These products  are cruelty-free, made from non-animal fibres, and are harvested in animal-friendly ways (with reduced impact on their habitats). 
  • The materials used in these products also contribute to green practices that reduce the use of resources like water and energy. 
  • Our US supplier for hoodies, long sleeve tees, and totes donates a portion of every product sale to an environmental non-profit organization—by selling one of these products you can make a direct, positive impact on the environment. 

Products in the collection are labeled as “Organic” or “Eco” based on the percent of organic cotton they contain. Due to the fact that eco-friendly products require slightly more investment to produce, this also means they can generate higher profit margins ranging from $10+ to $15+ per product. Keep in mind 49% of Nielsen survey respondents said they are willing to pay higher-than-average prices for products with high-quality/safety standards, which consumers often associate with strong sustainability practices (organic + eco-friendly).

Teespring’s eco-conscious commitment

We’ve been working on our eco-friendly agenda since the company’s inception in 2011. With the fashion industry dumping over 92 million tons of solid waste into landfills each year, Teespring’s on-demand business model provides a significant solution for reducing waste. Our entire operation revolves around products that are created on demand (i.e. after an order is placed)—enabling us to avoid overproduction, textile waste, and only source supplies as needed. In the rare occurrence we have unusable inventory due to damaged goods or misprints (note Teespring has some of the lowest misprint rates in the industry), our team aims to recycle or donate these items as much as possible. 

Apart from our eco-friendly business model, we’ve made other enhancements to reduce our environmental impact over time. We’ve established an entirely paperless operation at our production facility in the U.S. and we’re working to reduce and terminate paper usage with our global partners too. We have eliminated double-packaging across our global fulfillment network, which has reduced plastic output by millions of plastic bags per year! Moving forward, we are committed to on-going research into eco-friendly products and packaging opportunities to further support conscious commerce on our platform. 

create your conscious collection
Categories
Creators

Margaux’s tips for turning political passion into a successful brand

Margaux Pepper is a Chitown-based, Southern spitfire with a penchant for good food and bad puns. By day, she’s a brand strategist at a PR firm, and by night she’s a feminist lettering artist and clothing designer. For her, International Women’s Day is not only a moment to celebrate the progress made toward equality, but also a reminder of the work that’s yet to be realized.

Continue reading to learn more about Margaux and her personal brand, where she finds design inspiration, promotional tips and more.  

Building a brand

Margaux is one example of the hundreds of thousands of fabulous females building their own personal brands and businesses on Teespring. Following her role as a contributing artist for a feminist clothing collection, Margaux decided to go independent create her own personal brand, Pepper vs. Patriarchy. Teespring’s on-demand business model meant Margaux could create 50+ products instantly without any upfront costs or risk—she was able to combine her love of feminism and art, and turn her ideas into a full range of products to sell online. 

“I love the wide range of styles, colors, products, and extended sizing. It was important to me to offer my designs with the most options possible so that customers felt included and like they could find something they love!”

Finding inspiration

Margaux says design inspiration comes from friends and family sharing their ideas or making requests on what they’d like to see or wear. For example, her Women 2020 design was an idea her mom came up with, to support female candidates at all levels! This same technique can be used by other Teespring users who are designing for an existing audience—some of the most successful designs sold on are inspired by a creator’s fanbase.

Promoting products

Keep in mind using real samples in promotional content can increase sales by 50%, so it’s no surprise featuring product samples are Margaux’s preferred promotional method. She incorporates images of herself, friends and customers wearing products into her Instagram feed, stories, and highlights. These images not only create tons of engagement, they’re also examples of social proof which can influence other followers to purchase too. 

“It’s great to be able to order samples and take photos of myself in the products, but it means so much to me to see other people wearing and enjoying my designs in their everyday lives…One of my friends from college wore my Good Bi design as part of her coming out journey, which basically made my heart explode. It means so much to me that something I created could be part of a moment like that.” 

Margaux’s fans repping her products 

The future is female

When Margaux isn’t growing her brand on Instagram, she works as a brand strategist at the second largest Public Relations firm in the world. One of the main reasons she chose to explore a career in PR was because of the opportunities she saw for women at all levels of leadership within the agency, both in Chicago and globally. 

“When women are given a fair shot and a chance to succeed, the work they make, the teams they lead, and the culture they create ultimately benefits everyone.” 

This is the core message of Margaux’s personal beliefs and brand…and it’s the perfect mantra to celebrate International Women’s Day 2020. With that in mind, we’d like to take a moment to recognize all of the inspiring female and female identifying users on the platform—we’ve selected a range below for you to discover and get inspired by! Of course, we couldn’t include everyone, but don’t forget to check out our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook where we are always featuring our amazing users.

Top row (from left to right): Moriah Elizabeth / Quiet Cool Kid / Shawna Lynn / Allison Bickerstaff

Bottom Row (From left to right): Ava Pearl / Jessica Kellgren-Fozard / Lehua Superfina / Sanne Vander

Categories
Insights

10 YouTube features all creators should know

Whether you’re an established creator who’s looking to expand their online presence, or someone who’s just starting out, YouTube is a powerful platform to promote your products. Video content is being watched more now than ever before with 85%+ of all internet users in the US watching video content every month. Taking this and YouTube’s incredible 2 billion monthly active users into account means you’ve got a huge potential audience at your fingertips. 

Check out our newest promo guide below, covering 10 features and tools you can us to drive even more sales on YouTube. The the video and complete guide linked below are full of examples of how other creators are using these features successfully—get inspired and try them out for yourself!

Categories
Insights

Everything creators need to know for the U.S. 2020 tax season

Tax season is upon us! Creators who have requested more than $600 USD in payouts within the calendar year may be prompted to provide more information for tax purposes (see image below). Sellers with multiple accounts will need to update their account information within each account as we will be merging your payout amount into one 1099 form.

If you’ve previously completed the form but your Tax Exemption Type has changed within the calendar year (for example, from Individual to Corporation) please be sure to notify sellers@teespring.com as soon as possible.

Identify yourself

If you’ve received over $600 in payouts from Teespring within the calendar year you may be prompted to fill out the tax information form. The first part of the form asks you to identify yourself—this information helps us determine if you need to receive a 1099. Here’s a further explanation of each option:

  • Corporation: Select this option if you are filing taxes as a corporation.
  • Individual: Select this option if you are filing taxes as an individual.
  • Non-profit: Select this option if you are filing taxes as a 501(c) organization (non-profit organization).
  • International: Select this option if you are an international entity (you reside year-round outside of the U.S).

Please note only individuals will receive a Form 1099 from Teespring—all other types (corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and international entities etc.) are responsible for reporting taxes themselves by consulting a tax accountant.

Check your account information

Please remember you have until Wednesday, January 15th, 2020 at 11:59PM PST to update your tax info within your Teespring account settings.

  • Make sure your Teespring login email is valid (we will email your 1099 form to this email address).
  • Make sure your default address in your seller dashboard under “Settings” is correct.
  • Remember to notify sellers@teespring.com if your Tax Exemption Type has changed (for example, from Individual to Corporation).

Make sure your default address is reflects your residential address during the calendar year

If you don’t update your information and do not receive a 1099 from Teespring it is still your responsibility to file your taxes properly based on your earnings, including earnings from Teespring. Teespring cannot provide tax advice—please consult a tax professional.

A link to your 1099 form will be sent to the email address associated with your Teespring account by January 31, 2020.

If you require further assistance please contact sellers@teespring.com.