Episode 50: Selling Physical Products as a Designer

Show Notes for This Episode:

[1:15] This week we talk about selling physical products as a designer
[1:40] Jo Fallon of ‘The Creative Journey” is thinking of launching an Etsy shop as an additional source of income to her business: The Cotswold Chalkboard
[2:20] The hosts sum up their experience with creating and selling physical products
[3:00] Lisa had and Etsy shop selling stationery and jewellery
[3:40] The high postage costs in South Africa made it difficult for Lisa to sell her products internationally
[4:40] Retro Supply Co. now sells: shirts and stickers and a product called: “I want it all box” for $497 which includes a variety of digital and physical products
[5:30] Ian got some of his artwork printed but is yet to make a profit from selling them
[6:30] The hosts joke and compare themselves with a bad version of the A-team
[7:00] Tom would like to have a guest on the show with lots of experience on the topic
[7:40] Tom suggests listing the types of products the designers could sell
[8:10] Posters, high quality prints, die cut prints could work very if they are marketed correctly
[8:40] Ian’s prints didn’t do very well so he’s not very keen on selling these in the future
[9:40] He did a poll asking which products his audience will buy, but when the time came the products where not very successful
[10:20] He also tried to sell t-shirts through Cotton Bureau
[11:10] Ian lists shipping costs as one of the main issues for selling physical products
[11:50] Tom’s example of a mum who started selling products as a side project and has a very successful product
[12:45] You need to try lots of different products before you can find the one that does very well
[12:55] Get your products in front of the right consumers: e.g become a member of a few Facebook groups
[14:00] While selling via her Etsy shop Lisa fount that art is difficult to sell, but jewellery and stationery did much better
[14:30] People like trinkets – e.g. a wood plank with Home Sweet Home printed on it
[15:40] A popular Youtuber shared Ian’s products and got hundreds of orders for his products
[16:30] Tom suggests Ian should buy items that are not very expensive, show the process of drawing on them and make them available for purchase
[17:00] Ian’s worry is that the preparation process is very long and it will be wasted time if the product is not a success
[18:00] People might not want to pay the price you’re asking for the work you put in
[18:40] Find a production method to quickly print more items, selling these for a cheaper price than the original
[19:20] Lisa believes that is harder to sell fine art than other products which involve less commitment
[20:00] Make your product: funny, memorable and most importantly giftable
[21:15] Think about distributing your products locally and contacting some shops in your area
[21:40] Before her Etsy shop, Lisa used to sell her products at local markets
[22:50] Dustin’s theory – designers are the worst people to try and sell t-shirts and prints
[23:30] When selling to a non-designer market you need to create quality design and messages that appeal to the audience
[24:15] People will only buy a designed t-shirt when it expresses something about themselves
[25:10] Dustin’s hero product the “I want it all box” was born from the audience’s struggle to download all the products and he solved this problem by putting them all on a flash drive
[25:40] The designers create digital products for the market, not for themselves
[26:00] Dustin thinks Ian’s violin was a success because it was a statement object
[27:00] Tom speaks about custom orders and says the perfect combo for him would be a guitar with a quote about entrepreneurship
[27:20] Facebooks advertising is extremely beneficial as it offers highly targeted adverts
[28:15] Tom fell for this and bought a poster of his favourite movie
[29:20] How fast Google adverts work – from searching for certain items on Google and almost immediately seeing adverts for those items on every other website you visit
[30:00] Dustin example of clicking on a link and being inundated with adverts he didn’t want
[31:10] The host lists more products that could sell well: books, Logo Lounge books, Field Notes by Aaron Draplin
[32:30] Dustin lists: enamel pens and stickers as products that are quite popular now
[33:15] Start paying attention to what is selling in your chosen medium
[33:30] Tom talks about Just in Time production and the benefits of using these printing service
[34:30] And Dustin lists one of its disadvantage
[35:00] The photos of your physical products are just as important as the previews for your digital products
[35:00] Dustin asks the hosts if they can remember the last products they’ve bought online
[37:20] He remembers when bands use to sell CDs and ended up with garages full of CDs waiting to be sold
[38:00] Keep trying until you find the one product that it’s successful
[39:00] Ian hasn’t been very successful with his first try at selling prints, but this shouldn’t disappoint him as first sale is the hardest
[39:20] Use a site like Redbubble to test if your product works
[39:45] Validate your ideas by getting your audience to vote
[40:20] Ask for the money upfront, and only send the designs to print when you get 50+ orders
[41:10] The hosts believe Ian would be successful if he did custom designs on items
[41:00] Think about licensing your designs to a company that has the means of scale production
[42:30] Lisa suggest trying local markets or approaching local shops
[42:50] Friends and family can be your first customers and they can recommend your products through word of mouth
[43:40] Ask your audience what is the last gift you’ve purchased for yourself or from someone else
[44:00] Tom’s idea of a marketplace that can suggest the perfect present for specific people
[45:20] Use Amazon’s information and validate how well things sell
[46:30] The host hope the audience will find this information useful
[47:00] Learn from other people’s fails
[47:30] Find the right fit in the market for your product
[48:00] Think of your audience and cater for them
[48:30] For products with low utility: e.g. prints or t-shirts make its helping the customer to express themselves or they personality
[48:50] Focus on how you’re going to sell your first product
[49:00] Thanks so much for listening to this week’s episode