1/22/08 marketing

[2008.01.22 19:00:35] Welcome to the CafePress Chat Room
[2008.01.22 19:00:35] doonidesigns has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
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[2008.01.22 19:00:44] DafnaCP has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:01:01] BrittaCP: Hi Everyone!
[2008.01.22 19:01:13] magadog1 has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:01:16] SkiBabe: hi
[2008.01.22 19:01:20] TexasFiddler: hi Britta
[2008.01.22 19:01:21] kaosnorway has left the room (logged out)
[2008.01.22 19:01:21] Daedreem: Hello everybody! :) Happy New Year, and Lots of DoNots!
[2008.01.22 19:01:26] TexasFiddler: howdy folks
[2008.01.22 19:01:26] magadog1: Hi
[2008.01.22 19:01:26] BrittaCP: Thanks for joining our chat today.
[2008.01.22 19:01:31] preggoprincess has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:01:36] steved: HI
[2008.01.22 19:01:41] BrittaCP: Today we’ll be talking about basic shop marketing… or Marketing 101.
[2008.01.22 19:01:46] BrittaCP: If you’re a new Shopkeeper, this is the right chat for you.
[2008.01.22 19:02:14] KC Graphics has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:02:16] SkiBabe: I'm not so new but I could use some marketing know how
[2008.01.22 19:02:31] cultural has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:02:39] BrittaCP: Great... even if you've been around for awhile... it's always good to get a refresher course
[2008.01.22 19:02:43] steved: Ditto, I'm here to get my skills up
[2008.01.22 19:02:48] BrittaCP: There’s more to creating a successful shop than uploading images and placing them on products.
[2008.01.22 19:02:57] BrittaCP: Many of you have already done that.
[2008.01.22 19:03:07] BrittaCP: Your next step is getting your shop out there and noticed, and customers buying.
[2008.01.22 19:03:27] BrittaCP: So today, we’ll be going over some of the basics of how to do that.
[2008.01.22 19:03:32] BrittaCP: We have Dafna with us today, our Top Shop Account Rep.
[2008.01.22 19:03:44] DafnaCP: Hi Everyone and Happy New Year!
[2008.01.22 19:03:47] originalimages has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:04:02] AngelaCP has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:04:02] SkiBabe: Back at ya
[2008.01.22 19:04:07] KC Graphics: Happy New Year!
[2008.01.22 19:04:07] AngelaCP: hi everyone
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[2008.01.22 19:05:31] DafnaCP: I look at shops everyday and help people figure out what works for them
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[2008.01.22 19:05:42] BrittaCP: As with all our chats this is moderated.
[2008.01.22 19:05:58] BrittaCP: That means any comment that you submit will be placed into a queue until it’s reviewed by a moderator and pushed out by a moderator.
[2008.01.22 19:06:03] susanfaye has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:06:23] magadog1: Do you figure out what DOESN'T work?
[2008.01.22 19:06:41] DafnaCP: magadog1: we also look at what isn't working for someone and why
[2008.01.22 19:06:49] BrittaCP: We try to get all questions and comments, however some may be missed since many come in. So if you don’t see your comment right away, that’s why.
[2008.01.22 19:06:58] Sag has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:07:02] BrittaCP: If you’re a new Shopkeeper, you may notice a lot of buzz terms around here, so feel free to ask if you don’t understand something.
[2008.01.22 19:07:12] TexasFiddler: Does that mean that we can contact you and ask you for suggestions?
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[2008.01.22 19:07:59] Cyi has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:08:24] DafnaCP: If you've gotten an email from me then that means you're a top shopkeeper and I'm available to help you. If you haven't gotten an email from me yet, never fear. You can certainly go on the forums for help from your peers -- there are a lot of shopkeepers who really know their stuff!
[2008.01.22 19:09:19] valentinespirit has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:09:24] magadog1: Hi. . . my sales have totally dipped since the Holidays and there is NO traffic-- or close to none in my Valentine's Shop. . . is that unusual?
[2008.01.22 19:09:29] AngelaCP: Hi magdog1, it's normal for sales to dip after the holidays, since the holidays is the biggest selling time of the year.
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[2008.01.22 19:10:05] NinaPA has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:10:10] AngelaCP: However, this year is a bit unusual in that we're sort of in a mini recession of some sort... everywhere you read, there's news about it
[2008.01.22 19:10:35] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.01.22 19:10:40] AngelaCP: I think the media attention may be freaking out some and that "may" be the cause.... not sure. The trend overall in the industry is a bit down.
[2008.01.22 19:10:52] BrittaCP: Sooooo… on with shop marketing.
[2008.01.22 19:11:14] BrittaCP: First we want to talk about Image Tagging
[2008.01.22 19:11:27] BrittaCP: One of the most obvious ways of marketing your designs, is by getting them into the CafePress Marketplace, which is image driven.
[2008.01.22 19:12:07] BrittaCP: In my opinion... this is something that should be done as your upload your images.
[2008.01.22 19:12:26] BrittaCP: don't come back later
[2008.01.22 19:12:31] DafnaCP: agreed
[2008.01.22 19:12:44] DafnaCP: 'cause you'll likely forget to do it later
[2008.01.22 19:13:06] Daedreem: I'm bad about that.. I often try 'come back later' when working with a migraine.. then forget.
[2008.01.22 19:13:12] BrittaCP: When you upload your images, you are given the opportunity to tag (or add keywords) to them, so that when someone searches a particular term in the Marketplace your design may be found.
[2008.01.22 19:13:36] magadog1: What happens if you go back and change them?
[2008.01.22 19:14:22] BrittaCP: The MP will drop the tags that you removed, and index the new ones
[2008.01.22 19:14:39] Demetrius: I miss the suggested tags. Sometimes I have ideas for designs. But, I'm not into the particular "scene" (ie: gaming) enough to know how best to tag them.
[2008.01.22 19:14:50] BrittaCP: Make sure you show up by tagging your images correctly with relevant terms.
[2008.01.22 19:15:00] BrittaCP: We have tutorial with Image Tags Best Practices, right here: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/help/imagetags_tips.aspx
[2008.01.22 19:15:09] Sag: What helps is if you set up a folder named "hold for tags" and place all untagged images in there for tagging so they don't get lost in the mix. It sets up a nice file of work you need to complete.
[2008.01.22 19:15:12] BrittaCP: good idea
[2008.01.22 19:15:59] magadog1: Will they appear as NEW images in the marketplace?
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[2008.01.22 19:17:06] BrittaCP: Say you added the word "pickle" to your image. You will get new ranking for that word... any words that you didn't change and remain the same... will retain it's ranking
[2008.01.22 19:17:33] BrittaCP: When you’re tagging you want to use words that accurately describe your image.
[2008.01.22 19:17:55] BrittaCP: An example of using irrelevant tags would be a St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun image tagged with “Valentine’s Day,” or “Vote for Hillary” with “republican.”
[2008.01.22 19:18:39] BrittaCP: It can be difficult choosing the right tags sometimes. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
[2008.01.22 19:18:45] BrittaCP: • What is the Subject of your design?
[2008.01.22 19:18:50] BrittaCP: • What is the Theme, Topic, or Concept of your design?
[2008.01.22 19:18:59] BrittaCP: • What are the dominant Colors, Shapes, and Patterns in your design?
[2008.01.22 19:19:06] BrittaCP: • How was the design originally created?
[2008.01.22 19:19:15] BrittaCP: • What Text is in the design?
[2008.01.22 19:19:24] DafnaCP: When I’m tagging an image I just think to myself: self, what would I put into Google if I were looking for this image?
[2008.01.22 19:19:38] DafnaCP: Actually, let’s try it. Britta, do you have an image we can use?
[2008.01.22 19:20:13] BrittaCP sent a picture:
[2008.01.22 19:20:28] DafnaCP: Cool. Can anybody think of tags for this image?
[2008.01.22 19:20:37] DafnaCP: I’ll start us off.
[2008.01.22 19:20:57] magadog1: red elaborate love?
[2008.01.22 19:21:00] DafnaCP: Some good tags might be the obvious “Love” and “Valentine’s Day” but can anyone think of some more?
[2008.01.22 19:21:05] KC Graphics: love, lover, romantic, romance
[2008.01.22 19:21:10] Daedreem: love,flower,floral,elegant,valentine,red
[2008.01.22 19:21:10] Demetrius: love, valentines, flowers...
[2008.01.22 19:21:15] KC Graphics: passion
[2008.01.22 19:21:20] SkiBabe: decorative letters love
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[2008.01.22 19:21:30] DafnaCP: Great, seems like you’ve got the hang of it.
[2008.01.22 19:22:12] SkiBabe: It seems that the those of us not "top shop keepers" have more of a need for help than those already doing something right
[2008.01.22 19:22:16] AngelaCP: SkiBabe, the best place to learn is by visiting the CafePress Community Forums. If you haven't done so, we recommend reading some of the posts and learning what other seasoned SKs have done. It's a great place to learn what's worked and what doesn't. Another place is read up on basic tutorials on the Learning Center (found under the Community tab): http://www.cafepress.com/cp/learn/
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[2008.01.22 19:23:04] Demetrius: We're allowed 20 tags per image. Should we try to use that many? Or, is there an advantage in narrowing?
[2008.01.22 19:23:09] BrittaCP: You have a maximum if 20 tags that you can add to each image. If you can’t come up with 20 relevant tags, it’s ok. It won’t hurt you.
[2008.01.22 19:24:29] magadog1: so single words are best?
[2008.01.22 19:24:31] AngelaCP: Single words are best if that is the "best" keyword to describe your image. If you have a two-word keyword that "best" describe your image, that is what you should use. For example, "left handed" is a two-word keyword that works best if it's appropriate.
[2008.01.22 19:24:36] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.01.22 19:25:27] DafnaCP: yeah, for image tags using single words works best
[2008.01.22 19:25:59] doonidesigns: i have a question that i have asked before with no answer.. if you choose a category from the drop down while tagging, does it overwrite the one you pick when you make the section or vice versa???
[2008.01.22 19:26:27] BrittaCP: If you're referring to the drop down in your image tagging area... it doesn't overide anything.
[2008.01.22 19:26:59] BrittaCP: if you're talking about the catagorization in your sections... that drop down doesn't do anything
[2008.01.22 19:27:53] Daedreem: is there any difference between "left handed" and "Left-Handed" ?
[2008.01.22 19:28:00] The Farm Paparazzi has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:28:03] AngelaCP: There is a slight difference in the search results, so putting in both versions won't hurt you.
[2008.01.22 19:28:08] AngelaCP: Though we recommend you don't need to enter words of the same core such as plurals and verb tense... if you're not sure, it will not hurt you to add them. The same goes for common typos.
[2008.01.22 19:28:29] AngelaCP: As long as the Tags you're using is relevant. That's key!
[2008.01.22 19:28:34] BrittaCP: Alright... moving on... SEO
[2008.01.22 19:28:40] BrittaCP: SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
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[2008.01.22 19:29:09] BrittaCP: I’m sure you’ve gathered so far… SEO is one the most important things and (and FREE things) you can do to market your shop.
[2008.01.22 19:29:09] shopaholicchick has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:29:33] BrittaCP: I don’t want to spend to much time on what SEO is… we have some great tutorials in our Learning Center to help break it down for you.
[2008.01.22 19:29:49] BrittaCP: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/learn/tutorial_seo
[2008.01.22 19:29:54] BrittaCP: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/learn/tutorial_seo_opt
[2008.01.22 19:30:00] BrittaCP: But here is a basic idea…
[2008.01.22 19:30:25] BrittaCP: Search Engine Optimization is something that you can do to help your shop show up better in natural search results for search engines like Google and yahoo.
[2008.01.22 19:30:38] BrittaCP: Natural search/organic search, meaning free placement - not the ads you see on the side
[2008.01.22 19:30:52] BrittaCP: To get listed in search engines there are a few things that you want to do
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[2008.01.22 19:31:17] BrittaCP: Make sure that you are using keywords on your product title, description, storefront, section titles, teaser, etc.
[2008.01.22 19:31:20] BrittaCP: Content is searchable on search engines
[2008.01.22 19:31:40] BrittaCP: Section teasers and descriptions are available in Premium Shops… which is why we encourage upgrading.
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[2008.01.22 19:32:26] DafnaCP: In a previous chat SamCP gave us an analogy that I think bears repeating:
[2008.01.22 19:32:45] DafnaCP: – Keywords (content) are “The Front Man”.
[2008.01.22 19:32:55] DafnaCP: – Links are “The Lead Guitarist”
[2008.01.22 19:33:04] DafnaCP: – Meta tags and alt tags “Play Back Up”


[2008.01.22 19:33:26] DafnaCP: – Keywords (content) are “The Front Man”.
[2008.01.22 19:33:38] DafnaCP: – Links are “The Lead Guitarist”
[2008.01.22 19:33:47] DafnaCP: – Meta tags and alt tags “Play Back Up”
[2008.01.22 19:34:00] DafnaCP: The point of course is that each of these play an important role in SEO.
[2008.01.22 19:35:12] DDKnight: I have 11 Prem shops right now, the shops I have spent the last year(and still doing) SEO optimizing, get at least 4 times the search engine traffic than the ones I have yet to get to, that translates to more sales!
[2008.01.22 19:35:38] BrittaCP: One thing to avoid is adding blocks of keywords in your descriptions. Search engines look down on this, and it jeopardizes the appearance of your shop to customers.
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[2008.01.22 19:36:00] DafnaCP: Remember, in most instances your customers will be able to see this content so you want it to look professional -- not just a bunch of words thrown together.
[2008.01.22 19:36:18] DafnaCP: Get creative; work keywords into phrases that will draw customers in.
[2008.01.22 19:37:02] BrittaCP: Any Questions about SEO so far?
[2008.01.22 19:37:11] The Farm Paparazzi: How come search terms are not picked up by MSN?
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[2008.01.22 19:38:03] AngelaCP: The major search engines are Google, Yahoo, and MSN
[2008.01.22 19:38:16] smilingbuddha has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.01.22 19:38:35] AngelaCP: Just because a term was "picked up" by one search engine doesn't mean it can result in the same success across the others
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[2008.01.22 19:38:48] AngelaCP: each search engines run by different sets of "rules" ....
[2008.01.22 19:39:23] AngelaCP: The term you're looking for may be successful in Google and Yahoo, but didn't make it on the top pages of MSN
[2008.01.22 19:39:43] shopaholicchick: the farm i have been picked up by MSn but rarely
[2008.01.22 19:40:03] DafnaCP: I've seen some shops that have had success with MSN but for the most part I'd focus on the more popular engines: Yahoo and Google
[2008.01.22 19:40:21] Cyi: I get traffic from MSN, but not nearly as much as Google
[2008.01.22 19:40:31] AngelaCP: Google is by far the largests
[2008.01.22 19:40:38] AngelaCP: followed by Yahoo and then MSn
[2008.01.22 19:40:57] DafnaCP: To learn more about SEO, take a look at the tutorials and also at this article written by one of our shopkeepers:
[2008.01.22 19:41:09] DafnaCP: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/help/promoteyourpassion.aspx
[2008.01.22 19:41:14] originalimages: I think I get a rare hit from AOL search as well
[2008.01.22 19:41:48] AngelaCP: Yes, there are other search engines in the game... we just listed the top 3.
[2008.01.22 19:42:35] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.01.22 19:42:51] shopaholicchick: there are some websites that can help you get listed in some of the more obscure chat engines like addme.com - they will put you in like 13 for free - i have gotten some hits off those search engines also
[2008.01.22 19:42:57] smilingbuddha: This may be anelementary questions but how does one find out specifically where their traffic comes frm?
[2008.01.22 19:43:01] DafnaCP: If you have a premium shop then you can insert a stat counter on your page (in the custom html area) that will measure where your traffic is coming from. I don't want to get too specific about how to do this but you can find the information on the boards. : )
[2008.01.22 19:43:47] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.01.22 19:44:18] seasquirrel: does adding your products to google base and msn Live products increase the ranking in the search engins?
[2008.01.22 19:44:22] AngelaCP: It's hard to say because the secret sauce of search engines are kept... well, secret. However, we have heard there's a strong correlation between search placement and those buying keyword ads...
[2008.01.22 19:44:42] BrittaCP: Alright.... next topic
[2008.01.22 19:44:43] BrittaCP: PREMIUM SHOPS: MOVIN’ ON UP
[2008.01.22 19:44:52] BrittaCP: Many new shopkeepers like to start out with a Basic shop
[2008.01.22 19:45:06] BrittaCP: which is a great way to start learning how to create products, understand pricing, and creating content (images and descriptions in shop).
[2008.01.22 19:45:23] BrittaCP: Once you get that down, you’ll want to upgrade to a Premium Shop…
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[2008.01.22 19:45:33] BrittaCP: that, as many will agree, is where the money is at. With a Premium Shop you have more options.
[2008.01.22 19:45:39] BrittaCP: Premium Shops offer more than one of each product type
[2008.01.22 19:45:50] BrittaCP: You can customize and brand it how you want
[2008.01.22 19:45:58] BrittaCP: You can organize it best for your audience
[2008.01.22 19:46:10] BrittaCP: You can easily optimize a Premium Shop for search engines
[2008.01.22 19:46:28] BrittaCP: Here’s a tutorial that will show you all the different ways you can organize:
[2008.01.22 19:46:35] BrittaCP: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/community/shop_organization
[2008.01.22 19:46:48] BrittaCP: Of course, think about your target market, and that will help you choose the right method.
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[2008.01.22 19:47:37] BrittaCP: Since you have the ability to add more products and more content in a Premium Shop, this in turn allows you more opportunity to be picked up by search engines leading to more customers.
[2008.01.22 19:47:49] BrittaCP: So again, Premium Shops can lead to Premium Chedda!
[2008.01.22 19:47:57] DafnaCP: So a quick statistic for you: 99% of our top shopkeepers use premium shops.
[2008.01.22 19:48:29] DafnaCP: As Britta said, basic shops are great when you’re figuring things out and premium shops are for when you’re ready to put in some effort and make some real money!

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[2008.01.22 19:49:33] shopaholicchick: i have 3 premium and 25 basics - i have only made sales in basic shops 2 times....and i do rather well on premiums
[2008.01.22 19:50:00] BrittaCP: That's a really good offer... if you have a basic... take advantage of it
[2008.01.22 19:50:09] magadog1: I have had a few basics that have REALLY caught on. But mostly they don't
[2008.01.22 19:50:25] BrittaCP: Questions about premiums?
[2008.01.22 19:50:56] SkiBabe: Does it pay to have more premium shops each with their own identity or is it ok to have one shop with some sections that differ from the main thrust of the shop?
[2008.01.22 19:50:56] Sag: I've got 12 premiums and had one basic for about 24 hrs. Momma, didn't raise no fool!:-D
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[2008.01.22 19:51:51] DafnaCP: Skibabe - I usually recommend that you use a different premium shop for each niche. On occasion I've seen shopkeepers do one big megastore but you'd have to be very organized and very careful to make this work
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[2008.01.22 19:52:18] The Farm Paparazzi: Is it really necessary for me to have several premium shots, to really make some money? Or can I focus on just one, but with lots of options?
[2008.01.22 19:52:21] BrittaCP: You can focus on one... as long as you can create a central them amongst all your options. If you have two clashing options or themes (like bridal and politics) then it's better to have 2 seperate shops
[2008.01.22 19:52:26] Sag: Niche those premiums if you can.
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[2008.01.22 19:52:42] NinaPA: Same here, I think I'm up to 15 premiums now, all with their own unique niche and personality. It pays off, trust me.
[2008.01.22 19:52:57] originalimages: I have 1 premium with a lot of sections - quite varied at that -- it seem sto work for now, anyway
[2008.01.22 19:53:51] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.01.22 19:53:56] DDKnight: I agree with NinaPa and Sag!
[2008.01.22 19:54:10] SkiBabe: Can you move sections from the one shop to new shops or would I have to re-create everything?
[2008.01.22 19:55:23] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.01.22 19:55:41] shopaholicchick: you have to recreate everything - i wish you could move everything - and import is not worth the time - it takes longer then recreating the section
[2008.01.22 19:55:54] Cyi: Ski-as of right now, you can import items into sections but there aren't any good bulk change tools if lets say you're trying to move your political section to its own premium shop.
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[2008.01.22 19:56:11] BrittaCP: Wow.. you guys are packed full of questions
[2008.01.22 19:56:47] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.01.22 19:56:55] BrittaCP: it's almost 5... there is still much more on shop marketing that can be said
[2008.01.22 19:57:14] BrittaCP: How about a follow up chat next in a couple of weeks?
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