(by 12 people)
Easy...But Effective
I'm no rocket scientist and there is no magic keyword to automatically boost and help your Cafepress shop make more sales. If there was, I wouldn't be writing this page. I would be counting my millions living on some island in the South Pacific.
I have simply put together 5 easy tips to make more money and more sales with Cafepress that have worked for me and I believe will work for you. More visitors mean more exposure for the unique cafepress products you've worked hard to design. A great product gets more traffic and brings more customers back. You can see that I practice what I preach at my own Cafepress shop - TheDesignWheel.com. It's a classic Cafepress success story.
EASY TIP #1 - Fill In The Blanks
Seach engines love keywords and content
EASY TIP #1 - Fill In The Blanks - When adding products to your sections, be sure to fill out all the name and description areas. Cafepress makes this easy to do. Just "Check All" on all the products of a section, then select "Change Name" and think of a cool name that fits all these products. BOOM! Your shop is looking more professional already. Uniformity is good in this case. I know this seems like a no-brainer tip, but you would be surprised at how few people name and describe their products.Make the same bulk change with the "Description" as well. Just a simple one liner to uniquely describe the product. Mix in some keywords to help you with the search engines. (See an example in my own shop) Notice the keywords in my item name and description.
My point is, anywhere you can enter a section description or product description, do it with keywords. Bonus keywords means bonus hits from potential customers.
EASY TIP #2 - Stay Current
Go With The Flow
EASY TIP #2 - Stay Current - Need a new idea on what to design? Watch TV for an hour! Whether it's news or regular shows. You'll see tons of ideas and trends right there on the screen.Like right now, the Election Designs are in high demand on Cafepress. I'm not that political myself, but I am a businessman. Get really creative or simply design the candidate's name in a cool font and PRESTO! You've got a best seller. If you design it, they will buy. I have had great success with my NOBAMA Designs.
The media and word of mouth is the best free advertising out there. It gets ideas into people's (customers) heads and then you capitalize by having a unique product when they go looking for it online.
From TheDesignWheel.com
My Most Popular T-Shirts
Never miss a chance to promote your designs. Like right now, I've got your attention, I'm going to plug my own unique designs.
See More Cool Unique Designs on T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, Tank Tops, Ringers T's, Baseball Jerseys, Hooded Sweatshirts, Tote Bags, Buttons, Stickers, Magnets, Coffee Mugs, Clocks, BBQ Aprons, Mouse Pads, Clocks, Pillows, Baby Clothes, Dog T-Shirts and more...See them all @ TheDesignWheel.com
I.S.F.C. Ringer T
5.5 oz 100% preshrunk cotton
Double-needle hemmed trim
Contrast ringer neck and sleeves
Price: 19.99
EASY TIP #3 - Maximize Your Products
EASY TIP #3 - Maximize Your Products - So many times as I do my "Search Research", I sometimes come across cool designs but they are only on, say, a rectangle sticker. What a waste!Cafepress makes it easy to get your unique design on over 70+ products. Why not? Maximize your selections. A good start is to build a template section with as many different products as possible like t-shirts in all sizes, every sticker Cafepress offers, even picture frames and greeting cards. Then when you add one of your new designs, simply import the items from this "template section" and WHAMO! Tons of products equals tons of sales. You can always go and make a little size adjustment after the fact. Don't assume everyone will want to buy your design on a green t-shirt. Give them the option.
EASY TIP #4 - Link, Link, Link
EASY TIP #4 - Link, Link, Link - How did you find this page? Search engine or perhaps through a link somewhere somehow. The more links you have out there, the more chances people (customers) will find you. Blog about your shop on MySpace with links. Get in contact with other shopkeepers with products like yours to exchange links. Going ahead with a link to their site on your site is a good faith gesture when asking them to exchange links. Click here to exchange links with meAnother idea about linking is the old saying "if you can't beat them, join them". If I had made this very webpage on my own from the ground up, it would be a struggle to rank in searches for several months if even then, but thank to Squidoo, here it is right in front of you. Ride the big boys coat tails! They are fighting the search battle for you everyday. Take advantage to promote your shop!
How about making your own page like this one? A Squidoo Lens is a great way to promote and market your unique Cafepress products for free. Yes, that's right, for free.
More From TheDesignWheel.com
Other Popular Items
See all my 2008 Election Designs @ TheDesignWheel.com
Go Green Light Bulb Tote Bag
10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabric
Full side and bottom gusset
22" reinforced self-fabric handles
Machine washable
Measures 15" x 18" x 6"
Price: 17.99
Smiley Headphones Mousepad
Keep your mouse rolling in style on our durable cloth top mousepad. A great gift for geeks, gamers, or anyone with a computer. Rubber backing prevents the mousepad from sliding. Machine washable.
Price: 13.99
Green Meddle Original Keepsake Box
Made of solid hardwood with high-gloss lacquer finish
Interior is fully lined in velvet; bottom is covered with felt
Measures 5.5" x 5.5" x 2.25" with a 4.25" x 4.25" ceramic tile
Price: 24.99
EASY TIP #5 - "Fun-Centrate"
EASY TIP #5- "Fun-Centrate" - This word is a combination of "Fun and Concentrate". Sit back and do some thinking before you start designing. Break out the old fashioned paper and pencil. List your ideas and thoughts. And then, Funcentrate over them. Circle what you like and cross out ideas you don't like. It's usually not a good idea to go "guns-a-blazin" into the Cafepress world. A little Funcentrating now can mean mores sales down the road. My philosophy, "Work smarter not harder".Experiment with your designs. When you decide on a design to make, try it in different colors and styles. See what works. Tweak, Tweak, tweak until you are satisfied and the little extra time you took to design it will show. Your customers will be satisfied as well. The greatest thing about design software, it has an undo button. You will come to know it well.
BONUS TIP - Build a Squidoo Lens
Promote your Cafepress Creations for free.
What the heck is a Squidoo Lens? Squidoo is a super cool website that allows you to sell any Cafepress item, Ebay, or Amazon Product and make extra affiliate bucks along the way. You create a webpage, or a "lens" as they call it. It's very easy way to make extra money and can promote your Cafepress designs for free. It's very interesting and very addicting. Loosely put, it's like a myspace page you get paid for. In fact, you're reading a lens right now.These lenses are a great way to showcase your best sellers from your Cafepress Shop and get more free exposure to help drive sales up, up, up. All for free thanks to Squidoo.
The Best Design Software Available
Take your Cafepress designs to the next level
![CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 Education Edition [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Ri6T7wV3L._SL75_.jpg)
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 Education Edition [DVD]
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 lets you tackle creative graphics and design projects with confidence. New tools make it easier and quicker than ever to deliver any creative project, from layout and photo editing, to illustration and bitmap-to-vector tracing. Powerful text and layout enhancements give you the look you want plus market-leading file compatibility makes collaboration easy. Updated high-quality content, a step-by-step Hints Docker and new tutorials written by experts get you started fast. Professional and aspiring designers along with anyone who needs to express creative ideas will be able to turn their ideas into professional results: from distinctive logos and signs, to striking marketing materials and eye-catching web graphics.
Amazon Price: $89.99 (as of 10/12/2008)
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ThomasC
Thanks for joining the Arkansas group here on squidoo! I have 3 cafepress shops as well! I live in Russellville, so we have alot in common already! Nice lens and very informative! 5 stars! Posted April 06, 2008 |
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yojspew
Oh! by the way..did your wife already give birth?..It's really a good news! Posted February 06, 2008 |
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yojspew
Hello JD! Posted February 06, 2008 |
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bernd49
Great job! I`t works. Stars Posted February 02, 2008 |
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Tim-Hollis
Thanks for the advice. I'll be spiffing things up and reporting back on the results. Posted January 26, 2008 |
