Pattinson Photo interview

Day151
Today we talk to Dave who's store is at: http://www.cafepress.com/pattinsonphoto?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

I am a photographer and had been looking to setup an online store for awhile, I had used several types but came across CafePress while surfing one day and really liked the fact that they would do all the printing for me as well as the customer service.

2. When did you open your store?

I opened it up in February of 2006.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Initially the hard part was getting it designed the way I wanted but now the hardest part is getting the word out. I feel I have some very good photographic images but I have to let people know this and to come and visit my shop.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

It’s fun to work at something and then have others appreciate all the work you have done. It’s also great when you get an email saying you have made a sale.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

I wish I had designed it by design and not product in the first place. I am finally changing it over.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

I have used Craigslist, Froogle, bought some classified ads online and had a friend put an ad on his company Intranet. I have gotten traffic from most of these but no sales. I have to increase my products and designs. I think Froogle will be fun as I keep adding products every week. Also Craigslist does get you traffic.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

I have a blog at http://pattinsonphotography.blogspot.com/
and I highlight my latest products and sales.
I also have my own photography website at www.pattinsonphotography.ca
but it is currently under construction due to a move

Nancy’s comments – I LOVE the journals and greeting cards!! Dave, make more!

Origami Dreams interview

Day150
Camy’s first store is at http://www.cafepress.com/origamidreams?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store?

I often feel frustrated when I go shopping and see the same designs repeated over and over again. I've always wanted to come up with my own apparel/merchandise line, but had no idea how or where to start. Then a friend featured her CafePress store via her blog and the whole process intrigued me. It basically started with me coming back to that idea, and I was already looking for a place where I can feature my designs
.
1.5 Were you in a related field?

I'm an executive assistant and illustrator for a Photography and Graphic Design Studio. The good thing is that although it may be a 9 to 5 job, they gave me time and space to do some freelance projects.

2. When did you open your store?

April 2006. I can say that it is still on the experimental stage before I can upgrade to the premium one.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Stressing to come up with more designs. Ever since I opened, my brain's working all the time. I would be doodling in the train going home, writing notes as I walk, seeking inspiration from reading different books, listening to music and looking at gift wrappers.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

Flexibility in time and in design concepts and ideas. Also to be your own boss.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

That in any opportunity, there is so much that you can do, it's WHEN you're actually going to do it.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

I send emails, updates via cell phones and newsletters. I plug my store wherever and whenever I can. Best to start will be within your closest circle like your family and friends. That way, they can offer suggestions and are most likely to spread the word. Especially if they see that it has potential.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

My blog: http://origamidreams.blogspot.com which I update sporadically.
The company that I work for http://parallaxstudio.com.ph
And I just opened another basic store with my other designs. It's at
http://cafepress.com/papercrane

Keltic Kat interview

Day147
Today we hear from Joanne of the Keltic Kat. http://www.cafepress.com/keltickat?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

I don’t remember exactly what prompted me to open my first basic shop. Most likely it was something in a long string of bad experiences at the worst job ever.

I had been thinking about the idea for months. I was very stressed-depressed-anxiety ridden from the bad work environment. - I had actually started to try ripping my hair out, and you thought that was just an expression.

I think, I just needed to do something positive with the creative side of my personality. Café Press has been outrageously fun for me, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to shave some days off my work schedule but I’ll honestly be able to say I had fun trying.

I have a degree in architectural drafting and I use a cheesy, yet cheap and fairly simple, drafting program the make all of my geometric http://www.cafepress.com/keltickat/1144459
keltic http://www.cafepress.com/keltickat/1143889
arabesque or mandala - http://www.cafepress.com/keltickat/1172503
inspired designs. As well as for some of my ‘just for fun’ designs like Nora’s Boat -http://www.cafepress.com/keltickat/1144493

Other than that I don’t have any related experience or formal art training. I work in the computer support industry but I don’t have any training in digital art/image manipulation. I just learn as I go, “Hey, what’s this do?” has created some of my favorite designs, like Sunset Portal http://www.cafepress.com/keltickat/1152735

2. When did you open your store?

I opened my first basic shop in Feb. or March of 2005, I think. After 12-14 basic shops became too much to manage all at once I decided to go premium in Feb. of 2006. It was definitely worth the investment, it’s so much easier to manage and personalize my corner of CafePress with the premium features.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Two of the important things I never considered were the marketing and networking. Search engine optimization (SEO), website presentation, copyright and trademark law are some other important things I had no clue about before I started on my Keltic Kat adventure. Everyday I learn something new and add it my lists of do’s, don’ts and things to research.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

It might be the only time in my life where being an opinionated, passionate, crusader for my beliefs has had a pay off. Usually that gets me into all kinds of trouble.
It’s also been so much fun and given me an outlet for my ‘pretty scribbles’! I’m always so excited when one of the purely artistic designs sells.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

I wish I had known more about HTML, search engine optimization (SEO) and promotion.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

Marketing and promotion are my weak points, I’m still learning. What I know for sure is that if people can’t find your products they can’t buy them.
As a micro businessperson, I target people who share similar interest as me. The designs that sell the best for me are the one that express something I feel strongly about. Free Democracy -ship in distress http://www.cafepress.com/keltickat/1143654 and the Birth ~a Universe is Born (http://www.cafepress.com/keltickat/1143866) are two of my best sellers and two I feel strongly express my personal beliefs.

If you are making designs you wouldn’t buy, can you really expect anyone else to buy them? That’s my advice to anyone thinking of starting anew shop.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

The Keltic Kat http://keltickat.net/ is sorely in need of an overhaul, but nonetheless I’m very proud of it. I did all the HTML (without an editor), writing and graphics backgrounds logos etc. Eccentric as it is, it’s me.
Random Writer-Wanna-Be Chick's BLOG @ blogspot http://randomwriterchick.blogspot.com/

this one isn’t getting much TLC lately either.
MySpace Personal Page Keltic Kat http://www.myspace.com/thekeltickat
& Perpetually in Progress (MySpace BLOG) (http://blog.myspace.com/thekeltickat)
I have way too many projects going at once, as always.

Teacher and Father's Day gifts

Day144
It’s that time of year! School’s almost out. Parents are looking for the perfect gift to thank their overworked underpaid teacher! Here’s a site that’s got a great teacher’s gifts section. And here are two examples:




http://www.cafepress.com/lorilei/7375?pid=4370506


Coming up fast is Father’s Day! I love the following site and here are two of her items too:



http://www.cafepress.com/peacockcards/497926?pid=4370506


And of course I think my own “Daddy Dressed Me Today” items are perfect Father’s Day gifts!



http://www.cafepress.com/givitup/1180725

Raw Tees interview

Day143
Eric’s site is: http://www.rawtees.com?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

Actually, I was shopping at a Wal-Mart one day and saw a bumper sticker that I liked on a car in the parking lot: "One by one, the penguins are slowly stealing my sanity." I desperately wanted this on a t-shirt, and after unsuccessfully searching the web for one I decided to just create my own (here: I remembered CafePress after having once used them to print shirts for a theatre company I worked for, and so decided to return there.) While working on creating the shirt for myself, my wife walked in and liked the design, too...so I figured I would offer it up for sale to the public (what could it hurt?). It took awhile before my first sale, but as soon as it came I was hooked, and I decided to create more designs and have a go at the t-shirt business.

2. When did you open your store?

September 4, 2005, at 12:37:12 am.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Developing new design ideas and keeping my inventory fresh. One of the goals I have with my shop is to offer shirts that simply can't be found elsewhere, so I spend weeks developing and creating designs. As a result, I currently only have about a dozen designs in my store; however, they are a dozen designs that I am really proud of!

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I most enjoy the scheduling flexibility. I don't have to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day and try to force ideas. I have the freedom that if an idea comes, I can sit down and work on it for 36 straight hours; whereas if my creative well is dry, I can take a break for a couple of weeks and come back to designing later on.

If I'm allowed two, I also very much enjoy thinking that people as far away as London and Melbourne are walking around wearing my designs. I'm fascinated by the global reach of the internet, and how small a world it really is that we live in.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

I really wish I had taken the time to educate myself more about marketing and search engine optimization, as I find myself now trying to play catch-up. Both of those things do not yield immediate results -- for instance, it can take 6 weeks or more to start appearing in search engines -- so the earlier new folks can get started on those things, the better!

6. Could you share some of the marketing you've tried so far (on or off-line) and what has worked and what hasn't?

At first, I was searching the internet for message boards related to my designs (for instance, finding a WoW board to advertise my Leeroy Jenkins design), joining the board, and posting links to my products there. I found that while this brought lots of hits to my site, it also yielded very few sales. Due to the amount of time it was taking to search out and post on these boards, and the relatively small amount of resultant sales, I no longer market this way.

Recently a marketing tactic, which has worked well for me, is to find blogs on the internet where people have added my shirts to their "wish lists" and such. From these, I pick a couple per month that I send a free shirt to. While this causes me to lose their potential sale, I've found that these folks subsequently give me great word-of-mouth advertising, including posting links to my site on other blogs, etc. (which also helps my search engine results). Also, these folks are more likely to return to my store and make future purchases. On top of everything, this marketing tactic is fairly inexpensive.

On the horizon, I hope to soon be launching a more organized affiliate program and beginning a banner ad campaign.

Nancy’s comments – Eric was part of the first Café Clash contest and while his 4th of July themed “Land of the Free” didn’t win, it was close, and may I say, I liked it better!

April Marie Mai interview

Day142
April Marie Mai
http://www.cafepress.com/april_marie_mai?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related
field?
I am an artist with a degree from the Kansas City Art Institute, and I am constantly making artwork. I love being able to put my art to use in a way that people can easily purchase and enjoy.

2. When did you open your store?

A little over a year ago.

3. What is harder about doing this than you thought it would be?
Marketing is difficult, and I don't market enough. I'd much rather spend my time making things
.
4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I love being able to sell things at all hours, and discovering that someone has made a purchase
.
5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then
that you do now?

There is a lot of time involved in starting, maintaining, and marketing for an online store.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you've tried so far (on or
off line) and what has worked and what hasn't?

I have an affiliate program available, and that's great, because it's an easy way to pay people to market for me, and an easy way for them to cash in on my products. I've also started placing some online ads, although I haven't seen immediate results from them. I have fun playing with my newsletter. I will be trying out a lot of other things as time goes on.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

Main site: http://www.aprilmariemai.com
Blog: http://aprilmarieart.blogspot.com

Nancy’s comments - April Marie has some really pretty designs. I get tired of all the vulgar and anti-Bush type t-shirts on the internet, so I found her site really refreshing. I was especially drawn to the Calm Ornaments section.

Brandi Jasmine interview

Day141
Today we visit with Brandi Jasmine - Writer, Photographer, Illustrator
http://www.brandijasmine.com?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

I have been an artist and astrologer for over 15 years. I have tried working with corporate licensing, with mixed results. I did the 2003 American Media Zodiac Calendar, which was one of the more successful and positive experiences in that area, but corporate work is an art form all its own, one I am not really emotionally suited for. I am too independent, and it isn't really a good fit for my style. I was drawn to CafePress because I was doing hand-painted shirts, and it was too expensive for the buyers. Now I get to do a lot more art, and a lot less of the business stuff that I don't like. It's really a very elegant solution.

2. When did you open your store?

I opened a shop about 3-4 years ago. I didn't really do a lot of work on it at first, but as business started to pick up, I kept adding designs. I now have two premium shops, one for my astrology store and one for my artwork.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

I can't say anything was harder than I anticipated. I was aware that building up consistent traffic and sales would be the hardest challenge. Marketing and sales is always the most challenging part of any online business. I guess maybe getting enough time to actually do more artwork!

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

Not having to deal with corporate types (you ever read "Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel"? ... 'nuff said). Seriously though, I love being able to focus my energies primarily on creation. I do as much marketing and public relations as I have time for. This isn't my primary business, no one of my businesses is really primary. When I get bored, I switch to another project. So I never get burned out. CafePress specifically provides me with customer support, sales and fulfillment and that part I really am glad not to have to do myself.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

Mostly silly back-end stuff ... nit-picky things for setting up the shop. Most of the initial problems I had have been resolved by upgrades to CafePress's backend. The sort of thing that tends to surprise people (judging by posts on the forums) was entirely expected by me. I have been in online marketing for 10 years, working with Tucows, so I knew it was more work than it looked like it would be, heh heh ... it always is.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

I have been lucky to have existing web sites with good traffic. I was a content producer for Look Interactive and Tucows.com, so I got a boost from that relationship at the beginning. Because my sites were linked to their portal, I received a lot of traffic. I have tried setting up newer sites, and they are much harder to get off the ground. Word of mouth is the best driver for me. I have not advertised much, because I see it hasn't really worked for the other shop owners for the most part. I keep building traffic though my blogs, sites, and some comes from participation in discussion groups that follow my areas of interest. Next to that, I think I do a pretty good job of optimizing my sites through the search engines, and I think it helps I have had these domains for several years. I write articles for magazines and when they are published I am usually allowed to post my URL and I do some give-aways on the Gallery site that have worked - patterns and "Do it yourself" things, they are bringing in good traffic numbers, and sales are up.On the down side, I have tried craft shows, some minor web advertising, and I even painted my URL on my car (http://www.brandijasmine.com/thecar/index.html) ... of all of them I'd say the car was the most effective at bringing in traffic, but it did not transfer into sales. It was a lot of fun to drive though! It’s off the road, can't pass the emissions tests, but I still have it in my yard and it gets a lot of attention. I'd love to do it again on a van next time.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

I run the following domains:
Jasmine's Gallery: http://www.brandijasmine.com/ (Artwork, writing)
Astrology.ca: http://www.astrology.ca/ (Horoscopes)
Jasmine Cats: http://www.jasminecats.com/ (Cats, cats, more cats)
Painted Treasure: http://www.paintedtreasure.com/ (Hand painted furniture, canvases)
Living With Your Psychic Gifts: www.psychicprotection.net
(For my book, Living With Your Psychic Gifts)
One day I may buy domains for these, for now they are sub-sites in the domains:
Staci's Place (anti-bullying): http://www.brandijasmine.com/web/staci/ (I am the Cyberspace bullying "expert" for Bully Police).
Jasmine's Carousel: http://www.brandijasmine.com/carousel/

I have four blogs:Staci's Blog: http://bulliesnomore.blogspot.com/
Living With Your Psychic Gifts Blog: http://lwypg.blogspot.com/
Gallery Blog: http://bjasmine.blogspot.com/
Astrology Blog: http://astrologyca.blogspot.com/

Nancy’s comments – Wow! Brandi is truly a Renaissance Woman! You could spend days reading her sites! As a freelance writer myself I enjoyed her writer’s tips and also the opportunity to list your syndicated columns! I’ve always loved carousel horses and her Armoured Carousel Horse is striking. Check out her faux stained glass section – a fascinating process she invented. I especially like her dove peace design in that section. I plan on spending more time on Brandi’s blogs and sites!

Nitsupak interview

Day140
I'm back to interviewing, today with Ilene: http://www.cafepress.com/nitsupak?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

My husband, a graphic artist told me about CafePress and Zazzle. He was going to open an online store. After investigating both of these businesses, I chose CafePress because shop owners have more control over the markup and price of the item. Zazzle, at least at the time I looked, only gave a shop owner a percentage of what they wanted to charge.

I wanted an outlet for my creativity after being stifled (smothered) in the corporate world. I have been doing photography since I was in high school, but never had an outlet to show it. The funny thing is that even though my hubby showed me the stores, I'm the one who opened one. He since has lost interest.

2. When did you open your store?

I opened a basic shop in Jan 2006 and then my current one, in February 2006

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

The hardest part is marketing. I had been a software engineer for 20+ years, and basically never did anything entrepreneurial. This is a whole new ballgame.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I like the chance to do something creative and see other creative works - yes, even some of the goofy t-shirts are creative.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

I wish I had a better handle on doing descriptions. They are tough to get the keywords into.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

I have started a blog

http://www.nitsupak.blogspot.com/

I have signed up on webring and am trying to find web sites, and forums that would be targeted to my area.

Nancy’s comments – I love Ilene’s watercolor flowers and pop art tulips! Also her painted yellow followers look really great on all the clothes!

My custom postage stamp press release

Day138
I added Postage Pals and custom stamps to my store today and spent a lot of time writing press releases. Here’s one I sent:

Online Store,givitup,Helps People Create Custom Postage Stamps

“Online store, givitup, announces two new products; CafePress Custom Postage, brought to you through a partnership between CafePress.com and Stamps.com, enables the creation of valid USPS postage and Postage Pal™.

Nancy Geiger, owner of the store, says customers can design their own stamps or purchase her designs. “The Post Office won’t allow political or religious designs,” she said, “But, if you want your favorite sport, hobby, person’s name, charity, school or college, your business’s name or just about anything else, we can do it.”

“We especially like photographs of your children, grandchildren and pets.” She added, “They make great gifts!”

Postage Pal™ is your stamp’s alter ego. With these you can accessorize your holiday cards and packages with your own unique holiday spirit, surprise friends your way for birthdays, weddings, showers and other special occasions, deliver unique direct marketing messages for your business or make your favorite cause, message or logo stand out from the rest.

Customers email their requests to givituprequests@yahoo.com and will receive an email confirmation when their product is ready to view and purchase. Or they may shop available designs at www.givitup.com

givitup is part of CafePress.com which won a Webby Award, the leading international honor for web sites, as the Best Retail web site of 2005 beating out other finalists: Target.com and Home Depot.

Since 1999, CafePress has empowered people to create, buy and sell customized merchandise through CafePress.com on-demand manufacturing and e-commerce services. Powering a network of more than one million independently-run CafeShops™ as well as syndicated and corporate stores, the company offers online retail services for storefront web development, order management, fulfillment, secure payment processing, and quality customer service.

Today, CafePress.com is a global and growing community of merchants who have unleashed their creativity to transform their artwork and ideas into new revenue streams and diverse products.”

I also practiced uploading photos to the stamps and love the way they turned out!
I think a sheet of these stamps would make a great gift for any mom, dad or grandparent. Other uses:

Wedding? Send the invitations or thank you notes out with the bride and groom's picture on the stamp.

New Baby? Send the announcements or thank you notes out with the baby's picture on the stamp.

Graduation? Same thing - take a picture of your graduate with the cap and gown on and attach the stamp to the announcement, party invite or thank you note!

The list is endless!

Check out www.givitup.com The postage section is at the bottom. While there drop in on Custom orders right next to it. I have a few items of other things you can put photos on. These are great Father's Day, wedding and graduation gifts!

Below is my “baby” who just turned 19!

Jon Baas interview

Day137
Jon Baas is at http://www.cafepress.com/jonbaas

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

Well, not exactly a related field. In real life I am a professional actor and artist. My job (beyond playing pretend and creating commissioned artwork for a living) is to market my creative talents and myself.In essence, I am my own brand. I already had a personal website where I promoted my work. Extending that site to include a store where I share my creativity with fans, friends, and new visitors alike seemed like logical thing to do.

2. When did you open your store?

I opened my store in the summer of 2002. I remember the days when CafePress had only the basic products available for sale. They've come a long way since then!

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Oh, probably finding the time to continue adding new designs and rotating older ones. CafePress has certainly made it a heck of a lot easier in recent years. But back when I first opened my premium store, everything had to be designed and added product-by-product. That took forever.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I think, without a doubt, it's the unique CafePress business model where I do not have to maintain an active inventory. While I absolutely love hosting my shop and sharing my creative designs, retail business is not my primary calling. If I had to focus on maintaining a tangible inventory, printing my own merchandise, and shipping all sales orders, it's a pretty good bet that I wouldn't be a CafePress shopkeeper. Letting CafePress take care of all the hands-on sales elements in my store, allows me to continue focusing on what I do best; acting, art, and design.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

Oh, there are many things I'm sure, the details of which I wouldn't be able to relate here. But, as with any endeavor, there is always an element of learning involved. When I started my store, I was just beginning to learn the nuances of both hosting an online commercial presence, and familiarizing myself with CafePress's business policies. But, four years and a lot of experience later, I'm easily a CafePress veteran. It's all about growth, and learning what works and what doesn't. And, no matter what anyone says, that's always a personal journey one must take on his or her own.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

I've probably tried almost everything that the marketing guru's have suggested over the years. In the end, though, it's all a matter of what works and what doesn't - for the type of success someone aims to achieve.

If I had one suggestion, though - for the newbies reading this - I would probably say, don't underestimate the power of word-of-mouth. If people like something, human nature is to share that news with others. That's just how we're "wired". The trick, though, is not to approach your store like a manager looking to make the most money possible. Rather, be generous, personable, share your knowledge, and above all, help the customer with their needs and desires first and foremost. Learn what those needs are, and fill them. It's as simple as that. Customers are the pegs that drive business. Ignore them, and you're out on the street.

You know that old saying, "It is better to give than to receive", right? Well, it's true. One hundred percent true. Volunteer to give more of yourself in your business ventures, and customers will take an interest in what you have to offer. Building relationships is far more important to running a business - even a CafePress shop - than merely sitting back and collecting a paycheck. Yet, sad to say, the majority of people who open a commercial presence on the web, fail to consider this. And that's why they don't succeed. Success in anything is hardly easy. You really do have to put more work into it then you receive. But, as those of us who have been successful with CafePress can attest, hard work pays off in the end. Just be willing to remain persistent.

And remember, it took Henry Ford -- the innovator of the American automobile -- two failed attempts before he founded his successful Ford Motor Company. Even American business legends have had lowly beginnings. Be a Henry Ford. Experiment. Be persistent. If at first you don't succeed, then pick yourself up, and try again.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

There's my personal online blog (journal) that covers my career pursuits in art and acting:

http://www.jonbaas.com/weblog.html

(Hint: Read back to the summer of 2003, and you'll find my personal 15+ day journal about my time spent acting on the set of a Hollywood movie!)

And, similarly, my main website:(filmography, art gallery, etc.)

http://www.jonbaas.com/

And, then there's a creative art project that may interest some of my fellow CafePress shop owners. It's called "Paint My Pixels", and exists as an art experiment that asks the question, "Can thousands of people work together to create a single painting, using only small blocks of colored pixels?"Not only does it allow participants to be creative in an experiment setting, but it might also be a clever place to promote your CafePress store. {Hint, hint!}

http://www.paintmypixels.com

Nancy’s comments – Jon’s digital landscapes are fascinating and beautiful! He even has the section set up so customers can send free e-cards of them!

Shopaholic Chick interview

Day136
Amy Marie’s shop is called shopaholicchick:

www.cafepress.com/shopaholicchick

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

I have a friend who had a store on CafePress - and I was always giving her ideas for shirts - she finally convinced me (after I got cable modem) to do it myself.
My mother is an art teacher and I have always been a creative person. Right now I am a full time student studying history & education to be a history teacher. I do not have much time or money so this is perfect. I can upload my designs with what little time I have (usually between 11pm-2am) and just let the store run itself!!!

2. When did you open your store?

Thanksgiving break 2005 the first design I put up sold within the first 24 hours - since then I have been hooked!!!

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Finding the time to upload the images, tag them, put descriptions on them and load them onto the product lines. One night I made 600 designs in 3 hours, but it took me 5 weeks to get them all onto my store!!

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

Making money without doing any work. For the last 4 weeks I have been swamped with papers and finals - and I have made close to $200 - without any promotion or doing anything

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

Volume bonus program, how many search engines there were to submit to, places to get free classified ads like Craigslist, and that I had to put good wordy descriptions on my products if I wanted google to find me. It is hard to go back and put descriptions on things.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

Advertising on Craigslist works well. I am doing ok on hits from webring.com. Definitely put good wordy descriptions on every product and if the whole line of products is similar put different words on them so you get more hits on search engines
Most of all I carry either business cards or post it notes with my business info on it - and wear your product!!! I have been stopped while walking thru the mall before and people asked where I got my shirt so I gave them my card - or a post it note with my web address on it - and told them the shirts are hand designed by me and that I am a starving student!!!! At least once within 24 hours I sold that same shirt I was wearing to someone in my home state so I believe it worked!!!
Coming this fall I will be printing shirts for my school’s history club as a private sale. I will donate the shirts to them with my web address on them for advertisement!!!!
I also have links on my aol and yahoo screenname profiles, I log my name into chat rooms on yahoo and aol and just leave them there while I do housework and so forth: people see my profile, check my store and buy!!!
I also post to zefrank.com message boards with my link in my signature
For Christmas last year I gave away journals from my store to everyone with my business card tucked inside!!!
I have an affiliate banners area on my store with the code there to go with it - this way anyone who wants to affiliate can just grab the code copy, paste it, add their PID and they are good to go!!!!
I have 3 MySpace accounts; 2 solely to advertise my store. I randomly add people to my friends list on them and send out weekly bulletins letting them know new products or when CafePress is having a sale!!

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

www.geocities.com/iiovelife

www.myspace.com/thebichywitch (this one is for real friends only)

www.myspace.com/iiovelife1 - a profile for a fan of my store to advertise my store - anyone can add this one as a friend!!!!

http://www.myspace.com/theshopaholicchick specifically my store profile with links to other stores - anyone can add this one as a friend!!!

http://v.webring.com/hub?ring=shopaholicchick1 everyone is welcome to join my webring I just started it at the end of April so it is still small, but growing fast I hope!!!!

I also use http://www.craigslist.com/ classifieds

Nancy’s comments - I got a little breathless reading all Amy does for marketing!! I told her that I thought I tried a lot, but she runs circles around me! I thank her for sharing her ideas and sites with us!

No Illegal Immigration!

Day135
I’ll be back to the interviews tomorrow, but with all the immigration discussion going on I thought I would give you a chance to show your feelings. If you are like me, I have no problems with immigration, but I have a lot of problems with illegal immigration!

    

Visit http://www.givitup.com/ to order!

Kevin's interview

Day134
Here’s Kevin’s two sites and what he has to say about them.

http://www.cafepress.com/knightinink/?pid=4370506

http://www.cafepress.com/calicodragon?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

I’m a freelance illustration artist and I have a lot of art that was stuff I did just for me and CafePress offered an option to use that artwork.

2. When did you open your store?

Its been about 3 1/2 years now.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

I’m dyslexic so creating tags and searchable phrases can be a challenge at times. While spell checks are handy it sometimes leads to a correctly spelled, but wrong word for what I need. With dyslexia I can’t always distinguish if I have the right word once I have spell checked it. For the record it can also be a blessing in disguise. I’ve seen a few sales because of misspellings! I had a guy find my sight via Google because I misspelled water as watter and he found some of the mermaid items and bought a shirt.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

It’s a great outlet for some of my artistic musings. Sketches that were just collecting dust in my archives now not only have a use, but are finding a new home and audience.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

Visitor count tracking. I can’t say enough about having a good visit tracker that can tell you where people are hitting your site from.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

I do a lot of offline advertising. I do try-fold fliers. This is a standard 6-panel flier with the front panels designed to catch people’s attention. The interior is a fold out display of art and product. The two outer panels have contact information designed to direct traffic to the sight. I have a by-fold flier that features a comic strip panel of two people discussing how cool the Knight In Ink shop is and it opens up to show an outer border of artwork and several items featured on the site; like the t-shirts, the buttons, the coffee cups, etc. I also have posters, which have a border of artwork and shop products on them. This, along with my business cards, which have my Knight In Ink shop listed on them. I put tease items out at coffee shops, bookstores, comic shops and catchy little shops all over. I’ve placed them locally and also out of town and out of state. I have even had friends place them for me in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Chicago, Boston, Charleston, Atlanta, and Orlando. I also use my online blogs as advertising points. It drives a little business to the sight. Also search engines are a great way to draw traffic. CafePress also has an affiliate program my friend at http://www.cafepress.com/jazilla?pid=4370506 has helped me out with.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

http://www.xanga.com/knightinink

http://www.myspace.com/knightinink

http://tagworld.com/knightinink

http://tagworld.com/calicodragon

Along with over a dozen art boards I post on regularly.

Nancy’s comments – Kevin’s dragons and little sluggers in his Calico Dragon shop made me want to decorate children’s rooms. They are adorable. As you can tell by his blog, various sites and marketing, he’s working hard at this!

Nifty Wares interview

Day133
It’s Kent’s turn to share his endeavors with us:
http://www.niftywares.com?pid=4370506

http://www.cafepress.com/niftywares?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

The story starts back quite a few years with drawing a self-portrait sketch to put on Christmas cards. It said, "Hoe! Hoe! Hoe!" under a guy working in the garden getting rid of weeds. Then I found iron-on t-shirt transfers. (A light bulb moment!) I put the design on a shirt I could wear to the farmers market where I sell my garden goodies. From one... came other ideas and more shirts for variety. Shoppers started commenting that I ought to be selling the shirts. A few shirts sold, nothing much really, but fun to have beside the veggies at market.
Then... whilst surfing the net in January 2005, I came across CafePress, it looked like a good fit for selling the designs on the net and maybe developing some other design ideas. Another good thing... they also did books. I had been gathering recipes at the market for years and been thinking they should really be put together into a book. Yep!... I ended up with a recipe book to sell at market too. So... That's how I became an online merchant.

2. When did you open your store?

I started with a basic store in January of 2005 and later upgraded to premium.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Marketing is harder than I thought it would be. Just having products and getting them listed in search engines isn't enough. Finding other ways to market isn't easy.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

The chance to take an idea and run with it. It's fun to create something, put it on products and actually have someone buy it.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

How much of an advantage a premium shop has over basic shops. It's so much easier to manage designs and run a premium shop when you have more than a few designs. Also, the ability to use html is another big plus over basic shops.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

I've done adwords, had some success with a few ads. Found out you have to be careful and not try to compete for keywords everyone else is bidding on and ads work best when they are specific to a design. Also found that a very small change in wording of an ad can have a big effect on how well it does. It's good to run a couple of ads with different wording for each set of keywords and keep track of how well each ad does.

I sold at the farmers market where I sell my garden goodies. Recipe books did well, t-shirts not so much.

I tried blogads that was a flop for me.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

http://www.gardenerwares.com/blog.html - Garden Gossip
http://www.gardenerwares.com - Gardening site
http://www.grfarmersmarket.org - Grand Rapids Farmers Market

Nancy’s comments – I personally love everything that has to do with gardens – it seems, Kent and I have found two very time consuming passions. I spent all winter glued to my computer, but now my yard is calling my name!I especially like the way he has set up his gardenwares site. You can tell he took a lot of time and searched for the best garden gifts/items from CafePress’s 2 point some million shops and he’s done a great job setting it up!

Melhi interview

Day132
Today we are hearing from Melhi and taking a look at her businesses:

http://www.cafepress.com/melhi?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?
It's something people have been telling me I should be doing since I was a teen. It wasn't until I met my current husband and he insisted so enthusiastically and adamantly that I was missing my calling, that I started looking into it with any seriousness at all. Online friends started recommending that I should sign up with CafePress, when CP first arrived on the scene, and as I would look into starting a large scale slogan-ware business of my own, off and on over the years, I always kept coming back to CafePress as an attractive and infinitely more affordable alternative. So, it took me a LONG time to decide to do this and exactly how I wanted to do it.

Was I in a related field? Sort of, but not really. I was successfully self-employed in real estate speculation, construction, CFD property reselling & land lording when I first started taking the suggestion seriously. I was also selling rhyming poetry on the side and volunteering as the advertising & PR person for a local charity. Later, I worked in many capacities at a local radio station, including advertising director, copywriter, producer, on air personality and co-programming director. Plus, I'm a political junkie who's been (mostly anonymously) slipping motivational social, economic and political commentary, humor, jokes, slogans, song parodies, very badly drawn cartoons, etc. into mainstream circulation (mostly spread via copy machines back in the olden days!) for the last couple of decades or so.

A couple of months into 2005, I sketched out a peace ribbon design I'd been picturing in my mind since the ribbon magnet craze had started. As soon as I showed the rough sketch to my husband and described what I had in mind for them, he insisted that it was something I should have been marketing since it first formed in my mind. To prove it, he showed the rough sketch to a couple of friends -- one wanted to know how soon he'd be able to buy it on anything and was later my first customer. I had only worked with creating low res web graphics, previously, so I had to upgrade all of my graphics software and learn to use it, before I could work on the design, itself. I'm not an artist, so I spent several months working on the high res version of the symbol, before I was comfortable opening a store to start marketing them.

2. When did you open your store?

Mid November 2005

3. What is harder about doing this than you thought it would be?

Carving out enough time to work on any aspect of it is definitely the hardest part, by far! I knew I was never going to have as much time to devote to the store and its related blog as I wanted or needed and I knew I'd picked a particularly busy stretch of my life to start this, but I had no idea JUST how desperate I'd become for more time!! I joke to my husband that even if I had all the time in the world, I'd still be overbooked!

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I like that there's no heavy lifting involved!! Seriously, compared to having a brick and mortar boutique, I like that I can work it around my busy life. It never takes time away from my family or my activism. If I don't have time to work on my store, today, I don't have to put up a "closed" sign and lose the business I would have had. Instead, my store is open 24/7 and the potential "foot traffic" is so much greater for a small online shops than if I'd opened a boutique in my little town. This being an election year, I'm especially busy and I'm seriously considering a bid for public office, so if I did have a small real-world boutique, I would be weighing whether to close my shop, altogether, at least until after the November elections. Instead, I can keep it open and work on it at odd hours, catch as catch can.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

I wish I had known that when we tag our graphics on CafePress, those tags don't double as Meta tags for the products that have those designs. I'm still rewriting descriptions, whenever I get a chance, to include important keywords that I thought I'd already covered with those tags. The time I've spent on that is time I would rather have been spending on store promotion, blogging or creating new designs.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you've tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn't?

I've been too strapped for time to really work at promoting the store in any of the bigger ways I'd like to, yet.

Mostly, I've been marketing my store in conjunction with marketing my political blog of the same name. As I build a reputation, unsolicited links to and a regular audience for the blog, I'm also increasing awareness of the store. I placed banners and text links on my already established site & forum, as well.

I'm about to start a mirror/extension of my blog on an internationally famous political pundit's website, where, hopefully, I'll soon also be hosting a forum on issues related to the economy. I didn't join that forum to promote my blog or my store, but I'll get a lot more name exposure there and I do mention the store in my profile.

I have just signed on for a run of opt-in e-mail ads promoting the store. I'm not expecting much out of it. Mostly, I'm just curious to see if it will result in any new traffic or conversions.

I'm about to start printing up vinyl magnets in various sizes for display on my vehicles -- these will feature my peace ribbons and the URL to my store. I plan to begin displaying these during the summer as the election season is just starting to heat up. I'll be involved with a few fall events, so I may also do a print run of these in a business card size to give out for free. Assuming the store is doing well enough by the time we're heading into the 2008 Presidential election and assuming the ad rates are still as affordable as they are now, I'd like to purchase some premium advertising space on a couple of the bigger, well known liberal blogs.

What's working best for me? The CafePress marketplace is actually turning out to be a very valuable part of their service -- I've made as many sales through the marketplace, at this point, as I've made any other way! Search engine referrals have been growing, gradually and have just barely started to convert for me -- with the amount of thought, time and energy that goes into SEO, I'm very hopeful that this is just the beginning of an upward trend!

What hasn't worked? As far as I can tell, I don't think including my store's URL in my e-mail sig has converted to a single sale, yet. The first banners I made to display on my sites were amateurish & dull and didn't result in any clickthroughs at all -- I made new banners and that changed, immediately. I also get a few referrals from affiliate links, but no conversions from them, yet.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

Primarily, I have...

Monkees 101 - http://www.monkees101.com

The Monkees Mailing List - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/monkees-list

Melhi Ink blog - http://melhi.blogspot.com,

Melhi 101 (my derelict ego site) - http://www.anycities.com/melhi

While I won't own it, I'll begin co-webmastering the official site for my county's Democrat party, later this week and, as I mentioned, above, the "Melhi Ink II" blog is coming soon.

For the Cow interview

Day131
Here is Lauren’s site and interview – enjoy!

http://www.cafepress.com/forthecows?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

I originally was introduced to CafePress when I purchased some gifts from the ASPCA store, while tracking my order I read about opening my own store and thought it would be fun to try. Once you open one store it’s addicting, you just keep opening more. I suppose I’m in a somewhat related field. I recently graduated with a degree in Film and I’m developing an independent documentary on how the Standard American Diet is killing us. I suppose I use my CafePress store as an outlet for the frustration that comes with seeing people eat themselves into diseases like cancer and diabetes everyday.

2. When did you open your store?

I opened my first basic store in August of 2005. Then after opening about ten or twelve basic stores and making a little bit of money, I decided to upgrade and combine them all into a premium store in February of 2006.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Probably the hardest thing about running my store is finding enough time in the day to accomplish everything that I would like to accomplish. It seems like each time you accomplish one task, that accomplishment leads you to several more tasks. The more you learn about running the store, the more you realize there is to do.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I think my favorite thing about being a shopkeeper is that I have an outlet to spread awareness, and to reach people all around the world with my designs.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

I wish I had been more organized and I wish I had studied a bit more about what it takes to get a website running and to build traffic. You learn something new everyday.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

So far the only marketing that I have done is to submit my website to as many search engines as possible and to submit my store to some affiliates who have websites that are relevant to my designs. I try to read something everyday about internet marketing, but I still have a lot to learn. So far I have generated a few sales from the affiliate program.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

I don’t have any other websites at this time but I hope once I’ve gotten my store well stocked with designs, to start a blog or a website to spread my message.

Nancy’s comments – The first thing I thought of when I looked at Lauren’s site is clean. Her designs are clean, simple and attractive. She has a message to share: to treat the earth and animals with respect and to simplify our lives. I like it!

Deeks interview

Day130
Here’s Deek’s interview. Check out her two sites:

http://www.cafepress.com/deeksbrats?pid=4370506

http://www.cafepress.com/deeksdigs?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

As a SAHM of 5, we needed a second income, and I needed an outlet for my Paint Shop creativity. Selling shirts online seemed like the perfect way to accomplish both!

2. When did you open your store?

I started Deeksdigs.com (my raunchier shop) over a year ago and started deeksbrats.com (my family-friendly G-rated shop) a month or so later.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Reaching customers, I think, turned out to be more work than I imagined. For some reason I assumed that since my designs were so awesome, people would find them without my having to do anything at all....(HOLY RUDE AWAKENING, BATMAN!!)

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I like that I don't have to do anything but design and promote my stuff. The printing, the shipping and the customer service is handled by CP.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

I wish I had known the importance of tagging my designs appropriately so that the search engines would pull my products up according to customer search terms. It makes all the difference.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

Marketing can be tricky, with lots of dead ends. Online I have tried Craigslist, Recycler and other "free" ad directories and they DO result in hits to the shops, but those hits don't regularly convert to sales. My best advice for promotion online is MySpace. I built a MySpace profile for my Deeksdigs shop and a nice chunk of my sales come from there.Offline, I advertise in places that I know my customers will see me. Tattoo magazines for instance. Alternative lifestyle magazines also provide good bang for your advertising buck.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

I am concentrating on my shops 100% right now, but plan to do a blog sometime after Christmas.

Nancy’s comments - Deek must be doing something right, I see her banners in lots of other shopkeeper’s stores!
Her family friendly shop is set up very orderly. Her first section is Welcoming the Baby and has everything from the birth coach’s buttons to the new big brother or sister’s journal to write down what they want the new arrival to know. The next section is maternity items for mom and then on to the new baby, kids and teens. Just reading all the onesies is a lot of fun!

Austin Animal Art & Photography interview

Day129
Today we are visiting with Austin Animal Art and Photography:
http://www.cafepress.com/aaap?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

My wife and I are already running a pet portrait business and trying to build it up a little. The idea of a client being able to buy their finished design on a variety of products was quite appealing to us.

2. When did you open your store?

I first opened the store about a month ago.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

The actual set-up of the shop was quite easy, so the hardest thing would have to be marketing the products.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I think the idea of not having any overheads is great!

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

I'm sure I'm going to look back and see plenty of things I could have done, but I guess we all have to start somewhere. I have a feeling I should have already changed to a premium shop...

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

So far, all of our sales have come through the main pet portrait business. I have put up some links on various sites, but this has not yet been successful in generating sales. I suppose the best advice I can give is to try everything, and see what happens.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

This is our main site: http://www.austinanimalart.com

I've considered a blog but I just can't seem to find the time!

Nancy’s comments - I had a great time looking at Austin Animal Art’s main site! It was fun to see the photograph and then the drawing she did from it! And Patricia is such a good artist! I agree with her husband's comment in the interview where he said they probably should have gotten a premium shop already. The artwork is so good, they shouldn’t limit themselves to one product per design.

Husband and wife have 3 unique shops

Day128
Today’s shops belong to a husband and wife team:
Rainbow Design Fine Art Prints & Gifts
TEE Total - Shirts for the whole family
Gunman´s Erotic and Pin-Up Art

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

My husband and I have both been painting for a hobby for decade. Since starting our own art websites we’ve been looking for a way to sell prints of our work. To have prints done yourself and then ship them requires a huge amount of upfront money, so when I received an e-mail from CafePress about a year ago, asking if I would be interested in their online stores, I considered having a look at it. As chance wants it, I had no time - and lost the e-mail. Last December I stumbled across a CafePress shop by chance and realized it was the company that had sent me the e-mail.

I am not working in any related field, but spent about 20 years working in brick and mortar shops - so I know a bit about business. And as for the design side of the business, I design our five websites, including the graphics, I have a site where I offer graphics and IM stationery for download - so designing comes easy for me.

2. When did you open your store?

I opened my first shop on Dec. 9th 2005. I started premium straight away. I have so many paintings that having basic shops would just not be enough. Also I am into designing websites as a hobby, too - and a basic shop just doesn´t fit my taste... I have three premium shops now - the first, Rainbow Design, where I sell (or try to sell) our original art as prints and on gift items, as well as some digitally designed gifts. The TEE Total store for the t-shirts, apparel and baby stuff, and a shop for my husbands erotic art and pin-ups.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Turning the premium store into something special - I have learnt heaps of Html in the past four months; thank god for the CP forums! And getting people to come and visit my shops - and, more important, stay a while! I still haven´t got where I want to be - but I´m patient!

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I like being able to work as and when I please - I wish I didn´t have to go to my daytime job, too (although I must admit that I often drop into the forum while at work :-)) And about the CP shops that I haven´t got the hassle of production, and packing and sending the stuff! I can concentrate on my store.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

Knowing more about customization would have saved me hours of work and changing the look about four times!

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

Up until now I have only tried free marketing. The first thing was SEO optimization - having spent five years optimizing my other sites has helped to know what I was doing there. I have linked from all the other websites to the shops, and get a good amount of traffic from there. I have put lots of t-shirts in different marketing sites. I have two blogs, but I have not much feedback from there - probably because I lack the time to post very often. I joined some webrings, which have driven a satisfactory amount of traffic my way. Also I am a member of several art forums with a high visitor frequency, and have my links in my signature - that´s a very good way to get free PR.
Now that my shops are looking a bit more presentable, I am going to put in some paid ads on sites that drive targeted traffic to the shops. I haven´t decided where yet, I´m still looking for the best deals. And I have spoken to other shopkeepers who sell my sort of designs and have "shopping mall" stores. That has been a very good thing. Offline marketing is no good for me, as I live in Germany and the cost for the items is too high if you add the shipping.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

I have my art site: Rainbow World of Colors
My husband has an airbrush art site: Airbrush Alley
my husband’s Pin-Up site: Gunman´s Pin-Up and Erotic Art
My IncrediMail Stationery and PSP resources site Rainbow Design
A blog on Myspace , which is for advertising my t-shirt shop
A blog on blogger.com for my art shop - although I should spend a lot more time on the blogs!
RAINBOW DESIGN INCREDIMAIL STATIONERY & MORE

Nancy’s comments – All of these are great looking sites filled with beautiful art and wonderful ideas. Having lived in Germany myself for three years and traveled all over Europe I really enjoyed Hilly’s landscape in Rainbow Design. Her still lifes are really beautiful too. I like that she kept those on prints, coasters and greeting cards and didn’t stick them on t-shirts just because she could. Some designs aren’t meant for apparel and I think it takes away from the store when you don’t pick the right items. She has her separate shop, Tee Total for that and it’s full of cute, fun designs.

Tech Styles interview

Day127
Tracy and Jeff, owners of http://www.cafepress.com/tech_styles?pid=4370506,
are sharing with us today.

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

My husband is a graphic artist. For Christmas last year, we came up with a design for a shirt that I stenciled onto a shirt for my college-aged daughter. We both thought the design was so good that we should try to sell it. We turned to CafePress. That design (Study Hard. Be Evil.) was the first of the many we now have.

2. When did you open your store?

December 28, 2005

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Promotions is the hardest part. Trying to get the word out so that people will come to your store is definitely the hardest part of owning an online store. We really don't want to lay out cash for advertising so we have to continually look for free promotional opportunities. It is very time-consuming to do that. Not only is it finding places to do the promotions, it's finding promotional opportunities that generate traffic and sales.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

Being able to design so freely and having people actually buy the designs is awesome. This has been a very rewarding experience. We've only been at it for four months. We had no expectations that we would sell as much as we have so far. It certainly isn't a lot (yet) but it has been enough to pay for the store and we hit the first tier bonus level in our third month.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

Thankfully, I found the CafePress forum right away and read everything. There is a wealth of knowledge in those message boards. The people who have been with CafePress for years give so freely of their knowledge and share in everyone's tiniest of successes. I think the fact that I found the forum and dove into it so quickly helped us to ramp up faster than we would have otherwise. I think, without that, we would still be floundering with store design, tagging & descriptions, and ideas for promotional opportunities. I do freelance web design outside of my usual 9-5 job (Project Manager at Ford Motor Company). The experience I bring with website design gave us a leg-up over that learning curve that many people struggle with.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you've tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn't?

CafePress's Marketplace really does a pretty decent job. The key is tagging your images well and writing good descriptions. We make sure that our tags include words that we think people might use as search words in the CafePress Marketplace for which we think they would like to see our designs as a result of their search. The same holds true for the descriptions. We use words in the descriptions that people using search engines such as Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. will enter as search keywords. So, we don't just describe the design, we target the end users with the description. We have links to our CafePress store from other websites we own and our blogs and those links are generating both traffic and sales. We let all of our friends and acquaintances know about our store. We sent out a mass email to everyone but we didn't beg for sales. We asked for feedback. What we got in return was some sales and some ideas for more designs. My daughter in college promotes the store (primarily the "Study Hard. Be Evil." design) from her personal web space at college. My middle daughter promotes her own designs that we have in our store from her MySpace account. We bought a few of our designs and we wear them so that people can see the quality of the designs and printing. We are walking billboards. We find opportunities to mention our store to everyone and we printed our own business cards to have ready to hand out so those people have a URL to visit when they get home.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

www.inkleweaving.com - We have a set of designs targeted to this audience and promote them on this site.

www.degarmo.net - Tracy's personal website where all the designs are promoted.

www.techstyles-online.com (mirrored home page of our store)

Blog on MySpace

Blog on LiveJournal

Blog on degarmo.net

Nancy’s comment – Tracy mentioned being a web designer on the side and how that gave them a leg up. My husband is an internet consultant and also designs websites. I couldn’t have done my store without his help and it always amazes me so many people figure it out on their own!Tracy and Jeff have a different take on the immigration controversy in their “Legal American” section. They also have a very clever magnet to put on your dishwasher that you can turn to “clean or dirty” and they have a whole section of Mother’s Day products, which is coming up very soon!

gmonte interview

Day126
Today’s interview: The Federal City, Annex Online Store http://www.cafepress.com/gmonte34?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store?

I have always had a dream to sell my art and designs to the public on a large scale on the Internet. My best friend C.W. Kelley from The Federal City Online Store for which my store is named helped me my first couple of months by paying for my premium store and encouraging me along on my sales.

Were you in a related field?

No not really I'm an amateur artist and was taught by my dad at an early age how to draw and paint.

2. When did you open your store?

July 16, 2005

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

The advertising and getting people to my shop to see my designs and hopefully buy them.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I like the hours. I'm disabled so its alot easier than going out and getting a 9-5 job. My husband has the real job. I can go rest when I feel tired or even take a day off if I want to. And it's my dream to work at home and do designs all day.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

How to organize my shop for easy navigating for the customers. And how to make it more attractive for the buyer. I also took all my links to other sites off to accept 2 paid sponsors of my store.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

The main thing that has worked for me is free advertising and I made my own business cards. I have 3 businesses that I have them at for customers to pick up: Pizza Inn, Dos Charros, I Love Video. Also I am a member of great t-shirt voting sites which bring me alot of traffic and a few sales as well. I also advertise on MySpace and on my own blog.
What hasn't worked is I have done some paid advertising. I have paid advertising for my t-shirts and in all I have had only one hit so far from it. I think free advertising is best.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

I have a FREE Recipe site dedicated to my mother - www.recipes.2ya.com

my yahoo blog is http://360.yahoo.com/gmonte34

MySpace url is www.myspace.com/gmonte34

and my Friends site that helped me along is The Federal City www.cafepress.com/kelleyimages C.W. Kelley

Nancy’s comment – gmonte34 has the cutest alphabet designs! One for every letter. I also like her baby blocks design and in her birthday shop the 1 through 5 year old designs! All of these are great for little kid’s birthdays and also baby showers!

Detour Design interview

Day125
Juna answers our questions about his businesses today:

http://www.cafepress.com/detourdesign?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

My business partner and I are owners of Detour Design, a graphic design studio in Salt Lake City, UT. We came across an article on the internet early last year, about how other businesses are making extra money selling t-shirts. We were intrigued. After looking at a couple of different t-shirt sites, we decided to go with CafePress because they looked the most professional. We jumped right in and Detour Designables was born.

2. When did you open your store?

May 5, 2005.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

I am actually surprised that this is even working. I was really skeptical at first. Now that we have had some success at it I think marketing the shirts is the hardest part. We love designing. We have tons of ideas. Getting the word out, that's the secret.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I like that we don't have an actual inventory and we don't have to deal with customers. We don't have to stock 5,000 shirts in our basement. If somebody wants a shirt we have designed they can get one. If a design isn't selling, we didn't lose any money on it. We don't have to listen to someone complaining about the wrong size or color. Being an online shopkeeper is a lot less stressful than owning an actual store. Less stress is what I am all about.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

I wish I knew how to customize our shop in the first month. It took a little while before we got our look down. We still make changes here and there, but I think it really helps to have a nice homepage for people to come to.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you've tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn't?

I'm really not sure if there is one specific thing that has worked for us. We just try and get as much exposure as possible. We have a MySpace account. Our blog has been up for a while. We regularly post on forums. We are constantly trading links with other sites. The Affiliate program is in place. There are also shirt ranking sites and banner exchanging sites. All of those things combined help spread the word.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

http://www.detourdesign.com/blog/ - our blog

http://www.detourdesign.com/ - our graphic design studio

sitehttp://www.myspace.com/detourdesign - Juna’s MySpace site

Nancy’s comment – This is the first time I’ve seen this. Detourdesign has a section designed by kids where the actual child that created the design gets the money. Great way to teach them early business skills and promote their creativity!

Zeez interview

Day124
You can get to Zeez’ site two ways:

http://www.cafepress.com/zeez?pid=4370506 or http://www.zeezexpressionz.com?pid=4370506

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

I've always wanted to have a business of my own. I'm not in this particular field, but it was always an interest of mine. I found this opportunity when I purchased something from a popular radio broadcast's website who had a small CafePress store and I looked in to it and here I am!

2. When did you open your store?

I opened my store last March 2005.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

The hardest thing of all is getting noticed and marketing your products.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I love being able to just use my imagination and design whatever I want and the possibilities are endless.

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

I wish I knew more about the software I bought to make my designs and I wish I knew a lot more about marketing. The reason I say that is because when I first bought my software, which is Paint Shop Pro 9, I didn't know one single thing about it. I bought the books like Paint Shop Pro 9 for Dummies and books like that and it did help and it's by trial and error that I finally learned how to do more things with the software and I love it and it's becoming a lot easier to draw up a design.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

What has worked for me so far is just submitting my site to as many free advertising sites that I can. I got a lot of ideas reading the message boards at CafePress and I got a lot of ideas and help with any problems getting my site more shopper friendly as well. I bought some business cards at those sites that offer 250 business cards for the price of shipping. I drop these cards everywhere I go and take them to any kind of sporting event, community event or any place where there's people. Although I'm a fairly new shop, I do make a couple of sales a day, and that seems to really be picking up. What hasn't really worked is paying money for those places that say you can get 30,000 hits if you pay 30 bucks or so. It seems like a spamming plot and most of the places they send it to aren't even legitimate e-mail addresses anyway.

Nancy’s comment - Zeez’ site is like wandering into a mall. She has so many choices! I especially like her huge occupations section and her holiday section. Whether you need an end of the year teacher’s gift, engagement/wedding gifts, birthday or any holiday she has something for everyone.

Catching up with my own thoughts today

Day123
I’m going to catch up on some of my own thoughts today and then get back to another round of interviews tomorrow.

I have especially enjoyed reading the shop owner’s marketing ideas and have been taking notes. For instance, I had never heard of http://www.alibi.com/ before and now have three free classifieds on it.

I had my biggest sale yet on Sunday. Something like 6 t-shirts and 20 buttons. The possibly sad news is they were the “no cancer” ones and I am hoping someone didn’t just find out they or a member of their family has cancer. At any rate, I sent a prayer along for them – no extra charge!

It’s getting really close to Mother’s day and the great thing about online stores is how fast you can get your purchases. I’ve ordered a couple times from my store and even choosing the slowest, cheapest mail rate, I had my items in 5 days. So there is plenty of time if you want to get mom something from this site I really like:

http://www.cafepress.com/cp/browse/store/justholidays/1198815?pid=4370506

School is almost out too and there are lots of CafePress shops with fun graduation gifts. Here’s a favorite

http://www.cafepress.com/mycoolgear/699113?pid=4370506

And if you are one of those nice parents who buy their children’s teachers gifts, you can do that right here:

http://www.cafepress.com/koncepts/733690?pid=4370506

Designs by Joan interview

Day122
Today we’re looking at: http://www.cafepress.com/designsbyjoan?pid=4370506

1.What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?

I am a professional graphic designer and illustrator and wanted somewhere to post my original designs.

2.When did you open your store?

Last summer, I think

3.What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

It's just time consuming loading up new designs and keeping it fresh.

4.What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?

I finally have a place to post my art!

5.During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

How to tag files and to go ahead and get a premium shop.

6.Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

I've only done word of mouth and have sent out two newsletters. I think the newsletters are great if you can get people to sign up for them.

7.What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

None at this moment.

Nancy’s comment – Check out Joan’s custom birthday designs. You can either put your name on or someone else’s for a gift. I also really like her Graduation 2006 design, her house warming gifts and think her “Woman scorned” section is pretty fun. Joan’s got creative ideas and she’s good artist.

Dog Play Interview

Day121
Here’s Diane’s main shop and some of her thoughts:
http://www.cafepress.com/dogplay?pid=4370506


1. What drew you to opening an online store?

An internet friend opened one just to create a mug of her dog. I started exploring around. CafePress looked like it might be fun. That I didn't have to pay anything to try it, and that I didn't have any commitments at all was a big factor in my deciding to try it. I really like playing with the artwork. CafePress gave me a reason for doing it.

2.Were you in a related field?

Not at all. My images are in support of, and a mirror of, my Dog Play website which is devoted to helping dogs keep their homes. The Dog Play website was opened in 1996.

3.When did you open your store?

December 2003

4.What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?
Writing the sales pitches and marketing. And maintaining the shop. I had no idea I would create so many designs. And keeping up with which designs have been added to which products (or rather which products I've accidentally skipped) is a challenge.

5.What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?
The ego boost that comes when someone likes something I made enough to actually pay money for it. They see something there that speaks for them, and that's my goal.

6.During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?

I really can't think of anything that would have made a difference then, except maybe to discourage me. Since I didn't start out taking it too seriously most of the things that cause stress (no sales!) weren't a big problem. Nice thing about being pessimistic is you can get pleasantly surprised when you are wrong. It is good to be wrong.

7.Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?

I haven't done the kind of marketing I could or should. Partly I have a mental block but also I committed myself that my primary web site would come first. I tried a blog, but couldn't keep at it. Generating income from sales should come second to keeping my web site a great resource for people to learn about their dogs. I'd like to do it all, but there aren't enough hours in the day. And I'd much rather teach or help than market.

Since I know I can count on traffic to my web site, and that will target my audience, I spend most of my marketing efforts there. This weekend for example, I've been working on extracting product and section images for a new script based display that I hope will work better than others I've tried.

I do very well in Google where I've made the effort to do good section descriptions.
I'd say the best side effect of working with CafePress is that it has convinced me that selling stuff on Dog Play can be a benefit for my visitors. That these things can support what I'm doing philosophically as well as financially.

8.What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

In addition to my premium shop I still have a LOT of basic shops, and I make sales through them.

I also have:
http://www.dogplay.com - what I call my primary web site.
http://www.dogplayshops.com - my affiliate shop.
Just because I have to check things out:
http://dogplay.blogspot.com/
http://myspace.com/dogplay
http://www.squidoo.com/Mcnabs
http://www.squidoo.com/mutts/
http://www.squidoo.com/ScienceFun/
http://www.squidoo.com/therapydogs/
http://www.squidoo.com/dogplay/


Nancy’s comment – I have found in my four months at CafePress that the shop owners are not only talented, but passionate people. Some have a special cause close to their hearts, others care about everything. They are all talented and willing to put themselves out their for their beliefs.
I read somewhere that making a commitment and putting yourself out there invites success even though it may not come instantly or through the obvious channels. Most of the shop owners I’ve interviewed don’t get in it strictly for the money, they don’t expect overnight success. They have a talent that needs to be expressed somehow and a passion that needs to find a purpose.
Diane is providing a service for dogs and you can tell she’s passionate about them, but she is also talented and smart.

Tabithadas Interview

Day120
Tabithadas has 2 premium shops with CafePress:

NaughTee Clothing and Accessories

Maternitees

1. What drew you to opening an online store? Were you in a related field?
I have always been interested in art and design, and my friends and I were always coming up with witty sayings and phrases that would make us crack up. It was only natural to put them together and make shirts!!

2. When did you open your store?

I started with Cafepress sometime in early 2004, but didn't have a "real" store up and running until around July 2005. I opened up a second premium store shortly thereafter, and have plans to open two more this year.

3. What is harder about doing this then you thought it would be?

Finding the time to work on everything! I work a full-time job with a 60+ minute commute each way, so by the time I get home, I am exhausted! I hope that one day I will be blessed enough to be able to stay at home and pursue not only my Cafepress interests but other artistic endeavors as well.

4. What do you like best about being an online shopkeeper?
I love the flexibility an online store provides. You can make sales in your sleep or while you're at work. It's great to come home after a tough day at the office and see that "You made a sale!" email in my inbox!

5. During the very first month, what do you wish you had known then that you do now?
I wish I had known how much work it takes to be successful. I think a lot of people, myself included, signed up and thought the money would just start coming in. But it takes a lot of work - advertising, marketing, designing, updating, research, and so on.

6. Could you share some of the marketing you’ve tried so far (on or off line) and what has worked and what hasn’t?
I have tried a few things... some pay off, some don't. I tried an ad on one site and had 1000 visitors practically instantly but not a single person bought anything. Start with friends and family - they will be able to look over your shop and suggest changes or other ideas you would not have thought of otherwise. Let them know about the affiliate program, and let them do a little legwork for you! The affiliate program has done very well for me so far - sales that I wouldn't get otherwise and require very little work on my part. I would advise the best way to get your shop noticed is to use great keywords and descriptions to get your site in the search engines. And don't forget about MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, email signatures, forum signatures, and trading links with sites of a similiar nature.

7. What other sites, blogs, etc. do you have if any?

I have two more premium shops in the works but you will have to wait and see for those!

I am working on www.naughteeclothing.com with CPShop to offer my Cafepress items, as well as my personal site, www.tabithadas.com which will feature my artwork such as pencil drawings, photography, and calligraphy. Neither of these sites are ready to be unveiled at the present moment but hopefully will be ready to go live this summer! I also have two MySpace accounts - http://www.myspace.com/naughteeclothing and http://www.myspace.com/tabithadas - don't forget to add me as your friend!!

Nancy’s comment – In her maternities store check out the mom and baby “supply and demand” items. Very clever!