Newcomer Seeking Advice: Making an Impact on a Saturated Zazzle Marketplace

[VTJCV]

Hello,

I am writing because I have a question: is there still room on Zazzle for newcomers? After a little over 2 months of experience on Zazzle and about 1900 products created, we have noticed that our products are very rarely visited. We are aware that we are not yet using social media and that this puts us at a disadvantage, but it seems to us that everything is saturated. Experienced Zazzlers who have achieved a certain sales volume apparently have the advantage on all keywords, and it appears that everything is blocked or inaccessible for newcomers. For example, we have created 152 products for Mother's Day (https://www.zazzle.com/collections/mothers_day-119067503293206354), but when we search for 'Mother's Day card,' none of our products appear. I would like to know if there is a turnover on Zazzle's marketplace to give new products a chance to be seen and thus be able to test their CTR/sales, or if our only alternative is to search for non-competitive niches until we hope to make enough sales for our products to climb in the ranking.

Despite everything, we have made a few sales, which leads us to believe that our products are not that bad, but without proper exposure, it is difficult to judge whether our products are up to par or not and thus whether we have a future on Zazzle.

Aside from social media, would you have any advice for newcomers trying to carve out a small space on Zazzle?

We thank you in advance for your advices.

All the best,
The Creative Touch
https://www.zazzle.com/store/the_creative_touch

[celticbrother]

It's a tough game, but you are making some sales.  Me too. Keep on keeping on. 

[Barbara]

There's still room on POD's for new designers, but it's extremely crowded when it comes to what you might call traditional motifs. Consider your personal interests. Maybe you like working in wood, or you make origami, or you've a thing for archeology, or... well, whatever. Other people are likely interested in the same pastimes. Design for yourself and thus for them. Some people here enjoy doing travel postcards, but not general ones. They use photos of where they live and where they've traveled. There are customers who collect postcards. I've done some for my own locale, and they've sold to both people in my area and those who once lived here. I love cooking, but only specific types of food, and I started selling products for them several years ago.

Find areas on Zazzle that have low representation.

Also, remember that your tags can make you or break you. Look at your design and imagine what a customer might type into the search field and thus find your product. Don't use the product type in your tags. If, for instance, a customer is seeking a poster for their kitchen, Zazzle finds the posters without any help from you, but adding tags relating to a kitchen and activities in a kitchen and precisely what's in your design will get you a lot closer to being found.

Instead of looking straight ahead, start looking to the left and the right.

Colorwash's Home

[celticbrother]

Good info. Thank. 

[VTJCV]

Hello and thank you for your sound advice!

I appreciate your suggestions to focus on personal interests and niches, as well as the importance of using relevant tags. Right now we are in a testing period, testing different types of tags, title, products, ... to try to find what might work for us. It takes time I guess to find a place for ourselves on Zazzle, it's an activity we're discovering and that we like. I don't know if we will succeed but we are trying. Thank you again for your time and valuable advice!

[Cat]

Whoa... 152 products for Mother's Day?!? That seems like a heavy investment in time and energy for one category - especially one where people usually just buy one card at a time netting you only a few pennies. I guess my advice would be to spread it out a bit. Don't jump in with things that have big markets and focus on that, rather, it's better to throw a lot of (um...) "stuff" at the wall and see what sticks.

When you make a sale, jump on it! Meaning, if something sells, make more things like it - more products using the same artwork, make versions with the same artwork and different colors, make more products focused on the same theme, more designs of that particular product, etc. A good place to start is to try to expand on the products that have already sold - as you do that, you'll likely figure out why that product sold and your others didn't - maybe you happened upon a niche that's underrepresented in the marketplace... maybe the color, or the style, or something - but once you get a few clues, you won't just be fumbling in the dark.

As you correctly point out, the market is very saturated, so you have to find a place where you can get a toe hold and build from there. If you keep trying to break into areas where there are zillions of products in the marketplace (like Mother's Day cards) you'll probably just be bashing your head against a wall. Maybe try to be more specific - like Mother's Day cards for pet parents of Pomeranian dogs, or something where you have a prayer of showing up in the search even if there aren't a lot of folks searching for it. You'll likely have more success by finding a few areas that aren't as saturated - then once you get established, you can work toward the more saturated markets. That's what's worked for me!

[celticbrother]

Helpful advice. 

[VTJCV]

Hi, and thank you for your message 🙂

Yes, we used Mother's Day as a test to see if spending a lot of time on an event-based product could help us achieve better positions in the marketplace. We may have gone a bit overboard... But this should help us get our answer very soon.

As for your advice, it makes a lot of sense, and we appreciate your insights. We will definitely consider spreading out our efforts across different categories and niches, rather than focusing solely on popular markets. We understand the importance of diversifying our product range and finding areas that are less saturated. The idea of expanding on products that have already sold seems to be an excellent strategy, and we will be sure to follow that approach.

Thank you again 🙂

[KeegansCreation]

Products that have been on Zazzle for a long time are indeed saturated. People have been designing for them for years. However, newer products have only been accumulating designs for months rather than years. In this forum, go to Creator News which is the launch space for new products. You'll see things that were recently introduced such as illuminated signs, pennants, hot sauce favors and foil posters. They are simply too new to have been saturated and your odds of being visible when people look at them are far better.

[pichick712]

sorry, but the new products are stupid. why would I try and sell a block of wood to sit pics on? 

[Barbara]

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@pichick712 wrote:

sorry, but the new products are stupid. why would I try and sell a block of wood to sit pics on? 

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We're all free to choose what we want to design. I, too, am not inspired by the wood shelves, and I bet people who own young cats will look at those shelves as a natural target for the kitties. I rather doubt they'll sell well, but there are other new products with huge potential like the illuminated signs.

Colorwash's Home

[Caprice]

Z is so saturated, I think to even have a prayer of getting visibility, you have to do everything nearly perfectly: tagging, titles, now cover photos - and even then it's not a guarantee.  Weakness in any of these areas = not seen.  Just my (realistic) opinion.

[Barbara]

Don't despair. My un-covered products still turn up, even my older ones where my tagging was deplorable. Third parties certainly help.

Colorwash's Home

[Caprice]

That's great!  Still - I'm working on a theory (LOL) that platinum and diamond folks owe a HUGE debt to simply being early in the MP (tho' of course they have to have good designs, or they wouldn't have sold).  Just saying I think early entry is more of a factor than people give it credit for...

[celticbrother]

I think you are correct. I was an early Kindle writer and made a lot of money before it became saturated. Even though I do little there now, my early entry assured that some of my old titles still show up high in searches. 

Zazzle is a tough nut to crack today; however, I think it is possible, but only for those willing to pay a very high price in time, experimentation and dissapointment. Having said that: in Zazzle's favor, it does offer a great presentation for my products, bar none. It also has a good interface and the company is always trying to impove and look alive, rather than sinking into yesterday. Whether I will prevail here, remains to be seen. 

[Jadendreamer13]

If they’re not properly executed, cover photos can hinder folks’ sales. I’ve seen many poorly executed cover photos. In these cases, the Zazzle generated product mock-ups may be a better choice. Do cover mock-ups go through a Zazzle approval process?

[Barbara]

The covers can't possibly go into review. Too many are being produced and would have already overwhelmed the very real humans trying to look at all of them. The poor folks would go blind.

Colorwash's Home

[Wildart]

I'm going to take some of my items, use the zazz covers/views, and just change ONE thing..the color Background, or remove/replace an item etc... Because I think, in the end the prodcut shown more simply is the best. I did see someone who had doen a cover with an ink stamp, and it showed well because they had used 3 images of the stamp on the piece of paper in the cover, so even that could work well too, without cluttering the item.

[Wildart]

haha yup, I often go to transfer an older designed product and find it had maybe 5 single word tags, and not very good ones at that, still there were sales even given that!!

[Wildart]

I did try something a while ago that may help you and other newcomers, do a search for one design (object,color,shape etc) that you have in mind, let's say a striped cat. now search under all the product types one at a time, and make a note of how many products with that description are in each category, paper plates,cards, fabric,accessories etc. Chosse the one(s) that have the lowest number of these, and make that product with your design. Maybe it will be a bandana,or a phone case,or wall art. Would love to know if you try this and how you got on...

[maigi]

You have to do your own marketing. Your products won't be seen unless you have some products selected as an Editor's Choice or you are a Featured Creator. It doesn't matter how well you create them or how well you title and tag them. If you want your products to be seen, market them on your website and social media.

[Barbara]

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@maigi wrote:

Your products won't be seen unless you have some products selected as an Editor's Choice or you are a Featured Creator. It doesn't matter how well you create them or how well you title and tag them.

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You're wrong. It would mean the majority of designers will have never sold anything at all. It's rare to nonexistent that I've had an editor's pick, and yet I've sold any number of products over the years I've been here.

Colorwash's Home

[maigi]

I appreciate your answer. But you are talking about "over the years", and I was talking about designers who start right now. It's a different game now. I know both sides of stories.

[celticbrother]

Foks, I have to be honest with you, I recently came back to Zazzle and after working day and night for a few months with no sales, I decided to start my own site and forget about POD. If I am going to do all the marketing and have no control over my Zazzle destiny, I might as well do it myself. I just deleted all of my work. Good luck to all. 

[maigi]

I think that from a marketing point of view, it's best if a designer also has their own site. But how have you organized the production?

[NigelSutherland]

One of the great things about Zazzle is that it's also a marketplace, so you don't have to "do all the marketing". Buyers will find you. 

[pichick712]

sorry, but I have been a zazzle contributor for 10 years and I have only made 3,800.00 If I had to live on that, I would have died by now. What is your secret? 

[Wildart]

I don't agree with the second statement at all... I only ever had one editors pick at any time, the more recent one did not sell at all! I sell regularly (not huge sales, but bread and butter ones), and I think some sell because I try to create designs that are either hard to create without designer skills/design programs, or that appeal to specific uses which are less represented. Also I am not active on FB, I Stopped promoting on Pinterest since they changed their rules for profit promotion, but I do let others promote my work. At least that way I get sales I wouldn't otherwise get. I have opened a new store with a narrow focus, but still with some wider appeal, and bold contrasting designs. 

[pichick712]

I agree with you. I am trying on FB, instagram, twitter, and pinterest but either zazzle is messing it up so posts/pins can't be posted or I am just not reaching the audience I need. I practically beg my friends to share my posts to try and get to a bigger audience and they don't seem to. I don't think I have ever been recognized by Zazzle for my years of hard work. 

[angelafuller729]

Your comments about Editor's Choice and Featured Creator are untrue.  I have benefitted from having items selected as "Editors Picks"  but I also have "bestsellers" that have never been picked and yet get sold from both Google searches and Zazzle searches as often as they do from my promoting (almost exclusively on Pinterest).  My results have been across a fairly broad range of products from greeting cards, gift wrap and posters to table lamps and luggage tags, so it's not even just related to wedding invites & supplies...

[igiftcenter]

Make believe your store is in a retail shopping mall and ask.... how many stores in the mall already have what you are selling? Now ask how am I going to differentiate myself from the other stores in this mall because if I don't each time they walk in one of the stores and see the same old stuff by the time they walk in your door they will have had enough 🙂  

So the trick sometimes is: do what the others are not doing and do it REALLY WELL.  If you can't do what they are doing better, move on to something else you can do better. The other trick is if you do have all the same stuff as the others stores in our imaginary shopping mall.....You'd better have a unique and enticing window display that will make them want to enter your store and spend some time looking. Put it this way: you walk around the mall and there are 17 pizza places. You're in the pizza business?  🙂

Last but not least: if you ARE selling the same thing the other stores are selling maybe you can advertise your stuff better than they can. Maybe you can find an enticement (price? design? uniqueness?)

Example of better advertising: someone copied one of my designs. At the time they were better at promoting then I was so.... their exact copy of my product was on page one of search and selling while my original fell to page 7. Why? well first they are copycats lol and second they found a way to promote my design in a way that brought traffic to my design on their product 🙂

I wish you continued success

[chuamishael]

I uploaded 35 products for mother's day, but visibility is really low. my products is probably under 10 - 20 pages 😅
If you type the word "mother" "mom" or "mommy" in search, you will get 3.9 Million results.
If you type the word "mothers day" and you scroll down, you will see 1.2 Million Results. 
But I will give you my personal advice that I got from these veteran zazzle sellers, they told me to promote, promote and promote.  Infact you don't have to design anything at all at these rate. you can just promote other people's products using your referal links.  
But I look at your designs, they're pretty good. so another suggestion is to find another affiliate marketer around here and let them do the promoting for you. 😎  (if you're lucky, you'll find someone with high social network)
Hint for all of you guys : Good Art Don't Sell itself... But a person with high social skills can selling anything... 

[VTJCV]

Thank you all so much for your answers, there are some great tips to follow. So we will continue to work trying to apply all of this, hoping that it can bear fruit 🙂

Some questions:
- How could we find marketters who would be interested in selling our products? And above all how to be interesting for them? We can obviously lower our commissions if needed or even create on demand.
- How to get products in Editor's pick? Is it a question of luck (that the person who awards the stars sees our products and decides to put them forward)?

Thanks again for your help

[Jadendreamer13]

So, I looked at your new Mother’s Day products, and I’ll give you a couple of design tips: (1) A lot of the fonts you are using are hard to read in the product thumbnails, the style doesn’t complement the style of the artwork, and adding text like, “add your title here,” doesn’t help customers determine the best way they can personalize your products. (2) Some of the graphics you are using are beautiful, but stylistically they are all over the map. Even if you are using purchased or vintage graphics (I don’t know if you are), you need to choose those elements wisely so that your collection has a specific style and your store has a specific brand—similar colors, subjects, style of artwork, etc. (3) Avoid over designing anything. Don’t add everything plus the kitchen sink in an effort to improve a design. Too many fonts, design elements, colors, special effects, and styles on one product don’t improve designs, they actually do the opposite. If you look at the editor’s picks, a lot of those designs are surprisingly simple. That’s done for a reason. Simple designs appeal to the masses (like builder’s beige appeals to the masses of home buyers). Legendary fashion designer, Coco Channel, used to say, “put on your outfit and accessories, then remove three items.” In art school, designers are taught that same rule, it’s called the art of restraint. Put a design together, and before you hit the Sell button, ask yourself, “can I simplify this design by removing some elements?”

[VTJCV]

Hello and thank you so much for your valuable advice on our Mother's Day products and our designs in general. I'm taking note of your suggestions regarding the fonts, the choice of graphic elements, and the importance of simplicity in design. I will try to apply these tips.

I am truly grateful that you took the time to review my products and share your knowledge.

[CreativeLeahG]

Mother's Day has 183,903 products, so yes, being seen in the top 100 is a lot to expect without doing your own marketing.

Marketing yourself is the key to success. 

I am a Platinum seller, have one website, 2 blogs that I post to regularly, multiple Facebook pages, FB groups and am active on Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.

So yes, without self-marketing, you are ideally advised to target a new niche, not saturated not just on Zazzle but elsewhere on the web. Re Mother's Day, consider a 'niche' approach. Mother's with various interests ...and do designs that target those. 

Have a look in the 'tips and tricks' forum for ideas on how to design for profit and promote yourself.

[1234Shine]

@CreativeLeahG What are the top 5 product types that you sell, and what is the percentage (roughly) for each of these top 5  in your earnings?  Thanks!

[KittyValentine]

I think there is still room here but it takes work, so just a few thoughts:

1. Make a Pinterest account asap because that's a great way to market your products for free! Don't only pin your products but also matching content. For example you have skateboard designs in your shop so you could make a Pinterest board about skateboarding and pin your skateboard designs plus things about skateboard gear, outfits, how-to skateboard, the whole culture surrounding skateboarding!

2. In my experience it takes 8 to 12 weeks for products to "settle" in the marketplace so you need to design and post early enough. Now would be a good time to design products for summer: for a vacation, pool parties, backyard celebrations etc. Have a look at the products here and decide what customers could need for a good summer.

3. Maybe rethink the setup of your categories. You have products under the category "for her" like a green tote bag that would totally work for everyone, not just women. Where do you put gender neutral designs? Also, under the same category you have so many different things without more sub-categories - shirts, bags, watches, flip-flops, leggings, luggage tags...
And for example, all your phone cases or iPad covers are under "other" - how should a customer ever know what's categorized under "other"? 🙂

It's hard work to clean up a store with many products, I had to go through that 🙂 so better get to it sooner than later. There are a few different ways to set up your store and categories. Whatever works best for you so you can find things later again and also makes it easy for customers to browse your shop if they like! Maybe browse the marketplace and have a look at how others have set up their categories - of course, don't copy any designs or store banners or anything else 🙂

I hope that helps and you see more sales soon!

[Barbara]

Thank you for reminding me about categories. I've been meaning to create more sub-categories for a very long time, but It's an annoying chore, and I've been avoiding it. Sigh.

Colorwash's Home

[KittyValentine]

🙂 Good luck!! I am still in the process of cleaning up my shop categories. Wish I had set it up properly when I started but never too late to make improvements!