At just Bronze myself I am certainly no expert but looking at your stores, what stands out to me is that you, like me, seem to favor all-over pattern type designs. So while what others have said about templates is true (Zazzle is known for and heavily focuses on personalization) I think what’s more important is putting one’s style of design on the product type it’s most suited for and in the case of all-over designs with no templates, I think that’s home decor. It’s a market I don’t think Zazzle gives near enough attention to. I think one has to ask themselves 1) is this design well-suited to this product and 2) does this product + design call for templates?
As example, this gift tag. Gift tags by very nature almost demand text you can customize for To, From, occasion, date, whatever… So this product type would really benefit by having some editable text templates especially since the all-over pattern used on it isn’t specific to any particular theme or event or occasion. But, this pattern (which I personally love) is very well-suited for other products with no templates necessary. I think it would work great on tissue paper plus many home decor items such as blankets and pillows. Here it is on a pillow I transferred it to (and added an image filter to in the Design Tool just for fun):
That’s lovely as is! Text or a personal photo added would just ruin it. The gift tag with same pattern on the other hand cries out for some template fields. Your office supplies store is filled with beautiful all-over patterns, but they’re all trapped on file folders and binders (where templates might help) when they’d be stunning on pillows and blankets and towels and def fabric etc instead… with no templates needed. Your pastel watercolor rainbow flowers folder set really appealed to me. I liked the “left” folder pattern best and tried to transfer it to a pillow but couldn’t, it would only transfer the “center” folder image, and if you look at the “other products from this Collection” scroll, its all more file folder sets.
Please believe I’m not “bashing” you, just trying to provide an alternative viewpoint that might help. I think there are two approaches to PODs. You can design first and then second, pick the most appropriate product to put it on, or you can pick a product first, perhaps because it’s a popular seller like say invites or mugs, and then second intentionally design specifically for that product. Either way I think the key is a design that is right for the product type, and sometimes this calls for templates and sometimes it doesn’t.
I truly have been doing this for 10 years. I have added them over the years. Wiped out old collections and created new ones. I have not counted them but there are a lot.
I am at 20% royalty. and my zrank is store specific. Some 4, some 5. I believe that we are just not getting enough exposure in enough places. I am using pinterest, FB, Twitter, and when I can IG. There has to be more places where we can promote our stores.
Hi there ColsCreations, you’ve given some great tips for those of us who do not focus on “Events”. I also love patterns and agree there are some great products that we can add patterns to that can also be customised by customers.
Love how the pattern looks on both the pillow and the gift tag and hope your tips help pickchick712 (and others like her) to increase sales.
I’m so sorry that you are feeling defeated. I’ve been there and it is a terrible feeling. Optimizing titles, tags and description is key for SEO and showing up when customers do a search. You don’t have to invest thousands…but it would be well worth your while to invest some money and time in learning a little more about SEO. Here is some information that I pulled up real quickly that might help you.
Ranking well with keywords involves a combination of strategic planning, quality content creation, technical optimization, and continuous monitoring. Here are some effective strategies to help you rank with keywords:
1. Keyword Research:
Relevance: Choose keywords that are directly related to your content, products, or services.
Search Volume: Target keywords with a balance between relevance and search volume. High-volume keywords often have more competition.
Long-Tail Keywords: Focus on longer, more specific phrases. They often have less competition and indicate clearer user intent.
2. On-Page Optimization:
Title Tags: Include your target keyword in the title tag. Make the title compelling for users too.
Meta Descriptions: Write engaging meta descriptions containing the keyword. Although meta descriptions don’t directly influence rankings, they can improve click-through rates.
Keyword Density: Avoid keyword stuffing. Use keywords naturally in the content, ensuring readability and value for users.
URL Optimization: Include keywords in the URL if possible. Keep URLs short and descriptive.
One thing is the high cost of products on zazzle. In today’s economy people are always looking for a good deal and zazzle products are not cheap. Just being honest. You also have competition from sites such as etsy ect. I get a good amount of views but very few sales as well and I am also posting on pinterest, twitter ect plus I have a very narrow niche even.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SOME OTHER **bleep**TY THING ZAZZLE HAS DECIDED TO DO. How can anyone make any money when they have messed with everything so badly. I was in zazzle jail for months because I dared to question why they are systematically destroying anyone’s ability to sell anything.
YES THEY ARE! between the way THEY think collections should be created. They want 4 DIFFERENT PRODUCTS in a collection. Well if my collection is christmas tote bags, what other product am I supposed to put in there? they want the collection to be named “wreaths” or some other bull**bleep** and then at least 4 different products with wreaths on them. WHO GOES ON AMAZON AND SEACHES FOR SOMETHING BASED ON THE INITIAL WORD BEING WHAT THEY WANT IT TO HAVE ON IT? If I am looking for a tote bag, I would type in TOTE BAG, not “wreath” because amazon would come back with 5 billion items with wreaths on them when I am only looking for a tote bag. Their “new” methods make it impossible for anyone to sell anything. I have looked at other people’s collections and I have seen collections titled “anchors” with 10 different items with anchors on them. This makes no sense to me and frankly I can’t do it unless it is something extremely specific. I am really tired of fighting with them about this.
that is exactly what my friends say. The items are too expensive and ZAZZLE is making it extremely difficult for anyone to sell anything because they have made their processes of creating products and collections so awkward that it just makes no sense. if I am on amazon and looking for cell phone case. I would type in cell phone case, NOT what I want on the cell phone case. If I wanted a cell phone case with flowers on it, I would not go on Amazon and type in the word FLOWERS but that is how ZAZZLE wants us to create collections. There needs to be 4 different products in your collection so the customer has to go through a whole lots of products they DON’T want to find one they maybe DO WANT. I was in Zazzle jail for months because i dared to voice my displeasure about this but Zazzle is really making changes that will only hurt us, the creators and therefore we won’t make sales unless you are doing only invitations and such which I don’t do.
Focus on what you sold. That’s what everybody does. When something sells, create more products using that same design, or a variation of it (different color, size etc).
After 10 years you’ve probably noticed what people want to buy. We don’t create designs for ourselves. We are not Michaelangelos or Picassos (I know, this hurts). We are serving the market and not the other way around.
Things are more expensive in the Zazzle Marketplace because they can be customized.
I get you. Even is you searched for “cell phone cases with flowers” the problem is that there are so many unattended stores and your store that you work hard one and put effort into may end up on the 15th page. Unfortunately the market is saturated and most items can be found anywhere. As the cost goes up Zazzle might find themselves pricing themselves out of the market. Also now that people can basically download designs and if they have a good printer can make their own stuff. These days anything can be made from Cards and T Shirts to Mugs and Photo Prints and for the consumer it will cost considerably less if they do it themselves. Don’t get me wrong I love designing things but it’s getting near impossible to make consistent sales.
That’s the last thing I would want to have to go through visiting someone’s shop. A thousand products with the same design. I’ve seen some who literally have 8,000 products in their store but everything is just that. Same design but on different products. I got tired of browsing their store after awhile. Quality over quantity is best.
Simple, I was not getting any sales. I still have some up but if you want to sell photography and true art work, then check out Fine Art America. I sell on there as well. They are also MUCH easier than Zazzle.
