Hi Mark!
I'm gonna download it now. I have an inactive store ready where I can try it. I'll let you know everything about it but probably just tomorrow as it is already night here and I had a busy day! Feeling Zzzzz...!
Best!

Page 1 - links in the Useful Links box are not live links and do not permit highlight/copy for pasting into a browser window. Makes it a bit of fuss to look at the example card set.

The file defaulted to a print at 100% setting. Got my cozy chair printout now.

I really like the approach you are taking with this tutorial! More later after dinner and a full read through.

I think this is a good tutorial and is going to be very useful for a lot of people.

The tutorial uses the features of Quick Create, combined with a modular design approach, to output a good-sized lineup of greeting cards. The tutorial is fantastic for people who understand the basics of creating a nice design and making single products on Zazzle, and who are ready to take the next step - learning to develop their own personal work flow so that they can fill a store with well thought out product variations.

People who have a lot of experience with Quick Create may also find the tutorial useful. If you already have your own structured approach, and even if you have your own modular approach, Mark's way of doing things is clever and is likely to give you some ideas about how to get even more out of your current templates and QC skills.


I found the flow chart approach and bullet point tips very clear and easy to understand. But if you find it challenging to follow assembly instructions (you know, the "take part A and attach to part B" kind of instructions) then the tutorial WILL challenge you and you might find that you to reread a step and try it again. If you are good with assembly instructions I think you'll find that this tutorial is a lot like building a model kit - fun, detailed, and when you finish you end up with some great stuff to put in your store.


I use Quick Create a lot, and my latest Pretty World workflow is good enough that I just increase my weekly production goal to a minimum of 1000 products per week (24 original garden art images x 42 products per design). That's a pretty good work flow and a satisfying production rate, and I think that it should be kind of obvious that I've figured out how to use Quick Create reasonably well.

There wasn't a lot new to me in Mark's tutorial, but it was still VERY much worth taking time away from my own store work to review the approach. My takeaway is not going to be a big line-up of cards (because that's not the direction I want to take my store right now) but there are ideas in his workflow set up that I will definitely be thinking about when I weed the garden. I'm sure that future Pretty World workflow modifications will use a number of Mark's QC tips so that it is even more efficient and productive.


Can you find this information elsewhere? Yes - a lot of it. There are other QC tutorials that cover QC skills and that might be an easier starting point for working through the basics. Mark's method is going to take some practice and probably is not going to be right for a person that wants to play at Zazzle as a hobby and who doesn't care about building a real business. It is not a difficult method but it does take some time and focus to work through the steps and get everything set up properly.


I'm very interested in reading what the other testers think. I personally just love the approach and think it's going to help a lot of Zazzle artists turn their work into real Zazzle stores and Zazzle businesses - if they choose to work it like a business, of course. But I also know that I'm super comfortable with flowcharts and modular work flow design so what's easy and sensible to me might be less easy for someone who isn't into flowcharts.


Mark - is that the sort of feedback you find helpful? Let me know if you have any questions. I hope my comments give people some good information about the tutorial without "spilling the beans" on the specifics of this clever way to us Zazzle's Quick Create tools.

If I didn't already have my own business plan and product development plan, I'd be very tempted to spend the afternoon opening a second store and QCing up a boatload of products - following the steps in the tutorial. Best to wait until after Autumn frosts, though, before I start thinking like that! Too many good ideas, too little time.

Back to working my own business now. Nice job on the tutorial, Mark. Thanks for letting me review it.

Lynda

People learn differently. Just find what works for you. The one you referred to is a good one.

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To begin with, I checked out your example of the first 100 cards you made. That was most enlightening and certainly fueled my excitement in trying this! (Please note: I'm still on prep, which for me is a biggie!)

First Impressions:
The flow chart is clear and I love the fact that you provide visual examples that we can zoom into and see. Because I'm such a visual person, I like to be able to see - as well as read - step-by-step instructions.

Each page of your Guide has very comprehensive info. Your Guide is very well thought out and it's totally apparent that much work has gone into it. It's a powerful tool. (Reminds me of the laminated reference charts by Visibone showing all the CSS or HTML codes and giving examples of how they are used.)

I would love to see the same thing that's on each page in larger type, and then have this compressed guide as an attached supplement to use as reference. I would also like larger visual examples so that there's no need to zoom in (examples that are "in my face" right from the start). Another possibility is to offer two versions of this Guide. One version would be as it is now. The other version would be the same thing but would be spread out and have larger visual examples for each step.

The single most helpful step for me is initial organization and that is what I am doing now. I thought I was fairly organized BEFORE reading Prep and "Initial Set-Up" but I was actually far from it. I have vintage images in three of my stores and those images are all sized differently and I'm used to tweaking images endlessly. Many images I would remake to fit specific products and others I would crop or frame. I thought I was being professional but am realizing I have been making things difficult for myself and wasting time. Since reading through your Template Building Guide, I am remaking a number of images to be used for cards in uniform sizes.

___"I didn't know you could do that."
I love your example of how to boost our after-sales income by creating QR codes. Although I find digital bar codes boring to look at, the idea is absolutely brilliant to the extent that I am getting over my initial reaction. I have generated bar codes for each of my stores and am preparing to use them.

Your tips are invaluable.

More to come!

I -really- wish the US would change to the A-B-C-D 'paper' sizing for ease of fitting to many more items as each cut into halves makes an image that is still in proportion. The US letter size is a good choice as it does fit -onto- an A4 page for printing.

Personally - I rarely print anything anymore. Electronically, it can be 'searched' and viewed on most machines, causes zero wear and tear on printers and of course, no money for paper.

Screen shots need to be large enough so the reader/viewer can really read any text on the screen capture.

The one I WAS preparing is nearly all visual, as I have found over the past 37 years of teaching that people who are into visual arts are indeed mostly visual learners (with enough text to 'explain' the images).

One day, maybe we'll see this one too!

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Thanks for chipping in, Tony - and welcome to the volunteer reviewers !

I've just added a you tube video covering where the other one left off. This one shows the last part of preparing the products created for the market place.

In it I start with the products I got from pushing one of my fine art images for the card front through Quick Create (on the templates built by following my guide).

I then show a slick way to edit the description in each (it's also covered in in more detail on my "more tips" page of the guide).

Even if folks aren't interested in my guide, this tip is a useful one to add to your toolbelt. You use it mainly when you have to make individual edits to large numbers of products. Watch it in action and use it to save yourself oodles of time!

You can see the video demo here:
http://youtu.be/X3tVkBNiQZc

Feedback welcome

[Edit: It's so hot off the press that YouTube is till processing it. UK time is now 17:30 - I suggest giving it half an hour]