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Okay, let's kick off this week's challenge by announcing last week's winner! Drum roll...... It's
Malaika Burley
!!! You win the $100 in free merch! (We'll follow up with you.)
Malaika is currently on an inspiring weight loss journey which she's chronicling on her Youtube channel. Check her out here. 🙌
This week's challenge: Launch a NEW design and promote it!
Maybe you thought you were going to just launch a shop, throw up one design and be done with it? No, no, no! That is not the way.
Are you having trouble finding designs or making designs? Stuck? Here's a quick pro-tip. You can use a free app on your phone to make shirt designs. Watch this video here:
App is called "OVER" on iOS and Android. You can learn even more about it here https://www.madewithover.com/ (free!!!)
App is called "OVER" on iOS and Android. You can learn even more about it here https://www.madewithover.com/ (free!!!)
While you don't need to launch new designs all the time, we highly encourage you to do so. Why? Let's take a look at a few ways of thinking about this and how it benefits you:
Quantity vs. Quality vs. Consistency
We see a lot of shops just dumping 20-30 designs into their accounts right off the bat, slapping them on products and thinking sales are just going to fly in.
That's a pretty big waste.
Can you imagine how you'd feel if you were that one design? You never got your moment in the sun; to be highlighted and celebrated. Do you want your shop to feel like an awesome clothing brand, or the discount bin shop at the local flea market?
That's a pretty big waste.
Can you imagine how you'd feel if you were that one design? You never got your moment in the sun; to be highlighted and celebrated. Do you want your shop to feel like an awesome clothing brand, or the discount bin shop at the local flea market?
Now, sometimes those designs are FANTASTIC! You're simply eager to show them all off at once! I get it. Think strategically here about building up the following of your shop over time.
Instead of dumping 7 designs all at once and praying for sales, maybe you should consider a 7 week rollout! Hype up a new design each week on your instagram, blog or newsletter? More on that in a second....
Too many choices can lead to no choice at all.
You can offer well over a 100 different products on Spreadshop to print your design on. That's AWESOME and insane to really think about how easy it is. But SHOULD YOU???
Imagine you now have 7 new designs you dumped into your shop and put on hundreds of products. They look pretty good on the screen and it's been fun making them and imagining people buying them.
In reality though, you now have hundreds of choices for them to choose, and without a focus, sometimes customers feel overwhelmed and just choose to back away.
Imagine you now have 7 new designs you dumped into your shop and put on hundreds of products. They look pretty good on the screen and it's been fun making them and imagining people buying them.
In reality though, you now have hundreds of choices for them to choose, and without a focus, sometimes customers feel overwhelmed and just choose to back away.
It's okay to say, "I'm going to launch JUST one design this week." and maybe this design only comes on stickers and totes. That can also become part of your product story...
A better game plan for your design launches
Make one new design. Make a plan for how you will promote it. Let's focus on this ONE design:
- What are you going to say about this design?
- Who would want to buy it and why?
- Any special notes or message behind the design?
- What products does this really work on? Maybe it should only be on a few? Maybe it works on many?
- What is YOUR favorite product to have it on and why?
That can be a fun process to do!
I'm going to pretend now that this is my new design I am launching. The old "Quit Your Day Job" slogan:
Now, this slogan to me is more like a call to action for you to pursue your passions and work toward your goals. The ultimate dream of quitting your day job to make a living doing what you love! And so that's the type of messaging I would put out when I was selling this to our fans. Here are some quick examples:
- "WARNING: This shirt will make your boss extremely nervous!"
- "This is our wish for you! Do more of what you love!"
- "You are not your day job. Here's something to wear to remind you while you work on what really matters to you."
Now, that's not the best graphic I could make. I just wanted to show you an example of simply cutting and pasting an ad together. You could probably do even better with that free app I linked above.
If I were REALLY planning a design launch of my own, I might take a little more time to make a neat visual campaign based around those questions you should be asking yourself before you launch a design.
If I were REALLY planning a design launch of my own, I might take a little more time to make a neat visual campaign based around those questions you should be asking yourself before you launch a design.
Your to-do list for this week's challenge:
- Make a New Design for your Spreadshop this week.
- Put it on at least one product.
- Promote it however you choose best for your brand. (social, video, stories)
- Come back here into the comments and share what you've done and where you did it. :) Also be sure to link us to your product on your Spreadshop! Who knows, maybe you'll get some surprise sales!!! ;)
You ready??? Let's do this!!!
It's been a lot of work behind the scenes to get the ol' Shop Launch Challenge up and running. Lots of 12 hour days, as this is only one part of my job here at Spreadshop. I enjoy the work, so the time just melts away. 🙌
Just want to say thanks to all who have stopped in so far. Behind the scenes were planning some really cool things for this challenge.... the boss is even letting me give away an iPad Pro. You read that here first! See? It pays to hang out in the SLC Hang Out! You'll have to pay attention to the challenges and participate to find out more.
Also planning a fun video Keynote all about building your own personal brand, with "Word-of-Mouth" marketing champion, Saul Colt.
So, what's up with you? How's it going on in your area of the world? Stay well everyone! 🧡
Just want to say thanks to all who have stopped in so far. Behind the scenes were planning some really cool things for this challenge.... the boss is even letting me give away an iPad Pro. You read that here first! See? It pays to hang out in the SLC Hang Out! You'll have to pay attention to the challenges and participate to find out more.
Also planning a fun video Keynote all about building your own personal brand, with "Word-of-Mouth" marketing champion, Saul Colt.
So, what's up with you? How's it going on in your area of the world? Stay well everyone! 🧡
Welcome to week 6 of the first 2021 Shop Launch Challenge. I'm doing it a little different this week (for a reason!) so watch the full update right here:
Please be sure to follow the steps in there! (note: our youtube channel is https://youtube.com/spreadshop, you can subscribe and comment on the video there.)
Please be sure to follow the steps in there! (note: our youtube channel is https://youtube.com/spreadshop, you can subscribe and comment on the video there.)
For those skimming, here are some of the topics this week's update covers:
- This week's big tips to get your shop in 5 Star order!
- This week's $100 Merch Giveaway.
- Don't forget to win the iPad in the Storyteller Challenge! (march 16th deadline for entries)
- Monday, a special LIVE video Keynote from Saul Colt on Personal Branding and Merch. SET A REMINDER HERE. (it will be super cool!)
- Country Eligibility and you.... please watch!
The weekly bonus prize ($100 in Merch) we can only have USA residents only for these for legal reasons. (watch the the video) see official rules attached to each weekly post for those prizes.
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia, but not U.S. Territories or overseas military installations who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry. Sweepstakes period is from February 19, 2021 to February 25, 2021. Winner(s) announced within 7 days of the end of the Sweepstakes Period. Sponsor is Spreadshirt, Inc., 1572 Roseytown Road, Greensburg, PA 15601 USA.
The new transparent stickers are great -- only problem I see is that the Edit Design window doesn't let me edit the background selections, so I can't make that the ONLY option for my white/light element designs. I don't want customers to accidentally select a white background and then not be able to read the design when they get it.
Can I request a Spreadshop update that gives us editing control over stickers 😀?
Can I request a Spreadshop update that gives us editing control over stickers 😀?
Shop mirroring. Does it exist? Are you working on it? An easy way for us in another region to mirror our store to the US or vice versa without having to add and configure every single product, one by one?
Preset shapes for stickers. Are you working on it? We have a few designs that will not cut out properly unless we upload a separate design just for a sticker, with its own border. So, having an option to select a circle, rectangle, star, what have you, as the cutout preset for the stickers, that would be great.
🧡 First up, congrats to last week's challeng winner,
JDubs
who scored Premium Design Service. Read on for this week's special giveaway.
This week's challenge has a big focus on Instagram. I like to say it's one of the holy trinity of social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).
If you're not representing your shop in some fashion on this platform, you're doing it wrong. Why is it such an important channel? Maybe THE MOST important channel? I could be here all day explaining why, but let me just give you some hot takes:
- Instagram is a visual medium, perfect for YOU to show off your designs, modeling your own merch and user generated content of your fans.
- There are currently over 850 MILLION ACCOUNTS. It's where the people are.
- Just spending a measly 15 minutes every day... you can begin growing your following.
Watch this guy explain in just minutes....
This guy is telling you a ONE hashtag strategy if you're just in ONE topic. That's even easier than the more advanced workout.
The more advanced formula is the actually the real "Gary Vee $1.80 Strategy" formula is this:
The more advanced formula is the actually the real "Gary Vee $1.80 Strategy" formula is this:
- Choose 9 popular hashtags in your topic or niche.
- Like a post and leave a nice comment or encouraging words on the 9 most recent posts in each hashtag in your topic.
Try it. It works. Now, keep in mind, don't be spammy or just pasting in the same message. 👎THUMBS DOWN TO THAT👎.
The best practice here, hopefully, is that you have a topic for your merch you are passionate about, so cruising through these tags is just like fun networking.
And it doesn't take long to do.... Be open and prepared to engage in conversations on this topic and meet new people..... they are now potential fans of yours and future merch buyers.
The best practice here, hopefully, is that you have a topic for your merch you are passionate about, so cruising through these tags is just like fun networking.
And it doesn't take long to do.... Be open and prepared to engage in conversations on this topic and meet new people..... they are now potential fans of yours and future merch buyers.
Let's put it to the test! IMPROMPTU MINI-CHALLENGE! GO!
Let's all encourage fellow challenger
Edible Ed's
to try this and report back to us. His instagram is https://www.instagram.com/edible.ed.cooks/ and he's currently at 305 followers. (sorry to put you on the spot, Ed, but your food looks so good there! you should have more followers 😄) I bet if Ed did this EVERY DAY until next Thursday he could see substantial following growth. I'm even gonna say he could double his following. If he achieves this goal, I will personally buy 5 shirts from his account.
Hey, listen, over here at Spreadshop, we're still a growing brand on instagram. We're not really experts in becoming social media rock-stars or influencers. Our expertise is in actually producing the custom merchandise and software that powers your shops! We've never believed in buying fake followers (ahem, some competitors do *throws shade*)
That said, we do keep a very watchful eye on all things out there in the merch game. We see what works and doesn't for successful shop owners. And more often than not, a successful shop owner has an instagram strategy in their mix.
We've recently teamed up with LOVE SOCIAL MEDIA, a boutique Social Media Agency from Pittsburgh. Not only do they help us out with our own socials, but they can pass along great advice and best practices to help grow your shop brands. And this week we'd like to giveaway a 1-1 consulting with LOVE to help you grow your instagram audience. (see terms and conditions at the end of this post)
_______________________
That said, we do keep a very watchful eye on all things out there in the merch game. We see what works and doesn't for successful shop owners. And more often than not, a successful shop owner has an instagram strategy in their mix.
We've recently teamed up with LOVE SOCIAL MEDIA, a boutique Social Media Agency from Pittsburgh. Not only do they help us out with our own socials, but they can pass along great advice and best practices to help grow your shop brands. And this week we'd like to giveaway a 1-1 consulting with LOVE to help you grow your instagram audience. (see terms and conditions at the end of this post)
_______________________
Before we get into the actual steps of this week's challenge, here's LOVE SOCIAL with 3 quick tips to jumpstart your instagram:
- Interact regularly with your ideal audience as well as the followers you already have.
- If you don't have time to post consistently to your feed, make sure you are staying active in stories - adding gifs, polls, and question boxes to create engagement!
- Utilize up to 30 hashtags that apply to the photo or topic you are posting about. Just because a hashtag is popular, if it doesn't apply to your post, don't use it!
_______________________
Instructions for this week's challenge:
2. @Tag a friend in the comment and let them know you're in the challenge! Also let the world know what you or your merch is about.
BONUS: If you have an instagram account, drop a comment here with a link to your gram!
______________________
BONUS: If you have an instagram account, drop a comment here with a link to your gram!
______________________
🙌 The least you're going to get out of this is a follow back from Spreadshop.
🏆 The MOST you can get out of this challenge is.... we will select one random comment from the instagram from the challenge to receive a one hour consult with Love Social Media (a $250 value!)
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia, but not U.S. Territories or overseas military installations who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry. Sweepstakes period is from January 29, 2021 to February 4, 2021. Winner(s) announced within 7 days of the end of the Sweepstakes Period. Sponsor is Spreadshirt, Inc., 1572 Roseytown Road, Greensburg, PA 15601 USA.
Trust everyone is doing well.
I am from India. I starting this from writing quotes on my own and thought to make some money out of them. then eventually I started making designs based on festivals. Here is the link to my shop shop.spreadshirt.com/quotesforyou/
Thank You
I am from India. I starting this from writing quotes on my own and thought to make some money out of them. then eventually I started making designs based on festivals. Here is the link to my shop shop.spreadshirt.com/quotesforyou/
Thank You
Welcome to week two of Shop Launch Challenge. If you're just finding this, you can join up anytime now through March 16th at this link. 🙌
This week's challenge has a special bonus prize drawing for USA shop owners. (see details at the end!)
Your Second Challenge
If a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear it?
NO! And nobody will know about your Spreadshop either if you don't tell them about it!
Stuff we've heard
"Yeah, but I don't want to spam them with merch links."
or
"I don't want to bug them all the time about buying merch."
or
"I only know like three people?"
Listen... that's three more than NO PEOPLE. Do you want to sell some merch or not? I can nearly guarantee you that your friends, fans, family want to support you.... but they can't if they don't know how.
BACK UP... This is reminder that while selling merch is a fantastic feeling, it's not necessary to even WIN this whole challenge. Yep. You could sell ZERO... ZILCH.... NADA.... and still walk away with that grand prize.
Because this is called "LAUNCH" challenge. So, please, never be discouraged if you've had zero sales so far or in the past. The tips we're about to share here will give you a much better chance of going from ZERO to MERCH HERO.
YOU CAN DO THIS....YOU HAVE THE POWER!!!!
One of the most powerful tools in your Spreadshop arsenal is....
The FLEXIBLE PROMO TOOL!
Beyond being able to offer great discounts to your customers, this becomes a really great topic for you to post about semi-regularly. See? You're not annoying them with your post, you're providing them value!
Let
Your challenge this week through January 28th is:
- Go into your dashboard and set your Free Shipping promo dates.
- TELL YOUR PEOPLE. Promote that free shipping promo anyway you can. Make an ad, a social post, whatever! JUST TELL EM!!!
- Come back here and show us what you did and where you did it. (post a reply to this entry)
***NOTE**** If your shop is brand new and launched and you offer the 15% off for two weeks, you can promote that instead! GO GO GO!!!! That's a good deal!
BONUS: WIN A CUSTOM PREMIUM DESIGN IN THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE SWEEPSTAKES!
Sorry global friends, this offer is for USA residents only.
We will select one lucky winner from the comments here to receive a custom shirt design from our Premium Design Team.
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia, but not U.S. Territories or overseas military installations who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry. Sweepstakes period is from January 22 2021 to January 28 2021. Winner(s) announced within 7 days of the end of the Sweepstakes Period. Sponsor is Spreadshirt, Inc., 1572 Roseytown Road, Greensburg, PA 15601 USA.
We will select one lucky winner from the comments here to receive a custom shirt design from our Premium Design Team.
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia, but not U.S. Territories or overseas military installations who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry. Sweepstakes period is from January 22 2021 to January 28 2021. Winner(s) announced within 7 days of the end of the Sweepstakes Period. Sponsor is Spreadshirt, Inc., 1572 Roseytown Road, Greensburg, PA 15601 USA.
This week we announce the “Storytelling Challenge.” And....Surprise! We’re giving away an iPad Pro + Apple Pencil! That’s pretty awesome! (Be sure to check out all the terms and conditions attached at the end of this post)
New to Shop Launch Challenge? Be sure to check out the HOW TO ENTER post.
What do you have to do to win this thing?
New to Shop Launch Challenge? Be sure to check out the HOW TO ENTER post.
What do you have to do to win this thing?
- Record a video testimonial about your journey so far with Spreadshop or the Shop Launch Challenge. Tell YOUR story and why you’re selling merch with Spreadshop. Try to keep it under 5 minutes.
- Publish the video on at least one of the following channels: YouTube, Instagram IGTV or Facebook. Use the tags it #shoplaunchchallenge #spreadshop #merchgame
- Post a link to your video here in the comments. Optionally tell us in the comment why you’d like to win the iPad Pro.
Everyone has a story. It’s time to share yours with the world.
You can see many stories right here in our introductions thread. There are people who wanted to challenge themselves to learn something new. We see musicians (even famous ones, like Nosferatu!) and artists looking to find extra revenue streams during the pandemic. Others are raising awareness for medical and social issues. And some people are just having a lot of fun!
Getting real....
It can take courage to step out and and be your authentic self. But once you do? That’s when the real magic happens.
That’s when you truly find your own voice and others will feel connected to you.
Let me lead by example here. This is me, just pointing my iPhone at myself and hitting record...
Steps I took:
- Make a paper note with a few bullet points. Nothing detailed. Kind of like quizzing yourself.
- Point camera at myself. Hit record. Talk to the camera hole as if you’re on the other side of that lens. :)
- Published to Youtube so I can embed it here. :)
See? Not perfect. I even saw I had some fuzz on my shirt and thought “Maybe I re-do this?” - NO!
This is the best real, raw example for you. No excuses. I didn’t wait for the perfect time. As I recorded this I had two kids doing video school in the other room and my dog nipping at me to go for a walk. How did I do?
How will we pick the iPad Winner?
We’re excited to give this iPad away! We figured instead of dumping money into a sponsored ad on socials for this contest, why not offer a really cool prize.
Here’s how the judges we’ll choose the winner by March 25th:
- Story: Your video conveys your message in compelling and authentic way.
- Clarity: Entrant’s Submission is clear and easy to understand.
- Attention to detail: Entrant’s Submission followed all guidelines and instructions given here.
As of today you have a little over a month to get your entries in! Have fun!!!! We can’t wait to hear from you!
Contest Period from February 12, 2021 to March 16, 2021. Winner announced March 25 2021. Must be 18 to enter and resident of an eligible country. See Official Rules for details. Void where prohibited. No cost to enter and no purchase necessary.