Creator Playbook // Introducing Collection Types
Introducing Collection Types
Collections have been supercharged!
Brace yourselves for an exhilarating new chapter! We’ve made a major upgrade to your collection experience, packed with advanced tools and features designed to catapult your products and designs into the spotlight.
Throughout this guide we are thrilled to showcase examples of the experience from Phrosne Ras Design. All examples, unless otherwise indicated, belong to her.
Revolutionise Your Earnings
Amplify the Impact of your Collections.
Get ready to unleash your earning potential like never before! We're turning up the excitement and putting the spotlight on YOU with our upgraded Collections feature. It's time for your products and designs to take centre stage and watch your earnings grow.
Imagine your collections gaining enhanced visibility in the Zazzle ecosystem, connecting your products with potential customers. But that's not all! We want to be able to cross-sell more of your products for customers who may have purchased already from a collection. Cha-ching!
Soon, your collections will be everywhere – from product pages to onsite search to emails to offsite ads and more. We're talking full-on exposure, reaching a wider customer base than ever before.
The power is in your hands! Seize this opportunity to leverage the functionality of collections and ensure your products and designs shine in the marketplace.
What are Collection Types?
Say hello to Collection Types, a dynamic evolution of our existing Collections feature. This upgrade will introduce an array of collection types, each intended to cater to specific goals and use cases. Our ultimate aim? To empower you to create standout collections that not only engage your customers, but also guide them in finding all they need for life's moments.
What are the types of collections?
We have an understanding of Creators' various use cases for collections and have categorised them into distinct "types" based on existing market trends.
Cross-sell / Event Suite
Empower hosts and event planners to throw the ultimate event featuring a similar theme and style across a complementary set of products e.g. wedding suite, birthday party set, baby shower collection, etc..
- Products share the same, or very similar designs and style
- Focused on a single event or holiday
- Perfect range of products for a host and event planners
Similar Style/Themes
Great for customers who have a specific design style in mind and are looking for that perfect product. e.g. Minimal Wedding Invitations, Rustic Save The Dates, Professional Business Cards, etc…
- All products should share a similar design aesthetic
- All products should use the same, or similar product type
Different Style/Themes
Great for customers looking to browse and explore different design style options e.g. wedding invitations, 1st birthday invitations, funny mugs, etc..
- Products should have unique designs
- Products should use the same, or similar, product type.
Gift Themes
A collection focused on finding the perfect gift for an upcoming event or that special someone e.g. Gifts for her, Best Father’s Day gifts, Valentine’s Day Gifts. Wedding Gifts, etc..
- Focus on a single event, holiday, or recipient
- Products should feature unique designs
- Should contain a wide range of different product types
- Refrain from product types that don’t make great gifts e.g. invitations, save the dates, etc.
Other
Use this type for collections with no clear purpose or intent. Can be useful if you’re looking for a temporary place to group many products.
- Products, design styles and themes are different
*Note, these collection types aren’t eligible for most channels and onsite experiences. We recommend using one of the other featured types when possible.
Are my existing collections impacted by this change?
Collections you've created have been magically assigned a unique "collection type". However, we do kindly request you to double-check and confirm that your collections are labelled correctly within the management tool, just to be extra sure.
Auto-Migrated
We will display this collection type confirmation dialog on the first visit to an auto-migrated collection.
Not Auto-Migrated
For collections that weren’t auto-migrated, a dialogue will trigger immediately on page load the first time visiting the collection page. Please confirm the suggested settings and migrate your collections.
Cross-sell / Event Suites
Tailored Product Recommendations
Get ready for a ‘type’ treat! When you select "Cross-sell / Event Suite" as your Collection Type, you will receive product recommendations tailored specifically to the type you select. We've already curated suggestions for Weddings, Birthday celebrations, and Baby Showers, and other top moments, and we have even more types coming your way very soon! This Collection Type is meant to “cross-sell” more products such as napkins, paper plates, balloons, etc that have a cohesive look that can tie together nicely. We will be showcasing these products throughout the customer experience onsite and after they purchase a product from your collection.
These recommendations are organised in dedicated "slots" and our aim is to inspire and encourage you to fill up as many slots as possible.
But wait, there's more! While editing your collection, we've added a visual representation that highlights any missing products. It's like having your very own guide to optimise the collection and unlock your maximum earnings potential.
Style Variations
Enhance your collection with product options
In addition to providing product recommendations for your collection, we are excited to also have Style Variations—a convenient method to incorporate multiple versions of the same product.
For instance, imagine having a Save the Date card available in various formats, such as a standard card, a foil card, and an all-in-one card.
With our new collections manager, you can effortlessly link these different "versions" of the card, ensuring your collections remain well-organised and allowing us to showcase the diverse options available to customers.
Collection Management
How to access and view all
Welcome to your new hub for collections! We've revamped the organisation of your collections. Now, you can conveniently view all your collections in one place, easily. Click on “collections” within your member profile or store to access.
This enhanced feature simplifies the process of identifying collections that require migration to specific types AND those in need of attention or updates to unlock various marketing channels.
What are Preferred Collections?
- For products that are part of multiple collections, you have the flexibility to designate one of them as your "Preferred Collection." This feature empowers you to specify the primary collection that represents the product across various onsite channels. Please note this applies to products that are in multiple Cross-Sell Collection types only.
- For example, when visiting the product page for a “event suite” collection, we will always show the “Preferred Collection” - if it belongs to more than one.
- Moreover, this setting determines the collection to which the product is linked in search results. You can access this setting in the Zazzle Marketplace Channel.
- If you notice an orange icon on the management page of your collection, it indicates that the product currently belongs to a different preferred collection. To modify this, simply click on the option menu and select "Make Preferred Collection." By default, the first cross-sell collection to which you add a product becomes its preferred collection.
Enhance Collections with Media Manager
Add Compelling Cover Photos and Videos to Collections
Media Manager is your hub for managing the visual content on your Product Pages'! You hold even greater control of how your product shines in the Marketplace. With the capability to showcase a total of up to 10 vibrant images and 90-second videos, you're in the driver's seat of crafting a compelling product story.
Media Manager isn't just about images and videos; it's a dynamic tool that empowers you to create an unforgettable impression in the Zazzle Marketplace and ultimately transform casually-browsing customers into committed buyers.
Transforming the Customer Journey: a Seamless experience
Get ready to showcase your collections like never before! Here’s an example of one of the ways we will be highlighting your collection front and centre to potential customers. What you’re seeing is just a taste of one of the many variations we will be testing throughout the product page experience! More updates will be coming soon for onsite search pages, customer checkout and more.
Drive Collection Awareness
Your collection cover image will be injected into product thumbnails to increase collection discovery above the fold.
Browse by Style
Make it easy for customers to find matching products from the same collection e.g. all save the date variations
Drive conversion through engaging product page placement
Your collection will now be more discoverable to customers by showcasing it more prominently on the product page.
Elevating Organisation
Say goodbye to guesswork with innovative tools from Zazzle that are designed to help you do what you do best, and leave tedious manual efforts behind.
Sorting Your Collection
We’ve added exciting new ways to sort your products for Cross-Sell / Event Suite Collection Types. Whether you automatically migrate your collections or manually opt in, your Cross-Sell / Event Suite Collection will be set to “Recommended” for your Product Sort Order, and it’s what you will see on your collection page to start with.
With this method, Zazzle takes charge of optimising the display order for your collection by grouping your product “slots” according to customer insights. And when those insights are updated, your Product Sort Order in your collections will automatically update too!
Customers will still see every single product in your collection, just in an optimised order! “Slots” are for your eyes only, and just a way to help organise your collections more efficiently.
But don’t worry, you’re still in the driver’s seat and have the freedom to manage it yourself if you prefer with our custom options. With Grouped, “slots” are still enabled but you’re able to manually sort them. With Ungrouped, it will show each product individually.
Unleash the Power of Channels
Amplify Your Products' Reach
With our new and improved Collections feature, we are putting the power in your hands. You can now choose where and how your collections are displayed - whether it's exclusively on your store or across all channels.
Our ultimate goal remains the same: to showcase your collections at every stage of the customer journey, maximising your potential earnings.
Within the management tool, you'll find different channels available for each collection/type and its status.
If a channel is invalid, an error message will be displayed. By clicking on the channel, you can easily make adjustments to resolve any issues. By default, all channels will be enabled unless specific requirements are not met.
Zazzle Marketplace
Your products will be featured on product pages, and in the near future, they will also appear on search pages, checkouts, and other areas of the site. This expanded exposure will enhance your visibility and potential sales.
Zazzle Email
When customers make purchases from your collection, automatic emails will be sent to them. This presents a valuable opportunity for upselling additional products, which means more earnings for you. We highly recommend personalising the email template to create a more intimate and personalised message that resonates with your customers.
Your Stores
Your collections will be showcased in the dedicated "collection" section of one or more of your stores. You have the flexibility to choose which stores will feature your collections, giving you control over where your products are presented to customers.
Mastering Collections: Tips for success
- Craft a catchy collection name. Keep it concise and straightforward, while incorporating relevant keywords that reflect the theme and products. For instance, go for something like "Three-Rex Dinosaur Birthday Suite."
- Unlock customisation possibilities. Elevate your products to the next level by providing customisable designs. Enable customers to add personalised names or other unique elements, ensuring items are truly one-of-a-kind.
- Embrace complementary designs. Create cohesive designs that share similar elements and aesthetics, while maintaining their distinctiveness. Seamlessly transfer your designs and associated metadata using the convenient 'design transfer feature' available on every product page. Modify and update your designs using the design tool, allowing you to easily add or remove text, design elements, and more to perfectly align with your new product vision.