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Introducing SpringMark: Protect your profits from copycats

Design theft in the creator commerce space is a real thing. Your creativity is your livelihood, so it’s important to protect it from copycats.

Subscribe and sit back while SpringMark asset protection technology scans 34 popular marketplaces for your content.  

Now, you’ve got a secret weapon to help ensure all search engine traffic (and profit) goes to you and your store. See a summary of the benefits below: 

  • Earn what’s yours, avoid losing $10+ whenever a copy of your product is sold
  • Safeguard your brand and protect fans from low-quality, copycat products
  • Save time searching for copies of your designs across the internet

How SpringMark works 

By signing up to SpringMark’s monthly subscription, you can protect all the listings on your store. We’ll send you weekly reports, as well as real time alerts as soon as we detect any potential copies. If we don’t find any problematic uses of your design, happy days. If we do, you’ll be able to review and report content using quick links provided. 

Got any questions? See our most popular FAQs. 

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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.

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.

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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.

Categories
Digital News

Now, creators can sell on Apple’s App Store with Spring

Create with Spring, sell on the App Store. It’s all about connecting digitally—so we’re removing barriers for creators like you to expand the reach of your brand and tap into new products and platforms.

We’re excited to announce iMessage Stickers as the first digital product Spring creators can sell on Apple’s App Store. Since the initial beta release, many creators have seen fans go wild for this new product. One creator in particular even made it into the UK’s top trending app charts (more on that below). 

Giving you the ability to share your digital content using innovative tools and channels means it’s easier than ever for you to stay current in the creator space. Spring’s CEO, Chris Lamontagne, says: 

By integrating with Apple’s App Store, we are able to build a brand new paradigm for creators, offering creatives a new way to interact with their community of fans and followers digitally. This addition has been created following Spring’s aim to start setting future digital trends within the creator economy.” 

In a constantly evolving creator commerce world, iMessage Stickers mean you can expose your products in spaces you haven’t before—even off social media. First, they’re an affordable option for fans to engage with and support you. Second, they’re a fun way to create a network effect. 

We’re rolling out access to iStickers on a case by case basis, once you’ve gained access we’ll notify you via email. Until then, let us know you’re interested in this exciting new product using the form below.

Comic book creator and illustrator @SiberianLizard  is one of Spring’s most recent iMessage Sticker success stories. After adding her first sticker pack to the App Store, she immediately sold over 100 sticker packs in just 7 days. Her digital product reached No.1 in the UK charts, and ranked #14 on the Top Paid iMessage app list. How’s that for brand exposure? Following Siberian Lizard’s huge success, she’s currently working on her second Sticker Pack.

This is just the beginning. Soon, we’ll be inviting creators to try out this new way of selling, and we’re looking forward to seeing the impact it has on their brand and communities. 

Sound good? Let us know if you’re interested below.

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.

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Digital

Unlock sales in 2022 with fresh digital products

Get fans back to your store in 2022 with digital products—here’s some ideas to get you going.

Use the popular digital products below to springboard your success in 2022, and take advantage of the free templates—you’ll be off to a flying start. 

Get organized

All creators have one thing in common—the need to keep organized. Content creation and community engagement is demanding while balancing everyday life, so why not share your secrets to productivity with your fans? We’re talking 2022 planners, to-do lists, meal planners, daily organizers, etc. You could launch a complete pack of planning resources for fans to use. 

Head to Canva to create your own collection. You can get access to 1000’s of free templates, just add your creative touch. 

Level up skills 

For creators who are niche content or are a pro in something special—this year, give your fans exclusive, inside knowledge. Think about your strengths, then create a digital product so fans can learn them too.

For example, @gozitv helps fans to stretch by presenting 4 different techniques to loosen up. New Barns Languages teaches their fans the basics of the Japanese language. Collect the content you have already and build a guide on Canva for free. 

Try something new

For bloggers, vloggers, or any creator who documents their experiences: Lots of fans will make up for  lost time when it comes to exploring new places in 2022. @paddydoyleofficial has launched a series of e-books that follow his favorite places in Thailand as he discovers them. YouTubers Alex and Amy (KiteVanMan) have launched e-book guides on how to earn while travelling, as well as how to convert a van into a home on wheels. 

Encouraging self care

Self care—an important topic for creators and fans alike. There’s a range of different digital products you can launch to aid your fan’s wellness journey; journals, e-book guides, audio files, and more. All Day I Eat Like a Shark (brilliant) is making Veganuary easier with Japanese plant based recipes, Emma Mcadam offers a Mental health check-in journal, and Sapien Medicine is offering meditation audio files. 

Head to the free templates linked above to build a guide or e-book, or learn more about creating audio files below.

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Uncategorized

Run a sale

Time to generate some hype around your new product. How about creating an incentive? Offering a discount can increase sales by 60%. See your next steps below.

  1. Create a promo code in the Promotions tab of your dashboard. 
  2. Create content with your product and promo code.
  3. Be sure to include links to your store
  4. Create urgency and run the sale for limited time only

Watch this video to see how to create promo codes instantly in your dashboard.

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Uncategorized

Activate integrations

Seamlessly promote your products with Spring’s social integrations. Make your products discoverable and accessible in fun and engaging ways. Start with Linktree and set it up in minutes.

Our advice?

  1. Activate Spring’s social integrations 
  2. Create engaging content
  3. Use integrations to link your products

See how @workforyourbeer promotes products with  Spring’s Social Integrations.

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Uncategorized

Share with fans

Creating a product is the first step. Now it’s time to share product newness with fans. Create engaging promotional content by featuring samples of your products. Show them off. Chat about them. Take photos. Create some hype.

Our advice? 

  1. Order samples of your product
  2. Announce your launch on social media
  3. Include links to your product
  4. Share, and share again

Check out examples of @ashleyooacevedo’s promotional posts on Instagram.

By featuring samples in your content, you’ll be 6x more likely to get a sale compared to those who don’t. See how @workforyourbeer does it below.

Categories
Creators Digital Insights News

Spring’s best bits—2021 roundup

It’s been a privilege to watch our exceptional creators and partners grow, evolve, and succeed in 2021. Let’s reflect on the best bits. 

With over 8 million Spring creators, spread over 120 different countries, and a mindblowing 16+ billion fans—there’s a lot to celebrate this year. Thank you for your hustle, we’re glad to have supported and grown with you. Read on to see our top 10 moments of 2021 (and some 2022 sneak peaks). 

The Spring brand

Teespring becomes Spring 

The end of 2021 marks the end of our first chapter as Spring. Our evolution from Teespring to Spring in February 2021 solidified our pledge to supporting you, our creators. With 2,400 people joining our platform every day—this was an exciting time. Since then, together, Spring has been an unstoppable force in carving the way for future creator commerce.

8 million creators milestone

To finish 2021 on a celebratory note, we said a big thank you to you. Spring’s CEO, Chris Lamontagne, said:

“I am humbled to announce there are over 8,000,000 creators on the Spring platform. Together, we’ve created moments so magical, they go beyond followers and likes—thank you, for allowing us to share in the joy you bring fans all over the world”. Moving the party to Instagram stories, Spring creators shared their most memorable moments, using the “Add Yours” sticker. 

Creator success

The Moriah x Rubik’s cube collab

Spring’s product offering continued to evolve in 2021. There’s one brand collaboration that specifically stands out: in March, creator Moriah Elizabeth announced a surprise, never-been-done-before product launch: a fully customized Rubik’s cube. It was the first-ever collaboration between a creator and Rubik’s, and generated an enormous response, becoming the most successful product Moriah has ever launched.

Matt Meagher—40K in a day

We saw unbelievable success over the holiday season when Instagram announced they would be giving creators 100% profits for all products sold through Instagram checkout. Matt Meagher: got the memo and gave it a try. After sharing one post on Instagram and tagging his new hoodie design, he made $40,000 in a single day—keeping every single cent. 

Product feature updates

New creator tools 

We brought you tools to help power your success and enhance your brand. As well as giving store customization a full revamp, we also added custom domains. Ever since, you’ve reaped the benefits. To name just a few; products featured in custom stores got 20% more views on average, conversion rates increased by up to 35%, and those with a custom domain sold 5x more. 

Improving the Spring platform

This year, we focused our efforts on changing the look and feel of the Spring platform. Focusing on the overall design, we made the experience cleaner for you to navigate. You can now choose and order samples in one swoop, manage your payouts and subscriptions in one place, and continue to create products with ease. We also refreshed the checkout process, introduced brand new sample boxes, plus added Afterpay for fans at checkout. The best part: there’s much more to come in 2022, so keep an eye out.

Partnerships and integrations

The Instagram Integration 

We’ve armed you with everything you need to engage your fans and promote your products natively within your creative content—but in June, we levelled up Instagram creators with long awaited Shops on Instagram. 13,000 creators now have access to the powerful product tagging features. 

Linktree

In June, we proudly partnered with Linktree, the leading link-in-bio platform. With this, you were able to give fans the ability to browse your products or head to your full Spring store—all from your Linktree in your social media bio. Seamless shopping for them, tons of new traffic for you. Since then, most Spring creators are still utilizing this powerful integration.

INFLCR

In August, Spring partnered with INFLCR to establish Spring stores for NCAA athletes. This was a huge moment: Empowering the next generation of sports stars to become creators in their own right, harnessing their direct relationship with fans and nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit. The innovative partnership gave athletes easy, compliant access to Spring’s platform, where they could build their own store and engage with fans. 

Expanded products

Digital products take off 

Spring is the #1 platform to sell digital products. With 600% sales growth since January, there’s now over 65,000 digital creators transforming their content into downloadable assets (88,000 digital products, to be specific). You’ve blown us away with your ingenuity; DIY creators have shown up with pop-up shed manuals, basketball champions have taught fans to jump higher with digital guides. We’ve seen meditation audios, 3D printing files, ferret feeding e-recipes and downloadable cheese making courses. 

NFTs arrive

Alongside the unprecedented growth of digital products, in May, we added NFTs to the mix. Sapien Medicine became the most successful digital creator ever on Spring. In fact, they’ve seen a 38% increase in profits since expanding beyond just physical products. Sapien offered a range of digital art and audio file NFTs, and racked up $50,000 within two minutes of the exclusive drop, selling out. Keep posted for more—NFT’s will be available to more creators in 2022.

Tapping into accessories 

This year, we aimed to give you a variety of trending new products, focusing on accessories. From bucket hats to wine tumblers, pint glasses to Airpod cases, and black mugs to backpacks—you’ve been busy creating all of them.

AS Colour 

Along with the rebrand announcement in February, we came through with a product quality overhaul. Along came AS Colour, a roaring success with all Spring creators ever since. From material, feel, appearance, optimal surfaces for printing, and long lasting quality, AS Colour products have lived up to expectations. 

So what’s next? Looking to 2022

There’s lots more to come. A few updates we’re looking forward to; rolling out a fresh new look for the platform, technology to protect your designs, expanding accessibility to NFT’s, and more. We’re excited to have a fully refreshed look next year. We’re excited to explore new ways to revolutionize creator commerce, our hope is that you will continue to grow alongside us in 2022.

Happy New Year, Spring creators ✨