Selling T-Shirts Online

Think of a Few Words First
When you have found a suitable design graphic,  I suggest that next you think about the title, product name and keywords for your new product – even before you start the procedure of opening the shop.

Why?
Well the process of opening a new free shop and adding a design isn’t difficult and doesn’t take long but what makes all the difference – and can take much more time to work on – is the title and keywords that you use to describe the product.

The reason this is so important is that these words are what is picked up by search engines and after all it is search engines that will bring most of your customers.

So spend some time thinking of a suitable name and simple words to describe what your design and product is and who it is aimed at. There is no need to be too clever or witty, just keep it simple and clear.

Example
Say you have a child’s drawing of a rabbit. It is a charming naive sketch and you believe that it will appeal to children and their parents. You want to put it onto mugs and children’s clothing and maybe other items.

Title
Your title could be something as simple as “A cute bunny rabbit on children’s clothing, mugs and other gift items”

Keywords
Now list some of the most important words that go with your shop and your design. Think about it from the point of view of someone searching for something to buy. What are they likely to put into a search box that will end up with them viewing your page with your designs and products?

Maybe words such as:  bunny, rabbit, baby, bib, sweatshirts, mug, coffee cup, gift, unique – I’m sure you can think of many more.

Description
So we have a title and keywords and now we need a description.
This can just be the title repeated, perhaps with a few words to make it into a complete sentence such as:
‘We sell pictures of cute bunny rabbits on children’s clothing, mugs and other gift items.”

Name and Shop ID
Finally think of a simple name for the product. I suggest you pick a name based on the design – remember this example is for a free shop using one single design, not a shop with lots of designs which could have a broader name or brand. So let’s call our example “Cute Bunny” and the one-word shop ID which you’ll be asked for could simply be  “cutebunny”.

Done

OK, we are just about ready to open our free Cafepress shop with the minimum of fuss and bother.

Till next time!

Syd