Author: Danielle Pederson

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How to Use Spring’s Social Integrations to Boost Sales

On the surface, integrating social channels with your Spring store may seem like a no-brainer, but let’s dive further into why utilizing our social integrations is so valuable.  

Social media connects you to your fans. Social integration connects your fans to your products by giving them a direct link to your Spring store while they are engaging with you on your socials. It’s an effective way to build awareness of your brand, increase loyalty, and generate sales. 

Let’s look at why social integration is so important, how it works, some of the benefits, and even some tips. Ready? Here we go!

First off, what are social media integrations? 

Feel free to skip this section if you already know, but social integration is the process of connecting social media accounts with a website. Have you ever been on a website and seen little logos like Instagram or TikTok? That’s one way. Another way is to have links out to your site directly from your social accounts. Think of it as a two way highway.

What social integrations does Spring offer?

Spring makes it easy to connect your store to your socials and offers integrations for the following platforms:

If you want to connect your Spring store to any of the platforms above, simply click on them and we’ll walk you though how! Our social integrations only takes a few minutes to connect and can help you earn EIGHT to TWENTY times MORE than creators who aren’t using our integrations!

Why are our social media integrations important?

There is only so much you can do by mass mailing and begging on social media for people to spread the word about your products. And it gets expensive paying for ads. The main thing customers want (once they’re interested in a product) is convenience––that goes for shopping on their platform of choice, easy access to info on the product, and finally, what every creator wants––the purchase! Put simply, social media integration drives a LOT more traffic to your Spring Store.

Let’s examine a few reason why:

  1. Social Media Integration opens the door to building relationships with future customers. About 80% of consumers, after having a positive interaction on social media, are more open to buying from a brand. Customers are more likely to buy from you when they have an easy way to learn more about your services and products.
  2. Social Media Integration helps you track your engagement and brand’s reach. You want to know which posts drive the most engagement. How many likes and clicks did you get? How much traffic are you driving to your store and from which posts? Having this data helps you determine how to spend your time and resources in the most efficient way possible and most importantly, which content resonates with your audience the best. 
  3. Social Media Integration gives your Spring store greater reach. People who would never even know about your products now have an easy way to see what you have to offer––all because you included links to your Spring store on your social media accounts. 

At the end of the day, human nature doesn’t change. People are more likely to buy what they see. Your products will be more visible with social media integration. It allows you to connect your fans to your products without them having to search for them outside of your social channels. 

Social media integration tips

Before you do anything, make sure at least some of your social media accounts align with your mission, your voice, your brand, etc.––who you are, what you sell and why. This process will assist you in determining which content is most appropriate and which platforms are most relevant to your audience. 

  1. Call out your products. Make sure you are highlighting your products and letting fans know they exist! Just including a link with no context won’t help you. Draw attention to your designs and direct fans to where they can click to purchase.  
  2. Links. Make sure the links between your Spring store and social media pages are accurate and easy to use. Customers will give up on your social media presence if they have technical issues while clicking, or have trouble finding links. 
  3. Relevance. We get you need to be promotional and focus on your own products but the trap many fall into is not to point out how that actually benefits your audience; what they can gain from your products. Remember––it’s about them. How are your products relevant to them? Design your campaign in a way that will grab their attention. 
  4. Post regularly. Audiences are fickle. If they don’t see new content, they’ll move on. There isn’t one rule on how often, but stay consistent. Loyal customers will know when the next post is coming because you follow a reliable schedule. 

Social Media Integration is the best way to grow your business as a creator. If you need a refresher on how to do this, click here. Happy prospering! 

As always, reach out with any questions at creatorhelp@spr.ing.

Categories
Creator success

How to Design & Promote Mother’s Day Merch

It’s almost time to celebrate mom, which means your fans are looking for ways to celebrate mom, too! Mother’s Day this year is on Sunday, May 14th, and it’s a golden opportunity for creators to capitalize on excess consumer spending. Did you know that according to the National Retail Federation, expected Mother’s Day spending totaled $31.7 billion in 2022, up $3.6 billion from 2021’s record spending! Approximately 84% of U.S. adults are expected to celebrate Mother’s Day, so what are you waiting for? Now is the time to design! 

Create now!

For ideas, think of what moms would shop for themselves and check out our Mother’s Day collection. Some women’s merch favorites include: 

  • Women’s Tees
  • Women’s Flowy Tanks
  • Yoga Pants
  • Mugs
  • Wine Glasses
  • Tote Bags

Add a catchy slogan to capture the sentiment. Sure, “Best Mom Ever” is a good one, but don’t be afraid to get creative. Moms do A LOT! How can we honor all that they do for us? And don’t forget, there are all types of moms, from new moms, grandmothers, step moms, soon-to-be-moms, and even dog moms.

As for color palettes, pink is always a favorite. But you can also capitalize on this Spring’s other trendy colors, like lavender, teal, tangerine, and bright green.

Now that you have some design ideas, here are 5 key ways to boost sales with your Mother’s Day Merch:

  1. Don’t wait! Start creating and designing now. It takes a minute to mock up, get products ready, and finally launch. Shipping cut off dates are 04/24/23 for US orders, so you need to promote your merch and give fans enough time to order. Also, here’s a pro tip: create Mother’s Day promo codes and use them when promoting your merch on social to help you boost sales!
  2. Order a sample. Another reason you want to create now is so you can order a sample in time to promote special Mother’s Day merch on your socials. Bonus if you can get a mom to wear your merch! 
  3. Create promo codes. You definitely want to create Mother’s Day promo codes to drive sales and create a sense of urgency to buy now so fans can get their order before Mother’s Day.. 
  4. Get personal. Why is Mother’s Day important to you? How can we celebrate all Moms? Share your experience. Fans relate to real emotions.
  5. Repost UGC (user generated content). Encourage your fans to wear your merch and post on their socials. This is an organic way to spread your brand, and it gets more people interested in you and your merch.

Creators can deepen their connection with their fans by promoting merch that honors the role moms have played in their own lives. Happy prospering and HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

Categories
Creator success

How to Easily Sell Spring Merch With Instagram Shopping

Are you aware 2 billion people are on Instagram every day? Of those users, 130 million use Instagram Shopping and 90% follow a business account. Clearly, Instagram Shopping is a great tool for creators to open an online storefront, tag products in posts, and simplify the process for the customer. 

But what exactly is Instagram Shopping? It’s a feature that allows you to create a digital, shareable catalog of all of your physical products right on Instagram. Conversely, Instagram Shopping allows consumers to learn about and purchase products in a few easy steps. It’s not the way of the future. It’s now. Instagram Shopping is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to selling products on IG. 

Don’t worry, Spring makes this easy. In this blog we’ll show you how to set up Instagram Shopping using Spring’s Integration Tool as well as some tips on how to sell more products via that method, so that you can hit and exceed those sales goals! Let’s get started. 

Set up Instagram Shopping with Spring

When you’re ready, and eligible, you can set up Instagram Shopping through Spring. Here’s what you can do on Spring:

  • Manage, track, and create your orders and ad campaigns with Instagram, as well as incorporate the look and vibe of your Spring store. 
  • Use our tools that help you promote, sell, and list products on Instagram. 
  • Set up a product catalog. Many people don’t like the hassle of doing this, but if you connect through Spring, we’ll automatically import your items. If you want to connect from the Instagram side (if your account is eligible), here are some basic tips on linking Instagram Shopping with Spring:
    • Go to Commerce Manager.
    • Open the Catalog tab and go to Data Sources.
    • Select Add Items, then Use a Partner Platform, then hit next.
    • Select your platform of choice: Spring.
    • Hot tip: Remember to keep catalog maintenance top of mind. Once your catalog is set up, it’s important to maintain it. Always keep product photos updated and hide unavailable items.
  • Submit and wait for your account review. (It might take a couple days). 
    • Go to your Instagram profile settings.
    • Tap Sign Up for Instagram Shopping.
    • Follow the steps to submit your account for review.
    • Check the status of your application by visiting Shopping in your Settings.
  • Turn on Instagram Shopping. Once approved, connect your product catalog with your Instagram Shop.
    • Go to your Instagram profile settings.
    • Tap Business, then Shopping.
    • Select the product catalog you’d like to connect with.
    • Tap Done.

Instagram Shopping is great but it’s only the beginning. How can you utilize this great tool to increase your sales even more? We got you. 

Tips to sell more products using Instagram Shopping

Here are some tips that will help you get the best results from Instagram Shopping:

  • Shoppable Posts. Shoppable Posts allow you to add product tags to your content so customers can purchase. Similar to tagging other users in your posts, Product tags on Instagram tag the products. Your shoppers can then quickly shop your products and click on your tags. 
  • Instagram Stories/Product Stickers. Inside your Instagram Stories are Product Stickers. You can tag specific products in Stories, just like tags in posts. Don’t know how to create Instagram Shopping Stories? Here’s how:
    • Use the Stickers function to tag a product in your Instagram Story.
    • Upload or create your content for your story as usual, then hit the sticker icon in the top-right corner. Find the Product sticker, and from there, choose the applicable product from your catalog. (Really cool tip: customize your product sticker to match the colors of your Story)
  • Tag Products in Reels. Here’s how: 
    • Create your reel. Then tap Next. 
    • Select a cover image and add a caption. 
    • Tap “Cover” and slide the image at the bottom of the screen.
    • Tap “Tag Products” and select the product(s) or collection you’d like to feature. Then Tap “Done”. Lastly, tap “Share” to publish your reel.
  • The Shop Tab. On your profile, the Shop tab is where your visitors can see all the products you’ve tagged in your posts on Instagram. This includes any content that features the products. 
  • Collections. You can create and customize collections in your shop to help tell your brand’s story.
  • Instagram Checkout. If this is enabled, your customers can purchase directly from Live Shopping, Shopping for Creators, and product launches. Shop Pay will automatically pop up for the customer, making it simple for them to check out. 
  • Use the best hashtags. Add as many as you can! Hashtags build brand awareness and get your content to the right people so that you and your products become more discoverable on Instagram. 
  • Shopping Ads. You can either build an ad from scratch in Ads Manager or boost a Shoppable post you’ve already created. You can do this using the Instagram Product tags. Simple! If your ads have product tags, you can drive to either your Spring store or Instagram checkout (if you have access). 
  • Create Instagram Shopping Guides. Instagram Guides are basically mini blogs that live on the platform. For users with an Instagram Shop, this can be a fantastic way to promote products with an editorial perspective. Think trend reports and gift guides. Here’s how:
    • From your profile, click the plus symbol in the upper right corner, then select Guide. Next, tap Products.
    • Search by account for the product listing you’d like to include. If you’ve saved the product to your wishlist, you can find it there also. Then Select the product you’d like to add and tap Next. You can choose to include multiple posts for a single entry if available. They will be displayed like a carousel.
    • Add your guide title and description. If you would like to use a different cover photo, tap Change Cover Photo. Then double check the pre-populated place name, and edit as needed. If you wish, add a description.
    • Tap Add Products and repeat steps 4–8 until your guide is complete. Then tap Next in the upper right corner. Finally, tap Share.
  • Visuals. To increase sales you’ll need high-quality photos and videos. It never hurts to get really good at editing videos or photoshopping photos. Or show your product in action with how-to or proof-of-concept video.
  • Share sales and promo codes. It’s always a good idea to offer a time-sensitive incentive to get fans to act quickly. With Spring, creating and managing promo codes is easy.
  • User Generated Content (UGM). This is when other users share your merch. Jump on this! They are giving you free advertising and credibility. 
  • Always end with a CTA (call to action). “Buy Now.” “Share with a friend.” “Tap the [shopping bag icon] to get yours!” 

As you can see, there are a lot of ways to sell your products on Instagram. Happy prospering! And as always, hit us up anytime with questions at creatorhelp@spri.ng.

Categories
Creator success Design tips

Introducing Affordable Design on Demand Services for Spring Creators

We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with AffinityX! Creators are always asking us for design services and we’re finally able to say—we got you! By partnering with AffinityX, a top-tier agency, we’re able to offer professional design services exclusively for our creators! We’re talking merch graphics, storefront banners and social media promo visuals. 

If you want to stand out, look more professional and sell more merch, you’ll want a custom design. Read on to learn about the design services we offer or jump straight to our design services page here. 

Store Hero Banner 

You want to make a good first impression, right? Nothing does that better than a custom-designed banner image that showcases your unique brand. Welcome your fans with your unique design at the top of your store page. This service includes:

  • 1 high-resolution static banner graphic (non-editable jpg or png) 
  • Delivery by email in a zip file
  • 100% ownership of design
  • $17

How it works:

  • After purchase, you will be emailed a creative brief for your design specifications
  • You get 1 revision request after you receive the design
  • 3 business day turnaround after the design is approved

Learn more about the Store Hero Banner and place your custom order here: https://affinityx.creator-spring.com/products/spring-digital-storefront-banner

Promo Image Design 

It’s always a good idea to drive traffic to your store from your social platforms, preferably with a personalized visual that shows off your brand and merch. With this service, you’ll get a personalized visual advertising your brand to share on socials. Design includes:

  • 1 high-resolution static promo image (non-editable jpg or png) for the platform of your choice: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Display or Personal Profile Image 
  • Delivery by email as a zip file (image size dependent on selected platform)
  • 100% ownership of design
  • $17

How it works:

  • After purchase, you will be emailed a creative brief for your design specifications
  • You get 1 revision request after you receive the design
  • 3 business day turnaround after the design is approved

Learn more about the Promo Image Design and place your custom order here: https://affinityx.creator-spring.com/products/promo-image-design

Custom Merch Graphic Design 

Another great idea and must-have for your brand is a personalized logo or design that you can use on your merch. Our professional designers can deliver on your vision. Give us your inspiration, and they will create a high-quality design that you can use on any print-on-demand merch (including t-shirts & sweatshirts). This service includes:

  • 1 high-resolution graphic design (non-editable jpg or png, sized to product specs)
  • Delivery by email as a zip file
  • 100% ownership of design
  • $17

How it works:

  • After purchase, you will be emailed a creative brief for your design specifications
  • You get 1 revision request after you receive the design
  • 3 business day turnaround after the design is approved

Learn more about the Custom Merch Graphic Design and place your custom order here: https://affinityx.creator-spring.com/products/custom-merch-design-graphic

Bundle these three and save! 

Build out your brand with all three services for one great price! From your socials, to your storefront, to your merch, you’ll have a professional, cohesive brand. Bundle includes:

  • 1 Store Hero Banner image (non-editable jpg or png)
  • 1 Store Promo Visual graphic (non-editable jpg or png)
  • 1 Custom Merch Design (non-editable jpg or png)
  • All delivered by email as a zip file
  • 100% ownership of all designs
  • $50

How it works:

  • Complete only 1 creative brief for all services 
  • 1 design revision for each service 
  • 3 business day turnaround after you approve all designs

Learn more about the Premium Bundle and place your custom order here: https://affinityx.creator-spring.com/products/bundle-merch-graphic-promo-image-hero-banner

We couldn’t be more excited about our new partnership with AffinityX, truly the best of the best when it comes to visualizing a brand. Let’s get started on your custom brand design! 

Check out all of our design services here.

And as always, hit us with questions anytime at creatorhelp@spri.ng.

Categories
Creator success

Design & Sell Warm-Weather Merch For Spring

Spring puns are happening again. Why? Because Spring has sprung and it’s time to spring into Spring–merch that is. Ok we’re done. For now. Spring means the onset of warmer weather, so take advantage of seasonal sales by offering products like tanks and tees. 

We have a Spring collection ready to customize in just a few minutes. Here are some fan favorites:

The only thing missing is your designs! So let’s get to it. 

As far as why you should design and launch products for Spring, here are some points to keep in mind:

  • Warm-weather apparel is back in season.
  • You can stay relevant with new products since Spring is all about new beginnings.
  • You can link to holidays. This doesn’t mean put all your eggs in one basket for certain holidays (told you we weren’t quite done with the puns). There are other opportunities like Memorial Day. 
  • New products will increase traffic and increase sales!

Finally, here are suggestions on how to best promote your new Spring products:

The season is here. Spring into action with your new Spring merch on Spring and enjoy a season of sales! (And NOW….we’re done with the puns). 

Have questions? Reach out to creatorhelp@spri.ng anytime!

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Uncategorized

How to Make and Sell Custom Merch in 2023

If you’re a content creator, a big priority of yours should be to create and sell merch. Products extend your brand voice. There’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing your fans show you love by eating up your designs and products. Why? Because creating and selling your merch is a way of connecting with them. And in turn, buying your merch is their way to connect with you. They’re not just buying things, they’re buying you. So really search your soul for what you want to put out into the world. With that said, let’s get to it. 

Where to start? How do you create merch and how do you sell it? The first step is your Spring store (it’ll be integral to your success). But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s start with your audience.

Find out who your audience is and what they like

You need to learn how fans interact with you and your brand. What social platforms are they active on? For example, you can guess your fanbase is mainly Gen Z & Millennials if most of your engagement is on TikTok. So then you take that information, and based on their shopping habits, create and design merch for that audience. You can also interact with fans directly in polls on Facebook groups, email, Instagram Stories, etc. There’s another advantage to asking for feedback from your audience – it makes them feel like they helped create the merch that they are going to eventually buy. 

Brainstorm merch ideas

Okay. Now you know your audience. Next step. Design the merch you know will appeal to their taste. How do you do that? Maybe there’s something you did (Ex: a running joke) that got the most engagement? The most comments? This is where your creative ability comes in. Identify what’s resonating and design around it, maybe a catchphrase or something you wore. Or try the reverse: pick a product your fans will like and then think what types of designs will stand out. Need inspiration? Here are some recent bestsellers that might get your creative juices flowing: 

  • Notebooks: Awesome for both professionals and creatives
  • Die cut stickers: Fans can show their support everywhere
  • Tank tops: Great for the warm seasons
  • Coffee mugs: Your fans start the day with your brand in mind 
  • Phone cases: Everywhere their phone goes, your brand goes!

Start doing mock ups and designing!

This is the fun part! You just figured out what your fans will love. Now it’s time to execute. Check out websites for inspiration and ideas. If you’re having “designer’s block,” you can find a designer to create for you. For top-quality designs that are affordable, check out the professional design services being offered exclusively to Spring creators.[link] 

Here are some tips when working with a designer:

  • Explain what you want in a clear way and provide as many details as possible (such as your aesthetic, preferred font style, color scheme, etc).
  • If you want designs that are relevant to your brand, share your user profiles and information on your audience so the design captures what you’re about. 
  • Create a mood board—this is a board filled with inspiration, examples, and references that will give a head start to your designer. 

Once you have your design, you might even ask your fans for feedback. Again, this makes your fans feel they are helping you create the merch, when in fact…they are! 

Use Spring as your print-on-demand partner

Once your designs are finalized, you’ll need to place them on products! You’ll need a print-on-demand service so that you only pay for the products that are being ordered. This is where Spring comes in. We are your go-to print-on-demand partner. Also, you’ll want to order samples on your dashboard (which is easy) because sometimes images and typography can look one way on a computer screen, and another way in real life. By ordering a sample, you can see the product the way your customers will and then you can use that sample to promote your merch to your fans. 

Ok, now your merch is done, how do you sell it? 

There are a few proven marketing strategies that can help your merch capture a fan’s interest:

  • Launch targeted ads. Have a little bit of money to play with? This will immediately help get your merch in front of an audience. Pick which platforms your followers use regularly and which ones have the fans you interact with most. Many times you don’t need to continue targeted ads because word-of-mouth and ongoing audience engagement takes over. Which brings us to…
  • Word of mouth. Now that you have a fanbase, even if you don’t have the money for targeted ads, your most effective tool for promoting is “word-of-mouth marketing.” One way is to encourage fans to showcase your merch in various ways – hold a contest on social media, for example, and ask fans to give feedback (and tag you) after trying your products. Return the favor by offering prizes that your fans would like, such as early access to products, free shipping, etc. They can even use your branded hashtag for their stories and images they upload with your merch. This makes it easier for you to track the results and involvement, helping you keep the activities in your contest in one place. 
  • Run a promotion using promo codes with incentives. Spring makes it easy to create promo codes, check out our post on how to run promo codes. Create urgency with the idea that supply and time is limited. This gives you an indicator of interest-level and immediate feedback. 
  • Free giveaways. A great way to build your audience and get sales. Everyone likes free merch. If they like your merch, they’ll buy more.
  • Partner with other brands and creators – especially for product drops. This drastically increases the views on your brand.
  • Make your products easy to find on your socials. Use Linktree integration (link) to display and sell your merch on your channels.
  • Schedule posts on different platforms and be consistent. For example, promote for a “limited time” before launch to build anticipation, then again halfway through the run to keep up excitement, and lastly near the end to encourage last-second sales. Always thank your fans for purchasing merch. 
  • Use your existing channels by utilizing Spring Social Integrations. Word of mouth is great, but by leveraging the existing channels you already have, the chances of making sales greatly improves. You can easily sell your merch on socials by integrating your Spring store directly with your social channels. Here are some places you can explore:
  • Instagram: Point your fans toward your IG Shop by tagging your merch in your Stories & posts.
  • YouTube: Put a call-to-action at the end of your video and share links to your merch in the video description or cards. 
  • TikTok: Partner with other TIkTok creators to get them to create content with your merch.
  • Buy button: You can embed your merch or collections if you have an outside website or blog, etc.

Marketplaces

Merch marketplaces are a great way to gain access to bigger audiences. It’s basically an ecommerce site that organizes products from different creators. Examples are Represent, Hello Merch, and MerchNow. Showcase your products at these or other merch marketplaces. They all have different commissions and guidelines so do your research. 

To sub-brand or not to sub-brand

As your business grows, you may want to have a sub-brand within your brand that doesn’t necessarily align with your main brand. It’s quite profitable for some creators. This approach could be advantageous if you’re trying to grow your audience beyond the reach of your current brand. Sales might be slow to begin with, but it’s a chance for your business in the long run to gain steam. Another nice by-product of sub-branding could be that your sub-brand is attractive to another creator who wants to partner on the sub-brand, but not your main brand. It opens more doors. 

Start selling!

Creating and selling merch is the key to creator success and with Spring, these steps are easy. Give your fans something to remember you by. When your brand lives in their head, they support you. They buy. They spread the word. They come back. They generate revenue for you. And Spring is here to help you achieve all of the above! 

Categories
Creator success

9 Ways to Promote Your Merch on Social Media

So you want to sell merch. Welcome to the world of e-commerce! Now, how do you sell it? To push sales, you’ll need to promote your merch–and the best place to do it is on social media. Luckily, there are lots of ways to approach promotion on socials. Check out our top 9 ways to promote your merch on social media below! 

1. Use Spring Social Integrations. 

Integrating your digital store with your social media page is now a must. In the old days, it was, “The early bird gets the worm.” Now it’s, “Social integration wins the sale.” No other tip on this list will be as important. You want to make it simple for your fans to bounce back and forth between your site and social platforms. And Spring makes it simple for you. 

Spring integrates with OnlyFans, PopUpShop, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, Linktree, Stream alerts, and Discord. Need a basic refresher on how? Click Here.

2. Build Awareness & Community Around Your Brand

Social media is as good as it gets when it comes to generating buzz and marketing. It’s also the perfect place to engage natively with your target audience. This is free promotion! Get people talking about what you do online! This means having conversations, reposting hot topics, and using relevant hashtags. Audiences respond to creators who are actively interacting with others online.

Building this interaction takes time. Here are some quick tips:

  • Showcase who you are and what you stand for. Authenticity is what fans respond to. Be yourself and put your passion out there, whether it be through humor or making people remember you by being….you guessed it…yourself. Don’t hold back but also still be respectful. 
  • Don’t stray from your messaging. You know what you’re about, what you want to say, and how you want to say it—that’s your brand. Keep your brand consistent in all of your posts and in your comments. This consistency is what will help fans feel like they know you. 
  • Engage with the right audience. Do your homework. Who regularly comments on your site? Who hits like? Who’s reposting your content? Know who is responding to your brand so you can further engage with them and others like them. 
  • When you receive feedback, respond. This is key to building your community, your brand, and in turn the awareness of it. Your audience will share your work and spread the word!

3. Advertise

While not free, there is no larger reach for your advertising than social media. Socials have a global audience that is rapidly growing. These audiences are so huge, in fact, you need tools for targeting and segmenting. Each social channel where you place an ad has tools to help you do this. Use these tools to make sure you:

  • Identify your audience and target market
  • Zero in on that audience by layering your targeting parameters
  • Set specific goals and KPIs (key performance indicators) for each channel
  • Pick ad types that align with those goals
  • Study how effective your conversion metrics are 

Your ad types, KPIs, conversion metrics, and the platforms you invest in will be determined by your goals for social media advertising. For instance, are you trying to drive awareness or just sales?

4. Provide Customer Support

Selling merch to fans brings you money, sure, but it also creates responsibility. When people spend their money, they become a customer, and customers expect customer service. To keep your base happy, you’ll need to provide it. So how does customer support help you promote? When it comes to social media, customer service usually happens in the comments for all to see. Customers will usually come to you to:

  • Search for more info
  • Inquire on products
  • Offer feedback
  • Engage with you or your content
  • Offer perspective on what they want

How you respond creates social proof and that’s what helps further promote you and your brand. When others see these interactions, sales go up. It shows the public how you handle complaints and builds confidence that there’s integrity behind your product.  

5. Social Listening

Wouldn’t you find it invaluable if you knew who was talking about you and your brand outside of your comments? That’s what social listening is. All the data in the world is available to you on social media. Social listening offers valuable insights, including:

  • Which products customers love most
  • Problems or issues that keep occurring 
  • The overall sentiment about your brand 

Armed with this info, you can jump on opportunities, hone your message to meet the demands of the market, and address any issues. There are many free social listening tools out there—here’s a list of some free ones.

6. Collaborate With Others

A few of the most popular social e-commerce marketing tactics are winning new followers, social proofing products, and expanding your reach. Collaboration has now become equally important. 

Social media is about community: those you follow and those who follow you. Partnering with brands who have similar audiences and engaging with influencers are just a couple of ways to expand your community while also profiting off of the collaboration. 

When you partner, create high-value giveaways or promos to your respective followers, which will multiply sales and validate your products & services to a much larger social media audience. 

7. Use Video!

Video is the landscape now. It just is. It’s the most influential. It’s the most popular. Put plainly, the most effective. It’s the reason many customers decide what to buy. It’s not an accident Instagram and TikTok are two of the biggest players in the social media game. It’s because paid and organic video content is the best way to engage users and those two platforms offer the best opportunity for that. 

Your video doesn’t need to be pricey. Don’t go for that Hollywood production value or special effects. All you need to do is speak to your audience, and show your personality as well as the value of your merch. 

8. Post User-Generated Content

One easy way to promote your merch on social media is to repost user-generated content. Examples include users (or fans) discussing the items they purchased, unboxing your products, and user reviews. 

This is why having other influencers purchase your merch is such a great asset because they help provide the social proof and positive reviews you need. 

Give your fans every opportunity to share your merch videos and pictures on social media. Encourage it. Cultivate it. Request them to tag you. Then reshare their post to your own profile. Now your content has been social-proofed! This will also make your customers feel more connected with your brand and show them you value and hear them. 

9. Post Often & Be Strategic About When

Post, post, post. Promoting on social media is all about being prolific. It helps you test what works, build that following, and gain the traction you’re going for. Have a consistent posting schedule (Hint: early morning weekdays are usually the best). Keep in mind it matters when. The best times for each platform are as follows:

  • Facebook: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm on Tuesday and Thursday
  • Instagram: 11:00 am on Wednesday
  • Twitter: 8:00 am on Monday and Thursday.
  • LinkedIn: 9:00 am on Tuesday and Wednesday
  • TikTok: 7:00 pm on Thursday

This schedule will help you stay consistent, and in turn, help you build your community. Now it’s time to get out there and promote your merch on social media! 

Categories
Creator success

7 Powerful Tips For Making Money on TikTok in 2023

TikTok is quickly becoming the go-to platform. With an effective strategy, and armed with the right tools, there’s a LOT of money to be made on TikTok by Spring creators. Before we dive in with proven strategies, let’s check some boxes. 

To start making money on TikTok you must:

  • be at least 18 years of age
  • be based in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, or Italy
  • have a minimum of 10,000 followers (but only 1,000 for Virtual Gifts)
  • have 100,000 video views in the past 30 days
  • adhere to the TikTok Community Guidelines and terms of service

What if I don’t have 1,000 followers? 

Perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Before we give you some money-making strategies, here are some basic key elements that will help you gain followers:

Unlike Instagram or Snapchat, TikTok is way more personal. Authenticity wins the game here, which means be yourself. Post a steady stream of content, go live often, and interact with your followers as the REAL YOU. 

And making money on TikTok will be easier if you Find Your Niche. Browse through the communities you feel you best fit and engage with their content. That way, TikTok now knows what content interests you, which means once you post, TikTok will show your content to the appropriate audience. 

Most importantly, Have Fun. People who only do things for money rarely succeed. Passionate people make others passionate – that’s the definition of a “fan” and when your passions are clear, the fans will come. 

Now, on to the tips.

1. Consider Running Ads

You might consider placing ads in your videos if you’re willing to spend a little to expand your content’s reach. You can easily set it up with TikTok Ads Manager. TikTok lets you personalize your ad targeting by location, interest, age, etc. Plus, you can select the best format for your brand. The most popular types of TikTok ads include:

In-feed video: These appear on the “For You” page of the TikTok users you prefer to target. 

Brand takeover: This allows your ad to expand to the width of the whole screen for a few seconds before becoming an in-feed video ad.

Don’t oversaturate your audience with ads! Show a good chunk of your content first and consider backloading your ads so you don’t lose viewers right away. 

2. Sell Branded Merch with Spring

Whether you’re a singer, dancer, or just showcasing your fashion, you’re really selling yourself. Many successful creators don’t just sell standard products, they design custom products.

Brand your merch. Customizing your designs gives your fans a personal connection to you and your brand. Plus, every follower that wears (or uses) your merch spreads the word about your brand out in the “real world.” 

Create a TikTok Business account, if you don’t already have one, and then connect SPRING to your account. With our TikTok integration, you can connect your virtual store and showcase your items directly on the platform. Here’s a quick low-down on our TikTok integration tool.

3. Go Live and Collect Virtual Gifts

If you’re livestreaming, Live Gifting is one of TikTok’s most useful features for creators looking to monetize their content.

TikTok is the only social network that allows followers to send Virtual Gifts in real time, which can be redeemed for payment. This is great for building relationships with fans because they develop a personal stake in your success. 

Here are a few tips to help get the most out of going live on TikTok:

  • Pick the right time. Go live when most of your followers are online. Check your analytics tab for the best window.
  • Stay live longer. Most only watch a portion so staying on longer means more people will catch some of it. 
  • Post a video during your livestream. Viewers will see your link, which in turn grows your views. 
  • Use TikTok hashtags. Use relevant hashtags to increase the reach of your videos. 

4. Partner with Influencers & Other Brands 

One of the most creative ways TikTok lets its creators make money is through its Creator Marketplace. It’s a useful tool for connecting the right brands to the right influencers, allowing partnerships to form while creating valuable sponsored content. You can also connect with other creators whose audience will be a good fit with your brand.

5. Try Affiliate Marketing

Score some sponsorships. Plug products for others. They’ll pay! Approach companies that you are already plugging or would like to. Promote products that you like, trust, and that will appeal to your audience. Share links or codes to track any purchases so that you receive your commission. 

6. Offer Fan subscriptions

You might consider using a creator-based subscription platform like Patreon. You can charge whatever you want, even as low as $1 a month. That’s an easier sell to a new fan. And as your fans grow, so do your dollars! 

Patreon also allows you to offer exclusive content to your subscribers. Use TikTok to promote the membership, and to keep fans invested, you can hold merch giveaways and provide exclusive content. Add the link to your Patreon page to your bio or in your videos. 

7. Join the TikTok Creator Fund

Already have a decent following? You might consider making money through the TikTok Creator Fund. This is basically money the platform has put aside to reward valuable users for their standout content. Any money they give out is based on the size of your audience, engagement with your posts, and other factors.

If you’d like to apply to the TikTok Creator Fund, apply through your account settings under Creator Tools.

There really are a variety of ways to monetize your content on TikTok. Start with a few of the tips above and see what works for you and your brand.  

Categories
Creator success Creators

8 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Website

So you have a webs​​ite. Now it’s time to get people to engage with it! When it comes to building a community and generating interest in your website, you need traffic—an inflow of internet browsers who find and click on your content. Luckily, there are lots of steps you can take to get your website discovered. Here are 8 solid ways to increase your traffic! 

1. Optimize For Speed & Mobile View

It feels silly kicking off our list with something technical, but it is essential to start off with the right tools. Your readers aren’t going to sit around waiting for your website to load. They’ll click out of the page and move on to someone else’s site faster than you can say “competitor.” 

First, check your site speed. If you want to know your speed score or get any additional tips, use Google’s Page Speed Insights tool. 

Second, embrace mobile. People spend at least three hours a day on their tablets or phones. Your website needs to look good on a small screen. WordPress plugins help create versions of webpages that have been optimized for mobile: 

2. Know Your Niche & Target Strategically 

You have your interests and passions, and that’s awesome. Make sure there’s an audience for it, or change direction to meet the closest audience to what you’re going for. Ex: You love hiking and skiing, but your ideal audience is interested in skiing. Also, readers are more likely to keep returning to a website that is specific and has something relevant to say and is enjoyable to read. 

Here are tips to strategically reach your audience: 

  1. Find your peeps and engage. Spend time in online communities where your target audience lives. Understanding your audience will greatly help you build referral links from relevant websites, too! Post blog comments or links when appropriate. Leave comments on other blogs. Don’t be spammy. Offer to write for other bloggers and be their guest and for them to be your guest in return. In both cases it will drive more traffic to you. 
  2. Use Google Analytics. Once you know where your audience lives, use Google Analytics to see which websites the referral traffic is mostly coming from. 
  3. Go evergreen and do it more often. This means creating content that won’t become irrelevant over time. Ex: A blog about the Grammys coming up next month vs. the best songs that never won a Grammy. The best content also meets a specific need. You know what your audience wants and loves. Give it to them. Either make it funny & cool or educational & useful. The goal is to create content your audience will want to link to and share. And the more of it you create, the more traffic you’ll get to your website. Update your blog at least twice a week to help drive more traffic to your site. 
  4. Get your content in niche newsletters. Contact the editors. Only reach out with your best content. A great relationship with an editor is key. This will come with time. 
  5. Ask (in a non-spammy way) for more traffic. Humans respond to a CTA (call to action). Ex: Simply ask for a retweet. 

If you’re struggling to find a topic that will get enough eyeballs, enter a relevant keyword into Ahrefs’ free keyword generator tool and switch the tab to Questions.

3. Write Catchy Blog Titles 

Blogs are a great way to drive traffic to your website. Titles are equally important to the body of the blog because the reader will just move on if the headline doesn’t capture their attention or interest. Get crafty. The best titles either promise a solution or promote a big reveal. They compel a “click.” You’ll get views if you’re matching your title to popular searches like “best workout for triceps,” but that’s not enough. Your competition is doing the same. What will make you stand out? Here are some tips:

  1. Specificity. Instead of “Tips on How to Get Dates” try “How To Get More Than One Date A Week.”
  2. Create curiosity. Make them click. Ex: “How to Create the Perfect Blog Title.”  It begs the questions: A perfect blog title? Does that exist? I need one. Let me check it out.

4. Incorporate Keywords and Make Sure You’re Matching Search Intent

Billions search Google every day. Keywords are the linchpins of SEO. Have a keyword strategy for every page on your site. Here are some basics: 

  1. Have one key phrase for each webpage. Use that phrase in the title, the headline, at least twice in the content, in a featured image, and as part of the link to the page. This helps Google to know what your page is about, and in turn leads to more traffic to your site. 
  2. Use long-tail keywords. This is any search phrase of 3+ keywords. The only chance you have of obtaining a top SERP (Search Engine Results Page) spot in Google is targeting a long-tail keyword. Ex: “health drink” is too broad and general but “health drink on a budget” gives you a much higher chance at ranking. Can’t decide which long-tails to use? Put your finalists into the  Google Keyword Planner to see which phrases drive the most traffic, then pick ones that have high volume and low competition. Google will even make suggestions! Lastly, create your content around your final long-tail. Which brings us to:
  3. Match search intent. You will rank high on Google if you create content that will match the most relevant search from your audience.  

5. Include photos and create shareable images

It’s proven that photos and visuals in websites and blogs boost page session times and readership. If you can, include keywords in the Alt image tag on the image or photo. This will boost SEO (search engine optimization) for your site. Remember copyright laws, you can locate royalty-free images from sites like Clipart.com.

Create shareable images. Your audience may want to share your website or blog images. To make this okay, create royalty-free images with tools like Canva, and if you have the budget, use top designers on marketplaces like 99Designs. Or you can simply take your own photos on your phone.

6. Use Links

Whenever you give a shoutout to another company in your post, link out to that company’s page. That company may link back to you. It’s just good business. Readers also notice when someone plays fair and is even (seemingly) selfless. Give more than you take and you’ll probably end up taking more than you give. The way of the universe. 

Internal links. These are links from one page to another but within the same domain. As long as it’s relevant, a link to those pages can help improve their performance in the search engines. 

Build links. There are multiple ways to build links, but one way is guest blogging, meaning writing for other blogs. Use these opportunities to link back to your (relevant) blog posts. 

7. Promote!!!

Social media. Find out which platforms your communities live on. Ex: Facebook groups, Slack channels, or Discord servers, etc. The audience is already interested! Just don’t be that spammer. Before you promote, first join, study the members, their interests, learn the site’s “culture” and rules.

Build an email list. You get search traffic when you rank on google for your target keywords. You’ll get more traffic on future posts if you can get those people to subscribe to your email list. You may rank even higher on Google if some of those people link to your posts. 

Create a newsletter to showcase your blog posts. Those emails you just collected? Send weekly or monthly emails featuring your best content. The best part: these users already know your blog, which means they’ll now explore the rest of your site once there. 

Start with a give-away: a free product, course, etc. Even have an event, such as “Free (insert product here) Tuesdays”  where you give away prizes for comments and shares. Get companies to sponsor these promotions or donate. 

Here are some more quick tips on promoting:

  1. Promote your blog in your email signature and your bio in any online profiles.
  2. Run Ads. This is the most direct way to get more traffic to your website. You will instantly get traffic if you pay for ads on platforms like Facebook, Quora, and Twitter, and use display advertising on relevant websites. 
  3. Add Video. Maximize the impact of your written content with short videos that are entertaining but also informative. 

8. Refresh, Republish, & Retweet Past Content

Every time you share a new blog post link, a good portion of your audience will miss it. Don’t be shy about sharing past content. As long as it’s relevant, readers won’t care. Repeat your tweets. Rewrite your posts. Republish them. Especially if it didn’t rank or land well the first time. Maybe you’ve improved as a blogger, too. Either way, it’s a smart marketing strategy. 

Bonus tip: Have fun with your website. If it feels like Mr. Incredible selling insurance, your vistors will know. But if you feel the passion that made you want to start a site in the first place, your viewers will feel it, too. 
As always, hit us anytime with questions at creatorhelp@spri.ng.

Categories
Creator success Design tips

10 T-Shirt Design Tips (For Shirts That Will Sell)

A common question we hear from our Spring creators is: How do I improve my T-Shirt sales? Our answer is simple: With better designs! 

Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a graphic designer to have solid designs that your fans will want to buy. Spring’s Dashboard has simplified the process to customize products with your designs. All you need to start is a great idea. 

So here are 10 T-Shirt design tips for tees that will sell:

1. Create quality designs.

It goes without saying, but internet shoppers can tell if a design looks professional or thrown together. T-shirts don’t have to include intricate graphic designs (they won’t read that well anyway) but they should look like some thought and intention went into them. We’ve got good news if you’re a complete beginner! There are plenty of free tutorials on YouTube to guide you through the design process if using Photoshop or Illustrator. Check out the channels Jazza and Charlie Pangus.

2. Research popular keywords.

Every creator has a niche that they fit into, and every niche has trending words and phrases people are using and searching for. You’ll want to know what these words are, because if you can use them in your design, you’ll have a better chance of catching some eyes. A free way to do this is to check out other creators in your niche, as well as their fans, and see what words or hashtags they are using. Or, you can pay for premium sites like KWFinder, where you can search for different keywords to see what is trending (anything over 1000 searches a month is a strong showing).

3. Browse other designs for inspiration.

Not sure what to design? Look around. We like to click through Etsy. You can get a ton of inspiration on designs. Go to the search bar, type in your niche, then type shirts. Ex: Rock climbing shirt. You’re looking for 3 things: 

  • Is this type of design something you can create on your own? For instance, quotes or words are easy for T-shirts, while drawings are more involved. 
  • Look at the reviews. If one tee has 800 reviews and another has 57, then you’ll have a good idea of what’s resonating with other shoppers in that niche. 
  • Look at what the actual review is, meaning, is it a 5 star, 4 star, etc. Were people actually happy with the design? If the reviews all complain that the image was too small or it sat too low on the front of the shirt, this information will help you when you design your own tee 
  • Keep in mind “inspiration” doesn’t mean copying someone else. Your design will be rejected for copyright infringement. Make sure it’s your own work or that you have a license if it’s someone else’s work.

4. Design for the calendar.

There is a lot of money to be made during holidays. Add a holiday-spin to your designs for special days like Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day! In fact, almost every month of the year has some sort of special occasion you can design for. And it doesn’t need to be a lot, you can add some pink hearts to a fan favorite item just in time for Valentine’s. Take advantage of these special days because fans are already expecting to buy something new for themselves or as a gift for someone else. 

5. Play with price.

If your sales are sluggish, try dropping the price slightly from the recommended price. Ex: If Spring’s recommended price is $21.99, drop it to $19.99. Why? Sure, your profit margin will be lower, but the number of sales might rise because you’ll be lower-priced than the competition. Keep in mind the quality of your materials, as different fabric blends appeal to different audiences: Classic, Comfort, Premium, Triblend, etc. If you want a high-quality product, like an apparel line that you’re very serious about, you’ll want to go with the Premium tee, for example. If you opt to go with the premium line, adjust your price accordingly.

6. Placement matters.

This is not a hard and fast rule, but for new designers, using a tall rectangle on the front of the t-shirt while designing is a good guidepost. What if you’re experienced or just don’t want to use a tall rectangle? Still consider proper placement. Will someone be able to see the design when it’s actually being worn? Keep in mind, fans come in all shapes and sizes! You want to make sure your design is clearly visible on all body types! If you’re not going to use the tall rectangle method, make sure the design is still near the middle of the chest otherwise it could get lost when worn. 

7. Fonts matter.

They convey feelings. They can even change the implied meaning. Ex: I will always find you. If it’s in a cutesy font it has one meaning, but in horror font, it’s quite the opposite. Also, keep fonts big, bold, and easy to read. 

8. Use color wisely.

The colors you use depend on your brand and your audience. For example, you may have fans that would be turned off by bright colors like pink, yellow, or orange. In that case, go with popular neutrals like be black, white, or gray. On the other hand, your audience may want colors that are LOUD. In either case, you need to have contrast. Gray text on a black background does not stand out, but white text on a black background does. Also, don’t forget the base colors of your tee! The color fabric you choose should complement your design. 

9. Make your designs easy to understand.

Your t-shirts are a walking billboard. A stranger walking by has 3 seconds or less to see your shirt and register what it says. Don’t overcomplicate it. Make it easy to read and understand. Don’t make the words too small, and make sure the artwork is clear. Remember: 3 seconds tops. 

10. Design complimentary items.

Your t-shirt can lead to a matching outfit! Design another product like the classic pullover hoodie or leggings with the same or matching design. You’re building your brand! 

Don’t forget to take advantage of Spring’s deep well of design resources, where you can even collaborate with a professional designer! We’re here to help you flourish! 

And as always, hit us with questions anytime at creatorhelp@spri.ng.