WHEN PRODUCING PRODUCTS...

[ZAZKAT]

I am new to Zazzle.  I have been producing products, yet not publishing them as of yet.  Is it a good idea to publish as I go and keep my store private so that I can categorize and put into collections before I go public?  But, does that throw off the analytics for date created, etc.?  What have most of you done?  Perhaps a system that you have developed to release kinds of products efficiently and effectively?

Thank you!

[WHS_Designs]

I've never set my stores to private, and I always publish products (and curate them to collections) on an ongoing basis.

As another designer pointed out in another thread, customers usually find what they want from visiting the Zazzle marketplace (so creating good titles, good product descriptions, and good tags are the ways they will find your products and designs there), not so much from visiting a designer's store. 

W.H.

[Artsiren]

Yes, I agree with @WHS_Designs comment ⬆️  I have always published products for new designs immediately. It would be a shame to miss out on lucky random sales simply due to holding back on making them public; although I have always assumed it can take a little while for the momentum to build. Even now on my current work-in-progress store (after maybe 5 months? Can't remember when I opened it) I don't really get many visits, even with pinning on Pinterest - although that is also a new Pinterest account, specifically for the store, so it will need time to mature also.

Even if the store is not fully "fleshed out", you might find that one of your prods is found via the Zazzle search and you get a sale. And that would be good and help motivate you even more! 👍

[PacifierCity]

Unless you already have a big following somewhere and have a grand opening planned, then publish as you go.  As everything takes time to index, you often can't even see the products showing up in categories or collections immediately.   The most important things to focus on when beginning is creating a variety of products with good quality titles, tags and descriptions.  It is going to take months for things to start to get found in internet land.  You may pick up a random sale or two through Z search, but most likely your sales will come through web searches or social media posts.  Others may find your products and promote them as well.  But they can't be found if they are not published.   You would probably be the only person driving traffic to your storefront, so again, unless you have a large following, laying out your storefront is not the highest priority.  Creating and publishing products is.

Have fun!  Make stuff and share.  Once you have a few hundred products you might want to become a little more concerned with how things are organized...

Just my thoughts, for what they are worth...

PC

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[DaveD]

I agree with those who have replied. Unless you are a well known brand (think Disney) potential customers will rarely visit your store. Most will find the products they want in the Marketplace (where all published public products end up). So go public and create products with good descriptions and relevant tags.

Best wishes

Dave at Yourdreambuilt.com