Feeling like your getting less visibility on Zazzle?

[tjohnshoy]

I'm wondering if I'm alone in feeling like my store and products are getting less visibility on the Zazzle marketplace? I recently had several of my editor picks removed from my store and I haven't had any of my products featured or promoted in quite awhile. It seems as though Zazzle has taken a different approach to marketing their designers and it doesn't seem to favor the lower level (bronze or basic pro) stores. I'm feeling quite discouraged by this, especially because I have recently have had several of my designs replicated by these higher level stores. Their designs seem to be showing up higher in the search already, even though they are new to the marketplace and mine have been selling for months. 

Can anyone relate to this? I'm wondering it's best to just walk away from the platform at this point. 

[Windy]

I hear you about the two to three month breaks. I don't think I have been on Insta since about August! 

[Jeff_Foliage]

I notice that if I'm not designing and adding on a regular basis then things slow down. I suspect if you are adding and sharing on your social media then you will do better.

[igiftcenter]

I'm sorry you are experiencing this and feeling this way.
I'm going to be blunt here: in this day and age of the internet you really can't count on someone else to give your product the visual exposure you desire. It's never easy to compete with thousands and thousands of designers on one platform (or any platform online for that matter). 

Most of us would rather be designing then promoting but the truth is if you do not promote your products and take promoting into your own hands you are leaving it to the marketplace alone. I am in no way suggesting you do not do any promotion but realistically....
if you picked a retail store location. Filled it up with the coolest and best products at the best prices....
but nobody knows you are there and open for business you quickly realize just having a store with great stuff is just not enough. I learned this lesson in my early twenties when my parents owned a retail store in Manhattan.... I was tasked with finding budget means of promotion. I found out fast...I'd better start finding ways to let everyone know we are here. 70 % of retail stores fail in the first three years 🙂

I wish you continued success 

[Caprice]

I think the problem is that many people DO post to social media - with NO RETURN AT ALL.  And some people don't have huge social media followings.  So if those avenues don't work...what?  Your own blog or website? You're still stuck with the problem of how to get THAT seen.  It's a thorny problem.

[Windy]

So true. They say it's important to have a website. To promote your website you should have a blog. To get people to read your blog you need to post it to Facebook. To get people to follow you on Facebook you should have an Insta. To get followers on Insta you should .....do any one or more of the above. And Pinterest, well that's a whole nother animal. I think all this promotion is very very circular and difficult. To have eyes on any one of these, you need lots of eyes on another. There's a book all about it.  https://www.amazon.com/Social-Media-Bull**bleep**-B-Mendelson/dp/1250002958

[CreativeLeahG]

Yep, I do all of this and more. It is indeed HARD work! Multiple websites, multiple groups, multiple social media pages. There is no easy fix. And yes it can work, but it is an investment in time. All these things take years to build up momentum. One has to have mammoth patience and just be consistent. But one also has to have the time and the skill. The skill can be learned, but the time is another thing. 

The marketplace is a desert full of grains of sand, the challenge is to make that grain of sand sparkle. Zazzle alone cannot highlight all those grains, it is physically impossible.

[igiftcenter]

It is not easy to build a following on any social media platform. It takes a great deal of time and you have to promote something somebody actually wants. You can promote all day long but if your product is not a desired product or you are reaching the wrong audience... it's just not a good way to go about it.  From a retail standpoint: lets say you open a store in a perfect location with lots and lots of foot traffic BUT you're selling air conditioners in Alaska. I think you get the idea here 🙂  You have to have something desirable in the first place. That's the point. 

Not only do you have to have the right product that is a desired one but you have to promote it in the right place to the right people.  If  your product gets liked alot, if it starts to sell and get noticed then the search engines could start to take notice of the traffic your product is getting and now when people type in a search for what you are promoting (lets say smartphone cases) you may then start to get sales from people searching for what you are selling. But then remember, you have to be able to stand out in that search also. If you are selling smartphone cases but your designs are not attractive or desired it doesn't matter does it?

My last point: if you do nothing... what can you expect to get? If you continue to just believe this is all too impossible, too much work to do without immediate gratification you'll keep designing.... for an audience of one 

[LeAvrylFleur]

I hope things are better for you this year, Windy. Let's support each other! If we can get 20-100 artists who feel the same (there are definitely 100+ who do, I'm sure) then we can make our own special Instagram and blog and share each other's work on it if no one is being supported otherwise!

[LeAvrylFleur]

Lol yes, having to "SEO promote" your blog and social media just to SEO promote the business. 🤧

I don't see how it won't benefit the website platform your indie online store is on to simply just feature the new artist storefronts via a blog or their own social media which most likely has millions of followers. 😲 And/or when you search something on the site, their default page is sorted to Newest so whoever is shopping will automatically see the newest products on page 1. Even if your item is pushed to other pages due to no longer being one of the newest, surely it gets more inevitable visibility than how it is now. Just a thought. 🤗

[Barbara]

Sorting by Newest as the default on this or most other web sites is probably not the best idea for the company, which would naturally want to highlight those products that have been selling. Those that sell are doing so for a reason--customers like them--and so might a lot of other people. To do it any other way would require employees to act like talent scouts, and what a job that would be. Spend enough time switching from Popular to Newest, and you'll likely see the problem. In the end, it's up to us to try to be as unique as possible and to work hard on our titles, tags, and descriptions. And cross our fingers, of course.

Colorwash's Home

[CreativeLeahG]

Editors picks take the most 'popular spots' in many of the bigger niches and they go pages deep in some cases. 

[Barbara]

That's something I've noticed too. It's a bit of overkill that I wish they'd tone down.

Colorwash's Home

[LeAvrylFleur]

I cordially disagree. Perhaps you're worried that it would hurt your sales, but as a community, it's best not to be selfish. I'm thinking of what's best for people who aren't selling, which is most likely a large percentage and it's probably strictly due to not having visibility. Getting that significant portion of sellers more sales literally helps Zazzle. If people are selling well just because they keep being perpetually featured, then that means it's time to feature other people. There's nothing wrong with that. It could be done once a week, it's hardly a chore for Associates and Promoters and Customer Service workers and Editors etc to go to the Custom Gifts page, sort to Newest, and see simply the newest Storefronts, and click on people. It took me 2 seconds. So from there, all they'd have to do is make a blog about it. Not a tall ask but it is sad that there are people literally saying sellers on artists should not be supported on the very website they have joined. But again it was just a suggestion. If you're a great seller, Barbara, then let people know your tactics. It's not a competition.

[Barbara]

When we use only our own viewpoint, not trying to see that of the company, we may be missing some vital points, points that can possibly help us see how to work within the venue. I'm neither selfish nor making big bucks here, nor am I the only one who tries to understand how the company works. Take a look at all the ways in which @CreativeLeahG has successfully tried to help members. You'll see she isn't attempting to change how Zazzle does business, but rather, how the members do business.

Colorwash's Home

[CreativeLeahG]

You're absolutely right Barbara. We need to roll with the changes.

[ColsCreations]

It's not a competition.

But it absolutely is a competition. Zazzle doesn't care if your pillow sells or mine, they just want sales, but you and I definitely care. That's why there's always so much discussion here about where things "place" in the MP. 

[LeAvrylFleur]

It's not a competition to me. I dont care how well or poorly any of you do lol. But I know I'm saying the right thing because it seems only the people who are high sellers already seem to take an issue with my comments. Which means it's true: that visibility via how the products are listed by default is one of the main keys to sales, and therefore visibility needs revamping so more people can get more sales. How does many sellers stressing that they're not getting sales and someone literally said "it's discouraging seeing the same stores on page 1" so how does that help Zazzle at all?? Y'all are getting worried and there's no need. If you're already a high seller, you shouldn't be relying on SEO and the algorithm. You should rely on your telemarketing to people you've already got following you. And yes, Zazzle doesn't care who sells. They just want sales. That's my point exactly as you said it... Therefore, if more people get sales than just the same people stuck on Page 1, Zazzles gets more sales if they switch it up. You dont have to agree, the point is, most people in the world and on Zazzle whether they see this thread or not will agree that visibility helps sales so I dont know why you guys are saying that I am not correct. But thanks for letting me know it's a competition. I myself did not become an indie artist to compete with others. 

You guys are also for some reason missing where I said, if the product listing does not change, then a simple blog shoutout for new debut storefronts would be nice and simple. I don't know any company that doesn't take creative suggestions to help it. That's the point of the forum lol.

[tjohnshoy]

This argument has some merit, but at the same time, Zazzle takes a very large portion of the profit from the design that sells. I know they have overhead with the printed products but even digital product sales go mostly to Zazzle. The benefit of using them is having a platform where people can see and find your designs. If the designs are buried and not getting seen, what is the point? There are other platforms where you can make more money off your products if you want to go to all the work of promoting and social media.

[Boki]

A lot of work and advertising,... Sales weak in waves,... ? 🤔

[HeatherMarie]

I came here specifically to see if this was a problem for anyone else. When you go to gifts, I see the same three or four designers on the first few or more pages. It's a little disappointing because I thought Zazzle took care of this issue and started to give more designers visibility. Now, it's just the top designers making more and more sales while we get passed on. I've been getting a lot less sales since they started to make the top designers more visible than others.

[LeAvrylFleur]

That's exactly my point. Not saying Zazzle has to redo how it presents its products, but definitely that a little shoutout for small or new storefronts would be nice (runs for cover after saying that lol). I'm sure even Zazzle would profit better if way more of its sellers did. 😓 It helps everyone. Have things been better for you this year? I'm looking for inspiration. Also your designs are so pretty, I can't imagine you struggling. 

Le Avryl Fleur Boutique Collections  Check out Le Avryl Fleur Boutique on Weebly Look I have a Pinterest! 

[almdrs]

I have products that I created a week ago showing on Google Shopping. Is that because I can see my own products and nobody else can? I don't know. Something like a "cookie", or "personalized search result"?

My sales are stable, and Zazzle is the only marketplace that my sales are ok, not fantastic!

I sell on Etsy and sales there are terrible. They messed up the algorithm some time after May, I think, according to my stats.

I'm glad I sell here so I can compare the 2 marketplaces.

And I'm still dreaming of getting out of the "Bronze Seller Limbo" and moving to the Silver... 🙂

[LeAvrylFleur]

Hey! Has your store improved since then?

Sending love from Le Avryl Fleur Boutique, my new shoppe. 

[Boki]

This month is disastrous, sales are stuck somewhere, it just stands,... It's like I'm invisible. I don't know what else to do, and I'm already doing a lot to highlight my work,... ? 😞

[almdrs]

I'm not sure if the following is off-topic or not:

Recently adding designs to new products and collections has brought me ZERO sales. It's like a waste of time.

Pennants: 0 

Bluetooth speakers: 0

Desk mats: 0

Wax seals; 0

Area rugs;  0 (maybe this one is too recent to be listed).

New door mats: 0

I've had some good sales, but nothing came from the new products or collections.

[CreativeLeahG]

I've never sold any of the above. 

[LMGildersleeve]

Wouldn't you think it was too early to tell for many of those new products? Some of them we've only had for a month. 🤔

[Jeff_Foliage]

How are you adding them? One at a time as new items? Or are you taking old designs and modifying

[almdrs]

I'm adding designs that have sold multiple times to the new products.

[igiftcenter]

Nothing against your post but....
I would be much more concerned if my products are / not being seen in search engine searches where customers are most likely to start their journey searching for whatever it is they are looking for. Once found by a customer in a search engine quarry the are likely to find a direct link to your product on Z and either purchase it.... or not.

If your product is found in the z marketplace it is likely surrounded by competitor product offerings and then...you have to hope that your product stands out for whatever reason for them to click on yours. 

We'd all like to be seen everywhere possible so being found in a search engine search AND a Z marketplace search would be the ultimate bonus, wouldn't it? 

[almdrs]

This how I see it: we are in a marketplace that has very talented sellers. Some of them are experts in good designs and SEO. Selling product online is not an easy task. It's a process that involves been found, then the person that sees the designs has to like them and possibly the items will be bought.
And it's not getting easier to be found. It's getting harder: more sellers and AI designs flooding the internet.

Common sense... 😉

[sheindesigns]

I love your stuff, and shared a bunch of your baby shower invites and ty's.