Category: Creators

Categories
Creators

Prepare for the biggest selling season of the year!

Fall arrives next week and with it comes opportunity. Many creators sell more in the last 3 months of the year than in the first 9 months combined! You could be one of them. 

The first thing you need is a compelling new design. We’ve researched the color and style trends set to catch eyeballs this season to help you come up with that winning idea. And we also recommend the best Spring products to go with them. Read on and get ready to be inspired!

Shades of Pink & Mauve
Pink and mauve (a pale purple color) are both named after flowers. These bright, youthful colors will bring light and energy to days that will be growing colder and shorter throughout the season.

Cozy and warm Classic Pullover HoodiesAvailable in Dusty Pink as well as Light Pink, Spring’s Classic Pullover Hoodie is the perfect match for this color trend, not to mention the season. The designs can also be pink, but tones of blue, green, brown and gray also work well with these comfy hoodie colors. And you can try them on the Premium Tee in Mauve or Desert Pink too!

Earthtone Neutrals
Earth tones are commonly defined as colors that have some brown in them, commonly mixed with reds, oranges and yellows. It will be part of nature’s changing palette for the coming months in many parts of the world. Folklore floral prints in your design will contribute to the mood.

Banana Cream, Dark Chocolate and Caramel Toffee

They aren’t just everybody’s favorite flavors for the fall, but neutral and understated tones that can match many different styles and occasions. Great for yourself or as a gift, our Classic Pullover Hoodies and Crewneck Sweatshirts come in Mustard or Carmel Toffee and or check out our Premium Tees in Banana Cream, Dark Chocolate and Light Olive.

Tie-Dye
Make the most of this fun autumn trend by creating your own tie-dye patterns and colors. You can apply them to our all-over print products (hoodies, crewneck sweatshirts, joggers, and tote bags, making an entirely unique and exclusive item that only your fans will have. Try using psychedelic prints and fonts for added effect or nostalgic, 90’s inspired prints which are all the rage right now. 

We’re excited for your followers to see all of your fall products and collections!

Categories
Creators

Update – Delayed Creator payouts

Following up from the message I sent on Monday, August 15th, I wanted to confirm that all outstanding creator payments have now been made. If you missed that email, please see the FAQ below.

If you requested a payout on or before  08/06/2022 and have not yet received the funds, please reach out to creatorhelp@spri.ng as soon as possible. We will investigate and respond within 24 hours.

Once again, please accept my sincere apologies for the issues leading to this incident as well our communication about it with you. Unfortunately, we have continued to see an increase in suspicious and attempted fraudulent activity that has continued to drain our resources – we are actively addressing this. Rest assured, the Spring team and I have learned a great deal and continue to make changes to our product & processes to continually improve monetization for creators.

As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at creatorhelp@spri.ng if you have additional questions.

Chris Lamontagne
CEO | Spring

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


What is the situation? 
Some creators have experienced delays receiving their requested payouts on Spring. Impacted creators are understandably upset and have asked for information and action.. 

When will it be fixed? When will I get paid?
We are already catching up with payments to creators and plan to complete all delayed payments by August 29th. Catch-up payments will be made in batches based on the date the payout was requested.

How did this happen?
Making sure creators get paid is a critical and complex part of our business. Over the last 3 years,  more than 5 million new creators have signed up with Spring. This caused a substantial increase in the number of small (under $10) payout requests and strained our legacy payment systems. We are working hard to keep pace and, in the course of implementing a more automated payment solution, inadvertently broke some of the systems we use to ensure prompt payment to creators. We should have done more to ensure we had the relevant checks and balances in place to manage such an important transition. We apologize for the disruption and have updated our protocols to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

Why hasn’t Spring communicated earlier?
We were unable to diagnose the situation fast enough and did not want to miscommunicate information or provide inaccurate timelines for fixes. In hindsight, we should have communicated sooner and provided frequent updates instead of waiting for the solution.

What is being done to fix the situation?
We have rolled back the changes to our payment systems in order to ensure we can pay creators on time going forward.

How will Spring ensure that this doesn’t happen again?
We are working on solutions to ensure that we avoid future issues with creator payouts, including but not limited to improvements in our automated payment processing, greater transparency and real-time updates.

Categories
Creators

Important: Creator payouts

FAO: Spring Creators

I wanted to reach out with an important update with respect to creator payouts. 

Firstly, I want to assure you that the technical issue that caused delays in some of your payouts has been addressed and that our team is working through the backlog payments to ensure that all outstanding creator payments are made by August 29th. Please review the FAQ below for additional detail.

On behalf of Spring, I sincerely apologize for these delays. We know how important it is that you get paid on time so that you can keep doing what you do. Your frustration is entirely justified. I will follow up on this message should there be any new information. 

As a creator business, we missed the mark. We hold ourselves accountable for becoming a better partner and we are more committed than ever to supporting independent creators with community development and monetization solutions.

Thank you for your patience and the opportunity to earn back your trust. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at creatorhelp@spri.ng if you have additional questions.

 
Chris Lamontagne
CEO | Spring


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


What is the situation? 
Some creators have experienced delays receiving their requested payouts on Spring. Impacted creators are understandably upset and have asked for information and action.. 

When will it be fixed? When will I get paid?
We are already catching up with payments to creators and plan to complete all delayed payments by August 29th. Catch-up payments will be made in batches based on the date the payout was requested.

How did this happen?
Making sure creators get paid is a critical and complex part of our business. Over the last 3 years,  more than 5 million new creators have signed up with Spring. This caused a substantial increase in the number of small (under $10) payout requests and strained our legacy payment systems. We are working hard to keep pace and, in the course of implementing a more automated payment solution, inadvertently broke some of the systems we use to ensure prompt payment to creators. We should have done more to ensure we had the relevant checks and balances in place to manage such an important transition. We apologize for the disruption and have updated our protocols to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

Why hasn’t Spring communicated earlier?
We were unable to diagnose the situation fast enough and did not want to miscommunicate information or provide inaccurate timelines for fixes. In hindsight, we should have communicated sooner and provided frequent updates instead of waiting for the solution.

What is being done to fix the situation?
We have rolled back the changes to our payment systems in order to ensure we can pay creators on time going forward.

How will Spring ensure that this doesn’t happen again?
We are working on solutions to ensure that we avoid future issues with creator payouts, including but not limited to improvements in our automated payment processing, greater transparency and real-time updates.

Categories
Creators Insights

How to sell smarter this summer: run a sale using top tips + free templates

Find out how to run a summer sale and start the season on a high 💰 Follow our steps below and use free, editable social media templates to announce your discount.

Running a sale is easier than you think. The key: create top tier promotional content to announce your summer sale on socials and ensure fans can find your products easily. Follow these simple steps and you’ll be set for the summer, starting with Memorial day weekend.

  1. Plan a sales game plan
  2. Create promo codes
  3. Prepare promo content (FREE templates)

Step 1) figure out your game plan

Determine your content schedule and fit in your run summer sale announcements on social media. There’s tons of ways you can engage fans and keep them shopping your products with promo codes.

Open for sale inspo:

  • Align your sale with an event: Announce a sale to celebrate a special calendar event or a milestone you can share with your community. E.g. You just hit 100K followers, summer just started, Memorial day weekend.
  • New products: Use a promo code to celebrate a new product release (Slides are a great place to start this summer). 
  • End of season sale: Offering discounts on ‘older’ spring designs before your summer product launch is a good way to encourage purchases on existing items while generating hype for what is to come.
  • First come first serve: Encourage purchases early-on by offering a limited number of discounted orders. For example, you say: “the first 50 people to buy my new design will get 10% off with the code FIRST50”. Turn the promo code’s active status to ‘off’ in your dashboard when you hit 50 orders.

Step 2) create promo codes

Head to your dashboard and turn their active status to ‘off’ until it’s time to run your sale. You can create three different types of promotions; free shipping (US delivery only), a discount amount (like $3), or a discount percent (like 10% off). Learn how in the video below. 

Create your promo code

Step 3) Prepare promo content (free templates)

Now, create the social media content you’ll use to promote your sale. Promotional images and videos of you wearing your products work best.

Spring’s design team mocked some up for you to edit and share on your socials for memorial day weekend. Tap a template below to open them in Canva and start editing.

run a summer sale: Promote summer products on social using this Canva story template
Open story template 1
run a summer sale: Promote summer products on social using this Canva story template
Open story template 2
run a summer sale: Promote summer products on social using this editable Canva feed post template
Open post template 1
run a summer sale: Promote summer products on social using this editable Canva feed post template
Open post template 2

Here’s what you need to include in your promo images and/or captions: 

  • Image of your product 
  • Your promo code 
  • The date your sale starts and ends 
  • The discount type – e.g. “Get 20% off”

Ready to get going? Tag @springforcreators in your promotional imagery for the chance to be featured on our Instagram to inspire our community of creators.

Categories
Creators Digital Insights

How Sapien Medicine sold 2,600+ NFTs with Mint-On-Demand™

Sapien Medicine is the most successful Mint-On-Demand™ creator on Spring. With an impressive 69 drops and a community of 2,400 NFT holders—read on to learn how do they do it. 

@SapienMedicine is a YouTube creator who connects with their community of 242,000 subscribers through digital artwork, spiritual wellness, and guided meditation. There’s huge demand and value around their NFTs: find out how to engage your fans with NFTs too.

Sapien Medicine—the youtube creator selling NFTs

Ready to start your journey into web3 with your fans? Take note of the ways Sapien Medicine does it and give it a go. Check to see if you’ve got access (If not, you will soon—register your interest here).

Sell NFTs

Creating hype and demand 

Before Mint-On-Demand, Sapien Medicine started with digital products—selling 4,000+ of them in just over a year. Through only announcing new products via gated forums, the exclusivity around them grew. Sapien’s digital product success meant NFTs were the obvious next step.

Building value and introducing co-creation 

Sapien continued to use their forums to exclusively announce new NFTs and discuss their value; an important community building tactic. They explained:

“Eventually, the process evolved into our community building what they would like in an NFT…then submitting it to me to create. The unique thing about having community project NFTs is that members are pre-invested in the idea, knowing they had a hand in creating it”.

Gated forums give fans the governance to vote on what content comes next, get benefits, and have a say in brand decisions. Becoming an NFT holder became much more than proving ownership—it made them part of the community.

Sapien Medicine's NFTs

Introducing utility for fans

Corpus Spiritus Tarot Deck NFT

Sapien Medicine then decided to take their NFT game to the next level; introducing the Corpus Spiritus Tarot Deck NFT. Each NFT holder received a bonus physical tarot card deck. Adding extra perks made for the perfect way to reward NFT holders for their support and mark the moment physically.

Members of the community went crazy for it. There’s now 205 NFT holders digitally flexing their NFT Tarot Decks. Sapien said:

“We try to add a real world value to it, so there is an actual worth. For examlpe, the Tarot Card Deck is a physical, and the NFT is used as a certifier of the purchase.”

See the full story below.

Now you’ve got tips from one of the best, start thinking about ways you can start co-creating with your community. Create and sell and NFTs for your fans below.

Sell NFTs
Categories
Creators Digital Insights

How to sell NFTs with Super Dacob: minting a milestone

Tons of creators sell NFTs with Mint-On-Demand™—and their fans are already digitally flexing. Read how creator @superdacob dropped 50 NFTs to commemorate a milestone with his community.

Fans are always searching for new ways to support you and your brand. @SuperDacob saw the opportunity to sell NFTs, engage with fans, and mark physical experiences within his community. With Mint-On-Demand™, you can too.

Ready to mint a milestone you have coming up? Head to the card template to start selling your digital collectibles below.

Sell NFTs
Examples of Spring creator Super Dacob's NFTs

Marking physical moments with NFTs  

YouTube creator @SuperDacob has a diverse, worldwide community tapped into high fashion, luxury, art and culture. Keeping a close eye on the industry, he noticed high profile fashion brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton were offering NFTs. 

After reaching 50,000 subscribers on YouTube, he decided to celebrate by dropping 50 unique NFTs. The limited edition collection would become a tokenized game for the community:

“We decided to launch our own series of fashion-inspired NFTs in a series of playful colors for my fans to collect and trade with each other, making the NFT experience interactive and fun”. 

Making the NFT relevant to fans

Each of the 50 NFTs are 1 of 1, and mimic a different bag material and hardware. The NFT project virtually represents the chase for a rare “unicorn bag” (something his community can relate to). Dacob explains: 

“The collector of the NFT gets to hunt down their favorite hardware… There are no two alike…It’s a game that reflects the chase after unicorn bags in the luxury fashion world, except it’s more sustainable. Once you catch a color-way you like, you can decide to swap it and chase down different variations.”

Promoting the NFT collection 

Dacob sold out by nailing promotion and getting fans hyped. There’s several ways he announced their availability on his store:

How Super Dacob promoted NFTs to their community
  • Announced the drop during 50K celebrations on Livestream and shared the link to his store. Only members could access the live—making the drop exclusive.
  • Communicated the value of the NFT collection and questions in real-time
  • Featured the NFTs in his Linktree—making them discoverable across all social platforms
  • Shared promotional imagery on Instagram 

What kind NFT will you sell first? Check to see if you’ve got access and get started below. (If not, you will soon—register your interest here).

Sell NFTs
Categories
Creators Digital Insights

The future of NFTs with FORJ; 4 facts you need to know

If you missed our Instagram Live with FORJ, it’s worth catching up. Watch the discussion below and learn the in’s and out’s of utility, community engagement, and more as you enter the world of NFTs.

Full livestream with FORJ and Spring team

Ready to get in the game? Begin strengthening your community and start selling NFTs with Mint-On-Demand™ below (If you’re not eligible yet, sign up, you will be soon). 

Sell NFTs

1. NFTs are the next step for creators.

One thing is clear: NFTs are community builders. Fans are constantly searching for new ways to support you and your career as a creator; and NFTs make for the perfect way to do so publicly. Selling an NFT tokenizes your brand—allowing unlimited utility and endless ways to keep your community engaged in the future. See how other creators are killing it with Mint-On-Demand already.

NFT examples by Spring creators

2. Utility adds value: marking physical experiences for fans 

The future for the creator world is about seamless interaction with digital content and mixing it with the real, physical world. Once upon a time, fans would subscribe to an email list to stay in the know and receive updates. NFTs give communities the chance to have a stake in their creator’s brand—technology has never allowed that.

That’s where ‘utility’ comes in. Soon, creators selling NFTs on Spring will give fans the governance to vote on what content comes next, receive special benefits, and have a stake on brand decisions (stay tuned for ways to give back to NFT buyers).

3. Mint-On-Demand™ allows for eco-friendly NFT minting.

Firstly, the Mint-On-Demand service is designed to reduce energy wastage, by only minting after purchase (more about that further down).

FORJ also works with the Polygon blockchain, allowing more eco-friendly NFT minting. One minted NFT with Polygon uses 3x less energy than streaming a video online for 20 minutes. 

4. Minting after purchase and receiving crypto-wallets: real benefits.

NFTs are only minted after purchase on Spring, reducing energy wastage. Both the creator and the NFT buyer then receive a crypto-wallet containing the NFT—so no need to worry about the technicalities.

In the future, creators will be able to leverage their crypto-wallets to give back to their communities. Prepare to be able to drop surprises in your NFT holders’ wallets, give access to gated chats, send bonus content, and more. 

Sell NFTs
Categories
Creators Digital Insights

Why NFT enthusiast @byshayneanthony sells with Mint-On-Demand™

Mint-On-Demand™ makes launching NFTs easy. Shayne Anthony thought so too. After moving over from other NFT selling platforms to Spring, he launched a digital collectible alongside a new hoodie. See how he did it.

If you can engage fans with merch, you can sell NFTs too. Photographer and creative director @byshayneanthony tried his hand before selling NFTs via other platforms. Mint-On-Demand™ made for the perfect opportunity to go again with a more eco-friendly blockchain, zero upfront costs, and no risk.

The ease of Mint-On-Demand™ 

Shayne has experience selling merch to his community, so NFTs felt like the natural next step.  However, after trying to sell his digital collectibles on other marketplaces (like Opensea), Shayne quickly realized selling NFTs was a complicated process. Upfront, unsustainable minting, gas fees, and crypto wallet requirements for him and fans made the whole process intimidating.

Shayne and Spring’s Creative Director chat all things NFT Live on @springforcreators

That’s why he jumped at the chance to sell NFTs with Spring; Mint-On-Demand™ removes the upfront cost and risk, plus, no crypto requirements makes it easy for anybody to purchase NFTs.  

“Mint-On-Demand™ allows me to have my NFT in my store alongside my physical product range—if you sell merch for your channel, then I recommend bolting onto your physical product drops to create collectible NFTs.”

Shayne launched his NFT alongside a merch drop for maximum engagement

NFT inspiration

Shayne decided to launch his first NFT on Spring alongside a new merch drop; he took the design file from his Bad Signal Hoodie, and used it to create a limited edition NFT. Launching his hoodie and NFT at the same time was an engaging way for him to re-introduce digital collectibles to his community. Plus, taking inspiration from the hoodie design itself to create the digital collectible meant he could easily recycle his existing design asset to create a new NFT.

“My NFT captures the vibe of the new design, but in digital form. Something that isn’t just a graphic, but ties directly into the merch drop and my community.”

Please note: Currently, creators can use the Mint-On-Demand™ beta to launch NFT static file formats (JPG, PDF, PNG), we’ll introduce additional file formats soon.

NFT promotional strategy 

Shayne made sure to shout about his new launch on social media once it went live. Using Instagram stories and posts—he took advantage of the Spring x Linktree Integration. By pointing fans toward his Linktree, they’d be able to click, see his merch and NFT displayed together, and purchase both.

Sell on Linktree
Creators can easily sell NFTs through Spring x Linktree Integration

Super fans who purchased the NFT would now be able to start digital flexing. They now have a collectible that marks the moment Shayne’s Bad signal merch launched—and the NFT in their crypto-wallet proved they supported it.

Ready to launch your own?

Planning to launch new merch? Merge it with a digital collectible launch—it’s the perfect strategy to ease you into creating your first NFT.

We’re rolling out access to Mint-On-Demand™ right now, so if you haven’t received an email from us confirming your NFT access—hold tight. In the meantime, check out our ultimate guide to NFTs here and apply for access below.

Get NFT access
Categories
Creators Digital Insights

Connor DeWolfe’s story: NFTs made easy with Mint-On-Demand™

How do you create an NFT your community will love? If you’ve already sold merch, you’re ready to go. Connor was new to NFTs, but with the right steps, he nailed his first launch. Here’s how you can too.

  1. Finding NFT inspo 
  2. Creating a collectible NFT 
  3. Sharing with fans 

@Connor.DeWolfe creates video content about living with ADHD, educating his fans on what it’s really like to live with it. He’s been successfully selling merch (products like hats, backpacks, etc), so NFTs felt like a natural next step. With a loyal community following his cause and supporting his career as a creator, this made for the perfect foundation to enter web3.

Connor had read about NFTs before, but never found the platform to sell them easily. Mint-On-Demand™ made it easier than ever for creators like him to sell NFTs, plus he could launch crypto-free with no cost or risk.

1. Finding NFT inspiration

You might not realize it, but you may already have an NFT in your back pocket. Connor broke into NFTs by using one of our top recommended strategies: Bringing back a fan-favorite design from the past.

“I wanted to make a collectible moment around bees in my head that we could share together.”

His existing ‘Bees in my head’ physical merch skyrocketed sales—so next, using elements from this design felt right. Using a community driven strategy, using the same imagery made for the perfect digital collectible. For fans, buying the NFT would show allegiance to Connor, plus a homage to mental health awareness in his content. 

2. Creating the NFT

This didn’t need to be complicated for Connor (it doesn’t need to be for you, either). The next step for him was creating the digital art NFT. All Connor had to do was provide an image file. Taking elements from his Bee design, he made a cool, digitized .PNG file using the same bee in his design.

Connor’s strategy: Sell 10, first edition units of his NFT. Now, with limited numbers, they were true collectibles. Connor decided to price each unit at $150, affirming their value and exclusivity.

3. Promotional techniques

Connor’s promotional technique reflected its exclusivity—”if you know, you know”. Fans tuned into his announcements in Instagram Stories. He also did a great job creating hype: Getting fans involved in the discussion and answering questions live before launch.

“I really wanted to let my fans know as much information as possible before the NFT launch to create excitement and answer any questions they had about my NFTs.”

He set a countdown timer on his stories for fans to set reminders, and spoke about the fact his NFT was environmentally conscious. 

So how might you go about sharing the news of your NFT with fans? We’ve got a few suggestions to build the hype: 

  • Post teasers on your social media channels a few weeks before your NFT release—build hype. Like Connor, explain the idea and value of your NFT to your fans.
  • Create a countdown. Do this easily using Instagram stories and notify your community when your NFT goes live.
  • Make your NFT easily discoverable. Ensure you’re using the Spring x Linktree integration. This way, fans can find and purchase your NFT.
  • Communicate with fans. It’s likely some of your community may not understand what your NFT is. Go live, answer questions, reply to comments, and more. Describe the idea behind your NFT and why it’s a collectible. 

Be environmentally aware. There’s a chance you could get questions on how eco-friendly your NFT is. NFTs will only be minted once they are purchased. They’ll be minted on the Polygon blockchain, too. Let’s put this in perspective: One NFT minted by Polygon uses x3 less energy than streaming a video online for 1 hour—so you should communicate this with your fans. Read into this more on the Ultimate NFT Guide.  

Ready to get going? If you’ve got access, you’ll have received an email from us, or you’ll find the submission form in your dashboard. If not, our goal is to give all Spring creators access to this service within the coming weeks—watch this space. 

Read more about Mint-On-Demand™ with Spring below.

Mint-On-Demand™

Categories
Creators News

The record breaking Instagram drop: How MMG hit $600k in 60 days

Harnessing the power of the Spring x Instagram integration, Matt Meagher sold close to 11,000 hoodies totaling $600,000 in sales. Here’s how he did it.  

It all started with an accidental tweet. While adding his new, Spring hoodie to his Shop on Instagram, Matt mistakenly published a tweet linking to the product in his Spring store. He immediately deleted it, but within 24 hours had generated 187 orders. Energized by the reaction of his fans, he quickly added the product to his Shop on Instagram, tagged it in a post, and sold over 739 ($40,000 worth of hoodies) in just 24 hours.  

Motivated by the success of his first launch, he decided to leverage the full suite of tools available through Shops on Instagram to supercharge his sales… generating a total of $600,000 and 10,855 purchases in just 2 drops. 

Matt’s next launch featured the same product, but this time he offered two color options and came prepared with a solid content plan; using integration features like product tags, a scheduled launch, and promoted on Instagram live. These tools enabled him to smash his original sales record by more than 110%—his sales totaled $116,000 in the first 24 hours.

Clearly, leveraging the full power of the Spring x Instagram integration works.

Scheduling a product launch through his shop caused 8,000 fans to set reminders and catch the moment. Hyping up the hoodie on Instagram Live allowed Matt to connect directly with fans, show off the new hoodie, and pin a clickable product tag to his Live in real time. Live Shopping features meant fans got shouted out in-chat every time a hoodie was purchased.

Matt used all these features in perfect succession; product tagging, a scheduled live drop, and going Live on Instagram—see it in action below.

Fans dialed into both product drops by reposting his content, as well as showing off their new hoodies in their own posts. Matt reshared them all—encouraging more engagement, and even more sales coming through his Shop on Instagram.

This is an incredible example of just one creator harnessing the power of the Spring x Instagram Integration. Matt has set the highest record of Spring sales through selling on Instagram, but this is only the beginning. Get inspired by the full journey below and learn more about the integration.

Instagram Integration