post holiday

[2008.12.18 19:02:36] Welcome to the CafePress Chat Room
[2008.12.18 19:02:36] Shopaholic chick has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
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[2008.12.18 19:02:50] Cyndi has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
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[2008.12.18 19:02:55] kitschbitsch has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
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[2008.12.18 19:03:04] mydeas has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:03:10] NiftyGaloot has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:03:22] rogers has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:03:25] GetYerGoat has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:03:26] dreamup has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:03:27] AngelaCP has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:03:29] Lace has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:03:41] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:03:46] AngelaCP: hi everyone!
[2008.12.18 19:04:00] Shopaholic chick: hi everyone!!!
[2008.12.18 19:04:01] GetYerGoat: HI Ang
[2008.12.18 19:04:08] DafnaCP: hi all
[2008.12.18 19:04:10] AngelaCP: hi goatlady! how have you been?
[2008.12.18 19:04:12] Cyndi: Hola, Chicka! Chickas...
[2008.12.18 19:04:14] kitschbitsch: Hey
[2008.12.18 19:04:16] rogers: hello
[2008.12.18 19:04:19] teesa: hi all!
[2008.12.18 19:04:39] GetYerGoat: Busy tired and cold
[2008.12.18 19:04:46] mydeas: hello!
[2008.12.18 19:04:53] AngelaCP: me too... very cold and tired...
[2008.12.18 19:04:55] AngelaCP: busy too
[2008.12.18 19:04:57] GetYerGoat: sales this month are good though
[2008.12.18 19:05:04] AngelaCP: that's so good to hear!
[2008.12.18 19:05:27] GetYerGoat: 900 + orders so far this month
[2008.12.18 19:05:40] kitschbitsch: Whoa!
[2008.12.18 19:05:40] AngelaCP: Oh my! The DONOT fairy has been really good to you
[2008.12.18 19:05:51] teesa: wow!
[2008.12.18 19:05:53] Lace: somebody send me some cold weather...70+ degrees here
[2008.12.18 19:05:55] electricgreen has left the room (logged out)
[2008.12.18 19:06:00] AngelaCP: i wish lace...
[2008.12.18 19:06:02] AngelaCP: let's trade
[2008.12.18 19:06:07] NiftyGaloot: Was a bit nippy this morning... 24 below zero
[2008.12.18 19:06:14] Lace: it's a deal! :D
[2008.12.18 19:06:15] GetYerGoat: Need to do this Every Month THEN I'll be happy ;)
[2008.12.18 19:06:18] AngelaCP: ;)
[2008.12.18 19:06:27] armymom has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:07:04] Cyndi: LOL No you won't...it's a CP sickness...always wanting more than last month...
[2008.12.18 19:07:16] DafnaCP: Hi everyone. Thanks for coming.
[2008.12.18 19:07:28] DafnaCP: As holiday sales slow down, this is a good time to put together your game plan for transitioning your shops, or de-seasoning if you will.
[2008.12.18 19:07:49] Cyndi: Hi Dafna
[2008.12.18 19:08:02] DafnaCP: Before we get started, I just want to remind everyone that this is a moderated chat. That means that questions come in to a queue and we push them out and answer them as quickly as we can.
[2008.12.18 19:08:22] DafnaCP: We can not get to all of the questions due to time and subject constraints but we will do our best to get all of the relevant questions out.
[2008.12.18 19:08:48] DafnaCP: So let’s talk about how you can best transition your shops from their holiday personas back to their normal un-holiday selves.
[2008.12.18 19:09:04] DafnaCP: Has anyone started doing this yet?
[2008.12.18 19:09:14] teesa: no
[2008.12.18 19:09:42] Cyndi: Nope. I thought I should wait til the day...
[2008.12.18 19:09:43] rogers: no my shop doesnt really look any differnt
[2008.12.18 19:09:45] Lace: just behind the scenes stuff
[2008.12.18 19:09:47] kitschbitsch: Not yet waiting for end of december
[2008.12.18 19:09:51] NiftyGaloot: Don't we just switch holidays? V-Day's comin' up!
[2008.12.18 19:10:01] AngelaCP: that's perfect...it's definitely behind the scenes as there's still a week left for holiday shopping
[2008.12.18 19:10:11] DafnaCP: Yes, the first thing to remember is that this should be a gradual transition.
[2008.12.18 19:11:10] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:11:23] Shopaholic chick: i agree with nifty - xmas comes down vday goes up
[2008.12.18 19:11:33] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:11:35] Cyndi: I was in Walmart today and they were already replacing Christmas stuff with Valentine's Day stuff...which made me mad since I'm not done Christmas shopping yet...
[2008.12.18 19:11:56] DafnaCP: Yes, it's important to retain the look and feel of Christmas for as long as the Holiday season is upon us
[2008.12.18 19:12:03] DafnaCP: Your transition should begin on December 22nd by featuring the Gift Certificates option for those last minute shoppers who won’t make the shipping deadlines. Consider putting up a banner promoting the Gift This Cart feature.
[2008.12.18 19:13:00] mydeas: How do we feature them? Do you have a code?
[2008.12.18 19:13:30] DafnaCP: No code. I suggest creating a banner and putting it in the welcome message section of your custom html. That's the easiest way.
[2008.12.18 19:13:45] DafnaCP: Anybody else have suggestions on how to feature the gift certificates?
[2008.12.18 19:14:18] kitschbitsch: Not everyone is html savvy
[2008.12.18 19:14:23] mydeas: K. Thanks. :)
[2008.12.18 19:15:10] DafnaCP: Even if you're not html savvy, you can still feature them. You can do something as simple as putting it in that section in text -- no banner necessary.
[2008.12.18 19:15:22] GetYerGoat: Stupid question, I must have missed how the Gift this Cart feature works, is this something that credits our shop?
[2008.12.18 19:15:25] rogers: what gift certificates?
[2008.12.18 19:15:54] DafnaCP has left the room (logged out)
[2008.12.18 19:16:08] AngelaCP: When checking out, there's an option called Gift This Cart.
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[2008.12.18 19:16:52] AngelaCP: Their gift recipient will receive a code to redeem and purchase what was picked out by the customer
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[2008.12.18 19:17:32] AngelaCP: The shop will receive the commission after the gift recipient redeems the "cart"
[2008.12.18 19:17:36] GetYerGoat: OK and then what happens to the cart?
[2008.12.18 19:17:50] AngelaCP: an email will be sent to the gift recipient
[2008.12.18 19:17:58] rogers: you mean the thing that asks if it is a gift order?
[2008.12.18 19:18:06] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:18:10] AngelaCP: no, that's separate
[2008.12.18 19:18:27] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:18:33] Shopaholic chick: that could explain the people leaving on the cart without buying...
[2008.12.18 19:18:34] Cyndi has left the room (logged out)
[2008.12.18 19:19:08] AngelaCP: under the Keep Shopping/Proceed to Checkout buttons in the shoppiong cart
[2008.12.18 19:19:14] deadhippo has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:19:23] AngelaCP: there's a Gift This Cart option
[2008.12.18 19:19:34] Dooni Designs has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:19:36] Shopaholic chick: so basically you can pick out what you want and then send the list in the form of the cart to someone in an email
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[2008.12.18 19:19:44] AngelaCP: that is correct
[2008.12.18 19:19:47] AngelaCP: and it's already paid for
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[2008.12.18 19:20:18] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:20:19] GetYerGoat: Does the customer who gets the gift certificate code have an option to change shops or items?
[2008.12.18 19:20:28] AngelaCP: the benefit is that the gift recipient can select the right size and color
[2008.12.18 19:20:39] AngelaCP: they do... so that is the risk
[2008.12.18 19:20:40] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:20:42] DafnaCP: Yes, that option is available but a person would really need to try in order to do that. It's not an easy thing to see.
[2008.12.18 19:20:50] teesa: is there a traditional gift certificate to purhcase in a monetary value without the person putting specific items in the cart?
[2008.12.18 19:21:14] kitschbitsch has left the room (logged out)
[2008.12.18 19:21:28] DafnaCP: Yes. A customer could simply buy a gift certificate for a specified amount here:http://www.cafepress.com/cp/members/giftcertificates/product_details.aspx
[2008.12.18 19:21:38] Shopaholic chick: paid for?
[2008.12.18 19:21:39] AngelaCP: The customer basically buys the amount in the cart...and then sends it over to the gift recipient.
[2008.12.18 19:21:46] mydeas: How do people get teh gift certificates? Sorry haven't used them.
[2008.12.18 19:21:53] DafnaCP: by email
[2008.12.18 19:22:01] Stratman: is this feature explained to potential customers anywhere
[2008.12.18 19:22:03] AngelaCP: it is
[2008.12.18 19:22:15] AngelaCP: in the shopping cart, under the procced to checkout buttons
[2008.12.18 19:22:27] GetYerGoat: So I f I did the gift this cart and sned it to you the gift is for you and I paid for it and chose the item for you ?
[2008.12.18 19:22:30] DafnaCP: exactly
[2008.12.18 19:22:44] AngelaCP: Turn this cart into a Gift Certificate and send it today! [paragraph explaination] Gift This Cart button
[2008.12.18 19:23:18] DafnaCP: So gift certificates is a good way to capitalize on the late shoppers
[2008.12.18 19:23:24] DafnaCP: anyone do anything else?
[2008.12.18 19:23:29] Lace: gonna have an after christmas sale to start the transition ;)
[2008.12.18 19:23:34] Lace: hit up all those folks that got $$$ for gifts lol
[2008.12.18 19:23:49] DafnaCP: that's a great idea Lace
[2008.12.18 19:24:12] teesa: how do you "have a sale"?
[2008.12.18 19:25:06] Lace: lower the prices in my shop (all shop or different sections) and advertise on my sites with banners and posts and my email list
[2008.12.18 19:25:34] GetYerGoat: I only put a few items in a sale section for ashoirt amount of time- blog aboutit then take it down or replace the prices with normal pricing after a certain time (Remember! These saleprices will hit the MP!)
[2008.12.18 19:25:55] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:26:27] Lace: me too gyg
[2008.12.18 19:26:29] Lace: one tweet on twitter about the sale and you've told the world!
[2008.12.18 19:26:31] mydeas: How do you get an email list?
[2008.12.18 19:26:46] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:27:15] Lace: there is one you can use in your premium shop but I was talking about my website email marketing list
[2008.12.18 19:27:24] teesa: thanks, but is there a say to show a sale price next to the regular price?
[2008.12.18 19:27:42] Lace: you have to build your list from people who have purchased or subscribed to your newsletter
[2008.12.18 19:27:43] rogers has left the room (logged out)
[2008.12.18 19:28:36] rogers has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:28:51] mydeas: So, was I. What are you using for an email list? Is there a way to get emails from people who have purchased?
[2008.12.18 19:29:11] teesa has left the room (logged out)
[2008.12.18 19:29:43] Lace: I built my list from my website
[2008.12.18 19:29:50] AngelaCP: For us, St Patricks is bigger only because people find the need to get
[2008.12.18 19:29:55] GetYerGoat: Which is a bigger selling audience? Valentines day or St Patricks day? which to hit when and
[2008.12.18 19:30:08] AngelaCP: Sorry for pushing that out w/o finishing my thought
[2008.12.18 19:30:12] AngelaCP: GetYerGoat
[2008.12.18 19:30:13] AngelaCP: Turn this cart into a Gift Certificate and send it today!
[2008.12.18 19:30:21] AngelaCP: Sorry again
[2008.12.18 19:30:23] AngelaCP: ignore that
[2008.12.18 19:30:28] teesa has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:30:30] DafnaCP: LOL!! We're having technical difficulties y'all
[2008.12.18 19:30:41] GetYerGoat: lol
[2008.12.18 19:30:51] AngelaCP: so the bigger selling of the two is St Patrick' s Day because of the drinking and party related topics
[2008.12.18 19:31:17] AngelaCP: Vday is big too
[2008.12.18 19:31:23] AngelaCP: but more the smaller stuff
[2008.12.18 19:31:41] AngelaCP: cards does really well
[2008.12.18 19:31:49] AngelaCP: anti does much better though
[2008.12.18 19:32:17] AngelaCP: i think because for vday, it's traditional to get flowers, candy and diamonds
[2008.12.18 19:32:44] DafnaCP: so for cards and keepsake boxes and things of that nature, the positive items sell best
[2008.12.18 19:32:57] DafnaCP: but for t-shirts and things like that we do better with anti valentines
[2008.12.18 19:33:09] DafnaCP: though there truly is a market for both so you could go either way
[2008.12.18 19:33:27] DafnaCP: I wouldn't hit Valentines Day just yet though
[2008.12.18 19:33:44] DafnaCP: if you have a political shop, I suggest moving into Inaguration
[2008.12.18 19:33:44] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:33:52] Shopaholic chick: i start vday on 1/1 and st pats on 2/15
[2008.12.18 19:34:12] AngelaCP: who has a political shop? I bet you're still selling political related designs...
[2008.12.18 19:34:13] DafnaCP: normally, that'd be the way to go shoppa. But this year, we have something special happening
[2008.12.18 19:35:23] DafnaCP: we only get to do an inaguration every so often so let's take advantage of that by promoting both your pro and con political merch
[2008.12.18 19:35:42] GetYerGoat: selling pornaments like crazy - like many many a day still
[2008.12.18 19:36:05] GetYerGoat: (I was thirlled my ornament was featured in one of the cafepress blogs letter to santa :)
[2008.12.18 19:36:11] Cyndi: Pornaments? Is that a special kind of ornament?
[2008.12.18 19:36:23] Cyndi: :D
[2008.12.18 19:36:28] GetYerGoat: TYPO LOL LMAO sorry
[2008.12.18 19:36:51] DafnaCP: And moving right along..... :)
[2008.12.18 19:37:43] DafnaCP: For those of you who do not have political shops, you can still transition to Winter
[2008.12.18 19:37:53] DafnaCP: The timeline should look like this:
[2008.12.18 19:37:56] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:38:03] DafnaCP: On December 23rd through the 25th you can start to slowly – gradually remove the holiday look and feel in your shops. Remove those cute graphics one at a time over the course of a couple of days.
[2008.12.18 19:38:05] AngelaCP: i was wondering what that was? ;)
[2008.12.18 19:38:25] DafnaCP: Remember, it’s still the Holidays so any shoppers who come to your site during this transition time should still see a semi-festive vibe.
[2008.12.18 19:39:00] DafnaCP: On the 26th I recommend moving over completely to whatever topic you think will work best for your shop. Either inaguration, winter, V-Day and/or St. Pats
[2008.12.18 19:40:17] DafnaCP: each niche is different so think about the one that's going to be best for your design style etc...
[2008.12.18 19:40:54] DafnaCP: It's also important to make sure that you've got the right products for the season.
[2008.12.18 19:41:13] DafnaCP: Cards are going to be less popular for Winter or Inaguration and more popular for V-Day
[2008.12.18 19:41:48] DafnaCP: and Sweatshirts, the Travel Mug, and Longsleeve shirts are going to be good for all niches
[2008.12.18 19:41:54] NiftyGaloot: Can we combine inauguration and St. Pats... O'Bama and O'Biden... The Irish guys?
[2008.12.18 19:42:15] DafnaCP: You may be on to something there nifty :D
[2008.12.18 19:43:14] DafnaCP: I've also notices a shortage of dark sweatshirts in the shops I've looked at recently.
[2008.12.18 19:43:21] DafnaCP: noticed*
[2008.12.18 19:44:16] DafnaCP: add those!! It's cold these days and people are going to be looking for dark sweatshirts and dark long sleeved shirts.
[2008.12.18 19:44:32] mydeas: I have some :)
[2008.12.18 19:44:39] Cyndi: LOL That's funny, cuz I actually had doubles in some of my sections because I was playign with the bulk add feature...
[2008.12.18 19:45:10] DafnaCP: oops! I guess doubles is better than none though!
[2008.12.18 19:45:23] rogers: me to havent sold any yet
[2008.12.18 19:45:36] Dooni Designs: so is cp giving anti and vday less marketing this year cuz of the politics this year?
[2008.12.18 19:45:38] AngelaCP: No, we'll be doing something. However, the reality is... politics is big. It's in the news, it's everywhere...and if we don't capture it, someone else will. That said, we will do something for V and anti-Vday but something for inauguration as well
[2008.12.18 19:45:59] GetYerGoat: I've been selling a lot of dark long sleeves and hoodies lately
[2008.12.18 19:46:03] Cyndi: I have sold quite a few...maybe doubles is the ticket...LOL
[2008.12.18 19:46:06] Dooni Designs: ive sold some of those and the zip hoodies
[2008.12.18 19:46:12] DafnaCP: awesome!
[2008.12.18 19:46:21] AngelaCP has left the room (logged out)
[2008.12.18 19:47:46] DafnaCP: So we're running low on time but I do want to touch upon SEO for a bit.
[2008.12.18 19:48:59] DafnaCP: As you're cleaning things out, it's important not to delete your "holiday" section(s).
[2008.12.18 19:49:09] Cyndi has left the room (logged out)
[2008.12.18 19:49:11] DafnaCP: If the sections have ranking in Google or other search engines, deleting them will only hinder your ranking.
[2008.12.18 19:49:34] DafnaCP: Instead, move the sections to the bottom of your shop and/or hide them if you feel that's necessary.
[2008.12.18 19:49:52] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.12.18 19:49:56] Shopaholic chick: i sell holuday off season all the time - i sold 4 st patricks day int he last 2 weeks
[2008.12.18 19:50:12] Cyndi has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.12.18 19:50:45] DafnaCP: yep, you never know
[2008.12.18 19:51:39] veggiet has left the room (logged out)
[2008.12.18 19:51:53] DafnaCP: The other point about SEO that I want to throw out there is that it takes time to build ranking
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[2008.12.18 19:52:12] DafnaCP: so the earlier you can start building those sections for V-Day or St. Pats, the better.
[2008.12.18 19:53:02] Cyndi: Good point...I am usually way behind on that...
[2008.12.18 19:53:44] DafnaCP: I wouldn't put the sections front and center in your shop (not just yet) but do start creating them and keywording the teasers, descriptions etc...
[2008.12.18 19:53:51] NiftyGaloot: Like... is a good gift for her Birthday, Valentine's day, Mother's day, or any day.
[2008.12.18 19:53:57] DafnaCP: exactly!
[2008.12.18 19:54:41] DafnaCP: We've got just a few minutes left. Any last questions?
[2008.12.18 19:55:35] Cyndi: Really good ideas...thanks!! I am actually going to go make some pornaments now...:whistle:
[2008.12.18 19:56:04] Lace has left the room
[2008.12.18 19:56:05] mydeas: lolol
[2008.12.18 19:56:16] DafnaCP: Lol! Okay then, have a good night everybody. And happy holidays!