With comics becoming more mainstream and more alternative comics being sought out, it’s a good time to be in the industry. No longer are comic conventions tiny, niche, intimate gatherings – now, they’re full of A-listers and attract hoards of crowds. They’re the new cool and it’s more important than ever to learn how to promote your comic book or webcomic. 5 Ways on How to Promote your Comic Book 1. Crowdfunding TO PROMOTE YOUR COMIC BOOK Don’t underestimate the power ofRead more
How to Network With Other Artists
Imagine this – you’re waiting at a bus stop with a couple other folks, super tuned into your Spotify playlist, and as you look toward the direction of the bus, you spot a person doodling in their notebook as they wait. You tap them on the shoulder, compliment their style of illustration, get into a conversation about your favorite illustrators, and this conversation carries onto the bus. Cue the business card swap as they get off the bus at theirRead more
Tips to Create Effective Promotions
There’s more to creating effective promotions than just getting a wacky inflatable tube man…especially since we’re talking about online shops here, so wacky inflatable tube man will probably not help you. There are a lot of factors you might want to think about – type of sale, how much you can afford to discount an item (literally), planning out sales and promoting them on social, factoring in how much you have to make to break even with that wacky inflatable tube manRead more
4 Ways Pins & Patches Could Help
Whether or not you keep up with fashion trends, pins and patches are a fun trend to keep up with. And they’re super in right now. Maybe it’s because the ’90s are coming back with a vengeance. Maybe it’s just because they’re cute and fun. Maybe it’s because you can drop $10 on a pin and your wallet won’t feel guilty for it. Whatever the reason, patch-turned-tee artist Dano Brown (Danobanano) said it best when he told me: “I think that theresRead more
How to Show Product on Your Homepage
One of the most important things we think about when adding cool new features to Artist Shops is that we want your shop to be super customizable, and that the actual process of customizing is super easy. Because that’s the whole point of Artist Shops – to make your lives a little more hassle-free so you have more time to make great art! One thing we kept hearing is that people wanted to be able to customize their homepage a little more, like being able toRead more
How to Make a Transparent PNG
Knowing how to promote your online store, use social media in a creative way, etc. are all important parts of an eCommerce business. But sometimes it’s good to just start with the most basic of the basics in apparel design. So let’s start with a tutorial on how to make a transparent PNG of your design. We touched on this a little bit in our post, “How to Get Your Designs Print-Ready,” but if you’re a visual learner, sometimes it helpsRead more
What’s Tara McPherson and Parlor Tattoo Print’s Secret?
It’s easy to look at the social media accounts of artists who have hundreds of thousands of followers and go, “they’re just awesome…that’s it, that’s their secret.” But even the biggest artists had to put a lotta work in to get their art noticed. Sure, skill and making good art is part of it. But those followers were earned – not magically gained. And once that following is gained, if you don’t give followers a reason to stay a fan? ThenRead more
How Google Analytics Can Help You
“Google Analytics” is kind of one of those terms we throw around a lot, but still don’t understand. Kind of like the Cloud. We all talk about the Cloud all the time, but do we really know what it is? Before showing you how to sign up for Google Analytics, let’s talk a little bit about what Google Analytics actually does and why it’s an important tool. WHAT IS IT? Google Analytics is very basically a tool that gives you moreRead more
How to Support a Political Movement with an Online Store
Online stores like Artist Shops can be used for a lot more than just an artist selling their personal work. You can get creative with them by opening an Artist Shop that sports team apparel (see what I did there) or sells designs that support a cause. And one of the clearest examples of that that we have in Artist Shops is “Bernie Threads.” You no doubt recognize the design of the “Not Me, Us” Bernie Sanders poster design thatRead more
What is SEO and How do You Use it?
Whether or not you’ve heard the three-letter-‘word’ “SEO,” there’s one question we can all relate to: “WTF is SEO…” SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Which also kind of begs the same question: “wtf is search engine optimization?” Search engines like Google and Bing have always been tools to gauge the popularity of sites. SEO kind of leaves a trail of crumbs for ants to follow, if you will, or a trail of Reese’s Pieces for ET – it sets up a path for searchRead more
How to Get Press Around Your Online Shop
The process of getting press around your shop is such a double-edged sword. On the one hand, in the world of publications? There are so many options! On the other hand, there are so. many. options… It’s one thing to even just filter which publications would be the best ones to cover your shop and you as a designer. It’s a whole ‘nother thing to, y’know…get them to actually do that. Here are some tips for how to figure out what publications to contact, how toRead more
How to Deal With Trolls
The saying “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” is sooo 20th century. Because nowadays it’s more like, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, open your computer and say it online.” The internet can be an awesome place for people to connect, share ideas, and get traction for their product. But be warned: here be monsters. When it comes to social media, you want people to happily, helpfully, constructively comment on and share your stuff, toRead more