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Guide to CafePress Resources for Aspiring Shopkeepers

A One-Stop Kick-Start Guide for CafePress

By R. Jean Roth

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Optimize your learning experience with CafePress with this compendium of resources. Created with beginners in mind but useful for others too, this list was originally part of a CD developed for a course in "Set Up Shop with CafePress" given at West Los Angeles College.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Start Here!

Here's where you start opening a shop. Go ahead, click the button!

I recommend: Open your own CafePress shop

CafePress Resources

Optimize your learning experience with CafePress with this compendium of resources. Created with beginners in mind (but useful for others too), this list was originally part of a CD developed for a course in "Set Up Shop with CafePress" given at West Los Angeles College. In addition to links culled from (and linking to) other wonderfully useful sites (props to CafePedia and so many others), there are links to third-party tools and resources; support groups; sample shops to illustrate basic, premium, customized premium and all-customized shops; orignal templates, graphic software suggestions for beginners, and more.

I recommend: CafePress Resources on the web

CafePress Tutorials

CafePress learning center

I recommend: CafePress learning center

Rotem Design Studio -- CafePress shop design and graphic design

Commercial graphic design and copy-editing services for print, web, apparel, logo design. Designer has over 20 years experience in public information, pr/marketing and writing/ editing and over ten years in graphic design and layout. Intercultural specialist. I have also designed for other t-shirt vendors, both on CafePress and off, and as a shopkeeper familiar with CP and shop customization, am available for shirt and shop design.

I recommend: Rotem Design Studio

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

Don't be discouraged! There are plenty of resources for new CafePress members and a great community of helpful shopkeepers always ready to assist.
Artist? Wondering why that fabulous design that looked so good on paper doesn't do your art justice on a shirt? Don't give it up -- a t-shirt is a different medium and designs with borders, epecially square ones, may not have the same impact you wanted. Try floating your designs by removing backgrounds, or maybe fading edges or making irregular borders and see what you come up.
Need a helping hand? Or Maybe you are aready experienced and can share wth others? Join GreatGear (in our Best Blogs and Forums section) the oldest such group, and a friendly community of very talented shopkeepers. Many new advanced tools get tested out here. Beginners always warnly welcomed.
What's that link for the "vanilla" marketplace shop preview page again?! We all forget this one and it's good for easy affiliate-linking: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/browse/store/SHOPID

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Related Resources from Business.com

Recommended Solution Providers

CafePress !!!

CafePress website

Learning: CafePress Learning Center

CafePress learning center

Learning: CafePress Tutorials

More learning tips

Web Tool: CPShop

A script to more fully customize your shop and integrate it into your own website. Create by CafePress programmer Marty McKolskey.

Web Tool: CafeScripts

Another tool to customize your CafePress shop.

Web Tool: CafeBar

Toolbar to add to your brower to make it easy to find CafePress pages or functions.

Business: CPCoupon.com

Site offers the latest CP sales and promo codes and automatically changing coupons to post in your shop -- you will never have to remember to change coupon banners again!

Business: CafePress Shopkeeper Income Calculation Spreadsheet

A free tool (Excel spreadsheet.) that you can use to calculate your completed sales, pending sales, affiliate sales (selling others' wares) and the bonus based on your non-affiliate sales.(By Teesed.com)

Business: TShirt Models

Virtually hire models to wear your shirts and give your shop that "peoples" look

Graphics: CafePress Product Templates

All of them ... use them to help design with proper specs for each product.

Graphics/Web: Templates by FoxVox

CafePress offers tons of ready-made and customizable templates but if you want something really different, check out these immensely affordable and creative templates by Kristen Fox.

Graphics: GraphicWorks

A simple graphics shareware utility for CafePress that was designed for people new to graphics production. Shareware but free demo available. Windows only. By Nick Lilavois.

Graphics: GIMP

Free image manipulation program for photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. For Windows, MacOSX, Unix.

Graphics: PhotoShop Elements

I am an unabashed fan and user of PhotoShop but its complexity and price can scare the pants off a new user. "Elements" is a stripped down version of PhotoShop that is still loaded with superb features and sells for much less. If you look online you will find it for an even lower price than at Adobe.

Graphics & Web Tool: Color Scheme Generator

Helps find complimentary color combinations for webpages

Best Sites to Learn More

Making Money on CafePress

Guide right here at Work.com

Success With CafePress

Only book of its kind, takes you step by step.

Unofficial CafePress Premium Shop Owner's Guide & FAQ

Although the site says it's a bit out of date (see note at top) it still has a lot of terrific information on setting up a premium shop. By Kristen Fox.

CafePedia

Wikipedia for and by CafePress shopkeepers

Best Blogs and Forums

GreatGear

Excellent supportive external community group of CafePress shopkeepers.

Official CafePress Forum

Announcements, support and community interaction by CafePress and CP shopkeepers.

Official CafePress Blog

Squidoo Lens of CP Resources

By shopkeeper Jillian Renner

Official CafePress Squidoo Lens

Resources from CafePress HQ on Squidoo

GreatGear Blog

Great Gear members (the nicest CafePress shopkeeper community) present new designs to make affiliating so much easier.

Rotem Gear Informer

Newsetter/Blog from Rotem Gear with latest promotions, new products, favorite finds from other designers, and the occasional odd news article. Great example of how to show off your own products, link to affilaite products and yet still be interesting to readers.

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