I Have Fun and Make Money on Zazzle
Zazzle is a print on demand retailer that allows you to use your own art work to create a whole plethora of interesting items, from t-shirts to coffee mugs to speakers. While some Zazzlers use the tools to make products for themselves, I think most are there to make some money, either through the sale of their designs or via the affiliate marketing option. I have been on Zazzle for two years and have created over 5,000 products and earned over $1,500.
More importantly, Zazzle is fun. They are constantly coming up with new and exciting product lines, adding new font options or offering contests. The Zazzle community is friendly, and the staff is helpful on the few occassions I have needed help.
Here you will find a few tips to help you get started and be successful on Zazzle.
Who Can Zazzle?
- Zazzle is for artists
- Zazzle is for doodlers
- Zazzle is for photographers
- Zazzle is for anyone creative
Basically if you can dream it, you can do it on Zazzle. All you need is an idea. Many of the most successful products are simple photographs or word art - and Zazzle even provides the fonts. While it is true that there are many professional artists and professional photographers on Zazzle, there are also many everyday folk. My daughter drew a design when she was 9, added it to a coffee mug, put it in my shop and it sold.
A Few of My Favorite T-Shirts at Zazzle
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My Top Tips for Zazzle Success
1. Plan Before You Begin
- Spend some time selecting your store name. This will become the URL and cannot be changed. Think about the name from both a practical stance and SEO perspective. As evident by my store with a ridiculous URL, effective tags and good promotion can aid in success, but I have always wondered if I would do better if my URL were something more logical than /albomfamily
- Once you have your store name and URL set, think about how you want your store organized. While you can change the category of your products at a later date, it is rather time consuming. My advice would be to plan your categories first, before you start building your products.
2. Create a Variety of Products
- It's not rocket science, the more products you have, the better your chances of being found. One of the many great things about Zazzle is that they offer customization to the buyer. So if you offer any shirt, customers can purchase the design on which ever Zazzle shirt they select. The trick is you need to have at least one shirt in the product line. Same for mugs, magnets, and many other products.
- Only offer the products which are appropriate for your design. Mugs look best with panoramic shots, keychains with round designs, etc.
- My trick: I have created a template which has one of each type of product. I can use Zazzle's quick create design option with my template and get a feel for which products work with each design. I know most will be deleted, but it is a quick way to see what works. From there, the ones I will keep get an individual edit.
How to Make Products on Zazzle
Step by step photo tutorial.
Step by step photo tutorial to attach your art work to an iPhone case by Speck.
3. Join in the Community
- The Zazzle forum is filled with helpful people, promotion opportunities, news and information on new products and contest information. You can find a link to the Zazzle forum at the bottom of any page in the Zazzle website. From there newbies may want to visit the NEW TO ZAZZLE - Please Start Here forum. Personally, my two favorite forums to visit are:
- Zazzle Merchandising Team to find the latest contest or Zazzle sponsored promotion.
- Ideas and sites used to promote your store to find the latest user sponsored promotional opportunities.
4. Promote Your Products
Aside from opportunities that I find in the forum, a few of my favorite places to promote my Zazzle products:
- Laugh Quotes (my blog)
- Facebook (both your home page, and you can create a fan page for your Zazzle store)
- Stumble Upon
- Digg
- Squidoo
- Wizzley (that's right here)
See Lou16's article for how to find the promotion codes and learn more about referrals and royalties.
If You Are Going to Promote Your Zazzle Items on Squidoo
Read this first:
If You Didn't Read the Fine Print, You Might Not Understand Where You Earn a Referral From Zazzle Sales, and Where You don't.
Here is a Great Article from Lou 16 on Referrals and Royalties
Baby and Kids Designs on Zazzle
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Please Visit Me on Zazzle
These are my primary stores:
Travel Photography with a Twist of Fun!
Funny quotes and saying on t-shirts
Be true to your (home) School!
A collection of New Zealand photography and graphical art
A store inspired by my sister
One of My Best Selling Items Features My Daughter
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Wizzley Is A Great Place to Promote Your Zazzle Store!
Interesting and Random New Zealand Animal and Bird Triviaon 07/22/2011
Funny Halloween Costumes for Womenon 07/07/2011
Funny Halloween Costumes for Menon 07/07/2011
Ohh Noo - Random Mr. Bill Trivia and Giftson 07/13/2011
Please Tell Me What You Think . . . All Comment Welcome
Wow. Interesting! I'll have to get creative with T-shirt designs or something. ;-)
Thank you for sharing this information, I have joined Zazzle over one year ago, and now am inspired to do something with the membership. Thank you for your inspiration!
I just started with zazzle when I read T-Harmon_Art's info on it and I love it! hope it makes a few pennies too but loving it :)
really nice and useful article for Zazzle designers and store owners. Thanks for sharing your experiences and tips! :)
Now I have to try Zazzle.
Thanks, Rhonda! I'll read through your series of articles. :)
I wasn't interested in Zazzle, but you're making me interested.
Thanks for all this! I'm looking forward to studying this one, and the rest in your Zazzle series!
Love your article. I am still trying to figure all this Zazzle stuff out. Still haven't figured out how to set up my shop right yet.
Excellent guide. I'm an affiliate, but haven't yet dome much with it. When I do, I'll know where to get help!