Category: Insights

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Insights

How to beat shipping cutoff dates this holiday season

We’ve got your back—here’s tips for getting the most out of peak season, while making sure fans receive their orders in time for Christmas.

This year, the holiday selling season is going to be huge. That’s why we’re working to make it run smoothly for you; we’ve sourced inventory to maintain stock levels throughout peak production and coordinated with delivery partners to confirm optimum shipping timelines—everything is in place to ensure your fans’ orders arrive on time for December 25th.  

But don’t let the cutoff dates hold you back, learn how to extend your selling period all the way through peak selling season. 

2021 Christmas delivery cutoff dates

Take note of the important dates below. Fans need to place orders for physical products (i.e. hoodies, t-shirts, water bottles, etc.) by the standard shipping date to receive their order in time for Christmas. After the standard cutoff date, they should select rush shipping at checkout to get their order in time for December 25th. Make sure to mention these dates as you’re promoting products to your fans—this can create a sense of urgency and help you drive more sales.

Don’t forget we’ll communicate estimated delivery dates to your fans at checkout, in order confirmation emails, and in order status updates—so they should be informed of their order status every step of the way. 

How to extend your peak selling period 

There’s lots of ways to max your profits from now through December 25th—and you get going now. There’s two ways: start running sales from now through to shipping cutoffs, then push your digital product promotion hard right up to Christmas.

Start running sales (like, now) 

It’s proven that offering a discount can increase sales by 60%. Don’t wait for Cyber Weekend—last year orders began to spike as early as November 1st. Start promoting those early bird discounts and extend your peak selling period ASAP. Learn how creators are running successful sales in our guide now. Also, don’t miss our Cyber Weekend Guide for more tips.

Create promo codes

Go digital for the holidays (what cutoff dates?)

Promoting digital products is the smartest way to keep profits coming in right up to 25th December. With instant delivery, there’s no shipping to worry about.

Already selling digital products? You can “holidize” them to put a new spin on a successful product. New to digital products? No worries, find digital inspo below, as well as free templates and tools. No design experience required.

What’s selling right now

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Creators Insights

How to Announce a Sale on Your Socials

So you’ve got your promo code, what’s next? One of the highest priority items on your to-do list: plan effective promotional content to get your community flocking to your store and filling up carts.

The key: use sample imagery

Creators who feature samples in their promotional content earn as much as 200% more profit on their products. @loudmouthpod (below) and her photoshoot collages—genius as always. Head to Canva and you’ll have access to hundreds of free social media post templates.

Make your promo code stand out

For fans to apply your discount, they’ll need to know which code to apply at checkout. Ensure you either include it in your promotional imagery or within your caption. @hellomynameiswednesday (above) draws attention to theirs by including it in their graphic.

Thank fans for their support

Running a sale is a great way to thank your community for their support. Check out this video content too, featuring samples (of course). Absolute promo goals from @explorerffectgear, who has thanked their followers in their caption.

Include details of your sale in your caption

Don’t want to come across too ‘salesy’ or disrupt the theme of your content? Include the details of your sale within your caption instead. Also provide a link directly to your product (important one). @ms.christinacosta is making great use of the Instagram integration below. If you don’t see the “Add Shop” button, be sure to embed your store within your Linktree. 

Your discount amount should be the boldest part of your promo content. You need to give your community a reason to purchase your products in this limited amount of time‑ state the percentage or amount of money they will be saving.

Last minute sale? No worries. Use typography.

We’ve used an example from our grid here. A promo post can be text based and still catch the eye of your fans. Plus, it looks great (and unmissable) on your grid. Create Instagram stories to go with it, and you’ll watch the sales roll in.

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Insights

Squad up: Team Jerseys have landed.

Calling all fitness fanatics, e-sports extraordinaires, or anyone with an engaged community. We’ve got product newness, available for all creators: Team Jerseys.

Drum up some team spirit for your fans with this fully customizable jersey. Create yours now via the link below—or keep reading to learn about product details and design inspo. 

Create a Team Jersey

Product details

Team Jerseys are built with quality and performance in mind. Why do we love them? 

  • Fully customizable: Apply your designs to the arms, back and front. 
  • Premium, 100% polyester wicks away sweat as you workout. 
  • Birdseye sleeves add extra breathability.
  • Super soft fabric makes them comfortable also for lounging around. 
  • With a base cost of $32, we recommend you sell your Team Jersey designs starting at $39.99. There’s plenty of opportunity for profit.

File formatting tips

Start putting your Team Jersey design together using the template linked below. Download the .psd file and find instructions. Find design formatting pointers here.

Template

Design ideas to get you started

Here’s a few design concepts to get you on the right track: 

  • Play the numbers game: Consider adding a number that’s significant for you and your fans. 
  • Add your branding: You might build your logo into the design, applying it to the sleeves, the main focus at the back of the jersey, or along the bottom. Think about using your social media handle as the main design element.

  • Use winning words: Is there a tag line you always use in your content, or an inside joke you share with fans, or a nickname for your community? Make it the focal point of your Team Jersey.
  • Choose popular colors: Feature your go-to color palette—maybe it’s colors you use often in your content or in your branding. 

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Insights

The Black Friday weekend road map

The secret to a monumental Black Friday weekend: plan a solid strategy. It’s not as overwhelming as it sounds—here, we’ll break it down for you. 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the biggest selling days of the year, and Spring is no different. Creators who offer discounts during this weekend can double their sales. 

Make sure you’re prepared for the Cyber weekend. So what does that mean?

First things first, get your holiday products designed and sample orders in by October 10th, so you can start promoting ASAP. Take note of the shipping cutoff dates too, so you can make sure fans receive their orders by Christmas. There’s three key tasks to remember:

  1. Fill out a content and sales calendar 
  2. Prepare promo codes
  3. Create promotional imagery

Create a calendar 

Content and sales calendars can be super helpful, as you might run multiple sales leading up to Black Friday (for example, you might do your sales in one burst the week before, or several pre-sales in the weeks leading up—or both!). Plus, it’s not only sales you’ll be planning, but also promo codes you’re offering, when you choose to promote them on social, and so forth.

We recommend having yours ready by November 1st. Here’s a free template:

Free content schedule template

Important dates 

NOVEMBER 11 – 25TH: Discounts for early birds
  • Build anticipation early with pre-sale benefits (like giveaways). 
  • Include hints about what is coming up, as well as run mini sales leading up to the Cyber weekend.
  • Run different promo types to the ones you plan to run during the Cyber weekend. E.g.  offer free shipping in the days leading up, then percentage discounts for your Cyber weekend sale.

NOVEMBER 26TH – NOVEMBER 30TH: Cyber Weekend
  • Black Friday (11/26): Make the biggest impact on socials. Share promo codes in your content and be sure to feature sample imagery. See how other creators do it here. 
  • Offer a percentage discount promo (ex. 15% off). Run it through Cyber Monday to maximize orders.
  • Cyber Monday (11/29): Highlight your newest digital products. You might add a bonus gift as part of your listing. I.e. a free bonus wallpaper.
  • Giving Tuesday (11/30): Thank fans for their support. Think giveaways, an extra special discount until the rest of the week, and more.

DECEMBER 1ST – 18TH: Thank fans with more promotions
  • Use the beginning of December to continue running other mini sales leading up to the shipping cut-off dates. 
  • From December 1st onwards is the prime time to start offering digital products. With instant delivery and no shipping or logistics to worry about, there’s every reason to create a variety of digital content. 

Preparing promo codes

Prepare your promo codes within the ‘Promotions’ section of your dashboard. Line up your promo codes in advance, and simply switch them on when you’re ready. Find out more about creating promotions here.

Promo codes can be applied to all of your products. You’ll need to ensure there’s enough profit margin to support the promo—no matter what product is being purchased. 

Create a promo code

Top holiday promo hacks

1) Create effective promotional content. Click the image below to see how creators are announcing their sales on socials. 

2) Feature samples. Creators who highlight samples in promotional content earn as much as 200% more profit from their products. Make sure you’re doing it too—find inspo here. Don’t forget to tag @springforcreators and use the hashtag #CreateShareEarn for the chance to be featured on Spring’s socials. 

3) Use free tools to create promos. Sign up with 20% off using Spring’s partnership with Placeit to create sale announcements. Canva is a great tool for creating eye-catching images to share on social media. There are hundreds of templates—just don’t forget to include the promo code, the dates your sale will run, and the discount type.

4) Use integrations. Make sure fans can find your products easily. Pair social content with a link straight to your listing. Present products underneath your videos using the YouTube Integration, or set up the Instagram Shopping Integration to begin tagging your products in posts (and more). Don’t have access yet? Start using the Linktree Integration, available to all creators right now.

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Digital Insights

Your go-to guide for the holidays

Some creators sell more during the holiday season than the entire year combined. Make this holiday season your most successful yet. 

It may seem a little overwhelming at first—but we’ve got you. Below, we’ve laid out key dates you can follow to put yourself in the best position possible. Here’s how.

1) Create a holiday product collection

We’ve found certain products sell especially well during the holidays. Here’s what’s been proven to sell the best (based on current trends and recent years):

  • Hoodies (and matching kids hoodies)
  • Premium Tees
  • Mugs
  • Stickers
  • All-Over Print Sweatshirts
  • Leggings
  • All-Over Print Unisex Joggers
  • Stainless Tumblers
  • Tote Bags 
  • Long Sleeve Tees
  • Bucket hats

Design your holiday collection

Spring’s Instagram grid is packed with design inspo, so head over to check it out. Also, don’t forget about all the free design resources available to you.

Aim to create your holiday product collection by October 1st. This will give you enough time to order samples, prepare your content schedule, and maximize sales over the next 3 months. Take note of the Christmas delivery cutoff dates for fans too, so no one misses out. Add new products to your collection just in time for the holidays, and add limited edition holiday designs.  

2) Order samples and x3 your sales 

Once you’ve finished creating, it’s time to promote. Best way: Ordering product samples. Creators who do so sell 3x more than those who don’t. 

That said, we’d recommend ordering your product samples by October 10. This gives you enough time for shipping, then for you to create your promo content. Flick through the samples guide to find out the best ways to use samples to promote your products.

Tag us (@springforcreators)in social content featuring your samples, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #createshareearn for the chance to be featured in our 2021 holiday campaign on Instagram and get more eyes on your brand ✨

Order samples

3) Prepare for Black Friday weekend

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the biggest online shopping days of the year. Creators who offer discounts during this weekend can double their sales. We suggest running sales during those days—creators who’ve done so in the past have doubled their sales. In that, you’ll want to schedule your sales by November 1st, so you’re ready to switch your promotions on in your dashboard when the time comes.

Ready to get started? Check out these tried and true tips for the Cyber weekend. Plus, check out our guide to running a successful sale.   

Prepare promo codes

4) Prepare your store for peak seasonal selling

We’ve got three quick ways to optimize your store for the season: 

  • Feature products in your store: these can get 20% more views on average.
  • Add your branding to your store: stores with custom branding see 35% increase in conversion rates. 
  • Customize your domain: creators with custom domains can sell up to 5x more on average than those who don’t. Also, when you set up a domain with us, you’ll automatically receive an SSL certification, making your store more search friendlier as well as more secure or fans.

We recommend doing all of this by November 1. If you need a good example, see @ashleyooacevedo’s top tips. 

Browse custom domains

5) Keep profits rolling until Christmas with digital products

Okay, we just threw a bunch of dates at you. One thing with a bit of flexibility is digital products. Since these don’t have to actually ship anywhere (fans download immediately), you have up until the holiday itself to sell these products. Ensure your digital products are added to your store ASAP, so you can start promoting right away. Go extra hard on promotions after Cyber Weekend.

Get fans excited with special promotions on holiday themed digital products. Include bonus products (e.g. a free wallpaper background) with their digital product purchase—this is a great way to boost your sales even more.

Find inspo for digital products to create for the holidays, and don’t forget, we’ve got free digital product templates you can download and customize here. 

Create holiday digital products
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Insights

Let’s talk samples

Congratulations on receiving your sample. Now, head out with friends, style them in your products, get snapping—the best way to send fans into a frenzy over your new collection (and increase sales).

So your sample has just arrived—this is the fun part. Paired with your expert content creation skills, they’re sure to increase sales. Like a lot.

Unboxing your sample

Get your community excited by capturing your sample unboxing moment. Once your box arrives, take pictures of yourself opening your package, or share a short video like @exploreeffectgear or @liannefrankel. Sharing teasers gets fans excited that something new is coming. Consider creating a countdown or giving fans a release date to build anticipation for your product launch.

Don’t forget to tag @springforcreators or use the hashtag #createshareearn for the chance to get featured on our Instagram grid. Click below to get started.

Share

Promote on social media

Creators who feature samples in promotional content can increase sales by up to 6x compared to those who don’t. Posting sample imagery on socials is an engaging way to create excitement around your collections. See how other creators are using their samples on our Instagram grid below.

Sample content inspo

Pair social content with a link straight to your listing. Present products underneath your videos using the YouTube Integration, or set up the Instagram Shopping Integration to begin tagging your products in posts (and more). Don’t have access yet? Start using the Linktree Integration, available to all creators right now.

Check out inspo from our top creators killing it on socials below.

6 ways to create content using samples

There’s no one way to create genius, eye-catching content. Our advice? Head to a beautiful spot (like the beach), and unleash some creative genius. You’ll have a blast, and sell some products. Win win. 

Once you’re done, tag us with the hashtag #CreateShareEarn. We’ll feature our favorite promo images on our Spring Instagram feed.

Try your hand at product photography

You don’t always need to be wearing or holding your products to show off the quality of your designs. Sometimes the beauty is in the details. @aestheticallyrica definitely has the right idea.

Show how fans can enjoy your products IRL

Feature your samples in a way that feels natural to you and the style of content your community loves seeing on your feed. Take for example @weretherussos, who put their die cut sticker on the back of their 4×4.

Create video content using your products

For YouTubers, it’s a no brainer. Wear your samples in videos. Instagram creators: videos get more engagement—It’s a known fact. @delta_of_phoenix is a shining example. Featuring samples in TikTok content is always a great way to inspire fans to purchase your products too. Don’t forget to have your Spring store accessible within your Linktree.

Get creative with your imagery

@ashleyooacevedo includes samples in almost all of her Instagram content. Check out how she has photographed her hoodie design and jazzed up her Instagram post with her own illustrative touches. Super cool!

Combine samples and online design templates to promote sales  

Just like @loudmouthpod has below. Hands down, the best way to shout about a promotion on your social media. Choose from hundreds of completely free post templates on Canva, including sample imagery.

Organize a giveaway contest

Samples make it easy for you to run giveaway contests on your social platforms. All you need to do is mail them to the lucky winner. Giveaways are a great way to thank your community for their support and boost engagement on your content.

We created an example using sample imagery below. Head to Canva to get started with yours.

Create a giveaway post

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Insights

3 ways to customize (and optimize) your store

Picture this: you walk into a store, you’ve seen hundreds before like it. Then you go next door—it has a distinct feel. There’s vibrant colors, a catchy name, cool artwork on the walls. Well, the experience with your Spring store is no different. 

A great looking Spring store not only streamlines your fans shopping experience, it compliments the products inside it—making visitors more likely to purchase products. In fact, customizing your store can increase your conversion rates by as much as 35%. 

Take graphic designer and creator Ashley Acevedo, for example. Recently, she has done a total makeover of her custom store. The tagline in her header image sums up the new look, as well as newly launched digital and physical products—it’s hardcore fun. To level up your store like Ashley, here’s the 3 ways to do it: 

  • Add a custom domain
  • Feature social media icons in your navigation bar and store footer
  • Enhance your brand with design customization capabilities

Choose a custom domain 

Connecting a custom domain bumps up your rankings on search engines, making it easy for fans to discover your store, as well as revisit it. 

Ashley knew she wanted her online moniker “ashleyooacevedo” in her domain name—the name she goes by online. That’s how she landed on the domain name ashleyooacevedo.fun— instantly making her products more discoverable. When choosing a domain extension, instead of ‘.com’, she got lucky with ‘.fun’—fitting perfectly with her brand’s slogan, ‘Hardcore Fun’. 

She tells us: “Since changing my domain name, I have seen a massive increase in sales. It really took my shop to another level and it feels so much more my own. My community also really love the catchy name.” 

You can get a custom domain instantly through Spring, or connect one you already own. It’s easy.

Connect a custom domain

Add social media icons

Your store should be an extension of your creator brand—so make sure there are pathways between your social media profiles and your store. With Instagram being her main platform, Ashley did exactly that, adding her Instagram profile link to her store navigation bar and footer. 

Add your social media URLs too, via the Stores tab of your dashboard. To get started, head to the store editor now.

Store editor

Customize your branding and colors 

The fun part—you have the ability to edit the appearance and update branded elements of your custom store with ease, giving you full creative control. Edit your store banner and footer, add a logo, text color, insert buttons, alter your navigation bar, and more. 

Ashley certainly had tons of fun updating hers: “I loved being able to add my own banner and branding! As a graphic designer, it’s really important to me to have my identity anywhere my audience can find me. It’s also super fun to customize my store to fit my style.”

Try it for yourself. Head to the “Stores” section of your dashboard and open up the store editor on the top right. 

We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Get started
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Insights

How Connor DeWolfe used Instagram to increase his orders by 60%

The passionate and viral content creator took advantage of Instagram’s shopping features—and has watched his earnings pile up.

Connor DeWolfe creates video content about living with ADHD. His skits are short, relatable, and pretty humorous, educating his fans on what it’s really like to live as a neurodivergent person (and reminding them to drink water). 

As Connor’s platform grew, he wanted to create merchandise too. So he made a bunch of products on our platform, including his now-popular “Bees in my head” design. 

Here was the issue. Connor’s product sales were doing well, but he wanted to reach even more fans. He also wanted fans to be able to find and buy his products without having to click through too many links.

That’s where the Instagram shopping integration came in. 

It was pretty simple. He hit “Add Shop” on his Instagram profile, and with that, he could tag his Spring products in posts, stories, and reels. Fans could seamlessly buy his merchandise right then and there. And sales skyrocketed.

Connor saw orders increase by 60.5% after integrating, with a 56.8% increase in profit.

“The Instagram integration has been a game-changer for marketing my products,” says Connor. “My followers can now see my store without going through a trail of links.”

Other creators can follow suit. Just hit “Add Shop” on your profile to integrate your store, and you’re good to go. If you don’t see that button, no worries—access is rolling this out gradually, so more creators will be eligible soon. For any questions, check out our FAQ page.

Add Shop

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Digital Insights

4 Hacks to promote digital products like a pro

Digital products are growing in popularity, and fast. Check out the most effective ways to promote and share yours using these tried and true promo hacks.

So you’ve added a digital product to your store, now it’s time to create promotional content and share it with your community. Follow these steps to start unlocking more sales now:

  1. Promote digital products using Spring’s social integrations.
  2. Feature digital products in your day to day social content.
  3. Demonstrate how fans can utilize your digital products with mockups and videos.
  4. Create incentives for fans to purchase your digital products. 

Your digital product promo checklist

1) Take advantage of Spring’s social integrations

Using platform integrations means fans can discover your digital products easily on your socials. You have access to the new  Linktree Integration right now—it enables you to embed your Spring store directly within your Linktree. If you’re eligible, you can use our YouTube Integration to display your digital product below your video content. Spring has tons of integrations available. See which ones you have access to below.

My integrations

2) Create social content featuring your digital product 

Prepare imagery or video content to showcase what your digital product can do. Nutritional Sarah created a recipe e-book and used imagery demonstrating the book can be read on an iPad. Wednesday Holmes created a printable coloring book, effectively featuring the printed sheets in an eye catching Instagram post. 

3) Use mock-up templates and video content to demo your product

To get going, you may need a few templates handy. Placeit has tons of mock-ups ready for you to insert your book covers, coloring sheets, planners, and more. We’ve collected some free ones for you below. 

Free mock-up templates

Include digital products in video content on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or IGTV. Not only does Sadie Aldis announce her iOS icon pack using YouTube content, she explains how fans can start applying her designs to their devices after download. If you’re using the YouTube integration, don’t forget to include your digital products in the merch shelf below your video too 😉

4) Incentives on social media go a long way 

Share discount codes, run a giveaway to kick off the launch, or include a bonus gift when someone buys your digital product (such as a digital wallpaper). See examples from Wednesday Holmes and Nutritional Sarah below. Run your incentives for a limited time to create a sense of urgency. Create an attention grabbing post on Canva to make it unmissable.

Ready to launch your own digital product? Get tips for creating your first one and be sure to check out the mock-up vault. Start uploading your product below. 

Launch a digital product

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Digital Insights

How to repurpose your existing designs into digital products

Looking to introduce digital products to your fans? It’s likely you already have everything you need. Pull your best-selling designs from the archives and keep scrolling to find out how to repurpose them into digital products.

It’s an easy win. Your community will be obsessed, and we’ve got just the tools you’ll need. We’ve collected the best examples from our talented creators so you can see just how effective the ‘reusing designs hack’ is. Not only will a digital/physical design collection look great on your store and compliment your brand, it will save you time.

Create a digital product

Re-formatting designs into digital artwork 

If you already have your design handy, we’d argue digital artwork is the easiest digital product to prepare and upload within minutes. Ashley Acevedo carries her design style consistently across all of her products, digital and physical. In the example below, the Not Afraid Of Dying t-shirt design works brilliantly as a piece of printable digital art too. Although Ashley is a digital artist, you don’t need to be a pro—if you fans love a design you’ve already launched, go for it.

All you’ll need to do is format your artwork or design file. The resolution needs to be at least 300dpi to allow for different print size options. It’s a great idea to provide several sizes (A5, A4, A3) in a zipped folder. Create the perfect listing image by using templates on Canva or VOUN. 

Encourage fans to color in your designs

Next, check this out. The Berry Sisters used the same Berry Logo hoodie design concept to create the Berry Best digital coloring book (see what they did there? 😉) Genius. 

Take your design, remove the color using free online tools (Pixlr or Gravit) or Adobe programmes such as Illustrator and Photoshop, and export your pages as PDFs. Fans can print out and customize IRL, or import your files into coloring apps such as Procreate, Pigment, or Colofy to color them digitally. 

Device customization 

Last but not least, Atomic Mari has the right idea when re-purposing her designs. Every successful physical product launch should mean a digital product collection to keep the hype going. We’re talking bundles—digital wallpapers for all devices, iOS icons, and widgets. 

Not only do these in-device design aesthetics look super cool, they mean fans will think of you and your content whenever they look down to send a text 🥺. If you’re uploading device customization products, be sure to bundle them together in a zipped folder and include instructions your community can follow after download. 

Want more ideas? Find your perfect digital product, as well as guidelines for formatting, pricing, and more via the Spring Digital Catalog. 

Or, start utilizing your designs right away and upload your products via the launcher. 

Upload a digital product