How to Start a Print Club: A Simple Guide for Artists

You've thought about this at least three times.

You make something beautiful. People tell you they would happily pay to get it in the mail every month. And every time you sit down to actually set it up, you close the tab, because it starts to feel like signing up for a second full-time job.

Let me reassure you right away: it's so much simpler than the version living in your head. A print club is one of the most doable, most sustainable income streams you can build as an artist, and you don't need thousands of followers to make it real. You need a small group of the right people and a repeatable rhythm. I’m Stacie Bloomfield, I built Gingiber into a multimillion-dollar art brand and I run my own monthly tea towel club with more than 2,700 members, and here is exactly how to start one.

What a print club actually is

A print club is a monthly subscription where members pay you automatically, and in return you send them your art on a regular schedule. Usually that is a signed print, but it can be stickers, a zine, a handwritten note, or a small seasonal good, whatever fits your work.

The magic is in the word “monthly.” Instead of hustling for a new sale every single time, you build a base of members who pay you every month without being asked. That's recurring income, and recurring income is what turns your art from a series of one-off sales into something that pays you like a business.

If you want the full breakdown of the idea before you build, read What Is a Print Club first. If you already know you want one, keep reading.

Why it works, even with a small following

A print club works with a small following because it rewards devotion, not reach, twenty people who genuinely love getting your work in the mail is real, steady money every month. You don't need to go viral, and you don't need ten thousand followers.

Twenty members at $14 a month is over three thousand three hundred dollars a year, from people who already want what you make. That is a print run, an envelope order, or a month of breathing room, and it grows from there.

Slow growth is good growth. A print club rewards the artist who shows up consistently for a small, devoted group, not the one chasing the algorithm.

1. Position it so people know what they are joining

Before anything technical, get clear on what your club is: name it, describe it in one warm sentence, and decide what members receive and how often. You are not writing a business plan, you are answering one question.

That question is: what does someone get, and why would they love it? “One signed 5x7 print and a handwritten note, mailed to you on the first of every month” is plenty. Clear beats clever.

2. Set a founding member price

When you launch, offer your very first members a special lower price that they keep forever. These are your founding members, and this is one of my favorite parts.

It does not matter if that is five people or fifty. Founding member pricing gives people a reason to join now instead of “someday,” and your earliest supporters feel like insiders, which is exactly what they are. They almost never leave.

3. Pick a tool that collects the money for you

Choose one tool that charges your members automatically every month, manages their addresses, and deposits the money straight into your bank. This is the step that used to stop everyone, and it is the step that has gotten dramatically easier.

You do not want to hold this together with a spreadsheet, Venmo requests, and four apps that were never built for this. This is exactly why I built SnailMailHQ. I run my own club and I tried every platform out there, Etsy cannot do subscriptions, Shopify is overkill, and Patreon takes a big cut and holds your money. So I made the simple version: one link, one place, your members and your money. It is free to start, and you do not pay anything until your members pay you.

You can use whatever tool you like. The point is to let software do the collecting so you can focus entirely on the art.

4. Invite your founding members

Invite your founding members by sharing your link where your people already are: your email list, Instagram, and a direct message to the handful of people who always cheer you on. You are not launching to strangers.

You're inviting the people who already say “I would buy that” to finally do it. Start with the enthusiastic ones. Momentum builds from there.

5. Make it, sign it, mail it

Each month you create the piece, sign it, and send it, and the billing, renewals, pauses, and address changes get handled for you. You handle the beautiful part.

That's the whole rhythm. Make the art. Send the mail. Get paid. Then do it again next month.

What to do this week

Your one assignment this week is to write down three things: what your club sends, how often, and what you'll charge your founding members. You don't have to build all of this today.

That's it. Three lines on a sticky note. That single decision is the thing standing between you and your first member. A print club is not a second full-time job, it is a small, steady, joyful income stream that grows with you, and it starts the moment you stop closing the tab.

If you want the full playbook, including the exact setup, pricing, and launch plan I use, that is what the Print Club Course is for. And this fall, the whole print club method is being taught inside Leverage Your Art for the very first time, with a full year of SnailMailHQ included. Get on the list so you're first to know when the doors open.

Frequently Asked Questions About Starting a Print Club

How do I start a print club?

To start a print club, take five steps: position it clearly (what members get and how often), set a founding-member price, pick a tool that collects the money automatically, invite your warmest supporters first, and then make, sign, and mail the piece each month. You can decide your offer in three lines on a sticky note today and have your first member this week.

How many members do I need for a print club to be worth it?

Even twenty members makes a print club worth running. At fourteen dollars a month, twenty members is over $3,300 a year in recurring income from people who already love your work, and it compounds as you add a few more each month.

What is founding member pricing?

Founding member pricing is a lower rate you offer your very first members that they keep for as long as they stay subscribed. It gives people a reason to join now instead of later and builds loyalty from day one, so those early supporters rarely leave.

About Stacie Bloomfield

Stacie Bloomfield is the founder of Gingiber, a surface pattern design and art licensing brand she built from her dining room table into a multimillion-dollar business with products in 1,400+ brick-and-mortar stores. She has earned $500K+ through art licensing and has taught 5,000+ artists how to build real income from their work.

She is the author of The Artist’s Side Hustle (Hay House), a Moda fabric designer, and the host of the Art + Audience podcast. Her programs, including Side Hustle Society, Leverage Your Art, and the Art Licensing Pitch Playbook help artists at every stage turn their creativity into consistent income.