basics to premium

Ok so i missed the end of the chat transcript because the chat session closed and then i could not get back to the screen because everytime i tried to access it i was told that the cafepress forums were a page not found...



[2008.06.25 19:00:09] Welcome to the CafePress Chat Room
[2008.06.25 19:00:09] Shopaholic Chick has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.06.25 19:00:09] All users in this room have been allowed to talk
[2008.06.25 19:02:17] Tropicando has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.06.25 19:02:55] funnycrazytees: Hi everyone.
[2008.06.25 19:03:02] BrittaCP: Hello, hello, hello
[2008.06.25 19:03:18] DafnaCP: hey y'all
[2008.06.25 19:03:23] BrittaCP: Thanks for joining us today
[2008.06.25 19:03:32] Tropicando: Small group looks like
[2008.06.25 19:03:34] Tropicando: hi
[2008.06.25 19:03:52] LittleLizzy has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.06.25 19:04:03] BrittaCP: Today we'll be talking about Premium Shops, and why they rock. If you're a newer SK, this is the perfect place for you
[2008.06.25 19:04:13] BrittaCP: Dafna is with us today
[2008.06.25 19:04:29] BrittaCP: Introduce yourself Dafna
[2008.06.25 19:04:39] Tropicando: I'm new yet old
[2008.06.25 19:04:41] DafnaCP: Hi guys
[2008.06.25 19:04:48] DafnaCP: I'm the Top Shop Account Rep
[2008.06.25 19:05:26] BrittaCP: Dafna works with a lot of Shopkeepers... sees and suggests some amazing stuff
[2008.06.25 19:05:47] LittleLizzy: Hi Dafna! Hi Britta!
[2008.06.25 19:06:09] Gandalf Parker has left the room (logged out)
[2008.06.25 19:06:19] BrittaCP: So before we start... I've gots to go over the Chat Room Rules (bum bum bum)
[2008.06.25 19:06:31] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:07:15] BrittaCP: The chat room is moderated. So anything you say will go into a queue until a mod reviews and pushes out
[2008.06.25 19:08:17] BrittaCP: We'll have a transcript up in a few days
[2008.06.25 19:08:25] BrittaCP: and we'll open the lobby when the chat is over
[2008.06.25 19:08:43] BrittaCP: unfortunatly we have to end about 15 minutes early today.
[2008.06.25 19:08:53] BrittaCP: ok... on to the good stuff...
[2008.06.25 19:08:56] Tropicando: :)
[2008.06.25 19:09:48] NiftyGaloot: So Dafna... Are gonna teach us all, how to be top shopkeepers?
[2008.06.25 19:10:03] DafnaCP: Ha! That's for another discussion
[2008.06.25 19:10:32] DafnaCP: Today we're talking about the benefits of upgrading from basic to premium.
[2008.06.25 19:10:59] DafnaCP: how many people here have never had a premium shop before?
[2008.06.25 19:11:20] Tropicando: i did a trial one
[2008.06.25 19:11:33] BrittaCP: or have one... and have no idea what to do with it?
[2008.06.25 19:11:50] TexasFiddler: Sometimes I feel that way.
[2008.06.25 19:12:02] Tropicando: I'm all basical
[2008.06.25 19:12:02] DafnaCP: So that's two....whatare all the rest of you here for?!
[2008.06.25 19:12:05] thoyt has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.06.25 19:12:16] DafnaCP: j/k!
[2008.06.25 19:12:26] BrittaCP: we still love to hear your expeirences
[2008.06.25 19:12:29] Tropicando: They like you
[2008.06.25 19:12:34] TexasFiddler: I don't miss a chat if I can help it. Almost always get an idea or two
[2008.06.25 19:12:41] BrittaCP: glad we could inspire
[2008.06.25 19:13:26] DafnaCP: Premium Shops are really intended for those shopkeepers who want to get serious with their shops and about making money! Standout differences are the ability to create a custom shopping experience with unlimited selections and products and multi-level pages.
[2008.06.25 19:13:36] Sag: Well, I once had a basic shop ... for about two hours. Does that count?
[2008.06.25 19:14:08] BrittaCP: Gotta start somewhere
[2008.06.25 19:14:12] NiftyGaloot: I still have some basics. And, several premiums.
[2008.06.25 19:15:06] armymom has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.06.25 19:15:10] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:15:16] DafnaCP: So then some of you already know what some of the differences are. For those who don't, take a look at this quick reference:
[2008.06.25 19:15:17] funnycrazytees has left the room (logged out)
[2008.06.25 19:15:17] DafnaCP: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/shops/premium4
[2008.06.25 19:16:14] DafnaCP: Basically, going premium greatly helps to increase your sales
[2008.06.25 19:16:25] stephen has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.06.25 19:16:27] DafnaCP: does anyone want to share their experiences with that?
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[2008.06.25 19:17:13] Shopaholic Chick: i went right to premium - but my premiums always do better then my basics and are easier for me to promote
[2008.06.25 19:17:16] stephen has left the room (logged out)
[2008.06.25 19:17:31] TexasFiddler: More merchandise in one place. Folks can see multiple designs at once. Easier buying decision
[2008.06.25 19:17:57] Sag: Premiums just make everything easier from organization to updating, promoting, marketing ........
[2008.06.25 19:18:08] DafnaCP: Well one of the reasons is that going premium gives you a ton more places to enter text which is great for search engines -- I'm talking about SEO
[2008.06.25 19:18:25] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:19:11] BrittaCP: With abic, you have areas like the Shop Description, Product Title, and Product Desc.
[2008.06.25 19:19:39] the orb has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.06.25 19:19:53] BrittaCP: With a Premium, you have many moreplaces to plug in content... all your descriptive text... which is what search engines will see
[2008.06.25 19:19:56] NiftyGaloot: SEO = Search Engine Optimazition
[2008.06.25 19:20:01] BrittaCP: Thank you Nifty
[2008.06.25 19:20:05] DafnaCP: that's right, you can use those areas to enter keywords in order to pull in traffic directly to your store instead of relying mostly on the marketplace for your sales (not really the best method)
[2008.06.25 19:20:17] stephen has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.06.25 19:21:41] DafnaCP: so the point is to get lots of good keywords into those areas to give the search engines more to work with. Just be careful not to have so much text in your shop that it looks crowded or overwhelming.
[2008.06.25 19:21:57] Tropicando: Am I correct in thinking premium affects your design placement in the MP?
[2008.06.25 19:21:58] BrittaCP: No. The MP doesn't distinguish between Premium and Basic. It only look at your image tags. Now you may find behind the placemtn of images beloning to Premium Shops... but really it's Shopkeepers who are serious about selling
[2008.06.25 19:22:16] BrittaCP: *you may find a pattern
[2008.06.25 19:22:37] BrittaCP: There are still several items in the MP belonging to basic shops
[2008.06.25 19:22:40] TexasFiddler: I still get most of my sales through the marketplace.
[2008.06.25 19:22:43] TexasFiddler: Which means I'm fighting the tagging wars pretty heavily
[2008.06.25 19:22:43] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:22:47] armymom: i started out with the basic which allowed me to get started and design my shop for the trial period and of course, i upgraded quickly
[2008.06.25 19:22:49] Sag: Amen, Dafnia!
[2008.06.25 19:23:21] Shopaholic Chick: my basics appear as high as my premiums in their respctive MP's but because the premiums sell more they stay higher
[2008.06.25 19:23:47] stephen has left the room (logged out)
[2008.06.25 19:24:00] Tropicando: I am still not clear on stuffing
[2008.06.25 19:24:32] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:24:45] Shopaholic Chick: not sure what u mean by stuffing
[2008.06.25 19:24:56] BrittaCP: Could you clarify Topicando?
[2008.06.25 19:25:29] Tropicando: SEO bad stuffing
[2008.06.25 19:25:30] DafnaCP: here is some wiki information on keyword stuffing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyword_stuffing
[2008.06.25 19:25:42] NiftyGaloot: Keyword stuffing is repeating keywords over, and over, and not using sentences. Always use complete sentences in your descriptions.
[2008.06.25 19:26:01] DafnaCP: thank you NiftyGaloot
[2008.06.25 19:26:56] Tropicando: Ok
[2008.06.25 19:27:17] BrittaCP: yes, this is something that you want to avoid. It looks sloppy to yourcustomers
[2008.06.25 19:27:23] TexasFiddler: Due to limitation of 200 characters on descriptions I wind up using phrases. "Great design for teachers." Is that really detrimental since it's not a full sentence?
[2008.06.25 19:27:31] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:27:39] NiftyGaloot: Shoppers like sentences better too. Much easier to read a description.
[2008.06.25 19:28:04] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:29:07] DafnaCP: So another clear cut benefit to having a premium shop is the ability to customize the shop using templates or for those who are html savvy, by using custom html
[2008.06.25 19:29:19] DafnaCP: I've seen some truly amazing shops!
[2008.06.25 19:29:50] Shopaholic Chick: 200 characters is much more then that. you can get like 2-3 sentaces in there
[2008.06.25 19:29:51] NiftyGaloot: Fiddler... That's a sentence, in my book. :)
[2008.06.25 19:29:52] Tropicando: I think that qualifies as a sentence
[2008.06.25 19:30:10] TexasFiddler: Can you give us a few examples of shops you like?
[2008.06.25 19:30:21] DafnaCP: Why don't you all give us some examples?
[2008.06.25 19:30:38] DafnaCP: anyone have a favorite shop? some of you here have great shops too!
[2008.06.25 19:31:00] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:31:10] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:31:24] DafnaCP: nobody? okay well has anyone seen the new rock the vote store?
[2008.06.25 19:31:56] Shopaholic Chick: www.cafepress.com/liveoffgrid
[2008.06.25 19:32:18] Shopaholic Chick: www.cafepress.com/celebratetoday
[2008.06.25 19:32:19] DafnaCP: Thanks shopaholic Chick!
[2008.06.25 19:32:23] DafnaCP: another one of my favorites is badrapstore
[2008.06.25 19:32:53] DafnaCP: http://www.cafepress.com/badrapstore
[2008.06.25 19:33:15] armymom: im learning descriptons like this is working well for me. Anyone think im over doing it or not doing enough? This design is perfect for the "Army Mom" on the go. Slip into a comfy tracksuit or that beautiful t-shirt. You'll sure to be known as the "Army Mom" with style!
[2008.06.25 19:33:25] Sag: http://www.cafepress.com/sagart
[2008.06.25 19:33:30] armymom: Shopaholic, i love your shop
[2008.06.25 19:33:43] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:34:03] Shopaholic Chick: ty army
[2008.06.25 19:34:19] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:34:24] armymom: yw hun
[2008.06.25 19:34:49] DafnaCP: Armymom -- I think you're on the right track. We have a bunch of good tutorials on SEO that you can check out. They're in the learning center.
[2008.06.25 19:34:56] BrittaCP: It was mentioed before... how premium also increases your productivity. There are many tools available that make it faster and easier to get your image and descriptions placed on products
[2008.06.25 19:35:01] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:35:25] DafnaCP: And we're adding more all the time!
[2008.06.25 19:35:26] BrittaCP: That means, you can get more images, and more products ready to sell in your shop much faster
[2008.06.25 19:35:32] Shopaholic Chick: i love sag's shops i wish all my cross links were that smooth
[2008.06.25 19:35:33] armymom: ty Dafna, i'll def check that out
[2008.06.25 19:35:46] Tropicando: I like badrapstore, but that format makes me afraif ppl don't know to click on the squares
[2008.06.25 19:35:47] Sag: ty Shop
[2008.06.25 19:36:19] BrittaCP: Customization sis something to think about when going premium
[2008.06.25 19:36:43] BrittaCP: If you don't know HTML, there are many alternatives
[2008.06.25 19:36:47] NiftyGaloot: I'm adding a section and products right now! :) http://www.cafepress.com/niftywares
[2008.06.25 19:36:54] BrittaCP: multitasking at it's best
[2008.06.25 19:37:03] DafnaCP: Nice!
[2008.06.25 19:37:12] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.06.25 19:37:52] DafnaCP: When creating and customizing your premium shop keep in mind that you want your shop to be easily navigable and intuitive
[2008.06.25 19:37:54] Sag: Very nice, Nifty!
[2008.06.25 19:38:04] Shopaholic Chick: the customizing and crosslinking is definatly a reason to go premium - i no long feel like i am building a shop or a couple shops - i am building an empire!!!
[2008.06.25 19:38:30] DafnaCP: By taking some time to think the organization through you can come up with a game plan to make setting up quick and easy for yourself. Here is an article about premium shop organization:
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/community/shop_organization
[2008.06.25 19:39:17] BrittaCP: which is pretty easy to do in premium, since you can use the move tool, to shuffle around your sections and products, as well as create sections to build buckets for your merch
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[2008.06.25 19:40:34] thoyt has left the room (logged out)