Category: Shopify

Instagram Stories has fundamentally changed the way people use Instagram as a whole.

Both individuals and brands are breaking down the barriers of beautifully curated feeds to share more off-the-cuff and behind-the-scenes content through Instagram Stories. All this casual sharing is generating deeper engagement as more than half of the platform’s one billion-plus monthly users watch stories on a daily basis.

That attention also comes with intention as one in four Generation Y and Z shoppers look through Instagram Stories of products and services before purchasing, according to Vidmob.

But with this influx of Instagram Stories viewers and creators, creativity has never been more important.

To help you raise your game, we wanted to share some of our best Instagram Story ideas, tips, and tricks (with step-by-step tutorials) to help you impress your followers and keep them coming back for more.

Photography tips for Instagram Stories

Some say that Instagram Stories are for photos and videos that aren’t good enough for your feed. But with a bit of curation and planning, you can produce standout Instagram Stories that are worthy of pinning to your profile as a Highlight.

Sarah Pflug, an in-house photographer for Shopify’s Burst stock photo library, recommends understanding the following photography fundamentals before playing around with each component.

1. Rule of Thirds: This classic theory suggests dividing photos into 9 equal quadrants as a guide to place the main subject not directly centered but within the right or left third. To hone this rule, try shooting photos on your phone with the “grid lines” setting on. Once you are acquaintanced with where to place your subject, feel free to break this rule by testing out how you like to frame your vertical photos for Instagram Stories.
2. Lighting: Before sourcing lighting equipment, first master natural lighting by placing your subject in front, to the side of, and behind your light source. Seeing how lighting affects your photos allows you to experiment with shadows, glares, and additional light sources.
3. Cropping: Uploading a pre-shot photo into Instagram Stories often makes it less sharp and resizes it to 9:16. To combat this, edit your photos beforehand to a 9:16 aspect ratio before uploading them to Instagram photos.

10 creative Instagram Story ideas, tips, and tricks

Without downloading any additional photo editing or graphics apps, there’s plenty you can do within Instagram to make your Instagram Stories stand out. Here are some creative Instagram Story ideas that you can easily apply, along with tutorials and examples of how to bring them to life.

1. Use rainbow or ombre letters

To add flashes of color to your Instagram Stories text, you can use rainbow or ombre letters to make your captions stand out.

 

1. Type out your word or phrase
2. Select all of the letters
3. Hold down your cursor on the letters and the color selection tool at the same time, both from the far-right
4. Slide both fingers at the same time and watch as each letter gets updated with a different color gradient
5. Let go of both fingers and rearrange your rainbow letters to the desired place on your screen

2. Change the background color when sharing a post

There may be times when you want to notify your followers that you have posted something new to your grid by sharing your post to your Instagram Stories. But the default background color for it might not be what you had in mind. Here’s how you can change it.

 

1. Select the photo from your grid that you’d like to share on your Instagram Stories
2. Click on the sharing options and share to your Stories
3. Click on the drawing tool
4. Use the color selection tool and drag to the desired color for your background
5. Hold down on any part of the screen; your background color will be updated

3. Use individual letters as decorations

This might take a little bit more time but decorating your Instagram Story with the individual letters of a caption adds an additional flair that will help you stand out.

 

1. Select where you would like to use the individual letters to decorate. Ideally framing or tracing an object or subject within your shot
2. Type and adjust each letter individually to place it around your object or subject
3. Repeat until your word is completed and readjust the positioning of the letters if needed

4. Mix fonts and handwriting together

Show your personality by writing part of your caption with your own handwriting and mixing it with a complementary font for the rest of the text.

 

1. Use the drawing tool to write out the word or phrase with your finger
2. Type out the second part of your phrase and adjust the positioning

5. Add a drop shadow to your text

Add an instant pop to your text by adding in a shadow.

 

6. Use text as a backdrop

Create a unique background and get your message across with this text-based backdrop Instagram Story idea

 

1. Type out the phrase Select all text and click to copy
2. Move to another section of the screen and paste the phrase and adjust for positioning
3. Repeat the pasting and adjusting until you fill the screen

7. Create a collage with multiple photos

Give your Instagram Story a scrapbook look by using this idea to create a collage and share multiple images at once (iPhone only).

 

1. Start with a background of your liking
2. Go to our album and click to copy the image you want to use
3. Go back into Instagram Stories and post the image as a sticker
4. Repeat the copy and paste process to include all of the images you desire
5. Rearrange photos to the layout you planned
6. Add a caption if needed

Android users: With the Gboard keyboard enabled, you can add a collage of photos to a single story if you select the 🔎 when entering text to search for photos.

8. Convert a Live Photo into a Boomerang (iPhone only)

Without the need to take your Boomerang within the Instagram or Boomerang app, here’s how you can turn a Live Photo into a Boomerang.

 

1. Take and then select a live photo from your Instagram Stories upload cue
2. Hold down on the image
3. Watch as it gets updated to a boomerang

9. Use the eraser tool to reveal parts of a photo

Add a little bit of mystique or unveil an exciting surprise for your followers by using the eraser tool to showcase the most important part of your Instagram Story.

 

1. Start with a photo you want to reveal partially
2. Use the drawing tool to select a color
3. Hold down on the screen to cover up your photo
4. Switch over to the eraser tool
5. Move and erase part of the photo you want to reveal
6. Add additional text to complete the Instagram Story

10. Decorate with dotted lines

You can bring more attention to the main subject of your story with dotted lines. Here’s how to create them by combining the drawing and the eraser tools.

 

1. Draw some lines on the screen to frame a subject or object
2. Use the eraser tool to remove part of the line to create dotted lines
3. Add additional text to complete the Instagram Story

Start sharing your story with Instagram Stories

With these tips and tricks now at your disposal, go ahead and experiment to bring your own style to your Instagram Stories. Instagram is all about creativity and play so try out new designs, keep tabs on your Instagram Analytics, and post consistently to share your story as Instagram Stories.

In Season 2 of our Homework series, we explore the lives of ordinary teens with not-so-ordinary hobbies. Between part-time jobs and schoolwork, these young founders are also running successful businesses—many before they can even drive a car. 

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Simone Hufana admits she’s pretty bad at time management. But give her a break—she’s only 19. She’s currently taking the semester off college to dive full-time into her business, Color Herstory. Simone created her brand out of a desire to see more representation of women of color in the world. Her coloring books introduce young girls to the amazing women that inspired her to love herself.

With a little help from friends and mentors—and from winning Shopify’s 2017 BEASTMODE-A-Business competition—Simone is taking her successful business to the next level. One day, she hopes to take it globally (mostly for the travel perks). But lately, she’s just trying to juggle teen blossom with a part-time job and an internship.

About Me

Name: Simone Hufana

Age: 19

My business: Color Herstory

Where I live: East Bay, California

My typical week:

I’m taking this semester off just to go full throttle on my business. My average week is working on my business. It’s a lot of computer time. It’s a lot of hands-on, too. I literally make the t-shirts. I cut out the vinyl, I peel the vinyl, I put it on the shirt, I press it, I fold it. With the coloring books, I press them and staple them all together.

One half of my week is physical work, and then the other half is computer work, graphic design, talking to people, being a vendor at events. And then I have my little side job doing event planning for weddings on the weekends. And I have my internship in between.

A book I’m reading is:

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I was given this book on my birthday. It’s kind of a philosophical book. It’s insane.

A TV show I’m watching is:

Stranger Things. I’m finally finishing Season 4. It’s really good. I do love just sitting down and binge-watching. I’m kind of a night owl. Like, if I’m up, I’m up.

Why I started Color Herstory:

Color Herstory is a coloring book that’s based on influential women of color. I originally started it because, growing up, I was very insecure about my features. I didn’t see any representation in the media. I wanted to look like Hannah Montana. I wanted blond hair so, so badly. But it took a toll on my mental health.

It wasn’t until I educated myself about these amazing women that I really started my journey of self-love. I was like, “Oh my gosh, these women are so, so incredible. I can literally do the same things that they’re doing.” It just gave me that much more motivation. I had two younger sisters, so I felt kind of responsible. Like, if our education system isn’t doing it, if the media is not doing it, then why not me?

The best part of running my own business is:

Making my own hours. Also, when it comes to Color Herstory, I like things a certain way—I get to be the one to produce the merch my way. I also love talking to people and making connections.

The hardest part is:

That you have to hold yourself accountable. I’m only 19 years old, so I don’t have the best time management. I’m not superstar organizer or anything. It’s easy to just slip up and be like, “Oh, shoot, I totally forgot I had that goal. Ah, whatever. I’ll see about it next week.”

About my team:

It’s just me, kind of, but my dad helps me a ton. He’s a graphic designer so he knows a lot of people that print and where to get good book materials. Stuff like that. One of my friends is helping me do a lot of the manual labor because we made a compromise this summer. I was like, “Hey, I bought your festival ticket. In exchange, you don’t have to pay me money, but you have to help me out.” My friends are willing to help me, so I guess I have a little team going on right now. I have a really strong support system.

My mentors are important because:

They don’t treat me like just some 19-year-old girl who doesn’t know what she’s talking about. They really believe in me and my vision. It’s really empowering. I love having mentors. Even if they’re not around all the time, you know they’re down for you.

I’m interning for one of my mentors right now. Her business is on a bigger scale, and it’s really cool to see behind the scenes. She’s opened her books up to me. I don’t even really know anything about finance—I’m pretty much freaking out right now. I mean, I know some, but it’s the internship that makes it that much easier to do what I do right now.

What motivates me:

I remember one time, I was a vendor at this random event and this dad came up to me with his two younger daughters. They’re around, like, probably five and nine. The dad bought two coloring books. He came up to me later and was like, “My older daughter has been going through a lot of problems with her image and feeling very insecure. I feel like this will really help her. So honestly, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the work that you’re doing.” I wasn’t ready for that. I went home and cried from happiness, like, “Oh my God, I’m doing it. I’m doing what I was supposed to do.”

Someone who inspires me is:

Gloria E. Anzaldúa. She was a Chicanx author. I got a hand-me-down book from one of my mentors, and I read it and was like, “My mind is blown right now. Somebody feels exactly how I feel.”

She was Mestiza, so she lived on the border of Texas and she struggled with her identity being both indigenous Mexican and white. I’m mixed myself. My mom is Mexican and Puerto Rican, and my dad is Filipino. Oh my gosh, her book really spoke to me. And after that, I was like, “Who else do I need to learn about?” That really sparked my interest in wanting to learn more about all these different women.

My goal for the future is:

To go back to school and at least get my AA, if not my bachelor’s. I think I want to do ethnic studies because I’m really, really, really interested in that. And that will make me want to go to class.

I definitely want to do entrepreneurship as a full-time thing. I don’t know if it’s going to be specifically Color Herstory. Maybe it will transform into some kind of organization, because I really want to work one-on-one with kids. I’m going to make that happen somehow. I just really want to be able to travel the world and connect with people, connect with girls, connect with women. But I’m just kind of following this path right now. This is my beginning.

Illustrations by Joel Holland

In this series, I speak with people who know what desperate feels like. While now blooming into success, these founders share with me their deeply personal financial struggles and lessons learned on their way back to black.

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Benjamin Sehl still isn’t sure if he’s “made it.” But after years of building KOTN from his in-laws’ basement and spinning it into a powerhouse social impact brand with two retail stores, he’ll cautiously admit that he feels successful. And success to him isn’t necessarily defined by finances. Though he and his wife and business partner Mackenzie Yeates no longer live in her parents’ basement, they’re definitely not rich, he says.

Success has taken a different form: the Egyptian cotton basics brand has helped to revitalize the cotton industry in Egypt, working directly with farmers to provide fair wages and a better quality of life. Through KOTN, Ben, Mackenzie, and their partner Rami Helali have funded nearly 700 farms and five schools in areas of the country with otherwise no access to education.

Ben’s exposure to the life of farmers in Egypt has helped him gain perspective related to his own struggles. Here, he talks about running out of money (more than once), securing funding (then losing it), and that time The Weeknd’s fan base nearly shut down KOTN’s pop-up.

In Ben’s words:

I had a pretty great life growing up, I have to admit. I actually had a lot of stuff come fairly easy. That was really fantastic but at the same time, I don’t know if it necessarily prepared me for what entrepreneurship was really like.

In January 2014, I moved from Toronto to New York because my now wife and business partner, Mackenzie, lived there. I took the first job that came my way. I was swept up in the startup, in the success of it all, but there were warning signs even in that first week. By the time I actually got my U.S. social security number, the company didn’t have any money. I’m three months into living in New York and I haven’t been paid. And, I couldn’t get a U.S. credit card. One night, I remember going out with my friend and I didn’t have enough money for transit. It was midnight in Brooklyn and I ended up having to walk 70-something blocks home. It was pretty dire.

I think being at rock-bottom financially was really helpful in terms of getting my ass in gear.

Six months after I started, the startup where I was working said that they’d have to let me go. That essentially ruined my working career in New York for the rest of the time. I moved home to Toronto in December and ended up moving into Mackenzie’s parents’ basement. I got a job at this really great company three days a week. It was enough money to at least be able to live.

While in New York, I had been thinking about a clothing company as a side project. I had no experience with it and I talked to Mackenzie about it, and my friend Rami who was also fed up with his job. He was really gung-ho about it. Then when I was laid off, I said, “All right, now we have to make this happen.” I think being at rock-bottom financially was really helpful in terms of getting my ass in gear.

After we launched KOTN, we were like, “This is going to be huge now.” But then the reality sets in. We had convinced my wife to quit her job and move back to Toronto and she and I started up a design studio to be able to pay our bills. We just hustled—we lived and worked in that basement for a year and a half putting together all the money we could. Our bed was in one corner, boxes in another corner, and we worked from a shared desk that sat in the middle of the room. Looking back, it was really tough. And needless to say, that arrangement didn’t last very long. But I think in terms of building my character, stripping away my ego, and also just having a lot of fun, it was some of the best time of my life.

We were growing really fast, relatively—around 30% a month—which sounds amazing. It’s like, “Wow, you guys must be rich now.” But it’s actually really tough when you’re making physical products. If you’re growing fast, now you have to make enough product to stay in stock. And when you’re small, people don’t have the patience to wait around for you to come back in stock. When you’re talking to investors, too, they’re like, “You’ve got to get a handle on this stock problem.”

At this point I think I was $20,000 or $30,000 in credit card debt. It was pretty brutal.

We ended up having to borrow money from friends and family. Mackenzie and I put in all the money that we had from our client projects into KOTN. Around that time, I left my other projects and we just went all in. I can’t remember how the heck we had money to do anything. We later moved out of the basement so we also had rent to pay. At this point, I think I was $20,000 or $30,000 in credit card debt. It was pretty brutal.

Eventually, we met a small venture group from this large bank in Canada that was focused on social impact projects. We were talking to these investors and it was going pretty well, but it was our first time raising money and we didn’t know exactly the path to take. Things dragged on for eight or nine months.

Then in October 2016, there were a few amazing things that were supposed to all happen in one week. We had our first big order from [Canadian luxury department store] Holt Renfrew. We told them that we were working on a baby line and that if they wanted to go exclusive with us we could do that (we didn’t have any baby line). They agreed and paid us half upfront and we got our people to figure out how to make baby clothes.

We didn’t have enough money to pay for proper packaging, so we ended up hand-making each box.

The baby stuff was supposed to arrive on Monday, the order was due on a Wednesday, and the funding was supposed to come on the Friday night prior. Friday night rolls around and that ended up just not happening. The committee said, “Actually we can’t work in Egypt. That’s too high of a risk right now.” Boom, it was gone like that.

Then Sunday night comes and we find out that a Russian plane has gone down over Sinai and Egypt Air has now canceled all-cargo flights in and out of the country. So we can’t get our package. Monday morning, Rami went with three empty suitcases, filled them up with baby onesies, turned around, got right back on the flight, and flew back home.

We stayed up all night. We didn’t have enough money to pay for proper packaging, so we ended up hand-making each box. We managed to get the order to the 30 minutes before the drop-dead date.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this, we also launched a pop-up. That weekend, The Weeknd, the singer, was doing a pop-up in Toronto and it was going to be in the back of the same space. [The people leasing the space] were really selling to us that this was going to bring in so many people. But it ended up totally not being that. It was a massive lineup of teenagers—fanboys and fangirls there for The Weeknd. We stood there for six hours and actual customers couldn’t get in. I had to go and talk to the guards every time to let people into our space, which was just insane.

Those times, I’d say they were some of the best couple years of my life even though they were so difficult.

That was a period of time I’m never going to forget, it was this yo-yo of insane elation to pure despair, every 12 hours for nine days. Every day was the happiest and saddest I have ever been that whole year. I think that really just put the grit in all of us.

Those times, I’d say they were some of the best couple years of my life even though they were so difficult. It just proves what you can do. Growing up, I had some learning difficulties in school. It beats down on your self esteem and self discipline, and what you think that you can actually handle. Those two years were a sort of turning point in my life. They showed me that you don’t need any of these things that you thought you needed. And the experience helped my wife and I bond in a pretty crazy way, in a way you won’t find in most relationships.

Financially, we’re not laughing, but we’re not in dire straits either. I do feel successful, though. The social impact projects that we’ve done are always a source of pride for me. My worst day today is my best day of five years ago. So, who can really complain?

Illustration by German Gonzalez

In our Homework series, we explore the lives of ordinary kids with not-so-ordinary hobbies. Between school work and swimming lessons, these youngsters are also running successful businesses—(sometimes) with a bit of grown-up help. 

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Only two months into middle school, Brianna J. is already a seasoned entrepreneur. This 11-year-old started her online kids’ apparel store, Brianna’s Closet, in 2017 with the help of big sister Nina. She “really, really loves fashion,” and starting a business was much better than getting a job, she says.

Traveling is one perk of running your own business, according to Brianna. She recently took her online business to KIDZCON so she could meet her young customers in person. Next stop? Paris (she hears the bread is worth the trip).

Brianna is dedicated to learning because she has big plans for the future. When she’s not do-gooding or building her store, she’s working hard on her math homework and taking coding classes. But don’t worry: she still has lots of time for kid stuff, like binging her favorite cartoons.

About Me

 

Name: Brianna J.

Age: 11

My business: Brianna’s Closet

Where I live: Los Angeles, CA

What I do for fun:

I like to play on my trampoline, and I like to jump rope. I also like swimming. My friends and I play volleyball. I started taking coding classes last year. It’s super fun because I really love computers. I think one day I’d like to make sites for people.

What I’m watching:

I love everything cartoons: SpongeBob, DuckTales, StevenUniverse, Bob’sBurgers. I can go on and on.

My favorite book is:

Probably Harbor Me [by Jacqueline Woodson]. It’s a real eye-opener! It’s about different students who share their stories about life.

My favorite subject in school is:

Math. I’m learning decimals and fractions.

This summer I traveled to:

San Diego. I went to the park and the beach. Someday I want to visit Paris so I can see the Eiffel Tower and eat bread.

 

How I started my business:

My folks said I needed a job, and I love fashion. Especially dresses. So I came up with Brianna’s Closet. My business is for kids. They get to try on my clothes and tell me their opinions. I wanted to start this to inspire other kids.

What my role is in the business:

I pick out all of the stuff on the site, and I post on social media mostly. Sometimes I reach out to famous influencers.

The best part of running a business is:

Other kids’ ideas and how they inspire me to do this business.

The hardest part is:

Tagging all the merchandise, because it’s a lot of clothes. And it’s exhausting.

About my family:

I live with my mom, my dad, and my cousin. They all help me with my business, too. My sister helps with picking out the clothes and stuff.

 

Who inspires me:

My sister, my mom, and my cats, Eva, Sheila, and Sheba. They’re cuddly.

Something I’m proud of:

I think of opening the store. This is like my baby. I never thought I would be an entrepreneur at such a young age.

What would make the world a better place?

I am saving the turtles.

How I’m making a difference:

Me and my friend Tanya volunteer at City of Hope [a cancer research center] or my mom’s job, because she’s a nurse. I like to volunteer with the older folks because they give us candy.

My goal for the future is:

To be a doctor and do my business on the side.

The advice I have for other young entrepreneurs is:

I’d say, dream big. No dream is too small or stupid! If you can envision it, it is possible.

Feature illustration by Joel Holland

The most wonderful time of the year for shoppers is undoubtedly the busiest time of the year for merchants. Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) is an exciting prelude to the holiday shopping season, as consumers enjoy a long weekend and take advantage of fruitful deals, get ahead of gift-giving plans, or simply treat themselves.

Despite the stress and competitiveness surrounding preparation for this sales period, there are great rewards for businesses when Black Friday Cyber Monday is executed strategically. We spoke to five merchants in various industries about how they approach Black Friday Cyber Monday. Here are five major tips they shared:

1. Inject fun into gamified campaigns and exclusive deals
2. Raise awareness and funds for a cause
3. Offer mystery boxes and bonus items
4. Remarket BFCM to fit your mission statement
5. Discounting on select items to reach the most customers

1. Inject fun into gamified campaigns and exclusive deals

In 2016, Jeremiah Curvers injured himself at a golf tournament and ended up bedridden for three months with a double herniated disc. Not resigned to spending his time resting idly, he began obsessively researching mattresses in search of a solution that offered stronger support and better rest. Through his search, Jeremiah met some of the mattress industry’s key foam manufacturer, and he decided to start Polysleep, a foam mattress company based in Montreal, Canada.

With massive, venture-backed mattress-in-a-box companies dominating the market, Jeremiah worked closely with his supplier to differentiate Polysleep’s product. “The type of hybrid foam we use is more breathable and the construction offers stronger support edge to edge,” he says. Jeremiah also credits Polysleep’s competitive pricing as a differentiator, an advantage he’s secured by operating closely with suppliers and maintaining lower margins.

When it comes to Black Friday Cyber Monday, Jeremiah also tackles things differently by getting creative with his campaigns. Last year, the Polysleep team created a mock “leaked” email that spilled the details of an upcoming sale to their email subscribers. With an explanation, and all the legal terms and conditions, in the footer of the email, some subscribers were quick to notice the fun tactic. Lots of subscribers participated in the sale and many forwarded the email to friends and family members who needed a new mattress. Jeremiah explains the sale had a domino effect: “A lot of people, after seeing that email, started interacting with the brand on a more personal level because it pulled back a corporate curtain and showed people Polysleep’s personality.”

Fans of Polysleep’s marketing can rest easy: the company plans to inject plenty of fun into this year’s Black Friday Cyber Monday promotion as well. “An illustrated postcard will be mailed to customers that they can scratch to reveal a hidden discount. And it’s transferable to anyone who’s in need of a new mattress,” Jeremiah says. Giving this extra promotion to those who’ve already bought mattresses allows Polysleep to stay top of mind with their customers—and, of course, Jeremiah is hoping to create a domino effect as people pass along these discounts. The team will also offer some soon-to-be-revealed deals online, bonus gifts, and raffles with retail partners to bring more sweet dreams to their BFCM shoppers.

Learn more about all of the different types of discounts you can set up in Shopify for this BFCM.

2. Raise awareness and funds for a cause

For many years, Julie Clark struggled with eczema and other skin allergies. So she began experimenting with natural oils, waxes, and herbs to craft her own skincare recipes. After studying aromatherapy, holistic health, and esthetics, Julie fine tuned those recipes to launch Province Apothecary and turned her homemade remedies into a business.

Now Province Apothecary is a certified vegan, cruelty-free, and ethically sourced skincare company with a physical location and a skincare clinic. With Black Friday Cyber Monday being one of its largest and most profitable annual sales, Province Apothecary spends plenty of time and energy planning and coordinating between production, retail, and its online store. “We use sales data from the previous year to help inform our decisions on production, and we start planning for Black Friday inventory as early as spring,” says Julie. Starting early gives the company’s suppliers the necessary time to source raw ingredients and room for their production team to physically blend ingredients to create each product. Julie says her head office team “typically begins preparing for their Black Friday Cyber Monday sales and campaigns in the summer.”

This year, Province Apothecary is planning a 25%-off discount for online and in-store purchases. Julie says the team plans to use tried-and-true approaches during BFCM, including email marketing campaigns, gift guides, and paid and organic social posts. With the swell of additional store traffic, Julie also plans to draw shoppers’ attention to a worthy cause: the team will be donating 15%–20% of its BFCM sales to Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto, an Indigenous-lead organization aimed at providing employment, family planning, housing, and parenting and youth services for indigenous communities. In years past, Province Apothecary has raised funds for Earthroots and Canadian Organic.

The Province Apothecary team also plans to practice what they preach by making good use of the wellness tips they offer to clients. To destress during BFCM, the group aims to stay hydrated, have balanced meals, and practice self-care with oils, balms, and masks.

3. Offer mystery boxes and bonus items

Cheyenne Federiconi has always loved to create things. At an early age, she began selling commissioned artwork inspired by video games. But it was during art school that she found her preferred artistic style: feminine aesthetics with empowering messages. “Pink, sparkly, and girly designs always get put down for being weak or unpowerful,” Cheyenne says. “So I mixed aesthetic with a lot of themes and characters that create a dynamic that empowers.” Smashing the starving-artist stereotypes, Cheyenne turned her innate need to create into a business. Under the moniker Sugarbones, she initially monetized her designs by printing them on stickers and later expanded her business to include enamel pins, patches, accessories, and apparel.

Cheyenne views BFCM as a time to treat Sugarbones’ customers to a little fun, and her campaigns often make use of surprise and mystery. “I’ll add in bonus stickers or a miniature art print for all orders during BFCM,” says Cheyenne. Her door crasher comes in the form of a mystery box filled with multiple pins, patches, and stickers. “Ordering a mystery box is like receiving a present where you don’t know what’s inside it, which is exciting for those who love surprises,” Cheyenne says. “It’s also a different approach without discounting the whole store and a great way to clear out inventory of older items.”

Sugarbones’ BFCM campaigns are built around fun and excitement, but behind the scenes, Cheyenne works hard to ensure things run smoothly. As the sole owner and operator of her business, she juggles a bevy of responsibilities. To prepare for BFCM and the hectic holiday season, Cheyenne stocks inventory at least a month in advance and finishes all of her email and social marketing materials a week beforehand.

4. Remarket BFCM to fit your mission statement

While spending a semester in Hawaii, Canadians Dave Luba and Kalen Emsley found themselves immersed in nature, thanks in large part to days spent hiking and surfing. These experiences inspired them to look for ways to help preserve the world’s natural wonders. They followed the footsteps of socially conscious enterprises and brands, like Toms, and in 2012, the duo launched Tentree, an apparel company with a commitment to plant 10 trees for every item sold.

Initially, Tentree struggled with the idea of participating in Black Friday Cyber Monday. “We wanted to stay away from the negative impacts of consumerism and stimulating sales of items that were not needed,” says Shawn McIntyre, the e-commerce manager at Tentree. The company first dipped its toes into the BFCM waters three years ago, remarketing the sales period as Green Friday. “We looked at our company, mission, and products and realized there was a huge opportunity for us to promote our cause and create change during the busiest shopping period,” Shawn says. The team set a goal of planting one million trees through this year’s BFCM sales, doubling their target from last year.

During its Green Friday campaign, Tentree offers a sitewide percentage discount along with additional daily promotions of mystery bonus gifts, new product releases, and free shipping. To reward its top customers, Tentree also offers early access and exclusive offers to its most prominent supporters. It announces Green Friday and its paired promotional offers through email campaigns that show a live goal meter for the numbers of trees planted and advertise the campaign on social as well.

Tentree’s main goal for its Green Friday campaign is to raise awareness. One way it does this is by providing customers with unique codes they can use to track the location where their trees will be planted. From Madagascar to Haiti to Nepal, Tentree has been able to successfully reposition Black Friday Cyber Monday to align with its mission statement and plant seeds of change.

5. Discounting on select items to reach the most customers

Wallack’s name is synonymous with art in Canada’s capital. This Ottawa art store and the gallery have been an institution for more than 80 years, and Michael Wallack, the current president, and third-generation owner is carrying on the legacy. In 2015, under Michael’s management, this bricks-and-mortar store entered the e-commerce world. Selling online is not only a modernization tool. It also allows artists in remote places to purchase supplies and for others to peruse the inventory. “When artists get inspired, they want to figure out what materials or colors they’ll need to complete a project, so our website is a helpful place for planning and inspiration,” Michael says.

Wallack’s initially began participating in Black Friday Cyber Monday to stay competitive against American art suppliers and Canadian companies who adopted the sales period. Now, its primary motivation is to benefit its lifelong customers. Michael highlights the company’s 12-month planning cycle as a critical component to building a Black Friday Cyber Monday promotion that fits with its profitability, inventory, and, most importantly, customers’ needs. “This period is an opportunity to help customers replenish their supplies at a better price. We don’t view it as a way to get new customers, but rather a way to give our customers a deal they need,” Michael says.

Art projects come in many forms, and there are countless niche tools available to help bring an artist’s vision to life. Wallack’s tries to discount items that appeal to the most customers during Black Friday Cyber Monday. In previous years, customers enjoyed sales on supplies and materials that need to be frequently restocked, like oil and acrylic paints. With a focus on serving and selling to existing customers, Wallack’s campaigns are typically featured through its website, email list, and social accounts. By approaching Black Friday Cyber Monday in its way and putting artists first, Wallack’s is launching campaigns that will continue and expanding its legacy.

Get ready for a breakthrough BFCM

Even though the strategies highlighted above are unique to each featured merchant, their process all points back to finding campaigns that resonate with their customers. Setting your goals and coming up with a unique Black Friday Cyber Monday approach is essential to reach your intended audience.

We hope the stories of how the above merchants created their own Black Friday Cyber Monday strategies will spark ideas for your plans. To help you prepare, even more, check out the 27 things to check off your Black Friday Cyber Monday planning list and kick start your 2019 plans.

When Michael Bumgarner decided to start a CBD beauty company, he knew there’d be stigmas to fight. There were also big challenges ahead—including frustrating roadblocks from marketing and payment channels. But in the process, he built a soaring brand that is paving the way forward for struggling communities in rural America.

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Michael Bumgarner has always been an entrepreneur setting his sights on his next big move. Back in 2012, he started looking for inspiration in his backyard.

Michael grew up in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, on his family farm. “What I’ve seen over the past decade is the decimation of rural communities, starting with the family farmer,” Michael says.

The downward economic spiral he’s seen over the past several years in his community and others like it—a spiral that has led to unemployment and addiction crises—motivated him to act. “I wanted to figure out a way to help to solve those problems.”

After plenty of research, Michael set his sights on industrial hemp. “After learning about the plant, I fell in love with CBD…and, my wife, Kelly, who works in dermatology, inspired me to consider a skincare line.”

A green beauty brand was the direction that Michael wanted to go, but in such a competitive industry, he felt that launching a solely CBD-based product wouldn’t be enough for the company to stand out.

So Michael started looking for a “synergistic ingredient” to complement it. His cousin, who worked in a burn unit in Nashville, told him that the hospital was using Manuka honey to treat patients’ wounds. It was a “lightbulb moment” for Bumgarner, and Cannuka was born.

We launched our website and it was starting to take off—and then no one would take my money.

The brand is a natural skin care line that combines CBD and Manuka honey to create products like skin balms, eye creams, and face creams. It’s now seeing explosive growth—a 600% revenue increase in the past year—and can be found in 1,700 retail locations across the United States. From its office in downtown Columbus (which is now home base for four full-time employees, with five others based in New York and Los Angeles), Cannuka is working toward becoming a global CBD beauty brand.

It wasn’t an easy road to get to where Cannuka is now. “I had an amazing [direct-to-consumer] strategy that I pitched to my investors. We launched our website and it was starting to take off—and then no one would take my money,” Michael says.

One after the other, every major advertising platform shut him down. These challenges put a huge damper on Michael’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) dreams. So like most entrepreneurs had done before him, he had to pivot.

A little over two months post-launch, Michael went back to his board with a more traditional launch strategy: working with national retailers. Fortunately, the quality of the product spoke for itself, and before long, you could find Cannuka everywhere from Neiman Marcus to Free People. Ulta Beauty was a supportive early partner, placing a 15,000-unit order that would make a massive impact on the brand’s reach.

Then, in December 2018, things started to shift for the US hemp industry. The passage of the Farm Bill, which removed industrial hemp’s classification as a “controlled substance,” meant it was no longer federally illegal. That, along with the growing mainstream acceptance of hemp and CBD in the American beauty industry, means Michael can finally pursue his DTC vision again.

Shopify supporting CBD merchants will be a huge step in the right direction.

“We’re just starting to implement our DTC strategy,” Michael says. Cannuka’s ecommerce website returned in July 2019, and the team was able to quickly scale up.

And they’re doing that with Shopify’s full support. With the launch of CBD on the platform, merchants like Cannuka can leverage key ecommerce tools, including built-in SEO settings and blog templates, and access reliable CBD-accepting payment providers, shippers, and partners.

Despite these new resources, DTC remains challenging, Michael explains, as there are still issues around advertising restrictions and punishing credit card fees that make his experience much more difficult than the average consumer packaged goods brand. But he thinks the stigma that exists around CBD products won’t be that way for much longer.

“Shopify supporting CBD merchants will be a huge step in the right direction,” he says. “With Shopify and other large companies leading the way, saying ‘We’re for this, this is happening,’ I see things changing even more quickly in the near future.”

That future, for Cannuka, will go beyond topical skin care products. As he plans ahead, Michael is considering a transdermal wellness line (think sleep routine), and eventually ingestible wellness products—FDA permitting.

It will also mean going global, as Michael’s team prepares to make inroads to other legalized countries. His goal is for Cannuka products to be sold in major outlets around the world.

Cannuka’s strategy is predicated on the easing of restrictions around CBD products, but also a greater reach, understanding, and trust among consumers for the brand, and for hemp itself.

Everything rises if we can make a big impact in rural America.

“The conversation around [the hemp plant] is the only one I see that’s not divisive,” Michael explains. “We can get people on all sides of the aisle coming to the same conclusion—a conservative farmer from Ohio can see the economic impact on his family, while a liberal environmentalist can support the product because it helps deliver nutrients back into the soil.”

With wildly different groups coming together to get behind the hemp movement, Michael sees a bright future—for his company and for communities like Mechanicsburg, Ohio.

“We want to create opportunities to get people back to work and to do work they’re proud of,” he says. “Everything rises if we can make a big impact in rural America.”

Salted fish and tobacco are traded for fur and feed grains. A block of raw wood is whittled into a toy horse and sold in a stall at a local artisan market. Watermelon seeds, sowed and tended, become full-fledged fruit before exchanging hands at a roadside stall.

Making things from scratch, cultivating them by hand, and carving out a living by selling and trading them—these are the inceptive transactions of commerce. Commerce has evolved in the past few hundred years, with the biggest changes coinciding with rail transport, the manufacturing boom, and the Internet. As far as we’ve come, the roots of commerce remain firmly planted.

Today, thousands of Shopify merchants produce made-by-hand goods, selling them at craft shows, pop-up shops, and through their online stores worldwide. Ecommerce gives makers more reach, and apps help keep their businesses running more efficiently, letting them focus on what they do best: their craft.

Over the years, we’ve shared deep dives into DIY businesses, producing case studies and guides to help you turn your handmade passion into a living.

But maybe you’re not quite sure what to make and sell. Maybe you’re looking for a new hobby to busy your idle hands (and earn additional money on the side). Or maybe you’re not crafty at all.

We’ve compiled a list of things to make and sell, something to appeal to everyone from beginners to the advanced craftsperson, from skilled trades to relatively hands-off ventures. Each idea will include a link to a comprehensive guide, as well as a Shopify store to inspire your own.

Partner with organizations to raise awareness and funds

The idea behind LunchSkins was cooked up at founder Kirsten Quigley’s kitchen table. One afternoon, after returning home, Kirsten’s children shared an alarming fact they’d learned at school: every day, millions of plastic baggies were thrown out thanks to packed lunches. In response, Kirsten immediately sought out alternatives to the single-use plastics that were prevalent in the family’s own household but found most available solutions came up short.

Determined to make a dishwasher-safe, grease- and moisture-proof, durable sandwich bag, Kirsten created her own product and the first edition of LunchSkins was born. Now in business for over a decade, LunchSkins was featured in O, The Oprah Magazine and can be found online and at major retailers like Target and Wholefoods.

With most customers being parents and students, the back to school season has always been a crucial time for LunchSkins. Shannon Peters, their Chief Financial Officer, told us, “Back to school is equivalent to the retail holiday shopping season for LunchSkins—our team processes thousands of orders during this period. The business commonly sees a 60% uptick in online sales during back to school season, aided in part by extensive marketing campaigns that are built nearly six months in advance.”
Even though back to school is unquestionably their busiest time of the year for sales, the LunchSkins team also makes time to fundraise alongside organizations that align with their objectives. This summer, Shannon shared, they “partnered with the Oceanic Preservation Society in July 2019 for two weeks, donating a dollar for every Sea Turtle Bag that was sold.” Due to the success of that campaign, LunchSkins will once again partner with Oceanic Preservation Society during back to school to reduce plastic use and bring more awareness to preserving oceanic life.

Offer bundling and gifts with purchase

Backpacks and back to school seem to go hand in hand, and that’s why the team at Parkland Design & Manufacturing, makers of sustainable accessories, refer to the shopping season as the “backpack Super Bowl.” As backpack makers who want to alleviate some of the environmental impacts with production, Parkland Design & Manufacturing turns plastic water bottles into a polyester fabric to make their product exteriors with 100% recycled plastic. Their fans proudly share their packs on social media with the hashtag #BagsFromBottles.

Breaking with standard benchmarks, Parkland Design & Manufacturing’s upswing in sales during the back to school season lasts longer than most businesses. “We see all areas of business activity increase drastically from July to September,” says marketing manager, Daryl Trinidad. Not keen to slack off during back to school, the team always looks to boost sales driven by this extended busy period with multiple timely marketing campaigns. “One of the most successful campaigns to date has been the Backpack Lunch Kit combo, where customers receive $10 off a backpack with a lunch kit purchase,” says Daryl. To get those bonus marks, the team also offers a gift with each purchase during back to school season, giving away free reusable water bottles last year and reusable straws this fall.
Leveraging the social media love from #BagsFromBottles, Parkland Design & Manufacturing usually place ads on Facebook and Instagram to be where most of their social engagements are. Daryl also sees these bundling and gift-with-purchase campaigns as a cost-effective way to build brand awareness, noting that their most recent ad, which features GIF animations of lifestyle imagery, was one of the best performing to date. The team has been planning this year’s campaign since the spring and is on track to meet their goal of a 30% growth over the same period last year.

Ensuring your next campaign makes the grade

Before class is back in session, it’s time to test out some new ideas for the back to school period. The varied approaches, sales periods, and products from our featured merchants are reminders that you can play around with many areas of your business to build a campaign that fits your needs.