Are we being penalized for not doing cover photos?

[Kymberli_Design]

I've been a Zazzle designer since 2015. I used to have the time to keep up with changes that Zazzle made throughout the years but unfortunately not anymore with a fulltime job, 2 year old with another baby on the way, & a husband that works nights. 

I've earned a paycheck from Zazzle EVERY single month since 2019 until this past month (March). I really noticed sales slipping for Nov '23, Dec '23, Jan '24, Feb '24, which was making me nervous and its continuing to go downward. I haven't done anything different except for not uploading cover photos for my almost 3,000 products because I simply do not have the time. Am I getting penalized for not uploading these cover photos? I never imagined not earning my monthly paychecks from Zazzle since I've been earning one for the past 5 years. 

I rarely get a chance to come to this form, I tried to do a quick scan but haven't seen anyone else having this problem. I can't believe I made money all throughout covid and recessions but cover photos are going to be my demise here at Zazzle. Zazzle was supposed to be a passive income not a full time job so this is disappointing to me.

Anyone else having this problem? Think it's something else? Would love to hear others opinions, thanks!

***also want to note, I DO have probably around 50ish cover photos that I've loaded when I used to have the time to create mockups and post them to my Instagram, but those items aren't selling as if cover photos were really holding an importance or not so I'm confused.

[CreativeLeahG]

I will say no, you're not being penalized for not having covers. There was a small period of time when adding them bumped their position in the marketplace ( a few observed this) but it no longer appears to be the case. Since covers, along came collections .... followed swiftly by the need for videos. There are so many changes ...... and we also have Editor's picks dominating many niches. Lots of factors now which are seeing a decline in sales as well as outside market forces, increased competition from other sites etc.

[Kymberli_Design]

Ah yes! and the videos! I just can't keep up anymore. I still have my couple of editors picks working for me at least haha

[Windy]

Many people are reporting a massive drop in sales, particularly people who made hundreds of products with Quick Create. People are saying those products have simply vanished from their stores. Another thing is that Google made some major changes in the search algorithm. Many designers are looking to that Google change as being the culprit. 

[Jadendreamer13]

I held off on creating cover photos until I observed the results of other designers. In my opinion, oftentimes when I make hasty decisions, they don’t seem to benefit me. I’ve noticed a mixed bag of reports on the success of cover photos in increasing sales on this forum. One of the major items that I’ve noticed regarding cover photos that don’t benefit shop owners is their choice of cover photos and cover photo designs. Many cover designs are so busy, that they detract from the product, and the thumbnails get passed over by viewers. Others don’t make sense for the product shown, or the color scheme is a distraction. Creating cover photos is a new requirement that results in a learning curve. We’re all in this boat together. So, how can folks learn to identify and create effective cover photos? One way is to check out the tricks of the trade that merchandizers have learned over time. What type of backgrounds, background items, colors, etc. do they use in their product images on their websites, Instagram feeds, magazines, and advertisements? They have already done the work for you. They know what works and what results in sales. So start looking at all the items and places I’ve listed above with a keen new eye. These are skills that can be learned in time. So, the big question is this—after I armed myself with cover photo design skills and started creating cover photos, did my views and sales increase? Yes, absolutely. It was worth the wait and worth the research. If you’re not good at creating cover photos, they’re not your thing, or you don’t have time to create them, consider hiring a virtual assistant to create them for you—after you’ve learned how to identify effective cover photo designs, so you can choose a virtual assistant with mad cover photo skills.

[Cat]

At one point Zazzle released a statement that read "Our site experience will now begin to favor products with Cover Photo, which includes features in our landing pages, access to special programs, as well as ranking in search. We believe the Cover Photo update will be a welcome change for customers searching for inspiration on Zazzle while at the same time, rewards Creators who put effort into their listings on the marketplace." I found that quote by searching the forum - people had pasted it into their comments, but I can't seem to find the post where it originally appeared.

So... I don't know what that means. Obviously they're not going to publish details on their search algorithm or else bad actors would pretty quickly game the system. And whether or not products with covers are still favored in the marketplace, I think it's pretty clear that they've been changing things up in terms of search results. 

[Kymberli_Design]

Thank you for that! Yea something has certainly changed especially for not earning a consistent paycheck for the first time in 5 years, yikes! My mind just went directly to the cover photo b/c that was the last big update I remember seeing. Wonder if there is something else going on in the background. It's too bad if that really is the case, I just don't have the time to be able to make all these cover photos unless I quit my fulltime job & focused just on Zazzle (which can't happen at this point in my life although I wish!).

[Cat]

Yeah, lots of changes recently - covers, videos, instant downloads, the new collection stuff - not to mention things like customer chat, customizable QR codes & image editing on the product page for image templates (but only if they're set to fill.) My bet is that the more of these features you utilize, the more of a boost you'll get in the marketplace - even if it's only because they want to test out these new features. But I agree it's a lot to keep up with. I DO work on it full time (and then some) but even I can't come close to keeping up! 

[SJoy]

I still think Z should have just updated "their" mockups for the products. It is a mess for everyone and instead of making items stand out in the market place, it all looks the same jumbled mess to me.

[Cat]

This is only a guess, but I know that Google and other search engines give priority to pages that have unique content over pages that are largely the same as other pages out there. I don't know if that extends to seeing the similarities in mock-up photos or not (like if all the Zazzle pages use the same few Zazzle generated mockups). But certainly pages that have multiple different mockup photos which are different from the others on Zazzle and/or videos etc. are going to be seen as more "unique" by the search engines, and that will probably give them a boost where web search results are concerned. Whether that's enough to make a meaningful difference in terms of our individual product page's Google rankings or not is anybody's guess, but when taken as a whole, it probably does make a meaningful difference in terms of the amount of traffic that Google drives to Zazzle overall - and I'm guessing that's what they're focused on (rather than which of the millions of products on their site are getting traction over the other products on their site.)

[Windy]

I agree. Particularly with clothing. Seems to me that re-shooting, with new models at least once a year could be a good procedure. 

[Kymberli_Design]

100% agree with not (not just because I don't have the time to do my own! haha). It looks messy with so many different mockups. Yes for the most part they individually look very nice but seeing them all next to each other while browsing looks messy.

We also aren't making any more $ for putting in all that extra time & effort in which I feel should be Zazzle's responsibility. They should do an incentive to get a higher % of the sale (not being penalized for going over 14.9%) not just an "oh you may get more visibility if you make your own covers". But then again what do I know...

[SJoy]

Yes, and also people are not pulling these mockups from nowhere. This is an extra expense that has  been tacked on to creators because to make them look nice we have to have a subscription from somewhere that is paid monthly or yearly.  I would get it if I was making my own goods and then using Z as a selling platform like Etsy, But these are Z's products that are manufactured by their chosen facilities with only our design on them.  We already get a small amount from a sale as it is...It seems that small amount doesn't even go to us because we have to pay the mockup subscription.  Something seems a bit off.  However, the people selling the mockup subscriptions are getting a bump in pay over this.

[CreativeLeahG]

You can create mockups in Canva for free.