It’s been quite a year here at Castiron. We added 10 people to our team, more than doubling in size. We had a few team offsites and spent hours brainstorming, strategizing, and dreaming of ways to make Castiron even better for you, our owners. We nailed our shop set-up process, allowing you to create and launch your shop in less than an hour, saving our artisans an estimated 96,700 hours combined. We ate a lot of your cookies, snacks, sauces, and desserts. We even took a charcuterie and cookie class or two. We had some losses, some comebacks, and some big wins and milestones.
And you… well, you’ve been even busier!
You budgeted, brainstormed, and went outside of your comfort zone. You fought to maintain work-life balance amid spiking prices, butter shortages, packed schedules, and increased demand from your customers. You may have grown your social following, made your first-ever sale, or even quit your previous job to pursue your passion full-time.
Somehow between all the busyness, you even took time to graciously share your feedback with us!
Thank you.
We take your feedback seriously. In fact, almost all of our product updates this year were directly requested by you!
Let’s take a moment to review the feedback you gave this year and what we’ve added to Castiron this year, in case you missed it!
Quotes and Invoicing
The first several months of this year were devoted to reimagining our quotes and invoicing experience in Castiron. We dreamed of a way for our artisans to easily receive custom requests, while also having the ability to send invoices from their shop.
Here’s what a few of you requested:
We released our new quotes experience in May, including the ability for you to generate invoices straight from your Castiron account.
Shortly after quotes were released, we got more input from you on ways we could continue to improve the quote creation process! After all, what good is a custom order form if a customer can’t submit inspo photos along with it? We got this question time and time again:
We added inspiration photos just a few weeks after releasing our new quotes and invoicing experience.
We also noticed that sometimes artisans would have a hard time creating their online order forms. To make everyone’s lives easier, we created our Custom Product Templates. Now, you can add a custom order form to your store in one click!
Were you baking while this was announced? Get caught up on our quotes and invoicing here.
Photo Gallery
Another long awaited feature made its debut in August. Finally, you could showcase your work, your brand, and your photo gallery within Castiron!
From charcuterie to cookies, cakes, sauces, and meals, we’ve loved eyeing everyone’s craft this year! Here are just a few of our favorite galleries:
Not sure where to upload photos to your store? Learn more here.
Tipping
In October, we officially added tips to Castiron, putting more money in your pocket! As of December, you have taken home an additional $15,000 in tips (in under three months!). After all, nothing bad happens when good people make more money.
Do you have tips activated in your shop? Don't miss out! Turn on our tipping feature here.
Date and Time Fulfillment Slots
We also launched date and time fulfillment slots in October, just in time for holiday pre-sales! Now your customers can select a pick-up or delivery date and time slot when they check-out from your store. No more guessing, DM-ing, and emailing about pick-up or delivery dates and times!
Covered in flour when this was released? Learn more here.
Email Marketing Templates
It’s no secret that Instagram and Facebook’s algorithms are constantly changing. Rather than exclusively relying on likes, reels, and Zuckerberg, you can now take control of your own marketing efforts with Castiron’s email marketing. Our Product Announcement and Custom Order Availability email templates let you send professional marketing emails in less than 3 clicks.
Out on delivery when this came out? Go to your marketing tab to send your first email, or check-out a quick explanation here.
New Pricing Options
Last, but certainly not least, we’ve released more ways for you to pay for Castiron.
Our Starter package, which we’ve offered since day one, includes a 10% transaction fee that you can absorb or pass along to your customers. It’s still available, and when you pass the fee onto your customer, it’s a great way to keep Castiron totally free for you.
This year, we learned that many of you would prefer something a little more predictable and tax-deductible as you manage your business. With that in mind, we have released the Castiron Pro and Castiron Business plans, two unique pricing packages that include daily payouts and lower transaction fees for higher-volume sellers.
In case you missed it, check out our pricing information here, or go to your Payments tab to make changes to your account.
2022 was a good one, but we have even more planned for 2023. Keep the feedback coming, we’re in this together.
Happy New Year,
Your Castiron Team
