Sooo Christmas came and went, and I did my usual trick of falling off the blog wagon. So what's new?
Zazzle sales have almost dried up. In an attempt to drag myself out of the ditch, I came up with a new timetable, which immediately made itself redundant after sending me in new directions that weren't on the timetable.
I've been dabbling with AI !NOT FOR DRAWING! but for planning and mockup backgrounds. On the latter I've been bouncing between ChatGPT and Google Gemini; essentially I use one until it drives me insane, and then I switch and repeat. Here's one where it didn't draw two handles on the mug:
I've done some Pinterest experimentation, but really only confirmed what I might have predicted from my private Pinterest use; users want art, not adverts, and even art that gets a reaction won't necessarily convert into visits or sales.
New Platform
I branched out on to Etsy. Having all the eggs in the Zazzle basket was never a good idea, and not just because it makes this blog look like a covert Zazzle advert. So I dipped a toe into Etsy, and so far the results are also terrible.
My AI planning via ChatGPT had sounded plausible and good:
"Think of Etsy as a test shelf".
"Mugs are low risk".
"Art without captions allows buyers to project their own meaning".
It went on to suggest that Zazzle was all about volume, whereas Etsy was a more discerning place, more 'me'. So far I'm finding it equally hard for POD, and I suspect it's best if you're carving owls out of driftwood or something. ChatGPT is too busy being a positive cheerleader to give you this or any bad news.
Unlike Zazzle, Etsy offers some help for keyword research with it's "Insights", but this isn't moving the dial for me as yet. Again I wonder if it's a tool tailored for the owl carvers but not the saturated POD market.
I partnered with Gelato for production and delivery. A Christmas purchase of one of their tees went smoothly, and I read that Gelato was better for selling in Europe. Soon I had a few products listed, but the lack of sales combined with the Etsy insights was making me waver over the 'no caption' strategy. I then discovered that personalised text for buyers isn't part of the free Gelato service. I couldn't even try it for free, because the functionality would end when the trial ended. Argh.
Like an insanely positive AI bot, I'm trying to reframe these setbacks as lessons and therefore steps forward; but I'm stockpiling driftwood for owl carving on the side (I'm not).
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