by Lesley Rigg

Created on: December 03, 2009

If you are a designer or photographer with a lot of creativity, but not the monetary wherewithal to produce printed designs yourselves, then the print on demand outlets such as Zazzle can provide you with a risk-free, low start up way of getting your designs seen and sold around the world. There are a number of ways in which you can promote your store.

Spinning off the back of Cafe Press, Zazzle provides a "shop-keeper" with a space online in which to design as a website, and a range of blank products in which photographs, artwork or vectors can be uploaded onto and placed for sale in the shop. The first and most important way of promoting your gallery is to have a network of people (hopefully who like your work) who you can publicise new designs to.

When you create a product on Zazzle you are given the option to do a couple of things, which all help publicise your work. They encourage you to have links with Zazzle on your facebook and myspace accounts, and set up merchandising booths within them. You can also promote other people's wares too, which will gain you a bonus if anyone buys through your referral.

Which brings me to my next point. Make your products as good and appealing as possible. The quick create button takes one design and puts it on 20 or more designs. However, you then get the opportunity to look at each design and move them around, rotate them and generally make sure that they look as correct on this particular piece of merchandise as possible.

Having done this, you are much more likely to find other Zazzle members, particularly "pro-sellers" who really know a thing or two joining your fan club on your site. They receive an email each time you make a product and if they like it they will often promote it themselves knowing that other people will like it too, and any purchases of which they receive a bonus from Zazzle.

Also, join Fan Clubs yourself. Not only does this drag people in to look at your stuff and hopefully to do as above, but it means that you become a "busier" zazzler and more people will browse your store, which means that the front page may show your work more often as you come into the category of "joined most fan clubs" or "had most visitors". All these things spiral upwards in making the most of the marketing that Zazzle itself does.

I can honestly say that I have done very well there, but I don't have my own website and as such can't refer other people (which I would love to do), which would make me even more successful there.

My final point is about products. If it is September or October, start making calendars and Christmas cards. If it is December or January, start thinking about Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day and so on. It is as much about making the correct products in the correct variety and amount at the right time as any of the other things. You can market yourself well, but all is in vain if you haven't got your core product correct.

It is a fun place, and a good community and it is definately worth putting the work in, but as with all things nothing is achieved easily or over-night. It requires care, thought and hard-work.

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