I’ve been running a design business from home, through the Zazzle company, since 2007. Now that I have the hang of design and store set-up (mostly), my main focus day-to-day is promotion of my products. If you work online you already know that promotion is BIG. Simply having great things to sell means very little if no one ever sees what you have created.
Way back, during my beginner days at Zazzle, Amy Jordan suggested that I make wedding items. She said that they appear to be money-makers, so I took her advice and ventured into the huge wedding market. I didn’t even realize how huge it was at the time. The fact that I sell anything in a bloated sea of wedding stationery is a surprise in itself. The fact that I can make a living selling wedding stationery is a blessing. It may also be greatly due to the fact that I have been promoting myself for years.
In 2007 I didn’t know how to do any of this when I began (what turned out to be my Dream Job). I had no idea how to make money online, but I gave it a whirl. I had nothing to lose, as Zazzle charges nothing to join and sell at their site.
Once the fun part of designing was underway, I had to learn about online promotion. That is really all I do at the present time. I rarely hand out business cards, or sell at craft shows, or buy my own products to give out as samples. Some people do that, and more, but my circumstances have not allowed for it. I don’t get out and see many people.
Each day I add products (and Zazzle collections) to my Twitter account, and my FaceBook Store pages: SandpiperWedding and HolidayStore. These are fast and easy ways to get products out there. I used to blog a lot more than I now do, but blogging can take up half my day. I needed some quick ways to share stationery and products. I suggest adding an image of the item whenever you share. Text alone usually gets little attention. Also include some unique text when adding images to a FaceBook store page.
I do have a Pinterest account as well, but Pinterest hasn’t been bringing as much traffic as I’d like, so I’ve done less and less with it. But, it’s a very quick and easy way to upload images. I should get back into it, just because it’s simple.
On every site where I promote, I do take the time to search out good accounts to follow and re-tweet, pin, and like. The same goes for blogging. It’s a reciprocal arrangement and you won’t get far ignoring those who pay attention to you. Also give viewers a break from viewing too many products and add an interesting article or cute animal picture in-between tweets.
If you do Zazzle and have advice about promoting, please leave a comment.
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SEO is overwhelming for me because nothing stays the same for very long. Once I know (or think I do) what is going on, suddenly it should be done differently..! Everything changes online and that goes for the way I promote my products as well. Pinterest has made some good changes recently and I have been concentrating there. Also combining my own hobbies and likes with work seems to be helpful in drawing more people to my boards.
I’ve been working to get my store full. I specialize in vintage advertisements and antique illustrations. I have somewhat of a path that I want to follow, fill the store, then start SEO campaign. Admittedly, the SEO seems somewhat overwhelming.