Craft + Commerce is an annual conference that we host to bring creators together to inspire, share, and learn from each other—and this year was no different.
Creators from across the globe joined us in Boise for two full days of keynote talks, networking sessions, workshops, and a lot of dancing (seriously).
We do this because we understand that earning a living as a creator takes work. Work to keep improving on your craft, and work to keep refining how you turn your craft into commerce. Our conference brings the craft and the commerce together because we know that when you treat both as a skill you can refine and perfect over time, your potential is limitless.
From Glo Antamo, we learned that with a craft you’ve honed, you can grow your business by pivoting with intention.
From Sam Parr, we learned that building an email list is like weight lifting. If you lift and eat right consistently, your likelihood of success in building muscle only increases—it’s the same with growing your email list.
Great session at #craftcommerce by @thesamparr and @SaraSodineParr on how to create content that gets eyeballs 👀
My biggest actionable takeaway is to start—literally—copying the work of great writers to become a better writer.
Full notes 📝 pic.twitter.com/Dy38QMg6nf
— Matt Ragland (@mattragland) June 24, 2022
From Cara Chace, we learned that it’s important to know how your business relates to you and the world. If you see your business like a friend or mentor, you’ll not only lift them up, but they’ll help you do the same.
Here’s a few more highlights from attendees:
“Equity needs to be everywhere… or else it’s not equity.” @4NIKKOLAS at #craftcommerce pic.twitter.com/h1liRU3gUB
— Aaron Hockley 💉😷 (@ahockley) June 25, 2022
Writers take note from the OG @waitbutwhy #craftcommerce pic.twitter.com/ZbU4QeQib7
— Khe Hy (@khemaridh) June 25, 2022
Had a great time at #craftcommerce! Thank you @Kit for inviting us to lead a design session with @AdobeExpress. Hope to be back next year! pic.twitter.com/nP7cyPqO7R
— Katrina Torrijos (@katrinatorrijos) June 26, 2022
On top of all the insights creators took away from the conference, creators in attendance also got an early sneak peek from Nathan into our biggest launch— the Kit Sponsor Network. In addition to this new initiative we believe will accelerate your earning potential, we also announced our most recent platform updates and told the story of how your work has a bigger impact than you know.
The Kit Sponsor Network
The Kit Sponsor Network is our newest service that’ll be an extension of your creator business, helping you source, negotiate, and manage sponsorship deals to help you grow your revenue without doing more work or additional hiring.
When creators sell digital products, offer coaching or courses, or write a paid newsletter, they are earning a living online. But did you know that these sorts of products and courses account for just under a third of the revenue professional creators are generating?
In 2022, premium brands will invest somewhere between $14.2 and $16.4 billion to sponsor creators. Those sponsorships are the main way creators earn money, accounting for, perhaps, 70% of the so-called creator economy this year.
In most cases, you have to manage the complex sponsorship process themselves. This means you need to:
- Contact brands
- Write proposals
- Negotiate rates
- Manage contracts
- Write ad copy
- Collect payments
- Report results
- Find the next deal
All of this takes away from what you love to do: create.
Even if selling sponsorships is an income channel you want to pursue, it unfortunately becomes a lower priority because of the time it demands. So, on the main stage at Craft + Commerce 2022, Nathan Barry asked a simple question, “What if we did it for you?”
Continue to write consistently great content and with the Kit Sponsor Network, we’ll do the rest and get you paid sponsorship deals.
We are kicking this service off with newsletter sponsorships, so to be eligible for the Kit Sponsor Network, you need to:
- Be a Kit user
- Have 10,000+ subscribers with good engagement.
- Send a consistent newsletter at least once a week.
For creators exclusive to the network, there will be a charge of 20% + 3.5% for payment processing.
The Sponsor Network will begin with small groups and topically similar creators and scale up over the next several months. You can apply to be part of the program at Kit.com/sponsor.
Other recent product updates we highlighted on the main stage
Quick Find
Launched on the stage of Craft + Commerce 2022, Quick Find is a quick search tool that you can pull up to find all the shortcut keys we have to your most commonly visited page, cutting down time spent loading pages or clicking through to start writing your emails.
Better yet, you can use it to search for any broadcast, Sequence, automation or subscriber. You can now easily find content you’ve previously sent or look up an existing subscriber to check their subscription history.
Commerce: Suite of pricing methods, integrated sales dashboard, additional currencies
Since we launched Kit Commerce on the Craft + Commerce stage two years ago, we’ve consistently released new features and improvements to give you the tools to make a living online.
With Kit, you can sell any digital products or services, offering a suite of different payment methods: standard, subscription, pay-what-you-want, payment plans, and even digital tip jars. We’ve expanded the list of currencies you can sell into British Pounds, Euros, Canadian Dollars, Australian Dollars, and New Zealand Dollars.
Best part? With our purchases API, you can see all your subscribers’ behavior on Kit, even if you don’t sell your products with Commerce. Instead of going to 3+ different platforms to find out how much you earned this month, you can see it all on one dashboard in Kit.
New email templates and layouts
Plain-text emails are our bread and butter. While we believe that an email’s content is most important, we also recognize that email templates and layouts can help you format content and attract new readers.
Earlier this year, we introduced new layout blocks that give you that option and will be rolling out 10 additional ones in the upcoming weeks. It’ll make it easier to promote products, add in testimonials, and sponsored blocks.
On top of that, we’ll be rolling out Starting Point templates that give you the ability to customize your content, but offer easy flexibility to update as you’re writing your emails. This will not only save time, but will improve your email editing experience.
Our mission and your impact
When we talk about being creators and the obstacles that come with growing an audience and a business, these issues pale in comparison to those in the world who live in underprivileged circumstances.
What if you didn’t have access to the internet? Or more importantly, basic necessities such as water or housing?
At Kit, our mission extends to creators (and future creators) from all walks of life, in every corner of the globe. We believe in this mission so deeply that for the past several years, since launching Craft + Commerce, we have been supporting work already being done to change the stories of peoples’ lives and futures across the world.
These organizations include:
Kit has donated more than $650,000, and it’s important to recognize that this is made possible in partnership with the creators (all of you) who choose Kit as YOUR creator marketing platform. You are what helps make this possible, and we’re just getting started.
Our mission continues
As we close the chapter of another incredible time of connection, inspiration, and learning, we are returning to a world where a lot is challenging, and the fear is real. Those who are simply perpetuating the heaviness are the same people who said you shouldn’t pursue being a creator. But look at you now.
Now it’s time to really live what we believe. To create things with depth, purpose, and passion, and then share them with the world. Everything we do as creators can help move the needle toward a better future for those who come after us, and we have never needed your work the way we do today.
We can’t wait to see you at next year’s Craft + Commerce in June 2023. Till then, remember the future belongs to creators. Let’s go make a better world!
