I Can See Less than 10% of my Collections via the New Collections Filter

[CreativeLeahG]

Is this new filter still populating?

Of my 1300 collections, only 116 (ish) are appearing.

I have many more collections than this with covers so it's not that.

Thanks

[Windy]

I was not sure how you were searching, so I searched with my Creator name and I see only four of my collections at this time. I have created more, fully up to standard.....

[Baylee]

Are all those 1300 of your collections set as cross-sell @CreativeLeahG? That seems to be the only ones that are shown at the moment. I have 187 wedding collections and searching by my store name as @Windy suggested, I get 516 results..lol. Not sure if that's an accurate number or not since I have no idea how many products I have selected to show the cover image.

[CreativeLeahG]

Not all the collections visible via the filter are cross sell but they are all events. That’s the only parallel noted so far. 

[KeegansCreation]

I discovered last night through monkeying around that these cross sell collections have to not only be events, they have to be events that have recommended products and you have to have chosen a subset of those recommended products to show up in the search function (Zazzle Marketplace Enabled> choose products to show for certain search terms).  I discovered this when I saw that all my birthday collections show in the collections filter in the MP except for one, the one I'd made most recently and hadn't chosen any products to show up for particular search terms.

[CreativeLeahG]

Thank you for that!

I guess I will have to accept then my collections on the whole won't be visible.

[SaraO]

Hi, can you explain how to do this? I must be doing collections wrong, because under the filter only one collection about Christmas shows.  What do you mean when you say you have to choose a subset of recommended products to show in the search function? Where do I do this? Thanks.

[KeegansCreation]

1. Go to your collections management page.
2. Filter by Cross Sell
3. Go into one of the cross sell collections. Does it have a Recommended Products section?
4. If no, leave it and go on to the next.
5. If yes, scroll down to Zazzle Marketplace>Enabled and click that.
6. This takes you to a place that will show your collection cover and also all the products that are in the Recommended Products. Here you can choose some products that will show when a person does a particular search. Choosing at least one is also what gets your collection into the new Collections filter.
7. I chose the products that also appear in my collection cover photo.

[SaraO]

Thank you, I can do all of this and get to number 6. I see my collection cover and the recommended products, but can't see anywhere that you can choose some products that will show when a person does a particular search.

[KeegansCreation]

If you are at number 6, scroll down a bit. The recommended products you see should have boxes in the upper left corner of the thumbnail. Tick at least one box. I ticked all that were also in my collection cover photo.

[tiffjamaica]

This was really helpful, thanks!  If the collection doesn't have "recommended products", I'm assuming I can't choose products to show up in search as a collection.   This is confusing me because I have two Valentine's Day party collections filed under the Holiday-Valentine's Day as Cross Sell, but no recommended products section.... However I did a marketplace search for Valentine's Day party and filtered by Collections and plenty of sellers' collections do show up.  Wonder what I'm doing wrong here!? 

EDIT:  I think I just solved my problem. I went back and inspected all the collections that show up and most are for valentines birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, etc.   So I guess a good ol' fashioned Valentine's Day party isn't enough to be featured in the search!!   

[SaraO]

Thanks, I do have a few of the products ticked that say, 'Select up to 10 products for which you would like Zazzle to show the collection image instead of the product image in search', is that what you mean?  This doesn't help it being shown, for me. I only have one collection that shows, when I use the collection filter after searching my name.   I changed all the collection covers a week ago after their email, I wonder if this has affected it, because the only one showing is one that I never got round to changing the cover.

[CreativeLeahG]

On reflection, it occurred to me that most the collections I have showing are not ones I've done anything with in recent times, so haven't fulfilled any of these steps yet they show up in collections filter. They have covers because I mostly always created collection covers since their introduction.

[MasterpieceCafe]

Thanks. I followed all of this and my collection still didn't make it into the search results.

[Windy]

Ooh, let me try this then!-----

No for me this was not the solution, as I already had all recommended products selected. Maybe the rest of my collections will show later in my storename search. They ARE showing up in other searches, though, so I am not going to worry too much about this. 

[CreativeLeahG]

@James 

As someone who has embraced collections since their inception, I've noticed that while newer creators might find it more manageable to adapt to the evolving focus on collections, those of us with a broader catalog find ourselves at a bit of a crossroads. The task of updating numerous collections is daunting, and I'm concerned about the visibility of our existing work amidst these changes.

This concern was echoed in KeeganCreations' findings above, highlighting a potential disadvantage for us, the early adopters of collections. I'm contemplating dedicating time to update my collections, yet I'm cautious. The pace at which new updates and changes are introduced sometimes makes it challenging to keep up.

The possibility that our hard work could be overshadowed by new features or editorial picks is disheartening. It's become increasingly difficult to strategize how best to allocate our time and resources effectively. 

Given these challenges, I'm reaching out in hopes of finding a middle ground that supports both Zazzle's objectives and our needs as creators.

Any reassurance or guidance on how we can ensure our efforts are not in vain would be deeply appreciated.

We're all here to contribute positively to the Zazzle community, and finding ways to adapt without feeling left behind is crucial. I understand these are complex issues with no simple solutions, but I believe a collaborative approach can help us navigate these changes more effectively.

Thank you for considering our perspective, and I look forward to any advice or support you can offer.

[KeegansCreation]

Yes. For one thing I am wondering if there are plans to have collection covers eventually show for Same Style/Theme, Different Style/Theme and Gift Theme collections. I have been making collection cover photos for all of them but if they will never appear on the product page then there is no point in continuing to make those covers. But if there is a chance they will appear on the product page in the future then I will still make them.

[Scott]

What is this "new collections filter" that you're referring to?

[Baylee]

Here's where the new filter shows up on a MP search.

[SaraO]

What I don't understand - If I search for 'Bachelor Party', I get an option to filter by collection, this filters to 31 collections, mostly by the same person, and most of them are bachelorette parties, not bachelor ones. - There must be 100's of bachelor party collections by other people, I have one, called 'Bachelor Party', why doesn't that show, I have all recommended products, cover picture as asked which a number of products in, ticked boxes, and followed all the advice given by Zazzle, yet it just doesn't show - anyone know why?

[MasterpieceCafe]

I have almost 500 collections and only two visible? I don't understand what is happening here.

[CreativeLeahG]

On further observation , 

collections showing under this collections tab are not collections but products and in some cases where it shows 20 collections, in fact it is merely showing all 20 products form a single collection! 

I noticed my 216 count of visible collections jumped to over 2000 but most images relate to the same collection so still a small amount visible . 

This is so counterintuitive and I don’t see how it helps the customer. Surely the collections tab should lead directly TO collections not single products?

And please give us some guidance as to why some collections are showing and not others because speculation here doesn’t match I am seeing.

Thank you