The good news about email marketing: it’s an easy way to leverage data to better communicate with your customers and drive sales. The bad news? When you’re not actively adding new contacts to your list, you’re slowly losing them. (People opt-out of your communications, change email addresses, and abandon old accounts.) Even as you’re adding fresh emails, your overall list could be shrinking. That’s why it’s imperative to diligently collect contacts on an ongoing basis. These two guides are incrediblyRead more

Your brand is uniquely you. More than simply the accumulation of your designs or art, your brand is what makes you distinct—setting you apart from other artists in the marketplace. It’s what comes to mind when a potential customer thinks of your work. Whether or not you’re actively taking steps to mold and shape it, your audience responds and reacts to obvious (and nuanced) aspects of your brand’s online presence. New and longtime fans will base their perceptions about yourRead more

Promotions are one of the best ways to inspire customers to purchase from your Artist Shop. Seriously, as a consumer, we all love to save money where we can, and even a small deal is better than no deal. Below is a step-by-step guide covering four simple and easy ways to run a promotion in your Artist Shop! 1. Run a Sale for your Entire Shop From your Artist Dashboard, click on Adjust Your Prices from the Promotional Pricing window. That brings you to the GlobalRead more

It’s hard to imagine now how the Starbucks or McDonalds of the world ever had humble beginnings. But every business has to start somewhere. As the old, ancient saying goes, “started from the bottom, now we’re here.” Just like writers read to improve their craft, learning how apparel empires started can help your clothing brand. Here are 4 clothing brands that went from no-name to big-name: Jac Vanek, Johnny Cupcakes, Nasty Gal / Sophia Amoruso, and Life is Good. JacRead more

“It’s beginning to look a lot like sale season!” As crazy as it may have been to see Halloween decorations and even Christmas lights lining the aisles of Target in July, planning and starting sales a little early is a good idea. A study done by the National Retail Federation found that 40% of people shopping for holiday gifts start before Halloween, but an equal amount of shoppers start in November (woocommerce). But fall sales are also a great way to test your bestsellers, worstsellers, and to help youRead more

Building a T-Shirt Business: Week 3 Artist Shops is a platform associated with creatives, designers and artists, but it can be used for anything. What I’ll be attempting in this series is to build a t-shirt business from scratch within the limitations of 30 minutes a day. Expect a lot of hacks, automation, and stealing to get this done.  Read the rest of the series here:  Week One & Week Two Day Eleven Social Promotion It’s time to get a couple social media accounts created. I’m going toRead more

Building a T-Shirt Business Artist Shops is a platform associated with creatives, designers and artists, but it can be used for anything. What I’ll be attempting in this series is to create a new t-shirt business from scratch within the limitations of 30 minutes a day. Expect a lot of hacks, automation and stealing to get this done. Want to read the other parts? Week Two & Week Three Day One Brand Focus I’ve decided to focus on martial arts as a theme. I’veRead more

Now that everyone and their Grandma (and sometimes even their tech-savvy Great Grandma) has a smartphone with a camera in their pocket, everyone thinks they’re a photographer nowadays. Figuring out how to sell your photography online and offline in a world where there’s a seemingly unlimited amount of free photography is tricky. But don’t worry! There are many ways to get your photography noticed and sold – it just takes a little extra creativity. Here are 11 ways to sell your photography online andRead more

Nowadays, it’s next to essential to have an online shop for your product. It’s the best way to reach a wide audience and to build brand visibility. Not to mention, ecommerce platforms like Artist Shops allow you to order your own high-quality products at a big discount, which never hurts. But whether it’s in Urban Outfitters, a local street fest, or a sandwich shop, selling your products in real life is nice… it just may just seem kind of hard to approach. How to Sell Products in RealRead more

There are a ton of helpful ecommerce and marketing books out there. But you’re a busy artist growing their business, maybe growing your online store. You don’t always have time to sit down and read Ecommerce For Dummies. That’s where podcasts can come in handy. Podcasts allow you to multi-task, maybe make some art and tend to your shop, while you passively listen and get some amazing advice. If you want lots of ecommerce answers with none of the hours put into scouring through booksRead more

There was a story on This American Life about a band that got publicity…from a trick. The band, Ghosts of Pasha was new in the scene and was picked out by a group called “Improv Everywhere,” who wanted to give them the “best show of their lives.” The improv group showed up, pretended to be wild Ghosts of Pasha fans (despite the band being super new on the scene), and that was that. It seems like kind of a cruel trick to play, but when the news of this happeningRead more

Every creative dreams of being able to quit their day job to pursue their craft full time. And Zen Pencils creator (and Artist Shop owner) Gavin Aung Than managed to successfully trade his corporate design job to pursue his passion of cartooning. But while Gavin managed to turn his passion project into a successful career, his story is also humbling and realistic. It took more than simply posting a comic and gaining success – getting to where he is nowRead more