Selling On Patternbank w/ Neil Elliott (pt. 2)

Design Tribe Podcast

How do you sell on Patternbank successfully? What do successful pattern designers do differently? Neil Elliott from Patternbank gives us tons of tips for Patternbank success!

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Questions asked:

1. Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little of Patternbank’s history?
2. Could you please explain the process to signing up for Patternbank and getting started?
   1. (A lot of designers had questions about their file submissions, things like that.)
3. Can you please explain the different types of licenses available to buyers on Patternbank and what they mean for the artist?
4. Patternbank includes some amazing trend insights. How important is it for artists to follow these trends? In general, do your stats confirm that these trends sell better on your site overall?
   1. Which categories are considered classic and always sell well? Florals, textured prints, etc?
   2. Your trend page includes SS and FW trends. When is the best time of year for artists to be uploading designs for an upcoming season?
5. How often should designers be uploading new patterns? Are designs shown in chronological order or is there an algorithm?
   1. It would be amazing for artists to be able to see new keywords clients are searching for.
6. How would you describe patterns that look the most commercial? What characteristics do they have?
7. Your newsletter suggests that designers edit, update, & delete designs. Can you explain why that should be a priority for artists and how it may affect their sales?
8. What percentage of Patternbank customers are in the Fashion industry? Home Décor, Stationery, Accessories? What / who is the biggest industry buying on Patternbank?
9. Do Premium Designs or Standard Designs sell better overall?
10. When a design sells, what percentage goes to the artist and what percentage goes to Patternbank?
11. When an artist uploads their designs to Patternbank under the Standard License, can they sell the design on other platforms?
12. When an artist sells a design, they’re able to see who the client is and click on the client’s profile. However, there isn’t any further information or way for the artist to follow up with the client. Does Patternbank plan to add any functionality here? Would it be beneficial to strengthen relationships between clients and artists who fit their aesthetic needs?
13. Do you have any tips or advice on the quality of design uploads?
14. How important are extra assets to clients? Unfortunately, they cannot preview extra assets such as original drawings, color ways, etc, so does it really affect their buying decision?
15. Should artists be working with Pantone colors? What color mode is recommended? RGB, Hex Code, CMYK?
16. How does Social Media play a role? If an artist uploads a new design to Patternbank - is that enough? Or should they share it on social media, too? If yes, which channels and how often? Please explain.
17. According to your data, do vector or raster files sell better on Patternbank? Or does it matter?
18. Does Patternbank only accept repeat patterns or can artists also upload placement prints? For example, I used to be an in-house Textile Designer and I designed a lot of rugs and pillows that had placement prints. In fact, my Art Director would often give the criticism that a rug designed looked “too much like fabric,” which meant repeats were not ideal for a rug design.
    1. Other artists may wonder if they could ever sell an illustration that included several supporting or blender patterns on Patternbank to accommodate different markets?
19. The wonderful thing about Patternbank is that artists don’t have to make the big investment up front to go to a trade show to meet clients. That can be really expensive and can take a lot of time to see a positive ROI.
    1. The down side for artists is that they remain somewhat anonymous on the site. In a traditional licensing contract, an artist can negotiate to have their name or brand on any product using their art. Companies like Anthropologie or Target will often do an artist spotlight with an entire collection of products with the artist’s work.
    2. Would Patternbank ever consider adding a License that gave the artist a little more exposure to the end consumer, both retail and E-Commerce worlds?