Promote Your CafePress Store

Ranked #952 in Business & Work, #46,355 overall

Market your designs and let CafePress handle the rest

CafePress is a great way to sell your designs, music, books, and other original creations.

You provide the content and CafePress handles the production and sales.

For example, in my John Dilbeck's Shirts, Mugs, and Hats store, I have a lot of mostly text designs that are sold on, well, shirts, mugs, hats, and other items.

I create the designs, upload them to CafePress, add products that will have the designs printed on, set my prices, and do the marketing and promotion.

CafePress maintains all the computers, warehouses, production facilities, and other things that are needed to take orders, produce the products, ship them, and handle all customer service.

Then, when my commissions have cleared, they send me checks to deposit.

I'm earning from work I did two or three years ago. How cool is that?

You can, too.

Open your store at CafePress for free.

You need to remember that opening a store and uploading some designs will not earn you any money. You have to do the marketing and promotion to get people to your store so they will purchase.

The more items you sell, the more checks you'll deposit. It's just that simple.

Act on your dream!

JD

Squidoo Marketing Shop on CafePress

Help support our Squidoo Marketing Community!

Squidoo Marketing MugWe have a lot of friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful lensmasters in our Squidoo Marketing community and we created a brand-new Squidoo Marketing Shop on CafePress to help pay the hosting fees to keep our community alive and online.

We invite you to visit our Squidoo Marketing Community and join us, if you like what you see.

You are encouraged to browse our Squidoo Marketing Shop on CafePress and we hope you'll be a regular customer!

Thank you for supporting Squidoo, CafePress, and lots of dedicated designers, webmasters, and lensmasters by purchasing from the shops you'll find on this lens.

How Satisfied Are You With CafePress?

As a CafePress store owner, what is your opinion of the service CafePress provides to help you earn money from your original designs.

Consider all the things that are done for you behind the scenes.

Are you getting what you thought you would when you opened your store?

If you have any comments about the poll, please tell us in the feedback section at the bottom of this page.

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CafePress is the greatest thing since sliced bread!

Make money selling your designs at CafePress

I just love getting emails that tell me I just made a sale at CafePress almost as much as I enjoy depositing the commission check I receive from those sales every month.



How about you?



What do you think about CafePress? Are you making any money selling your designs there?



Tell us about it. Take a side.



Act on your dream!



JD

How do you like selling products on CafePress?

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It's great! CafePress is better than sliced bread! It rocks!

Explore says:

I'm a fan of CafePress!
I typically earn 3x as much with CafePress as I do with Zazzle (With the same designs on both). For some reason, my Zazzle sales have been dropping significantly over the last few months. Possibly due to the economy, however, my CafePress sales have been showing increased sales during the same time frame.
For those just starting out, it can take a while to start getting sales. If you're passionate about your designs, and you keep adding more, sales will eventually start happening.

Vudu_guru says:

I have a premium shop but nearly all my sales are through the marketplace because the marketplace is the only one that can provide discount vouchers. This sucks a bit

BHawkins930 says:

I am new to CafePress, my shop is http://www.cafepress.com/SimplyCreative3. I haven't sold anything yet but I love being able to design my own products and I believe with hard work I will be able to make my store a success. :)

Kayjo says:

I've had a premium shop for a few months now and I realize it takes a lot of time, but, I love it -it's more appealing to the eyes than the other sites. I'm having fun, even though I only made one sale. That one sale tells me that I can sell more. They've also got some good quality shirts -I've bought a few :)

I think it's a big step in building a brand for yourself.

www.cafepress.com/KayjoDesigns

apcreates says:

The extra cash is good especially since I make sales without doing much now. I could make more sales if I promoted it more. But I am good for now.

Ruthi says:

If I create new designs and promote them, I earn; if not, I don't. As with any venture, I get what I put into it.

Oleetha says:

Cafepress is great. I am a newbie, but having lots of fun, and making a small profit already.

MaxReily says:

I've only just started recently with CafePress, and I have yet to sell anything. That could be because I haven't successfully promoted my own shop enough yet, but I'm learning. I do like the ease with which I can produce and upload my designs, and I'm going to vote "It's great" based on my hopeful expectations. I've noticed that my designs are making their way to the first few pages of CafePress's Marketplace now, so I have hope that I'm promoting more successfully and choosing better keywords.

Namo Narayan says:

Well, i have just open the Shop Yesterday. :)
Visit : http://www.cafepress.com/NamoNarayan

But it's good !

ZOLTAR69 says:

I enjoy seeing my creations placed on so many products. I have sold a few items, but the web is a BIG place and I need to improve my marketing skills. I also have 3 Zazzle shops, which are a bit more fun to operate, and for a newbie like myself.. easier to change the look, so I tend to spend more time on my Zazzle stores than CafePress. I stil think CafePress is a great thing and enjoy my shop and the slightly different product selections. Thanks..ZOLTAR.

greenlife17 says:

I have just started, and my, what an exciting to do! And the promoting thing is quite fun! my first sale would be a feast! Love it!

johndilbeck says:

I had a pretty good holiday sales season at CafePress and earned a couple hundred dollars, so I'll be looking forward to getting those checks. Most of my sales were made in the Marketplace, so I didn't earn as much in commissions as I would have if the sales had been made directly from my shop, but I'm still happy. (grin)

Abseaz says:

I've sold several items since I started 2 months ago. However I still find it odd that it's still not indexed by Google after I worked on the tags, keywords and all. Nevertheless the products show up in the cafepress store and I've promoted it a lot so it should pay off. http://www.cafepress.ca/TheXFactorStore

Luis2u4u says:

I made more than 1000$ in 1 year so I think it's ok!

littlebird says:

Cafepress is cool, its fun work. It make me think and be creative, I like that. I have not made sell's but I' am just starting out. So i'll keep my head up, hopefully get noticed. http://www.cafepress.com/littlebirdshop

GetSillyProductions says:

CafePress is awesome, I've only sold a few things, but I think it's great, I make enough money to buy my own stuff, so I'm happy :)

ErinRyan says:

It is one of the best decisions I ever made! Be passionate, be creative! http://www.cafepress.com/4u2wear2

lake-effect says:

I just started recently on Cafepress. I like alot about it am still learning and hope to have success with it. It's an easy site to get around and work with. The forum area is great with many helpful shopkeepers. I need to keep creating designs, post them and get better at marketing. I think things will work out. At least that's the plan.

Danes-R-Us says:

Selling products on Cafepress for 8 years - How do I like it? Well... in 8 years I can't remember a month when there was no check. Always great customer service and a whole cabinet full of mugs. What more could I ask? Seriously, it's a great add-on to my business. My customer have access to the products they want and I don't have to do the work. Check me out at danesrusduds.com and let me know you stopped by.

JeanC_ducky says:

I love it. It is a great way for me to indulge in my creative urges and actually make some money at it:) I've only had my shop open since Apr '08 and I am a head of the curve in new shop sales.

BabyLaughs says:

Cafepress is a wonderful outlet for my creativity, sarcasm, and mommy-wit. I love how easy it is to use, and the large selection of items available. I do see room for improvement in the product department as far as sizes, items, and quality, but none of those things have detoured me yet. The community is fantastic, and I love the partnerships available.

As a stay at home mom, it is a great way to earn a little extra for my family while not taking any time away from my family. I've watched my son grow, and haven't missed a minute, largely with thanks to Cafepress!

JDWheeler says:

I have had great success with Cafepress. It's a little slow starting out, but once you make that first sale, they come faster and faster. And when you "Squidoo" your designs you make even more.

You would be surprised what unique products people are looking for on the internet. I agree with John, sometimes it pays to put a higher price on your products. But don't get carried away.

sittonbull says:

This newbie thinks if its working great for you.."on dialup!" (still astounded at that!)... then whatever challenges it presents for us on DSL can be resolved with study and good marketing.

kiwisoutback says:

I love cafepress, I do well there. I wish they kept the volume bonus program the same, but otherwise, it's been great.

TinkerM says:

I have shops a printfection and Zazzle and have sold 12 things a Zazzle 3 things a Printfection. I have sold over 500 last year at Cafepress. There is no comparison as far as I am concerned and no competitors. Also the customer service is very rude at Zazzle. Cafepress does a ton of advertising for us.. the others do not just look at the search engines. JMHO..

NotChris says:

I have learned so much from CafePress from the various forums on how to customize my Premium shop. It is a great company and I enjoy doing business with them. My only suggestion would be to better organize the Marketplace. I find it confusing to find designs.

johndilbeck says:

Good evening OhMe.

Yes, CafePress products are priced higher, but that's because they print and deliver customized items at low (usually one) quantities.

Actually, I sell more of my designs since raising the prices a few years ago. If you have a design someone likes, he or she may be willing to pay extra.

Selling is a result of marketing: put your designs in front of the right people and they'll buy.

Act on your dream!

JD

Uysbee says:

I'm only starting out, but it's fun and exciting

mbrownauthor says:

I'm a newbie, but I'm sure it'll be great!

TinkerM says:

Very happy wish they would feature more of my sales!! But who doesn't?

CafePress sucks. Are you kidding me? I haven't sold anything there!

almawad says:

I sold things worth 200bucks at cp but the rent that I have to pay there for the shop is too high so virtually I gained nothing . there . At zazzle my sales 10 times more !And no rent for having a shop there ! The same image I have in both store - it does not get noticed at all at CP while becomes bestseller at Zazzle .I am just waiting for some changes at CP - I hope that their policy would change towards shopkeepers .For the time being the management is rather amateurish in their ways to manage that huge design source they are having and keeping relation with their own designers ...

JigsawForte says:

Switched to Zazzle a while ago. Ability to better set prices? Customize the shop? Sell More Varieties of Items? Yes Please!

sandyspider says:

I sold a few things a year ago. Then when I joined Zazzle in Feb. 2009, I pretty much stopped promoting it. Now they have limited to mark-up. Having the basic shops don't help either.

goldenecho says:

I can't say I haven't sold anything. Used to sell stuff left and right. ICafePress used to rock...but now it rocks much less than Zazzle. In the last two years CafePress has done so many changes to the detriment of shopkeepers, while Zazzle has changed in so many good ways. CafePress restricted it's volume bonus to only shop sales, Zazzle started a volume bonus program (which included marketplace sales). Zazzle used to only give a 10% commission...now CafePress is the one giving only a 10% commission (in their marketplace at least) while Zazzle gives you more price controll. Zazzle has made shops (which are all free) more customizable. CafePress still only lets you customize if you pay for premium. Zazzle lets you make templates for customers to customize...CafePress added templates for customers to customize...but YOU can't make them for YOUR customers, it's only in their marketplace with THEIR templates. Zazzle has coupons and sales which are easy to promote. CafePress has few coupons/sales you can promote because they usually just apply to marketplace products, and don't work in your own shops. Ect. Ect. Hmmm...I wonder why my sales have gone from 20 per month at CP to almost nothing, while my sales at Zazzle have grown to what CP used to be...even in spite of the economy. Hmmmm.

spunkyduckling says:

It was okay last year but this year no way. Not with that slap they hit their loyal members

QuasarEcho says:

Disappointingly, Google won't index our Cafepress store. It's been up since July 13 and has relevant keyword and description meta information in place. We're not sure if Google is censoring us or not; it's evidently not a Cafepress issue. It may be that our subject matter is considered controversial by the Google gatekeepers. If so, it seems quite unfair. What happened to free expression? http://www.cafepress.com/zodium

Jak71004 says:

Cafepress is way over priced. Printfection.com and Zazzle.com have far better clothes, lower prices on clothes, and free customizable shops.

TinkerM says:

poop I just typed a whole thing and it never posted...Anyway Cafepress screwed me over big time for the holidays. Got not one marketplace order after getting many every day. They somehow took all my good sales off and there are nothing but old sales and shops that designs are just thrown on things not even fitting them. I did a lot of work for nothing. Got sales from my website but 1 only all month from the marketplace. Have written them and nothing has changed. The marketplace is a joke..

OhMe says:

Haven't sold anything and I think they are very high priced.

 
view all 42 comments

Resources for CafePress store owners

This is a list of resources to help CafePress store owners (new and old) get the most from their design creation and marketing efforts.

If you know of good resources not listed here, please contact me.
Kimberly's Most Successful CafePress Shops
Don't think you can really make a living off CafePress? I'll tell you a secret: even though I tell everyone I'm a writer, most of my income is from a passive stream of sales on CafePress. Learn what sells by taking a peek at the items below, and learn how to create your own success with the links at
Promote your CafePress Shop on MySpace
With millions of people on MySpace, it's no wonder why any ambitious CafePress shop owner would want the opportunity to market their store here. Find information about setting up your account, customizing your page, using your blog wisely, and joining the most appropriate groups for your merchandise
CafePress Product Setup Tips
Work.com invited me to write an expert article on making money using CafePress, and it is currently featured as one of the most popular and most helpful articles! Read the entire article and find out more about making money using one of the hottest business building tools of Web 2.0.
Success with CafePress Headquarters
Success with CafePress Learn how to successfully use CafePress to make money. Whether you want to try it as a hobby, supplement your income, or work it full time, CafePress offers you the flexibility to fit it into your lifestyle. You can get started for free! The rules: If you have a CafePress lens
How to Run a Successful CafePress Shop (and make lots of money!)
CafePress is THE online place to become your very own entrepreneur quickly and easily. All you need is a computer, Internet connection, and a graphics program, and you are on your way to making major money! Get all the CafePress goodness here with help on setting up your store, managing it, and mark
Free Fonts to Download and Use
Whether you use them for newsletters, designing great CafePress gear, or just fooling around with your website, fonts are FUN. Find out where to get the best free fonts, learn more about typography, and see some of our favorites. Fonts aren't just for letters anymore!
CafePress Shops On APSense
Hi fellow CafePress Shopkeepers! This group is for anyone interested in creating and selling your designs on CafePress. Not an Apsense member? Join for free.

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John Dilbeck lives in the mountains of western North Carolina, near the small town of Murphy. He loves living in the southern Appalachian mountains,... more »

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