It’s time for my Making Money on Zazzle 2018 Review by a Top Seller on Zazzle. My name is Elke Clarke. I achieved my annual 6-figure Zazzle earnings goal again this year even though there were many changes on Zazzle that created challenging obstacles that I had to overcome. Most of the changes on Zazzle were positive, but some changes had a huge negative impact on my sales and probably affected you and many other sellers on Zazzle too. However, I was able to recover quickly and even take advantage of the changes to recoup my lost earnings by using my proven Zazzle business plan. I recovered $40,000 in potential losses this year because I used The 5 Step Profit Plan™.
Constant change is part of any online business. The secret to success for Zazzle is to have a proven profit plan in place that minimizes the effect of these constant changes. Over the years that I have been on Zazzle, I have perfected my proven 5-Step Profit Plan™ and it proved extremely effective in 2018. In this article, I review my Zazzle earnings, challenges, and successes in 2018 and show you how to set your Zazzle earnings goals for 2019 using the teachings of The 5 Step Profit Plan™.
Making Money on Zazzle 2018 Review by a Top Seller on Zazzle
Why do I love Zazzle more than Etsy, Shopify, and Amazon?
On Zazzle, I add the digital files of my graphic designs, photography, and artwork on to virtual products and post them for sale on Zazzle in my virtual store. Once someone buys one of my designs Zazzle takes care of printing or manufacturing the product, shipping it to the customer, customer service, and billing. Then I get paid a royalty.
Using Zazzle to create online and make money is perfect for me because my costs are low and I don’t have to build up my own eCommerce platform or customer base. Does this sound like the perfect online business that you have been looking for to make passive income? With none of the typical business setup and inventory costs, your profits are greater than if you were making and shipping physical products yourself using Etsy, Shopify, or Amazon. Zazzle is the perfect choice for creating your own profitable online business.
This year, 2018, was a great time to start a business using Zazzle as an eCommerce platform as long as you followed a proven business plan to ensure that the many changes that happened on Zazzle did not affect you.
The Zazzle changes in 2018 create an awesome business opportunity for artists, photographers, and designers
There have been many changes on Zazzle in 2018, and most of them have had a positive effect on your and my ability to make sales and will definitely increase future sales.
I am excited about these new opportunities for me and for you to make money on Zazzle in 2019.
The customer’s buying experience has been greatly improved. Plus many new features make it easier for you as a Zazzle designer and seller to have your designs found and sold on Zazzle.
Expect an increase in niche product sales and an increase in sales of other less popular product types in 2019.
The biggest change is the creation of a new wedding section and product sort algorithm so that wedding items do not dominate the popular search results unless the customer wants wedding items. This will allow us, designers, selling photography and artwork on Zazzle, to have our designs found more easily in searches and not be dominated by related wedding products that have similar keywords.
Negative changes on Zazzle in 2018
Some changes Zazzle made in 2018 had a dramatic negative effect on sales for Zazzle designers. The abrupt discontinuation of postage stamps, along with many popular products being out of stock at key times of the year, were major factors in decreased sales compared to previous years. Also, discontinuing the Groupon Card Promotion for special occasions, including the Holiday Cards, has and will continue to have a big impact on card sales during this holiday season and in the new year.
Positive changes on Zazzle in 2018
The site improvements to facilitate a better shopping experience for customers can only benefit you and me as Zazzle designers. I am thrilled at the opportunities these changes provide for future growth on Zazzle. There have also been more additions to the product offerings, which provide more and more sales opportunities.
The list below of the major positive Zazzle changes makes it obvious that Zazzle is growing to meet the need of the online shopper and we as designers benefit from this as well. You and I have made the right choice to use Zazzle as a platform to sell our designs and grow our online businesses.
The major positive Zazzle changes in 2018 included:
- an improved interface and design tool for mobile users
- the new keyword system for customers to find items
- a designated wedding section
- the new paper breakout
- a new department tree
- redesigned design tool
- new features in the design tool including shapes, icons, and more fonts
- upload images from mobile to the design tool
- design groupings
- and more
How I analyzed my 2018 Zazzle earnings
I have a great deal of earnings data and it has always been difficult to analyze the information in the CSV files provided by Zazzle. That’s why I was happy when one of my members in The 5 Step Profit Plan VIP Mentoring Program™, Danielle Fernandez, designed the Zazzle Designer Earnings Analytics Tool. You need Microsoft Excel™ software (it does not work without it) and you must feel comfortable following her instructions exactly for adding your data to her tool. But if you do, I recommend this tool to you.
Disclaimer: I am an affiliate of the Zazzle Designer Earnings Analytics Tool. I earn a small amount as a referral fee if you purchase Danielle’s tool using my link. The price you pay is not affected by the fee I earn.
If you want to read my review of the tool you can see it here at this link.
My yearly Zazzle income decreased by 30% because postage stamps were discontinued
My Zazzle earnings were on track for another 6 figure earnings year until Zazzle stopped selling postage stamps. This was a huge blow to my income. Postage stamps make up about 30% of my overall yearly earnings year after year. It took a while to recover from this change. However, by using The 5 Step Profit Plan™ teachings of doing research, I easily found and filled my earnings gap left by the discontinuation of postage stamps. I began to earn significant revenue from products that I had previously not had in my inventory. I turned a negative into a positive. Plus, once the postage stamps come back into circulation in 2019, I will not only regain my previous postage stamp sales, but I will also see an increase in sales from these new products I added to my inventory.
I made a quick recovery in Zazzle sales when products were out of stock
Step 5 of The 5-Step Profit Plan™ is Analysis and Implementation which should be done frequently. I analyzed my earnings data using Danielle’s Analytics Tool, and quickly realized that my sales were decreasing because good sellers were “out of stock”. This analysis showed me where I was losing sales that I had counted on year after year. I quickly changed my strategy by using Step 2 (Research of trends and products) of The 5 Step Profit Plan™ to identify which new product types I should add to my Zazzle store inventory. These actions resulted in new sales almost immediately. If I had not done the frequent analysis I would not have caught this dip in sales and I would not have been able to take immediate action to fix it.
Discontinuing the Groupon Promotions affected 10% of my yearly Zazzle sales
The discontinuation of the Groupon Holiday Card promo also affected my sales. This year I sold a bigger variety of holiday card designs than in past years. However, I did not experience the same volume of holiday card sales as I did in the past when my designs were part of the Groupon promotions. My sales from Groupon promotions were 10% to 15% of my total yearly earnings in the past. My 2018 Zazzle earnings have been affected but because we are still in the month when holiday cards are being sold I don’t know yet the full extent of the effect.
Overview of my 2018 Zazzle earnings
Based on the changes that happened on Zazzle and past earnings performance, I should have seen a decrease of MORE THAN 40% (or $40,000+) in my royalty earnings, but that did not happen.
Despite significant sales setbacks with key product types that used to generate a large portion of my Zazzle earnings, I recovered quickly and am finishing the year strong by meeting my six-figure Zazzle earnings goal. That means that I sold 1 million dollars worth of Zazzle products again this year. Most of my products are set at 10% royalty so when you do the math it makes sense.
Disclaimer
My Zazzle earnings stated in this article are SOLELY from income I made from my Zazzle stores as a designer. The income from my course sales is separate, and private and has nothing to do with my Zazzle earnings reported here in this article.
Why The 5 Step Profit Plan™ Works
My business did not get affected as much as it could have been by the negative changes on Zazzle because I implemented The 5 Step Profit Plan™. This means my Zazzle business can withstand change and adapt quickly and effectively to change with minimal effect on my income.
My experience in 2018 also shows that I can create a significant amount of new Zazzle income in one year by using The 5 Step Profit Plan™.
The 5 Step Profit Plan™ provides a step-by-step system that allows you to quickly adjust when changes occur. It also sets up your business properly so that it is buffered to withstand the constant changes that happen on Zazzle.
The last time such a big change happened on Zazzle was in 2013 when the Volume Bonus was canceled. I had The 5 Step Profit Plan™ working back then as well. Even though it was a huge loss of income, my Zazzle business quickly adapted and came out stronger than ever all because I used The 5 Step Profit Plan™.
What is your Zazzle earnings goal for 2019?
The first thing you need to do to have a successful 2019 is set your earnings goal now in 2018. That way you can get prepared mentally and not waste the first part of January setting your goals.
I am going to walk you through this earnings goal exercise which I do in The 5 Step Profit Plan Program™. This goal-setting exercise is what I do to plan for each new year.
If you want to dive deeper into goal setting and how you can achieve your goals in 2019 you can click here on this link to learn more about how you can be part of The 5 Step Profit Plan VIP Mentoring Program™.
Let’s get started.
When coming up with a number consider your current earnings on Zazzle, the time you have to commit to your business, and the actions you will take in the coming year.
What is a reasonable but stretch goal for you?
Set your habit goals for 2019 to achieve your Zazzle earnings goal
To help you achieve your Zazzle earnings goal for 2019, I have created a goal-setting worksheet for you. Click the button below to download it.
On the worksheet you will answer the following questions:
- What is your Zazzle earnings goal for 2019?
- How many hours a week will you devote to your Zazzle business?
- What days of the week and time of day will you work on Zazzle?
- How many new products will you post for sale every week?
- What number of products you will promote per week?
It is crucial that you set your earnings goal. It defines the target goal that you can work towards. Then you must set your habit goals to achieve your earnings goal. The habit goals break your big objective down into manageable pieces. They provide action steps that turn your hopeful earnings wish into an achievable goal.
Throughout the coming year, frequently assess your progress. These assessments allow you to see the issues sooner and give you time to make changes that will help you stay on track to reach your goals. I assessed my earnings frequently using Danielle’s Tool and it allowed me the time to recover from what could have been devastating losses of 40K in earnings.
Click the button below to download the “My 5 Zazzle Goals for 2019 Worksheet”
Your next steps on your Zazzle journey to success
Making money on Zazzle takes work. However, if you have a proven plan then the journey becomes easier because you have steps to take and a roadmap to follow. Plus you can achieve your goals more quickly. That is what happened to me in 2018. As with every year, there are unforeseeable changes on Zazzle. I have set my Zazzle business up properly to be buffered from change and I can recover quickly from change using the 5 Steps. Instead of being a victim of change, I can profit from it. This is what I want for you and your Zazzle business.
Here are your next steps:
- Ensure that your habit goals reflect the degree of increase in your earnings goal from the previous year. If you want to go from $100 to $1,000, your habits don’t have to change as much. However, you would have to make a more significant shift if you want to go from $10,000 to $100,000 in one year.
- Assess whether the actions you take when you work on your Zazzle business are effective. You can post 100+ products a month, but if these 100 products are not intentional then they won’t sell.
- Not all promotion is the same. Choose social media options that will give you the most benefit for your efforts.
- Review your progress frequently and modify your actions and choices to continually improve sales.
- Continue to learn and improve your skills to grow your dream Zazzle business
Join me on January 9, 2019, for part 2 of planning for an amazing 2019 year on Zazzle
In part 2 of preparing for the new year, I will show you how to create your plan of action to achieve your Zazzle earnings goal for 2019. Make sure to look for the article on January 9, 2019.
What you have learned:
- Many changes happened on Zazzle in 2018. Most were great and will improve overall sales in the future. Some were not so great and had a huge impact on sales and earnings of me and other Zazzle designers.
- I, Elke Clarke, achieved my 6-figure earnings goal in 2018, despite the negative changes on Zazzle. This was possible because I used and continue to use The 5 Step Profit Plan™.
- Using Danielle Fernandez’s Zazzle Designer Earnings Analytics Tool I was able to frequently analyze my sales data and find out that some of my best-selling products were not selling as well. Then I used The 5 Step Profit Plan™ to determine what I had to do in my Zazzle store to fix the situation. I acted quickly with the right solutions which resulted in increased sales.
- The first step to achieving your Zazzle earnings goal in 2019 is to set a target number. The second step is to set habit goals in place to ensure you are taking action consistently. The third step is to take only actions that are effective. Do you need help figuring out what these proven action steps are? Learn and invest in improving your ability to run your Zazzle business.
Cart Closes on December 21, 2018, for The 5 Step Profit Plan Program™
In 2018, I introduced The 5 Step Profit Plan Program™. It teaches you to step by step how to implement my signature 5 Step Profit Plan™. The same plan that I use to sell millions of dollars worth of Zazzle products. My students in the program have been extremely successful on Zazzle. They have reached milestones way beyond what they had ever achieved before. Now you can join them and ride the wave of Zazzle success.
In one convenient affordable program, you receive access to step-by-step training to implement The 5 Step Profit Plan™ into your Zazzle business. This year, I also opened up for enrollment my successful and extremely popular Zazzle VIP Mentoring Membership Program™. You can upgrade to the mentoring program if you are enrolled in The 5 Step Profit Plan Program™.
If you are a member, I want to thank you for your support over the past year. I tested, improved, and ultimately came up with the best way to serve you. That way you can use The 5 Step Profit Plan™ to get the results you want and transform your Zazzle business and change your life.
Get $300 OFF if you lock in the 2018 Price
If you enrolled this year, you received a huge discount on the price, plus many extra bonuses and mentoring opportunities for free. I rewarded you for believing in me and in The 5 Step Profit Plan™.
Signing up and implementing The 5 Steps has paid off for many of my members. I am so proud of all of my members in The 5 Step Profit Plan Program™ who achieved and exceeded their Zazzle earnings goals in 2018.
Do you want to be part of this amazing transformational experience at 2018 prices? You can still sign up by December 21, 2018. When you go to the signup page, you will see various options and also price reductions.
These 2018 introductory prices will only be available until Friday, December 21, 2018.
In 2019, there will no longer be this discount of $300 OFF.
Since you can complete the program at your own pace, you can purchase now and then start in the new year.
I urge you to take advantage of this $300 discount. Lock in the 2018 price now.
About the author
Elke Clarke is the author of the upcoming book Creative Online Millionaire. She is a mentor, teacher, coach, and 7-figure online entrepreneur. She is the creator of The 5 Step Profit Plan™. Elke has used this plan to generate over 10 million in sales of Zazzle products. To enroll in Elke Clarke’s Zazzle mentoring and training program The 5 Step Profit Plan VIP Mentoring Program™ click this link.
