Creative Cash
by Tom DiFrancesca III

In my previous column I wrote about using free Internet-based services to create unique gifts for friends and loved ones. Now I’d like to go a step further and tell you about the opportunities sites such as CafePress.ca offer to help someone earn an additional income.

No, this isn’t hype. I’m writing from personal experience. I’m a former member of the Coast Guard; I served proudly for several years. A few years ago I designed a nice simple graphic with the slogan: “Once a Coastie, Always a Coastie.” I then took that design and, using the free services of CafePress.ca, created an entire storefront of clothing and merchandise with my artwork emblazoned on it. Since then I’ve sold a steady stream of products.

SUCH A DEAL
So, how is the service “free” you may wonder? The folks at CafePress have a formula they use to determine how much it costs them to produce a piece of clothing or merchandise with your graphic on it. They factor in what it costs to process a credit or debit card order and then they add a small profit for their work.

They provide the store owner their cost per item; then allow the store owner to markup the price. The markup can be a set amount such as two dollars per item, or a percentage of the original cost.

When you take into consideration that the folks at CafePress are taking the initial orders, processing the credit/debit cards, and handling all the shipping and returns, you just can’t beat it.

In addition, CafePress does a lot of advertising on major search engines and the storefront homepages are quickly indexed into search engine databases. I don’t pay for any advertising for my store and Coast Guard products.

WITTY WINS
Normally, when I’m telling others about the opportunities at CafePress (by the way, I’m not a paid spokesman) they say things like, “Well, I’m not an artist.”

My response to them is that if they can come up with a catchy phrase — most folks can come up with at least one or two — then they just need to find a friend who has some artistic ability and collaborate with them.

Combine your witty missives with their creative artwork and you’ve got a winning combination. You could do the same thing with a short poem you’ve written; combine it with a design of some kind and you just might have a winner. Once you’ve created your “masterpiece,” you can enter one, or several, T-shirt design competitions available on the Internet.

Even if you don’t win first prize, during the contest leading up to the final selection, your design will be viewed by literally thousands of visitors and they just might pop over to your CafePress store and purchase a couple of your products.

Another way to look at things is, if you create designs that contain a positive message, or motivates people to think about their relationship with Jesus, your simple creations could someday become your future ministry.

In my next column, I’ll explain self-publishing, and how to earn an income from it. In these economically unpredictable days, it couldn’t hurt to have a variety of income sources.

Tom DiFrancesca III has written hundreds of articles about computers and the Internet. His latest novel, ‘Boomerang,’ the first book of Clovis Chronicles series, is now available at www.ClovisBooks.com.

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