Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hi. My name is Maggie. I'm a trainer for direct to garment printing and T shirt design. And it was about 12 years ago that I started uploading on print on demand platforms. Already years I have created so many designs, and I have to admit that one off, the biggest struggles for me was to keep organized. I mean, at the end of these so much information, you have not only the designs, but you have folded that that that goes with it like descriptions and keywords. And I think I tried every single organization technique I could find from the simplest to a notebook toe on Excell table two Evernote. I think I tried it'll, but it never really felt complete, if you know what I mean. It was not until I found notion that I really have the feeling that this is something I can really work with and that this is really something that includes everything. Information I need into one system. So what I want to do in this course, Mr Show you my little what I call the sign that the base, how I organize it, how I keep old information, how I keep my files and I'm gonna show you step by step, how to set it up. And I mean, at the end of the day, you can customize it in any way that works for you. But I really hope that it is just this useful for you as it is for me. So let's have a look.
2. Our Project: So before we start creating it, I want to give you a quick overview off what we're gonna do. So let's have a look at my database. So let's have a look at a few typical tasks that were going to do within the about the base . One of the most obvious ones would be to add a new design. Therefore we go to new and we click on P O. D. Database. This were already fill it with some information that we want. I just told him opposite page if you want. And as a first step, we're gonna add a design name like this is my fantastic site. And regarding the I D. I talk a little bit off how I named my files and support them in my folders. So let's say this is I d number six. And here is a tech. I can give it a status. It can either be an idea. It can be broke. Arrest rates upload already uploaded, and here I have a few more informations like meat that that guy's if I already have the keywords and everything written, or this is still a task I have to do if it is a best seller date, for instance, will automatically feel when I click on upload it. And down here I have set up three beauties merch families in Germany and the U. S. And spread shirt Germany and I can just thou which designs I have uploaded to, and it will automatically sum it up. For me, this is basically all the information you see in the tables. And if you scroll down here, there is some additional information that does not show up in the table itself. For instance, here it can put my key words I can write my meat that that the for Amazon like brand typo and the bullet points and I also have some additional information here. For example, I store all my fouls and my Google drive to have them in a central spots that I can access from my future and my iPad and everywhere want. And here I just put the link to it. So when I click on it, it will immediately take me to my folder a little bit slower because main the net is not the best. The same principle I can use to make my life easier for instance, I always have to visit the page where I upload the merge Bama's on the signs so I can just put the link here and it will quickly take me there. I can also add additional information on separate pages, like file sizes or anything else I really want. So let's just give it the status idea so it shows up where we started off from. So if we go back to designed at the base in the coric view, we will see that this shows up here in the correct place. So all my ideas are automatically sorted into this view. But we have lots of more views, depending on the task I'm going to do. For instance, in meet the data in the meat that that of you, I can see all the files that I'm currently working on, where all the ones that are ready to upload all I have left to do is write the key words and descriptions and those things, and the way I like to work is to reserve an hour, a day or two hours a week and just block it out. And in that time, just rights those things So for me, this view is very useful. The next year we have is one in progress. This is basically where you see all the designs that I'm currently drawing, or also put the ones they're that I want to work on next. So whenever I feel the urge to draw, I come here and I see which ones I want to work on. Another view is the ones for uploaded where basically just gives me a little overview. It gives me the dates when I uploaded it, and it also gives me an overview of how many products I uploaded. For example, in merch by Amazon Germany, I have uploaded to products. If I want to see which products they're actually on, I can just click here and I will immediately see that I have uploaded them on pop sockets and on T shirts. Another view that I have this one for best sell us here. I can see all that, the signs that I have uploaded that are selling well because this ones are the ones that I want to upload on all available products as soon as possible to make south my rings One last stable that you see here, don't get scared. That's the mosque, The table. This basically includes every single information you see in the other tables. Basically, this is that that the face behind older views and it really has ever seen the information that we late their field throughout in one thought that base. So between all those tasks, you can easily just switch around. So this was a quick overview off my database, and it really helps me as a tool toe optimize my workflow and brings all the things together in one point. So now we're going to build it.
3. Master Table: as a very first step off the process. We're gonna create the master table, don't get scared. The stable will get quite big and quite large. There's gonna be lots of information in it. Basically, every information is going to be in this monster table. But don't worry. At the end, we're gonna break it down in different views and we will only see what we need to see for the specifics task. So let's get started is the first step we're gonna go to notion in notion we're going to create the new page. You have two options to do this. The 1st 1 is to click on the plus and choose Page. The second option is with shortcuts, but just typing slash and page and it will show up as well is the next step. We're going to Neymar page. I'm going to call it designed that the base to make the page look a little bit nicer. We can go up here to the three thoughts and toggle small text and forward. This will give us a little bit more space to work with and to make it look even a little bit better. I'm just going to remove the site bar by going close sidebar here. Obviously, I can always bring it back and remove it again if I need it now, it's time to really create the table. To do this, we can go plus and then scroll all the way down until we find table inland. I'm going to give it another name, so I'm just going to call it, decided that the base again, that's the name off the table. As you can see, Notion already fills it up a little bit for us. Some of them can stay some off them. Maybe not. But we have the freedom to delete and move and choose and create whatever columns we need. So let's get started. The 1st 1 that notion suggests, is the name. Obviously, this can stay because I would assume that every design file has a name. At least I give them names. The 2nd 1 is Tex, which we will also keep but will fill this up in a minute. The next option that notion gives us here is files, so they would give you the option to really choose a file and upload them and save them directly into notion which can be useful for you If this is the place where you want to store your files. I don't use it because I have all my files centralized in a Google drive folder. It's better for me because it doesn't matter if I created for the shopper illustrate on my computer or I use procreate on the iPad. I can all save it into the same drive, and I always know where they are. So this is something that I don't use. So for this I'm just gonna show you how you can delete this column. It just right click, and we moved down here to feel it and still it. Now it's gone. So let's create another column. One column that I always need is an I. D. I give every designer specific Heidi, and for this I'm going to rename it I D, and we're gonna make it on number. Then we can just make the call him a little bit smaller and drag and drop it to the front. Maybe now it's a good moment to explain to you how I name my files. If we just move over to Google drive, you see that All of my designs are grouped together under the I. D. Number. They are all named the same way. First there's I D number. Then I give them a little shortcuts to see what it ISS. For instance, Hoodie is HD pop Socket is Bob Socket and T shirt Decision. Didn't so upload them. You need to create them in different sizes, and that's how I do it. And then, obviously there is the designing. So all of my designs in all sciences are always group together. So let me just transfer this this science into our new table. So decide number one is the next step. Let's go to detects. I used sex to see the status of my current design. So let's create some texts. The way you do it is you just click into here and then you type in the first option. I use four different status ticks. I use idea where it's basically just a new idea. But I didn't do anything yet. I use, um in progress, which means that I already draw this design or I am planning to draw this next I use ready to upload, which means that the design is ready, But I still have to, right? Like the meat. A thought that to upload like the key words and descriptions and those kind of things and the last status is uploaded. So let's create them. What you do is to click into the first field and just start typing. So we have idea and, uh, been progress. Enter, Ready to upload, enter and uploaded. Now, if you would want to change the colors on this, you can do so by just clicking the three thoughts next to it. I'm gonna make idea. Gray progress. Believe blue. Ready to upload. Maybe I make yellow and uploaded green. Now there is one last thing we need to change in this column. Right now, all the statuses show up in the same time. But I don't think the design can be in progress at the same time is uploaded. So what we have to do is change here. It just right click to open this for more, Dis elect. Does he let which will keep the same decks. But we were only able to choose one at a time. Let's say the Octopus is an idea. The unicorn is in progress. This car is ready to upload and the bark is already uploaded. And I'm gonna also make this column a little bit more narrow. So we have more space as a next step. I want to know which products I actually have uploaded that decides to in which print on demand service. So what I'm gonna do is create the column for each beauty. The way I do it is to create a new column. I'm gonna pick the first beauty service here, which would be merch by Amazon Germany. And this I want them or to Cilic, because there is obviously several products that I have uploaded my design at the same time . So the way I do it, I mean merch by Amazon ISS thorns off options right now to upload your designs. I usually only upload to t shirt, hoodie and pop sockets unless the design sells really, really good. So I'm just gonna end through these three types. Obviously, if you upload to more different types off designs, you can add and delete whatever you need. So I have t shirts, pops up kits and what is so just to make this look good, I'm going to remove them from here because if it's an idea, I cannot have it uploaded yet. And I will put it here. So let's say the book we already uploaded on T shirts and hoodies and the same thing we're gonna to for every p o d that you upload. So I'm gonna add merge by Emma's own us again making the more dis Elect. And I'm gonna add the three products that I personally upload to, Let's say the back one. I only uploaded to T shirts and I'm also gonna add spread shirt in Germany and again make it more dis elect. And let's say there are only up to low T shirts, hoodies and pillows just as an example. So for every single design, you can really customize the products that you upload your designs to as the last step, I want to change how the table swords the lines. Basically, I want the newer to science to go on top, so it's easier for me to see them. And the way we change this is to go here to the three dots sort and a sort, and we're going to go for 80 number descending so from now on the new, your ones are on top and easier to see, and this is the first step of creating the most about the base. It's already quite useful, I would say, but it's not nearly as useful as it can be once we add all the different views that we can actually work with, so that's what we're gonna do next.
4. Template: One of my favorite things in motion is that a table is not just a table. Did you know that every line you see in the table is not only a line, it's actually a page that you can open where you can add additional information. You can add whatever you want, even new pages, so you can nest lots of information into information to information, and it can be very, very useful. So let's have a look. As you can see when you move up and down in the name field, this little button that says open pops up. If you click on it, it will actually open a new page. And if you want to make it full screen, just click here. Oh, PMIs Beach. Then again to make more room if you want total small text and full width to move this over here Now what do you see here is the design name and all the information we have in each column. You can also change it here if you want. It's no problem. It'll down here We have this big field where basically we can create whatever we want. We can add any information it will not show up on the table that we created, but it will always be here and connected to the design. So, for instance, you could put text even a new page to do lists, bullet lists, clothes, links, whatever you want. Lots of possibilities. As an example, when you upload your designs on merch by Amazon, let's say you need lots off metadata like descriptions and bullet points and the title in those kind of things, you can add them in here. It's always have them easily accessible. But the way that this will be the most useful for us is if we would set up a template where we already have some information pre set up, and then we just feel in what we need to fill in for every design. So let's have a look on how the system I'm going to go back to the designed at the base. And now you see that since this has been opened as a page dairies, this little bitch symbol next to it, we're going to move up here to new and create a new template. Now we're going to give you the name. Don't worry, it's not signed name. It's just a name for the template, so it's easy to find again. So we're going to call it P O. D. Database. Now, these things you could leave empty. You can also put something here. For instance, if I makes my process easier, that everything I adds to this table is already text with idea. I can choose this there. Obviously, every time I create a new entry, I can change this, but by default it will just show up with idea. So that maybe makes my life a limpet this year. Now let's open it up. It's a pitch to see its whole glory, and we're gonna go to small text and four weeks again did have some world. It's the way I create my metadata is that in the first step, I research all the key words I want to use. And then as a second step, I am writing the descriptions and everything else. So what I want to do first is create a nice little headline. So I go slash heading to, and they call it keywords. Um, if I want to make this a little bit up, up, you can just go here go color and give it a great background. So it's nice and easy. So here, ever fried my keywords and usually a make them comma separated like he were one keyword to . And the reason for this is because when I upload them when spread shirt, all I need to do is copy and paste this and it will automatically get all the key words correct. Then their r p ODIs like merch by Amazon. And for that I need to write descriptions and bullet points, and I want to have them in here a swell. So what I'm gonna do is make another heading to number on the coldest meat that that and again, I want to make a nice agree background. The way I like to do this is to have a top list for each beauty that I'm working with. So let's create here with the plus. Let's find the Tokyo list and I'm going to create one for emerged by Amazon US. So if I enter and the tep it makes a new sub double here, I'm gonna add all the information that I want to add. For example, Brende name tryto bullet one bullets to and this Scripture since former chief Amazon the meat that that that is the same for the US and UK. I'm just gonna at the UK here, too. And I'm gonna add merch by Amazon Germany, and I'm going to go up here just copy being based on the little talks. So obviously, this is where I would put all the meat that that and all the information I want to upload together with my designs. But there is a lot more things that we can actually put inside this template. So that's what we're gonna do. I'm going to create the new headline, and I will call it additional information again. I'm gonna make it nice and great in here. You can add anything that you need on a regular basis. As I mentioned, I keep all my designs centralized in the Google Drive folder. So here to get easy access, I can just make a link that takes me directly to my folder. So the way I would do this Yes. I just type full of dr. Then I go over to the Google drive and here oppressed the arrow next to P o. D. Designs and click get share a bowling. So now it done gives me this link. It's already copied. So I go back into notion. I'm Mark the school Dr. Click here on links and at my length fixed. So now when I click on here, it will automatically bring me to the correct Dr. So let's say I want to speed up my workflow and I always want to quickly access the page I need on merch by Amazon to upload my designs. So what I can do is the same thing I can, right bone merch by Amazon upload. Then I go and copy the domain. Go back to notion. Mark this. So the link pops up and had Linc. I think so. From the one I have is easily accessible, short, cold. Another thing you could add is, for instance, in different page. Let's say you have a brain like me and you forget file sizes from one day to another. I always create a new page, and I will call it file sizes. And here I can, for instance, right down the file sizes that I need to remember. Let's say merch by Amazon. The T shirt needs to be 4500 by 5400 pixel and so on and so on. Michael Bicks. I see that I have this information right here. As you can see, there are so many options with this templates. And you can really customize this in any way that is helpful for you. So now let's say we want to make this page a little bit more pretty. We really don't need all this space up here for the keywords. So, for instance, what we could do is just select oldest parts here and then drag and drop them up here. And you will see this little blue block up here on the side and just let go. Which means that now you have two rows. So this goes in here so you can structure the information in any way you want. So now when we want to add a new design, we can just go new. And then, instead of just typing in the information, you can go over here and open is a page. But now you will see that all the things we did before are going. But down here there is s beauty got the base So that's our template. When you click on it, it will bring back all the information that we set up before. So now we can just give you the design name. That's a fist. This lane five. It's already uploaded. Ready numbers. Five. I have top sockets here and the T shirt there. And then I could put all this metadata and information that I wouldn't such as Click here. I'm back and that's you. That my number five is up here and ready to go. So now it's one last thing related to the template. What I like to do is I immediately want to see in the table if I already wrote the metadata or not. And the way we do it is we create and you call him with the property checkbooks. We're going to rename it to meet the data, and obviously I'm going to make it a little bit more narrow, and that's it. So now I know if I have to meet it that already ready, I can select this, and it's easy for me to see and filter and speaking off, easily seating and filtering the information that we need. That's what we're going to do next
5. Ideas View: Obviously, when you want to start to earn some money with print on demand platforms, it's a numbers game, so you will get lots and lots and lots of designs very quickly. What is very helpful here is that you can sort this list into different views, and that's what we're gonna do now, I was thinking, we're gonna start with the ideas you. The 1st 1 we're going to create is three ideas missed. So let's get back into notion. And we think here at of you. So here you have different options off how you want to your new view to look like. And don't worry, we're not going to change any information off the master database. It's all going to be there. All we do is hide some information or not, and doesn't matter which you you take, you're not gonna lose any information. We're gonna take a table, and we're gonna name it ideas and create. So right now, it still looks the exactly same way as our master about the base. To make things a little bit more easier, we're gonna open the table as a page, and for that you click here the main difference between this view and this view is that here that that the base that is on the other pages just embedded. I always like to set up my pages this way because then I can additional information on here . Where is when I'm really in the table? There's nothing I can add anymore. So I was. The way I was set it up is that's my command center. Let's put it this way where I have to think about the base where I have got the base and all the additional information I want. And then if I want, it's on a separate page. There is always did at the base. But when you open it on the bitch, you have all this information easier accessible. Whereas when you just have it here, you have always to click the three thoughts to go to the same information. So let's hope miss a page. So let's see which information we actually need. Right now. We just want to see everything that is ticked with idea. So the way we do it is go filter. I had a field and we go click here. Then we go to Tex and the Tech is in selecting option idea, and immediately it filters away all the rest. Now there's a few columns here that are not helpful. So we're just going toe. Hide them the way you do it to spread Click Hyatt, where you can also click here on properties or just untangled them. So now, as you can see, the ideas view is ready. If you click here, you see one table that's called default. You know, we're going to click on here. And this was the master table, so we're just gonna rename it must table. So if you switch between those two now you see that year old information comes back, and when you want to see only your ideas, you click here and you immediately have them. So this is very helpful in your daily work floor. At least it helps me a lot. I like to keep the meat that that the here and I just know this I have a type of. But that's the nice thing about notion. You can always come back and fix your I like to keep the meter that they here, so I always see if I already wrote some ideas stone or not. So this is the first view. I believe you can already start to see how this can be helpful for us, but let's create a few more.
6. Metadata View: so another very helpful view for me is when I can immediately filter. If I already wrote the meat that thought that for something or not. So let's create this one again. We're going to click on the little arrow next to ideas and of you it's gonna be a table again, and we're going to call it Meet that that this time I'm writing it. Coric. So go create. So the columns for me, I'm going to leave the same because basically, that's all the information I want. The only thing that I'm going to change here is that I will add a different filter, so I will add a new filter. And basically, I want to feel through all the texts that are either in progress. So I know that I will get close to upload them and ready to upload where I know I still have to write most of the data to make it ready to upload. So this time we're going to create two filters we're gonna select again. Tex is in progress. Then we're gonna add another field and going to say, or that is ready. Top load. If we would leave end here nothing would show up because it would need both text at the same time, which we don't have. So you need or And it will always show you both the way I like to work. Mr. Chest set aside some time to do keywords and writing and all those things. So for me, this view is ideal because I just go there and I needed to see everything, did I? We'll need to work on.
7. In Progress View: The next you were going to create is one where we put all the designs that are in progress . Progress means that I'm going to draw them or that I'm already drawing them. So let's have a look. It's a very easy one. We're going to start with the meat that that of you, because we want the same columns and we're just going ahead of you and call it in progress . And what we want is a filter that says the tech he is in progress and that's it.
8. Uploaded View: the next few we're going to. Ed is going for the uploads. This one is going to be a little bit more complicated than the other two because I want to add some additional information. So this time we're going to go back to the master table and 3/8 and you were you from there so ahead of you and I'm gonna call it upload, uploaded and create. Not that I created it from the master task list. All the information I had there is here in my new us. Well, as a first step, we're going to add a new filter because we only wants the the science that are already uploaded. So text is uploaded. One more information I want to add to. Here is the date when I uploaded the design with platforms like merch by Amazon, which after one year, automatically delete files. It's very helpful for me to know when this year will be over and if I have to check if the file has been sold or not. So that's at today. We can either always create this manually by making a new column and giving it the property date, and then you can just always enter any day to want. If you're a little bit lazy like me, I like toe automate that. So the way I do it is to create the new column with the property formula, move a little bit over here. I'm going to call this the state. And if I click in here, So let me just create the formula. We want the tech to be applauded in another, and I want to form at the date like this. You see the example down here? No, this and I want the year and the monk and the date it's done. Don't worry. You don't need to learn that formula. I'm going to put it somewhere for you to download. Just if you copy and paste. There's just two things you need to make sure the 1st 1 is this tax. Call him here. If you named your column with the text inside any other name, make sure that this is the same and also the same the uploaded. If you have to take itself named different for me than also make sure that the correct one is there and at the end we just click done and that they will appear right here. So I'm going to make it a little bit more narrow and move it to here. There is one more thing I want to change in that stable. Basically, if there is lots off designs and lots off different product types you have uploaded to, this table gets huge. There's lots of information there. So what I want to change is instead off knowing, for instance, for merch by Amazon in Germany that I have uploaded on a T shirt and the hoodie and the pop , so could I just want to have the number there that I uploaded on three products I don't really need to know in an overview setting on which exact products have uploaded to. So there is one more form of that you're gonna need. But don't worry. You can just really copy and paste it in there and just make sure that the props so the names off the columns are correct, and then you're going to be fine. So the way we're going to do this is the same as before. We click on the plus and property type is going to be another formula. If I click in here. I can add my formula appear so this formula is a little bit more complicated than the one before because it's an if then formula. Just copy and paste it in there and make sure to correctly replace the names. And then you're gonna be fine. - And if the formula was correct, that done well of you. As you can see, No, it's going to show us how many products we have life. So I'm going to call this in the merch by Amazon Germany, because that's the one I said that I'm gonna move it next to this thing. And as you can see, it's correct. We have one product here and two products uploaded here, and the same thing I'm going to do for the other two beauties. So what I'm going to do is just come here very sneaky and copy the former Doc over here, creates a new column with formula, copy my formally in here and just replaced this with and be for the USA. Get some, make it smaller again. Free name people here. And the 3rd 1 for stretcher. That's when you call him formula. I came here. Okay. Gonna rename Make it a little bit more now. So now I have a very nice table, but it's very large. So now that I have this little numbers here, I don't really need those columns anymore. So I'm just gonna go ahead and hide them. And the only last thing I want to change is that I want to sort them by the dates that I uploaded them. So I'm gonna go sorta get a sport, and it's gonna be the date. Very exciting. Your and it's going to be descending because I want the newest, the science first. Also in this view, since I already uploaded it, I assumed that I already created the meta data. I can just hide this one as well. So this is the way I create my upload table for me. It's very helpful because it gives me all the information I need in a very compact for, and I hope that it's helpful for you to
9. Bestseller View: so there is one very last view that I want to create with you guys. I believe it's very helpful for me. It's one for the best. Send us, you know, Once of the science starts trending, it always makes sense to immediately makes out the amount of products that you put it on. Or also, if a new product gets added to march my Amazon, I immediately want to know on which of my best sellers I already uploaded this or not. So this view is very easy to create, but it gives you a lot of information to work with. So let's get started. So this view we're gonna create starting from the uploaded view because this already has hold the columns we more or less want to keep. So we go in the area next to uploaded and another view. It's obviously going to be a table again, and I'm going to call it a best seller. As you can see, the column state the same, but all the filters are removed so we can create new ones. We're going to create the new property and you call him with the property checkbooks and I'm going to call it a best seller. So let's say we already know that my testes and number five and my back both are awesome designs and are selling a lot, so we're going to take the two marks here. Now let's create a new filter because in this view, obviously I only want to see the ones where the best seller is checked and the tick is uploaded. Because if it's not uploaded, it cannot be a bestseller Anyways, now I can just hide the columns that I don't need. So in this case, I will remove the text and hide them. I really like this view because it makes it very obvious which designs are selling well and on which products already put them. So, as you can see only if one here and one there, and I have not maxed out all the products. And since this design is selling well, it makes sense for me to upload them there as soon as possible. And this view always helps me stay on top of things
10. Clean up : okay. Are that the basis more or less ready? The last thing we have to do is to clean it up a little bit. So let's go as a first step. We're going to go back to our master table. You see that now? All those columns that we added in the other view are also showing up here, so it makes sense to just organize them a little bit. So I'm going to drag and drop a few things around, make them a little bit smaller. Remember that in this view, you don't need to hide anything because it's not really a view that you work with. It's just one that keeps all the information ready for you to use. The next thing we're going to clean up a little bit. It's the template. And to do so, we go up here to New and we see the P. O. D. Database template that we created here, and we go on the three thoughts to edit it. Basically, what we want to do is drag and drop this information that we have here a little bit, so it's more logical. So my i d number. I want to have more on the top, the meat that that I also want more on the top that they this okay, here it's that's just check if this one's match. But it looks good and this thing's thought here can just stay the same. Just exit. And if we go here now we see that everything is organized according to our specifications. Another thing we want to clean up is are released views. So we just go here and then we see all of them and be a drag and drop. We can bring them in a more logical order. For example, the master table. We don't really need to access that often so it can go to the bottom and in progress. Maybe can be up here somewhere. So just sorted in a way that works for you and your work, Phil. And the very last thing we're gonna do is protect the page. We don't want to make any unwanted changes to our database. So the way we do this is we go up here to the three thoughts every click on that the base look. So now I cannot drag and drop in information anymore. I cannot, at columns I cannot delete columns. All I can do is add new the size. So now are that the basis ready? All that is left for you to do is to fill it with all your designs. And I hope that it is s useful for you as it is for me.
Maggi Fuchs, Do more with less.
