How to save time and money with creative packaging 

Most online crafters don’t need to be told what branding is. They know it intuitively. They framed their branding as they developed their products. They put it in writing when they got a logo and a business card. 

But what about a product’s shipping box and packaging? If you’re an online crafter, you probably already get that this is another aspect of branding. It’s not just a fulfillment cost. The packaging you use is the first real life experience your customers have with your brand.
 
What is that experience going to be?
 
You want to make an impression, obviously. But you’re also in business. So while it might be fun to make every package into a work of art, that’s not realistic. Your time and money are limited. 

You need to deliver a package that is:

**Durable**

There’s no worse branding experience than receiving a package that’s been pummeled in the mail.
 
**Attractive**

Our expectations frame our experiences. If your packaging is appealing, your customers will have a pre-set expectation that your products will be appealing, too. This can reduce returns, increase loyalty, and even result in better product reviews.
 
**Memorable**

There's no shortage of competition, even for handmade goods. You want first time customers to remember your products and your packaging enough to buy again.
 
**Efficient**

Time is money. You can’t spend hours preparing each package. I’d guesstimate that any more than ten minutes simply isn’t feasible. Five minutes per package is probably the absolute max.
 
**Affordable**

It might be awesome to wrap your work in gold leaf… but you can’t. So how much is reasonable to spend on each package? 3-7% of your product cost is what most companies aim for, but 10% is not uncommon. And 10% is probably the number that most small-scale crafters should aim to beat. Limited budgets and small operations often mean you can’t buy in bulk. Also, because you’re a crafter, there’s an expectation that your shipping should be more distinctive than if you were shipping, say, batteries.
 
Here’s how those different percentages might break out for a $50 order:
 
* 3% of the product cost would give you a $1.50 packaging budget
* 5% would be $2.50
* 7% would be $3.50
* 10% would be $5.00

Let’s say you decide on 7%. That’s $3.50 of budget to package a $50 order. Impossible? Not at all. You can definitely keep the outside box to $1.50 or so. Judicious use of stickers and a custom stamp can turn a “boring” brown box into something reasonable cool and memorable, but also tough enough to survive even an abusive postal worker.
 
That leaves you $2.00 per package.
 
So what can you do with that? Quite a lot, actually. Take a look at what these three small online crafters have done with their packaging.

## 1. Pick a theme
 
Packages literally tie things together. So do themes.
 
Here’s how [Love Bud Photography](http://www.lovebudphotography.com/index2.php?v=v1#!/HOME) announces its work in the mail. 

![LoveBudPhotography Uses a Party Theme for their Online Store](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/545e44e6ced80f0e99580ea30da4c1cf9af9d243)

The party theme used here is an easy way to invoke celebration – and we want our customers to celebrate when they get their packages, right?
 
But the party theme is also a smart business move. You see, party supplies are easy to find. They’re inexpensive. And they come in hundreds of colors and variations. The hardest part about picking what to use will be to winnow down your options.
 
Just a few things to notice in this box:
 
**1. The package filler.**

Want to know the single best way to keep stuff from getting damaged in a shipping box? Make sure it can’t move around during transit.

That’s why so many people use box filler. And this particular box filler – the crinkled strips of paper – definitely has a party feel to it. It’s known as crinkle paper, and you can get a 10 lb box of it at Staples for $18, retail. With a third of a pound of that in each shipping box, you’d pay about 60 cents per box.
 
**2. The printed card.**

This serves a clever dual purpose. It’s an insert card you can use for loyalty or feedback (ask for an honest review) or another message. But it can also be a thank you card. You can get thank you cards printed up for ten cents or less each. Then write a quick thank you note to customize each package. That personalized touch is exactly the sort of thing people remember and share.
 
**3. The confetti.**

Using confetti in shipping packaging is pretty popular right now. But it makes sense. We all have fun associations with confetti, plus it’s colorful and cheap. It’s an easy way to add splash to a box for barely a dime per package.  

Want another spin on the confetti idea? Here’s how [The Bees Knees](http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2011/3/4/this-is-the-bees-knees.html) ships their honey.

![BeesKnees Uses Creative Packaging to Ship their Honey](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/a2d667c715a07e80de5869a6ecfe20e428931d7b)

One quick comment on this, though. That glass jar will need protection during shipping. They might want to borrow some of Love Bud’s crinkled paper. Or use honeycomb packaging to expand upon that theme.

**How much for that party in a box?**
 
With those three things plus the shipping box, and we’re at $2.30 per box ($1.50 for the outside shipping box, plus 80 cents for the filler, the card, and the confetti).
 
That still leaves $1.20 of budget per box left. Enough to buy a bit of candy, like Love Bud has done here. Or to include some other small gift like the heart in a tin.
 
Want another twist on the party theme? How about skipping the crinkled paper and using half-filled balloons instead? They’re the party version of air pillows. You can get packs of 100 balloons for less than $6. You can even get them in a particular color, and nail another branding opportunity.
 
## 2. Use common materials in a creative way

This is the best secret for small shop packaging. If you can use common materials in a new way, you’ll:
 
- Save money
- Be memorable
- Skip lots of sourcing headaches (because you can get your packing supplies just about anywhere)
 
My favorite example of this is…
 
The humble paper bag.
 
Here’s how the handmade craft company [Nestled](http://nestledblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/packaging.html) does theirs:

![KraftBag Nestled Packaging for Etsy Store](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/da2728cbbd14994c18b17a9099c0e72884053a66)

It’s simple, affordable, and appealing.
 
Here’s the cost breakout:
 
-   	The bag: 5 cents
-   	The twine: 5 cents
-   	The die-cut printed label: 20 cents (this is my estimate). 

"Die cut" refers to the shape of this tag. Notice how it’s not a square? That’s why it’s so expensive. But Megan (Nestled’s owner) saved so much money with her other packaging materials that she can splurge a little on the label.
 
Total cost for this? 30 cents!

That leaves enough left over to possibly add another layer of protection for the jewelry inside. Add a sticker and a stamp and you’ve got a custom-printed package. Oops… getting ahead of myself.

## 3. Invest strategically in your printing

Yes – custom printing can be expensive. And yes – your budget is small. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do any custom printing. You just have to do it strategically.
 
One example of this? Custom tape.
 
A lot of cool little craft companies are using custom tape. No surprise, really. You have to use tape anyway to seal the box – might as well make it into a branding statement.
 
There’s two types of tape being used these days: Packaging tape (sometimes known as “Carton sealing tape”) for outside the shipping box and “Kraft” tape, which is suitable for lighter uses.

Rolls typically come in 55 or 100 yards. If you buy about 25 or fewer rolls, you’ll pay roughly $10 per roll. Buy more and the cost per roll goes down.
 
If you use one yard of tape per package, that’s about 10 cents of custom tape per package. Not bad, given how much of a statement it could make.
 
But you could go even cheaper. Here’s plain tape made marvelous with a custom stamp. It’s not suitable for packaging tape, but it would keep interior boxes and envelopes closed. And it makes for a very cool return address label.

![Custom Stamped Masking Tape](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/fdea7890831ae500d8618850bd2ee4b39b6d1d6b)

Custom stamps bring up a ton of other possibilities. They basically make you into your own print shop. Here’s how [one coffee roaster](https://shopventory.com/blog/diy-stamp-projects) packs their coffee:

![Custom Stamped Coffee Bag](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/de09998c759db71bf90e4a626def40b45275ca14)

And there’s another paper bag…
 
[Custom stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/custom-stickers), of course, work great too. They’re similar to stamps, but stickers can seal boxes (like custom tape does), which makes them dual use. And stickers can go on the outside of shipping boxes, too.
 
With all those options, you can save enough to be able to splurge on some custom printing. And it doesn’t always have to be a custom box, either. Custom printed poly mailers (aka “poly bags”) work well, too.

## Conclusion
 
There’s absolutely no reason to give up on having cool packaging. Even if you’re on a shoestring budget.  Especially if you're on a shoestring budget, actually.
 
Just be sure that whatever you use will hold up during shipping. And keep your package prep time to a minimum. That’s one area many handmade companies don’t estimate for properly. For instance, if you earn $20 an hour, and you spend 15 minutes prepping each package, you’ve just put $5 of your time into that package. Those hours add up and can throw off your spend per package… which is why a little custom printing can quickly pay for itself.

## Back to you
 
There are countless ways to delight _your_ customers and grow your brand using stickers and other custom printed products. Check out more ways Sticker Mule can help your business grow.

<ButtonCta text="100+ ways to use Sticker Mule" href="https://www.stickermule.com/uses?ref=blog" />

The packaging you use is the first real life experience your customers have with your brand. What is that experience going to be? 

How to build your Etsy shop brand 

Wouldn’t it be great if every one of your Etsy customers sent others to your shop?

As a small business owner, you want people to enjoy your creations and tell others. You don’t just want them to come back and buy again. You also want them to recommend your shop to their friends and help you grow. But if you’re a small Etsy shop owner, you might recognize this conversation:

“I found this super cute Etsy shop the other day.” “What’s it called?” “...I can’t remember.”

Now, that’s tragic. The good news is that a combination of good branding on Etsy along with some simple Etsy SEO will make it easier for your customers to not only find you the first time but remember your name and share it with all their friends.

## How to get noticed on Etsy in 2020

A major issue with selling on Etsy is being found in the first place. There are thousands of sellers who create similar products, so when a potential customer is simply referred to finding you “on Etsy,” it’s almost impossible to relocate an exact item.

It’s not easy for buyers to just “find you on Etsy”.

Here’s a simple search on Etsy for a purse. As you can see, there are thousands of results and it would be hard to get your purse to stand out in search. To bring your shop to the top, you need to start with a little Etsy SEO.

![etsy purse search](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/55ccb07e52ddca834203f5acfbba83229ee86b34)

### What you need to know about SEO for Etsy

Did you know that Etsy runs its own SEO game? And playing by Etsy’s rules is what all those big, successful shops are doing to succeed?

Thankfully, Etsy doesn’t keep its SEO program a secret. The Etsy staff keep an up-to-date guide on the site called “[How Etsy Search Works](https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/how-etsy-search-works/375461474487)”.

Shops get found on Etsy in two phases:

- Query matching
- Ranking

Query matching happens when your new customer does a search on Etsy for a product. Then, Etsy looks through all the listings that match the query.

Ranking is similar to Google. The Etsy team wants to provide buyers with the most accurate search results. So, they look through the listings and pull out the ones that best match the search term. Usually, these products then make up the top selling Etsy items thanks to sheer visibility alone.

You want the product Etsy chooses for page one to be yours. So, how do you make it happen? The answer is finding the best keywords for Etsy.

### How to find the best Etsy SEO keywords

To get started with SEO on Etsy, you need to find the right keywords, which is a funny way of saying “a couple of words that accurately describe your product.” 

Keywords are the foundation of setting up an Etsy store: choose the right ones, and getting found is easier. Using keywords that don’t match your product or the buyer’s intent will make it harder for you to use more advanced tools to get ahead.

1. __Start with Etsy’s own search tool.__ You can learn a lot about what people search for on Etsy simply by doing lots of searches yourself. You can see what other keyword suggestions Etsy makes and figure out what kind of products come up when you hit the ‘search’ button. Write your findings down, but don’t rely on this method alone!
2. __Confirm your hunch with an Etsy keyword tool.__ You don’t need to play a guessing game with keywords. You can confirm your suspicion and use data to find the most popular keywords by turning to tools like the Etsy Keyword Tool Dominator. If you’re new to Etsy and don’t have cash to spare for keyword research, you can also use the Google Keyword Planner, which is available at the unbeatable cost of absolutely free.
3. __Optimize your title, tags, attributes, and categories__. With your list of sweet keywords ready to go, it’s time to sprinkle them around your store like magic dust. Add them to every aspect of your listing, including in your content. If you’re brand new to Etsy, you can find a short guide to the different parts of your listing, like titles, tags, and categories, [over on Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/ie/seller-handbook/article/keywords-101-everything-you-need-to-know/382774281517).

By building a foundation of accurate and highly-searchable keywords, you’re preparing yourself to be found by [Etsy’s 41.03 million active buyers](https://www.marketplacepulse.com/stats/etsy/etsy-number-of-active-buyers-3).

## What are examples of successful Etsy brands?

Now that you’re on your way to taking over the top spot in the Etsy rankings, what you need is branding. Branding is more than coming up with names for an Etsy shop: true branding helps people remember your store so they can come back again — and bring their friends.
Branding is a highly individual exercise. Your brand is a reflection of your shop. But if you’re new to buying and selling online, you may find you need some inspiration to kick-start your branding brainstorm. 
To get started, let’s take a look at three Etsy shops who are already successful.

### Lovelane branded by quality & photography

![lovelane etsy page](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/367448538328af4596f0b12734c596d90fdb1427)

[Lovelane](https://www.etsy.com/shop/lovelane) is a custom children’s costume shop with gorgeous photography and glowing reviews. They have a logo, several places for you to follow them on social media, and a website. 

The company is especially active on Instagram where you can see dozens of pictures of their products in use. 

What really stands out for this brand is the unique quality of their children’s costumes and photography that goes beyond the effort of what a normal shop would. 

They have images of children in their costumes playing. There is a nice touch of a child being held in the air in their costume to fly like a superhero. And, you’ll find a few pets and babies in costumes as well.

__Takeaway Tip:__ Be creative with what you offer, and show it being used in your photography. Skip ‘stock’ images, and ask customers to come back and leave a review. Social proof is a great way to show others how great your product is.

### Creepy St. Shop is a fun nightmare

![etsy creepy st ](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/e92b9fd21bb79ab1ee05c2174bd2c9fa3b645622)

When it comes to horror films you either love them or hate them. Lisa from [Creepy St.](https://etsy.com/shop/CreepySt) loves them so much she’s set up her own Etsy shop selling goods celebrating horror film culture. 

Lisa has a fun logo with a skull to indicate the dark nature of her shop. Most items in the shop are related to the horror world, and she stays consistent with her scary brand. 

What’s really fun is how Creepy St. shares horror flicks links, history and facts on social media. She’s active in getting recognition for her brand, while also providing a newsfeed that is interesting to her followers on Twitter.

__Takeaway Tip:__ Entertain your buyers. From the design of her logo to the fun newsfeed, Lisa is able to keep people interested in her shop by staying active with industry news.

### Shine Invitations for beautiful wedding stationery

![shine invitations etsy page](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/9dad33d8f5e371fad3a0187c829435dcf7aed7e2)

The wedding category is massive on Etsy. To stand out, a store has to optimize every setting and option. [Shine Wedding](https://etsy.com/shop/ShineInvitations) Invitations does this very well. From their photos, to their titles and descriptions they use every opportunity to show the elegance of their invitations. 

For branding they make sure to use their company name in emails and they refer people to their actual website and social media accounts (where they are highly active). 

__Takeaway Tip:__ Use fonts in your products and photos to stay consistent with your branding. In these pictures they use elegant fonts consistent with wedding invitations.  

## What you can learn from successful Etsy brands

Setting up your shop with a fluid theme is one way to help people remember your brand, but successful shops also do a lot behind the scenes. Here are more ways to work on your branding.

### Use your Etsy shop name in emails

When you send emails about your shop, use your shop name in your signature and at the top of the email. Say “thank you for shopping at My Etsy Shop.”

### Set up social media accounts for your Etsy shop

 If you don’t already have social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram, set them up and start using them. The more active you are, the more likely you are to bring visitors to your shop. You don’t have to be on all social media networks.

### Work with others

[Etsy has communities](http://etsy.com/teams), and there are several other places that Etsy sellers congregate to support each other. You can find these places by searching on Google for the Etsy sellers group.

Surprise and delight customers with little branding touches: Even though you’re an online business, most customers will still experience your product offline. Thoughtful packaging, with branded touches like custom stickers and labels, will help you bring your online brand into the real world from the very first moment your product reaches your customers hands!

Check out our [packaging and branding](https://www.stickermule.com/blog/brand-package-etsy-products) post for more tips on what to include in Etsy packaging.

## Get ready to make money on Etsy

Popular shops on Etsy have a lot to teach those who are willing to pay attention. Be sure to check out other shops to see what they are doing to increase sales, and gain exposure to their products.

As you learn more you can implement similar changes both when you start your Etsy store and as you continue growing your brand on Etsy.

There are countless ways to grow your brand using stickers and other custom printed products. Why not get started with branding and packaging, and watch your business grow from there?

<ButtonCta text="Create custom packaging for $29" size="large" variant="secondary" align="center" href="https://www.stickermule.com/custom-packaging" />

Want to stand out from the crowd? Branding your Etsy shop is the first step to making more money. Find a step-by-step branding guide with examples here.

15 highly rated free design courses 

Design is a major factor in how people view your company and website. But, what if you don’t know how to design, or can’t afford a full-time designer?

Luckily, there is [Studio](https://www.stickermule.com/studio). A free, easy-to-use online design tool with over 1000+ templates and counting.

But regardless of what tool you use, it's helpful to understand what makes a good design.

We get asked all the time if we know of design courses, especially by people looking to make their own [vinyl decals](https://www.stickermule.com/products/transfer-stickers). 

With that in mind we’ve picked out 15 free design courses that’ll help you build your design skills. Check them out:

## Introductory design courses for newbies
![Introductory design courses for newbies](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/4fc19671966dc043afc2df9cb7f5f96b7951a68a)

### Intro to the design of everyday things (Udacity)

This course on Udacity is created for anyone interested in design, it provides a summary of key concepts from the first two chapters of [The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman](https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded-ebook/dp/B00E257T6C/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1). The course trains you to recognize how design affects everyday life and how to make better design decisions.

Check out [Intro to the design of everyday things](https://www.udacity.com/course/intro-to-the-design-of-everyday-things--design101) on Udacity.

### Introduction to graphic design (Udacity)

Here you’ll learn the basics of design theory to create amazing graphics. Unlike other courses you won’t be learning about Photoshop or Illustrator, you will be learning the 5 basics of design. This lays the foundation for a career of design success.

> Great for very early beginners. If you're thinking about pursuing graphic design, but you're just not sure if it's a good fit for you, this course is helpful in giving clear definitions so you know exactly what graphic design means. -Melanie Baker

Check out [Introduction to graphic design](https://www.udemy.com/introduction-to-graphic-design/) on Udacity.

### Photo editing essentials: growing your brand (Skillshare)

[PicMonkey’s](https://www.picmonkey.com/) Jen Reiner shares how to edit a picture and make it awesome without the need for Photoshop. This class is perfect for beginners in design or those that don't want to buy photoshop. Every lesson includes tips and hacks to make your job easier. 

Check out [Photo editing essentials: growing your brand](https://www.skillshare.com/classes/photography/Photo-Editing-Essentials-Growing-Your-Brand/855732974) on Skillshare.

## Design principles courses
![Design principles](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/cb44ac4f7971ee85df1c495d21ae22122a254e67)

### Creative concepting: getting to better ideas faster (Skillshare)

This course by Jessica Moon, creative director at Digital Telephathy, explains how to execute design correctly. She shares exercises, concepts and tactics throughout this 40 minute course. This course is best for anyone serious about becoming professional designer. 

> I absolutely recommend this class to remind some of the key shortcuts and the best ways to make the design process easier and quicker. Great tips! Thank you, I really enjoyed your class. - Cata Gomez

Check out [Creative concepting: getting to better ideas faster](https://www.skillshare.com/classes/design/Creative-Concepting-Getting-to-Better-Ideas-Faster/1408421897) on Skillshare

### Design pitfalls (David Kadavy)

Design Pitfalls is designed by David Kadavy, the author of the best-selling book [Design for Hackers](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119998956/?tag=lilgreendot-20), and lead design at multiple startups. The 6 lessons are delivered 3 times a week for 2 weeks. Each lesson focuses on a pitfall and how to avoid them.

Check out [Design pitfalls](http://designforhackers.com) on Design for Hackers.

### Don't fear the Internet

Everyone has a website these days but not all are visually appealing. With this course you learn “not to fear the Internet” and create a website that incorporates elements of design to increase your visits and engagement. You’ll also learn to take a basic wordpress blog and manipulate the css, html (and some php!) to match your aesthetic. 

Check out [Don't fear the Internet](http://www.dontfeartheinternet.com/).

## Courses on typography & fonts
![Typography & Fonts](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/58c90e3dc8be3b2eb9f2157ea7ccb265fce7f89b)

### Choosing the right font (Canva)

Choosing the right font means the difference between looking like a professional and an amateur. Consider how many people ‘love’ Comic Sans but the professional community finds it childish. 

[Canva](https://www.canva.com/design/DAAkValF-K4/remix) offers a free course that helps you choose the right font for your message, and overall design project. Using the fonts you learned about in this course would help you make some killer [custom magnets](https://www.stickermule.com/products/custom-magnets), give it a shot.

Check out [Choosing the right font](https://www.canva.com/design/DAAkValF-K4/remix) on Canva.

### Typography that works: typographic composition and fonts (Skillshare)

Skillshare offers a more in-depth font course that helps you recognize, use and create awesome compositions with typeface. Beyond choosing fonts, you’ll learn the different types of fonts, when they should be used and what works best for your readers. 

> Lovely introduction to typography with great examples and thought provoking content. Really useful, and achievable projects. -Ann O'neill

[Typography that works: typographic composition and fonts](https://www.skillshare.com/classes/design/Typography-That-Works-Typographic-Composition-and-Fonts/1694217981) on Skillshare.

## Sketching & illustration courses
![Sketch & Vector Graphic Design](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/68fdaa955ceece2b50c574d877d025da62e02ffc)

### How to sketch like an industrial designer (Skillshare)

Julia Troy, who is Quirky's Design Director, created this class to teach you how to sketch your product idea into an image that is presentable and accurately illustrates your idea. This course is best for aspiring industrial designers and anyone that is prototyping an idea or invention.

Check out [How to sketch like an industrial designer](https://www.skillshare.com/classes/design/How-to-Sketch-Like-an-Industrial-Designer/625650159) on Skillshare

### Vector illustration: design a playful character using geometric shapes (Skillshare)

Vector illustrations are a huge part of design, with the help of Jonathan Ball’s instructions you will learn to create playful characters in vector form. This course is great for anyone interested in design since vector format is used universally.

Check out [Vector illustration: design a playful character using geometric shapes](https://www.skillshare.com/classes/design/Vector-Illustration-Design-a-Playful-Character-Using-Geometric-Shapes/1832339814) on Skillshare

## Logo design courses
![Logo design courses](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/a7b19a52cd02e2c0821b1e5dbc78effb9ec58132)

### Graphic design 101: Why that logo is so compelling (Udemy)

Logos are a huge part of your company, they are usually the first thing a client sees and can be influential in decision making. This course explains what makes a logo attractive and how the design process works, so you can choose the perfect logo for your company.

Check out [Graphic design 101: Why that logo is so compelling](https://www.udemy.com/graphic-design-secrets/) on Udemy.

### Creating brand systems: an overview of combining logos and type (Skillshare)

This short class is made for creatives, illustrators, designers or anyone is interested in learning what goes into creating a dynamic logo. Designers Mike Ski and Jessie Jay created this course and have included simple side projects to help create your own dynamic logo at the end of the class. 

Check out [Creating brand systems: an overview of combining logos and type](https://www.skillshare.com/classes/design/Creating-Brand-Systems-An-Overview-of-Combining-Logos-and-Type/1941759612) on Skillshare.

## Design courses for marketing & startups
![Design for Marketing & Startups](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/9adbad75b9ff85d7e90ceb677e767113b4e91537)

### Startups, this is how design works

Startups have to compete with the hundreds of designers at companies like Apple, Google and Facebook. This is perfect for employees in startups or those interested in startup design. The course teaches everything a startup needs to know about design including: logo creation, innovative UI and how to beat your competitors with awesome, kick-ass design. 

Check out [Startups, this is how design works](https://startupsthisishowdesignworks.com/).

### Web design essentials: creating marketing homepages that drive results (Skillshare)

This 60 minute course is for anyone interested in designing websites with high engagement and results. Dennis Field, a product evangelist and designer, teaches narrowing your creative process and capitalizing on feedback. 

Check out [Web design essentials: creating marketing homepages that drive results](https://www.skillshare.com/classes/design/Web-Design-Essentials-Creating-Marketing-Homepages-That-Drive-Results/1513598221) on Skillshare.

### Principles of UX design (Invision)

Timothy Embretson from Best Buy takes you through the importance of user experience in this free design course by [Invision](http://invisionapp.com). This course is great for anyone designing a website, app or web tool.  

Check out [Principles of UX design](https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/ux-principles-to-guide-your-product-design/) from Invision.

## Over to you
Approaching design on your own is no small feat but there are loads of resources that will help you along the way. The most important thing you can do is practice, innovate, and create on a regular basis. 

Ready to see how that new logo or illustration looks in print? Why not start with some custom stickers or magnets? Get $10 off your first order when you sign up by clicking the button below.

<ButtonCta text="Get $10 credit" href="https://www.stickermule.com/unlock?ref_id=7980330701&ref=blog" />

Improve your design skills with 15 free and highly-rated design courses. 

How to engage your online community with swag 

Building an online community is fun, but it can also be daunting. Even with a lot of members there may be very little activity. As a community manager it’s your job to activate your community and engage them with a variety of activities. 

One way to do this is by using swag, or free gifts. Done correctly and at the right times, swag campaigns can improve overall engagement, increase excitement about your community, get members to use word-of-mouth marketing, and grow your community to astounding numbers.  

## Why swag works for engaging your community

Swag can be a cost-effective way to reward community members. It works because it gives members the opportunity to show off their excitement for the community in real life. 

This often encourages others to investigate the site or brand name to see why this person is so enamored. Assuming everything else in the community is optimized this should lead to more activity, sign ups and engagement. 

But rewards like this must be used correctly, or the campaign could backfire turning into a massive waste of money with few new users gained.

## Successfully giving swag to your community

### Start by identifying a specific goal for your campaign. 
Do you want more members (hopefully active members), more traffic, more engagement from current members, or more referrals from current members? 

All of these things might sound nice, but choose 1 or 2 goals that would impact the community most and focus on making these things happen.

### Choose a specific action you want members to take. 
What do you want members to do? Put stickers up around San Francisco, Boston or NYC? Wear your t-shirts to big events? Share an image on social media with an explanation of why they love being active in the community? 

Be creative here, since that will get more members active in the campaign. Think big, you’ll want maximum exposure. 

### Decide who gets the items. 
You can thank new members for joining, reward the most active members by sending them an unexpected gift, give to members who used to be active but have recently slowed down, or you could choose to entice influencers who could share about your community. 

### Run the campaign.
If you are going to incorporate social media, giveaways or sweepstakes, now is the time to run it. If you are not using these things or you want to give away the items first, skip this step. 

### Ship items to recipients. 
Packaging is important here, you can go the extra mile to engage your recipients without spending a lot. Include a handwritten note, give them instructions or ask them to share on social media (“We’d love it if you could take a pic and share it on Twitter”) but don’t demand anything. 

## Common swag & stories of success

It’s a lot easier to imagine your campaign once you’ve heard about others who have been successful. We’ve put together a list of items and some stories of success to help jumpstart your creativity.

**T-shirts**- Not especially low cost when you are scaling, but an exciting prize for the most dedicated members of your community. Be sure to pick a quality, soft t-shirt to get people wearing it for you.

**Examples**: [Inbound.org](http://inbound.org) used t-shirts to reward their most loyal evangelist members. For a short time, anyone who referred 5 members to the site got a free t-shirt, anywhere in the world. 

Sujan Patel wrote about giving away t-shirts in his popular ebook on growth. By giving away t-shirts (that people wore) the company received a lot of word of mouth and were able to growth hack their way to more users. 

**Stickers**- One of the most economical ways to give physical products to your members, because they can be quite inexpensive and cheap to ship. A lot of companies will include [die cut stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/die-cut-stickers) as additional gifts in shipping because they are fun and low cost. 

Be smart and give your users a list of ideas of where to use your stickers , too. 

Some ideas: 

* Laptop covers
* Back of their tablets
* On street posts
* Posted to bulletin boards
* On skateboards or helmets
* Vehicles
* Moleskine notebooks

**Example**: Reddit is one of the most popular communities sites online and they’ve [used stickers quite extensively to help their brand grow]( https://www.fastcompany.com/1841389/how-reddit-built-its-empire-500-bucks-stickers-and-giving-people-what-they-want).

A quick search on Google will display several subreddits that have used stickers to connect with their communities as well. Here are a few from that search:

![sticker subreddits](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/88a1c0ce2a7c3e35572963b777799f38d19c58ba)

These stickers have been used all around towns to get people exposed to new brands, on packages for the same reason, in sticker exchanges, on game consoles, bikes, briefcases, laptop bags and more. 

**Notebooks** - Business people are constantly taking notes and writing things down, and a moleskine notebook is the perfect place to do it. That’s why we love branded notebooks. 

**Examples**: 
Here is a moleskine notebook Elevator Agency got from HubSpot. As an added bonus for HubSpot, the agency posted it on Twitter (exposure). 

![Moleskine notebook from HubSpot](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/aaceb1c626f577d0a466782dd6bec2366c6b239f)

When I first joined [Coschedule](http://coschedule.com) in 2014 as a paid member I received a notebook and a couple of stickers in the mail. 

A month later when I unexpectedly stopped blogging I continued as a paying member for a few more months because I loved the notebook so much and wanted to support them.

Another option for getting your swag out to members when you don’t have a budget for it, is to set up a store they can shop. There are several companies that act as fulfillment centers and you can put your brand on a lot of items without having to worry about ordering, stocking and shipping. 

## Swag can get expensive & here’s how to fix it

One of the main drawbacks of using swag is the cost. Sending 1000 t-shirts can cost $15,000 or more with shipping. Stickers can cost $500-$1000 to send to the same number of members with shipping and often get more exposure. 

A few ways you can lower swag expenses:

**Only send swag to the most active members**- many people will want free gifts so you’ll need to be selective. Sending gifts to members who are never active can be a huge waste of resources.

**Choose items within your budget**- T-shirts and gift cards are for communities with big budgets. Notebooks and stickers are great for communities of all budgets. What really matters is the presentation of the gifts.

**Avoid low quality gifts**- Totes seem like a great gift, but are often low quality, unless you are willing to foot a higher cost. Skip items that are low quality, like stiff t-shirts, because you’ll end up replacing them, or the member won’t use them as you’d hoped.

**Don’t offer items your audience won’t want**- If you’ve recently wrote a book, you might be inclined to offer the book as a gift (this helps increase your sales and promotes the book to your members), but you still end up footing the bill. If they want your book, they will buy it, swag should be a gift just for them.

### Conclusion
Offering your community gifts or swag is a great way to encourage more engagement, word-of-mouth and new members. 

By following the tips we’ve included here, you should be able to stay within your campaign budgets, while getting the most return on investment. 

If you have a community you'd like to reward with swag, why not start with stickers? [Get $10 off your first order](https://www.stickermule.com/unlock?ref_id=7980330701&ref=blog) when you sign up by clicking the button below.

<ButtonCta text="Get $10 credit" href="https://www.stickermule.com/unlock?ref_id=7980330701&ref=blog" />

Learn how swag helps improve engagement, increases word-of-mouth marketing, and grows your community. 

How a viral blog uses stickers 

- __About Space Beards:__ Space Beards is a popular Tumblr blog (30,000+ followers) that replaces the hairy beards of celebrities (past and present) with cosmic galaxies created by Joshua Arter.
- __How he uses stickers:__ Space Beards went viral early on. Josh uses galaxy styled mustaches and beards as stickers to continue growing traffic and bringing attention to the popular site.
- __Results:__ Space Beard stickers have driven traffic and awareness for the site as it continues to grow beyond this galaxy.

>It was the perfect storm of internet gold: beards plus space.

At first, Josh Arter's popular Tumblr blog "[Space Beards: The Facial Frontier](https://web.archive.org/web/20140309023539/http://spacebeards.com/)" was just a joke that Josh shared with friends. Those friends said he should start a blog so Josh set up a Tumblr site.

Within a few months, it was featured on major sites including Mashable and The Daily Dot. Then, it was featured as a trending blog on Tumblr Tuesday's "Blogs you should be following."

He knew he was on to something when his traffic took off through organic shares and went viral, "It was the perfect storm of internet gold: Beards plus space."

![SpaceBeards Stickers for a Viral Blog](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/9b77fb9d2e89b8fd39169adb0369c0349b2363e1)

So he took his galactic momentum and set up an online shop with t-shirts, phone cases, and coffee cups.

##Building a constellation
As part of his strategy to keep growing traffic, he printed off stickers with Sticker Mule of the space beards he posted on Tumblr.

When asked about how a digital blog bridges the gap between online and offline worlds, Josh says, "The key is to stay true to yourself. If you have a strong brand, stick to it and keep it consistent across all channels."

Josh wasn't content to just make stickers that were selfishly self promotional. Instead of stickers with a URL or his name, he made the stickers as whimsical as the blog itself. Each design is a die-cut sticker in the exact shape of the beard design. With rich, full color on quality vinyl, the stickers are as original as Josh's blog.

"The Space Beards stickers are essentially the blog logo, but like the characters Space Bearded on the site, each sticker represents a different look at the cosmos, keeping the Space Beards offline brand fresh yet familiar."

"I wanted to give away something others could put up around town to gain organic, local traffic to my site. Friends gave them to their friends, I see them around town and in bars."

> People will walk up when they see the sticker and say 'Hey I love that site!'

When traveling around Milwaukee, the center of his bearded galaxy, Josh (and now many others) has space beard stickers on his car, laptop, and bike helmet. And when he's traveling, he brings a stash of stickers and puts them up around cities in prominent places.

"Space is infinite, the chances of creating a viral blog just the same, discovering a Space Beards sticker wild on the street is just as fun. People will walk up when they see the sticker and say 'Hey I love that site!'"

Others asked to have their own stickers and placed them in famous spots around the U.S including Seattle's infamous Market Theater Gum Wall.

![Eddie-Murphy-SpaceBeards](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/eae63e21ea97127ed4f03a8f91f722b173a1b063)

##An Ever-expanding Universe

Josh attributes the stickers to increasing blog traffic, stoking interest, and driving sales of his other products like t-shirts.

"Stickers definitely brought in more traffic. In Milwaukee, some of the stickers are used in hip parts of town… The stickers stand out because of their shape and unusual mix of color."

Josh has found other ways to promote his blog and keep it trimmed and fresh.

>Stickers definitely brought in more traffic.

Last November, Josh partnered with a blog about Milwaukee mustaches (yes, there is a blog for everything) for a Movember event. The theme of the party? Facial hair for a good cause! It was complete with custom shirts. The party was an easy way to promote his blog within his community.

At the event, [mustache stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/mustache-stickers "Custom mustache stickers") were available for attendees to pick up to show their beard love and to continue to boost traffic to the site.

An altruistic artist, Josh has shared his artistic power away through a space beards app for iPhone and iPad.

##Why Sticker Mule?
He originally heard about Sticker Mule through a friend. “All he could talk about was quality” and said that they last forever.

Before Space Beards, Josh used Sticker Mule for another blog "[Thanks for the love MKE](http://thanksforthelovemke.tumblr.com/)" — a website that showcases the city of Milwaukee through photos taken by residents to give a more intimate view of the city.

"I love the city and wanted to show it off. It's underrated and a well kept secret."

The stickers he made for the MKE blog have become a common sight throughout the city.

> The quality, reordering, and turnaround time is the best in the business.

"At one of our meetups, we handed out stickers and ran a campaign for people to take a photo involving their sticker and their favorite Milwaukee spot. It ended up being a broader campaign as people threw them up around the city in general.”

With two popular blogs that use stickers to drive traffic, Josh exclusively uses Sticker Mule because of "the quality, easy reordering, and turnaround time is the best in the business".

<ButtonCta text="Try the best in the business for $1" href="https://www.stickermule.com/samples?ref=blog" />

The viral Tumblr Space Beards shares their experience, advice, and strategy for bridging the online/offline gap with readers. 

15 awesome transfer sticker designs 

Since launching [transfer stickers or vinyl decals](https://www.stickermule.com/products/transfer-stickers) we've seen thousands of incredible designs. Transfer stickers are significantly more difficult to create at every stage from proofing to artwork creation to manufacturing. 

The weeding process is extremely intricate and so our teams have worked closely with our customers to produce their designs. And while we've created [videos and guidelines](https://www.stickermule.com/support/how-do-i-design-a-transfer-sticker) to help, Sticker Mule is proud to reproduce and improve on most transfer design artwork for free. We offer unprecedented design freedom and our free proofing process makes ordering a breeze. 

Since soft launching, we’ve already produced transfer sticker designs for hundreds of customers that were turned away from other vendors. 

Here are 15 awesome transfer sticker designs:

### 1. _I'm Local_ by Corey Sweeter



![Im Local Transfer Sticker](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/2110006d8a5c0da0c1b8e3221b6d0b91f4751afc)



### 2. _Intricately_ by JoAnn Barron



![Intricately Transfer Vinyl Decal Sticker](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/affd9f7321857bbcfc744cf55060e08603e60012)




### 3. _Impact Ink_ by Giv Parvaneh



![MtVernonTX ImpactINK-Transfer Decal](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/d57f6f7c762af4f6a4a82a49481367af7af109cf)



### 4. _Cody Mack Putters_ by Keith Cansler



![Cody Mack Putters Transfer Sticker](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/4a8b3a303f52cda4d6040cbd19f7d89c95b0981c)




### 5. _Focus on the Beer_ by Ryan Hannigan



![Focus on the Beer Transfer Sticker Design](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/e77ddb5c1dd0c537dc8e6f52a37505c9b5f448a0)




### 6. _Vox_ by Kim Steins



![Vox Transfer Sticker Design](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/6c6479e31b8744009645381303fd1e559967f15f) 




### 7. _Dove_ by Julia Sprow



![Dove Transfer Sticker Design](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/5bae7210c9efe9b9a9b86daa22606d44e1ee3075) 




### 8. _Honestly Co_ by David Horne



![Intricate vinyl decal](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/a634e2a03a3c004081503b9b6557cf18103ea5ea) 




### 9. _Threatwave_ by Karen Sears



![ThreatWave Transfer Sticker Design](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/e3bfe250ab5506d6df6e1e21063ca0ea43709452)




### 10. _Sasquatch_ by Haden Farrell



![Sasquatch Transfer Sticker](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/007e73875d47a6cb066fc80a7cd9f1c2f992338f)




### 11. _Tigger Welding_ by Tyler 



![Welding Transfer sticker](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/dec2125160b7785b6eb5091f419e969712fbd4a4)




### 12. _TriLion Studios_ by Brian White



![Tri Lion-Intricate-Decal](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/493e6c760524178ea1fedae68b97de2b84ad74f8)




### 13. _Smile_ by Traveling Chris



![Traveling Chris Transfer Design Vinyl](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/ed74361382c621c3f5a279ec8d1ca67891a2949b)




### 14. _I/L_ by Greg Dundas



![IntricateVinylDecalTransferSticker](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/ce4ab889c3b4a7063ea379914300cda97a1ff4f8)




### 15. _TrainEat_ by Mario



![TrainEat Transfer Sticker](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/5da4c5a98d1bb7beabfaf36351cc6db6d2db9e75)

If you want to try your hand at creating [custom transfer stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/transfer-stickers), why not start today with $10 off your first order. Just sign up by clicking the button below.

<ButtonCta text="Get $10 credit" href="https://www.stickermule.com/unlock?ref_id=7980330701&ref=blog" />

Transfer stickers can be tricky to design. Check out these 15 incredible transfer sticker designs. 

Hidden costs of a/b testing 

There's plenty of literature on the merits of A/B testing, but little information on its pitfalls. Most people in ecommerce, tech and startups would have you believe A/B testing is a must do activity when, in reality, it's often unnecessary and counterproductive. 

At Sticker Mule, we recently stopped actively A/B testing and I thought it'd be helpful to explain why. I should preface this by admitting we ran more than 70 conversion tests before making this decision and had only 3 significant winners. I don't know a normal ratio of tests to wins, but I suspect our situation is common. This isn't to say we don't believe in constantly working to improve conversion--we've found different ways, which I detail later. 

![The Hidden Costs of AB Testing](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/64feff7f772f6956dd6752f42069c17b12f845f0)

## The 6 hidden costs of A/B testing

### 1) Time
Resources are finite. Time spent on A/B testing cannot be spent elsewhere. How you use your time determines your growth trajectory. A/B testing is a growth tactic, but it's not always the best use of your resources. 

### 2) Lost conversions
Most conversion tests fail and underperforming variations cause you to lose conversions while they run. These lost conversions are an investment you make to improve your long term conversion rate, but don't forget they are a real cost. 

### 3) Performance
Related to lost conversions, A/B testing tools make your site slower and this also reduces your conversion rate--even for the control. The additional conversions you lose because of this performance hit are another, often ignored, cost of A/B testing. 

### 4) Confusion
A/B tests potentially confuse your team and customers. Customer service may struggle to properly service a customer if they don't know which variation the customer is viewing. You can educate customer service about the various tests you're running, but, regardless, you're making their job more difficult. 
 
### 5) Speed
A/B testing slows down your organization's decision making. Some ideas are obviously good and adhering to a strict A/B testing process reduces your time to go live. Time is finite and the number of improvements you implement per year has a major impact on your growth trajectory. 

### 6) Focus
Usually, organizations congratulate themselves for investing heavily into conversion. This is evidenced by a Head of CRO or paying consultants. The largest cost is not the salary of those persons, but changing the focus of other team members such as designers, customer support, and developers. The success of a Head of CRO is usually at the cost of making other colleagues less successful in their primary roles. 

## How we improve conversion without A/B testing
Stepping away from A/B testing does not mean we have abandoned efforts to improve conversion. Rather we are improving our conversion through other methods (yes, A/B testing isn't your only option).

You can monitor your long term conversion trend rather easily via Google Analytics to gauge if you're making good decisions. And you can add more precision to this method of conversion rate monitoring by looking at your conversion rate trend by channel. 

With that in mind, we're doubling down on the following to improve our conversion rate:

### Usability principles
Adhering to thoroughly researched [usability principles](https://www.nngroup.com/) generally yields good conversion optimization results. 

### Design principles
In addition to usability principles, there are basic [design principles](http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Design-Revised-Updated/dp/1592535879/) that tend to improve conversion when followed. 

### The golden rule
"Do unto others..." is a guiding principle for most of our decision making and it works great with regards to conversion optimization.

### Solving problems
Solving actual pain points our customers experience is the primary way we've been able to improve our conversion rate and strengthen our brand. 

## We haven't abandoned A/B testing entirely
I should admit that we still A/B test some ideas. Rather than adhering to a strict A/B testing process, we let our team to A/B test ideas they're curious about. 

To minimize the likelihood of testing too much, we turned off our 3rd party A/B testing tool and integrated split testing into our code base. That means, in order to run a test, we need help from development to set it up. This extra effort discourages running careless tests and has the added benefit of eliminating the performance hit that comes with using a 3rd party tool. 

Finally, we're now able to A/B test entirely different versions of our code which is much more interesting than merely testing basic design changes via a 3rd party tool.

If our approach of improving conversion rate by solving problems rather than using an A/B testing tool appeals to you, you share some of [the characteristics we look for in team members](https://www.stickermule.com/blog/characteristics-we-look-for-in-team-members). 

Feel like you'd fit in well with our team? [Apply to join us](https://www.stickermule.com/careers). We'd love to hear from you.

A/B testing has multiple hidden costs. We decided to mostly stop a/b testing for 6 reasons. 

41 custom sticker design templates 

Custom sticker design templates in PDF, EPS and PSD formats are available for download.  They're simple and quick to use if you know your way around Photoshop or Illustrator.

Use of our [custom sticker templates](https://www.stickermule.com/templates) is optional. If you'd rather just send us a simple image file that works too.  We accept all file formats so send us anything and we'll make it work.

Custom sticker templates are available for the most popular sizes and styles.

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