wedding chat log

[2007.07.26 18:07:11] Welcome to the CafePress Chat Room
[2007.07.26 18:07:11] shopa has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.26 18:07:12] All users in this room have been allowed to talk
[2007.07.26 18:07:21] 1512blvd: That's cool! Today is my 4 yr. wedding anniversary!
[2007.07.26 18:07:25] AngelaCP: congrats to you :D
[2007.07.26 18:07:33] DafnaCP: thanks guys!
[2007.07.26 18:07:34] Kip: congrats 1512!
[2007.07.26 18:07:43] 1512blvd: thanks!
[2007.07.26 18:07:45] altcanvas: grats 1512 also!!
[2007.07.26 18:07:46] RealSlogans has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.26 18:07:55] AngelaCP: Wedding industry stats
[2007.07.26 18:08:08] AngelaCP: I’ll share some statistics with you about the wedding industry.
[2007.07.26 18:08:16] AngelaCP: From “American Wedding Study 2006” by The Conde Nast Bridal Group
[2007.07.26 18:08:28] AngelaCP: - Average of 2.4 million weddings performed in the US annually
- Average of 23 million bridesmaids and groomsmen participate in weddings annually
- Average number of wedding guests is 165
[2007.07.26 18:08:44] AngelaCP: - Average engagement last 14 months (wedding planning cycle)
- Median age of the bride is 27 while the median age of the groom is 29
- Average House Hold Income $74,000
[2007.07.26 18:08:50] Karen has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.26 18:08:57] AngelaCP: - Remarriages account for almost 1/3 of these marriages and the median age for the second time bride is 34, while the median age for the second time groom is 37
[2007.07.26 18:09:17] AngelaCP: Take a look at the next chart about the wedding season trend:
[2007.07.26 18:09:42] AngelaCP sent a picture:
[2007.07.26 18:09:54] AngelaCP: Usually the “summer slump” for retail…. Wedding season peaks during the summer month.
[2007.07.26 18:10:03] RealSlogans has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.26 18:10:10] AngelaCP: I hope this stats help....
[2007.07.26 18:10:12] AngelaCP: Now we’re moving on to the next section.
[2007.07.26 18:10:23] AngelaCP: Road-to-Wedding ideas
[2007.07.26 18:10:36] AngelaCP: As stated before, we will toss out some ideas to help get your creative juices flowing.
[2007.07.26 18:10:50] AngelaCP: When post people think of a wedding shop or wedding stuff, they think wedding presents. It’s much more than that.
[2007.07.26 18:11:18] BrittaCP: and feel free to toss out your ideas
[2007.07.26 18:11:26] AngelaCP: Think about the road to wedding…which is the campaign we’re launching in a few days. I’ll touch upon that more later…
[2007.07.26 18:11:43] AngelaCP: Outside of wedding gifts, here are some of the things celebrated leading up to the day of the wedding.
[2007.07.26 18:11:52] dooni designs: what is road to wedding?
[2007.07.26 18:12:15] AngelaCP: Basically the wedding planning process
[2007.07.26 18:12:24] AngelaCP: the "road to the big day"
[2007.07.26 18:12:35] camobabygifts: invatations , wedding part gifts ,ect
[2007.07.26 18:12:38] Sag: bridal showers
[2007.07.26 18:12:39] Sag: rehearsal dinners
[2007.07.26 18:12:43] AngelaCP: exactly
[2007.07.26 18:12:50] Sag: bachelor and bachelorette parties
[2007.07.26 18:12:52] AngelaCP: Proposal
Engagement Party
Bridal Shower
[2007.07.26 18:12:57] eutstars has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.26 18:12:59] AngelaCP: Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties
Wedding Rehearsal
Wedding Day
[2007.07.26 18:13:01] blonde designs has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.26 18:13:08] DafnaCP: all that stuff I'm going through right now!!!
[2007.07.26 18:13:09] AngelaCP: Honeymoon
Post-wedding
[2007.07.26 18:13:39] AngelaCP: these are the ideas you can have outside of just wedding gifts
[2007.07.26 18:13:50] camobabygifts: gifts for the mother inlaws ect?
[2007.07.26 18:13:54] AngelaCP: Correct
[2007.07.26 18:13:58] AngelaCP: Here are some ideas for products.
[2007.07.26 18:14:02] Sag: Wedding Party gifts too
[2007.07.26 18:14:07] AngelaCP: Save the date:
- Note Cards
- Buttons
- Magnets
- Calendars
- Stickers
[2007.07.26 18:14:35] DafnaCP: Yep, for our Save-the-date announcements we used the rectangle magnets to create a useful keepsake that people were sure to put on their ‘fridge. It was our way of ensuring that our Save-the-dates didn’t simply get thrown into the recycle bin.
[2007.07.26 18:15:14] 1512blvd: good idea!
[2007.07.26 18:15:15] AngelaCP: Bridal Shower:
- Note Cards for invitations
- Greeting Cards for Bride/Groom to be
- Apparel
- Housewares (Mugs, tiles, framed prints, etc)\
- Favors: buttons/magnets/ornaments
[2007.07.26 18:15:18] camobabygifts: ilike that idea
[2007.07.26 18:15:39] DafnaCP: The amount of invitations that go out for a wedding is mind boggling.
[2007.07.26 18:15:49] DafnaCP: There are Save-the-Dates, bachelor/ette parties, the bridal shower, the rehearsal dinner and a bunch of other obscure events.
[2007.07.26 18:16:15] DafnaCP: Like the ladies tea and stuff like that. I’ve also heard of people using cards to ask their wedding party to be in the wedding. So, lots of uses for the cards.
[2007.07.26 18:17:04] camobabygifts: single cards are a great ideam for custom orders so they can see what it looks like before they order alot
[2007.07.26 18:17:13] AngelaCP: Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties:
- Apparel with appropriate content
- Buttons
- Cap
[2007.07.26 18:17:26] AngelaCP: Don’t forget to include the following:
- Attendant Gifts
- Honeymoon
- Post wedding/Thank Yous
[2007.07.26 18:17:36] Sag: Hey, the tote bags make a perfect gift for the wedding party to carry needed items to the wedding on the wedding day.
[2007.07.26 18:17:42] AngelaCP: Did I miss anything?
[2007.07.26 18:18:03] AngelaCP: I’ll turn this over for Dafna to share with us from the bride’s perspective…
[2007.07.26 18:18:25] DafnaCP: Of course we also did apparel for the bachelor and bachelorette parties. The groom and I each got shirts and so did the wedding party. It helps make everyone feel special and included.
[2007.07.26 18:18:46] DafnaCP: Similarly, we’re doing track suits for all the girls to wear when we get ready. It’ll look so cute in the hair and makeup photos.
[2007.07.26 18:19:00] 1512blvd: cool
[2007.07.26 18:19:27] DafnaCP: Good idea Sag, I've heard of people using the totes for that
[2007.07.26 18:19:33] DafnaCP: Okay so we all know that people spend a lot of money on their wedding, they are also very loyal and very busy. What does this mean for you?
[2007.07.26 18:19:48] Sag: We used them for 3 weddings and they are a hit
[2007.07.26 18:20:12] DafnaCP: If you can please a bride or groom once then s/he will keep coming back. S/he’ll also recommend you to other brides/grooms s/he knows.
[2007.07.26 18:20:41] DafnaCP: I’m part of a wedding planning message board where we talk about vendors constantly, who pleased us, who didn’t and why. Several of the vendors I’ve used for came from these recommendations. I’ve even seen some CafePress shops raved about on the boards.
[2007.07.26 18:20:43] Debs has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.26 18:21:14] DafnaCP: If your budget affords, consider purchasing advertising with these websites to gain visibility and get your name out there.
[2007.07.26 18:21:47] DafnaCP: Brides love a bargain too so be sure to post banners/buttons when we have sales like the buy 3 get one free sale going on now. On the message board someone posts about a good sale just about every day.
[2007.07.26 18:21:53] AngelaCP: Thanks Dafna... and Sag for sharing!
[2007.07.26 18:21:59] blonde designs: im in a wedding in 9 days, and i did shirts for the bridal party, was a giant hit w/all the girls!
[2007.07.26 18:22:28] DafnaCP: good to hear!
[2007.07.26 18:22:28] 1512blvd: I bought caps at a local wedding store 4 yrs ago for my wedding that said bride on one and groom on the other. I wish i had known about cafepress then...where i could have gotten a nicer design or made my own!
[2007.07.26 18:22:38] Sag: Dafna - Use the journals for keeping memories of the honeymoon, recipes for the bride, advice for the married couple (circulate it at the wedding reception and read it with your new hubby - fun).
[2007.07.26 18:22:59] AngelaCP: thanks sag!
[2007.07.26 18:23:05] AngelaCP: There is a lot of personalization and we have Shopkeepers that deal with that by asking for their customer to contact them so they can personalize their product before they buy it.
[2007.07.26 18:23:10] DafnaCP: that's a great idea, I'll do that
[2007.07.26 18:23:34] AngelaCP: If you want to get into the wedding niche arena, this is something you want to think about. Or create general designs that’s original and reach out to someone’s emotions
[2007.07.26 18:23:56] altcanvas: We actually used hats as well, for my hubby to give to my kids as a "promise to be a good dad" type of gift - made it part of the ceremony, very cute. Wish I'dve have CP then too ;)
[2007.07.26 18:24:15] DafnaCP: wedding business is about personalizing, creating something very special and unique to the couple.
[2007.07.26 18:24:23] DafnaCP: For example, we made a “Just Married!” license plate frame with our wedding date on it that we’ll use all the way through to our first Anniversary.
[2007.07.26 18:24:37] AngelaCP: great ideas...
[2007.07.26 18:24:42] 1512blvd: Will CafePress ever be creating a way for people to personalize a design on the spot?
[2007.07.26 18:25:16] AngelaCP: It's something we're looking into but do not know what the timeline is for this....
[2007.07.26 18:25:21] AngelaCP: Now, let’s move on to the CafePress Wedding Campaign.
[2007.07.26 18:25:32] AngelaCP: CafePress will be launching a wedding campaign - scheduled to start next week.
[2007.07.26 18:25:43] 1512blvd: cool
[2007.07.26 18:25:46] dooni designs: will there be a sale?
[2007.07.26 18:26:02] AngelaCP: It's more of a campaign in terms of bring awareness vs a sale
[2007.07.26 18:26:13] AngelaCP: We’ll have a portal on the CafePress site, send out newsletters, and some PR around the wedding campaign.
[2007.07.26 18:26:29] Debs: gr8
[2007.07.26 18:26:31] luluwedding: yeah!
[2007.07.26 18:26:34] blonde designs: lol...figures after i got all mine already!!
[2007.07.26 18:26:40] 1512blvd: will the 3 +1 still be avail?
[2007.07.26 18:26:44] AngelaCP: Not sure.....
[2007.07.26 18:26:47] ld: sounds great!
[2007.07.26 18:26:52] AngelaCP: We are planning to leave the wedding portal up year round. We will focus on the wedding campaign for the next 4 months until the holidays take over.
[2007.07.26 18:27:09] ld: super great! to wedding portal :)
[2007.07.26 18:27:11] camobabygifts: SO WILL THERE BE A key word we should add to tags?
[2007.07.26 18:27:35] AngelaCP: There isn't a keyword for now, but the key is to tag your designs appropriately
[2007.07.26 18:28:03] Sag: Amen, Angela
[2007.07.26 18:28:04] AngelaCP: Once you see the portal you can see the tags being used, but please please only tag your designs if they are approriate
[2007.07.26 18:28:30] AngelaCP: do not tag your images wedding or bridal, etc if your designs are not relevant just to get seen in the portal
[2007.07.26 18:28:41] AngelaCP: it's bad bad bad.... very bad :(
[2007.07.26 18:28:49] camobabygifts: ok that works
[2007.07.26 18:29:13] AngelaCP: you can affect your ranking because it's not relevant, your peers will be unhappy, and it gives customers a bad user experience....
[2007.07.26 18:29:22] AngelaCP: okay, i've said my piece about tag spamming ;)
[2007.07.26 18:29:27] DafnaCP: and we will beat you
[2007.07.26 18:29:40] 1512blvd: If you use "wedding designs" as a keyword, will your designs show up for just "wedding" and just "designs" or will someoen have to type the whole thing to see your designs?
[2007.07.26 18:29:52] Sag: with a big stick!:-o
[2007.07.26 18:30:02] AngelaCP: to be honest, I'm not so sure...but I do believe it comes up for wedding designs
[2007.07.26 18:30:24] AngelaCP: thanks Sag :)
[2007.07.26 18:30:35] AngelaCP: Hear that everyone? !! ;)
[2007.07.26 18:30:39] AngelaCP: Okay....
[2007.07.26 18:30:41] AngelaCP: I’ll share with you some of the categories we’ll have on the wedding portal.
[2007.07.26 18:30:47] Debs: yes!!
[2007.07.26 18:30:54] AngelaCP: The 3 large categories on the wedding portal are:
[2007.07.26 18:31:02] AngelaCP: - Wedding Reception
- Wedding Shower
- Bachelor/Bachelorette Party
[2007.07.26 18:31:21] AngelaCP: The 2 smaller categories are:
[2007.07.26 18:31:31] AngelaCP: - Attendant Gifts
- Invitations/Save-The-Date
[2007.07.26 18:31:53] AngelaCP: any questions so far?
[2007.07.26 18:32:11] AngelaCP: before I launch into the products....
[2007.07.26 18:32:22] 1512blvd: What about Reherasal?
[2007.07.26 18:32:30] AngelaCP: that will not be the top categories
[2007.07.26 18:32:47] AngelaCP: Here are some of the products we’ll feature for each category:
[2007.07.26 18:32:58] AngelaCP: Wedding Receptions
• Stickers, Buttons & Magnets
• T-shirts & apparel
• Journals
• Mugs & Steins
• Hats & Bags
[2007.07.26 18:33:00] business33 has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.26 18:33:15] AngelaCP: Wedding Shower
• Journals
• Home Decoration
• Keepsakes
• T-shirts & apparel
• Intimate apparel
[2007.07.26 18:33:30] AngelaCP: Bachelor/Bachelorette Party
• T-shirts & apparel
• Intimate apparel
• Steins
• Hats & Bags
• Stickers, Buttons & Magnets
[2007.07.26 18:33:39] AngelaCP: Attendant Gifts:
• Home Decoration
• Keepsakes
• T-shirts & apparel
• Hats & Bags
• Stickers, Buttons & Magnets
[2007.07.26 18:33:53] eutstars has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.26 18:34:29] AngelaCP: Invitations/Save-The-Date:
• Greeting Card
• Postcard
• Journal
• Calendar
• Stickers, Buttons, Magnets
[2007.07.26 18:34:43] business33 has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.26 18:34:54] 1512blvd: Will the main keyword for the attendant gifts be attendant gifts?
[2007.07.26 18:35:07] AngelaCP: I don't have the tags yet
[2007.07.26 18:35:22] AngelaCP: but as I said before, if you tag appropriately, you should be fine
[2007.07.26 18:35:51] AngelaCP: once the portal goes live next week, and you see we're using tags you don't have and feel it's relevant... you can add it
[2007.07.26 18:36:00] Lekker Jen: will product tags need to be in image tags?
[2007.07.26 18:36:07] AngelaCP: Image tags will be fine
[2007.07.26 18:36:18] 1512blvd: pkay
[2007.07.26 18:36:20] Lekker Jen: for example, "button" if an image is button specific
[2007.07.26 18:36:34] AngelaCP: Correct, not needed. Just use descriptive tags for your image
[2007.07.26 18:37:26] AngelaCP: More products for your occasion
• Framed prints
• Posters
• Mouse pads
• Wall Clocks
• License Plate Frames
• Apron
[2007.07.26 18:37:27] Renee has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.26 18:37:40] Karen has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.26 18:37:45] AngelaCP: We will also have a buy for recipient category.
[2007.07.26 18:38:03] AngelaCP: More for everyone in your party
[2007.07.26 18:38:09] AngelaCP: • Father of the Bride
• Mother of the Bride
• Father of the Groom
• Mother of the Groom
[2007.07.26 18:38:21] camobabygifts has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.26 18:38:28] AngelaCP: • Maid of Honor
• Best Man
• Ring Bearer
• Bride’s Maid
• Groom’s Man
• Flower Girl
[2007.07.26 18:38:30] Kip: Why shouldn't we tag with product tags? If you search for "wedding attendant button" is the system intuitive enough to find the keyword "wedding attendant" and see if there are related designs on buttons?
[2007.07.26 18:38:47] BrittaCP: this is a good question, but in the interest of folk who already have established wedding shops, we're not going to discuss designs. sorry
[2007.07.26 18:39:24] BrittaCP: not to kip
[2007.07.26 18:39:37] AngelaCP: Kip -- For the purpose of the portal, we will be narrowing down by product type based on tag
[2007.07.26 18:39:50] Sag: In today's society a big thing is to remember those extended family members of the bride and groom like stepmother, stepfather, stepsister, stepbrother. Oh, and the stickers make great closures for the envelopes of the wedding invitation and saves the bride and groom from having to deal with sealing all those envelopes.
[2007.07.26 18:40:00] AngelaCP: so in that case, there's no need to enter the product name
[2007.07.26 18:40:07] dooni designs: will cafepress wire be updated too?
[2007.07.26 18:40:11] BrittaCP: erwe're not really sure
[2007.07.26 18:40:21] AngelaCP: I *believe* if you search wedding button and you do not have the tag button, it should come up....
[2007.07.26 18:40:22] Kip: ok, thanks
[2007.07.26 18:40:25] AngelaCP: dafna just tested
[2007.07.26 18:40:28] AngelaCP: i hope that helps
[2007.07.26 18:40:33] AngelaCP: you might want to save your tags ;)
[2007.07.26 18:40:40] AngelaCP: but, i don't think it hurts if you want to do that
[2007.07.26 18:41:05] Lekker Jen: so you'll say "pull all images tagged with "bride" on buttons...?
[2007.07.26 18:41:10] AngelaCP: for example
[2007.07.26 18:41:38] AngelaCP: on the portal, if there's a link for buttons, we will be pull products on a particular tag, let's say wedding is the tag we use
[2007.07.26 18:41:53] AngelaCP: then narrow using the product
[2007.07.26 18:42:26] AngelaCP: similar to when someone searches the marketplace for a particular tag and uses the left nav to narrow down to the product they are shopping for... we'll be using that linking structure too
[2007.07.26 18:42:37] AngelaCP: the url will be the link from the portal
[2007.07.26 18:42:52] 1512blvd: but if someone types wedding tees, then you would want wedding tees both in the tags, right?
[2007.07.26 18:43:01] AngelaCP: Can you explain?
[2007.07.26 18:43:13] AngelaCP: eloborate....
[2007.07.26 18:43:33] AngelaCP: If you are planning to create products so you can be a part of the wedding campaign, please use your creativity and design original, unique designs.
[2007.07.26 18:43:54] 1512blvd: if someone types tees, will the system know t-shirt?
[2007.07.26 18:44:16] AngelaCP: I see, in that case, no. If you want to add tees you can certainly do that.
[2007.07.26 18:44:29] Kip: I think when you're using a more slang term like "tees" or "gear" it might be useful to have that in your tags. Until Cafepress is willing to divulge its search algorithm, it can't hurt anyway ;)
[2007.07.26 18:44:36] AngelaCP: correct Kip! Thanks!
[2007.07.26 18:44:46] AngelaCP: for the general terms, there's no need
[2007.07.26 18:44:49] DafnaCP: the system is intuitive enough to figure out that buttons tagged with "wedding" should come up in a search for "wedding button" there is no need to use "wedding button" as a tag
[2007.07.26 18:44:52] 1512blvd: oky
[2007.07.26 18:45:17] Romy: Sorry, should have known. The marketplace seems to indicate an "anti-wedding" shop would do well!
[2007.07.26 18:45:47] AngelaCP: so as i was saying, be sure to create original designs
[2007.07.26 18:45:56] DafnaCP: lol! that's a great idea Romy!!
[2007.07.26 18:46:03] AngelaCP: originality is what will set you apart
[2007.07.26 18:46:10] AngelaCP: The marketplace should have a wide selection of designs that’s unique.
[2007.07.26 18:46:17] AngelaCP: Brainstorm to come up with some designs, sayings, concepts... pull it together with designs so the design is one of a kind.
[2007.07.26 18:46:23] 1512blvd: anti- anything works well i today's pessimistic attitude
[2007.07.26 18:46:46] AngelaCP: Get your family, friends, get inspiration from things around you... emotions
[2007.07.26 18:47:20] 1512blvd: yeah, i see too many people trying to make their own versions of bestsellers
[2007.07.26 18:47:27] AngelaCP: correct -- please do not do this
[2007.07.26 18:47:46] BrittaCP: grab a magazine like the knot to see what's happening
[2007.07.26 18:47:58] AngelaCP: you guys are artists... get some ideas from within and be creative
[2007.07.26 18:48:51] AngelaCP: how many of you guy for originality?
[2007.07.26 18:48:54] AngelaCP: buy
[2007.07.26 18:48:57] AngelaCP: sorry, not guy ;)
[2007.07.26 18:49:09] Kip: fry?
[2007.07.26 18:49:20] BrittaCP: sure... or that
[2007.07.26 18:49:31] DafnaCP: from the brides perspective I can say that the thing about weddings is that everyone wants something special and unique, not the same thing all the other girls have :)
[2007.07.26 18:50:00] AngelaCP: well said Dafna... so be original
[2007.07.26 18:50:10] Renee: Wish I'd done the math correctly--I was thinking this chat would be at 7 pm eastern time.
[2007.07.26 18:50:35] BrittaCP: we'll have a transcript up, in a few days, for the parts you missed
[2007.07.26 18:50:39] AngelaCP: so the wedding campaign will start next week.....
[2007.07.26 18:50:48] AngelaCP: be sure to check out the portal on the marketplace.....
[2007.07.26 18:50:54] AngelaCP: does anyone have any questions?
[2007.07.26 18:51:17] AngelaCP: remember, this workshop is meant to get your creative juices flowing and to share the campaign we have launching next week....
[2007.07.26 18:51:29] Photo Girl has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.26 18:51:30] Renee: Cool...I just saw the part about being creative, and for some reason, I just go blank when it comes to wedding ideas.
[2007.07.26 18:51:42] AngelaCP: No questions?
[2007.07.26 18:52:13] AngelaCP: you guys are quiet today ;)
[2007.07.26 18:52:17] Kip: ... any word about CP Connect? :)
[2007.07.26 18:52:21] AngelaCP: We are still working on it
[2007.07.26 18:52:40] AngelaCP: we don't have a date yet but will definitely let you guys know when we learn more
[2007.07.26 18:52:44] Kip: You guys make it impossible for those of us who aren't close by!
[2007.07.26 18:52:44] emilym has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.26 18:52:56] Renee has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.26 18:52:58] 1512blvd: what is it?
[2007.07.26 18:53:16] BrittaCP: it's a user conference for shopkeepers, we had one last october
[2007.07.26 18:53:34] AngelaCP: Sorry Kip! We will give advance notice... so it's not like the date will be set for September ;) I hope you will come so we can finally meet. Will you have your pony?
[2007.07.26 18:53:37] Lekker Jen: When might we see some wedding specific products?
[2007.07.26 18:53:47] AngelaCP: That is something the team is looking into
[2007.07.26 18:54:04] AngelaCP: I believe it's still in the discovery phase...meaning early stages
[2007.07.26 18:54:14] Lekker Jen: frames, glassware, small favors/stickers?
[2007.07.26 18:54:22] AngelaCP: I'll pass those to the team Jen :)
[2007.07.26 18:54:33] RealSlogans: Will the next one be open to everyone?
[2007.07.26 18:54:36] 1512blvd: its in CA?
[2007.07.26 18:54:40] BrittaCP: yes, just like last year
[2007.07.26 18:54:41] AngelaCP: Yes
[2007.07.26 18:54:47] Kip: I will try to bring my pony!
[2007.07.26 18:54:53] AngelaCP: Yes!
[2007.07.26 18:54:55] AngelaCP: :)
[2007.07.26 18:54:55] BrittaCP: i will try to have hay available to feed it
[2007.07.26 18:55:12] altcanvas: We've done a bit of wedding work in RL, painted wedding candles, etc. and working our shop towards a wedding 'niche' would actually work really well for us.. any idea what the demand is like, off-season, for something like that?
[2007.07.26 18:55:29] AngelaCP: for real life?
[2007.07.26 18:55:35] AngelaCP: I don't know... anyone?
[2007.07.26 18:55:37] luluwedding: I am so glad I came to the chat today...I've been in a design rut for a long time now and you've offered so many new ideas...thanks!!!
[2007.07.26 18:55:48] DafnaCP: great!
[2007.07.26 18:56:21] altcanvas: I meant, demand in CP offseason?
[2007.07.26 18:56:33] RealSlogans: People plan weddings all year - even 2 yr before the wedding date
[2007.07.26 18:56:36] AngelaCP: We won't know until we start the wedding campaign
[2007.07.26 18:56:45] luluwedding: I have a couple wedding shops and there's a slowdown from October through December...then back to normal in January.
[2007.07.26 18:56:59] AngelaCP: but according to the chart I shared, there really isn't a down season for weddings
[2007.07.26 18:57:08] Kip: shot glasses (hasn't Jen mentioned this before?) would be awesome for weddings!
[2007.07.26 18:57:18] BrittaCP: Agreed
[2007.07.26 18:57:19] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.26 18:57:36] RealSlogans: Well Santa is better than a wedding
[2007.07.26 18:57:47] Lekker Jen: Cooler Beer Steins - Plastic maybe?
[2007.07.26 18:57:56] 1512blvd: my cousin just got shot glasses at her bridal party
[2007.07.26 18:58:05] AngelaCP: I'll definitely poke the team for you guys :)
[2007.07.26 18:58:18] AngelaCP: So that was it guys.....
[2007.07.26 18:58:35] AngelaCP: i hope this workshop inspired some creative, original ideas for you
[2007.07.26 18:58:39] Kip: This was the best chat in awhile, I think
[2007.07.26 18:58:44] AngelaCP: thanks Kip!
[2007.07.26 18:58:45] BrittaCP: yoou're welcome!
[2007.07.26 18:58:51] altcanvas: Great ideas!
[2007.07.26 18:58:59] Winter has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.26 18:59:10] Sag: Great chat, and thank you both!
[2007.07.26 18:59:11] AngelaCP: thank you everhone
[2007.07.26 18:59:33] DafnaCP: thanks everyone
[2007.07.26 18:59:35] AngelaCP: it's great to be able to share with you all what we have coming in the wedding campaign
[2007.07.26 18:59:35] BrittaCP: lobby is open for those who want to keep chating
[2007.07.26 18:59:38] Lekker Jen: Thanks Angela - Just the kick I needed! :)
[2007.07.26 18:59:39] luluwedding: thank you!

back to school chat log

[2007.07.18 17:49:57] Welcome to the CafePress Chat Room
[2007.07.18 17:49:57] SC has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
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[2007.07.18 17:58:59] BrittaCP: Hey gang. I just opened up the lobby if you would like to chat in there until 4
[2007.07.18 17:59:05] BrittaCP: sorry, I didn't realize it was closed
[2007.07.18 17:59:20] SC: thanks for opening the lobby
[2007.07.18 17:59:25] BrittaCP: No Prob!
[2007.07.18 17:59:29] BrittaCP: see you all at 4!
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[2007.07.18 19:01:47] AngelaCP: hi everyone
[2007.07.18 19:01:58] AngelaCP: i'll wait another minute while more people make their way here....
[2007.07.18 19:02:04] goatlady: hi
[2007.07.18 19:02:06] Matt has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
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[2007.07.18 19:02:18] BrittaCP: Hi everyone
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[2007.07.18 19:02:38] MrsEvilGenius: hey, Ang
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[2007.07.18 19:02:40] kaosnorway: hi
[2007.07.18 19:02:43] Matt: Hi
[2007.07.18 19:03:13] AngelaCP: Ready to get started?
[2007.07.18 19:03:18] BGryphon has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:03:25] Renee: My kids are really tired of hearing the words "back to school" already.
[2007.07.18 19:03:29] AngelaCP: I’m the Community Advocate, from the CafePress Community Team. Most of you already know me, for those that don’t you may find me on the forums, these chats, or on the monthly shopkeeper newsletter – ShopTalk.
[2007.07.18 19:03:42] AngelaCP: Before my gig as Community Advocate, I was an Account Manager working with corporate shops so I know a thing or two about prepping shops for Back-to-School.
[2007.07.18 19:04:00] AngelaCP: Plus, over the years I see all the wonderful things shopkeepers do for Back-to-School (B2S) and have seen what works and what doesn’t. I would love for you to share with everyone what has worked for you … or what didn’t work.
[2007.07.18 19:04:17] Rico has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:04:24] AngelaCP: So before we begin, this is a reminder that this chat is moderated
[2007.07.18 19:04:46] AngelaCP: your questions will go into a queue and will be displayed once answered or pushed out
[2007.07.18 19:05:04] AngelaCP: So, let's start... I want to go over statistics for Back-to-School shopping in the retail industry. You’ll see some lovely graphs pop up.
[2007.07.18 19:05:13] AngelaCP: Average B2S spending by demographic (source BIG Research, Consumer Intentions & Actions 2006):
[2007.07.18 19:05:36] kayecee has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:05:57] AngelaCP: sorry guys
[2007.07.18 19:05:59] AngelaCP: give me a minute
[2007.07.18 19:06:04] AngelaCP: i'm having issues uploading it
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[2007.07.18 19:07:32] AngelaCP sent a picture:
[2007.07.18 19:07:37] AngelaCP: sorry guys
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[2007.07.18 19:07:39] BrittaCP: YaY!
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[2007.07.18 19:08:12] AngelaCP: Average a consumer spends on B2S items in 2006 (source BIG Research, Consumer Intentions & Actions 2006):
[2007.07.18 19:08:21] AngelaCP sent a picture:
[2007.07.18 19:08:44] AngelaCP: Average consumer spending per category (source BIG Research, Consumer Intentions & Actions 2006):
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[2007.07.18 19:09:01] AngelaCP sent a picture:
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[2007.07.18 19:09:30] AngelaCP: When consumers plan to start shopping for B2S (source BIG Research, Consumer Intentions & Actions 2006):
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[2007.07.18 19:09:48] AngelaCP sent a picture:
[2007.07.18 19:09:58] AngelaCP: sorry the graphics are a bit small
[2007.07.18 19:10:01] AngelaCP: and for the wait....
[2007.07.18 19:10:07] chm has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:10:15] AngelaCP: I thought these statistics will help you get an idea of how big the B2S retail market.
[2007.07.18 19:10:25] AngelaCP: As you can see, clothing and accessories is what most people are purchasing for B2S.
[2007.07.18 19:10:40] AngelaCP: Most start shopping 3-4 weeks before school starts. Please note in third place is 2 months before school starts… and that’s why we’re here today. Now, let’s talk about getting your shop prepped for B2S to take advantage of everyone on the last pie chart :P
[2007.07.18 19:11:01] AngelaCP: Agenda:
Today’s B2S Workshop agenda is:
-- Shop Sections/Organization & Products
-- Shop Aesthetics
-- SEO/Keywords
-- CafePress B2S Campaign
-- Q&A
[2007.07.18 19:11:11] AngelaCP: wrong paste
[2007.07.18 19:11:25] kayecee: can you post these diagrams somewhere so that those of us with less-than-young eyes can study it later.... :-o
[2007.07.18 19:11:31] BrittaCP: they will be included in the transcript
[2007.07.18 19:11:36] AngelaCP: Agenda:
Today’s B2S Workshop agenda is:
-- Shop Sections/Organization & Products
-- Shop Aesthetics
-- SEO/Keywords
-- CafePress B2S Campaign
-- Q&A
[2007.07.18 19:12:14] AngelaCP: Shop Sections/Organization & Products
[2007.07.18 19:12:24] AngelaCP: As I go over a few ideas, please keep in mind how this translates to your shop. Some of these ideas may not work for your shop – it all depends on your shop niche/audience.
[2007.07.18 19:12:29] ninaPA: Give us the 'what doesn't work', so we don't waste time on it in our shops...
[2007.07.18 19:13:09] MrsEvilGenius: Lol, Nina
[2007.07.18 19:13:15] AngelaCP: So ninaPA, it all depends on your shop. Some of these ideas may help your shop but others may not quite work for the type of audience your shop may attract.
[2007.07.18 19:13:29] AngelaCP: A best practice to follow for any campaign is to figure out the audience you want to target. In this case, it’s obvious – your target audience is students.
[2007.07.18 19:13:55] AngelaCP: Look a little closer and you’ll see there are different types of students. You can do better job of targeting the right products and designs for each student type. Quality targeting equates to better conversion. We love higher conversions, right? :)
[2007.07.18 19:14:03] AngelaCP: Here are some the recommended categories for students:
[2007.07.18 19:14:13] AngelaCP: Pre-school/Elementary
Middle/High School
College
[2007.07.18 19:14:30] AngelaCP: These student groupings make most sense to merchandise around. Does anyone think another set of groups would work better for their shop vs the recommended one? If so, please share!
[2007.07.18 19:14:42] cancercrusader: When I click on the graphs, they open in a new window and are full-size (just in case you didn't know...?) for anybody having trouble seeing them.
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[2007.07.18 19:14:58] BrittaCP: Thanks for the ip cancercrusader
[2007.07.18 19:15:00] AngelaCP: Thanks CancerCrusader... referring to the graphs
[2007.07.18 19:15:18] ninaPA: How much are we targeting students, and how much are we targeting their parents who shop for them?
[2007.07.18 19:15:35] AngelaCP: Ah, we'll kind of touch upon that in the next section
[2007.07.18 19:15:41] AngelaCP: good question!
[2007.07.18 19:15:57] AngelaCP: For each student group, think about the merchandise and designs that’s right for that student group targeted. In this case, each student group may have similarities, but enough differences to market them separately. Here are some ideas:
[2007.07.18 19:16:11] AngelaCP: Pre-school/Elementary: Create a section that appeals to younger students.
[2007.07.18 19:16:21] AngelaCP: Choose designs that are appropriate for students that age – cartoon drawings, animals, insects, cute sayings, school topics such as math, reading, etc.
[2007.07.18 19:16:28] AngelaCP: Science is popular for kids this age – space, planets…
[2007.07.18 19:16:35] AngelaCP: If you think of any topics or themes for this student group, please toss them out!
[2007.07.18 19:16:47] flipk has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:16:50] AngelaCP: Be sure you do not have inappropriate designs such as adult humor, anything offensive, etc. Keep in mind, the buying audience for this group is parents… nothing will turn them off more than having inappropriate designs for kids items.
[2007.07.18 19:17:03] AngelaCP: Suggested product categories for the Pre-school/Elementary student group are:
[2007.07.18 19:17:13] AngelaCP: Apparel that fits kids that age: We have the Kid’s T-Shirt and Kid’s Sweatshirt
[2007.07.18 19:17:24] AngelaCP: School bag/folder accessories: Students this age have pencil boxes, school bags, lunch boxes, folders. Highlight Stickers, Mini-Buttons, and Buttons.
[2007.07.18 19:17:33] goatlady: What aobut teacher specific?
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[2007.07.18 19:18:07] AngelaCP: You can certainly add a section for teachers, but I'm not sure how well it does. Anyone?
[2007.07.18 19:18:19] AngelaCP: It's definitely unique and targeted so definitely give it a try!
[2007.07.18 19:18:27] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:18:29] Renee: Because I have two kids of school age, what's coming to mind most is the category of "anti back to school"--sort of like the anti-valentine's day.
[2007.07.18 19:18:34] AngelaCP: That's a great idea!
[2007.07.18 19:18:43] AngelaCP: Boo! Summer's over...
[2007.07.18 19:18:58] MrsEvilGenius: My oldest Evil genius Son is 5 and starts school this year - two words: SPACE and DINOSAURS!;)
[2007.07.18 19:19:00] AngelaCP: I think that's very creative and unique... where else can that be found? ;)
[2007.07.18 19:19:15] AngelaCP: Yes, that's very popular w/boys that age :D
[2007.07.18 19:19:23] cowpie: I've done pretty well with teacher shirts.
[2007.07.18 19:19:24] MrsEvilGenius: I can see that, Renee for older kids. The elementary kids seem to be gung-ho about school though
[2007.07.18 19:19:36] Renee: I would think teacher gifts would be a good category, closer to the holiday season
[2007.07.18 19:19:43] digimbalance: A teacher may want to buy bulk stickers to use as a "gold" star kind of idea.
[2007.07.18 19:19:50] Gandalf_Parker: an idea that is always worth mentioning is to put designs onto posters in the form of book covers
[2007.07.18 19:19:59] SC: i have sold 3 teacher designs over the last week
[2007.07.18 19:20:09] jimsz: I am working on a drawing right now of just that!
[2007.07.18 19:20:12] MrsEvilGenius: digi, that's a great idea!
[2007.07.18 19:20:12] AngelaCP: Well, there you have it... maybe a teacher's design is worth doing...
[2007.07.18 19:20:21] AngelaCP: Does anyone have anything they want to add before we move on to the next student group?
[2007.07.18 19:20:50] Renee: My kids are 11 and 14, although the oldest was anti school since he was little. On the topic of planets, I did some "save pluto" designs that might be able to get new life now
[2007.07.18 19:20:55] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:21:05] AngelaCP: Great! well, we're moving on to that age bracket now...
[2007.07.18 19:21:15] AngelaCP: Middle/High School:
[2007.07.18 19:21:29] AngelaCP: This is the fashion conscious group of the bunch. Students in this group are looking to fit in – look cool. They will be looking for trendier, edgier designs – cool statements.
[2007.07.18 19:21:41] AngelaCP: Let me toss out some ideas for topics/designs for this group
[2007.07.18 19:21:48] AngelaCP: band, team sport, cheerleading, football, jock, clubs (chess club, honor roll, detention babe), team spirit, cliques (queen bee, mean girl, nice girl, class president), home coming, prom, Class of 2008
[2007.07.18 19:22:01] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:22:08] SC: sarcastic - attitude - princess
[2007.07.18 19:22:17] AngelaCP: Okay, detention isn’t a club, but wouldn’t a Detention Babe text with a cute design look cute? Maybe under the text is a drawing of an angelic girl…
[2007.07.18 19:22:28] AngelaCP: Yes SC
[2007.07.18 19:22:35] AngelaCP: High School Students are proud of their year so offer designs with Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Seniors on it.
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[2007.07.18 19:22:46] AngelaCP: There’s so much you can do for this group for designs…
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[2007.07.18 19:23:07] AngelaCP: Suggested product categories for the Middle/High School student group are:
[2007.07.18 19:23:23] AngelaCP: Apparel: Junior line for girls, Ringer T-shirt, Fitted T’s, Colored T-shirts, and Sweatshirts
[2007.07.18 19:23:30] AngelaCP: Locker accessories: Magnets, Mini-Posters, One-Page Calendar, Stickers
[2007.07.18 19:23:35] AngelaCP: On-the-go: Caps, Messenger Bags, Mini-Buttons, Journals
[2007.07.18 19:23:40] AngelaCP: Anything else I’m forgetting?
[2007.07.18 19:23:40] Renee: I've been trying to think of some science and math designs for girls. Seem to be drawing a blank, though
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[2007.07.18 19:23:41] John: Class of 2008 (Hopefully) lol
[2007.07.18 19:23:49] Gandalf_Parker: teachers tend to like mugs so be sure to include them in teacher-type designs
[2007.07.18 19:24:16] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:24:20] SC: renee - try things like "not just for boys anymore"
[2007.07.18 19:24:29] AngelaCP: Great ideas
[2007.07.18 19:24:42] AngelaCP: Moving on to the next student group…
[2007.07.18 19:24:48] AngelaCP: College:
[2007.07.18 19:25:00] AngelaCP: It’s all about self-expression with this group. Politics, pop culture, and college humor are just a few of their favorite topics. Create designs around these topics. Other ideas:
[2007.07.18 19:25:16] AngelaCP: "Major" pride – college students take pride in the subjects they’re studying for such as Art, Business, Computer Science, Marketing, Design, etc.
[2007.07.18 19:25:29] AngelaCP: Those who went to college knows what I'm talking about ;)
[2007.07.18 19:25:34] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:25:35] AngelaCP: Geek pride – sorority, fraternity, rush week – it’s the social scene in college
[2007.07.18 19:25:44] John: Major: Unknown
[2007.07.18 19:25:55] AngelaCP: Ha, yes!
[2007.07.18 19:26:01] AngelaCP: Not all about geek? Well – then lots of politics and college humor will do the trick.
[2007.07.18 19:26:16] SC: college is usually in mid to late september - when thier loans come in - and thier parents are not there to stop them from using thier "emergency only" credit cards
[2007.07.18 19:26:27] Renee: Major: Student Union
[2007.07.18 19:26:29] AngelaCP: Thanks SC! Toss out more ideas to share with everyone!
[2007.07.18 19:26:33] AngelaCP: Yes
[2007.07.18 19:26:38] AngelaCP: Major: Party
[2007.07.18 19:26:44] John: Minor: Sleep
[2007.07.18 19:26:50] MrsEvilGenius: You mean gReek, Ang?
[2007.07.18 19:26:55] AngelaCP: Yes
[2007.07.18 19:26:56] AngelaCP: :D
[2007.07.18 19:27:00] AngelaCP: good catch
[2007.07.18 19:27:15] AngelaCP: Suggested product categories for the college student group are:
[2007.07.18 19:27:16] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:27:21] AngelaCP: Apparel: Any apparel will work, but focus MORE on DESIGN and color
[2007.07.18 19:27:30] AngelaCP: Dorm room accessories: Wall Clocks, Throw Pillows, Posters, Mousepads, Framed Prints, Magnets
[2007.07.18 19:27:39] AngelaCP: On-the-go: Caps, Messenger Bags, Mini-Buttons, Bumper Stickers, Journals
[2007.07.18 19:27:48] SC: partying - drinking - missing home - glad to be out - team sports - school pride
[2007.07.18 19:28:07] goatlady: color: what is this years trend in color?
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[2007.07.18 19:28:18] AngelaCP: Does anyone know? I'm not sure
[2007.07.18 19:28:31] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:28:46] SC: i think it is pink orange & green
[2007.07.18 19:28:49] ididitdesigns: brown and pink are huge with my college age girls
[2007.07.18 19:29:15] cancercrusader has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.18 19:29:24] Kate@LittleLizzyLou: http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/content/color_trends.html
[2007.07.18 19:29:25] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:29:31] BrittaCP: excellent, thanks!
[2007.07.18 19:29:39] MrsEvilGenius: I see a lot of monochrome - black, grey, white around here on the boys - pirate designs are big here
[2007.07.18 19:29:45] goatlady: Thanx
[2007.07.18 19:29:57] Renee: I'm utterly out of the loop about pop culture. Any quick ideas on what is in with the college age kids
[2007.07.18 19:30:08] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:30:14] SC: boys are still into a lot of the retro 70's style -
[2007.07.18 19:30:37] AngelaCP: thank you to everyone for sharing!
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[2007.07.18 19:30:41] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:30:52] AngelaCP: Let’s move on to the next topic. You have your student groups organized in sections…. now how should it look on your shop
[2007.07.18 19:31:01] AngelaCP: Shop Aesthetics
[2007.07.18 19:31:13] AngelaCP: Dedicate the top half or top third of your shop for B2S. Or get creative and use the right portion of your shop. The point is to find a spot on your shop to promote B2S so your customers can get into the mood of B2S shopping and to see your merchandise selection.
[2007.07.18 19:31:37] AngelaCP: Start with a banner on your shop. If your shop is ready for B2S next week, get your customers to start thinking about school in July. It’s not too early! In the offline world, it’s the same. They probably have B2S out now, or in the next week or so. Halloween in August, Christmas in October.
[2007.07.18 19:31:38] dooni has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:31:48] AngelaCP: Prominently display the 3 student groups and your best merchandise. Do this with photos and product collages for each group so customers can visualize what have and pique their interest to click into the sections. Get them to want more and see what’s on the “other side”…
[2007.07.18 19:32:04] AngelaCP: Feature students wearing apparel, carrying messenger bags, using a journal… to name a few. Show lockers decorated with your stickers, magnets, and poster print… Messenger bags and bags decorated with mini-buttons.
[2007.07.18 19:32:15] AngelaCP: If you plan to subcategorize on the section level, do the same. Your shop is a marketing vehicle to promote your merchandise - the more you display it and show customers what you have, the more likely they will buy more from you.
[2007.07.18 19:32:25] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:32:39] AngelaCP: In general, think about navigation and be sure you use the space well. Be sure it’s not so confusing that your customer will not know what to do next. Think like a customer.
[2007.07.18 19:32:41] kayecee has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:32:50] AngelaCP: Does anyone have anything they want to share about Shop Aesthetics before moving on to SEO?
[2007.07.18 19:33:08] SC: i am planning a rotating banner for the top http://www.htmlbasix.com/banner.shtml is great for making a simple rotator
[2007.07.18 19:33:30] Matt: Any ideas for offline B2S marketing?
[2007.07.18 19:33:34] skully has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:33:36] BrittaCP: drop some cards in the libarary
[2007.07.18 19:33:46] AngelaCP: Moving on.... SEO/Keywords
[2007.07.18 19:33:48] BrittaCP: on on student bulletin boards on a campus
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[2007.07.18 19:34:06] AngelaCP: Fliers
[2007.07.18 19:34:27] AngelaCP: offline marketing for B2S is probably easier for the older audience
[2007.07.18 19:34:28] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:34:30] Proud Poppa has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:34:35] BrittaCP: write sick notes for the teacher on the back of a flier
[2007.07.18 19:34:41] BrittaCP: send your kid to school with it
[2007.07.18 19:34:43] BrittaCP: ha!
[2007.07.18 19:34:48] AngelaCP: LOL
[2007.07.18 19:34:55] SC: i am having my website printed on 1000 pencils and giving to my mom to give tot he teachers in her school to give out the first day of classes:-d
[2007.07.18 19:35:05] AngelaCP: Oh, in goodie bags :D
[2007.07.18 19:35:22] MaxMuhlin has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:35:24] AngelaCP: kids give out goodie bags or get them
[2007.07.18 19:35:31] AngelaCP: make one with pencils to give out
[2007.07.18 19:35:34] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:35:37] AngelaCP: if they allow it....
[2007.07.18 19:35:48] AngelaCP: okay, let's move on to SEO
[2007.07.18 19:35:50] AngelaCP: Help B2S shoppers find your shop by using keywords to set up search engine optimization.
[2007.07.18 19:35:59] AngelaCP: Most of you already know about the importance of optimizing your shop for search engines …
[2007.07.18 19:36:09] AngelaCP: Things to think about: 1. Start Early, 2 Use the Right Keywords, and 3. Optimize Your Shop with the Right Keywords
[2007.07.18 19:36:16] AngelaCP: When
[2007.07.18 19:36:22] AngelaCP: How early should you start? Everyone has a different opinion on when… The recommendation is to start at least a month before so search engines such as Google can get your shop pages indexed for search. If you can do it earlier, great!
[2007.07.18 19:36:46] Renee: Where do you get pencils printed?
[2007.07.18 19:36:51] AngelaCP: SC
[2007.07.18 19:37:00] AngelaCP: Right Keywords
[2007.07.18 19:37:06] AngelaCP: So we know to start early, but what to do from here?
[2007.07.18 19:37:15] AngelaCP: Start by coming up with keywords customers will use to find your shop. Before you start prepping your shop, start by thinking of all the topics and themes you want to cover and list them out.
[2007.07.18 19:37:29] AngelaCP: Obvious keywords are: back-to-school, school -- apparel, t-shirts, clothes, bags
[2007.07.18 19:37:35] Photo Girl: There have been a lot of searches for "book bags" already
[2007.07.18 19:37:39] AngelaCP: School bags, posters, school supplies, dorm room, book bag
[2007.07.18 19:37:48] 1512blvd has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:37:56] AngelaCP: Think of the keywords that are right for your shop. THINK LIKE A CUSTOMER. What keywords would you use on search to come up with stuff you want to see? Back to school, school clothes, school shirts?
[2007.07.18 19:38:12] AngelaCP: Even though you would want to focus on the obvious keywords, I encourage you to use other keywords related to B2S such as school subjects (math, spelling, etc) and the other topics we talked about earlier.
[2007.07.18 19:38:40] chm has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.18 19:38:40] John: Do I put the keywords in my item descriptions too?
[2007.07.18 19:38:43] BrittaCP: yes
[2007.07.18 19:38:48] CYIdo: Google Trends is really helpful for picking keywords.
[2007.07.18 19:38:51] chm has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:38:51] Karen: I get pencils at inkhead.com
[2007.07.18 19:38:54] AngelaCP: If you simply optimize your shop for back to school only... you will get a lot of competition
[2007.07.18 19:38:56] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 19:39:21] Renee: Thanks, Karen
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[2007.07.18 19:39:40] Kate@LittleLizzyLou: Are we ever going to be able to add more than 20 tags? It's so hard to narrow it down, and I feel like I leave off important tags.
[2007.07.18 19:40:23] AngelaCP: I don't have the answer to that, but I would almost recommend not using all 20 tags. My rule of thumb is to list the top 5-10 keywords for your design
[2007.07.18 19:40:39] FJS has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:40:43] AngelaCP: anything more is probably too broad... in my opinions
[2007.07.18 19:40:53] Karen: I think more than 20 tags will just make the tag spam worse
[2007.07.18 19:41:04] Kate@LittleLizzyLou: Oh wow! Ok, thanks Angela!
[2007.07.18 19:41:32] AngelaCP: agreed! I believe less would force someone to pick the best 5... if that is the case we won't find too many random tags... but that is my belief
[2007.07.18 19:41:47] FJS: I missed the first 40 minutes, will someone be posting the chat log, please?
[2007.07.18 19:42:00] BrittaCP: it will be posted later
[2007.07.18 19:42:12] 1512blvd: How does that make sense?
[2007.07.18 19:42:14] Proud Poppa: why's that?
[2007.07.18 19:42:15] goatlady: why
[2007.07.18 19:42:26] AngelaCP: see my previous answer... and again, that is my personal opinion
[2007.07.18 19:42:27] cowpie has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:42:34] AngelaCP: I agree with Karen ;)
[2007.07.18 19:42:44] ninaPA: When is it appropriate to use back-to-school as a tag? Does that ever make sense for most designs?
[2007.07.18 19:43:22] AngelaCP: I *think* it definitely appropriate if the design is school related - subject like math, reference to school
[2007.07.18 19:43:36] AngelaCP: in general, any thing can be bought for back to school
[2007.07.18 19:43:54] AngelaCP: when you search for back to school, as a consumer what would like expect to come up...
[2007.07.18 19:43:56] AngelaCP: ?
[2007.07.18 19:44:21] AngelaCP: Moving on....
[2007.07.18 19:44:22] AngelaCP: Optimize Your Shop
[2007.07.18 19:44:27] AngelaCP: Now that you have all the keywords, be sure to put them everywhere on your shop and B2S sections. On the B2S section of your storefront, write an intro and work your keywords in.
[2007.07.18 19:44:35] AngelaCP: Get as much of your keywords on to the pages of your B2S sections of your shop.
[2007.07.18 19:44:40] AngelaCP: Use keywords on your links. School Clothes, Locker & School Bag Accessories, Too Cool for School T-shirts
[2007.07.18 19:44:46] AngelaCP: Title your products. School is Cool T-Shirt, Math isn’t for Nerds Jr Jersey
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[2007.07.18 19:45:27] AngelaCP: If you have time, add product descriptions too. If you can only do one, go ahead and focus on the Product Title since that link shows up on the section level and product page level.
[2007.07.18 19:45:32] AngelaCP: On your images, use keywords on “alt tags”. Alt tags are indexed on search engines.
[2007.07.18 19:45:37] AngelaCP: For those who are not familiar with alt tags, it’s the copy/text that shows up when you mouse over an image. Here’s an example:
[2007.07.18 19:45:43] kayecee has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.18 19:45:49] AngelaCP sent a picture:
[2007.07.18 19:46:00] AngelaCP: excuse my drawing ;)
[2007.07.18 19:46:01] BrittaCP: nice
[2007.07.18 19:46:10] AngelaCP: LOL
[2007.07.18 19:46:16] AngelaCP: You will need to code the alt tags in for images used on your shop front or any in sections that’s not uploaded in the Product Designer. The code would look something like this:
[2007.07.18 19:46:24] mkar has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 19:46:25] BrittaCP: That says "Alt Tag" BTW
[2007.07.18 19:46:25] AngelaCP:

there may be a small section fo chat missing here i was booted from chat momentarily (also times do not line up)

[2007.07.18 16:48:14] Welcome to the CafePress Chat Room
[2007.07.18 16:48:14] mark has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.18 16:48:15] All users in this room have been allowed to talk
[2007.07.18 16:48:18] AngelaCP: okay everyone
[2007.07.18 16:48:23] AngelaCP: sorry, i have to move on
[2007.07.18 16:48:25] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 16:48:30] AngelaCP: so quickly, i'll post the last sectoin
[2007.07.18 16:48:38] AngelaCP: CP B2S Campaign

Very quickly, I'll cover some of the things we're doing at CafePress
for B2S. As you may have already seen, the B2S portal is up. We have
the categories and subcategeories listed. If you have designs that
will fit in any of the categories, be sure to tag your images with
that category.
[2007.07.18 16:48:52] AngelaCP: Most of you already know how to view
the tags we're using to pull up the search results.
[2007.07.18 16:48:58] AngelaCP: The B2S portal is on the marketplace
[2007.07.18 16:49:03] AngelaCP: Just a reminder… Please DO NOT TAG
your images with all the Tags we're using on our B2S campaign just to
get your designs to come up if your designs are NOT RELEVANT. This is
called Tag Spamming.
[2007.07.18 16:49:08] AngelaCP: Tag SPAMMING hurts the Community
(other Shopkeepers – YOUR peers!), the shopping experience
(customers), and ultimately you (Tag Spamming is against the TOS).
[2007.07.18 16:49:14] AngelaCP: If you want your designs to show up
for all the categories, be sure to create designs for the appropriate
categories and Tag as such.
[2007.07.18 16:49:19] AngelaCP: Some Shopkeepers may tag all their
images back to school, but please only do this if your image is
related to a back to school topic. It's more beneficial to Tag your
image by the topic if your design isn't really back to school.
[2007.07.18 16:49:25] AngelaCP: Our B2S campaign started 2 weeks ago
and will remain until mid September. Back to the pie chart we saw
earlier, there's still a small percentage of shoppers that buy for
school after the school starts.
[2007.07.18 16:49:36] AngelaCP: Also, for colleges – some start late
September. On your shop, you can scale back after the first week of
September if you feel B2S might date your shop.
[2007.07.18 16:49:43] AngelaCP: We'll be sending out buyer newsletters
that will take customers to the B2S portal.
[2007.07.18 16:49:49] AngelaCP: We've done some PR around back to
school to get the word out to shop for B2S at CafePress.
[2007.07.18 16:49:52] Message sent to moderator(s)
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Room"
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[2007.07.18 16:50:14] goatlady: Most of you already know how to view
the tags we're using to pull up the search results.
[2007.07.18 16:50:17] AngelaCP: Yes.
[2007.07.18 16:50:27] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.18 16:50:35] AngelaCP: So everyone, i apologize for having to
make this short...
[2007.07.18 16:50:39] mark: i have around a hundred different topic,
but some similar designs i made last week. How do i upload them
[2007.07.18 16:50:54] AngelaCP: i forgot to mention earlier that i
have to cut this workshop short by 10 minutes
[2007.07.18 16:50:55] BrittaCP: stick around after the chat... one of
the Shopkeepers here will be able to help you in the lobby
[2007.07.18 16:51:09] AngelaCP: what i'll do is grab all the
unanswered questions, and post them in the Community Forums
[2007.07.18 16:51:37] AngelaCP: in addition, I'll summarize this
Workshop with top points and get a discussion going with everyone
[2007.07.18 16:51:46] Rico: when will this transscript be posted?
[2007.07.18 16:51:53] BrittaCP: hoefully by friday
[2007.07.18 16:52:02] BrittaCP: *hopefully... or sooner
[2007.07.18 16:52:06] Rico: thank you:)
[2007.07.18 16:52:23] AngelaCP: Thank you everyone for attending
[2007.07.18 16:52:39] Photo Girl has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.18 16:52:40] BrittaCP: The lobby will be opening in just a
minute
[2007.07.18 16:52:42] AngelaCP: my apologies for not sticking around
for the questions...
[2007.07.18 16:52:50] AngelaCP: i'll chat with you on the forum :)
[2007.07.18 16:52:56] cowpie: I don't know about anyone else, but this
chat has been very helpful to me. Thanks Ang and Britta!
[2007.07.18 16:53:01] AngelaCP: glad to hear that!
[2007.07.18 16:53:08] Rico has left the room (logged out)
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[2007.07.18 16:53:10] AngelaCP: this will not be the end of it
[2007.07.18 16:53:14] AngelaCP: i'll see you online :)
[2007.07.18 16:53:24] AngelaCP: bye everyone ;)
[2007.07.18 16:53:26] AngelaCP has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.18 16:53:26] wilderside: hello
[2007.07.18 16:53:26] Karen: Hi
[2007.07.18 16:53:26] cowpie: Hi!
[2007.07.18 16:53:27] Rico: Good evening everyone:)
[2007.07.18 16:53:27] MrsEvilGenius: ohhhh, cool ...
[2007.07.18 16:53:27] Renee: If I send these image links to my
husband (who operates the store with me), should they work for him?
[2007.07.18 16:53:27] Renee: When I click on the image, they open full
size in another windwo
[2007.07.18 16:53:27] cowpie: Anybody have a magnifying glass?...lol
[2007.07.18 16:53:27] Karen: Schools here start in Sept. Some start in
August in other parts of the country. How early in August? Any input
on that?
[2007.07.18 16:53:27] cowpie: good idea...
[2007.07.18 16:53:27] goatlady: OR is it the parents of students?
[2007.07.18 16:53:27] John: Just students? Not students and parents?
[2007.07.18 16:53:27] MrsEvilGenius: wait ... and teachers, too, right?
Or no?
[2007.07.18 16:53:28] wilderside: where is a good place to advertise
during back to school season?
[2007.07.18 16:53:28] MrsEvilGenius: I sell my teacher stuff well all
year 'round
[2007.07.18 16:53:28] Gandalf_Parker: tile boxes as "locker
organizer", small calendar pitched as "locker size"
[2007.07.18 16:53:28] SC: mine are anti- no-child-left-behind - so
theya re being bought by teachers - not as gifts....my mom works in a
school and her and her friends buy them to wear while setting up for
classes LOL
[2007.07.18 16:53:28] MrsEvilGenius: My Evil Genius Husband is a
teacher (middle school) and Kayecee (where are ye girl?) is a teacher.
What do you say Kayecee? I'd ask EGH but he's feedin; goats;)
[2007.07.18 16:53:28] cancercrusader: Well, depends on what type of
math Renee...but we used to always draw Se^xy (the integral sign and
then e to the xy...if that makes any sense?) on the board in Calculus.
[2007.07.18 16:53:28] Karen: mine goes back to college mid Aug
[2007.07.18 16:53:28] MrsEvilGenius: I thought I was going nuts ...
not the first time, LOL!
[2007.07.18 16:53:28] cafepress24: i personally think that blue is
really in
[2007.07.18 16:53:28] SC: purple/lavender is always hot with college
girls
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] SC: bubble letters oulined in think outline
beige/brown or yellow/orange combos
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] Renee: Pirates :-D *Every* design seems to have
a pirate tie-in.My husband can't believe that people want to buy
designs with our daughter's cat "wearing" an eye patch and pirate hat!
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] cafepress24: tv commercials are really in
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] SC: she works in a high school 90% of her kids
show up without a pencil the 1st day LOL
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] SC: http://www.orientaltrading.com - go to
teacher then to more pencils
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] goatlady: what about possible typos or
misspellings and the such?
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] dooni: i have a ? about tags... do categorizing
still matter?
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] FJS: Thank you
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] cowpie: clothes and school supplies
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] goatlady: what is the percentage of actual back
to school related sayings vs non school related for B2S sales?
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] CYIdo: I like how the back to school portal has
sections to click for elementary, middle school, etc. However, all of
these sections take you to the same designs (just tagged as back to
school). Is it possible to get these age group links to be more
appropriately directed?
[2007.07.18 16:53:29] John: The last alt tag image is covering the
last 5-6 lines of chat
[2007.07.18 16:53:30] mark: Hello everyone
[2007.07.18 16:53:30] mark: Hello Moderator? ? can u read my messages?
[2007.07.18 16:53:30] goatlady: ?? I dont
[2007.07.18 16:53:30] goatlady: click the transcript button and copy
it- looks like a folder paper between the photo and paintbrush
[2007.07.18 16:53:30] Karen: Thanks for the chat
[2007.07.18 16:53:30] chm: Thank you, Angela and Britta. : )
[2007.07.18 16:53:30] SC: thanks chat was informative!!
[2007.07.18 16:53:30] SC: see everyone int he lobby!!
[2007.07.18 16:53:30] FJS: BGryphon are you going to post the chat?
[2007.07.18 16:53:30] cowpie: Bye and thanks!
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7/11/07 executive chat

[2007.07.11 19:07:55] Welcome to the CafePress Chat Room
[2007.07.11 19:07:55] me has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 19:07:55] All users in this room have been allowed to talk
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[2007.07.11 19:56:27] bearabull7: Hello!
[2007.07.11 19:56:27] bearabull7: why can't I see anyone talking?
[2007.07.11 19:56:27] bearabull7: I see all users in this room have been allowed to talk, however, when I send a message all I see is Message sent to moderator(s). Do I not get to see if anyone else is talking?
[2007.07.11 19:56:27] bearabull7: or does this not work until 7pm central (5pm pacific) time?
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[2007.07.11 19:59:10] AngelaCP: Hi everyone -- we'll be ready in a few minutes
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[2007.07.11 20:01:24] 52tease: can't we call this the e-executive board room or something?
[2007.07.11 20:01:27] AngelaCP: we can
[2007.07.11 20:01:27] AngelaCP: :D
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[2007.07.11 20:01:31] jean / rotemgear: drinks, anyone?
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[2007.07.11 20:03:37] AngelaCP: Just a few more minutes everyone
[2007.07.11 20:03:47] bearabull7: I've never been to one of these executive chats. What is the topic?
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[2007.07.11 20:03:53] AngelaCP: This is the executive chat.
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[2007.07.11 20:05:38] foxvox: The topic is usually an outline of items that the executives at CP want to share with us, often what's ahead for us, changes, etc. We shall see!
[2007.07.11 20:05:45] BrittaCP: Ang is having log in info
[2007.07.11 20:05:51] AngelaCP has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:05:56] BrittaCP: She'll be ready in just a minute.... sorry for the delay
[2007.07.11 20:06:07] BrittaCP: oh lookie, there she is
[2007.07.11 20:06:15] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.11 20:06:38] AngelaCP: Hi everyone
[2007.07.11 20:06:43] me: LOL looks like ang is stuck in a revolving door - we should glue her to the chair
[2007.07.11 20:06:46] foxvox: :-o
[2007.07.11 20:06:59] AngelaCP: Thank you for attending this evening’s chat. This is the Executive Chat for Q3. For those who have attended previous exec chats, you know the drill.
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[2007.07.11 20:07:16] AngelaCP: For anyone new, we start off with an overview of what we’ve done for 2007 to date and a sneak peek on what we have on the horizon.
[2007.07.11 20:07:21] BrittaCP has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
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[2007.07.11 20:07:37] AngelaCP: After that, we jump into a Q&A session. It’s your opportunity to ask your questions to the higher ups at CafePress.
[2007.07.11 20:07:52] CindyCP has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:07:53] AngelaCP: With us today, we have the all star team… Fred - CafePress Founder & CEO, Maheesh - CafePress Founder & VP of Business Development, and Jill - Chief Marketing Officer
[2007.07.11 20:07:56] jillkk has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:08:13] AngelaCP: Most of you already know who I am. But for those who don’t, I’m Angela your community advocate, and along with the other half of the community team, Britta, we’re the moderators of this chat.
[2007.07.11 20:08:20] BrittaCP: Hello there!
[2007.07.11 20:08:23] AngelaCP: Just a few things to mention before we start.
[2007.07.11 20:08:37] AngelaCP: This is a moderated chat, and that means the questions you type in will go into a queue to be answered. Your question will show up in the chat display once it’s been answered.
[2007.07.11 20:08:45] AngelaCP: Please keep in mind, this chat is only one hour long.
[2007.07.11 20:08:57] AngelaCP: We’ll do our best to answer as many questions possible. If a question or similar question has already been answered, we may skip it to make room for other questions.
[2007.07.11 20:09:10] Liberty Maniacs has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:09:12] AngelaCP: There may be questions that we are unable to answer for various reasons,
[2007.07.11 20:09:22] AngelaCP: For instance, we often need to maintain competitive advantage and not disclose proprietary information, sometimes projects are not fully scoped out and as a result we don’t have all the details ironed out, etc
[2007.07.11 20:09:34] AngelaCP: Also, please keep your questions related to CP plans for 2007.
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[2007.07.11 20:09:45] AngelaCP: Okay, enough of me talking… we’ll get this started. Passing the baton to Fred…
[2007.07.11 20:10:01] FredCP: Hey guys.
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[2007.07.11 20:10:21] FredCP: sorry evil genius, didn;t mean to scare you off!
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[2007.07.11 20:10:40] Sag: Wow, so many cool people (CP) are here!
[2007.07.11 20:10:40] MaheeshCP: i'll represent evil
[2007.07.11 20:10:41] FredCP: So you have the exec staff on the hook tonight.
I don't know that there's a theme, more of a touch-point along the road. This year is a year of focus and working on things that support the core of the business here at CafePress.
[2007.07.11 20:10:59] AngelaCP has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
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[2007.07.11 20:11:11] FredCP: That means more basic merchandise and colors. Server infrastructure and responsiveness.
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[2007.07.11 20:11:28] FredCP: It means reducing complexity on things that are not as important or as big as other things, like outsourcing the affiliate program, which, while it was big to a few, is like, low single digits to the revenue of the over all business.
It means killing a few under-performing products (like stamps).
[2007.07.11 20:11:32] zainabi has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:11:43] FredCP: All in all, the theme here is to direct more resources away from things that are marginal, and towards things that have more impact.
[2007.07.11 20:12:03] FredCP: Mehdi cannot join us tonight, so I’ll speak for him (poor bloke, that should teach him not to show up for a chat!)… As mentioned, back-end server infrastructure has been the primary focus this year, ramping up for the holiday season.
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[2007.07.11 20:12:27] FredCP: This includes laying in redundant systems, geo-diverse server locations, etc. And this morning we had a nearly 2 hour hole when a cisco device upstream from us failed – a perfect illustration of why the ongoing infrastructure work is going to prevent this type of thing from happening again in the future, and why we’re doing less front end stuff and more back end (for now).
[2007.07.11 20:12:40] FredCP: It's not all glamorous stuff... but it’s the right stuff to build a better business for all CafePresser's.
[2007.07.11 20:12:48] FredCP: As always, there are a million things we could do, and only a few we actually *can* do, and while we're a long ways from where we were in 2000, there's clearly a long an interesting road still in front of us all.
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[2007.07.11 20:12:59] FredCP: Next, here's Jill:
[2007.07.11 20:13:12] JillCP: Thanks Fred
[2007.07.11 20:13:21] JillCP: Hi Everyone!
[2007.07.11 20:13:30] Liberty Maniacs: Hi
[2007.07.11 20:13:41] JillCP: I can’t believe we’re in July already. Wow, the year is flying by!
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[2007.07.11 20:13:57] JillCP: Let’s start by looking at some of the more significant things we’ve done so far in 2007…
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[2007.07.11 20:14:49] JillCP: We said this would be the year of Merchandise, so...Merchandise additions – we have successfully released four separate merchandise launches. This brought about 9 new products for you to date to offer in your stores plus a few upgrades to existing products
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[2007.07.11 20:15:20] JillCP: Concerning product upgrades…We just reviewed our Q1 quality scores for products and every product we have upgraded saw increases in customer satisfaction. This is great because it can result in repeat customers for you.
[2007.07.11 20:15:38] Liberty Maniacs: they were nice new products too, just what I was hoping for!
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[2007.07.11 20:16:01] JillCP: Value T-Shirt distribution change – we will be making changes in the distribution method for this product – it will now be available only in your individual shops and no longer sold in the Marketplace.
[2007.07.11 20:16:14] Kippy has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:16:39] JillCP: This was supposed to launch this week – we’re a bit behind as we work through a few more details. We’re committed to launching things properly, so if our time line slips a bit – we’re OK with that but do expect this change to occur in July. Our preference is for smooth releases and minimal to no Shopkeeper or customer impact.
[2007.07.11 20:17:16] JillCP: The Value T is being removed from the Marketplace for a few reasons, primarily a desire to move toward higher quality products. We have received customer feedback that the quality of the merchandise available in the Marketplace directly impacts the perception of all products available through CafePress. This quality association impacts customer satisfaction and repeat customers.
[2007.07.11 20:17:36] chm has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:17:52] JillCP: Therefore this change is intended to allow those Shopkeepers that have special needs to carry the product to continue to do so in their stores. The same products however will not be available in the Marketplace.
[2007.07.11 20:18:27] JillCP: We also launched the CafePress Voice Program. We wanted to find a way to talk to a group of Shopkeepers about what we do, why we do it, and look for thoughts and solicit feedback; this led us to the CP Voice program.
[2007.07.11 20:19:08] AngelaCP has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.11 20:19:10] JillCP: You helped us to elect 15 SK’s who are in essence representing the community. When we make a decision, or are thinking about something we want to implement we talk to this group of people. Sometimes we want help evaluating decisions and solutions, sometimes decisions are already made and we need additional feedback. So far, this group has been amazingly helpful with many projects.
[2007.07.11 20:19:13] AngelaCP has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
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[2007.07.11 20:20:08] JillCP: As you know were growing fast, actually, there’s over a million SK’s and only a handful of us. This program has made it possible for us to hear from the masses and filter valuable feedback and input to the right people.
[2007.07.11 20:20:44] Liberty Maniacs: That was a good idea, it will be interesting to see how their input moves things
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[2007.07.11 20:21:17] JillCP: There are monthly meetings scheduled and the agenda for the upcoming sessions include their participation in the evaluation of features and solutions to address concerns.
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[2007.07.11 20:22:16] JillCP: The Affiliate Program was migrated to a third-party platform. Initially we heard some dissatisfaction from SK’s about this decision.
[2007.07.11 20:22:47] JillCP: It is always hard for us to hear that changes we make may not be popular. We wish we could make every Shopkeeper happy.
[2007.07.11 20:23:10] cancercrusader has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:23:23] JillCP: We realize that although that may be unrealistic we can make the Community of Shopkeepers happy by focusing on the goal of increasing the commissions paid.
[2007.07.11 20:23:43] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.11 20:24:17] Liberty Maniacs: sweet!
[2007.07.11 20:24:33] JillCP: One way to do this is to drive new traffic into the Marketplace. That is the goal of this new program. Although we only have the first 30 days under our belt, we can report that the first month delivered 11% more traffic than we planned.
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[2007.07.11 20:24:59] JillCP: We also held a two day Shopkeeper Sale last month.
[2007.07.11 20:25:22] FredCP: hurry up jill... :)
[2007.07.11 20:25:32] JillCP: We hear you love those!
[2007.07.11 20:25:44] JillCP: OK..OK...I am almost done
[2007.07.11 20:25:58] JillCP: So, that’s the big picture of what we’ve done so far – here’s what we have planned for the rest of the year…
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[2007.07.11 20:26:15] JillCP: One important note - all of these changes are scheduled to happen before the busy holiday season. There are a couple of additional efforts underway to protect and maximize your Holiday business. Once we have more details to share we will let you know.
[2007.07.11 20:26:44] JillCP: We want as little disruption to the site as possible once we get to October, so expect to hear more about the following shortly.
[2007.07.11 20:26:57] JillCP: More new products and additional product upgrades
[2007.07.11 20:27:12] JillCP: 2nd Side printing – Pretty soon (in the next couple of months) we will be announcing details around charges for merchandise with multiple print areas
[2007.07.11 20:27:25] JillCP: Improvements in printing on garments, and enhancements to some printing methods offered.
[2007.07.11 20:27:41] JillCP: Gift Certificates for the Holiday season
[2007.07.11 20:27:58] JillCP: All of these projects are in the being worked on now – please consider this an exclusive “pre announcement”
[2007.07.11 20:28:05] MrsEvilGenius: Cool!
[2007.07.11 20:28:09] MrsEvilGenius: Double Cool!
[2007.07.11 20:28:12] JudiQue: yippee!!!
[2007.07.11 20:28:14] JillCP: We can’t offer more details on these things now, but we promise to give as much advance notice as possible as we roll them out.
[2007.07.11 20:28:14] Liberty Maniacs: nice
[2007.07.11 20:28:14] Liberty Maniacs: You've heard my prayers!!!
[2007.07.11 20:28:23] Josh, part of Little Lizzy Lou: ooh! awesome! Thanks for the teaser! :-)
[2007.07.11 20:28:31] JillCP: So – without further ado… Let’s jump into Q&A – we’re ready…
[2007.07.11 20:28:48] MaheeshCP: i'm ready!
[2007.07.11 20:29:12] Kate has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:29:12] MaheeshCP: questions?
[2007.07.11 20:29:51] FredCP: if there are Q's, we're not seeing any yet...
[2007.07.11 20:29:51] MaheeshCP: If there are no questions, we can always talk about....
[2007.07.11 20:29:59] MaheeshCP: unicorns!
[2007.07.11 20:30:01] FredCP: We're not dodging them...
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[2007.07.11 20:30:53] MaheeshCP: ahh - ok - we just got questions
[2007.07.11 20:30:58] MaheeshCP: here come the answers
[2007.07.11 20:31:00] FredCP: ok, starting to see Q's, sorry for the tech diff...
[2007.07.11 20:31:05] MaheeshCP: we'll talk about unicorns later
[2007.07.11 20:31:13] Colleen (pembrokewcorgi): Can we get calenders updated to 2008 please?
[2007.07.11 20:31:13] CindyCP: I'm happy to say that calendars for 2008 are in the works and our plan is to launch them in August.
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[2007.07.11 20:32:14] skully: Are black hoodies a pipe dream?
[2007.07.11 20:32:14] CindyCP: Black sweatshirts (hooded and crew neck) are also in the testing phase. We are hopeful that they will pass testing in time to roll out this year. We will keep you posted on that.
[2007.07.11 20:32:15] jean / rotemgear: How would gift certs work? Would they be shop-specific, or CP-based; if the latter, how do we sell them?
[2007.07.11 20:32:15] JillCP: Hi Jean/RotemGear: We are still working on the details of GiftCertificates. There are lots of options to work through so as soon as we have more details to offer, we will. What we are confident about is that they will be available for Holiday!
[2007.07.11 20:32:19] Sherry: Will there be any changes to Quality Control? Any plans for monitors at the machines so the printers can see what a design should look like?
[2007.07.11 20:32:19] FredCP: They do have monitors at the stations.
[2007.07.11 20:32:21] Lekker Jen: Last year after the SOaP promo, we were teased about more of that kind of tie in. Anything on the horizon?
[2007.07.11 20:32:21] MaheeshCP: We are working on a number of programs like SOAP. Hopefully some will be online soon.
[2007.07.11 20:32:39] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.11 20:33:39] Bridey: when will the greeting cards become available in the different sized packs and sizes?
[2007.07.11 20:33:39] CindyCP: The Greeting Cards in new Note Card size, different pack sizes and matte paper option are scheduled to launch early next week.
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[2007.07.11 20:34:30] Welch's Grape: about how many times is the marketplace updated per week?
[2007.07.11 20:34:30] MaheeshCP: Search results are updated every day, but it may take up to 48 hours for them to reflect changes you have made to your products
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[2007.07.11 20:34:37] jerseygirl: In regards to the infrastructure - are there going to be any major changes implemented before October in regards to management of our shops?Examples would be - more products to upload at a time, structure of shop, etc.
[2007.07.11 20:34:37] FredCP: no major shop management changes I know of, just scale on the back-end to make sure what's coming in already sails though. Given the timing of the changes and Xmas, we don;;t want both new code and new servers in time for peak... Increasing the rate of product growth in the catalog with new tools just before xmas would introduce too much risk. Early in the year is a better time for that kind of th
[2007.07.11 20:34:41] FredCP: thign...
[2007.07.11 20:34:59] Sag: Could we possibly get some information and chats concerning mobile marketing and shop setup strategies? It's a rapidly growing medium. Please? (okay - pretty please?????) I also think information or a chat on Social Search engines and the developing trends in that area would help many shopkeepers like myself - if possible. LOL!
[2007.07.11 20:35:00] AngelaCP: I can definitely look into this SagArt. I may contact you to get more details.
[2007.07.11 20:35:28] kiwi: We're sending questions, are you not seeing them?
[2007.07.11 20:35:28] MaheeshCP: seeing them now!
[2007.07.11 20:35:35] maryo has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:35:54] AngelaCP: Yes, working on it kiwi ;)
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[2007.07.11 20:36:14] photographz: Is an FTP upload possibly in the works? for photography based shops with the variety of sizes we need to create, it takes a LONNNGGGG time to add new "designs"!
[2007.07.11 20:36:33] AngelaCP: Not at this time
[2007.07.11 20:36:51] Liberty Maniacs: You spoke of multiple printing areas on garments, would that possibly mean expanded printing area and multiple images on a side?
[2007.07.11 20:36:51] CindyCP: Great question, but nfortunately, these are longer term projects for us.
[2007.07.11 20:37:23] kiwi: the site seems more unstable than normal lately - what gives?
[2007.07.11 20:37:23] FredCP: bad mojo. There's always a bit of flux, and the dice rolls have been unlucky (like this morning's device failure). Underlying infrastructure is good. Opening multiple data centers (happening now) will help with this class of issue.
[2007.07.11 20:37:27] CYIdo: Can you explain what SOAP was for the newbies?
[2007.07.11 20:37:27] MaheeshCP: SOAP was a promotion that allows Shopkeepers to design merchandise for the movie Snakes on a Plane (SOAP)
[2007.07.11 20:37:33] Liberty Maniacs: Cam we expect any qualitative improvements to products in 2007?
[2007.07.11 20:37:33] JillCP: LibertyManiacs: We have improved the quality of the Ringer T, the Women's Tank, Women's cap sleeve and the Junior Jersey T. We are working an increasing the quality for the tile box, increasing the quality level to the clock assortment and white paper for books.
[2007.07.11 20:37:38] LuvLetters: Is CP planning to rid itself of the Value T?
[2007.07.11 20:37:38] CindyCP: The Value T is only being removed from the CP Marketplace at this time but will remain available for individual shops for the foreseeable future.
[2007.07.11 20:38:12] Liberty Maniacs: Will you guys advertise on TV?
[2007.07.11 20:38:12] MaheeshCP: We are looking at a variety of new ways to advertise, but probably not TV in 2007 (though I'll try to get Boscoe on Letterman for stupid pet tricks).
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[2007.07.11 20:38:53] photographz: Any more non-apparel items coming, in addition to the single cards?
[2007.07.11 20:38:53] CindyCP: We do have several non-apparel items planned for this year which are currently in testing phase. More to come when they pass testing......
[2007.07.11 20:39:09] garyoa1: Are the old size greeting cards staying?
[2007.07.11 20:39:11] AngelaCP: Yes, the old size is staying. More details found on the Community Forums: http://forums.cafepress.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/802104/m/244108161?r=244108161#244108161
[2007.07.11 20:39:17] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.11 20:39:22] jerseygirl: Thanks Fred!:)
[2007.07.11 20:39:48] 52tease: Tell us more about the plans to update the shopkeeper interface. Also, is anyone looking at creating tiered access for shopkeepers to employ others?
[2007.07.11 20:39:48] MaheeshCP: We are working on a very high level on new shopkeeper interface/seller tools, but we won't be getting much online this year
[2007.07.11 20:39:59] foxvox: What about a template for the note card size? :)
[2007.07.11 20:39:59] CindyCP: We will be launching a new template for the Note Card size. You will need to ensure that you adjust your standard size card images since the aspect ratio is slightly different.
[2007.07.11 20:40:06] zainabi: 2nd Side printing – Pretty soon (in the next couple of months) we will be announcing details around charges for merchandise with multiple print areas- is this for greeting card? that all I want to know
[2007.07.11 20:40:06] JillCP: Hi Zainabi-Currently the 2nd Side printing charge will only apply to garments and not to greeting cards
[2007.07.11 20:40:36] Sherry: Will there be any improvements in packaging? The "thrown in a bag" thing is a bit disappointing, especially for holiday gifts when they arrive crushed and wrinkled.
[2007.07.11 20:40:36] FredCP: We reviewed a cool new packaging technique with the community council that got universal thumbs up (well, the goat lady was on the phone and couldn't see it, so couldn't really vote), but those in the room said good. I actually dunno the release date just yet.
[2007.07.11 20:41:14] jean / rotemgear: Will there be a change of name for the Jr Jersey in our shops (from baby doll)? And if this is possible, how about black > dark and ash grey > light -- I am still changing them!
[2007.07.11 20:41:14] CindyCP: We are working on implementing a change to the name to update the Jr. Baby Doll to the new Jr. Jersey T which is planned to roll out in mid August.
[2007.07.11 20:42:02] Sherry: Upload speeds have been wonderful lately! Due to upgrades? or just Good Mojo???
[2007.07.11 20:42:02] FredCP: We expanded the image servers and upgraded the underlying infrastructure. Thanks for noticing - that's the boring back-end stuff I was talking about. Trying to earn better mojo...
[2007.07.11 20:42:06] Romy: About the calendards: why must our calendars act like pre-printed calendars when they are actually POD--why do we sell months that have already expired when someone orders after January? Why can't we print the upcoming months and eliminate previous months?
[2007.07.11 20:42:06] MaheeshCP: We were looking to allow buyers to choose the month calendars start at, but were unable to get that done this year. We'll try again next year
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[2007.07.11 20:42:32] Sag: Thank you so much for the single greeting cards as they have so much marketing potential when paired with identical designed apparel and gift items (especially for the holidays)! Kudos to all!
[2007.07.11 20:42:51] ididitdesigns: as a shopkeeper that is just getting serious about my shops, I would like to thank you for these chats, they are very helpful, and make me feel like I am not alone out here!! THANKS!!
[2007.07.11 20:42:59] BrittaCP: You're very welcome!
[2007.07.11 20:43:31] Kippy: Any dates for CP Connect yet?
[2007.07.11 20:43:31] FredCP: no date yet. Sorry.
[2007.07.11 20:43:46] me: will the old greeting cards update to new ones or do we need to readd them to everything?
[2007.07.11 20:43:46] CindyCP: The 5 x 7" - 6 pack will automatically be updated to the new 10 pack. All other formats and sizes will need to be added. Unfortunately, we were not able to automatically implement.
[2007.07.11 20:44:36] NinaPA: Are there any plans to integrate click-shirt (or something like it) for us to offer in our shops during 2007?
[2007.07.11 20:44:36] MaheeshCP: No
[2007.07.11 20:44:41] bearabull7: will I have to reformat my 2007 calendars for the 2008? or will be be automatically done?
[2007.07.11 20:44:41] CindyCP: You will have to update and add your cover image back on to remove the product from "pending" status.
[2007.07.11 20:45:04] Bridey has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.11 20:45:24] Lekker Jen: Will we see all white pillows this year? How about pillow cases without the inserts?
[2007.07.11 20:45:24] MaheeshCP: Not in the plans for this year, but I know the merch team is working on more home deco products for next year
[2007.07.11 20:45:37] steveo: Direct deposit... Pretty please? :)
[2007.07.11 20:45:37] MaheeshCP: We are working on this - probably early next year!
[2007.07.11 20:45:59] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.11 20:46:00] PeggyWvB: Why the increase in cost for two sided printing?
[2007.07.11 20:46:00] JillCP: Hi Peggy/WvB-The increase in the cost for Second Side printing is to cover the costs of the second print placement. There are additional labor and ink costs for each print placement and this charge is only to cover these costs.
[2007.07.11 20:46:10] me: will the order report designation of shop v marketplace be fixxed any time soon?? all my sales still show marketplace or affiliate - nothing shows shops - even when i know it was a shop sale (like when i bought from myself and my friends shop they all listed marketplace)
[2007.07.11 20:46:10] MaheeshCP: We are working on this - hopefully by end of year, but might get pushed into early next year (january - feb).
[2007.07.11 20:46:53] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.11 20:47:17] scarebaby: Pleeeeeeeeeeeeez fix the tote bag print area!!!! Also, will there be the extra charge for printing both sides of the tote bag?
[2007.07.11 20:47:17] CindyCP: We are working on resolving the tote bag print area although I have to say that the feedback that we have had is mixed. At this time, there will not be a second side charge for the Tote Bags.
[2007.07.11 20:47:36] AngelaCP: This question came in pre-chat from Shari: I see you will be adding a Single 5x7 Greeting Card and adding 10 & 20 pkgs of 4 ¼ x 5 ½ note cards. Any chance you will be adding Single 4 ¼ x 5 ½ Note Cards? I ask because I have a lot of customers that buy my own printed 4 ¼ x 5 ½ Note Cards that I print and sell myself.
[2007.07.11 20:47:41] kiwi: when will we be able to print on the back on dark tees?
[2007.07.11 20:47:41] FredCP: no date yet. But getting closer. We've been trying to pprint on both sides - but there's a quality reason not to just yet. And because of that focus, we keep hearing that question as "print on both sides". At the community council, someone hit me (us) on the head and said "not both.... BACK!. Either!" Either is possible. We want to get the rest of the new merch done for the year, then it's likely
[2007.07.11 20:47:43] FredCP: to get on the list.
[2007.07.11 20:47:55] AngelaCP: Shari - At this time, we do not plan on offering the single Note Card.
[2007.07.11 20:48:26] AngelaCP: Another question from Shari: Also, would it be possible to add Text Printing to the Back outside of the note or Greeting Cards. I like to put my business information to get people to come back to buy more.
[2007.07.11 20:48:30] AngelaCP: Shari - We are not able to offer the text printing to the back of the card at this time. It is something that we are working on for the future.
[2007.07.11 20:48:41] foxvox: What about improving the Jr. Jersey thumbnail? Status?
[2007.07.11 20:48:41] CindyCP: We are currently working on addressing the issue with the Jr. Jersey T image and will have a new product blank rolled out in August.
[2007.07.11 20:50:11] jean / rotemgear: I have heard that tote bag graphics respect white space -- can we use this to re-position images on totes?
[2007.07.11 20:50:11] MaheeshCP: Yes - but if you decide to use white space to lower your images, be aware that we are working on making them lower by default, so you would end up having a super low image.
[2007.07.11 20:50:13] scrogginsphotos has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.11 20:50:22] Sag: MaheeshCP - Ya' just made my heart beat faster! More home decor products - Yes! Oh, I'm going to have sooooooo much fun with them - Yup:-D!
[2007.07.11 20:50:22] MaheeshCP: yeah!
[2007.07.11 20:50:23] Bridey: Sure would like to see more pet products
[2007.07.11 20:50:23] CindyCP: Pets is an area that we are focusing on at the moment. Once again, we have products in testing and will let you know what will launch once we are confident we can print a high quality product.
[2007.07.11 20:50:45] LuvLetters: Superb quality on the recent Ringer t's we received...a tip of the old hat to the Production Facility, eh?:)
[2007.07.11 20:50:45] kiwi: LOL, Fred. yeah - that was me bonking you on the head :)
[2007.07.11 20:50:45] FredCP: thanks for bonking me.
[2007.07.11 20:50:47] srogginsphotos has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:51:01] Jim: if the value T is such a low quality item why keep them? If they are good enough for our shops why are they not good enough for the marketplace?
[2007.07.11 20:51:01] JillCP: Hi Jim-Several other Shopkeepers have asked that question too. Primarily they are still available to Shopkeepers that want them for other reasons where quality is not the most important thing. There are some Shopkeepers that use them as give away items to promote their offline businesses. Other Shopkeepers use them to sell a low priced alternative, such as T-Shirts under $10.00.
[2007.07.11 20:51:11] MrsEvilGenius: For the record! I find CP's shipping packaging to be fine! the bags are efficient and inexpensive. Everything I have ordered has come to me in excellent shape. Certainly one washes any garment one gets in the post before wearing, right? the 'wrinkling' thing is moot.
[2007.07.11 20:51:11] MaheeshCP: good to hear this
[2007.07.11 20:51:12] Kim has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:51:45] JudiQue: what's happened to the tagging count thingy? I rarely look at the other tags listed but DO rely on the counter . .
[2007.07.11 20:51:45] MaheeshCP: this is a bug, we'are aware of it, but don't have a date to fix it....
[2007.07.11 20:51:53] kiwi: will CP update the Jr. Jersey thumbnail soon?
[2007.07.11 20:51:53] JillCP: Hi Kiwi-
[2007.07.11 20:52:29] Ellen: When to fix marketplace search? 1. bestselling to show correct values 2.and other bugs? (1. designs never-ever-sold-one-single-item outranks designs that have sold many)
[2007.07.11 20:52:29] FredCP: The algorythm is deep and mysterious. And always changing. The goal is not to let just the first seller stay the only seller, so theres many factors, all designed to maximize sales - get shoppers to buy your stuff at maximum rates.
[2007.07.11 20:52:36] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.11 20:52:48] PiratePrincess has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:52:55] kiwi: What does CP use the shop - marketplace data for anyway?
[2007.07.11 20:52:55] MaheeshCP: We have internal tracking to help us understand how our markeitng programs are doing. We need to synch up our internal tracking with the reports you see so they are accurate
[2007.07.11 20:53:46] CYIdo: Is it possible to get the dimensions for notecards now so we can start sizing designs?
[2007.07.11 20:53:46] CindyCP: The Note Card size is 5 1/2 x 4 1/4. Happy designing!
[2007.07.11 20:53:48] MaheeshCP: why do I have briney spears in my head?
[2007.07.11 20:53:57] me: are you planning any major outages like last september/october last year to upgrade the syste,?!?!
[2007.07.11 20:53:57] FredCP: In Oct there will be a number of very late night down-times. I wouldn't call them "major down times" - more like the 1-2 hour windows at midnight (california universal time) you may or may not have noticed. Just a few more of them in october.
[2007.07.11 20:54:09] Barry's World has left the room (logged out)
[2007.07.11 20:54:29] jerseygirl: Will we ever be able to advertise via CP - kind of like buying ad space on the front page or having CP put out a newsletter that features only our products (these are just ideas)
[2007.07.11 20:54:29] FredCP: maybe, but not anywhere near the top of our list at the moment.
[2007.07.11 20:54:49] barrysworld has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2007.07.11 20:54:58] JillCP: Kiwi-To answer your question about the Jr Jersey T. We did get a lot of feedback about the photo. Thanks to the Voice of the Community we will be changing this photo in Q3.
[2007.07.11 20:55:32] Kate @ Little Lizzy Lou: Will there be any meet & greets on the East Coast?
[2007.07.11 20:55:33] AngelaCP: although nothing is set, we're looking at Philly
[2007.07.11 20:55:39] kiwi: Thanks, Jill. YAY!!! :)
[2007.07.11 20:55:49] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2007.07.11 20:55:52] Kate @ Little Lizzy Lou: Great! Thanks Angela!
[2007.07.11 20:55:54] Lekker Jen: What about the pegasus? I always hear about Unicorns, but there are so many Sks who prefer the Pegasus :)
[2007.07.11 20:55:56] AngelaCP: Pegasus get my vote ;)
[2007.07.11 20:56:02] Karen: Philly would be great!
[2007.07.11 20:56:10] MaheeshCP: Unicorns rock
[2007.07.11 20:56:14] jean / rotemgear: when will the sales reports be fixed, and can we expect a downloadable version?
[2007.07.11 20:56:14] FredCP: wish i could say yes, yes yes, next week. Can't. Expect slow tweaks and improvements online, and we're talking about a downloadable, so we're aware of it as a smart thing for big SK's, but we have too many open projects as it is, so I'll disappoint now.... :( sorry.
[2007.07.11 20:56:15] MaheeshCP: hit me baby one more time
[2007.07.11 20:56:21] kiwi: Single page calendars will automatically update to 2008 - right?
[2007.07.11 20:56:21] CindyCP: Yes, but if the image incorporates the year, that will need to be updated to 2008. The single page calendars will not be pended like the others.
[2007.07.11 20:56:33] Jim: Jill thank you for the answer but that answer does not address my questoin
[2007.07.11 20:56:33] JillCP: Jim-What part did I miss about the 2nd Side Printing costs?
[2007.07.11 20:56:49] Colleen (pembrokewcorgi): combine them to get a Unipeg or a Pegicorn
[2007.07.11 20:56:50] jean / rotemgear: Will we ever have downloadable reports?
[2007.07.11 20:56:50] MaheeshCP: As we look at reporting, we do want to allow you guys to be able to download them