20.10% of the net apparel, mug, and binder sale price will be deducted when one or more of a single product type is purchased and the coupon code NEWYOUZAZZLE is applied at checkout. The net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). Offer is valid from December 29, 2009 through January 5, 2010 at 11:59pm PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

Well, the contest is over. The results are going to be revealed.

1. Swine Flu Comes To Farm Town
   




2. Ghost Crab Hunters
   



3. Procrastinators Unite...Tomorrow
   




4. Rock and Roll Ex President
   




5. KAB Radio 1340
   

And the winner is...

No one.

Not one person entered. I feel a little embarrassed at the poor turnout. That's ok, though. It was the first attempt at a contest and perhaps it was not a good one. I'll build on that and try again, soon.

If you haven't already seen the post explaining the contest, go here. Put simply, I am giving away an item from my store for free. All you have to do is correctly identify the following five designs and you will entered into a drawing to be picked as a winner. Contest runs from 12:00 AM EST December 14 - 12:00 AM EST December 26th. That gives you all the way to the end of Christmas Day to get your entry in. On December 26th, I will pick a winner at random from the entries with all 5 images guessed correctly and post the winner along with the answers on the site.

Please send entries, one per person, to angrymongo@yahoo.com in the following format.

In the subject line please put Mongo Christmas Contest 2009.
In the body of the message please put your name and correctly identify the images as such

1. Name of design
2. URL of section in my CafePress shop

You will need to go to my shop to retrieve the URL which you can simply do by looking down the left hand column finding the right design and then right click on the link and choose copy shortcut.

Here are the images.

1. 
   
   



2. 
   
   



3. 
   
   



4. 
   
   



5. 
   
   

Good Luck!

It’s time to give back to my fans and hope they are still paying attention. Mongo Angry Mongo Smash is holding a contest beginning December 14th – 25th 2009. You will have the opportunity to win an item, of your choice, from my store. Certain restrictions apply.¹

Here are the details.
Beginning at midnight on December14th, I will post a series of five images on my blog.² Each will be a small piece of an entire design found in my CafePress store.

All you have to do is figure out which design is being shown and email me at the address I give you in the blog post to be entered into the contest.⁶

In the subject line you need to put Mongo Christmas Contest 2009 and In the body of the message you need to correctly identify each design by name and provide the link to the section on my store. ³

Example:
In the blog post you see this picture
1.

In the email you put this
1. Monkey Fighting Snakes On A Monday To Friday Plane
http://www.cafepress.com/Mongoware/6672140

If you provide correct answers for all five images you will be placed into a drawing with other participants who have submitted five correct answers.⁴

On December 26th, 2009 I will post the answers and reveal the winner who will be drawn at random.⁵ If you have any issue with being identified please let me know when I contact you as a winner.

Please allow time for fulfillment and shipping of your prize. Answers submitted after the close of the contest will not be considered. You have two weeks and plenty of time to do the research. Sorry. You will probably have to do some extensive looking at either the images in my fan page photo album or through my store at http://www.cafepress.com/mongoware. Good luck.⁷

Gory details
1. You can choose anything I sell. Meaning, if you find it in my store, you can have it. No substitutions allowed. In the event that the design you wish to receive becomes unavailable, I will first try to offer it to you from a different POD site such as Zazzle and will work with you to accommodate size, style, and color. If that is unacceptable please you may choose another design in any style or color. Products with multiple quantities (i.e. Buttons, Magnets, Stickers, etc) are not eligible.

2. I realize that the blog does not update to Facebook immediately allowing for a few hours of lag time between publish time and import time. Therefore, the link to the post will be put into my status update on the fan page at midnight or within a reasonable amount of minutes after.

3. You don’t have to be exact in the name. The link will give me enough proof that you know what you are talking about.

4. Employees and family members of CaféPress and M.A.M.S. are not eligible. Void in Rhode Island. I’m just kidding, contestants in Rhode Island can participate. I just wanted to see if you were reading this.

5. I wish I could give every person who guesses correctly an item but I just don’t have the means to do so. That is why you can choose a dark hooded sweatshirt which is more expensive than a basic white shirt if you win.

6. I will not sell, distribute, reveal, or spam your email address. Also, I will not become romantically involved with, stalk, or try to get you to join a cult either. I expect you do the same for me.

7. This is just here for no reason. I like the number 7.

8. Why are you still reading these?

I am a born and raised Southwestern Pennsylvania Mongo. I grew up in between the cow patty filled pastures of rural farmlands and the hustle and bustle of the mid size metropolis known as Pittsburgh. I always thought I would be a city boy at heart and always wanted to live in places like New York or San Francisco and the like. It was my background as an actor and love of the electric feel of the urban skyline that made me want to take that plunge, but the high cost of living, traffic, close quarters and quite frankly my desire to live a long life and not end up as a statistic that kept me near the suburbs.

Of course, I still like to visit. I’ve been to San Francisco and would go back in a heartbeat but New York is one of those cities that I really want to love but have problems committing to that emotion. I was there recently on business in 2006 and didn’t get much of a chance to sight see. I did manage to walk from Madison Ave to Times Square and back on more than one occasion. There’s an awesome little bar for small town guys like me called Mulligan’s on the way. I found it after I realized that most establishments wouldn’t like to cater to the sweatshirt and jeans clad clientele and figured what better way to find a decent drink in Gotham than to ask one of its working class heroes, a doorman.

I’d still love to take in my first Broadway show and do all the touristy stuff again, but money being what it is and my ever emerging social anxiety disorder…actually I think it’s more spatial anxiety disorder. I’m getting to big in britches to fit into tiny places…I find myself unwilling or unable to make the trip. So, with that in mind I give you a couple of designs for those of us who really want to love NY but just can’t commit.

With Christmas Shopping in full swing, why not give that special someone a Christmas shirt they won’t be embarrassed to wear around. M.A.M.S The Store is offering several designs with new ones added regularly. Warning, some are not kid friendly and could offend Aunt Harriet so be careful.

First up, we honor the reason for the season and guess what? It’s a Celebration, Bitches!
Depicting what might have transpired between the three wise men before they showed up at the manger with 2 out of 3 crappy gifts. The design comes in black or white with several shirt styles and colors to choose from as well as bags, mugs, and other gifts as well.

Get It’s a Celebration, Bitches!
From CaféPress and Zazzle.

Next up, who doesn’t love A Christmas Story? Here we take some of the best memories and bastardize the hell out of them.

When Ralphie muttered the Queen Mother of all dirty words, we all laughed because we’ve been there, as kids. So, why not show Mom and Dad what you really meant instead of the F dash dash dash word.

Get Oh, Fudge!
from CaféPress and Zazzle

When you win a major award from Italy….it said Fra Gee Lay on the box, you want to show it off in your window. And nothing says major like a fishnet stocking leg lamp. This one combines with the popular phrase “I Love Lamp,” uttered by Brick Tamland from Anchorman The Legend of Ron Burgundy with the soft warm glow of electric sex in the window inspired by the Leg Up Lamp from Christmas Story.

Get I Love Lamp
from CaféPress or Zazzle

The song goes, “I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus” but I think this little girl stuck around and saw what Santa put in Mommy’s stocking. I don’t think it would have been a laugh if Daddy caught them and frankly, you have good leverage to get that pony this year. Design comes in Black, White, or “Hell, I’m embarrassed” Red on any number of style or color shirts as well as mugs, buttons, etc.

I saw what else you did to Mommy
is available from CaféPress and Zazzle

And lastly, you want to let the world know exactly what you got going on by telling it like it is. I’m Hung Like a Christmas Stocking comes in two styles, short and sweet for easy reading, or a little more descriptive with the additional line (by the chimney with care)

I’m Hung Like a Christmas Stocking
is available from CaféPress and Zazzle

Merry Christmas, Hallelujah, Holy Shirt, where’s the Tylenol.

Use Code 12DEALSSHIRT on checkout and receive $5.00 off T-Shirts and Embroidered T-Shirts. You can purchase something from my store or buy anything from Zazzle and get the discount.

You can shop my store or buy anything from Zazzle and get free shipping on orders of $25 or more.

Use Promo Code 12DEALSSHIPS


Legal Mumbo Jumbo
To qualify for this free shipping offer, one or more Zazzle products must be purchased with a net sale price equal to or greater than 25.00 dollars. Enter promo code 12DEALSSHIPS at checkout to receive the free shipping. The free shipping offer is for ground shipping to U.S. addresses only. Shipping charges will apply to oversized orders and orders being shipped on an expedited basis or outside the U.S. Offer is valid from December 5, 2009 through December 5, 2009 at 11:59pm PT. This promotional offer may not combine with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

That's right. Yeah, I spend time creating, loading, and marketing designs in order to sell t-shirts. Maybe you would love to do the same but don't have the time. T-Shirt Hell does all the work. You just point people to their store. As an affiliate, you can use your blog or website to promote T-Shirt Hell and if someone buys a shirt you get $5.00. That's it. If someone buys 5 shirts, you get a check for $25.00. (meaning checks get sent out after you earn a minimum of $25.00)

Simple.

You can also promote affiliation and get an additional $1.00 for every shirt sold through your affiliate tree. Click the banner for more details.

DISCLAIMER. Do realize that T-Shirt Hell sells and promotes shirts with sometimes....OK, mostly offensive, crude and rude humor. Please be responsible in your promotion. You have been warned.

You can get free shipping from my store or for any product sold on Zazzle.com

To qualify for this free shipping offer, one or more Zazzle products must be purchased. Enter promo code HOLIDAYSHIPS at checkout to receive the free shipping. The free shipping offer is for ground shipping to U.S. addresses only. Shipping charges will apply to oversized orders and orders being shipped on an expedited basis or outside the U.S. Offer is valid from December 1, 2009 through December 2, 2009 at 11:59pm PT. This promotional offer may not combine with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

Have Fun! I know. That was awful of me to make you sit through 9 endless posts about success, promising some sort of silver bullet or holy grail at the end. It was wrong, but you really needed to go through all of that before learning this bit. Above all else, even if you completely disregard Tips 1-9, remember this one. Have fun.

I admit that I spend waaaaaayyy too much time doing this, but I find it fun. Being creative with digital art and actually making some money from it is enough to keep me going. I wish I had discovered this years ago. CaféPress is ten years old but if I could have had this in college I would have probably done things different in terms of careers and education. I would have taken some graphic design courses and gone back for Internet and marketing courses.

But none of that makes any sense if I don’t enjoy it. It is what I, or what Mongo, would call, “Make Funny Shirt.” Besides having a business model that ensures that if I don’t turn a profit the lights go out at the end of the day, I do this because I have such a weird sense of humor and I need some sort of creative outlet to quiet the voices in my head. Because of that, I find new and better ways to make fun of things that people don’t often think about, within reason. As my two year old daughter says when it’s time for bedtime or a bath, “I want to play. Have fun.” I do. I wish I did this full time and that it paid off like a full time job. Maybe I need to reevaluate my life and goals but for the most part the four or five hours a week I spend in the Mad Doctor’s Lab makes life a little more fun.

So, if you are even the slight bit serious about starting your own site or business, whether it be a POD store or some other business you need to determine what you think is success. Having fun is a major component of my definition of success. If I’m not having fun, then why am I doing it? Sure, I’m making money, but there are other ways to do that. Let me give you one, half related, example that speaks to this. In previous jobs I have had to work on holidays. I hated it. I would rather spend that time with my family, doing something fun. However, if someone is willing to make it worth my while, I’ll do it. The stipulation to that is that if I am coming in on my day off or on a holiday, you will pay me more than I usually get. (A full eight hour shift at time and a half or better, regardless of it being over a 40 hr week already.) The reason being is that for me to give up my time, which is already booked as far as I’m concern, you need to offer something better. Up to four hours of overtime is not worth it, in terms of my time, deductions from my paycheck and taxes at the end of the year. I don’t see the benefit of spending my free time on something that does nothing for me. Now, that might seem harsh and a little cold but obviously someone is benefiting from me being there and the least they can do is pay me what my free time is worth.

That means nothing in the case of friends or family. This is just applicable to business. To connect those dots, I do this kind of stuff in my free time because I enjoy it and it pays. Granted, it’s nowhere near time and a half, but if you actually take the amount of effort I spend and compare against the amount of sales that come in, with no extra work, then it pays the same.

And please, if you have any problems with my work or even need help, feel free to contact me through the site or my fan page. I’m always willing and hopefully able to answer a question. Take care and HAVE FUN!

If you have images of a scientist, deep in the recesses of his lab, piecing together parts of dead people, then good. Get a brain from a man named Abby Normal and you have the makings of a great plan. Truthfully, you can only regret the chances not taken when it comes to a business like Print on Demand publishing. For the most part, you have no overhead except your time, so once you have a site or store up and running, you have time to be creative. I mean this one more than one front.

Be creative in your endeavor with graphic design. Try new things and techniques. When it doubt, search it out. I primarily use Paint.Net for my design, although I recently received a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements. It’s going to take me some time to adjust so I keep plugging away with what works. After all, Paint.Net is free and there is a plethora of plugins available to mimic the effects of a real graphic designer’s abilities. Go to a book store, grab a cup of coffee and settle into an overstuffed chair with a couple of books on design and look for stuff that interests you.

Experimenting with design is one aspect. Experimenting with subject matter opens a whole new ball field to play on for designs. Tackle new subjects and take a walk on the wild side of self expression. Do you have a political voice? Express it and you’ll be surprised who will buy it. If your integrity and moral compass can take it, design for opposing viewpoints to maximize your chance of sales. Before the whole Guantanamo Bay Waterboarding news broke I had never heard of that kind of torture. It sounded like something you did at the beach, like body surfing or boogie boarding. So, I thought it would be funny to lampoon the idea that it was a sport and made a “Property Of” style shirt for the Guantanamo Bay Waterboarding Team. It was purely a joke aimed at the imagery in my head of someone surfing off the coast of Cuba. Little did I know it would become my biggest seller.

While I admit that I am no big red state conservative, nor bleeding heart liberal, I do lean to the left in most cases. The design wasn’t intended to speak to one side of the political aisle or the other, but I’m pretty sure I can figure out which way the majority of people who bought lean towards. It doesn’t bother me. It’s your right to have an opinion and I’m willing to make a dollar off of it for better or worse. Do understand that you should be socially responsible and stick to terms of service when it comes to political messages just like anything else. CaféPress has removed designs centered around Psalm 109.8 and I’m sure other sites will as well. Regardless of the intention behind the designs it paves the way for interpretation that could be considered violent, illegal, and downright treasonous. I don’t always agree with how the POD sites conduct their removal of content, for whatever infringement, but in this case I think it was the right choice.

In terms of experimenting in other ways, do some homegrown marketing for your site. Put up flyers at the grocery store. Buy some of your own stuff and take it flea markets or put it up on eBay. If you have the time and patience, use your online site to run a brick and mortar style business. Create customized order forms and offer to do work on a local basis. CafePress and Zazzle both have products like cards and posters. Offer up your talents to local groups to do shirts for their sports teams, family reunions, and other events. A lot of sites offer bulk discounts for multiple orders of the same product. Have you ever seen families at amusement parks wearing the same shirt? There you go. Some people need the service but don’t have the time to do it themselves. Look online for design contests and try your hand at sites like Fark and Flickr. If you are a good photographer, sites like Flickr can be an outlet to share your portfolio and offer links to products sporting your photos.

While no one wants to send people away from their site, not everyone will like your products. That doesn’t mean you can’t make money offering to show someone the door. CafePress and Zazzle offer affiliate programs that can generate you referral credits and income by linking to their store with a unique identifier. If they purchase something from the site after going to it from your affiliate link, you get paid. Established sites like T-Shirt Hell and Busted Tees offer affiliate programs as well. Yes, all of those links are affiliate links from my accounts. At least I was honest about it.

So, fire up the Jacob's Ladder travelling arc, get your parts together and make some mad doctor success.