2 yr old shop, low sales, need help.

[Former_Member]

I’ve had my etsy shop open for just under 2 years and I’ve only had 14 sales, (most of which were in the past year) Even still about 85% of my sales have been from friends and family. That’s nice and all But I’m really hoping to get my customer list to grow and fan out more. I’ve recently done a few ‘upgrades’ for my shop including ‘SEO’ and adding my inventory to my FB fan page. Even the photos. But I’m still not seeing very much difference in my stats or sales. What else am I doing wrong and what can I improve on?

Am I pricing things right? How can I tell? IS there anymore help To get to improve my shop sales?

I'm working on getting a blog started, its currently under construction. And I'm having trouble getting my Facebook Fan page linked in correctly. (getting the link button for my viewable shop, and i cant seam to get a click-able link to the fan page.

Where can I go on etsy to help with promoting my shop? where can I go outside of etsy? Ideas and Critiques are appreciated, I look forward to the responses.

[Former_Member]

:( anyone?

[BloomsJewels]

I am brand new so I'm no expert but can offer some advice that others have given me...keep your pictures consistent (all white background is best). The others with a background are a bit dark and everyone always says the white background will make your products stand out more.

I also "pin" every one of my items on Pinterest. Although this hasn't gotten me any sales yet, it has gotten me extra views I wouldn't have had otherwise.

Offer a coupon code. I have also taken my coupon code and posted it to other external sites such as retailmenot.com and have had extra views that way.

Join more teams and be more active within the Etsy community and build your network (circles, etc.)

That's all I got for now...Good luck! :)

[Former_Member]

Sammie, you are in an incredibly crowded/saturated market. I just typed in "Beaded bracelet" and found 387,000 items...."Beaded Earrings" brings up 367,000. If I were you I'd experiment with branching out into a few new areas, just to see what happens. Maybe beaded Christmas tree ornaments?

I expected to sell childrenswear on Etsy. Little did I know how crowded THAT market is! It seems that every new mom who gets a sewing machine learns to make some cute kids clothes and then opens an Etsy shop!! None of my original items sold. So I did research and found other areas that are less saturated: custom -made-to-order, mother-daughter, plus sizes, girl-and-doll sets. I'm working on making samples to fill those categories..and every one of those ideas is something that can apply to jewelry! So, try offering customer-made to peoples' color requests....make some mother-daughter or daughter-doll (or mother-daughter-doll!) sets .... make a couple of plus size bracelets. Larger ladies hate it when their bracelets don't close easily!

Oh and I just listed some men's boxers today because I heard people in the teams say they couldn't find enough men's stuff to put in Christmas lists, so...how about some men's jewelry?

Try to find some areas where you can stand out, and not get lost in the merchandise crowd!

[Former_Member]

I found that joining promotion and treasury teams helped enormously with both views and sales. Couldn't hurt!

[LetterLuxe]

Great advice from Janet V. I'd echo everything she said.

I'd also consider adding more specific information about the product in your listings like size, type of material, etc.

Good luck!

[Former_Member]

Why thanks, Amanda!

Okay while glancing through Amanda's VERY fun shop, it hit me: baby jewelry, little girl jewelry, flower girl gift jewelry. Just like every baby needs to have a new room decorated with Amanda's letters, every little princess should have tiny sweet jewelry...even if you have to write a disclaimer that kids shouldn't be left alone with beads...don't worry because there are plenty of parents who would want them even just for taking photos! List a new child's piece each month, with that month's birthstone.

Even when money is tight, and the economy is uncertain, and people don't feel comfortable splurging on treats for themselves, people always buy for their kids, and people always need "new baby"/"baby shower" gifts. And mother's day gifts (how about custom mother's day jewelry with the birthstones of their kids?). And bridal jewelry, bridesmaids gifts, teacher gifts, graduation gifts, Sweet 16, quincineara, Bat Mitzvah....it's not "just" jewelry, it's a way to celebrate.

[Former_Member]

Okay, I'm just picking one item at random to talk about here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/114501777/beaded-bracelet-swarovski-crystal

Pictures: Okay, right off the bat, it looks like your main picture is a bit blurry to me. Try to clean up those pictures a little bit. Second, use all the photo spots. Show it from as many different angles as you can.

Titles: You're on the right track, but you need to keep in mind that the first 3 words of the title are the most important. If you're selling earrings, make sure 'earrings' is one of the first 3 words of the title. For this bracelet, you've done well there.

Descriptions: You're doing well on selling the item, but there are some grammar issues to clean up. Misspelled words, words that shouldn't be capitalized, etc. Things like that do matter to those shopping. Also, don't be afraid to put in back links! Add a link at the bottom of the description pointing people to the earrings that compliment the bracelet! It's a perfect way to boost traffic and sales.

Tags: Especially important for getting found in such a swamped section as Jewelry, you need to stay away from one word tags all together!! You're doing well on the number on this listing (you always want to use all 13!), but you need to make sure that you have the same keywords that make up your title in your tags. That's extremely important for SEO. Also, keep in mind that Google doesn't look at the tags, so make sure you work as many of the tags you come up with into your descriptions so that you can get traffic coming from Google and other search engines too!

And lastly, number of items in your shop: You only have 45 items right now. That's a very small number for such a saturated market. Work on raising that number to get more exposure. The more you have for sale, the more traffic you will get.

Hang in there, and keep at it! You'll get there!

[Former_Member]

I have seen alot of jewelry sellers having the same problem I think there must be so many jewelry shops that it is just really hard. Have you tried added some other venues to increase sales. It may be a bit more work but it may help

[Former_Member]

Hi Kellye
Fancy seeing you on the threads
Heehee

Sammie
Listen to Kellye
And find a good seo or crit team
Both your titles and tags need work in order to be found in jewelry

As far as promotion
Lots of folks like wanelo, Pinterest, twitter, Facebook
Start with one
And add others as you get your time managed

Good luck!

[Former_Member]

Hello Sammie,

I would HIGHLY recommend you go through Etsy's Handbook on "getting found on Search". You do not have any "keywords" on your store description under you banner and etc. This is important along other things.
I'm sure if you go through the entire handbook you will improve your store.
http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/the-seller-handbook/#getfound

Particularly download the 25 page offered by Etsy from the SEO company they hired, they will explain what changes you need to make.


This will help, keep hope!

[Former_Member]

When I look at your shop, the problem for me is that your pictures don't draw me in. I know, pictures are the last thing people want to hear about, but it's hard to make a sale if you don't catch someone's eye. I would work on clearer shots as well as some close ups. Also think about what create's interest.

I like this listing. I like how you added something with the flower but it doesn't distract from the bracelet.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/94430439/pandora-style-lampwork-bracelet

I also like this listing because the earrings stand out really well. The color pops and I can see the details.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/102281748/wire-wrap-dangle-earrings

Some pics are a little bright and some are a little dark, but that can easily be tweaked with some simple editing. I like using picmonkey for that.
Anyway, hope I helped a little and wish you luck! You have pretty pieces :)

[JustForGiggles]

I was just about to use the same listing of the wire-wrap dangles that Ashley did. That picture is divine and all of your pictures should be just as lovely. And, if I was just cruising through, I would assume by your prices that you're selling jewelry made with plastic beads and not cut glass & silver plated bits. sorries! Read this, Sunshine. Wrote it a while back and I don't feel like typing it again. & think about your target market while you do. http://www.etsy.com/teams/5002/etsy-success/discuss/11189655/ The assumption that a cheap pricetag reflects quality is a real thing :~/

Good luck!!!

[SelkieCrochet]

I'm just on my way back to bed but I don't think Pandora will thank you for tagging this with 'PANDORA' AND 'PANDORA BRACELET'

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94430439/pandora-style-lampwork-bracelet

I would personally be very very wary of using a tag like that unless you are using genuine Pandora beads - I'm sure they've contacted sellers on here about this in the past...you could get your shop closed down :(