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

[Badeesie]

I actually set up categories months ago and shortly afterward found myself mostly making designs that I couldn't figure out how to fit into my existing category structure - couldn't even think of reasonable new categories to add that would work with both my organizing principles and the actual products made. So I set them all not to show and will probably wait a bit longer until I'm confident my style is a bit more settled before I try again.

That shift as I solidify my style and niche is also a reason I really wish it were possible to transfer products between shops.

[Barbara]

Having encountered the same thing with my initial categories, I redid them, trying to stay with concepts, though not completely. It worked for quite a while but I've changed over time and will be digging into them again. It's easier than trying to create entirely new stores.

Colorwash's Home

[Wildart]

I am at last actually remembering to do this ,when I have time, I see tha categories when I create something new, and if the "I must do sub categories for that" matches the time space to do it..I actually get around to completing one or two categories now. New product creations are the best time, cos that's when you find you need subs, huh? otherwise you forget... I amthinking what I should do is make a reminder note at the time, so I don't forget later....

[VTJCV]

Hello and thank you so much for taking the time to analyze our store!

We have recently started and are still figuring out how to best organize the shop with stores, categories, and collections, as we try to explore all of Zazzle's products to find our niche, on which we will focus if it works. So we need to manage to organize all of this.

You are absolutely right about the categories, and I think I will quickly delete them, leaving only the collections, and creating many more of them, with fewer items in each. We now understand the importance of collections, which serve to propose items of the same theme to visitors, to improve their experience and perhaps encourage them to buy several items from a single collection.

However, I still don't understand the interest in having multiple stores. Is the Zrank linked to our profile or to each store? Because the goal, as I understand it, is to make as many sales as possible to reach new levels and thus gain positions in the marketplace. At the same time, I have read that some products can hold us back, so maybe having multiple stores with fewer items would be better? Difficult choice... I certainly don't have all the elements yet.

You are absolutely right about Pinterest. It's a shame to have to spend a lot of time on it at the expense of creating new designs, but we will have to go through that as well.

Thank you again for your time and all these great tips! 🙂

[KittyValentine]

But don't get totally rid of your categories! Work with categories AND collections. Just organize your categories differently.

The Z Rank is linked to every single store so if you start a new store you need to built a new Z Rank up from the ground, so to speak. Stick to one store at the beginning, it's already a lot of work 😀

[Barbara]

Six or seven years ago, I divided myself amongst three stores. Instead of organizing me, it led to near disaster, if not physically, at least psychologically. Often enough, a product could go in either of two stores. It drove me nuts because my design style doesn't seem to want to be compartmentalized. I moved everything back into my original store, using categories instead, which now need updating, but shifting around products won't cause them to lose rank.

A few others have had the same experience, so it may be something to think about very carefully. What if, for example, you have a pillow that you place in the Pillow store, but it's a Christmas pillow and might work as well if not better in the Christmas store?

A product that's already sold can't be moved into another store without remaking the product as if it were brand new, thus losing the rank of that product. There's no harm in shifting products from one category to another. I'm not advising against additional stores--plenty of people have them and work well with them. What I do advise is thinking carefully about the pros and cons.

Colorwash's Home

[VTJCV]

Thanks for the advice 🙂 so I think I'll stay on one store, delete the categories (put everything back in "new products") and use only collections, which are much more convenient because we can assign a product to several collections at once.

[Wildart]

Great advice. My only thought here is that pinterest now have rules about items that are for profit(zazz), and we must indicate this on each item, plus make your account commercial(unsure  of exact terms). I see no easy way to mark each item..with #ad, but if we have to we have to so I turned my account back to personal...

[Barbara]

Many of us have business accounts on Pinterest, and maybe it's because of this that I've never had a bit of trouble posting products of my own or those of others. You're advertising products that are very obviously on Zazzle, you work at Zazzle, and you're in business. I doubt you need to be concerned. If you don't already have a business account, it's easy enough to change over to one.

Colorwash's Home

[VTJCV]

Can we edit a message ? In a previous message my translator wrote "It's a shame" instead of "It's a pity". Sorry for my english mistakes

[Barbara]

Both "It's a shame" and "It's a pity" are used in pretty much the same way in English, so no problem.

Collections are for promotion. Let's say you have a hundred posters with various types of images--photos, quotes, or for kitchen, bedroom or for different types of businesses. You're likely to create collections for each of those things breaking them down into specific designs so a customer who's found your product can look at the collection shown beneath it to see your similar items, one of which they prefer to what's displayed on the page, and so they buy it.

Categories are like a table of contents to all your products. If a customer lands on your storefront without knowing precisely what they want, they can click through those categories and then the sub-categories, drilling down to ever more specific products and/or designs. You can with great care, keep all your categories on one page. Furthermore, as you add more and more products, you'll find those categories mighty handy for finding your own products.

We can easily develop hundreds of collections and to the point where it isn't always to find what you're looking for. If for no other reason, you'll want categories for your own use.

My advice is to not dismiss either type of organization. Think of collections as a selling point and categories as an organizational method.

Colorwash's Home

[VTJCV]

Thanks, I'll have to take the time to think of a good organization for our store. The problem with categories is that you can only put one product in them and most products can go in several. Collections are much easier to manage and you really see what they bring. I will think about this, thanks 🙂

[pichick712]

Joyce Baldassarre: on Zazzle  I have several stores, each with collections specific to the stores. 

[Jadendreamer13]

You’re good. “It’s a shame” and “It’s a pity,” mean the same thing. 🙂

[pichick712]

I've been on it for 10 years and have only made 3,000.00. I am trying everything I can think of BUT I REFUSE TO PAY 3-4 THOUSAND DOLLARS to make Elle richer to find out what her supposed secrets are. I could never take that kind of $$$ from people who are struggling to make this work. I would share my tips and tricks for free. When one succeeds, we all succeed. 

[VTJCV]

Maybe the secret is to sell courses ^^ 

[pichick712]

yea, for 3-4 thousand dollars a pop. they even take payment plans. smh if I was making that kind of money to afford the course, I would not need the course. I dare the Clarke's to GIVE AWAY their secrets to those who cannot afford to pay their hefty fees. 

[Wildart]

agree with everything you say, I've been here longer, made a little less, and I share my tips freely! 🙂

[pichick712]

I have NEVER been highlighted after 10 years. U r on your own. 

[Tessa]

It takes time for the algorithm to pick up new products. I took a look at your mother's day collection and it looks like they are less then a month old. (Or at least the products I looked at) Ideally, you want to be designing for holiday at least 3-5 months in advance to give Zazzle a chance to place the product properly. There is definitely still room in the marketplace, but it takes time to gain traction and for it to all click. It's a long game, not a get rich quick scheme. Just gotta keep at it and learning from each win and each loss. Good luck!

[VTJCV]

Hi, thank you very much for your visit and your wise advice. We'll keep working and see if Zazzle gives us a chance in a few months 🙂