Using CafePress for Book Merchandise

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Writers are frequently advised to ‘go wide’ with their books.  It’s advice that I’ve followed: my books are in about every known format (paperback, hardcover, translations, digital, audio) and with as many distributors reaching every market that I possibly can.

Another way to make more income with your books is to offer something for your biggest fans (or for the family members of these readers who want to buy gifts for them).  CafePress is an easy way to set up a store for book or series merchandise.

First set up your profile on the site, including your bio, picture, your payment details,  notification preferences, etc.

The design process is pretty easy.  You can either select a product (tee shirt,  keychains, bags, etc) and then create a design specifically for that product, or you can upload a design and CafePress will show you the merchandise that your design will work on. I’m no designer (far from it, obviously), but I knew that what I was going for was a simple design that would work well on a tote bag or a coffee mug…that was really all I needed it for. You’ll want to make sure that your cover licenses allow you to use the designs for commercial use.

I used the cover (by designer Karri Klawiter) for an upcoming release and added some text by using the free program Canva. My image ended up looking like this:

Then I uploaded the design to CafePress (by clicking the arrow next to my name and selecting My Designs and then Add Designs).

When you add the design,  you name it, give it tags (sort of like keywords), and write a line or two about it.  Then the products that work for the size of your design pop up.  It will be tee shirts, pillows, dog clothing, lunch bags, and everything in between.  You can edit the selections and remove some…some weren’t good matches for my audience. On the design page for each particular design, you click the X in the top right corner of any product you want to remove. I probably removed 10.   I did like the tote bag, however.

You’ll also want to design your shop on the site.  If you click the arrow next to your name again, you’ll see the option for shops.  Click ‘open a new shop,’ then name it and choose an ID that will become your web address.  You’ll also want to add keywords and meta-tag descriptions.

You can also customize your shop’s background colors, fonts, etc.

My shop ended up looking like this: https://www.cafepress.com/cozymystery

You can see there isn’t a ton of variety in terms of design in my shop.  :)   When I have some time, I’ll try to mix it up a little more.

Be sure to list your shop on your website and in your newsletter.   I’ve stuck it in my book’s back matter with no problems to date, but I know that it could be flagged at some point as a competitor link and need to be removed.

It’s the kind of thing that I just set up and then promptly forgot about.  Sales have been surprisingly steady and it’s the kind of thing that I haven’t had to be involved in at all…it’s between the reader and CafePress.  But a couple of times I have been asked if I could sign a tote bag.  Now I keep some handy at home (and CafePress does seem to run sales).

For more detailed help and information, see these CafePress pages:

Beginners Image Workshop

Product Templates (use this if there is a very specific product you want and your image doesn’t seem to be the right dimensions. This page lists a standard image size that will work for most of their products.

Do you have any book or series merchandise?

Photo on Visualhunt