Introducing Your Holiday Prep Guide! Five weeks of daily insights to steer your holiday sleigh strategy.

WEEK 1: NOVEMBER 12 – 18

For the next five weeks, we’ll be sharing a weekly schedule, each Saturday, with tips on prepping your Artist Shop for holiday shoppers, capitalizing on our promo schedule, fun creative challenges and insights from fellow Society6 artists. We’re here to help you make the most of this season–how you follow our schedule is totally up to you!

We’re kicking off WEEK 1 with tips to get your shop ready for Black Friday and beyond. Considering running a giveaway? Read on for a how-to guide just in time for this holiday season.

 

DAY 1: MONDAY

Design Challenge: Stocking Stuffers

Each week we’ll be running a new Design Challenge to keep your creative skills sharp. Whether you create something new or share an old favorite, we can’t wait to see what you’ve been creating!

This week we’re all about STOCKING STUFFERS
Carry-All Pouches, iPhone Cases, Notebooks, Coffee Mugs, Travel Mugs and T-Shirts are all perfect for gifting and filling up those stockings.

Keeping in your style, submit designs–new or old–that you feel would be a good fit for our Stocking Stuffers collection.

Submissions will be considered for inclusion in our Gift Guides that will be used in marketing throughout the holidays. We’ll also be giving away free product to our favorites!

Submit by: Sunday, November 18, 2018

 

DAY 2: TUESDAY

Update Your Shop Branding

If there’s any time of the year you want to sync up your Society6 shop branding with your website and social platforms, it’s the holidays. Make it easy for your customers to know they’re looking at your work anywhere they are. Consistency matters! Plus, as of a few weeks ago, we added additional flexibility to what you show your customers in your shop. Check out the list below for today’s quick task list.

  1. Update your avatar – align with social media & website
  2. Update your cover image – 1000px (w) x 100px (h)
  3. Update your bio – here are some tips >
  4. Quickly sort your products in your shop – here’s how >
  5. Check out your updates on mobile and desktop – make sure everything is just the way you like it

 

DAY 3: WEDNESDAY

Update Your Products

If you’ve been on your A-game, you’re probably good in this department. If you need to get into your Artist Studio and upload new designs or activate recently launched products, give yourself an hour to do so. In the last few months we’ve released furniture (!!!), posters and a number of awesome tabletop products (like serving trays, acrylic trays, coasters, new travel mugs, etc.).

To keep this process doable, start with your most popular designs & products first. There’s a good chance you know what your popular work is based on response from customers or social media. Work down your list until you feel like you’ve covered your bases.

If you’re unsure how to identify your most popular designs, read tip #2 in this article to learn how to run a quick survey with friends and fam.

 

DAY 4: THURSDAY

5-Minute Read

Four Great Giveaways Every Artist Can Run On Instagram

We’re going to give you the info for the holidays, but feel free to run as often as you’d like. Giving away your art to fans, friends and family is a great way to inspire new customers to visit your shop. That’s why we laid out four giveaways you can run on your social channels.

Read the full blog post >

 

DAY 5: FRIDAY

Run a Q&A on Your IG Stories

This might be the easiest and most fun task you’ll do all week because, well, the best part about social media is when you cultivate genuine connections with people. Actual, honest engagement with your following is how you earn respect, loyalty and interest in your artwork beyond creating something visually compelling. Here’s how to run a Q&A.

  1. Open up Instagram
  2. Add a new frame to your story
  3. Use your art as the imagery
  4. Click on the sticker icon in the upper right – looks like a peeling sticker
  5. Click on “QUESTIONS”
  6. Ask something interesting – even if it’s not about art
  7. Post the story
  8. Answer the questions you get and post them – have fun with it!

PRO TIP: Remember that genuine engagement is how you build a loyal following. The more interesting the content, the more engaged your fans. The more engaged your fans, the more people your Q&A story will show up in front of.

 

DAY 6: SATURDAY

5-Minute Read

Artists Need Customer Funnels Too: Here’s How To Create One

Do you know many clicks it takes to get from your Instagram post to an art print purchase? Don’t worry. The exact answer is way less important than what you’ll learn by answering that question. 

Society6 artist Cat Coquillette walks us through how to guide fans from discovering your work to purchasing your product by way of a “funnel.” She breaks down what it is and how it works.

PRO TIP: Update social profile links (all platforms), links in bio, websites, portfolio sites, etc. so they’re all pointing to the same place!

 

DAY 7: SUNDAY

Take A Break!

You earned it.

 

ALL WEEK LONG: STAY IN THE KNOW

Customers love promotions and we’ll be running lots of ’em leading up to Black Friday and beyond. Keep track of the promo schedule in our weekly Artist Heads Up.

If you’d like to workshop your ideas or have questions about how to approach the holidays, please join us in our official Facebook group where artists will be helping each other throughout the holidays! We’ll chime in where we can too!

 

Continue to Week 2 >

Ben Renschen

Photographer

society6.com/benrenschen

Formerly: Artist Development Manager at Society6

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