Marketing

12 Questions for SEM Analyst, Lindsey C.

July 21, 2017

If you’re not quite sure what SEM stands for, it’s OK. Spoonflower’s very own Search Engine Marketing Analyst, Lindsey, is here to help! When she’s not spending her time strategizing unique ways to get the word out about Spoonflower, she’s spending time with her two cats, Mike and El (and her husband!). Get to know one of Spoonflower’s newest team members in our next Meet Spoonflower interview.

Lindsey and her husband Thomas enjoy a trip to Blowing Rock, North Carolina | Spoonflower Blog

Check out that view! Lindsey and her husband Thomas enjoy a trip to Blowing Rock, North Carolina

The first thing I want you to know about me is: I handle paid search marketing for Spoonflower, and have been a happy member of the marketing team for five months! [Read more…] about 12 Questions for SEM Analyst, Lindsey C.

Meet the Maker: Annie Casale of WRAREDOLL

July 17, 2017

The first time we spotted one of Annie Casale’s adorable outfits on Instagram, we were immediately smitten (though to be fair, it’s impossible not to be.) Her company, WRAREDOLL, offers sweetly imaginative dresses, swimwear and more featuring Spoonflower designs. As the online store has grown, Annie recently opened a brick & mortar in her hometown of Vero Beach, Florida. Read more to see which quote she feels sums up the “can’t turn it off” mindset that many of us have!

My day starts with:

“My 2-year-old waking me up. A strong cup of coffee and checking messages. My husband and I get the girls and ourselves ready and off we go. During summer the girls come to our new store, so it’s challenging to get things done. Luckily we have great family and friends who help entertain them so we can actually get some work done.”

12 Days of Design: Day 12 Market Yourself

January 12, 2017

This is it! You made it to the end! You will find that your journey in surface design is never ending, as there’s always something new to learn and improve with every turn. That’s also what can be so rewarding about this creative pursuit. If you’re serious about sharing your designs with the world and not just making art but making art that sells, you need to get serious about marketing your work. It’s something all creatives feel a little weird about at first. “You mean you want me to promote…. myself?!” Yes! It’s extremely validating and rewarding to be able to earn compensation doing what you love, not to mention seeing the things others go out and create using your fabric.

Whether you’re entertaining the idea of creating surface designs full time, maybe starting a handmade business using fabric you designed yourself to make things, or if you’re well into a creative business venture already, all your hard work will be in vain if you don’t go the extra step to promote yourself and your body of work. Spoonflower makes it easier to be successful with things like commission bonuses, frequent payouts to your Paypal account, distribution on external platforms and more. Today on this momentous last day of the #12DaysofDesign series, we’ll explore exciting ways to benefit from selling your designs, effective ways to market yourself, and even how to build a physical portfolio you can take with you to expos and conferences. Let’s dive in!

the benefits of selling your designs on Spoonflower

Create your own shop and share your masterpieces with over 600,000 shoppers per month.

To get started selling the designs you’ve uploaded on our site, there’s no need to sign up or do anything differently, all you need is to make sure you are a verified seller on our site, and that your Paypal information is updated in your account. You can update that by logging in and clicking on “My Account” under “My Studio” and selecting the “Spoondollars” tab. Why sell? We’re glad you asked… [Read more…] about 12 Days of Design: Day 12 Market Yourself

Win a Blogging Book + Spoonflower Credit!

March 25, 2015

Today we're giving one lucky winner the chance to take home a copy of Blog Inc,:Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community. With roughly 95,000 blogs launched worldwide every 24 hours (BlogPulse), making a fledgling site stand out isn't easy. This authoritative handbook gives creative hopefuls a leg up. Joy Cho, of the award-winning Oh Joy!, offers expert advice on starting and growing a blog, from design and finance to overcoming blogger's block, attracting readers, and more. With a foreword from Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge plus expert interviews, this book will fine-tune what the next generation of bloggers shares with the world.

We're also throwing in a $50 Spoonflower gift certificate. Perfect for creating unique promotional materials for your blog or whipping up a project–excellent content for your first blog post!

Enter by Tuesday, March 31st, 2015 for a chance to win. The winner will be contacted via email on Wednesday April 1st.

ENTER NOW!

Academy of Handmade

March 24, 2015

Today we hear from Sharon Fain, co-founder of Academy of Handmade, a company dedicated to celebrating makers and recognizing those making a impact on the handmade economy. She shares how she got started plus tips and tricks for other creative business folks!

Sharon is the ultimate handmade supporter. She spends her professional life and free time working to celebrate and recognize outstanding makers. She runs her own public relations and communications firm, Right Brain PR, while working with business partner KC to expand Academy of Handmade's presence. She has been helping creatives with writing (having herself contributed to Design*Sponge), strategy and media relations since she was in college. Read on to hear more tips from Sharon for crafty business ventures and see how she used Spoonflower fabric for this year's Academy of Handmade award show!

[Read more…] about Academy of Handmade

Stitching a Business from a Hobby

March 21, 2015

Caitlin Topham, Spoonflower team member and the creative brains behind Salty Oat, visits the blog today to share how she started quilting and what it's like to embark on a creative venture!

Caitlin Topham, author of Salty Oat, started blogging about quilting in 2009 as a creative outlet, never expecting it may become a real source of income one day. Just a few years later she's selling her quilts in local shops and sourcing fabrics from around the world to sell in her online fabric shop! Read on for Caitlin's take on what it's like being a creative entrepreneur.

Chatting with Emily Sanford

March 17, 2015

This month, we’re exploring resources and opportunities for creative business folks. Today we sit down with Emily Sanford, a NYC-based artist who visits the blog to share how she stays inspired and provides tips for budding textile designers.

Emily Sanford started exploring surface design while pursuing her undergraduate degree in ceramics. The opportunity to explore textures and pattern opened her eyes to the world of surface design. Using watercolors as her medium, Emily creates a range of beautiful textiles. Here, Emily shares more about how she started designing textiles, where she hopes to take her surface design career and how she stays inspired.

5 DIYs for Organizing Your Workspace

March 16, 2015

Kick off a new week with a little workspace organization. We've rounded up five of our favorite DIYs to help you create a clean and tidy place for crossing off all the tasks on your to do list!

DIY Copper Desk Organizer | Burkaton

DIY Wood Shopping List Pad | The Merrythought

Free Office Printable | Inkstruck Studio

Get Your Day Organized | Create & Thrive

Printable To Do List | Designlovefest

7 Articles for Creative Entrepreneurs

March 2, 2015

Today we’re serving up advice and tips from creative business owners to aid in your own creative entrepreneurial journey. To get started, we’ve collected a handful of articles on topics from important business practices to creating a brand that reflects your personality. Start your week with fresh ideas and perspectives on how to get your crafty business up and running!

The Most Important Practice for a Creative Business Owner | Handmade Success

Your Blog Post Promotion Checklist | Handmadeology

How to Choose the Right Tool | Tara Swiger

Creating a Brand That Feels Like You | Braid Creative

10 Tips to Help Established Handmade Sellers Save Time and Improve Business | Create & Thrive

From the Corporate World to Being Your Own Boss–Interview with Amber of Red Tile Studio | Handmadeology

Five Reasons Every Designer Should Blog | Creative Market

Market Yourself March: Make Marketing Fun!

March 25, 2013

This week's Market Yourself March advice comes from Heather Dutton, of Hang Tight Studio. Heather shares her fun approach to marketing her creative business through colorful postcards, great goodie bags, and more!

If you're anything like me, the word marketing sends shivers down your spine. We're designers and artists, we'd much rather spend our time designing and being creative, right? Like it or not though, marketing is a vital part of running a successful business whether you're a big company or a small independent designer. It's easy to get lost in the sea of talented designers that are out there. You could be a design rock star, but if you don't market your amazing creations the only people who will know it are your friends and family. As wonderful as it is to have their support and encouragement, odds are it's not going to help grow your business.

It's easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to marketing your creative business. It's an industry all on its own and people major in it when they're in college for goodness sake! Since I clearly chose a different path by going to art school and spreadsheets make me break out in hives, I decided that first and foremost I needed to find a way to make marketing my business fun. If I'm not creatively inspired by what I'm doing and I'm not having fun doing it, then I'm definitely not going to stick with it.

When I opened my Etsy shop years ago I saw it as a perfect opportunity to let my customers know a bit more about me and my other creative endeavors. A new customer might not even know that I design fabric or that I run a creative business outside of my Etsy shop. Free samples and little treats make me absolutely giddy so I decided to create a little self-promotion goodie bag that I include with each of my Etsy orders.

My marketing budget is pretty small but I've found that a little investment goes a long way. One of the first things that I treated myself to was a custom rubber stamp for my design studio. It's an easy (and FUN) way to add your logo to just about anything. Another fun and affordable way to get your name out there is to create small stickers for your business. Moo.com is a great resource, especially since they allow you to have a variety of designs within one order instead of being limited to just one image.

My goodie bag includes a variety of little treats that all get tucked inside a small muslin bag that I've stamped with my logo. It's a little bundle of Hang Tight Studio fun and it changes whenever I have something new that I want to promote.

One of the newest additions to my goodie bag is a small swatch sampler that I created to help spread the word about my Spoonflower shop. Fabric is such a tactile product and I thought this would be a fun way to show people how amazing Spoonflower fabrics really are.

All of the little details add a personal touch when you're connecting with customers and they don't require a massive budget, just a little bit of time. Be creative, keep a notebook to jot down marketing ideas when they pop into your head, create a Pinterest board for inspiration, find a method that works for you and above all else, make sure you're having fun!

Heather's Website
Heather on Spoonflower
Heather on Facebook
Heather on Pinterest
Heather on Instagram

About Heather Dutton

Heather Dutton started her freelance / licensing design adventure in 2000 after a successful career as a fashion designer in San Francisco. Under the studio name Hang Tight Studio (www.hangtightstudio.com) she creates designs & surface illustrations for a wide variety of companies including Pottery Barn, Ore' Originals, Tupperware & DENY designs. She's obsessed with pattern, crazy about color, slightly addicted to Pinterest & has seriously love for the color green.