One day I had the inspiration to draw and a vine covered mailbox came to mind. Now I sell the image on various products in my Zazzle store.
I recently sold one of my hand drawn designs “Mailbox” and each time I see it I remember the day I drew it.
The open mailbox drawing was done freehand with a pen and colored pencils. I’m not sure where the actual mailbox inspiration came from, but I remember where I was. My state of mind was not good, and I think I was looking for some peace.
Selling the Mailbox
When I drew this picture, I had not begun working for Zazzle, or maybe I had just started. I know it was very early on because I drew this in 2007 or 2008. I had a lot to learn about getting art uploaded and ready to sell. Of course, like all art and designs that are put up for sale, there is no way to know if anyone will ever want to buy it.
In general, this is how I like to draw. I don’t put a lot of thought and planning into it, I just begin with a thought in my head. If it works out, great. If it seems like something someone would buy, I will list it for sale.
Eventually I opened a Zazzle shop called Claras Desk where I posted some of my hand drawn artwork for sale. It is a shop in progress.
Mailbox postcard and other mailbox art products with this design in my Claras Desk shop.
I took my paper, pens and pencils outside to the grassy lawn. I was renting a house just outside of Concord, New Hampshire. I was no longer a homeowner with a stable life. I was suddenly alone, my marriage was over, and lots of uncertainty was on the horizon.
My kids and my daughter’s boyfriend were down by the pond on the property. I set up my chair in the grass to watch them play by the water and began to draw. Never did I expect the image to turn out well. I just needed to draw something. I still don’t see it as anything special, and it conjures these old memories of being lost.
The mailbox is drawn by hand and I guess these days that is special. It symbolizes something that means home. For me it symbolizes stability and a place of belonging.
Image that the mailman has come (my grandfather was a mailman) and you’ve got letters – from friends? A blue flowering vine has climbed up the post and is spreading over the mailbox. After collecting the exciting letters (no bills allowed here) you walk inside and sit to read them. Peace, happiness, and contentment.
How Has Drawing Affected You in a Positive Way?
I honestly do not draw much these days. I’m not sure why that is but maybe I am simply not inspired. The more likely reason is that I am busy with work and other hobbies.
Custom Thanksgiving cards to mail or share online. Unique designs created by independent designers mean you are supporting a small business with your purchase.
I’ve been selling “Happy Thanksgiving” cards for years now. Many of my designs were created using my own New England foliage photography.
Zazzle now offers instant downloads for certain types of cards and Thanksgiving is the perfect time to share greetings for family and friends.
Yes, there are free Thanksgiving card options out there, but designers can create unique cards – with a sample message to use – on the Zazzle platform. Templates are provided for photos and text, and it is very simple to personalize any type of greeting.
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Thanksgiving Cards With an Option to Download
If making your own greeting cards is not for you, consider ordering the downloadable cards found at the Zazzle site. You will be supporting an independent designer who will be very grateful.
Screenshot
Many of my fall themed items contain my own photos of red and orange leaves collected and photographed when I lived in New England. The folded card above is an example.
Until recently, the cards had to be purchased and then mailed. Now, it is easy to use the instant download option and buy the design for one low price. Once you have the card design, use it as much as you’d like! (Downloads are for personal use only – read more here.) Anyone with a smart phone or iPad can read your custom message and know they were being thought of during the holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving Photo Cards
Share photos of the kids, grandkids, family and pets with photo cards. Use the templates to insert your own pictures. Customize the message and surprise grandparents and friends with a “Happy Thanksgiving” message.
Are you a Zazzle Designer?
If you are a Zazzle designer and create Thanksgiving cards, feel free to leave a link in the comment section to your store or collection.
Zazzle introduced a Z-rank a few years ago and designers went nuts trying to improve their ranking. The scale goes from 1-10, with ten being the best. I believe that designers hoped that a higher number would bring better sales because Zazzle would somehow prefer the top-ranked stores.
Find your store zRank in the backend of your store. It is on the right hand side. There is also a list of quick links where the Creator Hub page contains information about zRank, and other things. Or, click my link below.
zRank in one of my stores
As an example of the unimportance of zRank, the screenshot above is from one of my stores that currently has a rank of 8. That is a pretty good number, and puts me in the top 1/5, but my sales are dismal. A higher number is doing nothing for me in the way of sales, and I never expected it to.
Here is Zazzle’s How zRank Works page, which you should read, but I go over a little of it here.
If you read the ranking page, you will be told that you can control your zRank by “optimizing” your store. Complete your store (header, product optimization, and profile) as examples.
After doing all the basics of setting up a Zazzle store, and posting a bunch of products, it will most likely increase your rank, to some middle number – 4 or 5. This is good info for Zazzle beginners who need to know that competition of the store is a must.
Zazzle even says in the “important notes” that zRank “will continue to evolve over time”. Meaning? It’s pretty vague when it comes to how this will benefit each designer – because it doesn’t.
The Most Important Thing
On the entire page that I linked above, this is probably the most important sentence: “The more the products in your store are selling the better for your zRank.” And that sums it up – Who cares? In reality, I care about selling to make money – not to get a special number at Zazzle!
Yes, you need to create nice products with templates, you need your store to look nice and easy to navigate, but your zRank will only go up so far unless you sell.
And once your zRank number is higher, you will sell way more – NOT..!
These days I think we, as designers, know that selling is quite difficult. My sales have dropped from a few thousand dollars a month to a few hundred. It was sudden, and horrible. I am not alone.
Don’t Worry About zRank
From the beginning of the addition of zRank I have pretty much ignored it. I never believed I could do anything differently to bring in sales, from what I was already doing. And when my zRank number was high, it was high because I had made sales.
That number is not going to help you get sales, but sales will help the number go up. So, therefore, I ignore it.
I believe that Zazzle came up with this idea to get designers to improve their stores. When we try hard to create beautiful stores that customers will buy from, it helps Zazzle. But designers took it to mean competition. How can I get my zRank up? They stressed, because they believed (and still do) that a higher number is what will help them sell. It is the other way around.
They (Zazzle) will keep promoting the same big sellers that they always have. Unless you begin selling products like mad, you will probably never make the 10 zRank, and even if you do, getting to the top of Zazzle’s pages is unlikely. If 400 designers have store ranks of 10, are you more likely to be seen then? The competition is fierce and there are millions of products.
Take a look at this page which shows “Our Talented Community” and you will see ten blocks featuring the best selling designers. Many of these people have been at the top at Zazzle for many years. I have seen their names over and over.
Well, the top sellers will continue to sell more, because they are found easier in searches, because Zazzle likes them, and promotes them – because they sell more.
And on it goes. They are very talented people, for sure, but other very talented people stay lost in the hundreds of pages that come after the landing page. It is the way of the world, and it is the way of selling online. And it’s getting tougher.
This is why we cannot count on Zazzle to be the place where our products get seen.
My Store zRanks – The Current Numbers
My ten stores range from 5-8 in zRanks. I just looked because I really had no idea of the numbers. My lowest ranking store, the 5 rank, is a very new store and I’m not sure I have ever sold anything from it. All stores are 100% complete.
The highest number I ever attained was a nine, and I believe it was my Holiday Store when Christmas sales were continuously coming in.
The rank will change when sales pick up or drop, but I believe that if you do the basics – get that 100% complete – your zRank will be somewhere in the middle numbers.
Selling is Most Important, So How Does That Happen?
Focus on the things you need to do to bring customers to see your products. And, the big question is, how do we do that?
What used to work, no longer works. I have more products out there these days than I ever did and very little is selling. For many years I sold numerous products every single day. I would have pages of royalties listed for a single day! Now, I have days with no sales at all. That hadn’t happened for many, many years.
I would like to write a post about how to get sales, but I’m stumped. It truly seems like a complete waste of time to create and promote. But I’m addicted to it after working with Zazzle for over 19 years, and I have the time, so I continue.
I would not encourage anyone to begin a POD store on any platform at this point. The market is oversaturated with everything. Once something becomes popular, everyone copies it. Even Etsy is in on the POD sales these days. I no longer believe it is a good way to make an income.
Forget About zRank
After you read this post, forget about zRank. If your store is complete and looking good that is all you need. As long as you rank 4 or above (as per the Zazzle page) but remember it means very little. It’s just a number. I wish it would go away.
If you are new, begin promoting yourself away from Zazzle – on Pinterest, FaceBook, TikTok, or wherever you like. Do not count on Zazzle to help you sell.
This is my opinion only. I think as designers we have better things to focus on than a store ranking. I wish you luck!
