Tag: Business/Website

Site Updates – Progress & SEO Tweaks

Over the past two days, I’ve made some solid progress on the website:

• About 33% of the shirt listings have been updated so far.
• Made two design modifications to the “Is This a Table Jesus Would Flip?” shirts.
• To ensure everything is current and set up properly for future sales, I deleted the original product listings and re-created them from scratch.

On the back end, I also focused on SEO improvements — updating keywords, meta descriptions, and more. I used ChatGPT to help review pages and generate optimized content suggestions.

More updates to come as I keep working through the catalog!

It’s only boring until something breaks—then it’s an emergency.
That’s why I try to stay ahead of the problems, even if it means spending time on the “boring” stuff. (Apologies if this kind of work isn’t boring to you.)

Here’s what I tackled on the website this weekend:

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🔒 Backed up the site (finally!)
For the first 5 weeks, there was no backup running—yikes. That’s fixed now. I installed a well-reviewed plugin and set it to store backups in a trusted, secure cloud service.
👉 It’s a static file backup (not a live mirror site), but that’s all I need right now.

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📱 Updated menus for easier browsing
I reworked the product menus to reflect categories and tags more clearly. Now, when someone taps “Products” on their phone, they can jump straight to “Dandelion Faith” or “Classic Tees” without extra clicks.
This took some trial and error—and a few help docs—but it’s much more intuitive now.

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🏠 Tweaked the homepage layout
I changed the order of sections on the homepage:

1. Product categories
2. A small quote
3. Featured products
4. The image with three quotes (this used to be at the top)

It looked fine on desktop, but on mobile, it just wasn’t working. After looking at how other t-shirt sites do things, I made the change—and I like it a lot more now.

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🛠️ Other small fixes too, but those were the big ones.
Bit by bit, it’s coming together—and ideally, no emergencies in sight.

I asked some AI tools how to better schedule my social media posts—mainly so I wouldn’t come across like a spammy bot.

Here’s the plan they gave me. I probably won’t follow it to the letter, but it’s a solid guide for the types of posts I can create and when to share them. Also, when I looked at accounts on Threads that receive thousands of likes and replies to a single post, they seem to follow the below patterns as well.

🗓 7-Day Brand Voice Content Plan for PatriotPrayerTees.com

Each post has:

• A type
• A purpose
• A caption you can copy/paste or tweak

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Day 1: “Mission Monday”

Post Type: Brand Story / Behind-the-Scenes
Goal: Humanize your mission and connect emotionally
Caption:

I didn’t start this brand because I love t-shirts—I started it because I love freedom. I believe in honoring God, country, and those who sacrifice to protect both. This is just the beginning.

Would love to hear—what does freedom mean to you?
#PatriotPrayer #FaithAndFreedom

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Day 2: “Testimony Tuesday”

Post Type: Real story (yours or someone else’s—can be brief!)
Goal: Build emotional trust and inspire
Caption:

“When I was at my lowest, I didn’t need a slogan—I needed prayer.”

That line inspired one of our designs. We’re not just printing messages—we’re wearing reminders.

🙏 Tag someone who’s held you up in prayer.
#FaithOverFear #PatriotPrayerTees

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Day 3: “Wisdom Wednesday”

Post Type: Quote graphic
Goal: Share a value-rich post that can get saved/shared
Caption:

“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” – Abraham Lincoln

#LibertyMatters #WordsThatMatter #FaithAndFreedom

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Day 4: “Throwback Thursday”

Post Type: American history or founding father feature
Goal: Root the brand in deeper meaning
Caption:

1774: The First Continental Congress opened with 2 hours of prayer.

Before the battles, before the constitution—they prayed.

That’s the kind of foundation worth remembering.
#ThrowbackThursday #AmericanFaith #PatriotPrayerTees

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Day 5: “Freedom Friday”

Post Type: Shirt spotlight
Goal: Direct attention to one product
Caption:

FREEDOM FRIDAY

This design’s been getting some love this week, and we get why.

🔥 Link in bio → [Insert product title]

Tell us: would you rock this in red, navy, or black?
#FreedomFriday #PatriotPrayerStyle

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Day 6: “Shoutout Saturday”

Post Type: Highlight a supporter, idea from a comment, or DM
Goal: Build a sense of community
Caption:

Big shoutout to [first name] who said this about one of our tees:
“This shirt feels like what I’d wear to a family cookout and to church.”

🔥 You get it.

Got a favorite shirt idea? Drop it below—we love creating from real voices.
#PatriotPrayerCrew

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Day 7: “Scripture Sunday”

Post Type: Bible verse with meaning or shirt tie-in
Goal: Ground your audience in faith and shared belief
Caption:

📖 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” – Psalm 33:12

That’s not just a verse—it’s a mission statement.

May we keep praying, keep speaking truth, and never be ashamed of either.
#ScriptureSunday #FaithAndCountry #PatriotPrayerTees

I’ve dialed back how frequently I post in a short span, and things have smoothed out socially. My schedule hasn’t changed—I still create content in a small window of time—but using scheduling tools like Zoho Social and Meta Business Suite has helped in two big ways:

1. It makes my activity look more natural, not like a bot.
2. Posts seem to get better visibility.

I’m still deciding whether to stick with Zoho Social. I like the platform, but I had to turn off cross-posting to Instagram and Threads after those accounts were flagged as suspicious. So currently, Zoho Social only posts to Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Pinterest. From there, I use Meta Business Suite to manually copy and schedule those Facebook posts to Instagram. Threads is completely manual for me at this point.

Technically, Zoho can post directly to Instagram and Threads, but that’s when the flagging happened—so I’d rather avoid that risk.

As for Pinterest, I’m not seeing much engagement or traffic from it for the shirt business. It’s possible I’m not using it correctly, but so far it hasn’t proven valuable.

Right now, I’m thinking about dropping Pinterest and possibly Zoho Social. Since I’m already in Meta Business Suite to schedule Instagram posts, I might as well do Facebook there too—it would save me from duplicating posts. That would leave Zoho Social only handling X, which I could just do manually.

Meta Business Suite doesn’t support Threads or any of the other platforms I’m using, unfortunately.

Recap:

Original plan: Use Zoho Social to post to Facebook, X, Pinterest, Instagram, and Threads all at once.
Reality: Instagram and Threads didn’t work out—those accounts got flagged.

Current setup: Zoho Social for Facebook, X, and Pinterest → Meta Business Suite to repost to Instagram → Manual post to Threads.

Next plan: Possibly cancel Pinterest and Zoho Social (which costs $15/month). Instead, post manually to X and Threads, and use Meta Business Suite for both Facebook and Instagram.

I’m also looking into Buffer, a Zoho Social alternative that costs $12/month. It’s a standalone tool, but what’s interesting is that it seems to handle Threads differently in a way that might avoid account issues. While Zoho Social integrates well with other Zoho apps—helpful for future business growth—Buffer might be worth testing for more stable posting across all platforms.

Update: Buffer is more than I thought. As of 5/13/2025 it’s $18 to cross post to 3 social accounts, then another $6 for the 4th social account and so on. Maybe as the business grows it’s a valid option, but not right now. I also closed the Zoho Social. In comparison, Zoho Social is a deal at $15 for many more socials.

Social media is no easy ride. Zoho Social is still working well for posting across platforms, but Instagram started throwing error messages saying posts weren’t successful. Oddly enough, when I checked the Instagram account, the posts were actually there — sometimes even duplicated. I cleaned up the extras and kept moving forward, finishing up the Instagram profile by adding a description and searching for people to follow.

I decided to look for influencers whose values align with Patriot Prayer Tees. After following about 10 accounts and reviewing their content, I took the leap and began reaching out to a few about partnering to help spread the word.

The first couple messages went through just fine — then came a “verify your humanity” prompt. I did, but Instagram still locked the account for 24 hours, which also affected Threads (since they share a login).

Here’s the thing:
I’m not a bot. (but I have ChatGPT proofread my posts and messages)
I know, that’s what a bot would say.
But really — I’m just one person, working late into the evenings after a full day job, trying to build something rooted in faith and encouragement.

Update: Account unlocked on Instagram and Threads. However, I disconnected those accounts from Zoho Social for now. I’ll have to post to those sites manually. Also, it seems he direct messages I sent are gone. I’ll try those again, but one per night, space out the activity.

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Deciding How Much Time to Invest in Social Media for PatriotPrayTees

Starting PatriotPrayTees.com meant facing a big question: How much time do I really want to spend promoting these shirts on social media?

The honest answer? Not much. I’m a one-person business, and time is one of the most valuable things I have. Still, I know that if I want anyone to find these bold, faith-based shirts, I have to get the word out—and social media is a big part of that.

The Solution: Zoho Social

After looking into some options, I landed on Zoho Social as the best way to streamline things. For $15/month, I can post to multiple platforms from one place—huge time-saver. Yes, it’s another expense, but it felt justifiable compared to the time it would cost to post everything manually.

With the $15 plan, I can post to:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• X (formerly Twitter)
• Pinterest
• Threads
• TikTok
• LinkedIn (personal + business)
• Google Business Profile
• Mastodon
• BlueSky

Where Should I Actually Post?

Just because I can post everywhere doesn’t mean I should. So I asked Grok (AI) for insights and also did my own research. Based on what I found, Facebook and Instagram are the strongest platforms for the kind of Christian, patriotic apparel PatriotPrayTees offers.

Let me walk you through what I discovered:

• Mastodon and BlueSky: I searched for “Christian” on both. Most of what I saw wasn’t supportive—in fact, a lot was mocking. Not exactly a good fit.
• Threads: Seemed more neutral. I found Christian profiles sharing Bible verses, and the environment wasn’t hostile. Still, Christian content felt like the minority, and most of what’s trending are short TikTok-style videos. I’m there, but it’s not my main focus.
• TikTok: I know it’s popular, and many Christians and churches use it. But due to its current ties to China, I’ve chosen not to post there—at least for now.
• LinkedIn: Let’s be real—I’ve never gone there to buy clothes, and I assume others haven’t either. So I’m skipping it.

Right now, I’m posting to Facebook, Instagram, X, Pinterest, and Threads through Zoho Social. It feels like the right balance for reach without overextending.

A Tip to Save You Hours of Frustration

One last thing—don’t do what I did when setting up your accounts.

Here was my plan:
Create a new Zoho email so I could keep all social accounts separate from my main email (smart).
Then I immediately set up Zoho Social and tried to create and link all my new social media accounts at once (not smart).

That triggered red flags with some platforms, which likely thought I was a bot. I spent hours trying to fix issues with accounts being blocked or not connecting.

Here’s what I wish I’d done instead:

1. Create your new email.
2. Set up one social account using that email.
3. Follow a few people, leave a couple of comments, and let the account breathe.
4. Repeat for the other platforms.
5. Wait at least a day before signing up for Zoho Social and connecting everything.

Doing it the slower way would’ve saved me a frustrating evening. When I took that approach the next morning, everything connected in about 15 minutes. Live and learn.

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Final Thoughts

If you’re a solo entrepreneur trying to juggle social media and real life, Zoho Social might be worth a look. It’s helped me share the message of PatriotPrayTees without spending every waking minute posting. If you’ve found a smarter way—or want to share your experience—I’d love to hear from you.

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Marketing Tips – Some Thoughts

Recently, I came across a set of t-shirt marketing tips from Grok, and to be honest, some of them really didn’t sit right with me.

One suggestion was to post shirts with captions like “Share if you love Jesus” or “Jesus will be sad if you don’t share.” Honestly? That kind of messaging is manipulative and doesn’t reflect the heart of the gospel. Yes, it might get a 60% share rate—but at what cost? We share the truth of God’s Word because it’s life-giving, not because we’re trying to earn His love or trick others into spreading content.

Another tip recommended getting YouTube pastors to promote our shirts at the end of their sermons. That crosses a line. Our mission has never been to turn the gospel into a sales pitch. We’re not here to sell Jesus—and we never want to be the reason someone wonders if a preacher is sincere or just selling merch. That kind of thing feels like something Jesus might have flipped a table over.

Grok also suggested direct marketing—Facebook ads, Google ads, YouTube, etc. That’s a solid idea for the right time. I’ve run Google ads in a past role and know how much time it takes to stay on trend. Right now, our priority is creating more shirt designs and building a strong foundation for the business before diving into that world.

Where I do plan to focus is micro-influencer partnerships. This felt like wise counsel: connect with like-minded content creators—those just starting their podcasts, blogs, or other platforms—with around 10,000 followers (give or take). But the key is alignment. We need to know each other’s mission. They should understand what Patriot Prayer Tees is all about—and I need to understand where they stand as well. That way, we can build a partnership that’s authentic, uplifting, and beneficial for both sides.

Here’s some design ideas. Please vote for the ones you like best in the comments.

Using Grok as my research assistant, here’s the general demographics of graphic Christian tee owners/market.

The typical (doesn’t mean this applies to everyone) wearer of graphic Christian tees fits the following description:

• Race: Predominantly non-Hispanic White (60–70%), with some Hispanic (12–18%) or Black (7%) representation.
• Income: Middle to lower-middle class ($30,000–$100,000 household income).
• Education: High school or some college, with 24–26% holding a bachelor’s degree.
• Age: Broad range, but skewed older (40s–60s, median age 54), with appeal to younger Christians (20s–30s) via trendy designs.
• Other: Likely evangelical, Southern, conservative, and values-driven (faith, family, patriotism). They use tees to express identity and share their faith.

Notes

• Source: Insights from Pew Research (2025), Christian apparel brands (e.g., 316Tees, Kerusso), and market trends.

Button Line: Customers are now only be charged for actual cost of shipping! No over or under charging on shipping with simple flat rate.

Take-away: Things are not always as they seem. I avoid this path at first because of the name of the functionality, Flat Rate Shipping, but it turns out that’s exactly what I needed.

WooCommerce’s native Flat Rate Shipping method allows you to define shipping costs per shipping class. This approach can be effective if your shipping rates are relatively straightforward. Here’s how you can set it up:​

1. Create Shipping Classes:
   • Navigate to WooCommerce → Settings → Shipping → Shipping Classes.
   • Add classes such as tshirt, and hoodie
2. Assign Classes to Products:
   • Edit each product and assign the appropriate shipping class by bulk edit of the items (products).
3. Configure Flat Rate Shipping:
   • Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Shipping → Shipping Zones.
   • Edit your desired shipping zone and add a Flat Rate shipping method.
   • In the Flat Rate settings, you can define costs for each shipping class.​WordPress.org
   • Add rules based on your shipping classes in that shipping zone. For example, costs for the shipping in the continental 48 states:
     • For the tshirt class:
       • If quantity is 1, charge $4.99.
       • For each additional item, add $1.50.
     • For the hoodie class:
     • If quantity is 1, charge $7.99.
       • For each additional item, add $2.50.

For detailed guidance, refer to WooCommerce’s documentation: Flat Rate Shipping.​WooCommerce+1WooCommerce+1

Result: Shipping is accurately totaled at the checkout based on type of quantity of items based on CustomCat’s (the print on demand supplier) shipping rates: https://customcat.com/how-it-works/shipping/.