After the amazing feedback and community discussion we experienced in the comment section of our Importance of Having A Facebook Fan Page post, we’re keeping the self-promotion ball rolling by discussing ways you can amp up your Redbubble shop in preparation for the holiday season.

The holiday season brings an influx of traffic and eyeballs to the artworks at Redbubble, allowing for an annual flurry of views and sales. This guide features a few simple steps you can use to make your profile shiny and prepped for visitors to your shop. Making sure your profile page is looking fabulous and that all your artworks look great on a range of products will make for a killer holiday season.

Here are a few ways to help get your shop in shape.

Spread Redbubble Promotion Codes

Frequently throughout the prime shopping periods, Redbubble releases awesome promotional codes that can be applied at checkout for various discounts and deals. You can spot these promotional codes on the home page of Redbubble.com when they’re active (living in a comfy grey box at the very top at the top of various pages). They’re consistently a great deal and usually apply to one type of product. When you see them go live, share them across your Facebook page, Twitter account, Tumblr, Instagram, or other social media hubs with links to your shop or specific products. Doing this invites your audience to specifically buy your designs on the discounted product, and are a great way to invite your fans to try new designs, products, or seasonal designs they might not usually indulge in.

In order to keep up with our latest promotions, be sure to subscribe to our email list here.

Create and Upload Seasonal or “Christmassy” Artworks

Artists that keep their profile fresh and invigorated often upload seasonal designs (for fall, winter, spring, or the start of summer), or to celebrate specific holidays (Christmas or Hanukah, for example). By uploading seasonal artwork you show your audience that you’re regularly working and creating artwork and staying engaged in your design process and the work being created around you.

Creating new artwork for seasonal themes also allows for incredible creative freedom. You’re essentially creating for yourself and have a very broad brief (such as “winter time” or “New Years Eve” for example) which allows for a relaxed experimental approach to creating new designs. Some of my artists friends have made their best illustration and design working in this way, when they’re working for themselves with a general idea of the direction they want to go in, it creates a space to try out new and unusual iterations of thematic artwork.

Plus, holidays make for great self-imposed deadlines.

Consider New Products

It’s great to upload designs on products such as cards and postcards for the holidays, but thinking beyond this can take your potential to make sales to the next level. I’d encourage all Redbubble artists to make sure your designs are available on iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and iPad cases for this holiday season. Apple recorded eye-watering sales of its new iPhone 6. So it’s safe to assume many people will be shopping for a new home for their newly gifted gadget over the Christmas and New Year season. Plus, our recently released tote bags, duvet covers, and now mugs give you new ways to create and make sales to any type of customer. Anticipating the needs of your fans, friends, and lovely strangers who will be visiting your RB shop is a great way to increase your chance of holiday season sales.

Also consider those customers who might be shopping for great stocking stuffers.

Spread The News Across Platforms

Once you’ve made sure you are using the social buttons on your profile page, you should go ahead and spread your Redbubble shop across your other social media platforms. Sharing your works for sale on social media reminds people that your shop exists (which is obviously great) but you’re also staying in the minds of your fans. Don’t be afraid to start doing this regularly now in the lead up to the Holidays (early November isn’t too early to get promoting) .

While you’re planning how you will cross-post your promotions across different social platforms, make sure all your designs are available across a range of products. You’re really limiting yourself if you only allow your design to be available on one or two specific products. Diversifying your product range, along with the tips above, will make your shop completely ready for the holiday season.

For the best practices on sharing your work online, visit these posts.

Do you have tips to get ready for the Holiday season? What’s worked for you? Please share your ideas in the comments below and let us know about your experiences so far.