by 60 people |
What is Cafe Press?
CafePress.com is perfect for artists, authors, musicians or even bloggers. With a free basic shop you can upload your artwork or logo and sell print-on-demand t-shirts, mugs, stickers and so much more with the only cost being your time. Print-on-demand books and CD's are also at your fingertips.
Success with CafePress.com is simple, especially if you already have an established Web site or Blog to link your store too. However, if you're not a Web site owner try your hand at a Premium shop that allows you to add more products and customize the look of your shop with html.
Below you'll find resources, tools and other cool sites that will help you along your way with using CafePress.com.
Guides, Tutorials & Reference Articles
- CafePress.com
- CafePress.com is an Artist's Haven. With over 80 products and a simple upload and click interface just about anyone can create and market their artwork with the only cost being time. Now what separates the elite successful from the average shopkeeper is a different story.
- CafePedia
- CafePress has started it's own member driven Wiki. This is brand new as of January 2006, but is another great example of how supportive the CafePress community as a whole is.
- Premium Shop Guide
- CafePress Shop Keeper ArtofFoxVox prepared a nice easy to follow guide to getting started with premium shops.
- Working with HTML in Premium Shops
- CafePress Shop Keeper HecticStudios takes an in-depth look at working with HTML in Premium Shops.
Warning: Currently the CP Premium Shop system can be a bit tricky as it is built to accommodate those with little HTML knowledge and those with enough to be dangerous. The nice thing is everything is undoable and the end result can give you a shop unlike any other. - W3 Schools
- Whether you're a novice at HTML or an old pro trying to remember just how you use to do that trick, W3 Schools is a wonderful resource for a multitude of web designing basics from HTML to Flash and everything in-between. The best thing is you can teach yourself all these skills at your own pace and it's completely free.
- Tips & Tricks for Images
- A perfect example of why it is so important to search the Cafe Press forums. There is a wealth of knowledge just waiting to answer your every question. This post by Ophelia covers nearly everything you would want to know about using images for CafePress.
- Publishing Resource Center
- CafePress.com is also for aspiring authors! No up front cost, print on demand, as little as one copy at a time. A little pricey but being able to control your run has it's advantages when self promoting.
- Success with CafePress.com: The Book
- Daniel M. Clark shopkeeper of Hectic Studios wrote a Cafepress.com self-published book as a self-help guide to replicating his success as a shopkeeper in 2006. Brilliant! The book is still for sale, although much of the book is out of date or simply no longer applicable. For more info. or to purchase click here.
- Zero Cash, A Little Talent and 30 Days
- An interesting read of one women's story about turning a profit in 30 days while not spending any of her own money using a CafePress shop and the affiliate program. Granted she had some nice contacts and some free coupons to help get her foot in the door, but it's great for inspiration.
- Google Advanced Search Techniques
- A list of advanced ways to search Google for faster results. Who couldn't use that?
- Still no sales? A crash course in setting your shop up for success.
- As mentioned before the CafePress.com community forum is the place to find answers to all of your questions. This Crash Course to Shop Success by ZapGraphix is the perfect example.
- Tips & Tricks for customizing a premium shop
- Shopkeeper garagebandgear created an easy guide for making some simple customizations to the look of a premium shop.
Useful Tools
- CafePress Product Templates
- I always forget to bookmark this page and have the hardest time finding it again, but it's full of product templates which make it easy to place your image on items like light switches.
- StatCounter.com
- Stat Counter provides a free tool to help you track customers that visit premium shops. It works with a simple hidden HTML code that when placed on every page will give you basic statistics on all users up to the last 100 page loads with the free version. These stats are a must for shopkeepers who want to trim the fat or improve high trafficked pages.
- AddMe
- A quick and dirty way to list your new shop/site with 20 different search engines. I do not recommend paying for a service like this.
- Open Source Web Design
- Free shared templates to get a basic start for the look of your Web site.
- Shutterstock
- Shutterstock is a great place to find photos for non-commercial use. (uploading to Cafepress products is not allowed in the licensing) but you can use them to illustrate your web site or advertisements. They also pay a .25 cent commission for each download of your own uploaded artwork. Check it out. Download unlimited stock photos!
- Standard Banner Sizes from webpencil.com
- If you are going to advertise your site with other sites or use the Affiliate Program, banner ads are a must. If you want anyone to use those ads, making them in standard sizes is a must.
- Index DOT Html
- When you're ready to step up your HTML knowledge to the next level.
- CafePress.com Shopkeeper Agreement
- Get to know this well.
- Corporate Services
- If the do-it-yourself approach just won't cut it for an "Established Brand", CafePress offers up a Corporate Solutions Program.
- CPshop
- For an advanced user this 3rd party tool is pretty sweet. It allows you to host your shop from your own domain name. The only time someone would cross over to CP is to check out. Great for affiliates as they can snag individual items and place them in their domain "shop" without sending someone to another site.
- Color Wheel Pro
- Color Wheel Pro - a unique software program that allows you to see color theory in action. With Color Wheel Pro, you can create harmonious color schemes and preview them on real-world examples.
- Pandora
- Ok so it's not a tool per say, but if you're like me and like a little background music when designing, this site is perfect for "mood" music. Simply plunk in a favorite artist or a favorite song and Pandora creates a personal radio station of similar music. Give a song thumbs up or thumbs down and Pandora shuffles the selection based on your tastes. Best part, no pauses for buffering like you get with most internet radio.
- CP Page Helper
- Tools to help you create pages of CP products.
Advertising your Shop
- Find a Web Host to Create your Own Site
- Maintaining a Web site can be a great tool to drive traffic to your CafePress gear. Do your research to find a hosting package worthy of your needs.
For the price and the services they offer, I have found IXWebhosting to be a perfect fit for me. - Froogle at Google
- Add your products to Froogle!
- Google AdWords
- Do your research before jumping into any Pay Per Click advertising. The basic concepts: Be very specific and choosy about your keywords. Have as many of those specific choosy keywords as there are stars in the sky. Don't bother paying for the high cost keywords, too much competition to make it profitable, milk your ad money with highly targeted visitors. Play with your advertising copy as you see results. Dump the stuff that isn't working. Match your keywords to specific product landing pages. Now snap your fingers, twirl around, clap twice and don't hold your breath.
- My Space
- Create a Blog. Hit up the free classifieds section. Join a few groups. Participate in the forums. Drop links and product whispers where appropriate. Network. Network. Network.
- Blogger
- Another quick and easy way to start a Blog.
- ArticleGeek.com
- If you've chosen a shop theme you have some expertise in, writing an article on the topic is a great way to start Viral Marketing. Just remember to keep it informative and of course work in a link to your site.
- Squidoo
- If you've created your shop around a passion of yours, you're probably a self-made expert and could very easily start your own lens on the subject. Don't forget to add the new Squidoo CafePress module.
- Build Web Traffic
- A nice compilation of articles related to generating links and traffic.
A bit of advice from learning the hard way.
- Decide on a theme and stick with it. The best themes come from something you are passionate about. A theme allows you to target specific traffic that will be more likely to purchase your work. Added bonus, if you're already an active member of forums and community web sites related to your topic, you'll have a captive audience to grab traffic from by adding your shop address to your signature. Not to say you can't have more than one theme in a shop, but keep like things together for easy navigation and searching.
- If you are using a Premium Shop, create a Master Section you can import from for all other sections. Start with a hidden section of products with either your logo or a filler design. Place and size each image to the specification of the majority of your designs and add your desired mark up. When you open a new section you'll be able to import all of these filler products from the master section and with a few clicks you can switch out your filler image for the new design, add your new product name and description and voila your newest design will be up in running in less than 5 minutes.
- Search engines like Google are eerily good at picking up text. Use this to your advantage by being as descriptive as possible with every single product you place. Utilize header tags and descriptive labels rich with product specific keywords. This is extremely time consuming but will help send customers to your designs from the search engines. Mislabeling your products will get you traffic, but rarely customers.
- Hidden sections can work to your advantage by using HTML in the section description. Use hidden sections to create entire pages full of affiliate information displaying your shop banners, create a favorite shops page or display an article. The possibilities are endless, just don't forget to manually link to them from your unhidden shop landing page.
- Do not forget to sign up for the Affiliate Program. It's a separate sign up from the sign up for a CafePress.com shop. Then attach your PID number to absolutely every Cafepress.com related link you dole out.
A small sample of some of the Great Stuff on CafePress
Better Than Your Costume Dark T-Shirt
Some people just try too hard. And some people don't try at all. Still Better Than Your Costume gear is exactly what it sounds like, and perfect for your snarky Halloween.
Bride of Frankenstein Penguin Women's Long Sleeve
A fun Halloween Penguin original design by JGoode, Bride of Frankenstein. Get spooky with penguin themed halloween t-shirts, hoodies, stickers and more. Perfect for Penguin Lovers!
Don't Scare Me Infant Bodysuit
Halloween can be scary for the little ones,so give trick or treaters this warning. And bring lots of diapers.
Flying Monkeys Women's Pink T-Shirt
Have flying monkeys, you little witch? This is a good warning to others that you'll use them if you have to. Great for Halloween or anytime you want to scare people with your witchiness.
I Don't Do Costumes Women's Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Anti-halloween t-shirts, instant costume party tshirts and clothing read, "I don't do costumes, now step aside you're standing on my invisible dog!" Wear these tshirts to halloween parties.
A selection of my best selling items.
i believe. Sticker (Bumper)
I believe in the magic of the season, and a lot of others seem to as well. Design comes in shirts, gifts, keepsakes and stickers.
Price: 5.00
Kissable Red Lips, Keepsake Box
One customer wrote to tell me they used this little keepsake box as part of their marriage proposal. A nice addition to an engagement ring as the box is lined in velvet.
Price: 28.99
Feeling Lucky? Baseball Jersey
This was a fun quick design that seems to be quite popular near St. Patrick's day.
Price: 25.99
Great Stuff on Amazon
Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students (Design Briefs)
Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 11/10/2009)
HTML for the World Wide Web with XHTML and CSS, Fifth Edition
Amazon Price: (as of 11/10/2009)
Adobe Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book
Amazon Price: $34.64 (as of 11/10/2009)
Post your Shop along with your helpful tip for Success with CafePress!
GrowWear wrote...
Thank you for this great resource! My shop is GrowWear.com -- Since 2005. My best advice is to keep learning and to be passionate about what you create to sell.
Posted December 29, 2008
PattB wrote...
Hi Jillian! I have to thank you for inspiring me, about a year ago, to build my CafePress store: Artist General Store This was before I knew anything about Squidoo, before I became a lensmaster. In fact this was the first lens I ever saw, and I was quite impressed. So a belated thank you, and 5 long over-due stars. Pat
Posted December 29, 2008
ArtoftheFan wrote...
Thanks for the info. My Cafepress shop and Squidoo lens is fairly new and still under development. Any feedback or ratings would be appreciated.
http://www.squidoo.com/cafepress/fantasyfootball
http://www.artofthefan.com
Posted November 20, 2008
Autismshowucare wrote...
Thank you so much for your help. We are newbies
This is such great information.
Peace,
Kelly
Posted August 30, 2008
Isabel22 wrote...
Great job.Thank you for sharing this wonderful information.If you are looking for a good way to keep track of your inventory, no matter how big or small your inventory is you will need to control your inventory with inventory management software. Here is also similar kind of information on inventory management software , an interesting site about inventory management software, Asset Inventory Software,Association Inventory Tracking Software,Association Tracking Software,Attendance Tracking Software,Customer Tracking Software,Employee Tracking Software.Please visit us.
Posted March 27, 2008
New Word Inspiration of the Day
- soporific: Dictionary.com Word of the Day
- soporific: causing sleep; also, something that causes sleep.
- Presented By:
by Nibbled
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