Selling Online: Business Skills for Product Designers

Join Lauren Slowik (Design Evangelist at Shapeways) for this 30-minute class on running your small online business. With tips and best practices for every stage — developing, merchandising, and marketing — plus ways to build your brand story over time, this class is perfect for everyone selling products online as well as those eager to get started.

We’ll walk through how to choose what designs to produce and stock, plus how to develop a collection and a brand story that reflects it. We’ll also dive into a host of marketing tactics you can use to boost sales and a framework for how to think through planning out a viable business.

Whether building an online shop is a hobby or a full time gig, on Shapeways or off, this class will help you find your niche, build your audience and see your vision come to life.

Shapeways is a Dutch founded, New York based 3D printing online marketplace and service. Users design and upload 3D printable files, and Shapeways prints the objects for them and others.

• Introduction
• Deciding What To Design
• Considering Your Collection
• Building Your Brand Story
• Building Your Reputation
• Merchandising
• Using PR as a Megaphone
• Optimizing Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
• Optimizing Pinterest
• Email Marketing
• Maintaining your Business
• Designers for Hire
• Finding Your Niche
• Closing