Finally bit the bullet.....

After years - well some time anyway - of resisting the urge to create a Zazzle store, I have finally succumbed. As there are some seasoned Zazzle experts here I wonder whether you could undertake a quick viewing and then let me know what I have not done correctly, or that I might improve. 

There is a lot to learn and at my age the learning process goes much slower than it once did, so any feedback would be much appreciated.

I have not begun to promote the store yet, as I wanted to get a feel for the product creation aspect and upload at least a few products before shouting to the world. Any info on where and how others undertake promotion of Zazzle stores would also be most appreciated.

The store is called 'Fuchsia' and can be found at http://www.zazzle.com/fuchsias

The posters section is the one that I have been concentrating on, so I can use those in future Wizzles about my passion for Fuchsias.

Thanks in advance for any 'Chatter' you may feed back 

I'm getting there, the success a few have boasted about is nothing to sneeze at- I'm just waiting till I have some free time to do it- work has me doing so many videos and projects I just want to quit at the end of the day...

When I create mine I will create tutoirals showing others how I did it... I have some fantastic artwork I could use... congrats on biting the bullet, I have yet to do the same. 

WOW Chaz, I'm impressed.  I too have been meaning to bite the bullet.  You've inspired me.  Great Zazzle Store.  :)

It's beautiful! Inspirational! I'm still learning myself, I've got too much of a hodgepodge of stuff on mine.

@2 - I know what you mean by the 'bit lost' comment, but I have tried to learn through the 'curve'. I used the 'multiple designs' from the outset, but that caused me some heartache when I realized I wanted to re-categorize the products so that my store had a cleaner user experience - lot of work to place each product in my own categories. Fortunately now I have opted to create new images for posters first and these are not affected by the background color requirements, as clothing is. Initially, I did find it difficult to navigate, but after a couple of days of usage, and some head scratching, this has now just about fallen into place.

I created the .com (US) for good reasons but wondered whether .co.uk was worthwhile to create. I don't quite understand the worldwide sales aspect to determine whether this is sensible.

@K thanks

@R thanks, and I understand how one can create a hodgepodge before understanding how a store can be best created - that is the secret for newbies that I would like to have understood before starting out. Still not sure of the best layout, format etc etc.

Still need some insights into best practices for promotion, and some more insights from the successful Zazzle players on here (Wizzley) about the whole Zazzle opportunity.

@2 thanks for the link. Before starting a store I did do a search on Wizzley for 'Zazzle' but, as far as I can remember, I did not find this article. It does give me food for thought and some ideas that I had not considered.

I suppose what I am now looking for in regards of promotion is anyone's experience in using Pinterest for promoting Zazzle products.

Obviously Wizzley will be receiving a few articles for promotional efforts.

I recommend studying all of Pam's (Dustytoes) articles and Zazzle stores. She's a seasoned Zazzler with respectable earnings.

So is Lou.

That is beautiful! I'm working on four or five  stores at once. One of them is called Morning Glory Designs. I hadn't thought about putting morning glories on all products. I've got to give it some thought.

@humagaia

What camera are you using and do you save the images on highest resolution? SY

I have been taking photos of fuchsia for over 30 years. Originally I used an SLR. The prints from these I am scanning at 1200 ppi. They do not make for good reproduction at the larger sizes on Zazzle, but those up to around 24" x 24" look as though they are good repros. I am not just reproducing the photos. I am creating simulated oil paintings using a paint program. This removes much of the pixelation that could be produced.

I am currently using an older Olympus C-830L for my most recent digital photos. I am experimenting with resolution metrics to find which gives the best results for upload.

As I have just started the store I am using those images that are already uploaded to my computer - the older, scanned images. 

I am hopeful that my experimentation will resolve the issue of making larger posters without there being any degradation of the image.

@Humagaia

Please zoom in at your images at 100% and you will see the print quality delivered to the buyer of the product in question. SY

PS Have a look at this photo at full resolution on Pixabay http://pixabay.com/en/photos/get_image/13622/?t=1346269884&c=96fd975ddfea3e9b784b&ext=jpg to see what I mean ...

I'm happy to be the first to "like" your store and to leave you a message on the first page. You have lovely photos. I second Sam's suggestion to look at your photos at 100% to see how good the quality is for larger size posters, etc. I have to go back and check some of my own. But the zazzle programme does a pretty good job, I think, of not letting you enlarge your photos beyond the point where they would come out.

I had fun setting up my store and I even sold a few products. People seem to like my Norway fjord photo called "serenity" that I put on some products. I ordered some stuff for myself just to see how it comes out and I was quite pleased with the quality.

Knowing how to put images on products is only the start - one thing I am finding more difficult is how to set up the store in an attractive way.

I actually find the website quite easy to navigate and understand.