Back in the day, I set up my first external store the "pure" way, coding pages with HTML and uploading them to my domain. I added an electronic shopping cart, set up a merchant account... I'm getting tired just remembering it all! But you don't have to go through all this. There are a number of reasonable options for you to roll out your own storefront, independent of the PODs, without too much time or hassle. I'm talking about Yahoo, Amazon, eBay, or vStore.
You can set up a store using Yahoo's storefront program for about $40/month, plus a fee of 1.5% of your sales. The benefits of a Yahoo storefront is that your store will look clean and professional. Yahoo gives lots of great tools, like a coupon creator. To learn more about opening a Yahoo-hosted storefront, go to Yahoo's small business section and look into the Merchant Starter plan.
Another option is an Amazon store. In this case the program is called Amazon Pro Merchant. Again, the fee is $40/month, but Amazon will take a bigger cut of your sales - 15%, in most cases. An Amazon-hosted storefront is a good idea if most of your potential customers are also the kind of customers who buy lots of books and other media on Amazon.
But what if most of the potential customers for your designs/sayings are bargain hunters looking for obscure items? Then an eBay store might be the way to go. Fees start at $16/month plus $0.20/month for each product you list for sale (whether it sells or not.) eBay traffic has been on the decline lately, though. Statistics show that eBay had 9% fewer shoppers in 2009 compared to 2008.
Finally, vStore. The only one that is totally free. The thing is, vStore-hosted storefronts all have that certain look to them. See an example at http://www.vstore.ca/featured_store.php. If you don't mind the look and feel, and if you're already pretty savvy about e-commerce (vStore support is fairly dependent on you handling things yourself), then check them out at http://www.vstore.ca/.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
An external store gives you more control
Whehter or not to open your own store, outside the walls of CafePress, Zazzle, or other PODs that provide storefronts, is a decision we all must face one day. There are pro's and con's, of course. Let's start with the con's so I can get to the reasons why I feel most MOD'sters (that's you!) should have their own external store.
The reasons some people stay away from their own external store are time (plan on 5-25 hours/week to set up and manage an external store) and money (the better external storefronts aren't cheap - plan on about $150/month.)
But let's get to the Pro's -- the reasons why an external store is a good idea. First, you can set your own prices. Some PODs put a cap on the amount you can charge for a product within their storefront system, and you may (rightly) feel that your design on the product is worth more. An extreme example - GCU (Greeting Card Universe.) Your commission on a card sold through GCU can be as low as $0.38. Yikes! Sell the same card on your own site for about $4.50, have GCU drop-ship it to your customer, and your profit will be closer to $3.00.
Second, you can do your own marketing. Hoping that the POD will feature your product above all others is all well and good, but don't hold your breath. Instead, if you have your own external store, you can submit your product feed to Google (for free!), using your own keywords. If you're a control freak like me, this is the way to go.
In my next posting, we'll talk about your external store options.
The reasons some people stay away from their own external store are time (plan on 5-25 hours/week to set up and manage an external store) and money (the better external storefronts aren't cheap - plan on about $150/month.)
But let's get to the Pro's -- the reasons why an external store is a good idea. First, you can set your own prices. Some PODs put a cap on the amount you can charge for a product within their storefront system, and you may (rightly) feel that your design on the product is worth more. An extreme example - GCU (Greeting Card Universe.) Your commission on a card sold through GCU can be as low as $0.38. Yikes! Sell the same card on your own site for about $4.50, have GCU drop-ship it to your customer, and your profit will be closer to $3.00.
Second, you can do your own marketing. Hoping that the POD will feature your product above all others is all well and good, but don't hold your breath. Instead, if you have your own external store, you can submit your product feed to Google (for free!), using your own keywords. If you're a control freak like me, this is the way to go.
In my next posting, we'll talk about your external store options.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Stay on top of coupon codes
If you have an external shop (more on that in future blog posts!), you need to stay on top on the various coupon codes that the merchandise-on-demand providers offer. These codes change quickly. Usually they are only good on certain products and last just a few days - if that. But they're worth looking for if you're about to place a drop-ship order to your customer.
Follow this blog and you'll always be updated on the coupon codes for CafePress, Zazzle, Spreadsheet and others. To get us started, here are today's codes.
On CafePress, get $10 off an order of $50+ with CafePress coupon code SAVE10NOW.
On Zazzle, get free shipping today (Sept. 15, 2010) with Zazzle coupon code SEPTFREESHIP.
And remember, each time you place an order on CafePress (shipping to yourself or directly to your customer), you're asked to enter friend's e-mail addresses in return for a $5 coupon. You have to enter at least two e-mail addresses for this to work, but one of those can be your own e-mail address. And you can keep entering your own e-mail address everytime! If you foresee another order within a few days, go ahead and fill this in to get the $5. Just don't be surprised if the code they send you is only valid for a short time.
Follow this blog and you'll always be updated on the coupon codes for CafePress, Zazzle, Spreadsheet and others. To get us started, here are today's codes.
On CafePress, get $10 off an order of $50+ with CafePress coupon code SAVE10NOW.
On Zazzle, get free shipping today (Sept. 15, 2010) with Zazzle coupon code SEPTFREESHIP.
And remember, each time you place an order on CafePress (shipping to yourself or directly to your customer), you're asked to enter friend's e-mail addresses in return for a $5 coupon. You have to enter at least two e-mail addresses for this to work, but one of those can be your own e-mail address. And you can keep entering your own e-mail address everytime! If you foresee another order within a few days, go ahead and fill this in to get the $5. Just don't be surprised if the code they send you is only valid for a short time.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Great scarves on Spreadshirt - for fashion, that is
Spreadshirt added scarves to their product line-up about a year ago which pleased many MOD shop keepers who anticipated lots of holiday sales. Winter scarves are a great Christmas present, right? Well, it's not quite like that. The scarves offered by Spreadshirt are more of a thin fashion scarf meant to be worn inside, not a winter scarf intended as outerwear. They're still a good option for you to sell, especially when you see so many teen girls and young women wearing a different scarf to match their every outfit. Just keep this in mind when designing and positioning scarves with your phrase or design. No snowflakes or ski bum phrases.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Get the green by recycling your designs
When you think about it, there are so many ways you can re-use the same design on different products just by using a different word or border, or positioning the product for a different market. The same design can be used on greeting cards, for example; just by spinning the interior message differently, you can use it as a holiday card, a birthday card, a new baby announcement...
Don't be afraid to re-use your art to make more money. You can even take some designs off your virtual shelves for a while, then bring them back with new key words or tags. This keeps your shop looking fresh. And it doesn't hurt that many of the merchandise-on-demand suppliers give marketing priority to recently refreshed key words.
Don't be afraid to re-use your art to make more money. You can even take some designs off your virtual shelves for a while, then bring them back with new key words or tags. This keeps your shop looking fresh. And it doesn't hurt that many of the merchandise-on-demand suppliers give marketing priority to recently refreshed key words.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Is Quick Create really a good idea?
It's so tempting. You've got a great cartoon or design, or maybe a funny phrase, and now you're ready to place it on a bunch of different products and sell them. Oh, did anyone warn you how slow this process can be? Most of the merchandise-on-demand suppliers, including CafePress and Zazzle, give you the ability to place one design/phrase onto many products at the same time. And in no time at all, your virtual shelves are stocked.
But is this really a good idea? IMHO, usually the answer is "no". Just as you can't fit a square peg into a round hole, some designs and phrases just don't look right on some products. And if shoppers see these products that just don't look quite right, they're going to turn away from your shop. It's like walking into a clothing store and seeing an evening gown on a male mannequin.
There's another reason to avoid the quick create shortcut. You really need to spend the time to give thoughtful and unique titles and descriptions to every product. The search engines are going to read those titles and descriptions, so you don't want to waste the opportunity by repeating the same words over and over.
But is this really a good idea? IMHO, usually the answer is "no". Just as you can't fit a square peg into a round hole, some designs and phrases just don't look right on some products. And if shoppers see these products that just don't look quite right, they're going to turn away from your shop. It's like walking into a clothing store and seeing an evening gown on a male mannequin.
There's another reason to avoid the quick create shortcut. You really need to spend the time to give thoughtful and unique titles and descriptions to every product. The search engines are going to read those titles and descriptions, so you don't want to waste the opportunity by repeating the same words over and over.
Friday, September 10, 2010
50% of MOD saes are text-only. Who knew?
Designs, cartoons, and amazing photos do well on MOD products, but what if you can't draw a straight line with a ruler? Well take heart from this statistic from CafePress. A little more than 50% of products sold on CafePress have only text, no art, on them. These can be catchy slogans, funny sayings, or political statements.
How can you come up with text that will sell? First start with your theme, and then find a crowd around that theme. Here's what I mean. If you sell dog-related products, go to a dog show. If you sell resort products, go to the beach. Then stand still in a crowded area and just listen to the people walking by you. You'll hear snippets of conversations that just might inspire you.
How can you come up with text that will sell? First start with your theme, and then find a crowd around that theme. Here's what I mean. If you sell dog-related products, go to a dog show. If you sell resort products, go to the beach. Then stand still in a crowded area and just listen to the people walking by you. You'll hear snippets of conversations that just might inspire you.
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