What an AMAZE-ing year!

2024 was filled with a lot of very cool developments here at Amaze. We had our heads down for much of the year, building out new partnerships, products, and strategies to help you turn your passion into profits. 

Here are some of the big wins this year — and how a few of our Creators used these new features to increase their revenue. 

Going Global With New Fulfillment Centers And Product Lines

There’s nothing worse than going to check out and realizing the cool product you want comes with a $100 international shipping cost. That’s why over the past few years we’ve been working hard to expand our global footprint for fulfillment. In 2024 we opened new fulfillment centers in India and Mexico, which means you can get products to your fans in these regions faster, and at more competitive prices. Local fulfillment also means products don’t have to go all over the world for different parts of the production, which slashes their environmental impact. 

We also expanded the types of products that you can add to your catalog, and added dozens of new options. Now you can choose from 180+ different products, add your design, and launch it in minutes. 🚀 Plus, we partnered with Pietra to make it easy for Creators to turn their ideas into real-world custom products. 

We also recognize that not everybody wants to order a physical product, which is why we introduced 20+ new digital product categories this month (just in time for the holidays ✨). The new digital products mean you can earn more sales, without worrying about shipping products around the world. 

New Integrations And Partnerships For Easier Product Creation

We had two big wins inside of the Spring by Amaze platform this year. 

The first is Store Drop, which is a powerful tool that allows you to integrate your Spring store into your existing website. Just add a little piece of code added to your website’s HTML (you don’t need a software engineering degree to do it!), and you can create a totally seamless shopping experience for your fans.

Another major development is our new integration with Adobe Express. This is a game-changer because it means you can design products right inside of Spring using the powerful Adobe Express platform, then list the product as soon as you’re happy with it. The best part is you can get started with any of the thousands of professionally-designed templates, and preview what your design will look like as a product, all without the help of a graphic designer. Talk about total confidence to create something your fans will love. 💪

Developing inside the platform is just the start though. It takes a village to build out great e-commerce experiences. We’ve built several strong partnerships, all designed to help Creators take their businesses to the next level. From AI powered tools to enhance your creativity, to technology to train your mind and boost your output, our partners are finding new ways to make your life easier. Plus, our  partnership with Pietra means you can bring any idea you have to life. If you want to build a custom product that’s not in our existing catalog, Pietra will help figure out a way to source it. 

We’re also closing out the year with a merger with Fresh Vine Wine, which opens up a whole new world of product possibilities. The future is looking pretty bright!

Creator Wins

None of the work we do matters if it doesn’t actually help Creators see success. We’re so proud of all of our Creators — and a few had major wins this year that are worth highlighting: 

• Beach Reads & Bubbly launched her first custom collection in May. Her promotion strategy was a masterclass in generating buzz on Instagram, and she sold $250k worth of products during a two-week presale period. 
• Don Marshall launched his annual calendar to huge demand. In just 14 days he sold 1871 units ($75k)!
• After the success of a previous plushie, Terminal Montage launched a custom plushie of his character Nabiu. He sold $67,000 worth of them in a 30-day presale – over 2500 units! 

This is just a small sample of what’s possible. We’re looking for ways to help even more Creators get big wins in 2025!

Looking Forward to 2025

2024 was a big year, and we’re feeling so inspired by all of the Creators on our platform. It’s amazing to see the products you dream up, and even more amazing to see them out in the real world. 

We built a lot of momentum this year, and in 2025 we plan to keep riding that wave. Our internal motto is to get 1% better every day, and we can’t wait to roll out the cool initiatives we have planned. Our goals are crystal clear: we want to help you develop deeper connections with your fans, and turn your passion into profits.

We can’t wait to see what you dream up next, and we’re here to support you on every step of the journey. 🎉 Here’s to a great year, and onto an even brighter one!

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified using words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “could,” “may,” “will,” “believe,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “goal,” “project,” and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements address various matters including statements regarding the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Among these risks and uncertainties are those set forth in Fresh Vine Wine’s (“Fresh Vine”) annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and subsequently filed documents with the SEC. In addition to such risks and uncertainties, risks and uncertainties related to forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements relating to Fresh Vine’s business and the pursuit of Fresh Vine’s strategic options, including the proposed business combination with Amaze (the “Business Combination”). Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including without limitation: (i) the risk that the Business Combination may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the price of Fresh Vine’s securities; (ii) the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the Business Combination, including the adoption of the Business Combination Agreement by the stockholders of Fresh Vine; (iii) the receipt of certain governmental and regulatory approvals; (iv) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination or abandonment of the Business Combination Agreement; (v) the potential effect of the announcement or pendency of the Business Combination on Amaze’s or Fresh Vine’s business relationships, performance and business generally, including potential difficulties in employee retention; (vi) risks that the Business Combination disrupts current plans and operations of Fresh Vine or Amaze; (vii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Fresh Vine related to the Business Combination Agreement or the Business Combination; (viii) the risk that Fresh Vine will be unable to maintain the listing of Fresh Vine’s securities on NYSE American; (ix) the risk that the price of Fresh Vine’s securities, or the price of Pubco Common Stock following the closing, may be volatile due to a variety of factors, including changes in the competitive industries in which Fresh Vine or Amaze operates, variations in performance across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting Fresh Vine’s or Amaze’s business and changes in the capital structure; (x) the inability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after the completion of the Business Combination and identify and realize additional opportunities; (xi) the risk of changes in applicable law, rules, regulations, regulatory guidance, or social conditions in the countries in which Amaze’s customers and suppliers operate in that could adversely impact Amaze’s operations; (xii) the risk that Fresh Vine and/or Amaze may not achieve or sustain profitability; (xiii) the risk that Fresh Vine and/or Amaze will need to raise additional capital to execute its business plan, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; and (xiv) the risk that Fresh Vine and/or Amaze experiences difficulties in managing its growth and expanding operations. A further description of the risks and uncertainties relating to the business of Fresh Vine is contained in Fresh Vine’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as well as any amendments thereto reflected in subsequent filings with the SEC. Fresh Vine cautions investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. You are encouraged to read Fresh Vine’s filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this document, and Fresh Vine undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRANSACTION AND WHERE TO FIND IT

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed transaction between Fresh Vine and Adifex Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Company”), pursuant to which the Company and its future subsidiary Amaze will become subsidiaries of Fresh Vine, or its successor entity. In connection with the proposed transaction, Fresh Vine, or its successor entity, will file with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 that will include the Joint Proxy Statement of Fresh Vine and Company and a Prospectus of Fresh Vine, as well as other relevant documents regarding the proposed transaction. A definitive Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus will also be sent to Fresh Vine stockholders and Company members. 

INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE TRANSACTION WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND FRESH VINE, THE COMPANY AND AMAZE.

A free copy of the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus (when it becomes available), as well as other filings containing information about Fresh Vine, may be obtained at the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). You will also be able to obtain these documents, free of charge, from Fresh Vine by accessing Fresh Vine’s website at www.ir.freshvinewine.com, by directing a request to Fresh Vine Stockholder Relations Manager, Mike Pruitt, at Fresh Vine via PO Box 78984 Charlotte, NC 28271, by calling 707.578.2238 or by sending an e-mail to mp@freshvinewine.com. 

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. 

Participants in the Solicitation

Fresh Vine, Company, and Amaze and certain of their respective directors, executive officers or other members of management may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Fresh Vine’s stockholders and Company members in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding Fresh Vine’s directors and executive officers is contained in Fresh Vine’s definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A, dated November 6, 2023 and in certain of its Current Reports on Form 8-K, which are filed with the SEC. Additional information regarding the interests of those participants and other persons who may be deemed participants in the transaction may be obtained by reading the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus regarding the proposed transaction when it becomes available. Investors should read the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus carefully when it becomes available before making any voting or investment decisions.  Free copies of these documents may be obtained as described in the preceding paragraph.

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: 

• WPtouch Mobile Plugin
• Jetpack by WordPress (there’s a theme for mobile option baked in)

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.

Spring’s mission is to help creators sustainably monetize their business and become successful. We’ve seen creators with a small following grow their community and bring in thousands every month. We’ve also seen creators with mid-size followings earn next to nothing for all of their hard work. 

So what does it take to become a successful content creator? Read on below to learn the five most impactful steps we’ve seen creators take to earn a bigger payout. 

1. Target 🎯 your audience

First, being a content creator means you are in business for yourself. And when you’re creating content for social media, it is vital to the success of your business to know your target audience. Who will connect emotionally with your brand? Don’t say “everyone” because that could end up being “no one.”

The hard part isn’t grabbing people’s attention–it’s keeping it. You can engage your audience by knowing and producing the type of content that benefits your target audience.

How to do this? Visit the socials of other creators you feel are similar to you and your brand and scroll through their engaged followers. Who else do they follow? If you were to reach these followers, what type of content would you create?

2. Choose a platform

Knowing your brand and target audience will guide you to the appropriate platform. 

It’s great exposure for your brand to be on all platforms, but it’s not always practical. In the content game, depth is better than breadth. Plus, not all social media platforms are created equal— some are better for photos, like Instagram and Pinterest, and others for videos, such as YouTube and TikTok. 

If your core audience is on LinkedIn, it may not benefit you to hustle on TikTok. You know your brand better than anyone, so think about where your content will fit best. 

3. 📣 Create your brand voice

A brand voice is unique to you. It’s your personality, the language you use, and how you use it.

What is the voice you currently use to speak to your audience? What voice should you use? You may need to conduct informal surveys to determine what is working and what isn’t regarding your content and style. Finding your unique and authentic voice takes time, but once you hit on it, fans will follow. 

4. Build your fanbase

Now it’s time to grow your following. Here’s a hint: it helps if being your fan is fun. Whether you’re gaming, explaining, complaining, or entertaining, if fans enjoy what you’re doing, then your fanbase will grow.

Here are some other tips:

• Collaborate with others for cross-marketing
• Run contests and giveaways
• Continuously post new content! The more often you post, the more people you engage. 

5. Monetize!

Sure, you can make money off your fanbase on your socials, but you can make even more money by selling merch to your fans. Customizing your products is the gift that keeps giving because you can keep offering fans something new. 

When people wear your merch, it spreads the word and creates more demand. That’s a great place to be! Plus, you can offer promotions on your social channels to drive sales at opportune times. The best part? You can do all this easily with Spring, and it’s free. 

Here’s how:

• Create a free account here
• Choose from 180+ products to customize 
• Connect your social accounts 
• Promote your launch 
• Show off a sample to your community

In short…

Finally, the question that’s been on your mind all this time. Will becoming a content creator pay off? Can I make money? 

Whether you live content creation or you’re a part-timer, there’s definitely revenue potential. It will take some time before you start seeing fruits (just like with any other business), but if you’re disciplined and you improve and expand your skills continuously, there’s a market for you. 

To give you an idea, Spring creators made just over $1.2 billion in 2022! 

So take our advice and stick with your passion. It will pay off. 

Check out our blog for more creator success tips.