So you've been pouring your heart and soul into your new Zazzle store, offering up your best ideas and creations to the cosmos in the hopes that someone will love your work enough to buy it, and the customers just aren't biting. Maybe you feel like you're wasting your time. Maybe you feel like your stuff is just no good or that Zazzle will never pay off. Whatever the case, I know it can be frustrating, depressing, and discouraging when you put all that time, energy, and emotional investment into a project and it just doesn't seem to be paying off. I know because I've been there, and chances are, most of the successful Zazzlers you will talk to on here have been there as well. None of us were born knowing how to do this, and we all had to learn in our own way. Some of us turned to our fellow Zazzlers for advice and support. Some of us mucked through it alone and figured things out the hard way. All of us had moments where we wanted to give up on Zazzle, and yes, even I got so frustrated by my lack of success that I just gave up and walked away from Zazzle, ignoring it for over a year before I gave it another shot.
It's a good thing I did, too, because after a few years of hard work and stolid determination (aka stubbornness) I was able to clock out of my day job for the last time and become a self-employed artist. It took a lot of hard work, trial-and-error, and some long days with my nose pressed to a computer screen, but it was worth it, because now I am my own boss. I work when I choose to work, and I work on what I want to work on. It's not an easy job, but it's one I love, and if you are passionate about creating and bringing your ideas to life, then you are on the right track by establishing yourself on Zazzle. You CAN make a living on Zazzle, if you are willing to put forth the time and effort necessary, and if all you want to do is put your ideas out into the world and maybe make a few bucks off of them, that's ok too! The point is that while it can seem daunting and frustrating at first to get your stuff seen by customers, you shouldn't give up! People can and DO make a success out of Zazzle, and I'm living proof.
Even knowing that, it can be hard to stay motivated, or to jump-start a dormant muse, so here's a list of some of the common downfalls of Zazzlers (New and Old) and suggestions on how to overcome them.
-You've been working your tail off and nothing is selling. You're beginning to wonder if you're just wasting your time-While there's no magic trick to getting your stuff sold, there's a few things you can do to help yourself overcome this mental hurdle.
First, remember that there are, at this very moment, people making their living on Zazzle. These are people just like you, that started from scratch, plugging away at the tedious task of starting their first Zazzle store before eventually building it up enough that it was able to pay their bills. Just like you, they had moments of frustration, wondered if what they were doing was EVER going to pay off, but it did, and it can for you, too. If you continue to suffer the plight of the newbie blues, just pop into the forum and ask for a pep talk. We're here to help.
Some other things you could do to help boost your sales (And in turn, your mood):
*Promote your best designs on Facebook, Twitter, or a third-party website. The more people view your designs, the higher up they will appear in search results.
*Go through your products and try to build on or improve your tags and description. The most common mistake new zazzlers make is neglecting their tags and descriptions, and without good tags, how are customers going to find you?
*Try to add at least one new design a day. More is better, of course, but websites that don't change for a long time tend to slip downward in search results. The more active your shop is, the better your changes of being seen. That being said, don't just start chucking out sub-par products to try to boost your rank in search engines--quality is crucial to sales, and if customers see a shop full of junk, they're not going to stick around to find the gems.
-You've been diligently adding to your Zazzle store, but despite your best efforts, you just seem to be running out of ideas, or the ideas you have don't seem very good. This is sometimes called "dead muse", "absent muse", or "sleeping muse" syndrome by us artists and designers.-When I feel stumped, it can be frustrating to say the least, but I have a few remedies for artist-block. I may flip through magazines or catalogs looking for inspiration, go to the store and see what's trendy right now, people-watch to see what people are interested in wearing or buying, or I may just take a break from Zazzle for a few days. There's nothing wrong with just walking away from Zazzle for a bit to clear your head and gather your thoughts as long as you come back, because after all, sometimes we get so focused on the problem that we can't see a solution.
When your muse has decided to take a nap, try some of these techniques to get it going again:
*Flip through a favorite catalog or magazine. Look for inspiration in unexpected places.
*Make a to-do list for yourself. Sometimes just writing your ideas out can help you come up with new ones or better ones. I have stacks of notebooks full of brainstorming sessions, and take one with me whenever I leave the house in case I get a burst of inspiration.
*People Watch. Sometimes I get the best ideas by seeing what grabs customers' attention at the local grocery store, or by watching what people are wearing on the street. Don't take ideas directly from preexisting products, but build on them and use them as inspiration for original products of your own.
*Create a new store. Sometimes the best thing to do is to just take an idea you've always wanted to run with and run with it. If you have a line of ideas that just don't fit in your store as it is, or if you think they would be better suited in a store of their own, why not go for it? Sometimes we come up with our best ideas when we focus on a specific theme or style, which can make niche shops a very helpful remedy to being stumped.
This thread is a work in progress, and I will add more suggestions, advice, and cheerleading as it occurs to me. If you are a new or frustrated Zazzler in need of support, or if you have suggestions you would like to share, please feel free to post in this thread.
Remember guys, don't give up--Zazzle is worth it!
![]()
![]()
![]()