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2022 VidSummit Contest Winners

Our judges have reviewed the submissions to our ‘Win a Trip to VidSummit’ 2022 contest. And we’ve chosen our VidSummit 2022 Contest Winners!

It was a close competition and we want to thank every creator who entered. We know it isn’t easy to create dedicated content and put yourself out there for a contest. If we could, we would send every one of you to this year’s VidSummit 2022, but sadly there can only be one Grand Prize Winner.

A wide range of creators responded to the video challenge. Their Youtube channels cover an awesome range of topics. Van travel, cryptocurrency, original music, fishing, social commentary, comedy, and history creators entered. Each one shows great potential and we know that they all have the ability to grow their channels and succeed as content creators.

We conducted a thoughtful evaluation of every video submitted. Based on storytelling, brand vision, clarity of goals, and reason for needing the trip, we ranked the top three entrants.

And the winners are:

Grand Prize Winner: Fishboss Creator – RJ Macalanda

This year RJ built the fastest growing fishing account on TikTok with 137.2K followers. We are impressed by his plan to build a creator club helping fishermen network, share pointers, and make a living doing what they love. For RJ, being a full time content creator means inspiring others to take a non-traditional path and chase a lifestyle that they love. Learn more about RJ here on the Spreadshop Blog in our upcoming one on one creator interview.

Runner Up: Vanderwoman Creator – Christina Doppler

Christina’s YouTube channel is in a great niche, Single Mom Van-Life. Her goal is to travel the United States meeting other single moms and creating content to build community. Her positivity and determination to use YouTube videos to learn and grow is very inspiring.

Runner Up: The Banks Sisters Creators – Keisha and Courtney Banks

The Banks Sisters are creating content about the perspectives and life experiences of Gen X’ers and Millennials hit once by the 08′ recession and now hit hard a second time by the pandemic. Their use of multi-platform content distribution via YouTube, Patreon, Rokfin, Apple podcast and Spotify shows their determination to make a living within the creator economy in the new normal.

So what did they win?

Our Grand Prize winner, RJ Macalanda is booked to fly out to VidSummit 2022. There he will meet our Creator Advisory Board and have VIP Access to everything VidSummit has to offer. We are also excited to announce that we will be providing tickets to VidSummit for both runner up creators!

All of our winners will also have access to design support, merch strategy sessions, and an expert YouTube Channel Brand Consultation.

Congratulations to our VidSummit 2022 Contest Winners! We can’t wait to see you at the show. Are you attending VidSummit? Let us know in the comments so we can connect with you at the show. 🧡

Thanks again to everyone who entered. Open your Spreadshop today to receive our weekly newsletter and join us in the Spreadshop Community to stay in the loop for future Spreadshop news and opportunities like this one!

Big News from YouTube – Again

First YouTube hugely expanded access to MerchShelf, now they’re doing even more for small creators – welcome to new Insights! The “Other Videos Your Audience Watched” tool will now be available to smaller creators who weren’t previously eligible. Read more

How to Make Your Merch Drop a Success

You want your merch drop to be a success. If you put the work in, it will be. A successful merch drop is dependent on you being authentic to your audience and brand. Your merch will connect with people if the designs are unique and resonate with your followers. Promote your products and have a strategy when you’re planning the rollout of your merch. It’s going to make it feel like an experience.

Here are some tips to help you have a successful merch drop:

1. Be authentic to your audience and brand

2. Have unique designs that resonate with your followers

3. Promote your products

4. Have a strategy when you’re planning the rollout of your merch

Read on for the full breakdown.

Make Designs That Resonate

If you want to sell merch, you need to make sure your designs are top-notch. After all, no one’s going to buy if the merch doesn’t look good! But don’t worry – you don’t have to be a professional graphic designer to create amazing designs. There are plenty of tools out there, like Canva and Pixlr, that make it easy to create quality designs in just 5 minutes.

When you’re creating your designs, it’s important to keep your audience in mind. Pick colors and graphics that will appeal to them, and involve them in the design process by asking them to vote on designs and pick their favorites. That way you’ll know what kind of merch they’re most likely to buy.

Make Your Products Look Their Best

Now that you have your merch designs ready to go, it’s time to promote them! One great way to do this is by taking professional-looking photos of you and your friends wearing your merch. This will help show potential customers how great your merch looks in real life.

Everyone has a great looking camera in their back pocket these days, so there’s no excuse not to take advantage of it! And you don’t need to overcomplicate things either – the photos above from the shop owners above show that you can keep things simple and still get great results.

If you want to go the extra mile, you could even create a theme for your photoshoot. This can help make your merch stand out even more. Whatever you do, make sure to have fun with it! Promoting your merch should be enjoyable.

Have a Merch Drop Strategy

You can’t expect your merch drop to be a success if you don’t put the work in. It’s important to have some kind of strategy, but it doesn’t have to involve a lot of moving parts. Tease out your merch drop with little sneak peeks. Utilize the countdown feature on your Instagram Stories. If you make videos or livestream on platforms like Twitch, wear your merch. If you want to drum up more excitement you can always do a giveaway. It’s going to get people intrigued. You don’t have to put in a lot of effort into your launch, but it helps when you have a plan.

Creating a merch drop can be a fun and easy way to get your fans involved with your brand. But, in order to make sure that your merch drop is successful, you need to put in some effort and develop a strategy. Here are a few tips:

1) Tease out your merch drop with little sneak peeks. Utilize the countdown feature on your Instagram stories or post about it on your other social media channels.

2) If you make videos or livestream on platforms like Twitch, wear your merch. This will get people interested and excited about what you have to offer.

3) You can also do a giveaway leading up to your merch drop. This will help generate interest and get people talking about your brand.

Stay on Brand

Building a brand is easier than you might think. Find your logo/brand imagery, identify what you want to say that’s going to make an impact. Incorporate these colors and styles not only in your merch, but in your social content when you promote your merch drop! Like Plants with Krystal does. They know their niche and reflect it with their designs and when they’re sharing to socials.

This is important to not only your followers, but the average customer. Everyone’s looking for something that’s different and feels special. And it’s totally doable for your brand.

When promoting your merch drop, stay true to your brand and incorporate your colors and style into your social media content. This will help create a cohesive and impactful merch experience for your followers and customers. Shoutout to Nephyrus for being the best!

Now that you know how to have a successful merch drop, it’s time to open your shop! Launch your own Spreadshop for FREE today!

The Spreadshop Creator Advisory Board

Announcing the formation of the first ever Spreadshop Creator Advisory Board. This is a huge step in our journey of empowering creators. Bringing top notch creators into our internal conversations will keep creators at the forefront of the Spreadshop decision making process.

Since the beginning in 2002, creators, influencers and entrepreneurs have partnered with the Spread Group family of brands. Promoting made to order merchandise helps creators diversify revenue streams and grow their brands. Putting out merchandise boosts your bottom line and helps deepen connections with your followers.

Perfecting the best merchandise platform for creators of all kinds has always been our goal.

In 2020 we became an official YouTube partner, allowing shop owners to connect their shop to the Youtube merch shelf, store tab, and more. And last year we took another step forward announcing the Spreadshop Brand Ambassador Program. Brand Ambassadors not only educate creators about how to use the platform, but also create content and workshops designed to help creators live a more sustainable creative life.

Our staff is beyond excited to add the Creator Advisory Board to our existing Brand Ambassador program. We’ve already seen so much success working with a few of these pros. We help smaller creators grow their channels or brands and monetize. Being able to scale that program with a wider variety of experts will be awesome. Our goal is to help even more creators in the future. We will shape the new creator economy.

Creators Lead the Way

Spreadshop’s Creator Advisory Board meets regularly to give feedback, discuss the creator economy, and demo upcoming platform features. One of the first topics of discussion will be new print on demand products. Our main focus will be on more sustainable clothing for all.

Millie Adrian of It’s Modern Millie and a founding member of the creator board says,

“It’s one thing to work with a brand on a one-off collaboration, it’s another to partner with a company that truly sees your value, and that you believe in. Together we can create a more significant impact. I love working with Spreadshop as a Brand Ambassador and am beyond thrilled to become a founding member of the Creator Advisory board. It’s exciting to see a company not only invest in their creators but create a space where they can hear direct feedback, thoughts, and opinions, to help guide their projects with a Creator perspective in mind. I hope other brands see these strides Spreadshop is making, and are inspired to take similar action.”

Meet Our Creator Board at VidSummit 2022

Many members our Creator Advisory Board will be on the ground and speaking from the stage at the 9th annual VidSummit September 27th-30th in Los Angeles. Spreadshop is the official merchandise sponsor for this event that brings the world’s top creators together to learn from each other.

Spreadshop welcomes the following members to our Creator Advisory Board:

Millie Adrian – Online Educator and YouTuber of It’s Modern Millie, who teaches aspiring Influencers how to turn their personal brand into a full-time business.

Daniel Batal– Content Creator & Professional Channel Consultant.

Roberto Blake – Creative Entrepreneur and Founder of Awesome Creator Academy.

Saul Colt – Creative Genius behind The Idea Integration Co., an award-winning boutique marketing and advertising agency made up of professionally creative and funny people.

Andrew Kan – Award winning Documentary Film Director. Skilled in Storytelling, YouTube Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Camera Operation, and all things film-making.

Desiree Martinez – Founder of Women of Video, YouTuber, Podcaster, Author, Award-Winning Social Media Creative Content Creator.

Jessica McCabe – American Actress, Writer, and Producer of How to ADHD on YouTube.

Nick Nimmin – YouTube Content Creator and Educator dedicated to helping other content creators
succeed.

Tom Phan – Content Creator of Clueless Bushcraft on TikTok and Youtube.

Jim Rugg – is an Eisner and Ignatz Award-winning cartoonist, designer, and YouTuber. His comics have been published by Marvel, DC, Image Comics, AdHouse Books, New York magazine, Dark Horse Comics, Titan Books, and Fantagraphics.

Renee Teeley – Creator Economy Executive with over 15 years of experience helping creators, brands, and enterprise companies grow their communities and build their businesses using video.

Creators! We want to hear from you!

If you’re interesting in learning more about how you can work with our Creator Board to help shape the future of creator commerce, drop a line.

5 Ways to Refuel During the Work Day

It’s important to refuel during the work day, no matter how busy you are. Your mental health and overall productivity will benefit from you taking some time to yourself. Go for a walk, eat a healthy snack, take a break to do one of your favorite hobbies. Refueling will help you stay focused and productive throughout the work day!

Here are 5 tips for you:

Snack Time

You can’t do your best work on an empty stomach. When you don’t have time for a proper meal, snacks are a great way to get your energy up. But they have to be the right ones. Ditch the greasy potato chips in favor of healthy, protein-packed options. Almonds are a great source of nutrition. Eat them by the handful or find them in a variety of protein bars. A good old apple is another great snack; we prefer ours smothered in peanut butter, even if that might not be the healthiest. Yogurt is another go-to option. Grab one with blueberries for an extra boost.

So next time you need a snack break, refuel with something healthy and delicious. Your body and mind will thank you.

Brighten Your Day

A 15-minute break might not seem like it’s worth it, but there are plenty of benefits. When you’re feeling run down, it’s important to take a break. Refuel yourself so you can continue working at your best. It’s also a great way for you to spend some time each day on your hobbies and the things that make you happy.

Try to resist the temptation of doom-scrolling your social media feeds and do something that will give you value. Read a chapter of a book you’re currently reading. Work on crocheting or some kind of art project. Adult coloring books are always a fun thing to do. This will heighten your work day and make it all the more enjoyable.

Catch Some Z’s

You’ve likely heard of the power nap before. While napping at work isn’t for everybody, it has many benefits for your overall health and wellbeing. Napping too long can make you feel sluggish and groggy, 15 minutes seems to be just the right amount of time. Napping after lunch is a great time and takes advantage of your body’s natural sleep/wake cycle.

Taking a nap will not only make you more focused, but it will also reduce your overall stress. Your motor skills will be more sharpened and you’ll develop that extra stamina to finish the day out strong. So next time you’re feeling tired at work, don’t reach for another coffee. Take a nap instead!

Jot Down Your Thoughts

Making lists throughout the day is a great way for you to see the progress you’re making. It may seem like a tedious thing, but it can help you stay on track, especially when you have so much to do. Use different colored markers or stickers to make your lists more approachable and so you’re eager to finish them. It always feels good to check things off!

Making a to-do list is easy, and a big time saver. You’ll know what needs the most of your attention and won’t waste time spent on unnecessary tasks. Check out more time-saving tips on our blog!

Show Your Gratitude By Journaling

Noting what each of us is grateful for is usually overlooked due to hectic work and family schedules, activities, stress, not living in the moment, etc. If asked, most of us probably couldn’t say what we’re grateful for in a typical day. Think about it. Could you easily remember small moments from the day that brought you the most joy? Reflecting on what you’re grateful for can lead to a happier, more content life and make your work days even more productive. All it takes is a few moments before bed each night, and a gratitude journal to record your thoughts.

A gratitude journal is not a diary, let’s start there. It’s not a collection of random thoughts about your day. It’s literally things you are grateful for in a day. Things that brought you joy – big or small. And everyone’s journal will be different! The most important part of this is being present and focusing on what brought you joy.

We hope you feel more confident to take on the workday with these 5 tips! When the work day is done, it’s time to focus on your passions. Maybe that’s building your brand, making video content, and connecting with your audience. You’re gonna need merch for that.

Open up your own merch shop for FREE!