General Feedback

Thank you so much for this generous course Leah. I find it incredible and inspiring how much work you've done as well with implementing feedback and updating the module. You are so focused and it's incredible to watch!

I'm working my way through module 1 and am getting the hang of it.

1 What aspects of the course have you found most valuable?

I LOVED the Market research template and ideas. Going to Amazon to get inspiration wasn't on my radar at all and it seems so obvious now. This template will be my most used one as I'd never had a way to collect all these useful hints and inspiration before. I also loved the HOT TIP about which hours to post on social media. So great to know precisely when our posts have more impact.

2 Are there any specific topics or areas that you feel could benefit from more in-depth coverage or additional resources?

I found the unicorn tag idea wonderful - as well as your commitment to not infringe upon other Zazzle designers. You may already go into this in future modules but I know I could use more help with HOW to use the links of the keyword search engines you provided. For some reason, I feel really overwhelmed when I go to google trends and find it hard to get useful hints.

3 Have the provided templates been helpful?

Yes, it's so great to have a setup to keep track of ideas as well as be able to hold myself accountable (mission statement) and see the big picture (objectives)!

4 Are there any specific types of templates you would like to see more of?

What I always thought of setting up for myself are some sort of spreadsheets of what can be put in collections for example. What I mean is: If I have a new wedding design, what are all the other products I can put the same design on - templates to check of would be great! I also always struggle to remember which products use the same dimensions. If I made a pillow, does the exact same design fit on a can cooler ? I know the design transfer tool is supposed to do a little of that - but the dimensions don’t always work. I hope I’m making sense.

5 How would you rate the effectiveness of the tips and strategies shared in the course? Have you successfully implemented any of them into your business practices?

Yes! I’ve started implementing the market research especially as well as the tagging ideas especially.

6 Have you found the course materials easily accessible?

Well, in a lot of ways yes. One thing I found hard was the “ACCESS EXTRAS via the forum” link. Since it’s a link to the whole forum and not to the design worksheets I’m looking for I usually get distracted by all the other discussion and forget why I came there :) . Direct links would be more useful for me as I’m so easily sidetracked! I also noticed the link for the fonts guide to give an error but I think you’ve already been made aware.

7 Have you discovered any new insights or techniques through the course that have positively impacted your Zazzle business? If so, please share your experiences.

Inspiration and renewed motivation for sure. It’s too early to tell a financial benefit but I’m sure that is just a matter of time!

8 Are there any sections or modules that you found less engaging or less relevant to your specific needs? If yes, please specify which ones and provide any suggestions for improvement.

I’m finding them all useful. Even if I already know certain techniques, I appreciate the reminders (for self love especially) and can cherrypick nuggets :)

9 Have you encountered any challenges or obstacles while implementing the strategies taught in the course?

Only my own hesitation to work on Facebook. Pinterest has been my main marketing tool and I’m finding it hard to branch out because I’m not especially good with social media in general. But that’s on me. Some people engage easier than others.

10 How would you rate the overall organization and structure of the course materials? Is there anything we can do to improve the flow or accessibility of the content?

As I mentioned above - direct links to forum posts - especially as the forum is growing so much!

11 Would you recommend the Zazzlepreneurs course to others interested in starting or growing their own Zazzle business? If so, please explain why.

Absolutely. Zazzle can be very confusing and a roadmap to stay focused is so important and will give newbies a much easier time to keep on track!

I'm only just getting started but I'll give feedback where I can.

-What aspects of the course have you found most valuable?

At first glance, I can see it will all be very valuable as I've been pretty confused with zazzle from day 1 and I sure could benefit from a structured approach so I'm pretty excited by what I've seen so far. From business plan to social media marketing scheduler, this is just the kick in the butt I need to treat this platform like a real business instead of just a side hustle.

-Are there any specific topics or areas that you feel could benefit from more in-depth coverage or additional resources?

I think the biggest thing I need help with is promoting zazzle products on Pinterest. Pinterest confuses me about as much as zazzle does. I love designing but as a complete and total introvert, I tend to avoid facebook/tiktok/etc, but I like the idea of Pinterest as there's really no conversation involved. If only I could figure it out.

-Have the provided templates been helpful?

I'm still getting through them but they are definitely helping me organize a more structured approach and sort out my priorities.

-Have you found the course materials easily accessible?

Yes, it's very well organized and so far has been easy to find my way around. With that said I did encounter a broken link on the extras -fonts guide, that brings up a "page not found". The Pinterest extras sheets didn't have a pdf link so I could print it like the tagging guide did. I'm one of those who needs to print in order to better absorb what I'm reading, so having a clear way to print everything is super helpful. Haven't yet found a way to print the social extras that didn't have that pdf link.

-Would you recommend the Zazzlepreneurs course to others interested in starting or growing their own Zazzle business? If so, please explain why.

Absolutely. Even though I'm not finished with it, I can clearly see there is a ton of well-organized information in one place being delivered in an easily digestible way that would clearly benefit anyone who is looking for help with their zazzle business.

1. What aspects of the course have you found most valuable? A: So far I've just begun exploring the materials but I have always been interested in brain function and how one learns so I am very happy to see that you have incorporated some of that into your materials. I do think having a plan wins out over winging it.

2. Are there any specific topics or areas that you feel could benefit from more in-depth coverage or additional resources? A: Design help is always appreciated. Examples like before and after as well as seeing someone design on video or zoom is especially nice since explaining why one makes different choices is instructional.

3. Have the provided templates been helpful ? A: Yes, it is good to have a guideline to go off of.

4. Are there any specific types of templates you would like to see more of? A: Something related to a list of things to consider when doing a design would be helpful.

5. How would you rate the effectiveness of the tips and strategies shared in the course? A: so far, so good! Have you successfully implemented any of them into your business practices? A: rather new yet but I am familiar with some of them, so yes.

6. Have you found the course materials easily accessible? A: Mostly. I'm getting used to finding my way around the platform so I am sure it is only a matter of time before I can make my way around quite well.

7. Have you discovered any new insights or techniques through the course that have positively impacted your Zazzle business? If so, please share your experiences. A: Still a bit new to tell but I'm certain that will be the case as you appear to approach things differently than what I am used to.

8. Are there any sections or modules that you found less engaging or less relevant to your specific needs? If yes, please specify which ones and provide any suggestions for improvement. A: I don't see any sections that won't be helpful. Even though I feel I know about some of them, I'm always learning so I'm sure there will be new perspectives to explore.

9. Have you encountered any challenges or obstacles while implementing the strategies taught in the course? A: no

10. How would you rate the overall organization and structure of the course materials? Is there anything we can do to improve the flow or accessibility of the content? A: It is very organized. I don't think there is anything that needs to be addressed.

11. Would you recommend the Zazzlepreneurs course to others interested in starting or growing their own Zazzle business? If so, please explain why. A: Yes. I would because you should always keep learning as you are growing and seeing other people's perspectives on how to do something adds to your knowledge base. I also see that you are providing a different experience from what I had before and I am finding it interesting and fresh.

I figure I should offer some feedback now, and edit to add other thoughts as I continue through the Modules.

First, thanks again Leah, for delving into course creation, and being so generous with your knowledge and experience re Zazzle.

For me, a few of the stand-outs are:

1. Finding under-served niches and just dominating them with product designs before anyone else can get a look in. (I have generally done just the opposite, by finding a niche, adding a few designs to see how they go; and then finding the next niche - rinse and repeat. Spreading things too thinly.)

2. NOPE tags alone won't do. The number of times I have run across advice to go mining for wonderful, magical tags and the sales will follow. Kinda left me fretting over them, and why my sales never did really take off. So, good to know you're clear success is not just about picking the right ten tags!

3. This one is a bit of a query, I guess. I don't think I quite understand what you mean in the section on Securing Your Niche. The last paragraph mentions sharing only "direct only" links until there is a large enough inventory of designs. Does this relate to keeping all those new products private on Zazzle when we publish them? And then flick them all to public in the Zazzle marketplace once there's enough of them. Or do you mean something about social media marketing (you do say "when you share" them). I'm just a little confused what exactly is being kept "direct only".

Rest of the module is great, albeit the stuff of nightmares for me. Never done anything like mission statements etc before, and still kind of pondering it all a week later. I've seen a lot of it many times before and always "waved" it away, mainly due to the guilt of doing that instead of creating/publishing more designs.

I guess I should just get a pen and paper out and do it - everyone says to get a business plan and a mission statement and figure out who your ideal customer is, etc. And you've put it right there in Module 1, so hey, maybe that stuff is actually quite important - rather than pumping out an endless variety of designs that don't sell!

The rest is perfect. Just that bit about "direct only" that confused me, and the rest is just some kind of "Me problem" - it'll probably end up being transformative once I start biting chunks out of my current mindset and start organizing everything in a more orderly way, and writing it down.

BTW, I'm looking forward to seeing what you changed in the upcoming version of the module.

And it'll be interesting delving into the social media stuff - probably you've got that in mind for later modules. For me, especially Pinterest. Been on there for years, and I think I have maybe 6 accounts (for separate stores). Don't think I've ever got a sale via Pinterest, so yeah, tips on strategy there would be good for future training. (Some ppl say mix pins and repin other ppl's pins in the same niche; others say only ever have your own pins in your account, which is where I'm at at the moment.)

This is long so I'll stop, maybe add other thoughts later as I continue through Mod 1.

But yeah, great work. I'm enjoying being here with yourself and a whole bunch of like-minded entrepreneurs. Not a fan of Facebook, and I've missed the old-style forums, as I used to be on a ton of them in various topics back in the day.

I think this course is so generous and full of really fantastic information. I'm creeping up on Silver status after coming back to Zazzle recently. I wish I'd had this course in 2021 when I started re-learning the platform after a long hiatus! I don't feel well suited to give feedback here because I already have much of module 1 in place, but I will say all of your guidance has been spot on and I look forward to future modules for sure. I have found your Tips really helpful - I'm not a Pinterest expert at all, so reading about niche categories or accounts isn't something I'd considered. It's on my to-do list. Same with FB groups. My social media game can always use improving, so any insights to those platforms are awesome. One small critique is that the buttons to these tips say "access here" and not what you're about to read about like "Pinterest tips" or whatever. Not a biggie, just something I noticed when I went back to revisit those tips. I'm now saving pages as bookmarks in a folder in the productivity app I use (I don't even own a printer)!

The thing I struggle most with is time management and work flow. I create all of my own artwork as well as design the products and there are just not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I want. Sometimes I struggle with what are the MOST important tasks - Get the products posted so they can start gaining traction? Pin/promote products that need help? Optimize older products? Create new artwork to keep it fresh? Research what customers want/ what's trending? These tasks all seem equally important and sometimes I'm paralyzed as to where to focus my energy, and since I've only been making good money for around 6 months now, I'm so scared to focus on the wrong thing and have sales drop off! I know you're a busy mom as well, and would love to know how you breakdown how your time is spent - do you value all these tasks as sort of equally working together to your success or do you focus on one thing more?

Thanks again, I really truly don't know how you have the time for this. When you hit a certain level, does it slow down? Pushing Silver I feel like this is more than a full time job. Maybe I'm doing it all wrong ha.

Hi Leah,

I am still working through module 1 but I have had a look through most of it.

Here is my feedback so far:

🔹 What specific topics or aspects of the course have you found most helpful or interesting?

I liked the Mission Statement because answering the questions made me think about the different aspects of my Zazzle business, where I am, my customers and where I want to go with it in the future.

I also found the Market Research extremely valuable. I have found so many inspirational ideas for a new niche I would like to pursue and had a good think about how I can use Zazzle's custom personalization within that niche. This was only after a quick look. I still have to dive in and do the worksheet. Never thought of going to Amazon before. Thank you so much for opening my eyes.

The My Objectives section was very helpful for setting goals and targets. It has also motivated me to do a store refresh and think about my branding and tying my stores together.

I also realized that I have been procrastinating on marketing.

🔹 Are there any areas where you feel more examples, explanations, or additional resources would be beneficial?

Generally happy with the material so far. I noticed that you already added extra resources and hot tips. The tagging information is most helpful. I like the Market Research worksheet because it gives me ideas of what I need to make a note of during research. The social media marketing template is good too.

🔹 How has the course influenced your approach to business planning and goal-setting for your Zazzle venture?

After doing the worksheets it has motivated me to make to do lists and use them to help me focus and achieve the goals I set for myself.

🔹 Have you faced any challenges or roadblocks along the way? How did you overcome them?

I have found that this first module has actually removed roadblocks for me. The roadblock was that I have been unmotivated to work on my Zazzle business for the last 6 months or so. Your fresh approach has made me assess the business, make goals and have the motivation to get back to work. It has made me look at the marketing aspects and think about the things I can do and get started on the marketing tasks I have been wanting to do. I also love the niche perspective. It has taken me out of the rut of "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" cycle. I have finally started working on a website that will bring all my stores together under one roof and now I am not so scattered in my thoughts and processes.

🔹 What other topics or areas would you like to see covered in future lessons or discussions?

Please note that I haven't gone through all the extras resources in detail yet so maybe you have already covered some of these ideas.

Some ideas that may be useful are:

Marketing using our websites. Do you have traffic success from your blog posts and what format is the best one for traffic? (list posts, review posts, tip posts?)

Also things like:

Is it best to link social media links from Pinterest (Facebook, etc.) straight to Zazzle or do you prefer to link to a page on your website first? Do you prefer to use self referral links or the affiliate 15% links or a combination of both?

In summary, topics that help us get our products seen and clicked on whether external or internal. The most frustrating thing I have found on Zazzle is the challenge of getting initial views and traffic to new products.

I would also love a module solely on mindset. I believe it plays a big role in success. It is so easy to forget to stay positive when running a business such as this one. Any tips on nurturing our minds would be great.

I am happy with the July release of module #2. It takes quite a while to work through all the amazing material you have given us in module #1.

In conclusion I would like to say that I am extremely grateful to you Leah for putting this course and community together. Your fresh perspective has motivated me and given me the inspiration to get back to work and I once again look forward to working on my Zazzle business every morning.