Sharing My Own Journey to Making My First $100 on Zazzle
No sales to many Zazzle sales. May this post encourage you
It’s been a long time since I started my Zazzle store. I wanted to make more but I have only one now that I am working on. I have made more than $1k on this store and I have to mention that it’s just a side hustle for me.
Maybe in the future, I will make more Zazzle stores, who knows :)
But for now, let’s take you to all the things I have learned with this ONE Zazzle store. I am sure this will be very helpful for you in case you are an artist and want to find a home for your art.
Doesn’t matter whether it is AI-generated or you created yourself. zazzle is a perfect place for everything that is art!
A few things before we go further —
- Zazzle is best if you love personalization.
- Zazzle is best place for gifts (I get gifts orders a lot!)
- Zazzle has an affiliate program as well… more on this later :)
- Zazzle has a forum. Top sellers share their insights so I was not alone in this journey.
- Zazzle is best if you love physical products. Because getting money takes time.
What is Zazzle?
In case you are a completely newbie then -
Zazzle is just a marketplace where artist upload their designs and Zazzle makes it available to 1k products they have in their store. When a customer orders the product with your design on it, Zazzle handles everything on your behalf and you are paid in terms of royalty!
In short —
- You make designs and upload them to your profile.
- Zazzle will make it available to all the products it has.
- Customers will see your design print on the products.
- After purchase, you get a royal for that. Mine is at 15% for now.
Why I Love Zazzle so much?
I still love Redbubble but one thing that I don’t like about this platform is that it doesn’t offer me personalization. I mean there is no option for gifts and customization as in Zazzle.
Few more I would like to share with you —
- No shipment for me. Zazzle handles this on my behalf.
- No inventories. You know how much tough and a headache it is.
- I pay more attention to design and marketing than anything else!
- Zazzle handles my customers!
- They have a marketplace so I make money from their in-house sales and promotions as well.
How to Start an Online Business on Zazzle And Make First $100 on Zazzle
Getting my first $100 was really tough. I really have to say this because I went on and off with my Zazzle journey. Sometimes I upload products like hell and the very next day I do absolutely nothing.
When I started, I had no idea what I was doing. Zazzle seemed like a whole new world to me, and understanding customers was like solving a mystery and yes I don’t like this part. I guess you all know this too, right?
I thought it would be easy. I’ll just upload and finish. I don’t have to do much from my side. But I was so wrong. This was back when online shopping wasn’t as common. People were unsure, and getting them to trust me was really hard work. No one likes to buy from the unknown. Believe me on this. But you know what? I took this as a challenge and loved it.
So, I learned a lot along the way, and I know how tough it can be to reach that goal. It’s not just luck — it takes some tricks to make Zazzle work for you. And I’m here to spill all the secrets.
Go In With a Plan
I used to think of Zazzle as a fun hobby, but now I see it differently. To really succeed, I treat it like a serious business. It’s not about luck or talent; it’s about having a good plan and working hard. If you’re not seeing results yet, it’s not because you can’t do it — maybe you just need a better strategy. Believe me, once you figure out how Zazzle works and put in the work, you’ll see things improve too.
Don’t Just Throw Spaghetti Against the Wall
I noticed Zazzle customers really enjoy making things their own. They like changing designs to match what they like. At the beginning, I was just trying anything, not sure what would be popular. Then, I got focused. I organized my store, created my brand. And guess what? It worked amazingly! When I started to really think about what I was offering, sales went way up. It’s been quite a ride, but seeing my earnings go up makes everything worthwhile.
Your Best Art Might Not Be Your Best-Selling Art
Years ago, I made some cute chibi drawings that I really liked. They were all about desserts and people seemed to love them on DeviantArt, especially as pictures you could color any way you wanted. I even opened a shop on Zazzle and put my chibis on mugs, t-shirts, and more. I thought, if they were popular as coloring pages, they’d be a hit on shirts too.
But, nothing sold. In a whole year, maybe only two cupcake girl shirts went. Clearly, my plan wasn’t working. People liked my chibis for coloring, not for wearing. The detailed lines and fun details were great for coloring, but they didn’t stand out on shirts and mugs.
It wasn’t until I started thinking about what people might actually want to buy that things changed. I started making simpler characters with bright colors and bold outlines. Instead of making art and then trying to sell it, I designed with products in mind.
If you’re trying to sell your art, it’s good to look at what’s popular on the platform you’re using. On Zazzle, I found that funny characters based on jokes or memes worked well. My detailed chibis were better for coloring books, not merchandise. What works for you might be totally different!
Test the Water and See What Bites
I found Zazzle fascinating, even though I wasn’t doing very well. I read on a blog that a Zazzle shop needed around 1,000 items to start making regular sales. So, I decided to create more designs and put them on different things. Sales slowly got better, not too often, but enough to keep me going.
Then, I made a big change without realizing it. I made cute little icons to use as buttons in my shop, like a llama because I thought they were adorable and popular on DeviantArt. I ended up making a few “little llama” items.
Suddenly, sales started coming in like never before. But guess what was selling? Not my carefully made designs or artistic cupcakes. It was the silly little llama I made in five minutes. Just llamas, llamas everywhere.
I made a “stay calm and llama on” graphic with the little llama, inspired by the “keep calm and carry on” trend. And the sales kept coming. My mom joined me as a partner, helping put my designs on everything she could find: phone covers, mugs, posters, keychains, you name it. We even sold quirky things like llama backpacks, jewelry, and ties.
When I started my Zazzle shop, I didn’t think llamas would be so popular. But they were! The postcards and can coolers sold the best, more than mugs and shirts. It’s all about testing the market and going with what works!
Niche Markets Are Your Friend
Why llamas, you ask? Well, let me tell you, I stumbled upon a hidden treasure trove for sellers — a special market on Zazzle. But what exactly are these niche markets, and why should we care?
Let’s keep it simple. Picture this: You walk into a store with something specific in mind. Say, your friend loves owls, so you’re on the hunt for anything owl-related. You type “owl” into the search bar and start browsing. Usually, you’d only look through a couple of pages before finding the perfect owl design to buy.
If my items are not on the first few pages of the search results, it’s hard to sell them. There are fancy ways to figure this out, but it goes in a circle: to be on the first page, you need sales, and being on the first page gets you more sales. So, what do I do?
This is where special marketing comes in. I can think about two search topics: ‘Christmas’ and ‘Owls’. ‘Christmas’ is a very busy time for selling stuff. Almost everyone will have some Christmas-themed things for sale. But not so many will have owl stuff. So, if I’m new and I only have ‘Christmas’ things, my items won’t be on the first pages of the Zazzle website. I might not get any sales even though Christmas stuff is popular. On the other hand, if I have owl stuff, it might sell better because there aren’t as many owl designs.
Even a few sales of owl stuff can put me at the top of the list for owl items, leading to more sales. If I like owls, I can mix ‘Christmas’ with ‘Owls’ to get the best of both worlds!
Don’t Give Up — Believe In Yourself!
Sometimes it feels tough, especially when you’re just starting and not making much money. But I didn’t let what others said or how hard it seemed stop me. Hitting $100 isn’t the finish line — it’s just the beginning. I’ve learned it’s super important to believe in yourself and what you can do. Your hard work counts, and it will bring good things. So, no matter what, keep going. I believe in you, and I know you can reach your goals. Let’s do this together!
Don’t stop! Keep going!
Hey there! Zazzle is really awesome. When I have some free time, or even when I’m just relaxing and listening to podcasts, I like to use it to make some extra money. It’s easy and safe. You just need to put in some time and effort, and you’ll start seeing more money in your bank account each month. I wanted to tell you how excited I am about it. If you ever want to try it out, I’m here to help you begin!
Want to learn more about the Zazzle business? Then do check out my ebook — How I made my first $1000 on Zazzle
