What Are People Buying from this Web Entrepreneur?
(Written in 2017)
Sometimes it is helpful to see what’s happening in someone else’s business. Like many other online writers, I saw a shakeup in income during the past year (2016), so I am trying to see where “the cheese” has relocated.
I know a little of where the bloggers are going… they are giving webinars and making ebooks to sell, making paid membership sites and information to some extent. The content farm writers are trying their hand at their own blogs, and others are networking, speaking, and writing books.
It is quite the fruit salad of alternatives, but back to the point of this post, I am looking at what on sells Amazon for my sites, which designs at Zazzle are purchased, and other pertinent bits of information.
Web Entrepreneurs Affiliated with Amazon
(As of 2024, my Amazon income and orders has drastically dropped and stayed depressed. After Hubpages and their partners took over almost all Amazon affiliate links were removed or penalized, but you can view the former information recorded here)
After the initial drop from the closing of Squidoo, I usually see between 7 and 20 orders which qualify for affiliate referral.
This quarter some of the items were books (mainly from my garden site), but also:
Since Hubpages has radically reduced the number of Amazon products (to zero in some cases) allowed on my pages, I may well see less of the hair careall orders in the future.
Hubpages was taken over by another company and has dwindled down to almost no income for me, and for most web entrepreneurs like me, now. For years the forums on Hubpages had complaints about effects of Google updates. In 2024, this has benefitted my own hosted websites, but the content farms continue to struggle for small-scale writers who are not employed directly.
Zazzle Web Entrepreneur
In 2024 I have to update my findings on this web entrepreneur avenue. My stores there have become one of my main sources of online income.
Everyone at Zazzle forums complains of changes leading to less income, but I don’t know the overview. For me, last year was a struggle, and this year is variable. While it seems that I am making progress at times, the orders are often small and for products that have little commission. I don’t make consequential referral income.
As I have worked harder in this sector of web entrepreneurship, I have seen much more success in my Zazzle efforts.
The sectors that are known to sell, for web entrepreneurs on Zazzle, have been the invitation areas of Wedding, Shower, and Birthday. let it be known that these are so highly competitive and saturated that it pays to find your own niche within those areas.
A more complete picture of what sells on this POD, for me, can be seen from postings on my art Facebook page.
When I began monetizing, in the early 2000’s, Google ads, affiliate advertising -including Amazon- were the main sources of income. These were incorporated into blogging for web entrepreneurs. Then came the rise and changes inside Social Media platforms, i.e. Facebook/Instagram, Twitter/Now X, et al.
I did not ever enter the Etsy platform as a store, and from Youtube tutorials this has changed and become much more challenging. I have not attempted to create my own stores with Shopify or WooCommerce. Facebook has wasted restricted its platform for commerce, etc. So, I don’t have anything helpful to say about these resources.
Youtube long ago changed so that I had no income from that platform, either.
Since becoming a designer for Zazzle, I discovered that this Print on Demand company has an extensive offering of all things “Wedding”. They are a wonderful source for ideas, but especially for getting exactly the wedding invitations and stationary needs you envision. Because there are so many choices, and because this is one of the choices of highest priority in your plans, this article gives some FAQ and general information to help make the process easy.
Easy FAQ Guide to Wedding Stationary
Who prints and ships your orders? Zazzle handles all aspects of customer fulfillment. A designer creates the artwork designs and usually puts it into template form; although you can usually change most things on an invitation, et.al, the personalization is most often in the text used within the design
Who Do I Contact if I Make a Mistake? As a designer, I often receive questions about orders. I always have to let inquirers know that only the staff at Zazzle can help them. If you initially make a mistake and know you want to change something, cancel your order and begin again with the design process. For more complicated issues, contact Zazzle help.
How Do I Cancel or Modify My Order? Here is the help page for guiding you in the process of correcting mistakes, a list of Zazzleterms and conditions
Tips to Simplify Success for Your Wedding Invitations
Ordering just one invitation gives you the best way to see exactly how your finished product will look. It is an economical way to make the best choice- each invite costs just a few dollars usually.
If you need immediate help- the site has chat and staff available to answer your questions and even guide you through the process. Plus, Zazzle offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Have an idea of the theme you wish to choose your designs from- there are literally thousands of possibilities in each theme. Rustic? Traditional? Watercolor? Seasonal? Colors?
Besides the decisions on a design, several shape variations, papers and finishes, even touches such as foils, are available.
Steps for Making the Most from Wedding Stationary Purchases
One purpose for choosing and organizing the invitation process early-on is to give your guest plenty of advance time to schedule their attendance. For this, “Save the Date” cards are sent a year in advance. This ensures that long-distance guests can make their travel plans, etc. These cards range from postcards (a popular, easy choice) to magnets, or any number of creative ideas that signal
Another purpose is setting the tone for your event. The colors and setting of your celebration, as well as the level of formality can all be presented by this first communication. The suite of stationary gives a follow-through glimpse of how special and anticipated the wedding day will be. I’m including some examples from the Zazzle site to illustrate some of the products available to the bride.
Order of the ceremony, on paper or printed on fans
Welcome sign or banner
Personalized candles
Items for the rehearsal dinner and reception:
A separate invitation
Napkins
Photo backdrops
Table signs and table numbers
Seating charts
Seating cards
Menu cards
Zazzle’s Paper Choices
The default types are their Standard Matte and Semi-Gloss.
The Signature collection composed of
Signature Felt Ecru
Signature Columned
Signature Laid
Signature Felt White
Finally, consider The Premium collection. These special options are:
Premium Kraft
Premium Linen
Premium Thick
Premium Pearl Shimmer
Premium Champagne Shimmer
Premium Metallic Silver
Complete descriptions and close-up photos relating to each of these types of papers are found in through following the link below,”How to Create the Perfect Invitation”.
Using proper wording and knowing what type of information to include is an art! There are many sources of information on this topic, but start with this one. Invitation Ideas and Etiquette All the official info and guidance on making your invitations at Zazzle is included on their idea page. How to Create the Perfect Invitation
I'm just starting out on Society6, which is a POD site for artists ( much like Zazzle). Anyway, while seeking to discover how to use the site and create designs that fit its demographic and products I came across some sute Corgi designs.
I like the Corgi breed of dog ever since seeing a cousins absolutely adorable pup. I am thinking of getting one sometime in the next year.
It seemed like a good idea to share my discoveries with the world ( both the Corgi design and my newfound affection for the breed.
Here is a pattern on a mug:
Why do I like the Corgi breed? Cuteness factor is quite high, it is friendly without being too needy. Intelligent and good watch dogs.
They are said to be stubborn and need training, as well as prone to bark. Those downsides need to be taken into account, but isn't different from the other dog I just love: Great Pyrenees.Â
However... the difference in size between the two means a smaller dog like a corgi will be much easier to manage.Â
We Need To See More Corgi Designs
Okay... take a look at this:
Coming Soon: My Own Designs
I have loads of design elements to play with and intend to make some work (hopefully including patterns) for Society6 site. It has bedspreads and wall papers, along with many other products that aren't found elsewhere. I'm hoping to do as well as I have on my Zazzle stores.
In the meantime, I have a watercolor of a cute Corgi that is available in Amazon Merch and on Zazzle:
I recently added a dog breed design that is made for the holidays, with its wreath and Christmas colors. It is a fun watercolor style that highlights fans of the Vizsla dog breed.
The "Faith" tshirt remains live because it made one sale. This is the criteria for designs to have longevity on Amazon Merch. Then, I bought one for myself- got many compliments on the shirt and people really liked the design. I will say it runs slightly small, so order one size up unless you like a slim fit. The length was really nice, and I liked the overall quality.
Details About Merch by Amazon
we are limiting the number of t-shirts a content creator can make based on tiers of designs.
The Merch by Amazon team will be hand-selecting content creators who have sold the same amount of t-shirts as the number of the tier they are in. For example: to move up from the 10 tier, a content creator will need to sell at least 10 shirts from those they have created to move up to the 25 tier.
Admission to these tiers are based not only on sales, but the quality of the products being sold by the content creator as well.
Tier levels include: 10 25 100 500 Pro (by invitation)
Learning Curve
I have to confess that Merch by Amazon has a big learning curve when it comes to creating on the site. Now that many changes have been made to the system, it is frustrating to have a short timeline to sell designs and then have them removed.
If a design does not sell, it is removed. It cannot be automatically renewed, and there is a limit to the number of designs that can be uploaded each day.
These are not unreasonable restrictions, but quite different from other sites like Zazzle or Redbubble, etc.
Comparing Merch with Other Similar Sites
I have worked on Zazzle since 2011, and that site had a similar slow start for me. It produces regular, if not large, pocket money now. I expect that Redbubble and Merch are similar. From others comments some of them have greater success on Redbubble and all who comment on their stores say that each one differs and it is helpful to diversify.
Producing content for each POD type of store is different. In Amazon Merch each product is produced individually, from the upload to writing the descriptions and tagwords to the publishing. Zazzle, while now similar in that they encourage single rather than batch operations of publishing, have the transfer feature. This helps reduce time. Redbubble and Society6 automate the designs to their products, after which it is wise to size and edit each one to look good on that particular one.
I will report on the comparisons in a more definitive way in about a year. I think that is enough time to observe sales and see the trend.
What are your experiences? Do you like one site better than another for making sales? Which one is best for your designs and style?
If you need to make a professional looking graphic for your headers or banners it is no secret that Picmonkey and Canva are free, easy, and accessible.
However, maybe you didn’t know about that, yet.
It is easy to sign up for free access to most of the features and use the online editor. However I use the premium, for the extra features. Want to access those? Use my handy affiliate link for Picmonkey, and support me while you do yourself a favor and gain some really useful apps for graphics.
Canva is very clear that their graphics are for personal use only. So nothing made on their site should be sold, although I am sure that you can make personal headers for your store or collections on this site.
Picmonkey has no dire warnings, so I am not sure about the use of your graphics, although they will be perfectly fine for anything personal, as well. Personal use is posting on your social media, blogs, etc. as well as making products for yourself, like cards you want to send.
Commercial would include POD products like those sold on Zazzle, etc.
Right now the only things I am recommending these sites for is the personal usage. Making Facebook headers, headers for your store, or profile pics. Collection and category graphics which can all be branded with your particular style.
I am always hanging out in the forums looking for tips to be more successful on Zazzle. I am especially interested in improving my designs, because a huge part of being successful, to me, is making people happy.
A happy customer is the desired result for the company you are working for, and for yourself as a designer.
The forums at Zazzle have changed quite a bit. As of 2024 they are not as helpful as before, but still useful for occasional tips and also as a way to keep up with Zazzle approved best practices and new products.
Better Images
This particular helpful tip is in the form of a video I came across. While it has some basic info I already knew, it also has some explanation of the new prinitng process that highlights one reason to go with Zazzle as a company…. both as a designer and as a customer.
Watch And Learn
Leave a comment on the video or your experience at Zazzle.
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