Create your own art website — NOT a Society6 account

YOUR SHOP TYPE MATTERS

Guess whaaattt?

I’m super thrilled because my artwork was featured on BuzzFeed!

Hooray!!

It was included in a roundup of spooky-themed products in this article here.

This is the type of exposure that can help any artist climb to the top of their sales game and get a little more attention from other outlets, starting an avalanche of media coverage. And like you, I’m definitely ready for that climb.

But there was one issue with this super cool article.

It didn’t link to my shop.

It linked to my old account on Society6.

WHY NOT USE PRINT-ON-DEMAND SITES?

The thing is, I used to sell exclusively at art shows, local markets, to friends, and on Society6.

Once upon a time, I had the goal of using Society6 as my main art website. I mean why not? They took all the effort out of it — the production, the timing of sales promotions, creating the images for the products, even writing descriptions for each piece. They shipped it right to your customer without you having to lift a finger, then sent you the money.

Dreamy, right?

Wellllllll not quite.

I quit using Society6 and swore off all similar print-on-demand sites (like Redbubble, Printful, Zazzle, and others) because I realized how costly, uncontrollable, and impersonal they are.

You may be already using a print-on-demand site and starting to realize a few of these yourself.

HIGH PRICES, LOW PROFITS

First of all, they charge your customers a lot.

I get that it’s custom, but $70 for a shower curtain?

$16 for a stationery card?

I’m not really feeling that.

And although some of their products are priced normally, the artist doesn’t get an appropriate cut.

A few months ago, I was reminded that my Society6 account existed because they deposited .30 into my bank account after someone bought a print.

Let that sink in.

Thirty whole cents for a piece of artwork!

An artist should get paid more than that, no matter if they’re doing all the producing, shipping, and customer service for you. That’s nuts.

I could have raised my prices, but I don’t want to charge $60 for a small print. I want my art to be accessible.

And when you do that math of how much they charge the customer and how much the artist earns… that’s a big gap. That money in the gap is going straight into the pockets of that third-party company — for their efforts and for their profit.

I do not consider it worth my time to be making such a small amount of money from my artwork. And neither should you.

Once I built my own art website, started finding my own suppliers for products, buying in bulk, and DIYing my marketing, I found I could charge my customers less and earn more at the same time! Fancy that.

NO NEW FRIENDS 🙁

Second, you never ever interact with your customer on a print-on-demand site.

How are you supposed to build a relationship with first-time buyers if you never talk to them, see them, or even coordinate a basic transaction with them? You won’t. And that’s less of a chance they’ll be a second, third, or repeat customer.

Convenience is nice, but talking directly to people who like your art is more important. Whether through email, Instagram, in person, or where ever — you need to know who your supporters are. You need to know who your audience is. And they want to know you!

You’re not a giant corporation. You’re a small business owner and creative entrepreneur.

You don’t want to give people the stale, robotic customer service of a giant online corporation. It’s a turn off.

LITTLE CONTROL OVER YOUR ART BUSINESS

Third, you don’t control a lot of what goes on in the business.

You don’t decide when to host a sale, or whether or not to put your items on sale in general. They decide that for you.

You don’t decide which types of products will be offered next. Your audience is asking for swimming pool liners? Too bad. Society6 hears from all the audiences of all the artists, and they want throw pillows. You’ll have to wait for them to make swimming pool liners to feature your artwork on — if they ever do at all.

You don’t decide who their manufacturers are. You could cut costs by shopping around for the best business to produce your prints through. You could be a more ethical or more eco-friendly business if you could compare policies among fabric makers. But when you depend on another entity to make your products for you, you deny yourself this option.

You don’t decide what the website design looks like. You don’t decide how they’ll deal with customer issues. You don’t decide how to sort your products on your page. You don’t decide how to take payment, or what your product images look like, or if they are ever featured on the main page.

Maybe I’m a control freak, but I couldn’t handle all this.

THEY CAN CHARGE FEES

On December 21st, 2023 I received an email from Society6. I quit using my account, but I kept it open so that anyone who found me through that BuzzFeed article could see the part in my bio where I direct them to A Cup of Cloudy instead. So I still get their emails.

They’re going to start charging monthly fees!

Here’s a screenshot of the email:

Third party shopping sites will sometimes advantage of artists once they’ve established their business on their platform.

Take Etsy for example. It used to be for vintage and handmade items only. Fees were minimal. The trade was even: artists got more exposure, and in turn Etsy made a bit of money from each transaction. Now there are all kinds of cheap, mass-produced items on there. Fees are astronomical. Many artists are leaving the platform for newer ones, like TikTok shops.

Society6 seems to be on the same train. The artists who have spent years building their inventory on the platform, have all of their links directed there, and have done well for themselves despite the low percentage of profits shared with them are now being hit with additional stipulations.

Third party platforms know that it’s harder to leave once you’ve gotten settled in.

MAKE YOUR OWN ART WEBSITE

After calculating the prices, profits, and doing a risk assessment, THAT’S when I finally decided I was going to make my own art website, with my own suppliers, my own products, ship everything myself, and actually listen to my audience to make what they wanted.

I’ve never looked back.

Until, of course, when this lovely BuzzFeed article reminded me that my Society6 shop is still open.

And every once in a while, when they send me an email or deposit 50 cents into my account.

But on A Cup of Cloudy, which I own and have been slowly building, the numbers are much better — for me and my customers.

So here’s my full recommendation to quit that print-on-demand site once and for all.

Even if you don’t delete it.

You can do better.