Business branding is important for the success of your Zazzle store. You want customers to buy from you because they recognize your brand. If you have done a good job of business branding, customers will know what to expect from your store and want to buy from you rather than any other similar brand on Zazzle. Customers will recognize your brand on Zazzle by your store logo, product design style, and product offerings. It is also important that your business branding is consistent across your social media sites and your website or blog.

5 Tips For Business Branding Your Zazzle Store

I am pleased to announce that today my daughter, Jennifer Clarke, who also has a successful Zazzle store, is the author of this guest blog post.

To be successful on Zazzle, it is important to remember that your Zazzle store should be run like a proper business. That includes creating a brand for your store and all the social media that sends customers to your store. Essential components of business branding include the store name, store logo, and banner, as well as product types and the style of product designs. Basically, anything to help the customer recognize your unique style and associate it with your brand and products.

What is Business Branding?

What exactly is brand and business branding? Let’s look at a few well-known examples. When you hear the words Coca-Cola, you can picture yourself drinking an ice-old refreshing beverage. When you see the logo for Starbucks, you instantly smell the sweet, savory aroma of coffee.

These brands are so successful, that they don’t just make you think of coke and coffee, they make you want to specifically have a Coca-Cola coke or a Starbucks coffee.

This instant product association and desire for the product should be your ultimate goal for your brand. Even if you think you are too small or just starting out, you should still have a brand. These companies started out small at the beginning too, but they had a unique brand in place.

The brand logos in the image below are some of the most well-known across the globe. Each one is identifiable by its logo, the product, and its services.

No matter how small or big a business is, a proper brand helps define your services to your customers and is a powerful marketing tool.

Here are five tips to help you create a successful brand for your business on Zazzle.

TIP #1: DEFINE YOUR BRAND

If your brand is defined, make sure you check out the rest of the tips to ensure you are maximizing your business branding potential on Zazzle.

If you have not yet done so, define what your brand is. Are you a “paper company” or “design studio” selling paper goods for all occasions? Do you have a broader scope and use your personal name as a brand, selling anything Zazzle makes? Or are you an artist or photographer whose name or art style is recognizable?

Once your brand is defined, then you need to choose your company name and logo.

TIP #2: CHOOSE A PROFESSIONAL NAME FOR YOUR ZAZZLE STORE

When you create a new Zazzle store, choose a name that is the same as your brand or company name. It is not recommended that you choose to name your store ‘Catlover123’ because you love cats, especially if your store does not sell cat products or designs.

Using your name and some numbers, like ‘jennifer1234’, is also not an ideal store name either, because it does not provide your business with a professional image.

Choose a Zazzle store name consistent with your brand.

More professional store names include “Antique Chandelier” and “Pretty Paper Company”. These names are consistent with good business branding. (see image above).

If your personal name is your brand, then make sure to use capital letters for the first and last name in your Zazzle store name like ‘JenniferClarke’. That looks much more professional than ‘jennifer1234’ and your Zazzle URL will look better too. (www.zazzle.com/JenniferClarke).

Need a Workaround for an Existing Store?

If your store is well established but has a store name that does not suit your brand, you can at least change what is visible to the customer under the store settings. This does not, however, change the Zazzle URL to your store.

TIP #3: CREATE A STORE LOGO AND PROFILE THAT FITS WITH YOUR BRAND

Zazzle provides many options for you to showcase your store brand. These include the store icon (where you can add your business logo), the store banner, the slogan text on the banner, and your profile photo.  You can also add images and videos of your products, of you, working, and what your brand is all about in the media section of your store.

Make sure you use all the branding tools Zazzle offers you in your store.

Think specifically about what image you want to portray to your potential customers when they come to your store. The first impressions of your business branding definitely make a difference when buying online. On average you have less than 3 seconds to impress someone before they click off your store.

Store Logo Icon

Create a professional-looking store logo, that fits with your store name and is consistent with your designs. Use font styles and colors that match your branding. Your logo can be simple, or intricate, however, make sure the design is easy to read even at a reduced size.

Your store icon on Zazzle is very important.  It defines your store and gives an insight into your products. It is also shown next to your product description on the product pages.

Profile Icon

You can only use one profile photo across all your Zazzle stores. This is not a problem if you only have one store. For more than one store, you will have to decide how one profile icon will work for all your different store “identities” or brands.

For your profile picture, you can use a photo of yourself, as the designer. If you have multiple stores or don’t want to use a photo of yourself, you can use a logo that is made specifically to showcase your brand or parent company that all your stores fall under, like “ClarkeEnterprises”.

Profile Icon Do’s and Don’ts

However, make sure the profile photo is appropriate for your brand. For example, if you are selling wedding invitations, you do not want to have a photo of your dog as the profile icon. People want to relate to the designer, either by seeing a photo of you or at least a professional-looking logo.

If you are selling dog-related products or items with photos of your dog on them, it would be fine to use the dog photo on your profile, because the store brand is your dog.

Below is an example of my Zazzle store “Antique Chandelier’s” logo icon and profile picture. In my case, my store logo is a simple text graphic and I used a photo of myself for the profile. I sell mainly wedding and special occasion items, so it is important for me to have my customers identify with me, the designer.

What does your store logo look like? Does it fit with your business branding or does it need an update?

Will you use your own picture for your profile icon?

TIP #4: DETERMINE THE RIGHT PRODUCTS TO SELL FOR YOUR BRAND NICHE

Now that you have decided on your brand for your Zazzle store, you want to determine your perfect product niche. Different products on Zazzle can be more lucrative for your store based on your business brand. For example, if your business brand is a store that sells business items, you will be making products such as business cards, stationery, and office supplies, rather than wedding invitations.

Keep Your Store Cohesive

It is important to stay within your brand product niche to make your store cohesive. If you start to post wedding invitations in your store branded as specializing in business, your customers will be confused. If you want to branch out into these other products, you may want to switch your branding or start a new store, especially if the store name is not consistent with your product offerings.

Also keep in mind, the designs you put on your products. Customers will recognize your brand not only for your Zazzle store branding but from your specific and unique design style. If you specialize in elegant vintage wedding designs, then posting products with clipart of wedding couples and diamond rings, does not fit your brand. It can diminish your efforts to draw customers to your unique style of design.

Workaround

Possibly your store name is flexible enough that you can just change the logo style and color scheme to adapt to changing trends while keeping your current store name.

TIP #5: BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR BRAND ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA

In this social media age, we are in, people make a connection and relationships with other people by seeing their online persona. Just think about how YouTube and Instagram have made the world a much more connected place.

This can be said with Zazzle as well. ProDesigners on Zazzle have reached out to other social media platforms for means of promotion for their designs. For example, Instagram has become extremely popular. Sellers and even buyers showcase designs made and purchased, on Zazzle generating more interest and insight into what Zazzle is all about.

It is highly recommended to use social media platforms to promote your products. Try all of them if you wish! The more you try, the more you will positively promote your products.

Do your social media platforms reflect your store brand?

Are you using a specific Instagram account for your business?  Have you created your own business Pinterest account?

Try to avoid using your personal social media accounts for your Zazzle business, unless your name is your brand. If your personal name is your brand, make sure the items you post on your social media accounts are professional, whether the post is business or personal in nature. You should be using a business account to promote your brand and Zazzle products for each of your social media platforms! Use the same name, logo icon, and slogan that you are using on Zazzle. Be consistent!

If you have a unified brand image across all your social media platforms, you have a credible and professional online persona for your customers to identify with. Try Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and blogging! Many sellers on Zazzle have used social media platforms to promote and sell their work! You should too!

In the image above, you will see my Zazzle store home page. In the image below, you will see that my external website has the same brand logo and the same profile photo.

Make sure you are consistent with the business branding of your Zazzle store.

What have you learned from this article?

1. Establish your brand first before starting your Zazzle store and deciding on your store name
2. If your store is established without branding, try to work within your store name to create a recognizable brand
3. Use all the tools Zazzle provides on your store pages to create your brands, such as store icons, profile photos, store banners, and media section
4. Fill your store with products and designs consistent with your brand for a cohesive customer shopping experience
5. Be consistent and professional across social media with your business branding to create an online presence and bring customers to your stores for your brand and products