Live T-shirt Sales Widget, available soon?

Back at the Cafepress Connect User Conference in San Francisco (August, 2006), I had posted about the cool Cafepress Live T-shirt Sales Widget Thingy (I think that's the technical term for it) they showed off at the Saturday night cocktail party.

In a nutshell, this thing was a live feed showing sales as they happened, on Cafepress. But to make it fun to watch, Justin, the developer from Cafepress, had made it so a photo of the product being purchased would pop up on the monitor, then fade away into the city/state/country it was purchased at. This was projected on a big screen as a backdrop to the party and was met with cheers every few seconds as we'd watch a purchase being made.

Which brings us to this week. Adam, from VoteForTees.com has been busy developing his own widget which I hope he'll share with us eager Cafepress shopkeepers when it's fully ready. He has posted a video preview of his creation at his blog, along with some insight into how he went about developing it. Check it out! It even goes "cha-ching" as a sale is being made. Very clever.

Now that's the kind of motivation us shopkeepers need while we're working away alone in our studios!

Once again, Adam, I'm impressed, but not surprised. I look forward to your next API creation.


Technorati Tags: cafepress, t-shirt, design, API, sales

Get ready for the Christmas Sales Boom: Heidi's Cafepress Shopekeeper Christmas tips

Christmas is just around the corner.

The world of retail largely revolves around the Christmas shopping season and Cafepress is no different. Some of you may already be noticing a rise in your sales. For me, I typically will see a slow rise in sales in mid-October, then a sharper rise around mid November, then sales will usually triple (or more) in December leading up to Christmas. It's a fun and rewarding time of year for shopkeepers!

You've probably also noticed all kinds of advice and tips for getting your shop ready for the boom...it's hard to sort through it all and decide where to best spend your time. So here are a few things I do that have always been well worth my time and pay off. How can I claim this? I look at my stats on StatCounter.com. After sending out a newsletter I see a rise in traffic that comes from people's email accounts. I add ornaments, they sell. I share coupons, customers thank me.

Heidi's Cafepress Shopekeeper Christmas tips:

1. Add Ornaments to your stores!

Don't stop and question "Would someone really want this on an ornament?" Just add them. I have always sold a lot of ornaments around Christmas. The first year Cafepress introduced them, I only added a few designs that I thought would be popular. I got email after email asking me to put other designs on ornaments. Now I have every design available on an ornament.

2. Share Coupon Codes with your customers!

Who doesn't want to save money? If you haven't found them yet, there are a few websites where you can find current coupon codes for Cafepress merchandise. These codes are supplied by other shopkeepers and shared. CP Coupon is one site where you can participate, share your coupon codes, and have access to other codes for free. You can even subscribe to a feed to keep updated coupons on your web site.

Another one to check out is CPCoupons.com where you can post coupons you receive after making a purchase at Cafepress on their blog-style message board.

What can you do with these codes? I've made it a habit now to reply to my customer inquiries with a coupon code. These coupons are usually for $5 off a purchase of $20 or more, they are time sensitive (encourages your customers to use them now), and don't take a dime out of your commission. People are always happy when I send them coupons and I let them know they can email me anytime for more. Which brings me to newsletters...

3. Send out newsletters!

But don't just make them a big advertisement. People get enough advertisements in their in-box every day. Practically every site you visit on the net has a newsletter you can join, and most of them are not worth my time. I just got another shopkeeper's newsletter today and it was nothing but a bunch of links to "gift ideas." There was nothing compelling that made me want to click on those links.

Think about your customers and what they need this time of year. Most people want to save money and save time, some want to be creative and give something unique. Your audience may have even more specific needs. I just sent out a newsletter mentioning the ornament sale going on this week, included a coupon code, and then talked about creative ways to use ornaments from my store. I said how they're affordable, they can be tied onto gifts, personalized with a gold paint pen, and other creative ways to use them.

Always close your newsletters with well-wishes, but also a call to action. Remind them that shopping at your store means no driving to the mall, no waiting in lines, no fighting the crowds...no hassle! And remind them of Cafepress' 30-day money-back guarantee. Make your reader feel like they'd be missing out if they didn't shop at your store this season! After all, they would be, right?

These tips have helped my sales every Christmas season and I hope they can help you, too. If you have other tried and true tips for this time of year, please feel free to share.



Technorati Tags: cafepress, t-shirt, design, Christmas, tips

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