Anna White, a Louisiana school counselor, has a creative streak.
Like many artists, she wanted to make a few bucks on the side by selling her handcrafted pieces on Etsy, so she jumped in. She made 150 pieces of jewelry, took pictures and waited for sales to come rolling in.
Except those “rolling sales” never happened. In five months she sold just three items, two of which she called “pity buys” from people she knew.
What went wrong? A lot, White says. From dimly-lit images of her jewelry, to entering a saturated market without a real plan for how to stand out, she had many failures before she eventually hit her Etsy stride.
1. Using subpar photos
White had basic photography and even Photoshop skills, but she rushed the process and wound up putting subpar photos on the site.
“I reached a point where I was just pushing to get it done,” she says. “I look back now and cringe at some of the terrible photos I allowed to go up on the site.”
Even potential customers were telling her that certain pictures were too dark.
Solution: Take photography seriously. Invest time in every picture. Take close-up, bright pictures that showcase your product in a visually stimulating way.
Note: If you want to improve the quality of your photos, you can use this service: http://bit.ly/2WZU50t , it has worked wonders for me.
Use daylight
Keep your photography standards high. If you’re photographing something relatively small, think about using daylight (but not direct sun) and simple white poster board as your backdrop. Watch for glare—solve this by trying different angles.
You can also purchase small product photography light boxes that will help you avoid glare from your light source. Watch the color balance on your images. If they look unnaturally blue or yellow, there’s an obvious color balance problem that you can probably correct in photoshop, but use your camera settings to correct it right in the moment if you can.
Be conscious of the background of your image
No one is interested in seeing the dirty dishes in your kitchen sink. Think about background color choice. Choose a background that is simple and that compliments your product’s colors.
Steady your shot
It’s actually pretty hard to keep a camera steady when you’re trying to photograph something close up, which can result in blurry images. Use a tripod to steady your shot, or at least rest your camera on something solid—a countertop, the back of a chair.
2. Writing basic, impersonal item descriptions
Your product image should be what draws your customer in. If they’re intrigued, they will click on it to see your item description. White says she wrote basic descriptions like, “This is a red beaded earring on a silver fishhook base.” Her simple explanations “had no heart” and simply weren’t good enough for the Etsy audience, she says.
Solution: Create a detailed description that makes a personal connection. Let the customer in on the creative process. Etsy buyers are looking for a connection with artists, which is why personal descriptions are best.
Look to your competitors
If you’re selling handmade silver rings on Etsy, make it a point to read product descriptions from other sellers. Don’t copy them, but think about them critically—what do they do well that you can emulate? What could be improved?
3. Having very little SEO knowledge
To sell anything on Etsy, your product needs to show up in a customer’s search results. If they Google “handmade silver ring with opal,” you want your product to be on the front page. If you’ve never thought about search engine optimization (SEO) before, don’t be intimidated.
White admits she was in uncharted territory here. “It is impossible to sell anything, even the most amazing, well-priced, beautiful product, if no one sees it,” White says.
Solution: Understand that search engine optimization is an undertaking, but it’s worth your time, White says. If you do not know how to do a good optimization, this service will help you to get out on the first page of your list. Link: http://bit.ly/2SsacFu
Unique headlines and descriptions
Writing interesting and unique headlines and product descriptions is a great place to start. Etsy recommends making sure that you fill out your Etsy shop’s About page so that Google gets a sense of what you’re selling.
Link to other listings
Another easy tactic is to link to other listings in your store in your product description. For instance, if you have a listing for a silver ring with an amethyst, at the end, include something like: “If you’re looking for a pair of amethyst earrings to match, check these out” and link to your earring listing.
Blogging and social media
Share your listings on social media to try to increase traffic to your site. If you write a blog where it’s natural for you to mention your product listings, link to them. If you find that one of your products is mentioned somewhere on the web outside of Etsy, ask the author to link back to your product description. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
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