fieldnotes 16

Fieldnotes #16
It’s November! No, seriously - NOVEMBER!

I swear it was just summer last week, and yet here I am, nudging up the furnace today! Um, there are only 8 weeks left in 2025. Don’t panic, but if you haven’t started working on your 2025 Resolutions, you’re almost out of time. 😅 

And since it’s “thankful season,” I want to take a minute to tell you how incredibly grateful I am for you - yes, YOU! 💖 Just since summer, over 500 more people have subscribed to these Fieldnotes, and I’m truly touched by that. I’ve worked hard to provide value (which is hilarious to say, since it’s a free newsletter - but you get my meaning, right? 😅) and to practice what I preach when it comes to a calm, service-forward business model. And a special thank you to those of you who have reached out to me over this year and shared your own stories and words of encouragement. I’m honored to be part of your circle! 

Okay, enough mushy stuff - let’ s get to it! Remember, as always, you’re free to just scroll down and snag this month’s freebie! You know I won’t judge! 😉


New Email, Who dis?
Yes, it’s true! I left the bougie land of Flodesk and settled into the utilitarian land of Kit. 🤣

Of course I have buyer’s remorse (it’s me we’re talking about here LOL), but I know that it was the best choice for my business at this point. Like you, I’m not out here to pour money into a hole and hope magic comes out! 😅 I want to be a good steward of the money I have, and I want to serve you the best way I can.

Hey Kate, what was with that weird “please click the button” thing in the Fieldnotes email? 
Listen, I’ve moved a LOT in my life. A LOT.  At least 23 times – half of those before I was even 23 years old! As a result of that (and of marrying a man who has moved even MORE than I have), I’ve become quite adept at culling items from my home and living with a more minimalist aesthetic. It has come back to bite us occasionally, I’ll admit. More than once we’ve had to buy something again that we had gotten rid of in the past, thinking we wouldn’t use it. 🙈

And since I’m admitting things, I might as well tell you that my real house might be a minimalist, but my digital house is a full blown hoarder! So I decided that my digital move would be a good time to do some digital culling as well - hence the Pretty Little Leftovers gift pack I put together for you! It’s a collection of over 40 graphics - fun stuff that I’ve made this year but either didn’t use or didn’t have the time to develop into full blown packs. I want them to go to a good home - so please take them and use them to make something amazing!

And you’re right - there’s no link for it here! If you want it, you need to go back to the email and click the button from there. It’s how I’m letting Kit (and Google) know that I’m a real person, not some skeevy spammer. LOL

But here is a preview pic to tempt you, if you haven’t already hit the button in the email! 

Why no new Toolkits, Kate?
You may have noticed I haven’t launched a new Toolkit since the Wedding Designers Toolkit in February. I’ve updated the Christmas Designers Toolkit and added photos to the Stock Photo Vault, but no brand-new releases.

If I’m being completely open with you, the WDT wiped me out. 😵 I loved creating it, but the wedding niche (like most brides, LOL) is very specific and trend-heavy. I spent twice as long researching and building it as any other Toolkit (over 600 commercial-use assets, each requiring lots of hands-on prep). I’m incredibly proud of it, but it didn’t exactly fit my “calm business model.”

🍕Story Time! One time, in 3rd grade, I ate 24 pieces of homemade pizza. 🙈 Okay, they were square cuts - probably 3-4 inches square - but nonetheless, gluttonous 3rd grade Kate horked down 24 slices. It was great in the moment, but pretty miserable afterwards (I’ll spare you the details - you’re welcome 😅). It took me a while to even want to look at pizza again. That’s kind of how I felt post-WDT: full to bursting and needing a long break before creating another.

Add to all of this the reminder of what I told you back in August - how I’m deliberately choosing to be more thoughtful about my business moves, exploring ways to pivot, and so on, and that brings us to now and the future of the Toolkits or any products I made going forward.

What happens next? 
Well as you know, lately, I’ve been re-evaluating my business and how I want to move forward. Going forward, I won’t be making Toolkits of that size again. Smaller ones, probably, but they’ll likely be part of broader product offers (more on that in the next paragraph) rather than standalone releases.

So what then? I’m exploring a membership model (hopefully launching soon!). It won’t be a coaching program, but will instead be focused on a “vault” of resources: graphics, niche and trend research, tutorials/mini courses, templates, and more.

Where I need your help: should it include a community element? I know some love discussion spaces, but there are already some great FREE ones out there (Happy Zazzling, Col’s Discord, CtrlZ Creative, etc.). This one would live on Skool, not Facebook.

If you would do me a favor, I’d be really grateful! I’d love your opinion on whether it matters to include a “community” aspect in a subscription. I’d like your opinion even if you don’t think you’ll join my membership - I’m really just curious about how people think about these things.


Thanks for your help! And don’t worry - there will still be a freebie in the Fieldnotes for ya! I just want to make sure my next steps serve you AND keep my business calm and sustainable.

Oh, and one last thing. It won’t be All-Zazzle-All-the-Time… but it’ll still be mostly Zazzle! That’s where I have the most experience and where most of you are building your businesses. I just want to leave room for a little crossover content for those also exploring Etsy, Shopify, or other POD platforms.

I am pretty excited about it, and I hope you will be, too!


Making Friends with the Algorithm
I’ve been following a discussion on whether raising our royalties affects product visibility on Zazzle.

In one reply, Moderator James wrote: “If you opt for a higher Royalty rate, your Products may be positioned in a more premium market—similar to high-end art or exclusive designs—where Customers expect to pay a bit more for the added value of unique, high-quality items—but sales may be less frequent.” (emphasis mine)

That line caught my attention because it confirms something I’ve suspected all along: marketplace algorithms are built to match products with the right buyers.

And Zazzle’s primary goal? To make a sale. Always.

So theoretically, a higher royalty could position your design among more “premium” products (the kind of listings that higher-end buyers expect to see and are willing to pay more for).

But in practice, if your design doesn’t speak to that audience (if it doesn’t look or feel premium), the algorithm likely won’t push it forward very often. It might be the literature teacher in me, but I think that’s what James is alluding to when he says “limited marketing opportunities.” The algorithm isn’t punishing high royalties; rather, it’s simply optimizing for what sells.

Remember: Zazzle wants the sale.

Your royalty is just one signal to the algorithm. The rest (your design, niche, keywords, and presentation) still need to align with what that BUYER is actually looking for.

Now, for the record: I ran ChatGPT’s “deep research” mode pretty hard while exploring this topic. 🤖 I am very thankful that Chat understands algorithms, because this girl does not! 🙈

But here’s the one thing I can say with absolute confidence:

Zazzle keeps its algorithm a closely guarded secret.

So virtually everything you read, in the Forums, on Discord, or in this email, is speculation. Sometimes it’s informed speculation. Sometimes it’s “hey this worked for me.”

But I will be brutally honest here: a lot of what passes for “advice” in the Forums is just noise, and it’s often tangled up in seller frustration or bias.

So what do we do?
We look to industry standards. Zazzle is a two-sided marketplace (just like Etsy, Redbubble, and Amazon), and nearly all of them use similar ranking signals:
✅relevance to the search
✅performance (clicks, sales, conversion rate)
✅freshness
✅buyer options (for Zazzle, that would be personalization)

Zazzle may use different weights, or run things in a unique way, but the goal is the same: Show the buyer what they’re most likely to buy.

So what’s our takeaway then? Well, not to toot my own horn, but it’s what I’ve been saying all along: Stop trying to get the sale. Start trying to serve the customer.

What are they looking for? What wording would they use to search for it? What problem are they trying to solve (even if that problem is as simple as “I need a funny mug for my coworker’s birthday”)?

When you focus on the customer, your product becomes findable. And more importantly, it becomes relevant. Remember - the algorithm wants to get that sale, so it’s going to prioritize not just what exists, but what fits!

So yes, optimize your titles and tags. Yes, set your royalties thoughtfully. But don’t do any of it in a vacuum. Design like you’re solving someone’s problem, not like you’re just making something you want to make. Research first!

By the way, this is why copying bestsellers doesn’t really work. The original designers were creating to serve the customer; when we copy we’re usually creating to serve ourselves. So even at its best, the copy will always be second-rate, not because the design is bad, but because the intent is off. The algorithm is always watching how your store performs, and over time, it gets a clear picture of how your products behave. If you are trying to game the system, the results will speak for themselves. Low engagement tells the algorithm, “This {product/store/seller} isn’t a good match for buyers.”

📽️Did you ever see the 2002 movie Minority Report? In the film, a special police unit called “PreCrime” uses psychics (called Precogs) to foresee crimes before they happen, allowing the police to arrest people for crimes they haven’t committed yet. It’s all about predictive systems, moral complexity, and whether foreknowledge equals guilt. The algorithm is kind of like Zazzle's own little PreCrime unit, right? 😅 It is constantly watching and learning. It doesn't need psychics; it just needs your click-through rates! LOL And ok yeah, you're not going to be arrested for design crimes (yet?), but if your listings keep misfiring, they will vanish from public view.

So instead of trying to outsmart the system, try to out-serve your customer. (I really need to gather all of my pithy statements into some kind of quote pack! LOL)

Which actually ties in with this little bonus piece of information for those of you who didn’t skip over all this algorithm talk! Zazzle patented a way to let shoppers browse by “idea” or “intent” instead of just keyword search, and match those ideas with relevant designs.

The patent is for a system that helps shoppers find products by “idea” rather than just keywords…like “boho wedding” or “gift for a book lover.” It maps abstract themes to actual designs by analyzing tags, styles, and trends, then ranks and personalizes the results based on what customers are likely to love.

For us as designers, this means that strong metadata, clear niche positioning, and visually consistent work may help us show up in these curated, inspiration-driven searches, even when the buyer didn’t search for our product specifically. 🎉

It seems as if Zazzle is trying to move beyond keyword search and into discovery-based shopping; more like how people browse mood boards or curated gift guides.

So (and again, this is speculation), this could mean:
💚Our products might get pushed up in the algorithm even if they don’t exactly match the customer’s keyword, but rather if they match a vibe or occasion the shopper is browsing by.
💚Things like good metadata (tags, titles) and stylistic consistency across products might help us land in these “idea-based” searches.

Okay, enough of that. My brain hurts! 🤯


What should you be creating right now? 

❄️Winter Holiday creation is over, but Winter OCCASIONS are still hot! Think winter baby showers, birthdays, engagements, etc. This month's freebie will help with that!

✨And I mentioned this last month, but it still applies: Q4 is also the time to shift to creating a lot of evergreen products that will sell year round, rather than for a particular season or holiday. Think baby showers, birthdays, home decor, pet products, etc. 


What should you be promoting right now?
You should still be focused on promoting a LOT right now. Q4 buyers are lining up and you want to get a piece of that pie!
🎄 Christmas & Winter Holidays
❄️Winter Occasions
🍎New Years Resolution-Related stuff (planners, goal trackers, yoga mats, etc.)



This month’s freebie is really on-trend! ❄️

Winter baby showers are everywhere right now: soft blues, blush pink shimmer, and cozy “Baby It’s Cold Outside” themes. To help you jump right in, I’ve put together a Winter Snowflake Baby Shower Mini Pack featuring 15 high quality commercial-use graphics you can use for invitations, thank-you cards, signage, or other products. There are 9 snowflakes in muted, yet elegant tones, and 6 svg words in a trendy font.

Think frosty elegance meets gentle warmth: watercolor snowflakes, soft metallic tones, and neutral palettes that work beautifully for boy, girl, or gender neutral showers.

I’ve also included an Inspiration Brief to get you started on tags, sayings, and colors. No reason you can’t just jump right in and make something amazing today! Click the image below to go straight to the Google Drive folder.

♥ That’s it for November! ♥
There are no Field Tested Finds this month, but I hope to have a couple of amazing ones for you in December! Yay!

Thanks for being here - I appreciate you! ♥

Be sure to reach out if you have questions or just want to say hi!

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