Average length of time until first sale...or what am I doing wrong?

[ClearLightStudios]

To all the successful sellers out there...I am fairly new to Etsy [3 weeks]...and have had no sales yet..I need input on what I need to change...or should I just be patient? Does my shop look good enough? For the quality of my work...are the prices too high for this venue?

Any help or info would be greatly appreciated!
Kate

[Former_Member]

You are not doing anything wrong. Your site looks great and your paintings are fantastic. It all comes down to driving traffic to your site, just the same with your other web site. It is very hard to be found on etsy. It's not likely that you will show up in a search unless you buy advertisements on etsy or some other site. There are just too many people on etsy. It's easy to get lost in the crowd. Another way to get views is to start a blog or reply to other posts on blogs. There are many ideas in the teams that can help with more ideas on driving traffic. Joining more teams and participating can get you noticed as well.

Best of luck to you!
Jeff

[ClearLightStudios]

Thanks Jeff! Your help was what I needed..easy to get discouraged. Onwards.

[artbyglorianna]

Hi Kim. Your paintings are truly beautiful and i think the prices are not too bad, however for the sizes you might try lowering them say from $90 to $75, at least until you get some sales. I've been on Etsy since last August and have only had 2 sales thus far but i see things i can do to possibly help my sales going forward so i'll share. Viewing others who sell many paintings i've noticed that they tend to have many, many paintings listed. It helps to keep potential customers interested the more they have to browse through. I also notice that they tend to relist quite often which isn't set in stone but does seem to help your paintings show up more frequently on the browse pages. And lastly, for you i noticed that your descriptions do not always or entirely match or include your tags, which from what i'm told they should do. Don't give up yet. My first sale was 4 months after i first started. Hope something i've said helps.

[ClearLightStudios]

Thank you GP...hope is what I needed tonight! And I will try to implement your kind advice. Thanks again.
Kate

[AlasseArt]

Do not lower your prices!!! You do not want to under pay yourself. This is your business- you need to make money. It is good to have some lower price points- I would consider adding prints or cards of your work to achieve this. But don;t lower the price on your original work.

I would also add more items, you need at least a full page, and more is always better. The more items you have, the more chances you have to be found.

Your tags/titles also need some work. You have a lot of single word tags, and this is not as effective as multi-word tags.

Check out this thread here for SEO help: http://www.etsy.com/teams/10713/cindylouwho-team/discuss/9227373/

Your work is beautiful and I wish you luck.

Cheers,
Rachel

[Davs]

I think your tags and titles are good for being so new to the site, but like Rachel said looking into SEO will help. Your prices look great to me. Your work is gorgeous. I use facebook, twitter, pinterest, wanelo, stumbleupon and occasionally reddit to bring people to my shop. I think it took a few months before I started getting sales from people that weren't my friends. Hang in there. :)

[Former_Member]

took me 3 weeks to get my first sale, only had cards in my shop for the first week. I think your work looks great and is well priced. Promote, but don't forget to promote outside Etsy too. Wishing you your first sale of many.

[teabreaks]

Your work is awesome and your shop looks just great. I waited for 3 months for my first sale.
I cannot comment on price since I usually sell a 7x5 for about $10
I usually paint small aceos and only list them for $5 so I am probably too low on price. Pricing is a matter of choice. I choose to list at a low price and sell loads...I have sold over 60 paintings this year already...but i can also paint very quickly.....you might prefer to ask for a higher price and just wait for the right customer.....
I also belong to 31 teams and try to go on each team as many times a day as I can....I try not to just promote and run as I don't think that is fair, but sometimes I just don't have the time to contribute as much as I would like.
Join in with chat, show your work on facebook and join as many teams as you can...
I hope you get sales soon but don't be disheartened...it sometimes takes time.

[ClearLightStudios]

Thanks everyone for all the encouragement ....I will study SEO. Hope I find the time to paint!

[Former_Member]

good luck!! its been a very tough "market" to get my work noticed. It helps to use Facebook, pinterest, join teams and promote promote promote. Make friends- add shops to your favorites..make treasuries. It does take ALOT of time and work to get sales.. but your work is great so you should do fine :)

[CottageBeachArt]

Hi Kim,
I sell a lot of art, but as yet i haven't sold anyt art on etsy. Successful etsy sellers tell me it takes time (around 6 months) to build an audience.
It can get discouraging. it is a big time commitment to create treasuries, participate in a lot of teams, promote on other sites...but as a small business i try to remind myself that it is just part of necessary marketing.
One thing is I agree that you should NOT lower your prices in the hope to entice buyers, you dont ever need to feel you've compromised your work for a sale.
Keep at it and have faith in your artwork. It's beautiful!