Fresh Tips for Print on Demand Products

Like a fool I went and gave away some of my best secrets at
this lens , and now I am giving you some more. Return the love and buy a shirt or ten. You know you want to.

Quit worrying about your Niche

This is just my opinion but there is no more overrated piece of advice than get your own niche. I see this advice at almost every single cafepress related site, (sometimes people don't even spell niche correct. I have seen it called a nitch.)
This is how I see it

Not everybody is passionate enough about Basset Hounds to devote their whole store to them. Even if you are that passionate about Bassett Hounds, or Trout Fishing, or underwater basket weaving, there are probably already ten stores devoted to that particular niche already, so why back yourself into a corner.

If you have a good idea, that you think will sell then go ahead and make it. The worst it can do is not sell then you are simply at where you were before you decided to try. No biggie. You never know until you try.

Use the marketplace everywhere but cafepress

I have a confession. I suck at SEO, I really do. I try to read up on it but I see all this advice about analytics, and gathering links and back tracking and charts and graphs and denominators and seo black hat optimizing and my eyes glaze over. I don't even understand half the things they are saying because I grew up reading Judy Blume not Lee Iacocca. Most of my sales come from the CP Marketplace, and when you start out most of yours will to. So tag for it.

Of course I am hoping to get more visits to my actual store. That's why I am here on Squidoo giving out more of my secrets free to you lucky readers. I hope y'all are enjoying em. Be sure to tell all your friends at del.ico.us and stumble and digg and technorati and wherever else.

Know your design program well.

In some circles cafepress has a bad rap for having bad designs. There are tons of people who just slap up a quickie design saying I'm whomever's Big Brother and then proceed to flood the marketplace with every name ever conceived. I am Mordecai's big Brother, I am Zyler's big brother etc... Don't be one of these people. Take some classes at the community college, get a program with an easier learning curve than photoshop. Get tutorials from the web do whatever it takes. I am not saying become a design snob, I am just saying better designed shirts sell better. I have a few missteps in my store and they have not sold. I lost interest and wasn't invested enough in them to redo the concept so I tossed them in, but they have not sold.

If you absolutely refuse to learn any sort of design (frankly I can't imagine why you would want a t-shirt and gifts shop but ok) then do text only shirts.

Don't stress over copyright

I have found copyright to be the most confusing thing in the t-shirt business. If you do humor then sometimes you will get dinged for it. Even if you used a perfectly common word or phrase like cutie pie or caution. It's annoying, but don't let it get you down. Just keep designing and change it if you have to.

Even the losers get lucky sometimes

Not all of your designs will be brilliant. Don't treat your cafepress like it's the graphic design portfolio that will get you into Harvard. Even if it's just OK it might sell great. You never know what people's taste is. (This is why I put up my terrible ones, someday even they might sell.)

Reuse certain design elements.

I won't tell

Scope out the competition.

Who is your competition? Do you only check the marketplace or the top site lists or do you check out other print on demand companies? What about the internet at large. I consider Places like Threadless, Snorg Tees, Nerdy Tees and Johnny Cupcakes my competition. Sure, I wouldn't bet on /www.cafepress.com/tshirtfort> The T-shirt Fort in any of these fights, but hey aim high, why not. Take a look at the big boys and get offended (Why do you hate women so much Offensive T-shirt Store number 3?) get annoyed (People pay 58 dollars for that design!) then get inspired. You can do better.

Don't steal designs

Getting inspired doesn't mean stealing a design or an idea, especially if they're mine. Get inspired, brainstorm and find something new.

Check the message boards

Like I said before, a lot of the blogs related to cafepress, zazzle, or other pods are stale (many are last updated in Summer of 2007) The message boards are a good way to find out what is happening right now.

This is how I feel today so deal with it. Prepare everyone for your many moods with this funny design.


We were all designed for Optimum Performance. Make the best of your high performance design by engaging in strenuous activities like napping, vegging out, watching TV, and chilling.


Feng Shui is my favorite martial art! Funny design for fans of interior design.


Doing your own stunts is so 2002. It's time the burning stickman got a new slogan. Whatever you do. Don't try this at home.


Look I could have submitted this t-shirt into a design contest but I didn't. I made it availible to you. it's got everything a cityscape, broken heart, blood tears, even a random turtle. So buy it ok.


description

I no longer recommend using cafepress to sell print on demand products but if you are already there here are some hints for you.

Get a premium store.

With a basic store you are sooo limited. If you want your design on every product you can only do 1 design. One design! The whole reason why I joined was to put a ton of designs out there. The more designs you have the more chances one will be found and bought. Play the odds, use your creativity and spend the six bucks a month!

The only time a basic shop works is if you are using to promote 1 thing like a website with 1 design like the website logo. Then you are probably more interested in the site than the cafepress store, its just gravy, and what are you doing here? This lens is for the more serious cafepress shopkeeper.

Don't use the marketplace.

Unless you don't value your own stuff and are OK with Cafepress giving you a pittance and slapping it on the products you don't want. Try to advertise elsewhere and if that doesn't work expand to the less restrictive competitors.

You will flip for this totally cute and tasty HD jelly bean flip. It's a delicious no calorie gift. It has sleek design, simple user interface, flip-out USB arm, built-in editing and sharing software -- plus stunningly crisp, clear HD-quality video. MinoHD: the world's smallest HD camcorder.


Do you love drive ins? Are you willing to drive for miles and miles just to visit the few that remain? This design is perfect for any nostalgia lover.


Time flies with this funny clock featuring a flies and a swatter. Great for anyone with a warped sense of humor.


Celebrate everyones favorite flavor with this cute cherry design. Yum!


The butler was framed. This funny design is the perfect gift for any mystery devotee.


Can your dog speak English, Spanish and Bear? Then name him Baxter and get him on the news.


This cool retro style design lets everyone know you are doing your part environmentally. it is easy to be green with this design.