From ea4e3876eae297db94dfdb33ab64b01791a18bd0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: ronny abraham Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2025 02:55:38 +0300 Subject: [PATCH] added new modules --- .../c01-research_and_spy.org | 171 ++++++++++++ .../c02-create_with_canva.org | 15 ++ .../c03-add_distressed_vintage_textures.org | 18 ++ .../c03-create_free_designs.org | 142 ++++++++++ .../c04-custom_designs_using_fiverr.org | 251 ++++++++++++++++++ 5 files changed, 597 insertions(+) create mode 100644 _subsections/02-source_and_choose/c01-research_and_spy.org create mode 100644 _subsections/02-source_and_choose/c02-create_with_canva.org create mode 100644 _subsections/02-source_and_choose/c03-add_distressed_vintage_textures.org create mode 100644 _subsections/02-source_and_choose/c03-create_free_designs.org create mode 100644 _subsections/02-source_and_choose/c04-custom_designs_using_fiverr.org diff --git a/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c01-research_and_spy.org b/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c01-research_and_spy.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..78f8de8 --- /dev/null +++ b/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c01-research_and_spy.org @@ -0,0 +1,171 @@ +#+title: S02|LO1 - how to research and spy on winning print designs +#+HTML_HEAD: +#+OPTIONS: H:6 + +* Links +#+attr_html: :class links +- [[../../toc.org][TOC - ecomm clubhouse]] +- [[../../_share/data/video/step_02/lesson_01.mp4][video]] + [[https://teespy.com/][Teespy]] + +* Notes + +* Description +** intro +In this video lesson, you’re going to learn how to SPY on winning Print On Demand designs & products, and to then use them as inspiration for creating your own ones. And yes, we said inspiration. It is very important that you do not copy them pixel for pixel, as this would be infringing on their copyrights. But, we can still make our own updated, BETTER versions! + +Print on demand is an awesome way to add products to your store without buying them in advance. There’s a downside to it however, unless you a naturally gifted artist or designer, how are you going to get images to place on your products. That’s what we are going to talk about in this video. + +I will teach you how to find winning designs and find a freelancer in Fiver.com. You can create your own versions of the winning the designs that we are going to find. + +You can create lots of products with just one design. You can put in a pair of shoes, hoodie towel, etc. You can also mix match products from other sources other than print-on-demand providers. + +** mugdom +Sourcing products from different sources is called a flex store. Here’s an example of flex store – Mugdom. + +#+caption: mugdom store +#+attr_html: :width 1000px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex01.png]] + +As you can see, they’re selling products from print-on-demand services but they also have mugs from Aliexpress. + +** etsy + + +*** intro +So let’s start spying winning products that you can create your own version of. + +The first site that I love to use is Etsy. What we want to do is to take our niche is see what products are selling in it. All you have to do is to type your niche in the search bar and do a search. I’m going to be using coffee as this is what I’ve been using on my tutorial videos as a sample store as well the previous videos in this course. + +#+caption: etsy store coffee search +#+name: fig:blah +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex02a.png]] + +*** look for "bestseller" in the description +One thing to note, when you are looking for products on Etsy is to ignore the products with the word Ad on it because people have paid Etsy for their products to appear there. What you want to do is to come to the products after the ads. Etsy’s algorithm is that every time a product makes a sale, it will jump in the search results. + +Something that you should also be looking for in Etsy is the best seller badge. This is very pretty rare and not much products get this. So this indicate that this is hot product that is regularly selling. + +#+caption: product with the bestseller ad +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex02b.png]] + +It’s most likely that if you create your own version of this poster that people will like it as well. Printify offers posters and canvasses so it you have a store in the coffee niche, this would be a great product to get inspiration from and to add toy your store because we know that there is a market for coffee posters. + +*** checking reviews + +Now, let’s check this shirt that’s joking about needing coffee in the morning. + +#+caption: tshirt about needing coffee in the morning +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex02c.png]] + +Then scroll down to the reviews section to see if the product has a recent review for the product in the last month. Even just one review is a fantastic sign. You can definitely take this design and make your own version. + +*** searching for a popular phrase +If you will do a search in Etsy of the But First Coffee shirt, you can see that there are a lot of listings for it. It’s a popular phrase so that means that there is a lot of mass appeal for that. + +#+caption: searchign for "but first coffee" +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex02d.png]] + +Another example is this shirt – it’s combining multiple niches together. Dogs and Coffee. Now, I’m a big believer in combining multiple niches together to create a custom product to appeal to specific individual. + +#+caption: searchign for "but first coffee" +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex02e.png]] + +For this particular design, I was not sure if there would be enough people that this would appeal to. So what I did was to check the reviews to check whether or not this is an occasional seller. And there were not many reviews for this at all and the reviews were not within the last month. For me, this is an indicator that there is not a huge amount of demand for this. Perhaps, crossing three niches together is just a little bit too specific. + +*** searching for two niches + +Now, let’s take a look at an example with two niches together. Not everyone may appreciate this T-shirt message, but I think we can all appreciate the play on words. When I saw this, I was certain that this sort of design is going to be selling well. And I wasn’t wrong, when I checked the reviews and it has a lot of reviews within the last six months. This is a great sign that this T-shirt has an ongoing regular sale. + +#+caption: crossing coffee and weed +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex02f.png]] + +If you can create a visually appealing, interesting looking design targeting one passionate niche, you can be very successful. + +#+caption: girl with "dog mom" tshirt +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex02g.png]] + +** instagram +*** intro + +The next place were going to go to research ideas is Instagram. All you have to do is come in to Instagram then type in your niche plus the word meme. + +#+caption: instagram "#coffeememes" +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex03a.png]] + +*** look for funny posts +#+caption: funny post +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex03b.png]] + +You would want to find pages that are dedicated to posting these quotes. You want to find pages that are dedicated to pages like coffee and funny pictures works really well in Facebook. When browsing images in Instagram, you have to pay attention which ones did better. One way is to check the number of likes, of course the more the likes are only means that the image is popular. + +The first posts you’re going to see are the top posts. These are the posts that have performed best. You will see some funny quotes in there. Like this one over here. + +** pinterest + +*** intro +Next place we are going to look at is Pinterest. It’s a great place to get inspiration for simple, great looking illustrations and artworks. What you want to do is to type in your niche plus stickers and do a search. + +#+caption: pinterest - search for coffee sticker +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex04a.png]] + +Sticker arts are simple and clean and performs really well. This is one is a good example, targeting coffee lovers and bunnies. + +#+caption: looking at a design +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex04b.png]] + +You can find a very good illustrator and have this image revised and replace the bunny slippers with cat slippers or maybe add a hooded blanket with cat ears. Now, you’ve got a unique, original design that you can advertise with a targeted audience that are passionate cat lovers and coffee lovers. + +*** using filters + +You also want to pay attention to the number of times an illustration has been pinned. + +You can also try and look for coffee mugs design. Pinterest has filter option on the top which makes it easy to check which ones are the popular quotes. All you have to do is to click on the filter that you want to see the results. + +#+caption: filtering +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex04c.png]] + +** facebook + +Another place that we can go to find designs is, of course, Facebook. All you’ve got to do is to come to Facebook and type in your niche plus a call to action like free shipping and do a search. And you want to see the search results within the past 6 months so click on 2019. Then on the Post from, you want to choose Public. + +You can find a very good illustrator and have this image revised and replace the bunny slippers with cat slippers or maybe add a hooded blanket with cat ears. Now, you’ve got a unique, original design that you can advertise with a targeted audience that are passionate cat lovers and coffee lovers. + +#+caption: search "coffee free shipping" +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex05a.png]] + +Scroll through and look for print on demand products. This one over here is good as it has no copyright and no trademark. It’s quite clever, looks good and meets our criteria of having more than 25 comments and 30 shares. + +#+caption: example +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex05b.png]] + +** teespy +One more tool that I recommend to find designs is Tee Spy. You can spy on some of the top selling products for T-shirts and Hoodies. You can make research based on sales numbers rather than having to guess based on social media. + +#+caption: teespy filter +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex06a.png]] + +What you want to do is to sort the designs based on sales in descending order. So scroll through and look for designs that relates to your niche. This one over here can work. “I’m an Engineer, I don’t fix stupid!”. It has 242 sales and 245 engagements. This one is good to use as an inspiration. + +#+caption: coffee mug +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_01/ex06b.png]] + +Don’t get too hang up on finding perfect designs, the best way is for you to put your designs out there and let the market decide. So go on and find some designs that you can use as inspiration for your own products! + +You can also try searching for other niche like nurses. You can look for top performing designs for nurses. So you just have to look for designs for your own niche. You can find 5 top designs and create your own versions of these designs. diff --git a/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c02-create_with_canva.org b/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c02-create_with_canva.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..24a6c5e --- /dev/null +++ b/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c02-create_with_canva.org @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +#+title: S02|LO2 - how to create product designs with canva +#+HTML_HEAD: +#+OPTIONS: H:6 + +* Links +#+attr_html: :class links +- [[../../toc.org][TOC - ecomm clubhouse]] +- [[../../_share/data/video/step_02/mp4/lesson_02.mp4][video]] + +* Notes + +* Description +In this video, I show you step-by-step how I use the drag-and-drop graphics app, Canva, to create print on demand designs from scratch. Plus I also show how I save designs I make in Canva to print in high quality! + +Please note – as a bonus, unadvertised extra feature, we try to add written descriptions to videos. We are still in the process of adding a description to this video. We are aiming to complete this soon! diff --git a/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c03-add_distressed_vintage_textures.org b/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c03-add_distressed_vintage_textures.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0e6804c --- /dev/null +++ b/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c03-add_distressed_vintage_textures.org @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +#+title: S02|LO3 - how to add distressed vintage textures for free +#+HTML_HEAD: +#+OPTIONS: H:6 + +* Links +#+attr_html: :class links +- [[../../toc.org][TOC - ecomm clubhouse]] +- [[../../_share/data/video/step_02/mp4/lesson_03.mp4][video]] + +- [[https://wholesaleted.com/go/creativefabrica][10 free downloads from creative fabrica]] +- [[https://wholesaleted.com/go/grungetexturepack][free grunge texture pack]] + +* Notes + +* Description +Please note – as a bonus, unadvertised extra feature, we try to add written descriptions to videos. We are still in the process of adding a description to this video. We are aiming to complete this soon! + +In this video, I’ll show you step-by-step how I take my favorite grunge texture that I got for free on Creative Fabrica, and then add it to print on demand designs for free using Photopea to give my products a trendy vintage look! diff --git a/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c03-create_free_designs.org b/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c03-create_free_designs.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..32a9d78 --- /dev/null +++ b/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c03-create_free_designs.org @@ -0,0 +1,142 @@ +#+title: S02|LO4 - how to create free print on demand designs +#+HTML_HEAD: +#+OPTIONS: H:6 + +* Links +#+attr_html: :class links +- [[../../toc.org][TOC - ecomm clubhouse]] +- [[../../_share/data/video/step_02/mp4/lesson_04.mp4][video]] + +- [[https://wholesaleted.com/go/printify][printify link]] +- [[https://wholesaleted.com/go/canva][canva link]] + +* Notes + +* Description +** intro +In this video, I’m going to teach you how to create your free designs and how to create custom products for FREE by creating your own design yourself. I’m going to teach how to make simple typography designs that you can place on the tshirts, and to mugs. + +Typography designs usually works well when printed on tshirts and mugs but you can experiment and try them to different products as well. These designs are unlikely to be the big sellers in your store but they are great to have for other reasons. For example, I recommended that you should have at least 20 products in your store. If you have less than 20 then you risk making your store look unprofessional and lose customers that don’t trust you. + +Big epic galaxy picture like this works well on sneakers and hooded blankets. So you can use one design to create one two different products. + +#+caption: example of shoe with design +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex01a.png]] + +So you buy one professional design and fill your store with typography designs. But please note typography designs are not a replacement to professional designs. If you can stretch your budget to buy five professional designs and then go ahead and create another five using the method that I’m going to teach you here. + +Even if the typography designs are not going to be your big sellers that you’re going to advertise, there’s another reason why I want to you to put them in your store. That’s because I’m going to teach you how to get traffic from Google. + +** creating a coffee mug design +If you go type, doctor mugs in Google you’ll see that they are recommending this store Mugdom. They dropship some products from Aliexpress but primarily they make their own print on demand products using mostly typography designs. + +#+caption: mugdom landing +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex02a.png]] + +First, you need to find a quote or a saying that you want to add to your tshirt or mug. It can be funny or inspirational or it can be whatever you like. I found this quote in Instagram. + +#+caption: example design +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex02b.png]] + + +Now, you have to go to Canva. Canva has a free account but also have a paid account if you want to save your images with transparent background. And the subscription is really worth it. With Canva, even if you are not a graphic designer, you can easily create graphics using it. They have a free 30 day trial which a huge amount of time to try and make lots of designs. So go ahead and make an account in Canva and then you can follow along with me. + +*** create a design in canva + +Once you’re logged in to your account, you want to click on Create a design button. + +#+caption: logging to canva +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex03a.png]] + +*** custom dimensions + +Then click on Custom Dimension. To figure out the dimensions you have to go to Printify and find the shirt that you want to use. For example, the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee, click on Start Designing Button. Then you can see what the dimension of our design should be. It’s 4500 x 5700 px. + +#+caption: look at printify to see what the dimensions have to be +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex03b.png]] + +You can try to use that in Canva but Canva won’t allow to create a design that big because it’s a very large file. + +#+caption: canva wont allow it +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex03c.png]] + +*** set the dimensions and hit 'new design' + +So let’s try 4500 x 5500, this is very close to that size and you won’t notice the difference. This is the maximum dimension that you can use when you’re designing a tshirt like that. Click on Create New Design button. + +#+caption: new design in canva +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex03d.png]] + +This is the area that we are going to be working on. If we are going to look at the quote that we are going to copy, you will notice that one thing that makes it funny is that fonts are not the same, some are large and some are small. With Canva, you’ve got so many things that you can use and add. If you’re a great designer, you can create some fantastic looking designs with them. + +Once you’ve chosen the template that you want to use, click on that template and it will automatically appear on your blank canvas. You can edit the text according to the quote you’re copying. + +*** templates +Canva also has some preset templates that you can utilize. For this design, we want to use a simple text based design. If you click on the Text button on the left menu, you can see lots of interesting templates. Choose the template that you think will look good with the quote that you are going to use. + +#+caption: adjust the template +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex04a.png]] + +You can then adjust the font size if the words look off or if some look too large. Now you have a nice, simple, clean design. + +#+caption: change font and save +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex04b.png]] + +*** back to printify +You can put this design into other color of shirts like yellow, blue and green but this won’t look good against any type of color. I’ll show you what I mean. In Printify, if you go back to the designing dashboard, click on Add Your Design. + +Name your design. Then click on Publish and click Download. Make sure to have PNG selected because you want to have a transparent background. That’s why you need a pro account in Canva. Then click on the Download button again. Then wait for it to download. + +#+caption: upload to printify +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex05a.png]] + +Upload the design that you have made. Make sure that it’s 300 dpi. + +#+caption: set to 300 DPI +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex05b.png]] + +Then click on the Preview button on the top left. You can see the design on an actual shirt. A black text looks great against a distressed color like Gray, Dark Heather, Sport Gray and Ash. You will also that it doesn’t look good on some colors like this in a Gold-colored shirt. + +#+caption: hit preview button with different shirt colors +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex05c.png]] + +As you can see it’s very simple to create a design in Canva. Now that we’re able to create a simple and trendy tshirt, let’s take that design and put it into a mug. The simple way to do this is to put a black text into a white mug. But one thing that you can do to make your mug more trendy is to put a white text on a black mug. + +** new design + +So go back to Canva, click on Create a new design then Custom Dimension. Same with the shirt, you have to go to Printify and check what the dimensions are. Select the black mug in Printify, then click on Start designing. Our dimension should be 2421 x 1098 px. + +#+caption: new rectangle design +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex06a.png]] + +Once you’ve got the dimensions, go back to Canva, input the dimensions then click on Create new design button. This time we have a rectangle canvas to work on. Find the same text style that you’ve used for the shirt design. Type the text of the quote then adjust according to what looks best. + +*** make the text white + +Next, you want to make the text white. Highlight the text then click on the color palette button then choose the white color. Do that with all the text. + +#+caption: make the text white +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex06b.png]] + +Name you design, then click publish then Download. Make sure that it’s in PNG so that it has a white background. Then click on the Download button again. + +*** upload to printify +Now upload your design to the Printify mug in the same process as the shirt. You will nt see any design as the mug is white same with the text. But if you click on the Preview button in the top left, we will able to see the design on a black mug. It looks fantastic! + +#+caption: new rectangle design +#+attr_html: :width 800px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_04/ex06c.png]] diff --git a/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c04-custom_designs_using_fiverr.org b/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c04-custom_designs_using_fiverr.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d722a28 --- /dev/null +++ b/_subsections/02-source_and_choose/c04-custom_designs_using_fiverr.org @@ -0,0 +1,251 @@ +#+title: S02|LO5 - how to get custom designs created using fiverr +#+HTML_HEAD: +#+OPTIONS: H:6 + +* Links +#+attr_html: :class links +- [[../../toc.org][TOC - ecomm clubhouse]] +- [[../../_share/data/video/step_02/mp4/lesson_05.mp4][video]] + +- [[https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=10312&brand=fiverrcpa&campaign=26801][hire a low cost designer on fiverr]] +- [[https://wholesaleted.com/go/printify][printify link]] + +* Notes + +* Description + +** contact template +Here is the template used in the video: + +#+NAME: designer-template +#+BEGIN_SRC text +Hi {{NAME OF DESIGNER}}, + +I am looking for a designer to create an image for [INSERT PRODUCTS HERE – e.g. T-Shirt/Sweatshirt/Hoodie] I am going to be producing and selling. + +This design is going to be printed onto actual merchandise. It’s very important then that before I place an order that your offer includes the legal rights to use them for commercial use. I do not want to risk infringing on your copyrights. + +SPECIFICATIONS: + +I would like it to be similar to the example design I have uploaded. I don’t want to copy it, I would like you to make a better but different version of it (images/text sizing/fonts) so that I don’t infringe on copyrights. + +I would like it to feature this text: [INSERT TEXT HERE] + +I would also like it to feature an image of [INSERT WHAT IMAGE/ICON YOU WANT] + +FORMAT: It needs to be PNG with no interlacing. + +SIZE: [INSERT SIZE HERE] + +The due date for this project is [INSERT DATE HERE] or sooner. + +PRICE: I can pay up to $25 for the design. + +Can you take this project on? If so, please reply ASAP with a custom offer so that we can get started. Thank you! +#+END_SRC + +** purchase from commericial sites + +If you want to create your own Print On Demand products, you’ve got two choices. +The first is that you can purchase stock images on websites like Shutterstock. Artists create images and put the licenses to use them up for sale on there. I’ll teach you how to buy these and yes, when you do buy them, you’ll also purchase the legal rights to use these commercially as well. This is the easiest and fastest way to get pictures. + +#+caption: shutterstock +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex01.png]] + +** hire freelancers +The second way is you can purchase unique, original designs that have been custom made for you directly from freelancers on websites like Fiverr. If you don’t know what Fiverr is, it is an amazing website where talented freelancers let you purchase projects from them. On Fiverr, there are a LOT of fantastic graph designers specializing in creating graphics for merchandise. + +#+caption: fiverr site +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex02a.png]] + +The advantage of purchasing stock images is that you can get the artwork RIGHT NOW, no waiting around, and you can know EXACTLY what you’re getting. This can be especially good if you want to create quick upsells for top-performing products. The downside is of course that anyone else can purchase that image & the rights to use that same artwork. + +If your product performs well, chances are, competitors will come in, buy the rights and try to sell the same products as you. Purchasing a custom design then means that there will be an extra barrier in place for your competitors to try and copy you. + +In addition, having a custom design made also gives you a lot more flexibility. For example, + +This product is a regular seller on Etsy. It’s perfect for people who are both bunny owners & introverts. The phrase choice is quite funny. However, it’s very niche specific isn’t it! It’s unlikely you’d find anything saying this exact phrase on a stock image site. But if you purchase a custom design from Fiverr, you can use it! + +#+caption: etsy example +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex02b.png]] + +Fiverr is a website I use a LOT. I spend thousands of dollars each year hiring talented freelancers. I believe it’s the easiest platform for beginners to use to hire custom designers. + +In fact, I use Fiverr so much I’m a part of a secret, invitation-only VIP group for Fiverr called VID – which stands for Very Important Doers. Once you reach VID level, you get your own Fiverr rep who’ll search out the perfect freelancers for you, which is nice. But yes, basically, to become a part of this, I had to use Fiverr a lot. So I know quite a lot about hiring the best designers on there! + +#+caption: fiverr vid status +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex02c.png]] + +*** payment scale on fiverr +On Fiverr, you can usually expect to pay $10-30 per design if you are willing to wait up to a week, and $30-100 per design if you need it made in 1-2 days. So, obviously, if you want to save money, I recommend not being in a rush and be willing to wait a few more days to get your designs made. + +This also means it’s cheaper than purchasing pre-made designs on Shutterstock. On Shutterstock, it costs just under $100 per design and you have to buy at minimum 2 pictures at a time. So believe it or not, custom ones are cheaper! + +#+caption: example of shutterstock license +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex03a.png]] + +*** how to start +When it comes to hiring designers, I recommend that you start with ONE product, and that you hire 3-5 designers to start, however many are in your budget. + +You see, I gained my VID status not from hiring LOTS of freelancers, but by forming a relationship with a handful of really great ones. I come back regularly to them. We’ve formed a relationship over time. They know what I want and can design it for me. + +And so your goal here is to ideally find 1 designer whose work you really connect with, so that you can work with them regularly. Now something else you’ll also discover is that some designers are particularly good at certain styles, or specialize in certain styles. For example, this seller is very good at creating typography t-shirts. +You might find that you want different types of art styles for different products. You might want typography graphics, AND you might want cartoony graphics. That’s absolutely fine. In that case, you’ll then want to go through this same process, and find the designer who specializes in that type of style that you connect with the most. + + + +Overtime, the number of freelancers you work with will grow. But for now, I recommend as a beginner you focus on finding just 1 to start with, so that you don’t get overwhelmed. + +Of course, it’s entirely up to you if you want to find lots of different types of artists to get products made faster, go for it. + +But honestly: business isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. My advice to most new ecommerce owners is to take things slowly and focus initially on just 1 designer. The first thing you want to do, is pick what 1 design you’d like to have made for you. + +** example of fiverr process + +*** product + +So perhaps you’ve seen this sweatshirt. You know the design and phrase has been successful. So you want to use this as inspiration for your own design. Awesome! + +#+caption: sweatshirt example +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex04a.png]] + +*** contact designers +What we want to do is now go onto Fiverr and look up top freelancers that make that style of design – in this case word art – and contact between 5-10 freelancers. + +What we’re going to do is we will email them directly, telling them what we want exactly. + +**** template for email +Here is an example of an email template that you could send out. I’ve included very important specifications here. In particular, I’ve noted the size of the design. You should of course insert your own specifications into where I’ve written the square brackets. + +#+BEGIN_SRC text :noweb yes +<> +#+END_SRC + +*** determine size of design +The way to figure out what size you want your design to be is to come to Printify. + +#+caption: printify homepage - click 'start designing' +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex05a.png]] + +Click on the product you want to create, such as a sweatshirt, and to start designing it. In the bottom right on the design mockup page you’ll see Printify’s suggested sizing. As a beginner it’s great to stick to this initially. + +#+caption: printify design - look at lower right corner for size +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex05b.png]] + +You’ll also want to include a picture of what design you would like the designer to get inspiration from. Again, we don’t want to copy it exactly, we want them to make their own similar but different version of it. So for this design, you could keep the same font, but change up the sizing, and change the image of the bunny. So, let’s do this! + +*** go back to fiverr + +OK, so come to Fiverr. I’ll have a link to Fiverr on this page. Please note that this is an affiliate link. Using it is optional but it’s always appreciated! + +**** search for style of artwork +In the search bar, type in what style of artwork you want made. From the dropdown suggested menu, you might find a search phrase that more specifically defines what you want, if so select that. For me, I’m going to type typography design. + +#+caption: fiverr - search +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex06a.png]] + +**** modify search filters for commerical product sellers +Next, we want to come to the search filters and change it so that we are only seeing sellers that produce designs for commercial products. + +**** find rated sellers +Next, we want to set it so that we are only seeing sellers that have been rated by other customers, we don’t want to work with new sellers. + +**** browse through final list of sellers +And now you’ve got a big list of sellers to browse through. If possible, try and work with sellers that have 4.8 plus star ratings with at least 50 reviews, the more the better. + +#+caption: fiverr - list of sellers +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex06b.png]] + +**** find designer you like + +When you see a designer than you like, open up their listings and browse through their designs. Check over their portfolio and see if they are right for you. If you like the look of a design, and the pricing is within your range, then click the Contact Me button. + +#+caption: fiverr - contact designer +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex06c.png]] + +You can then send them a message explaining what you want. Be sure to upload the photo of the example product image or images you want them to get inspiration from. + +#+caption: fiverr - send message +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex06d.png]] + +Again I recommend contacting between 5 to 10 freelancers. See who responds within 24 hours. + +Freelancers on Fiverr live all around the world and the best ones are busy working on projects, so it’s normal for them to not respond immediately. But good communication between you and your freelancer is key to having a great relationship in the future, so that they can keep making you money-making designs! + + +So do prioritize freelancers that get back in touch with you quickly. Now, you might find more freelancers get back in-touch within 24 hours than you can afford to hire for your first project. + +That is OK. Take the ones that did reply and browse through their portfolios. Pick the best 3-5 designers you like the most, and hire them. + +As part of our message, we asked them to send us a custom offer. This is how we’ll be ordering our design from them. I’ll show you now how to accept this custom offer & start the project. + +**** reply to designer + +Click Messages, then Inbox. Next, click the message from the designer. To start, simply click ‘order now.’ + +#+caption: check inbox +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex07.png]] + +Scroll down to the custom offer message and click ‘Continue’. + +#+caption: open message +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex07b.png]] + +You can either pay through Paypal or by using your credit card. Type in your credit card details if you’re using one. Then click ‘Confirm and Pay’. + +#+caption: confirm payment +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex07c.png]] + +** go through designer creations +Once your 3-5 designers have created your image, see which designer you like the most and which one you connected the best with. And order more designs from them! + +Once you’ve chosen your preferred freelancer, in the future, you don’t necessarily have to email them and get them to send them a custom order. + +Instead, you can order directly from their seller page. I’ll show you now how simple it is to do this. + +Going back to the designers page, select the package you want. Then click the green ‘Continue’ button here to proceed to your order. + +#+caption: select package from preferred designer +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex07d.png]] + +*** make order + +On the checkout page, you can tick off the Add Extras boxes, these are not entirely necessary if you know exactly what design you want created. To checkout, click ‘Order Now’. + +#+caption: confirm order +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex07e.png]] + +Enter your card details so you can start this job. Then click ‘Confirm & Pay.’ + +#+caption: confirm pay +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex07f.png]] + +On your order page, you’ll need to send them a note letting them know your specifications. + +Remember to include the file type you want, which is a PNG file without interlacing, as this is what Print-On-Demand providers, such as Printify, need from you. + +#+caption: printify requirements +#+attr_html: :width 600px +[[../../_share/media/img/step_02/lesson_05/ex08.png]] + +And be sure to include the image size. And, again, if you don’t know what this should be, it’s a great idea to use Printify to help you. + +And include an example image of the design you want them to get inspiration from, along with any notes about changes you want them to make, such as color variations or additional images. And boom – you are ready to go. So head on over to Fiverr now, and start finding your perfect designer now!