I posted this on the Zazle forum a couple of years ago, reposting here as the tips still apply!

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Seeing a lot of new sellers hoping to hit the big time which I fully support! To help them along here are a few tips to get the ball rolling with sales a little quicker than learning the hard way through trial and error, though there will always be a lot of that. 

My top 4 tips:

1. NICHE

Try to find a niche that is currently very underdeveloped (nonexistent) on Zazzle and develop that niche so you are the lead for that niche.

WHY do this?

Reinventing the wheel, copying the ideas, designs of popular sellers, swamping the marketplace with themes that have many thousands of competitors will make it very hard for you to be seen, and if you're not seen you're not selling. Even with your own marketing, with Zazzle showing off other designers works on your product page, you may find the competition still gets the sale. So be creative, devote time to consider YOUR niche, nurture it like a seed and watch it grow.

2. RESEARCH THE MARKETPLACE

Before creating a design SEARCH to see what already exists in the Zazzle marketplace for that design theme. Is your design equivalent to that design re visual quality or better? If NOT the same or better, why would a customer choose it in preference to the already marketplace-ranked item? How can you make yours better? Can you add text templates, create an improved design or do you have your own vehicle to promote and market your product exclusively?

Hard Pill To Swallow

Generally, the items that generate the best sales on Zazzle are those with a design quality that rivals those in the High Street, as created by professional Graphic Designers. Indeed Zazzle now has many GD's on board. Comparing can be daunting but if you're determined to compete in that niche, do not shy away from learning about graphic design and upgrading your skills or consider licensing art (ensure you're familiar with all the terms of doing so) but you will still need to learn about font pairings and placement. Alternatively, find a way to produce an item that requires less skill to execute in a professional manner.

3. Why Would A Consumer Buy Your Product?

Ask yourself .... "Why would a consumer buy this?

• Is it for decorative purposes
• Can it be given as a gift
• Is it a collectible item
• Does it have a practical function
• Does it support a hobby or interest

When consumers are looking for products, they are doing so to fill one of the above needs or wants. As an example, a consumer will not randomly search for a rabbit postcard. They will only do so if they have a rabbit (they'll usually search by their rabbits own breed, color etc.) or want to send a note to a rabbit loving, owning, bunny mom or dad. It is also possible the consumer may not be looking for any rabbit products but might be looking for cute and funny rabbit memes and your product might then show up, especially if your postcard indeed has a funny quote or meme added to it as a text template!

Always consider what the consumer is looking for. Your products will not magically jump in front of their eyes, it has to be related to what they are searching!

TIP 4

DOMINATE AND SECURE YOUR NICHE!

Firstly, great additional tips re 'how to choose a niche' and 'how to approach the content for that niche' by KeegansCreations above! Have a read if you haven't already.

So what do I mean by dominate and secure your niche. Sadly, the nature of the beast means that if you find a wonderful new niche, it won't be long before other designers are exploiting that same niche. Ideas are not exclusive and they cannot be copyrighted, so to ensure you remain the dominant seller in your newly found niche, you may need to take a more proactive longterm strategy to ensure your success. 

T1. Start a new store for your niche with an appropriate niche-inspired title and url.

Why do this when you already have a high-zranking store?

Buyers may put more trust in a store that specializes in their niche interest. If you have no high ranking stores, you have nothing to lose.

2. Keep your store hidden and your creations hidden for as many weeks, months as it takes to create a large stock of inspiring, creative products. 

Why create for months and not even promote or share, you won't sell anything ???

To dominate and secure your niche, you will need to have the bulk of the products for that niche. These products will need to have great designs, popular memes, quotes, sayings, editable text templates and more. This is a LOT of work. But when your NEW store opens you will be ready to go with stock that covers a wide range of consumer wants and needs in that niche. 

You are starting off as the 'authority' for that niche.

If you release your new store ande niche products too early, you run the risk of others cottoning on to your idea and themselves dominating the niche. To succeed at a niche, you need more and you will need better products than the 'hot on your coat tails' competition.

You may also want to consider your price point to remain competitive when others begin to piggyback on your success. This is not about underselling yourself or talents, it is about remaining competitive and providing consumers with products that for them represent value for money.  Additionally copycats will push you into a corner to secure your niche. Hence all you can do is ensure you have enough products to survive and ideas for future products to keep you afloat and just hope other designers aren't that interested in your blue tarantula niche.