Hey y'all - welcome to my first blog. We can blame Whit Sims for this as she is the one that has told me that I should share what all I know. So here it goes. 

First- what is a watermark? A watermark could be your logo, text, or any image really. It can be almost translucent, very noticeable, or even a combination of both. The choice is up to you.  It has many purposes in the Small biz world: protection of theft of both the digital image on mockups, promotion of your brand, and discourages theft within the small biz world. 

1. Let's discuss how it protects digital artwork.

As you can see above, there is a faint do not copy over the image itself. This would make it harder for the design to be stolen from the mockup itself. If you are in need of a 'do not copy' one can be found here for FREE . Anytime you showcase a design that you have created or purchased it is important to be sure that the image cannot be traced off the mockup.  Canva is an excellent app that will allow you to change the transparency on the text or logo that you use to cover over. 

2. It discourages theft of the photo itself. 

As much as it pains me to say this, not all small biz owners are trustworthy. When I first started out I didn't even have a website. I did not know to watermark either. Someone local to me stole my product photo (a popular tumbler I had created) and was advertising it as their own! Some may say they was using it for inspiration- such as 'I can make similar' but in all reality that can be a slippery slop as well. Images are copyrighted so by using someone's image without their permission that is the same as theft. What occurred with my tumbler was them using my product image and saying they had 1 in stock! How could they when it was my tumbler?  

Another situation that I have ran across is the images being used overseas. Yes a friend of mine had an image of her daughter wearing a shirt she had created stolen by a shop in China for mass production. They used her underage daughters image and had her face plastered all over the place. Another friend of mine had their shirt image also stolen and shared in many facebook groups without ever mentioning who had created the shirt or the design in which it was then recreated at a mass level. 

Now with all that said- I am also a transfer vendor and allow all my mockups to be used to promote with in others shops. <see that is saying permission is granted for my transfer & digital type products. I also offer Wholesale on my tees in Grungeflower (email if interested as I will dropship even) so I even allow those from time to time to be shared. The point I am making is to seek permission first before saving or screenshotting an image. Always be truthful- if it isn't your photo- say just that.  

3. It promotes your shop!!! Helps you be seen & known!

With facebook and other social media platforms not liking links that direct people off their sites, it is imperative to have your brand name plastered so that if the photo is shared potential clients can still find you! I am sure to include my logo as part of my watermark. As you can see my business name is easy to read and I even include a QR code that can be scanned if someone was to be out chatting with a friend and they ask where they got something I had made. I also include my website link on occasion. 

Now- keep in mind not all selling sites or even social media likes for all this to be in your product photo. They want people to stay on their platforms after all. So sometimes it may be best to only have your business logo. Be sure to also have your links in your bio so that if someone was to just search your name they could then find your website or groups. Personally I love having a linktree as I can simply add the one link but then once opened all my links are displayed such as my websites & more. If you are interested in making your own linktree simply click here. I will discuss the importance of having your link in bio in a future blog but to see an example of mine check out my facebook profile. Maybe even give me a Follow. 

I hope this information helps some going forward. Any questions always know I will try to help as much as I can. I want to see everyone succeed, grow, and have their small biz dreams come true! I am sure some are noticing that I am rebranding (again) back to my OG name of GEEZ LOUISE. Y'all I know that I have ran off the rails but Geez was my biz name from 2016 until 2023.. So after talking with a few, they have told me I need to just stick with it as it what I am known as. I am sorry for the confusion. I promise to get my act together. Anyways- much love to you all!