Categories
News

More than a milestone; what 8 million creators really means to Spring

Creators have revolutionized the nature of commerce, and we’re honored to share this journey with them, and our partners.

We are humbled to announce there are over 8,000,000 creators on the Spring platform. Together, we’ve created moments so powerful, they go beyond followers and likes.

As of today, Spring serves almost 20% of the creator commerce market. Our creators represent over 120 different countries, and a mind blowing 16+ billion fans. It’s been a privilege to watch our exceptional creators and partners grow, evolve, and succeed alongside us. To celebrate this milestone, we are looking back on our most pivotal moments.

The evolution of Spring

Although we were founded in 2012, our first step towards becoming the world’s leading creator commerce platform started with YouTube in 2018. Up until that point, we put the “tee” in “Teespring”…but we knew we had much more to offer. 

In June 2018, our exclusive partnership with YouTube was announced; the Merch Shelf. This was a huge moment for both Spring and creators—the first integration of its kind. Creators immediately reaped the benefits of this partnership. In the same month, Joshua Slice launched a pre-order plushie of Lucas the Spider, a popular character from his YouTube channel. Joshua ended up selling over $2,000,000 worth of plushies in 39 days. Since then, a staggering 1,380 other creators have each earned over $100,000 by selling their Spring products through our YouTube merch integration.

After our YouTube integration, more partnerships followed. Now Spring offers powerful integrations with Linkree, Instagram, Twitch, Discord, Streamlabs, Facebook Gaming, and TikTok—we’ve armed you with everything you need to engage your fans and promote your products, natively within your creative content. 

Spring’s product offering continued to evolve as well. We went from a simple apparel platform to offering bespoke products, facilitating brand collaborations for creators, and much more. Breaking into digital products was another monumental moment for us and our creators alike.

Combined with our social integrations, digital products are driving new creator success stories daily. We have been blown away; 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, cheese making courses, and mind-blowing NFTs just to name a few.  

Lastly, our evolution from Teespring to Spring in February 2021 solidified our pledge to supporting our creators. We’re approaching the end of year one in our new chapter as Spring, and with 2,400 people joining our platform every day—there’s no doubt we’ll work to become the best creator commerce platform out there. 

Looking to the future

As we continue to explore new ways to revolutionize creator commerce, our hope is that our creators will continue to grow alongside us, fueling passions and reaching their full creative potential.

So today, as we pass 8 million creators on the Spring platform, we humbly share this one simple message to our partners and creators: thank you.  

Categories
Digital

Sleigh the holidays with digital products: instant delivery, inspo, plus freebies

Over the coming weeks, take advantage of digital products. Don’t miss out on the chance to make bank right up to December 25th with instant delivery.

Tons of creators have already started. See 9 examples of best selling digital products we spotted this season. Also, try out the free templates we’ve provided.

Digital recipe e-books

There’s no better way for you and fans to share festivities than cooking together. Nutritional Sarah came through with her December recipes, The Cheese man got his fans craving dairy, and Alexandre Boulanger jotted down her favorite Cake marbré tarte. Delicious.

Collate your best home-made treats for the season and create a downloadable PDF using the Canva e-book builder below.

Free e-book templates

Digital gifting ideas

Gone are the days of nervously waiting for shipping. Perfect for last minute fans searching for the perfect gift—digital products are delivered instantly. 

Top of our wish list: Simons Cat’s 2022 digital planner, Bhooked’s cable knit hat guide, and Deliberately Creative’s festive coloring book. Get access to free templates below. 

Winter photo filters

Great for all creators with camera-happy fans. After download, they can apply your photo enhancement settings to their own images with a simple download. See Ali Gujjar’s Alaska preset.

If you want to create your preset from scratch, you might lower the saturation, apply a retro grain effect, or play with the exposure. Checkout our Preset guide for more tips. Otherwise, we’ve got free presets you can download, customize, and sell below.

Download free presets

Digital DIY guides

Join other creators in selling guides to keep fans busy over the holidays. Cooper Jason set the bar high. Ever wondered how to build a Christmas tree shaped shelving unit? Well now his fans do, with this PDF Christmas display plan. The Outsider walks you through how to create a pop-up-cabin. 

Got anything up your sleeve? Head to Canva below to create one for free.

Free guide templates

Festive audio files

If you’re a music artist, producer (or just have a knack with sound), consider selling audio files. Sell limited edition albums for your fans to listen to while they enjoy the festivities. Take for example Miss Linky, who offered a Christmas Concert Song.

Upload audio files
Categories
News

Introducing Afterpay: Giving fans freedom at checkout

Buying your products just got easier. We’re announcing an exciting new payment method to help make this holiday season your most profitable yet. Give fans the freedom to buy now and pay later—while you get paid immediately. 

Afterpay is the first step towards Spring’s evolution towards one-click, headless checkout for the creator economy. Watch this space for additional updates as Spring becomes the preferred destination for social commerce transactions across the web. 

How it works 

Afterpay makes it possible for you to buy something now, receive your goods, and pay them off later. It’s similar to a credit card, but with Afterpay, there is no interest or cost as long as fans pay off their balance on time. To use Afterpay, all you have to do is create an account and you can start using it as a payment method at checkout. 

Why fans love it

Afterpay enables Spring to offer a ‘buy now, pay later’ option to your shoppers. So what does that mean? Your fans no longer have to spend time entering payment details at checkout—nor enter into traditional loans, pay upfront fees, or interest if they don’t have the money on hand. Afterpay is completely free for customers who pay on time, plus, there’s even the option to split payments over 4 installments. 

Why creators love it

Afterpay can help increase the number of fans purchasing your products, the amount of money they spend, and the likelihood they’ll be back for more. 💰 

  • Some creators have seen conversion rates (fans purchasing products) increase by as much as 22%.  
  • Because Afterpay maximizes fans’ purchasing power, order values (the amount fans spend) has increased by as much as 40% in some cases.
  • Also, data shows fans who checkout using Afterpay are more likely to become repeat shoppers.  

Afterpay in action

There’s nothing needed from you—Afterpay automatically appears as a payment option during checkout for all shoppers located in the U.S. See what the checkout experience looks like for fans below. 

Now, it’s time to get fans to checkout… The most powerful way to do that over the holiday season: Create promo codes and announce your sales on socials. Head to your dashboard below to get started. 

Create promo codes
Categories
Creators Insights

$40k in one day: How Matt Meagher sold 700+ Spring hoodies with Shops on Instagram

When Matt Meagher learned he could earn 100% profit on all Spring products sold through his Shop on Instagram, he got to work. Fast forward 24 hours—and now he’s $40,000 richer.

Creator Matt Meagher, otherwise known as MMG (Madden Mobile Gods), built a passionate  community on YouTube around the popular sports video game ‘Madden Ultimate Team’. 

On November 2nd, Spring announced creators would earn 100% profit for each sale made through their shop on Instagram. Matt saw the opportunity and grabbed it:

“100% Profit is honestly insane. Nobody can compete with that, and it makes me feel so much better about releasing a high quality product to my fans.”

After launching his ‘Dialed In’ merch on Spring, he ordered samples, took photos, and shared them with his community. Using Instagram’s powerful shop features, Matt tagged his products in stories and posts so fans could easily discover his products right within the app. 

In just 24 hours, he sold 728 hoodies and earned over $40,000 in profit.

“The seamless integration makes the purchase incredibly easy for my fans. They don’t even have to leave the app. Easier for them, easier for me, it’s a win-win.”

Matt continued to promote his products on Instagram, bringing in over $75,666 in just five days. This is just the beginning, and we can’t wait to see what he does next. 

It’s your turn now. Check your eligibility by heading straight to the app below and start winning over the holiday season. Plus, U.S. based fans will enjoy free shipping (up to $15) on all Spring products sold through your shop on Instagram until December 31, 2021. What are you waiting for?

Check your eligibility

Categories
Uncategorized

Spring & Instagram launch 100% profit payouts for creators during the holiday season.

Spring and Instagram are expanding access to Shops on Instagram to 350,000+ US creators, just in time for the holiday season. From today, they can earn 100% profit on all sales driven through the shop integration until December 31, 2021.

This unprecedented move means that creators will earn more than ever before: if a creator sells a hoodie for $40, they will keep all $40. This initiative will support creators even further as they ramp up sales in upcoming weeks—using powerful promotional tools like tagging products in posts, stories, reels, and more.

The initiative spearheaded by Spring and Instagram, is intended to further accelerate the creator economy for both aspiring and established creators. Historically, we’ve seen many make more sales during the holiday season than the entire year combined, so we’re looking forward to seeing this groundbreaking opportunity benefit thousands.

Categories
Uncategorized

New black mugs: tips for nailing your design

We’ve added black mugs to the launcher—but there’s a few differences you should know when creating your design.

Long-awaited black mugs are here. Read through the tips below to make sure your design looks exactly as you imagined. 

The printable area 

Let’s start by explaining how it works. The entire mug is black, but the actual printable area is white. During the sublimation process, the white sublimation area is filled with your artwork, and the “negative” areas of your design will be printed black to match the mug.

Use an off-white color palette 

If there are white elements in your design, those areas will not have any ink applied. They’ll be treated as ‘empty’, meaning the white printing area will show through instead. Ideally, you don’t want this—ink may also bleed into the white background area. If you have white in your mug design, we recommend making it off-white, rather than a true white color.

Keep it simple 

Since any negative space on your design will be filled with black ink, intricate prints may appear less crisp due to bleeding from the black ink. Keep your design bold and simple—this way, it will look more effective once printed. 

Design effect don’ts 

Also, we know it’s tempting, but refrain from applying effects when preparing your design. It won’t look great when applied to your mug and will often degrade the quality of your print. Examples of these effects might include: 

  • Drop shadows
  • Spray paint effects or gradients 
  • Low opacities—stick to 50% or higher

Avoid designs with straight edges 

If you can, try and avoid using designs with perfectly circle or square shapes. They may look warped when placed on a round, cylindrical product like a mug.

That’s everything you need to create a 10/10 design. Head to the launcher below to start. 

Create a black mug

Categories
News

Creators are earning 100% profit with Shops on Instagram

Instagram is rolling out access to Shops on Instagram to 350,000+ creators just in time for the holiday season. Creators can earn 100% profit on all sales driven through the shop integration from now through December 31, 2021. 

Eligible creators can earn up to a total $50,000 in bonus profit—sell a hoodie for $40, and keep all $40. Need we say more? It’s time to ramp up sales and make bank. Once you’ve set up your shop, you can use powerful promotional tools like tagging your products in posts, stories, reels, and more.

You can check your eligibility for this integration at any time. Head to the Integrations section of your Spring account to learn more.

Check eligibility

How will creators earn 100% profit for shop sales with Spring? 

This initiative is spearheaded by Spring x Instagram and is intended to further accelerate the creator economy for both aspiring and established creators. During the 2021 holiday season, creators will earn 100% profit through their shop on Instagram from November 1st until December 31st. Every creator can earn up to a total value of $50,000 in bonus profit during this time. 

When do creators receive their bonus profit?

Bonus profits from shop sales will be paid within the first 10 business days of the following month. For example, a shirt has a base cost of $10 and is sold for $25; the creator will immediately receive $15 in their Spring account, and the remaining $10 will be paid as the bonus profit at the start of the following month.

Where can creators see their bonus profit amount? 

Bonus profit will be visible within the Payouts section of your Spring account. Bonuses will appear as a credited amount titled “2021 Instagram Creator Commerce Incentive Program Bonus.”  

If you’re not eligible yet, no worries. There’s plenty of ways you can make this holiday season your most profitable. See some tried and true tips for you below. 

Instagram promo tips
Categories
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

Categories
Uncategorized

Get more personalization and 3x your sales with custom product images

If you’re here, you’ve received an exclusive invite for our new service: custom product imagery.

There’s something magic about seeing products in the wild. That’s why we’re offering custom product images for select creators. But don’t delay, this is a limited time service. You have until November 10 to submit custom product images for this round of beta testing. Learn how to get started. 

How it works is simple:

  • Order a product sample
  • Take a photo
  • Submit to our team (you can send up to two images)
  • Rake in the sales

So far, we’ve seen several creators who’ve added custom product images triple their sales. If you haven’t ordered a product sample, you can learn how here. It’s pretty simple. 

Also note: We’ll keep all your “flat lay” images so fans can see what your product looks like.

Tips for taking product photos

There’s just a few ground rules you should follow.

  • Use real photos you’ve taken. Stock images will not perform well—your fans want to see you in your custom images.
  • Only submit PNG or JPEG file types. We cannot accept other file types e.g. HEIC
  • You can submit up to two custom images, photos must feature the same product and color option. We’ll keep two of the original product mockups so fans can clearly see what products look like.
  • Show your design clearly. If your design is featured on the front of your hoodie, make sure you’re facing the camera. Make sure your brand (and not any others) are the main focus of your images, too, and not being obscured.
  • Focus on photo quality. Take your photographs in a brightly lit area and ensure your photo is in focus. 
  • Do not alter or add filters. This may cause the colors of your auto-generated flat-lay image to differ from your custom product image. 
  • Send in a square image. We recommend 1000 x 1000 pixels.

Get started below.

All we need is the following: 

  • Your image file 
  • URL of the listing you’d like customized
  • If there’s more than one product in your listing, specify which one you’d like updated
  • Your Spring email

Get started

Categories
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.