Get An Amazon Alexa T-Shirt: Tips And Tricks

Amazon offers developer perks, including free Alexa T-shirts, to those who create and publish custom Alexa skills. To get an Alexa T-shirt, you must first create an Amazon Developer Account and then follow the steps to build and publish your custom Alexa skill. Once your skill is published on the Amazon Store, you can apply for developer perks and receive your free Alexa T-shirt. Additionally, Amazon Alexa T-shirts are also available for purchase on third-party websites such as Redbubble, featuring a variety of Alexa-themed designs.

Develop an Alexa Skill

To develop an Alexa Skill and get an Amazon Alexa T-shirt, follow these steps:

Firstly, you will need to create an Amazon developer account. This is free and easy to do and will allow you to start building your first skill. You will also need an Amazon Web Services (AWS) account, which gives you access to resources as part of the free tier of services. You will host your skill code on AWS Lambda. Make sure you have an Alexa-enabled device, such as an Amazon Echo, and download the Amazon Alexa app on your mobile device. Sign in to both with the same credentials as your Alexa developer account.

Now, you can start to build your custom skill. Plan and design your skill, considering the value you want to offer to users and how you can enhance their experience. You can add in-skill purchasing, support screen interaction, change the audio, make your skill accessible to all, define your skill as paid, and publish your skill to additional markets. Design a voice user interface, defining how users will interact with your skill.

Next, create a skill in the developer console. When prompted, select the Custom model and choose to host your skill code on AWS Lambda or as a web service. Build your interaction model, which refers to your collection of intents, sample utterances, and the dialog model. Intents are the requests your skill can handle and can include arguments called slots. Sample utterances map these intents to the words and phrases used by the user. The dialog model identifies the information your skill requires and the prompts Alexa can use to collect and confirm this information.

Now, write and test your skill code. You will need to create a service that can accept requests from the Alexa service and send back responses. You can create an AWS Lambda function to host the service for your skill. Alternatively, build a web service for your skill and host it with a cloud provider. Write the code for your skill—if using Lambda, you can code in Node.js, Java, Python, C#, Go, Ruby, or PowerShell. If you are hosting your skill as a web service, you can use any programming language.

Finally, beta test your skill (this step is optional) and submit it for certification. You can set up a beta test to make your skill available to a limited group of testers before making it public. When you are ready to make your skill public, submit it for certification. Run the validation and functional tests on the Certification page to identify any issues. Review the submission checklist, which includes the tests performed by Amazon's certification team. Once you have ensured your skill fulfills the requirements, submit it for certification.

Once your skill is published, you can apply for developer perks and promotional items, such as an Amazon Alexa T-shirt.

Create an Amazon Developer Account

To create an Amazon Developer Account, you need to complete a few simple steps. Registration is free and easy, and it is the first step to growing your business with Amazon devices and services.

Firstly, you need to enter your credentials. This involves defining your account credentials, such as your username and password. You can open the Amazon developer dashboard and click on "Create your Amazon Developer Account" under "New to Amazon Developer?". Here, you will enter your name, email, and password. Amazon will then send a One Time Password (OTP) to your email for verification. After retrieving the OTP from your email, you can enter it and create your account.

It is important to ensure that your account information is correct, especially your email address, as an incorrect email will prevent you from accessing your account.

The next step is to register your developer and company information. This is done on the Amazon Developer Registration page, and both individuals and companies can open an Amazon developer account. The information entered here will be displayed underneath the skill name in the Alexa Skills Store for any Alexa skills you publish. Therefore, it is important to follow the policy guidelines for the company name. You will need to enter your developer and company information, contact details, and agree to the Amazon Developer Services Agreement.

After submitting your registration information, you can complete your profile by customising your interests. You can also add payment and tax information or update your account details. If you are working with multiple developers, you can invite additional users to your developer account to give them access to collaborate on Alexa skills.

Choose your T-shirt design

Redbubble offers a wide range of Amazon Alexa T-shirts, with a variety of colours, styles and sizes available.

If you're looking for a fun and quirky design, the 'Alexa, Stop Being a B*tch' T-shirt is a great option. It features a funny quote that is sure to get a laugh. For something more classic, the 'Alexa, Play Mo Bamba' T-shirt is a good choice, with a simple design that any music lover would appreciate.

There are also T-shirts with funny Alexa commands, such as the 'Alexa, Do the Dishes' T-shirt, which is perfect for anyone who wishes their virtual assistant could help with household chores! For a more light-hearted option, the 'Alexa, Dance with Me' T-shirt adds a touch of humour to your wardrobe.

With so many designs to choose from, you're sure to find the perfect Amazon Alexa T-shirt to suit your style and personality.

Submit your Skill for Review

To submit your Alexa Skill for review, you must first sign in to the Alexa developer console with your Amazon developer account credentials. Then, open your skill and click on the "Certification" tab.

On the "Validation" page, fix any issues found and then click on the "Certification" tab again. On the "Validation" page, click "Run" to re-run the tests. These tests will verify that all required Alexa Skills Store fields are complete and will perform a set of pre-certification tests on the skill. The validation tool runs tests for all locales that your skill supports and will list any issues found by locale on the "Validation" page.

Once you have fixed all the issues and the "Validation" page displays "Zero errors found", you can proceed to the next step. Review the submission checklists in the Alexa Skills Kit documentation to ensure that your skill meets all the necessary requirements for certification.

After you have reviewed the checklists and ensured your skill is ready, you can submit it for certification review. In the developer console, open your skill and click on the "Certification" tab. Then, in the left-hand column, click on "Submission".

On the Submission page, select your preferred publishing option: "Certify and publish now" or "Certify and publish later". "Certify and publish now" will automatically publish your skill to the Alexa Skills Store once it has been certified. "Certify and publish later" will give you the option to choose when to publish your skill after it has been certified.

Enter a brief message about this skill version in the "Version message" field and click "Submit for review". Your skill will now be in the "In Review" status, and you will not be able to make any changes to the configuration during the certification process.

You will receive an email notification at the address associated with your Amazon developer account once the certification review is complete, informing you of the results. If your skill is certified, the email will provide an estimated date for publication to the Alexa Skills Store. If your skill does not pass certification, the email will detail the issues that need to be addressed before resubmitting.

Apply for Developer Perks

Amazon occasionally offers promotions for Alexa skill developers, such as the European Alexa Perks Program, which ended on November 30, 2019. These promotions allow developers to earn perks and prizes by building skills for Alexa.

To apply for Developer Perks, you must first ensure that you meet the eligibility requirements. These requirements typically include being a resident of a specific country or region, such as the United States, Japan, Australia, Mexico, India, or European countries.

Once you confirm your eligibility, you can proceed to register for the promotion. This usually involves filling out a form with your personal information, such as your Vendor ID and email address. Keep in mind that you must have an account on the Amazon Apps & Games Developer Portal and accept the Amazon Developer Service Agreement to be eligible for the offer.

After registering, you can start working towards the milestones or tiers outlined in the promotion. These milestones often involve publishing a certain number of new Alexa skills, adding new features, or achieving a specific number of unique users during the promotion period.

It's important to note that the specific requirements and perks offered may vary with each promotion, so be sure to carefully review the terms and conditions before applying. Additionally, promotions are subject to change or cancellation by Amazon at any time.

While there are currently no ongoing promotions for Alexa skill developers, Amazon mentions that they will update the respective pages with new promotions in the coming months. Therefore, it is advisable to regularly check the official Alexa Skill Kit website for updates on promotions in your country or region.

Frequently asked questions