<\/p>\n
What made you want to monetize your passion for outer space? How have you been enjoying your new business venture?<\/strong><\/h2>\nI really like space… it\u2019s been with me all my life. Even when I was three years old, I bugged my folks about wanting books on space. Years later, I hadn\u2019t lost that interest. Last year, I got made redundant from the graphic design job I had been doing, and I kind of thought, \u2018wouldn\u2019t it be great if I could combine my love for space and my skills as a graphic designer?\u2019<\/p>\n
I\u2019d been to some of the shops at NASA Center, and I didn\u2019t really like any of the t-shirts they had. I just thought, \u2018let\u2019s give this a go.\u2019 I had been doing a space blog for three or four years, so I already had a bit of a following on social media. I thought I\u2019d give Spreadshop a go, and I\u2019d see if I could not only do something that I liked better than the other shirts I was seeing, but something that other people liked, as well.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a nice thing to do, to be able to work with something you really, really enjoy. I mean, being a graphic designer, sometimes you have to work with stuff you really don\u2019t enjoy.<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHdpZHRoPSIxNDAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjgwMCI+PHJlY3Qgd2lkdGg9IjEwMCUiIGhlaWdodD0iMTAwJSI+PGFuaW1hdGUgYXR0cmlidXRlTmFtZT0iZmlsbCIgdmFsdWVzPSJyZ2JhKDE1MywxNTMsMTUzLDAuNSk7cmdiYSgxNTMsMTUzLDE1MywwLjEpO3JnYmEoMTUzLDE1MywxNTMsMC41KSIgZHVyPSIycyIgcmVwZWF0Q291bnQ9ImluZGVmaW5pdGUiIC8+PC9yZWN0Pjwvc3ZnPg==\")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\nHow did you end up landing on Spreadshop? What has it been about the platform that you\u2019ve particularly liked?<\/strong><\/h2>\nI had done about eight months with Redbubble, and it was going okay. They did a big reorganization of the site at the end of last year. If people went to look at a shirt I\u2019d done, it would put up 40 related shirts at the bottom of the page. A lot of those designs had been chopped up from the internet. I got sick of that, so I started looking around [for an alternative]. The thing that attracted me to Spreadshirt was I could have a Shop, and I could have a link on my blog where people would be guided right to my designs.<\/p>\n
I find in the Spreadshop, someone will be surprised by the variety of options. Everything\u2019s there, you\u2019re one click away from seeing the whole range, and it\u2019s easy to navigate. The feedback I\u2019ve been getting on print quality has also been excellent. The product that comes back is exactly how you\u2019d want it to look. That\u2019s really reassuring to know that I\u2019m putting my name on this these products.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Spreadshop takes all the problems out of trying to sell merchandise. It\u2019s a very quick process and it\u2019s fairly painless.<\/p>\n
\n<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\nHow much time do you spend maintaining your Shop?<\/strong><\/h2>\nGenerally, I try to get at least one design up a month. If I have more time, I may get a couple of designs up. I tend to go and check in on the Shop and see how things are going. I spend at least an hour a day doing marketing, or I may spend time making custom materials. I\u2019ll change the tags on some of the t-shirts if I think something\u2019s trending. There\u2019s a little bit of effort that goes in every single day.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s nice that once you\u2019ve got the designs uploaded, you can kind of concentrate on the marketing side. The rest of it is all set because it\u2019s taken care of by [Spreadshop].<\/p>\n
Do you have any specific brainstorming practices that will help generate design ideas?<\/strong><\/h2>\nYou really only need to put two or three words on a shirt. If it resonates with people, you can do very well. I\u2019ve always got various notebooks kicking around on my desk. Pencils everywhere. Whenever I think of something, I\u2019ll quickly sketch it. You don\u2019t have to do any perfect rendering of anything; just a few lines so you can look at it again and think \u2018yea, maybe.\u2019<\/p>\n
You have a solid social following. Do you have advice for someone looking to monetize their passion? How would you suggest they continue building their brand?<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe golden rule is to try and find gathering spots for people with similar interests. When I first started my blog, I went on Twitter and followed a lot of people. Some of them followed me back and would retweet my work, and [my brand] slowly grew. There are also groups on Facebook, and I think that\u2019s common for most self-interests.<\/p>\n
I try to ask customers (especially if I meet people out at events), \u201cwhat would you like to see that I\u2019m not currently doing.\u201d Sometimes there are suggestions I can use. I seem to get the ideas somehow. Some don\u2019t work, but most of them kind of do.<\/p>\n
\n<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\nHow do you go about promoting your designs and products? Do you mostly use organic marketing, or have you dabbled with paid advertising?<\/strong><\/h2>\nTwitter. I can promote on there at any time, and it\u2019s easy to post several images. Facebook comes after that. [It\u2019s a place where you can] build up this group of people who you can bounce ideas off of. [You can] show them a work in progress and go \u201cwhat do you think.\u201d You\u2019ll be surprised\u2026 people have some great ideas.<\/p>\n
[When it comes to creating designs], if there\u2019s a particular event or anniversary, I\u2019ll try to create something. I\u2019ll pick a couple of shirts that I think are appropriate. I also keep an eye on analytics to see if it\u2019s actually making a difference. That\u2019s the cool thing with Spreadshop\u2026 it\u2019s all linked up with Google Analytics. This means I can see where all my customers are coming from.<\/p>\n
[When it comes to paid advertising], I\u2019m off to a big space event in Arizona. I\u2019ve purchased advertising for my Spreadshop in the event\u2019s program. I know pretty much everybody who reads it likes space and probably has a few t-shirts. So, for me, that\u2019s really good targeted advertising. I can justify that spend.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking for even more insight from Petty, make sure you check out the MerchCast Podcast<\/a> (that\u2019s right\u2026 Spreadshop has its own podcast). If you have any more questions for the guest, we\u2019ll pass them along!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How did you end up landing on Spreadshop? What has it been about the platform that you\u2019ve particularly liked?<\/strong><\/h2>\nI had done about eight months with Redbubble, and it was going okay. They did a big reorganization of the site at the end of last year. If people went to look at a shirt I\u2019d done, it would put up 40 related shirts at the bottom of the page. A lot of those designs had been chopped up from the internet. I got sick of that, so I started looking around [for an alternative]. The thing that attracted me to Spreadshirt was I could have a Shop, and I could have a link on my blog where people would be guided right to my designs.<\/p>\n
I find in the Spreadshop, someone will be surprised by the variety of options. Everything\u2019s there, you\u2019re one click away from seeing the whole range, and it\u2019s easy to navigate. The feedback I\u2019ve been getting on print quality has also been excellent. The product that comes back is exactly how you\u2019d want it to look. That\u2019s really reassuring to know that I\u2019m putting my name on this these products.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Spreadshop takes all the problems out of trying to sell merchandise. It\u2019s a very quick process and it\u2019s fairly painless.<\/p>\n
\n<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\nHow much time do you spend maintaining your Shop?<\/strong><\/h2>\nGenerally, I try to get at least one design up a month. If I have more time, I may get a couple of designs up. I tend to go and check in on the Shop and see how things are going. I spend at least an hour a day doing marketing, or I may spend time making custom materials. I\u2019ll change the tags on some of the t-shirts if I think something\u2019s trending. There\u2019s a little bit of effort that goes in every single day.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s nice that once you\u2019ve got the designs uploaded, you can kind of concentrate on the marketing side. The rest of it is all set because it\u2019s taken care of by [Spreadshop].<\/p>\n
Do you have any specific brainstorming practices that will help generate design ideas?<\/strong><\/h2>\nYou really only need to put two or three words on a shirt. If it resonates with people, you can do very well. I\u2019ve always got various notebooks kicking around on my desk. Pencils everywhere. Whenever I think of something, I\u2019ll quickly sketch it. You don\u2019t have to do any perfect rendering of anything; just a few lines so you can look at it again and think \u2018yea, maybe.\u2019<\/p>\n
You have a solid social following. Do you have advice for someone looking to monetize their passion? How would you suggest they continue building their brand?<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe golden rule is to try and find gathering spots for people with similar interests. When I first started my blog, I went on Twitter and followed a lot of people. Some of them followed me back and would retweet my work, and [my brand] slowly grew. There are also groups on Facebook, and I think that\u2019s common for most self-interests.<\/p>\n
I try to ask customers (especially if I meet people out at events), \u201cwhat would you like to see that I\u2019m not currently doing.\u201d Sometimes there are suggestions I can use. I seem to get the ideas somehow. Some don\u2019t work, but most of them kind of do.<\/p>\n
\n<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\nHow do you go about promoting your designs and products? Do you mostly use organic marketing, or have you dabbled with paid advertising?<\/strong><\/h2>\nTwitter. I can promote on there at any time, and it\u2019s easy to post several images. Facebook comes after that. [It\u2019s a place where you can] build up this group of people who you can bounce ideas off of. [You can] show them a work in progress and go \u201cwhat do you think.\u201d You\u2019ll be surprised\u2026 people have some great ideas.<\/p>\n
[When it comes to creating designs], if there\u2019s a particular event or anniversary, I\u2019ll try to create something. I\u2019ll pick a couple of shirts that I think are appropriate. I also keep an eye on analytics to see if it\u2019s actually making a difference. That\u2019s the cool thing with Spreadshop\u2026 it\u2019s all linked up with Google Analytics. This means I can see where all my customers are coming from.<\/p>\n
[When it comes to paid advertising], I\u2019m off to a big space event in Arizona. I\u2019ve purchased advertising for my Spreadshop in the event\u2019s program. I know pretty much everybody who reads it likes space and probably has a few t-shirts. So, for me, that\u2019s really good targeted advertising. I can justify that spend.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking for even more insight from Petty, make sure you check out the MerchCast Podcast<\/a> (that\u2019s right\u2026 Spreadshop has its own podcast). If you have any more questions for the guest, we\u2019ll pass them along!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How much time do you spend maintaining your Shop?<\/strong><\/h2>\nGenerally, I try to get at least one design up a month. If I have more time, I may get a couple of designs up. I tend to go and check in on the Shop and see how things are going. I spend at least an hour a day doing marketing, or I may spend time making custom materials. I\u2019ll change the tags on some of the t-shirts if I think something\u2019s trending. There\u2019s a little bit of effort that goes in every single day.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s nice that once you\u2019ve got the designs uploaded, you can kind of concentrate on the marketing side. The rest of it is all set because it\u2019s taken care of by [Spreadshop].<\/p>\n
Do you have any specific brainstorming practices that will help generate design ideas?<\/strong><\/h2>\nYou really only need to put two or three words on a shirt. If it resonates with people, you can do very well. I\u2019ve always got various notebooks kicking around on my desk. Pencils everywhere. Whenever I think of something, I\u2019ll quickly sketch it. You don\u2019t have to do any perfect rendering of anything; just a few lines so you can look at it again and think \u2018yea, maybe.\u2019<\/p>\n
You have a solid social following. Do you have advice for someone looking to monetize their passion? How would you suggest they continue building their brand?<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe golden rule is to try and find gathering spots for people with similar interests. When I first started my blog, I went on Twitter and followed a lot of people. Some of them followed me back and would retweet my work, and [my brand] slowly grew. There are also groups on Facebook, and I think that\u2019s common for most self-interests.<\/p>\n
I try to ask customers (especially if I meet people out at events), \u201cwhat would you like to see that I\u2019m not currently doing.\u201d Sometimes there are suggestions I can use. I seem to get the ideas somehow. Some don\u2019t work, but most of them kind of do.<\/p>\n
\n<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\nHow do you go about promoting your designs and products? Do you mostly use organic marketing, or have you dabbled with paid advertising?<\/strong><\/h2>\nTwitter. I can promote on there at any time, and it\u2019s easy to post several images. Facebook comes after that. [It\u2019s a place where you can] build up this group of people who you can bounce ideas off of. [You can] show them a work in progress and go \u201cwhat do you think.\u201d You\u2019ll be surprised\u2026 people have some great ideas.<\/p>\n
[When it comes to creating designs], if there\u2019s a particular event or anniversary, I\u2019ll try to create something. I\u2019ll pick a couple of shirts that I think are appropriate. I also keep an eye on analytics to see if it\u2019s actually making a difference. That\u2019s the cool thing with Spreadshop\u2026 it\u2019s all linked up with Google Analytics. This means I can see where all my customers are coming from.<\/p>\n
[When it comes to paid advertising], I\u2019m off to a big space event in Arizona. I\u2019ve purchased advertising for my Spreadshop in the event\u2019s program. I know pretty much everybody who reads it likes space and probably has a few t-shirts. So, for me, that\u2019s really good targeted advertising. I can justify that spend.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking for even more insight from Petty, make sure you check out the MerchCast Podcast<\/a> (that\u2019s right\u2026 Spreadshop has its own podcast). If you have any more questions for the guest, we\u2019ll pass them along!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You really only need to put two or three words on a shirt. If it resonates with people, you can do very well. I\u2019ve always got various notebooks kicking around on my desk. Pencils everywhere. Whenever I think of something, I\u2019ll quickly sketch it. You don\u2019t have to do any perfect rendering of anything; just a few lines so you can look at it again and think \u2018yea, maybe.\u2019<\/p>\n