66 – 5 Tips for Society6 Sales with Brittney Lewis

LAura

0:06
Hi, this is Laura Lee Griffin.

Nikki

0:08
And this is Nikki May with the Startist Society, inspiring you to stop getting in your own way and start building an art biz and life that you love.

Laura

0:17
We are artists who believe strongly in the power of community, accountability, following your intuition, taking small actionable steps and breaking down the barriers of fear and procrastination that keep you stuck.

Nikki

0:30
Follow along with us on our creative business journey as we encourage you on yours.

Last week, we introduced you to artist and designer Brittney Lewis. So if you haven’t had a chance to listen to that episode, be sure to check it out. Today she’s back to share with us her five best tips for making sales on Society6.

Laura

0:52

Brittney, thanks for coming back to share more with our listeners.

Brittney

0:56
No problem, excited to be here.

Laura

0:58
So why don’t you share with us your first tip on Society6.

Brittney

1:02
I think the first tip is to develop a strong portfolio. So in the beginning, try and experiment with different art styles to develop a style of your own. Try to typography, photography, traditional art, digital art, just try in the beginning. You don’t have to do anything perfect.

Nikki

1:20
You hear that, Laura? It doesn’t have to be perfect.

Laura

1:24
Are you looking at me, Nikki?

Brittney

1:25
Oh, is she the perfectionist.

Nikki

1:27
Oh no, we both are. I was also looking in the mirror. All right, what’s your second tip for us?

Brittney

1:34
I would definitely have to say trend research and SEO. I suggest trying to cater to a specific niche. Like right now my niche is the outdoors and nature. You can use Google Trends or Pinterest to kind of figure out what people are searching for. And another way that I look at what’s selling is to go on like Urban Outfitters or West Elm and then change the sort to best selling so you can see what colorways people are looking for. Or maybe they’re looking for cats. Like you can kind of see what’s going on in the market and post it immediately. So if you see that people are buying tigers, because it’s the year of the tiger, make tiger artwork.

Nikki

2:14
That’s great advice. Yeah, I never thought I mean, I’ve done a lot of research, but I’ve never thought to look at those kinds of shops and see what’s selling best for them.

Brittney

2:24
Definitely, especially if it’s a store that you want to get your work in.

Nikki

2:27
Yeah, absolutely.

Laura

2:28
And the great thing about print on demand is that some of these stores have a really long lead time to get the artwork there. But print on demand, you could get it sold tomorrow, right? So you can take advantage of those trends immediately, which is pretty cool. So what is your tip number three?

Brittney

2:43
I would say try to get featured. When you make your artwork, try to capture the process, whether that’s on a blog or on Instagram, or whatever medium you’re using to share your process. I think when people can connect with you, they’re more excited to make a purchase from you. So if you can share your process in some way, shape or form, it can definitely get you featured because it’s happened to me multiple times.

Laura

3:06
Awesome. And when you say featured, you mean like featured in a in a newsletter from society six are featured on their primary page?

Brittney

3:14
Exactly. So you can get featured on their homepage and get featured on their social media, their stories in their newsletters. I mean, there’s so many different ways. I mean, they have a huge audience. And if you can get in front of them that can change your entire company.

Nikki

3:29
Awesome. So what is your fourth tip for us?

Brittney

3:31
I think to be consistent. I think the trick is like learning how to be confident in your decisions and having the courage to push through, even if it’s just once a week or once a month. If you can commit to art practice over time, you’ll gain some traction, it just depends on how often you’re posting. So definitely try to be consistent.

Nikki

3:53
Consistency is hard.

Brittney

3:57
It is. Not gonna lie.

Laura

3:59
Yeah, it’s hard, but it’s important. I kind of like the idea sometimes of setting a, you know, setting a little timer for yourself and just saying once a day, I’m gonna spend 10 minutes doing this thing.

Brittney

4:09
Exactly.

Nikki

4:10
You’re gonna do it at 4am like Brittney does?

Laura

4:14
Or, or like 2am like I do? Before I go to bed?

All right, what is your final tip for us?

Brittney

4:24
I think my final tip is not to get caught up with social media and comparison. Try to stay inspired. Like I went to Barnes and Noble yesterday and I was like, Oh my God, there’s so many art books. I want to buy them all. Like, don’t like get stuck on the internet, like leave your house. Listen to a podcast like the Startist Society

Nikki

4:45
Oh, excellent advice. Or if you’re like me and Laura, don’t go to a bookstore. Just go on your bookshelves and look at those 8 million books that you bought and never take the time to look at.

Brittney

5:00
Late night Amazon purchases, oh boy.

Nikki

5:04
All of them.

Laura

5:07

Brittney, thanks so much for coming back and sharing your tips with us.

Brittney

5:12
It’s been fun. I love it.

Nikki

5:14
To get a downloadable PDF with Brittney’s Society6 tips and tricks, visit startistsociety.com/society6tips.

Laura

5:23
Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next week.