She came, she created, she integrated—now, Christina Costa is reaping rewards from her shop on Instagram.
Christina Costa loves neuropsychology.
Not only is Christina pursuing her PhD from University of Michigan, she also teaches psychology to both undergraduate and high school students. On top of that, she’s written a book, given a TED talk, and regularly shares educational content with her fans. Even her dog is named Neuro.
Christina’s so passionate, in fact, that she started creating products to convey the messages most important to her: celebrating neurodiversity and promoting accessibility.
Sales were going well, and Christina was pleased. And then she integrated her store with Instagram.
On August 21, Christina posted a photo wearing her “Celebrate Neurodiversity” t-shirt she created with Spring. She tagged the product in her post, so fans could buy from her profile.
On that day alone, Christina racked up 150 sales of that shirt—her highest number of sales ever in a single day.
The best part—Christina’s not just spreading an important message; many of her proceeds from products are dedicated to cancer research.
“I love using the Spring feature on Instagram,” Christina says. “It makes it so easy to integrate the products on Instagram and raise money for cancer research!”
You can take advantage, too. Go to your profile and look for the “Add Shop” button. From there, you can tag products in posts, stories, and reels, making it easy for fans to buy right then and there—just like what happened with Christina. If you don’t see the “Add Shop” button, don’t fret—we’re still rolling this integration out for creators and it should be available for you soon.
Spring & INFLCR are empowering NCAA athletes to monetize their audience by creating and selling digital and physical products.
San Francisco, August 2021: Spring (formerly Teespring), the leading creator commerce platform, has just announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with INFLCR , the leading platform for athlete brand building. The innovative partnership gives collegiate athletes easy, compliant access to Spring’s direct-to-consumer sales platform where they can establish their own digital storefront. They will be able to design and sell both digital and physical merchandise, allowing the next generation of sports stars to become creators in their own right, harnessing their direct relationship with fans and nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit.
Under new NIL laws, the NCAA now allows student-athletes to earn an income from the use of their name, image and likeness. This is the first time student athletes will be able to legally monetize their fan base. This new full-scale ecommerce partnership will equip Teamworks’ and INFLCR’s 100,000+ athlete user base with the most innovative, efficient technologies as well as design support to maximize their brand potential by monetizing via social commerce.
NCAA athletes can now launch their own branded Spring storefront, filled with physical merchandise, NFTs and digital products, and seamlessly connect their stores via Spring’s industry leading social integrations with the likes of Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. This will reach fans where they interact most with their favourite athletes, on social media, optimizing their brand potential and helping them to earn an income. Through this partnership athletes will receive a $1.90 discount on core apparel products.
College World Series Softball Player, Kiersten Landers at Florida State, is among one of the first to launch her Spring store. She says: “It is beyond exciting to be able to engage with my fans in a way I haven’t been able to before, with the support from industry leading partners. I never thought during my time as an NCAA athlete we would be able to monetize under the new NIL laws, and what better way to start this journey than with merchandise?”.
By starting their social commerce venture on Spring, INFLCR’s athletes will receive resources to set them up for success. This includes:
In-App Education
Spring will provide education on best practices that will live in INFLCR’s Storyteller Playbook, which students can access on-demand via desktop or via the INFLCR app using their mobile device.
In-App Reporting
All athlete transactions generated with Spring will be reported to the INFLCR Verified Ledger, to cover all required reporting for collegiate athletes. This activity will be updated in real time to ensure athletes do not jeopardize eligibility through their NIL opportunities.
VP of Marketing at Spring, Les Green says: “We are truly excited to be working with INFLCR to empower athletes to create their own merchandise. At Spring we put the creator first and through our industry-leading design capabilities, we look forward to supporting athletes in the creation of both digital and physical merchandise. This partnership will help athletes to harness their relationship with their fans as they step into the creator realm and finally have the opportunity to create additional revenue streams.”
CEO and Founder at INFLCR, Jim Cavale says: “As athletes build their brands and gain rights to monetize their name, image and likeness, we see e-commerce as a natural opportunity for them. Partnering with Spring, the leader in their industry, will put education and opportunity at the fingertips of athletes so they can navigate this new landscape compliantly, to create and sell their own merchandise in a way that content-creators and social influencers have made extremely popular and lucrative.”
As the bridge between creators and commerce, Spring supports, elevates and propels creators forward, not thinking about the new normal, but instead, the ‘new possible’. The introduction of NFTs and digital products to the platform, demonstrates the innovation of Spring’s tools and capabilities, expanding far beyond traditional merchandise. Spring has seen more than 30 creators become millionaires as a result of selling on the platform.
The success of platform social integrations resulted in explosive growth for Spring, with more than 1.3 million verified creators signing up to the platform to build their socially integrated e-commerce stores as of June 2021. New creator growth has exploded by 160%, alongside a 93% growth in the number of creators who are actively selling their products through the platform.
The passionate and viral content creator took advantage of Instagram’s shopping features—and has watched his earnings pile up.
Connor DeWolfe creates video content about living with ADHD. His skits are short, relatable, and pretty humorous, educating his fans on what it’s really like to live as a neurodivergent person (and reminding them to drink water).
As Connor’s platform grew, he wanted to create merchandise too. So he made a bunch of products on our platform, including his now-popular “Bees in my head” design.
Here was the issue. Connor’s product sales were doing well, but he wanted to reach even more fans. He also wanted fans to be able to find and buy his products without having to click through too many links.
That’s where the Instagram shopping integration came in.
It was pretty simple. He hit “Add Shop” on his Instagram profile, and with that, he could tag his Spring products in posts, stories, and reels. Fans could seamlessly buy his merchandise right then and there. And sales skyrocketed.
Connor saw orders increase by 60.5% after integrating, with a 56.8% increase in profit.
“The Instagram integration has been a game-changer for marketing my products,” says Connor. “My followers can now see my store without going through a trail of links.”
Other creators can follow suit. Just hit “Add Shop” on your profile to integrate your store, and you’re good to go. If you don’t see that button, no worries—access is rolling this out gradually, so more creators will be eligible soon. For any questions, check out our FAQ page.
Over 50,000 creators are already selling digital products with Spring—here’s why.
Digital products are taking over, fast. For one, you can create nearly anything (most folks have a digital product already designed, yet aren’t aware). And two, profit margins are huge.
But the best part? All you have to do is create a product and upload to the launcher—we’ll take care of everything else. Here’s some other benefits:
It’s so easy for fans. After they purchase, they’ll get the product in their inbox within minutes. No shipping, no wait times.
Sell more digital products and drive tons of traffic through our integrations like the YouTube merch shelf, Linktree, and more.
We’ve got creator and fan support teams to offer help whenever you need it.
No listing fees, no subscriptions
That’s right—there are zero upfront costs when you launch a digital product with us. Just choose the profit you want to earn and you’re good to go. We’ve also included additional features below, so you can see how Spring stacks up with other platforms.
Spring pricing structure as of August 31
Remember, our fees are built into the base cost of the product, so they’re only deducted if you make a sale. And you choose your exact profit for each digital product. Click here to learn more about product pricing.
Ready to get started?
Check out these free tools and resources.
Social integrations: With our powerful integrations like the YouTube merch shelf, Linktree store, and others, your fans can shop your products directly from your social accounts and channel.
Free digital product templates: Not a designer? No problem. Use these free, customizable templates to create your high-quality digital products.
Free product mockups + promotional hacks: Once your product’s ready, create eye-catching content from these tools and templates to help promote them.
Digital product inspiration: Needing some product ideas? Here are some of the coolest digital products our creators have made on Spring.
Important news: Quality overhaul and price update. Here’s what it means for your store and fans moving forward.
We’ll get right to it—we’ve had to increase prices on some products.
You’ve been forthright in asking us to improve product quality, and that became a major priority for us. So we went heavy on those areas. We’ve tried to hold off on increasing costs as long as possible, but it’s no longer feasible. So after lots of deliberation, we knew it was time to bump up our prices. We’ll explain why.
For one, costs have gone up significantly worldwide for things like raw materials and transportation, especially in the last two years. On top of that, we’ve invested heavily into improving product quality and production. Last year alone, we spent $1.6 million to enhance quality, both internal and external: We’ve upgraded fabric quality on core products, procured more advanced production equipment, made multiple hires to support quality checks, and more. And for those two reasons, we’ve had to increase prices on some of our products. Below you can see just a few of the upgrades we’ve made, and there’s still many more to come. We’ll keep you posted on all that, of course. So expect good things.
Ultimately, it’s all about providing the best possible product quality for your fans, improving their shopping experience, and ensuring you can maintain great profit margins.
In the meantime, we’d like to thank you for your support, for your hustle, and for continuing to inspire us.
Updated price chart
As you’ll notice, prices have changed for many products. Again, this is not only due to the quality upgrades we’ve mentioned, but a direct result of worldwide cost increases in raw materials and product transport. We’ve adjusted the recommended retail price to account for this new update and to help you maintain the profit margins you’re used to seeing.
Digital product pricing
With this update, digital product pricing will also be impacted—our processing fee will change from 10% to 20%. Despite these changes, we’re still keeping prices super competitive. Check out this blog post on why we’re still the top platform to sell digital products.
How to adjust selling prices
We recommend updating your selling prices before the update takes effect on August 31, 2021. This way you’ll be able to set the exact profit margin you want. Please keep in mind any promo codes you’ve created—you’ll want to ensure you’ve got enough margin to support the discount you’re offering. You can edit prices instantly within the “Listings” section of your Spring account at any time.
Important note: Once the new pricing updates go live on August 31st, promo codes will not be redeemable on listings that are not profitable. Also, any listings that are not profitable will become inactive once orders are processed—you will need to increase the profit margin of the products in the listing before reactivating it. Learn more here.
Need help with setting prices? First, check out our new recommended retail prices (RRP) for each product type in the table above. To adjust pricing, head to the Listings section of your Spring dashboard. Go into “Listing Details” next to the listings you want to edit, then edit the prices. Be sure to save your changes before you exit the page.
Subject to all the terms and conditions, policies, rules, guidelines and definitions provided in the Spring “Terms of Service” available at: (https://www.spri.ng/policies/spring-terms-of-service), Spring is offering you an exclusive opportunity to purchase Creator Tools (defined below) during a limited 30-day trial period (“Beta”).
Participants in the Beta may purchase “Creator Tools” including Design Services, Design Guard and Internet Marketing (each service described below). Creator Tools may be provided by Spring or third parties on its behalf. Upon completion of the Beta, Spring may continue to offer Creator Tools to you at its discretion. Spring may terminate the Creator Tools at any time. To qualify for this limited Creator Tools Beta, you must acknowledge and agree to the following:
Payment. For any Creator Tools you wish to purchase, payment will be processed as set forth in the Price and Payment section of the Terms of Service.
Publicity. You may not make any public statements regarding the Creator Tools, including, without limitation, any publication, review, or evaluation, without prior written approval from Spring.
Feedback. If you have any feedback, comments, or suggestions for improving the Creator Tools (collectively “Feedback”), you will provide such Feedback to Spring at the end of the Beta. Spring may use, disclose and otherwise benefit from Feedback in any manner and via any media without restriction, royalty or any obligation to you.
No Warranty. All Creator Tools are provided “as-is” and are subject to the disclaimer of warranties set forth in the Terms of Service.
Spring Property. As between you and Spring, Spring retains all right, title and interest (including all intellectual property rights) in and to the Creator Tools, including its visual interfaces, graphical design, computer code, documentation and all other elements.
Description of Creator Tools
Design Services: Spring can help develop customized designs for use in other Spring Services (“Designs”). Subject to Spring’s acceptance, Spring will perform design services described in one or more Statements of Work (as defined below). The specific details of the Design Services to be performed will be determined on a per-project basis, and the details for each project will be described in a mutually executed statement of work (each, a “Statement of Work”). To the extent the Designs will include materials provided by you to Spring (“Creator Materials”), you represent and warrant to Spring that you own or otherwise have the necessary rights and consents in and relating to the Creator Materials so that, as received by Spring and used in accordance with these Terms, they do not and will not infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate any intellectual property or proprietary rights of any third party or violate any applicable law.
Review. In the course of performing the Design Services, Spring will request input on Designs from you, and you will provide such input in a timely manner. You agree that you may only request up to three revisions per Design, and any additional revisions are subject to Spring’s sole discretion.
Ownership of Designs. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Terms of Service, all final Designs created for you by Spring, as between you and Spring, will be your sole property. Designs that constitute copyrightable subject matter will be considered “works made for hire” to the extent permitted under the United States Copyright Act. To the extent that ownership of the Designs do not by operation of law vest in you, Spring will assign (or cause to be assigned) and does hereby assign to you all right, title, and interest in and to the Designs, including all related intellectual property rights. You acknowledge that under U.S. copyright law, copyright in each Design extends only to that unique expression of ideas, and not the ideas themselves, and accordingly, agrees that Spring is free to use the same ideas to create similar designs and themes.
License to Designs. You grant Spring (including any third-party providers acting on Spring’s behalf) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable, transferable right and license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works of, communicate, publish, publicly display, publicly perform, distribute, and otherwise exploit the Designs for the purposes of allowing Spring to provide, improve, and promote the Spring Services.
Design Guard: Spring’s Design Guard service provides you with a non-comprehensive report with links of potential similar designs.] The materials and information in a Design Guard report are intended for informational purposes only, are not legal advice, and Spring takes no position on whether any designs may violate third-party rights. A Design Guard report is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. You should not act upon Design Guard report information without seeking advice from a lawyer licensed in your own state or country.
Internet Marketing: Spring’s Internet Marketing services help optimize a Creator’s store in an effort to improve the quality and quantity of website traffic using search engine optimization and other digital marketing strategies. Spring’s Internet Marketing services may help improve traffic or sales but are provided “as is” without any warranties or guarantees as to increased traffic or sales.
Ready to launch your digital product, but not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered with free design tools, downloads, and templates to kickstart your digital creation.
Digital planners
Create planners like workout schedules, diaries, and to-do lists. We’ve created a customizable template you can make your own, click the button below to open it in Canva and start editing. We’ve also got some cool lifestyle mockups here you can use for product images or promoting on social.
Select a preset from our Summer Presets Catalog, edit it in Lightroom, and make it your own. Upload your creation to the launcher and add it to your store. Don’t forget you can create eye-catching mockups too—click here to learn more.Click the image below to download the catalog and follow the instructions at the top.
E-books
Choose from hundreds of unique book cover templates on Canva and lay out your content and imagery using the e-book building tool via the button below. To build an e-book, simply go into the builder, click ‘add page’ at the bottom, and paste in your text and images.
Alternatively, try combining your e-book cover and pages using Adobe (Indesign, Photoshop) or Powerpoint.
Share skills and knowledge with your community by presenting content using the custom templates linked below.
Don’t see a template you like on Canva? Either use your expertise in Adobe Indesign or try laying out your content using Microsoft Powerpoint or Google Slides. It’s so easy—just export your slides as a PDF.
Introducing an exciting new chapter in the Spring and Instagram partnership. Now it’s easier than ever to create and sell your products from the Instagram app and earn more.
What does this mean for me?
In the coming weeks, many of you will be able to connect the products you create on Spring directly to your profiles through a Shops on Instagram. Yeah, it’s a game-changer. We will be rolling this out in phases. So as we first launch, only a select number of creators will have access. By the end of the year, this will be available for all US-based creators.
With this new integration, you’ll also be able to promote your products by tagging them in your Instagram posts, stories, and reels. Your fans can browse and purchase straight from your profile. You’ll be able to track insights and habits to better understand your business. And that’s just a few of the benefits.
How much profit can I make?
We’re also teaming with Instagram to give creators the ability to earn 100% profit selling through Spring and Instagram. So through December 31st, you’ll earn 100% profit on every product sold (up to $50,000 per creator). Additionally, for a limited time, US fans can enjoy free shipping (up to $15), which is automatically applied at checkout on Instagram. This is really an effort to help jumpstart a commerce business for those creators without one and to accelerate it for those who already do.
How do I get started?
This will start to roll out in the next several weeks, so look for the “Add Shop” button on your Instagram profile to see if you’re eligible for access. From there, if you’re already selling products with Spring, you can link your account through your Instagram profile. If not, set up an account with Spring within the Instagram app, create some products, and start selling immediately through your shop on Instagram. Watch this video for step-by-step instructions on how to set up and use your shop.
If you aren’t yet able to access the integration, don’t sweat it. You’ll be able to soon. In the meantime, get your Spring store ready and create some products. Or check our FAQ page if you have any other questions.
Now, you can embed your Spring store within your Linktree account—connecting your entire audience to your products.
We’ve got some big news. We just partnered with Linktree, the leading link-in-bio platform. With this, fans can browse your top products or head to your full Spring store—all from your Linktree in your social media bio. Seamless shopping for them, tons of new traffic for you. And it’s super simple to set up.
Set up a Linktree account (if you haven’t already).
Add a new link in your Linktree account
Paste your Spring store URL into the links tab
Click “Show me more,” then select “Show my shop on Linktree”
Note: If you already have your Spring store on Linktree, simply edit the link by recopying and pasting your Spring URL to the same area. This will trigger the feature.
Note: If you have a custom domain, make sure you use your original Spring store URL, displayed on the Linktree integration page within your dashboard.
Your embedded Linktree shop will display the first six products in your Spring store. If you want to show different products, then “star” them in the stores tab of your dashboard. Now they’ll appear at the top.
This one’s a game-changer. Hopefully you’ll be connecting with more fans than ever. Are you ready to set yours up? See what ours looks like as you get started.
In May, Spring announced our partnership with Bondly, allowing creators to explore the possibilities of creating, minting and selling NFT’s. The question is: are NFTs harmful to the environment?
Short answer: Sometimes. There are blockchain companies finding solutions for excessive energy consumption and offsetting kgC02 emissions associated with the minting of NFT’s. Taking steps towards significantly reducing damage to the environment, Bondly has teamed up with a company who mint NFT’s responsibly. Meet Polygon: a blockchain using just 0.002% of the energy that other blockchains use.
First, let’s start with the basics:
What is an NFT?
Just like digital products, NFTs can be anything. However, there are some differences. NFT stands for non-fungible token. With NFTs, digital products can be “tokenized” to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought and sold.
Non-fungible token: a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable.
What are the benefits of launching NFTs for creators?
NFTs allow you to make sure that you get paid a percentage (or royalty) every time your NFT is sold or changes hands. That means, if your work increases in value, you’ll see some of that benefit.
No one can copy an NFT. This gives you absolute ownership of your work. For example, anyone can buy a Banksy print, but only one person can own the original. The artist can still retain the copyright and reproduction rights of an NFT, just like with physical artwork.
Fans can financially support creators like you. Buying an NFT gives fans basic usage rights, like being able to post the image online.
The environmental picture: Polygon VS other blockchains
Since most NFTs use the same blockchain technology as some energy-siphoning cryptocurrencies, they also end up using a lot of electricity as a result. Bondly has recently teamed up with Polygon to integrate eco-friendly NFT minting and are setting up a fund to offset their carbon footprint. One NFT with Polygon uses x3 less energy than streaming a video online for 1 hour.
Granted, they’re new and the conversation around NFT’s can get complicated. NFT’s not your thing? There’s always a digital product. There are pros and cons to launching both digital products and NFTs.
We want to offer creators the opportunity to select their creative medium from a wide range of products, both physical and digital—including eco-friendly options.
