lbella | Virtual-K Sticker Club

Virtual-K Sticker Club

An extension of my art diner where you can get monthly exclusive sticker designs.

In January 2021, I officially launched the Virtual-K Sticker Club. After seeing so many other artists I admire launch similar things to this (like enamel pin clubs, button clubs, etc) I got really inspired to do the same but I was very hesitant to start. After months of just daydreaming and fearing hypothetical results, I figured "Well, I won't know if there's interest if I don't at least try." So in December 2020, I spent the entire month revamping my pre-existing Patreon that I had neglected for many months and decided to jump headfirst into starting my own sticker club.

Setup time

In the beginning, I did a lot of research and looking around at other monthly accessories clubs to see how I would want to organize my own club. At first I had 3 different tiers, and the highest tier ($25) used to be a whole bunch of fun goodies; the main sticker, a monthly print, a secondary sticker, and a button pin. After a couple months of doing that I immediately started feeling overwhelmed. I didn't take into account how much work I would have to do on a monthly basis especially when you tack on all the other things that I run on the side (like commissions and Virtual-K).

Over time it evolved to what you see today, only 2 tiers. Tier 1 being the main tier with the main sticker, and Tier 2 having the main sticker and a sticker sheet to go along with it.

Screenshots of my Patreon page as of December 2021.

With this sticker club I wanted to tie it into Virtual-K as much as possible since this club is supposed to be an extension of the store. The branding you'll find on my Patreon is very closely related to Virtual-K, with the same mascots making an appearance here as well. Some of the club themes are tied into the launch of new items in the main store as a cross promotion.

How it works

At this current point in time, I tend to make about 2-3 posts every month. At the start of the month I reveal the theme for that month and post a timelapse of the sketches I've been working on for the sticker design. I like using these posts as a lot of behind the scenes thinking and explaining of my process and directions I want to take with the design.

Some time after the "Theme Reveal," I finish the sticker designs and post a "Loot Reveal" where I show off the design for both T1 and T2 subscribers, talk about the process a little bit, and if I have it ready; I tell my patrons that I've shipped out last month's stickers and post tons of nice pictures of the fully completed stickers.

And if I've worked on a big illustration or some other project during that timeframe, I like to post the full timelapses on my patreon as well.

An example of a typical Loot Reveal, this one was for October 2021.

Marketing

March 2021 Summary. The first Rewards Summary that I would make to post on social media.

In the first 2 months of opening my sticker club I didn't really know how to market it, so I went back and did some research to see how other people went about it. And for the most part a lot of people just took pictures of the items they just got made and talked about their merch club a lot, which definitely works. But for a relatively unknown artist with a small following like myself, it didn't really seem feasible. The way I was running my sticker club is a little unconventional and experimental which leads to me not being entirely sure how many people would be interested in the items available for that month until the month is about to be over.

So I started making mockups of the stickers and buttons and showing off the print and made digital flyers/advertisements that showed what items people would get at different tiers for that period. And as I evolved the club and changed the items up for grabs, the flyers also adjusted.

I felt like this absolutely worked better for me as a quick and easily digestible way to get the core info for my sticker club out to the public. And once I cut my workload down to just the main sticker and the sticker sheet, it got even easier.

Unboxing Vids

Learn more about the Sticker Club Unboxings in another portfolio entry here.

For the first couple of months, I also recorded unboxing videos where I would record myself revealing the freshly printed stickers with my reactions and behind the scenes commentary.

I didn't keep this up for very long because I noticed it took me way too much time to film, record, edit, and post them. Eventually I noticed that it felt like nobody was really interested in them so I stopped doing them.

It also didn't help that from April to June I had problems with my manufacturer so it really became out of sight, out of mind.

I still made short versions (under 1 minute) that I posted and shared heavily on social media as another form of advertising for the club.

The Stickers

The actual creation of the stickers is absolutely one of my favorite parts. The fact that I've been able to spend the entirety of 2021 making fun goodies for people to collect and enjoy has been one of the only things keeping me going this second pandemic year.

I plan to keep this cute club of mine running for as long as I can and as long as people are interested. With every month I feel my sticker designs get stronger and stronger so I don't plan to stop anytime soon.

Jump to:

Main sticker design for January 2021.

Secondary sticker (T3) for January 2021.

Button design (T3) for January 2021.

January — REMiniscence

Since I couldn't bring all the fun stickers I would've made to my capstone exhibition due to the pandemic, I decided to bring it to sticker club.

Print design (T2) for January 2021.

The main completed sticker for tier 1.

Main sticker design for February 2021.

Secondary sticker (T3) for February 2021.

Acrylic pin design (T3) for February 2021.

February — LOVESICK

A fun sticker theme about monster girls who are devastated to find that they're in love.

Print design (T2) for February 2021.

The main completed sticker for tier 1.

Main sticker design for March 2021.

Secondary sticker (T3) for March 2021.

Button pin design (T3) for March 2021.

March — M-GIRL

A crossover promotion between sticker club and Virtual-K. I had reopened Virtual-K this month and launched the M-GIRL collection.

Print design (T2) for March 2021.

The main completed sticker for tier 1.

Main sticker design for April 2021.

Button pin design (T3) for April 2021.

Main sticker design for May 2021.

Main sticker design for June 2021.

April/May/June — Clowns/#MerMay/Glorious Madness

This 3 month period was an absolutely stressful time. I tried a new manufacturer for the first time and they lost my order. I fell months behind and had to come up with an idea to make up for all the people who didn't get stickers for 2+ months. Decided to order them from someone else and bundle all 3 months into one offer for June; 3 months for the price of 1.

This was also the month I changed from having 3 stressful tiers down to 2 and offer a main sticker at tier 1 and both the main and a sticker sheet at tier 2.

Sticker sheet design (T2) for April 2021. (this was made after I got rid of the button, 2nd sticker, and print offerings. Was offered for the June Bundle after the massive delay.)

Print design (T2) for April 2021.

Sticker sheet design (T2) for May 2021.

Sticker sheet design (T2) for June 2021.

The main completed sticker for tier 1.

Main sticker design for July 2021.

July — Spicy & Sour

June was the start of the Muv Cola takeover of sticker club. Each month of summer featured the girls of Muv Cola to cross-promote the launch of "Hot Soda Summer" going on in Virtual-K.

Sticker sheet design (T2) for July 2021.

The main completed sticker for tier 1.

Main sticker design for August 2021.

August — Unbothered

The final sticker of the Muv Cola takeover; Orange Cream just relaxing poolside as summer comes to a close.

Sticker sheet design (T2) for August 2021.

The main completed sticker for tier 1.

Main sticker design for September 2021.

September — Birthday Cake

Made this one for semi-selfish reasons; I wanted to have a sticker be birthday related since it was my birthday month, but since I knew these stickers would get to people in October, I wanted to make it spooky and sinister.

Sticker sheet design (T2) for September 2021.

The main completed sticker for tier 1.

Main sticker design for October 2021.

October — The Halloween Spirit

During the month of October I redesigned an old original character of mine called "The Halloween Spirit." So I decided to make her the featured sticker for this month.

Sticker sheet design (T2) for October 2021.

The main completed sticker for tier 1.

Main sticker design for November 2021.

November — CAR KEY PUMPKIN PIE

This was a purely comedic and silly theme for November. One minute we're talking about Thanksgiving food during one of my art streams and the next minute the phrase "CAR KEY PUMPKIN PIE" became a thing that I felt would make a great band name.

Sticker sheet design (T2) for November 2021.

The main completed sticker for tier 1.

Graphic Design

There's lots of things I love about graphic design, but I have a heavy lean towards brand identity, logo design, and motion graphics.

Virtual-K

My little art shop (or "art diner") where I sell my work in the form of stickers, prints, posters, keychain charms, and more!

LBella Branding 2020

Bold, colorful, and fun brand identity design I've done for myself!

"Paprika" Poster Redesign

A movie poster redesign for the 2006 animated film, Paprika.

Virtual-K Sticker Club

A monthly "sticker of the month" club that people can subscribe to and get fun stickers in the mail each month. Works as an extension of my art diner, Virtual-K.