To celebrate the Blu-ray release of her acclaimed comedy series Difficult People, Julie Klausner, a comedian/actor/writer/podcaster and general creative genius, needed a new website. She wanted to be able to sell signed copies of the Blu-ray, as well as related merch (currently tote bags and tee shirts). Operating as a one-woman sales-fulfillment show, the website needed to be easy and low-cost to monitor and manage. We turned to Shopify, a popular e-commerce platform that purports to be simple to set up and customize, and purchased the least expensive plan.
Unfortunately, the Shopify setup interface was way more confusing than promised, and the customization options on the basic plan were quite limited and inflexible. Still we persisted, and created a straightforward site where branding and bells and whistles are toned down to let the colorful products shine. We even managed to figure out how to offer specialized Blu-ray signing and personalization options, a fun way for fans to connect with Julie and customize their collectible.
As Julie explores painting as a new medium, she has begun to sell her artwork through the site. It’s been exciting to add these one-of-a-kind pieces to the shop and learn applicable Shopify functions.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that as a huge fan of Difficult People (please note a character’s name on this sample placecard from my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah), working with Julie has been an absolute dream. Hard to imagine a better scenario for experimenting with a new platform!
