Words With Babies

Okay, I officially have a CafePress store.  Now I can sell anything from t-shirts and sweatshirts to mugs and bags.  All with various designs.  I will make 10% commission on anything sold from my store.  Please check it out at www.cafepress.com/wordswithbabies.

It took me a long time to figure what I wanted my store to be about.  I went back and forth with different ideas, but I just wasn't happy with how it was coming together.  CafePress gives you the option of using some of their generic designs for your own designs.  All you have to do is personalize them with your own words or phrases.  To start, I really wanted to use their designs instead of making my own, but I was having trouble thinking of words or phrases that would coincide to make a cohesive store.  Now, I could have taken the time to make my own designs, but I was wanting to get my store up and running as soon as possible.  So, I started thinking about words or phrases that I use in my daily life.  Of course, since I have a baby, I use the words "poop," "playtime," and "goo goo ga ga" a lot.  So, that's what I decided to go with.  I then thought of the name "Words With Babies," and there you have it.  I now have a store where you can buy a funny t-shirt, sweatshirt, or whatever with "poop" on it. 

The process of making this store was fairly simple.  If you go to CafePress.com, there is a link on the top right corner that states, "create and sell t-shirts."  Or, you can just click here.  This takes you to the page for creating your store.  There is a box for your store name and one for your email.  Don't worry too much about your store name, as you can change it later.  Then pick your theme.  Again, don't worry too much about this, you can change it later.  Click create my store and you are taken to your store front.  This is where you can add your designs.  When you click "Add a design," you are given the option to browse their designs, upload a logo or photo, or build a design with clip art and text.  I chose to browse their designs.  When you click, a new window pops up showing their designs with the name of your store included in them.  You can change the design by typing in the box at the top of the window.  Then click update.  Now you will see those same designs with the new word or words included.  Click on the design you like and hit submit.  Now, you have your first design that can be applied to any item in your store.  You can have up to 12 designs unless you upgrade to the premium stores, but these cost money.  When you are done, click "save store."  That's it.  Now you have a CafePress store.

If you want to get paid commissions though, there is still a little more to do.  When looking at your store on the edit screen, there are 3 tabs.  The first one states, "Settings."  This is where you can change the name of your store if you want.  The next tab is, "Appearance."  I think you can figure that one out.  The last one is, "Earn Money."  When you click on this one, you are given the option to earn commission.  Click "I want to earn commission."  Then go to, "change payee details."  Give them your information, and you're set to make some money.

So, how do you get your store noticed?  To the best of my knowledge, you have to be your own marketer.  Send your link to everyone you know and more.  Furthermore, how do people find your designs on Cafepress?  Unfortunately, I do not think it is possible for people to find my designs on CafePress.  I would have to be able to tag my designs, and I don't think I can.  If the designs have tags, then people can find them by doing a keyword search on CafePress.  I think you can only tag custom designs you upload to CafePress.  So, for me, and anyone else trying to keep it simple, it is all about word of mouth.  So, start spreading the word about Words With Babies.