5 Ways to Earn Money in Surface Pattern Design
Hello, my friend, and welcome to this week's blog. If you’ve been around for the last several weeks, you know that I’ve been covering all the different ways that you can make money as a surface pattern designer.
If you’re new here, welcome!
Today’s post is a highlight reel of the five big categories that we covered. I’ve embedded links to each category so that you can read the full post on the topic.
Let’s Review the Five Ways
Category #1 – Licensing:
As a professional surface pattern designer, you determine the industry where you feel your designs will be most marketable. By contacting art directors at various companies, you can license your artwork across multiple industries, or multiple countries, and receive a licensing fee from those companies. On average, licensed designers are paid between 3% to 8% of either retail or wholesale sales.
For example, you may become licensed by a company producing kitchenware, with your contract stipulating they can only use those designs on kitchenware. Then you can also market those same designs to a company producing area rugs. In addition, your contract might say that those companies can only sell in the United States, so you can use those same designs and market to a housewares company in Europe.
A key component is to consult an attorney to review your contracts so that everything is set up properly. Be aware that with licensing it usually takes a while to get up and running, but it is well worth the effort.
Category #2 - Direct Selling:
With direct selling you purchase your own inventory, and then sell those items directly to the public, either through your website, or at craft fairs, local art shows and even in local retail stores. This is a great way for you to engage directly with consumers, asking them about their preferences or what they’d like to see you create next.
In addition to gathering feedback, you have the advantage of being able to curate the customer experience. You might choose to use a beautiful box with your logo on it, a bag with beautiful tissue paper printed with your own designs, a ribbon you designed, or a sticker with your logo.
Category #3 - Indirect Selling:
Indirect selling, also known as passive income, is where you upload your designs to a third-party provider, generally described as a Print-on-Demand (POD) company. This has become a huge industry.
With companies like Society6, for example, designers open a free online shop, upload their designs, choose their own products to feature their designs, and publish them. The POD company, that can print in super small quantities, becomes the shipper. They also handle any customer returns. You still need to upload new designs fairly frequently to keep your shop fresh. It is also important to market your shop by telling your friends, family, and creative community, sending emails, and ensuring people know where to find you at these third-party providers. You then earn a commission on every sale.
Category #4 – Workshops:
This category includes in-person or online workshops, as well as digital courses. When an in-person workshop is not feasible, you can record what you teach and then offer this as a workshop to purchase on your website. With a workshop anyone in the world can take advantage of what you are teaching, allowing you to create reach well beyond your geographic area, and to make a bigger impact doing what you love. There are many ways to approach this, and it is an incredible opportunity that I think artists often overlook.
Category #5 - Memberships:
Memberships are becoming more and more popular. This is a way to create and give back to your own creative community, in exchange for the monthly fee that you charge, by either teaching or just being in community.
One popular example of a membership would be subscription boxes, a great way to put your designed products in a box for your subscribers to receive in the mail each month. This is a great selling opportunity for special occasions like Mothers’ Day, where you have curated your beautiful products inside. There are many holidays during the year where a special occasion box would work brilliantly.
Bye for now, and I'll see you next week.
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Bye for now. And I'll see you next week.
Remember,
It’s Never Too Late to Create®
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
