It is hard to believe, but earning 29 cents as my first royalty through Zazzle changed the direction of my life! In this article, I will tell you how a 29-cent royalty from Zazzle changed my life and how to make money on Zazzle for beginners.
A single sale that netted me 29 cents in royalties was the catalyst that I needed to give me the faith, courage, desire, and drive to follow my dreams to build my own successful online business.
From 29 cents to a 6 figure annual income: how to make money on Zazzle for beginners
Through Zazzle, a print-on-demand company located in Redwood City, California, I have sold over $6 million worth of my designs and I have earned over $700,000 to date. I am living my dream of doing what I love while running a location-independent business and earning a 6 figure annual passive income.
So why Zazzle? How does it work? Here is my story.
I wanted time to spend with my kids and earn money doing what I loved!
Several years ago, I was at a cross-road in my life – I had a career in the pharmaceutical industry that was challenging and rewarding, but I also had a young family that I wanted to spend more time with. While I was advancing in my career, I was also missing out on attending my children’s dance recitals, karate practices, and school plays.
My life was becoming a never-ending whirlwind of getting kids ready for school and daycare, going to meetings or traveling for work, rushing to pick the kids up from daycare, eating dinner with my family, getting kids ready for bed and school the next day, putting in some more time on company work and ultimately slumping into bed exhausted. As they say, “Wash, Rinse, and Repeat”.
This is, unfortunately, the day-to-day existence of most modern families. Too many responsibilities and too little quality time.
I needed to find a new direction for my life, one that would allow me to set my own working hours, be able to work from anywhere there was internet access, and still earn a decent income.
How to make money on Zazzle for beginners: Design Once, Earn Forever
Although my university degrees were in science, I also loved being creative. I was an avid photographer and had some commercial success with my abstract paintings. I had always wanted to make money using my creativity, so I took a leap of faith. That’s why I quit my job and began building my online art business.
I had some success selling my paintings internationally through online art galleries sites such as Yessy.com, Absoluteart.com and SaatchiGallery.com. But I was in a “make once, sell once” business. I could have tried to sell prints of my artwork, but there was a substantial up-front cost in having high-end limited edition prints manufactured.
I wanted to be in a “design once, earn forever” business with fewer inventory costs.
[bctt tweet=”I wanted to be in a “design once, earn forever” business.”]
Recently I found an online site called Zazzle because they were promoting artists through their ARTSPROJEKT, initiative. I discovered that Zazzle was also a “print on demand” company, where anyone could start a store for free, upload their designs onto products and earn royalties if they sold. Zazzle would take care of marketing, sales, production, order fulfillment, billing, and customer service.
Wow! That seemed perfect to me. I create a virtual inventory, have no costs except for my internet and personal time, and receive a monthly payment for my royalties earned.
So I created my first Zazzle store. I wanted to know how to make money on Zazzle for beginners. I made my first Zazzle product using a picture of 2 polar bears – a button about Global Warming. Three days later, I sold one button and made a 29-cent royalty!
I was hooked! If I could make $1 (or in this case, 29 cents), I could make more money! Even though this button was geared toward a small niche market, I still sell these buttons every so often. So far this button, which I made in April 2007, has provided me with royalty earnings of $43.89.
Since that day, seven years ago, I have built my business on Zazzle to the point where I consistently make a six-figure annual passive online income from selling products with my designs on them.
I had found my “design once, earn forever” solution and how to make money on Zazzle for beginners!
How to make money on Zazzle for beginners with Recurring Passive Income
One of the criteria for my business was how to make money on Zazzle with recurring passive income – I wanted to be able to design a product once and sell that design multiple times without any more effort. This has become a reality through Zazzle.
Since products are only printed or made once the customer places an order, I, as the designer can test designs without any investment in physical inventory. There is no limit to the number of products you can make on Zazzle. So why not? It is only an investment of my time now for a future possible gain.
I have created many products in many different niches on Zazzle. There are products that I have designed that have never sold, but others have sold to varying degrees. Some products, like my polar bear button, sell but are not going to pay the bills. But other products can be good sellers.
For example, I have made many Christmas holiday designs over the past 2 years. But three of these designs have been my most successful. These 3 products have generated almost $9,000 in royalty income for me! One card has sold well during the 2 Christmas seasons now. Recurring income!! The other 2 cards, created last Christmas, were popular and may continue to sell well in the future.
Free Nail Your Niche Downloadable
To get started right on the Zazzle platform, your first step is to decide what niche to sell in. Use this helpful tool to nail down our niche to have the best chance of selling on Zazzle.
Click here to access the Nail Your Niche Worksheet
