Saturday, February 9, 2013

CW Designs - CritterCreationsbyCW

You name or Shopid *
CW Designs - CritterCreationsbyCW
Which PODs do you work with? (in no particular order *
  • zazzle
  • greeting card universe
  • inktastic
  • fine art america
How long have you been working with PODs? *
2-3 years
What is the best thing about working with PODs *

The best thing about working with PODs is the ability to work any time you want, earn money from you artwork, I don't have to deal with packaging or shipping, and most of all sharing your designs with the world and having "others" enjoy your artwork enough to buy products for gifts for family, friends or just because!

Why is it exciting and why do I keep doing it?

I love it, all of it! I love coming up with new designs, I love zazzles "sold your item has been purchased" emails, and I love they add new product lines, even though I never have enough time to add them all LOL!! I wouldn't want to do anything else, it is my calling and I enjoy every bit of it, I only wish I had more hours in the day to do it all.
How many hours do you spend on your POD(s) - including designing, adding & promoting - on average *
30-40 hours per week
what would you say to another POD artist who is struggling and in need of motivation? *

Never give up!! Everything takes time and Rome wasn't built in a day, so believe in yourself and keep on going!! Keep on adding new designs and new products everyday, even if it is only a few!

I know that all of us when we first start out are not as good at design etc and we all get better as time goes. The more we do something the better we get at it!! Always set a goal, at least for me it helps to keep me motivated, to try to meet my goal even if I fall short of it.

When I first started out I knew nothing of graphic design, ppi, and all that goes along with it and it less than 2 years I have come a long way. My first goal was to replace the money I was making as a polymer clay artist on ebay, I loved my work but the packaging and shipping, paperwork and custom orders took a toll on me to the point I could no longer keep up with the demand and needed something that would not be so physically or time demanding on me, that is when I found Zazzle. It took me a year to finally make the transition and I did meet my goal of replacing my clay sculpture income and have branched out to add other POD sites with my artwork and have not been happier with my decision to do graphic design and POD!! It has changed my life for the better, so don't give up!
Do you have any formal training or education in POD related fields? *
  • No - I am self taught
If I won the super jackpot lottery tomorrow I would... *
Keep working my POD's for fun
My zazzle stores are:
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Saturday, February 2, 2013

Christopher Johnson

You name or Shopid *
Christopher Johnson
Which PODs do you work with? (in no particular order *
  • zazzle
  • imagekind
  • greeting card universe
  • spreadshirt
  • skreened
  • redbubble
  • inktastic
  • society6
  • deviartart
  • fine art america
  • other not listed
How long have you been working with PODs? *
4-6 years
What is the best thing about working with PODs *

The best thing is that we don't have to sell directly to the public. Buying an expensive printer and handling shipping and charging would be very time consuming. This is even more important when one already has another part or full time job.

Working with PODs is nice in general because you only focus on creating, uploading, describing, and promoting. Yeah, the promoting part isn't much fun, but there is so much competition out there that if we don't promote, it is unlikely that we'll sell anything at all.

For me PODs are essential because people in Mexico really don't like to buy artwork or graphic design or if they do they won't want to pay more than the cost of the printing (which would mean that the designer would work for free).

When I tried to sell framed prints of my work no one made me an offer higher than printing costs so it was a waste of time. No, I didn't sell at that price. Greeting cards are rarely given here either so that wouldn't be profitable either so I basically sell to strangers in other countries.
How many hours do you spend on your POD(s) - including designing, adding & promoting - on average *
40-50 hours per week
what would you say to another POD artist who is struggling and in need of motivation? *

When I teach I work between 5-15 hours a week. When I don't have classes I work more than 50 hours a week on PODs.

I'm not really sure what to say. I really haven't seen much growth in the last couple years. I guess I'm the struggling artist who needs motivation. Right now I'd say. Get a part time job to pay the bills and keep working and promoting your art and design. It should eventually take off.

I started selling on Imagekind back in 2007. I had heard of it from an affiliate marketing manager who just started managing that account. I didn't know that PODs existed and back then there weren't very many around. I only recall Imagekind, Cafepress, and Redbubble. I think I opened my account at Zazzle in 2008 but I didn't really use it since at the time there was no Quick Create Template option and making products one by one didn't seem like much fun.
Since Cafepress had an extremely limited free option I didn't really use it after trying with a couple images.

I got my first Redbubble sale in 2012! I've only had 3-4 sales at Imagekind since I started uploading there. I could use more PODs like Zazzle that actually get sales without knowing the shopper in advance.
Do you have any formal training or education in POD related fields? *
  • No - I am self taught
If I won the super jackpot lottery tomorrow I would... *
Keep working my POD's for fun
My zazzle stores are:


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