Friday, October 19, 2007

Razzle Dazzle 'em in Zazzle?

I've spent the last week adding new cards to my own little product gallery at zazzle.com. (I call it "Poughtography", a word I coined by combining "Poughkeepsie" and "Photography". I know, pretty dorky, but that's exactly why I love it so much!) Most of the newest photos are from my April trip to Spain. I also added a couple of QSL card templates after a ham radio operator brought that concept to my attention and bought 100 copies of my Bannerman's Island Castle Ruins postcard.

Honestly, very few of my photos have actually been purchased, and I haven't had one sell since late August. It could be for a number of reasons:
  • I've chosen the wrong photos to feature on my products - I'm still trying to figure out what photos people are interested in, but it is difficult to do on Zazzle because there are so many other products. And it is quite possible that my photos are just not good enough for people to want to purchase;

  • I'm horrible at marketing - I've honestly done very little to advertise the existence of this product gallery. I have told some friends, and put a link to it from other sites where I have an on-line presence, but I'm not sure what to do after that. Print off a few postcards, and leave them lying around somewhere for advertising?

  • No one buys cards anymore - with the Internet, I'm sure that people are not sending cards as often. This means I'm screwed no matter what I do.

Maybe things will pick up at Christmastime, as people start looking for gifts for their loved ones...

2 comments:

Unknown said...

You're probably right. People don't buy cards as much. Mainly just birthday and holiday cards in my opinion. Your photos seem hi-res enough to turn into prints. You might get more sales that way.

Tom in Poughkeepsie said...

Thanks for posting your thoughts! I guess that answer might seem obvious to you, but for some reason I had it in my mind that I should stick with the less expensive items, thinking that no one would want to spend much more than the price of a card. You're right, though - I should try to offer some prints as well. It's not like it'll cost me anything more.