Spending more time "optimizing" than creating products

[giskard]

What would you do? 

[KeegansCreation]

What I would do (what I have done) is do the optimizing till it's done. If you don't, those products will turn invisible and work you did in the past will have been for nothing.

[MOM]

@giskard @KeegansCreation    So very true. I just took a look at my data yesterday. Out of 365 items only 22 sold. The bestseller sold twelve times. Optimization is way more important than designing I think because with my result I can’t feed my seven children which I (fortunately) don’t have, lol. I have to get way better at optimizing because I wasted my time and effort on 343 items. 🙄

[Jadendreamer13]

According to many popular, successful POD sellers on YouTube, only about 10% of their products sell. The other products should be optimized to increase their chance of being seen in the marketplace. I often modify the title, descriptions, and tags on products that have been flagged for optimization in the evening using my cellphone while watching TV (during commercials). I typically have 100-200 products that need optimization at most times. If I optimize them, and they get flagged in another year, I either delete the product or I redesign it.

[Wildart]

I have just done a calculation on ONE store, (my oldest) and my sales are just shy of 50%!!! I have hidden anything that is not a current holiday, and will hide the Christmas ones again till perhaps July. then Hide them again till Oct next year. (if the world is still normal ) having said that, my viable products are under 400, and will be less than that after Christmas. I would love to create a wedding suite I am proud of, but that is a next year thought. 🙂

As to family, I have 3 children, and after my twins reached 18 mths age , life was a breeze... AND I was NOT a working Mum till they were 8. I guess life is different now for Mums,I do remember trying to find a few more cents to buy some bread one particular week. (smile), and some of my clothes wore out, literally, but we were happy.

[Wesha]

' feed my seven children" ... I was shocked for a moment before I finished the line, lol 

[MOM]

@Wesha  Oh, I bet. 😂  I couldn’t handle seven, one was plenty enough to deal with for me, smile.

[Jadendreamer13]

I was one of seven children. It was madness (and the house was always messy). As a result, I have only one child—and a clean house.

[chefcateringbiz]

I'm the youngest of 7 myself, and it ain't no picnic, I can tell you. On the other hand, back in those days you could raise a family of 7 kids on a vocational teacher's salary, which is what my father was. No need for Mom to sell tees on the side to make ends meet!

[CarlaRolfe]

Well, I do actually have 7 and will agree that optimizing is critical. 😁

[chuamishael]

I didn't touch or rename many of my product that are flagged for optimizing, I simply just make it public again. would that work?

[Wildart]

Well that takes it out of being hidden, but it doesn't actually improve anything..eh? 

So do SOMETHING, especially look at the title and tags. I try to fit more than one word as a tag, so instead of blue,  I would put pale shimmery blue for example. Sometimes I change the title too, if it is specific to a design, I might change it to a wider appeal, describing words such as cute, adorable, contemporary, vintage...etc Even changing the words around to have the eye-catcher word first.

You aim to make google see each product as totally unique, and different to a similar design or product you may have, even the same design can be described differently. I always change tags even for the same design. Zazz will group any changes within the exact product that has different colorways, so you need not fear zazz not picking that up, and even if that does not happen, you can request it.

All these little changes will increase your views, or chances of increased views. So it IS worth doing, in my experience.

Happy editing, and creating,

Gill

[Marcia]

A few months ago I optimized around 1200 products. It was miserable & took forever. I have, however, gotten views on products that had been hidden for 2 or 3 years. And even a few sales. Yet, I've let it slide again & I probably have a 100 or products at this time that need to be dealt with now. Between that & making all the cover photos there's barely any time to create new products. ☹️

[Wildart]

I definitely take bite sizes out of my older viewed products now, and I am becoming more ruthless about those with no views, other than my initial registering view(s) once they hit the red highlighted last viewed.. I try to do cover images on those with recent views, or new items that I really love. If one item makes regular sales I concentrate on that, but with my life having major hiccups health-wise, there will be one or two weeks I do nothing at all... I try not to let any items go into the red with the last viewed category, and when I have extra time I will make sure I have no views less than 8 months, unless Christmas holiday-themed items. But I hardly create much at present, unless a new image of mine, or category in Zazzle inspires me.

[BKMuir]

I optimize at least once a month - should be per week. If you have 1000 items to optimize and do them all at once (withing a day or two) then they will ALL come up together for the next optimization. Therefore, I stagger them out.

[KeegansCreation]

Solid plan. It's like changing lightbulbs in a chandelier. Don't do them all at once or they will burn out all at once.

[Connie]

Good point!

[Marcia]

Oh, believe me, it did not take only a day or 2 for 1200! I did around 20-30 a day (also thinking about next time with them all coming up at once). Plus, I just couldn't stand doing any more than I already did each day!  lol

[TShirtfort]

I do both. Optimizing doesn't seem to do anything. I redo my keywords but stuff still gets hidden. I redo them again same. I thought they weren't long enough so I made phrases. That didn't work. I give them new names that doesn't work. I try to make them have more keywords. That doesn't work. Than I look at something that is on the first page of my search and it will be some basic design made with like word art that has nothing to do with the search with the keywords like cat, cat, cat, cat, batman. Just tell us what optiimizing means in plain English. Not Connect the SEO to the MINJ add more HYHK, or whatever. We are designers, we know about art, illustrator, photoshop, watercolor, painting, drawing, etc.. Speak to us in our language make it straight simple and to the point. Don't ramble. If you have to say the exact keywords that get views just do that. We don't work at Google. 

[Jadendreamer13]

So, when Zazzle introduces new products on the Creator News page, they now include keywords and popular search phrases that folks use when searching for the new products. That should be helpful to you. Plus, overtime you can learn what types of tags and search phrases are commonly used, and then you can apply that knowledge to your older products that need optimization.

[giskard]

I would like a Zazzle wizard to offer their magical advice, they must have the right spell for it... maybe it is "delete everything and start designing wedding invitations" (read it sarcastically please)

[Jadendreamer13]

There at least two paid Zazzle courses that I know of. Both of them include instructions on how to improve titles, tags, descriptions—basic SEO techniques. A quick Google search on Zazzle coaching will show you the results. 

[Margielyn]

You are so right about wedding invitation, That is not my passion, but seems like it is Zazzle!  Most of their examples use wedding products! I am very discouraged, I have put so many hours in on Zazzle, but no sales! Guess my designs are not likeable!

[Wildart]

I use 2 strategies, maybe three when designing.

1, design for US taste and culture(but not clashing with my Christian ethos)

2 design for my own pleasure to my style and taste,

3 Design new products  that expand on my own collection, that or add to existing suite/collection. Living in New Zealand, quite a few items sell in Aussie or NZ, and since I know these 2 cultures well, its another niche market. 

Also think of businesses that might like your designs, think salons,cafes etc...

[Trilok_10]

I'm trying to maintain a balance between optimizing and creating products. Some days I'm more focused on tweaking what I already have, while other days I'm focused on creating more stuff. I'm still experimenting and trying to figure out what really works on the platform and what doesn't, so I think it's important for me to not get too caught up in one area or the other.

[WBartworks]

Since sales are so low this year, I opt for doing nothing until sales pick up.