Advice / Tips for Slow Items

[JessicaR1017]

Hi Everyone!

My shop has been open for a little over a year and I'm happy with it's progress. However, my wreath sales are SO slow this year and I'm not sure what else to do. I've run promotions for 10% off and currently, 20% off and haven't gotten any sales from the promotions. Last year, my wreaths brought in the most money, but I'm worried it was because my shop was new and a lot of friends and family bought from me. Also, I suspect that the etsy wreath market is might be over-saturated. I'm not sure how to make my wreaths stand out.

I'm currently promoting/advertising through etsy. I've also experimented with pricing and still not much luck. Does anyone else have any advice or tips? And it's OK to tell me that maybe time and patience is the answer...

Thanks,
Jessica

[LeedsRadio]

Hi Jessica,

I also have experimented with price when I thought something should sell and I found, at least for the type of things I sell, that price does not play much of a role unless it's crazy high or low.

I've had items renewed 5 or even 6 times suddenly sell. You have to give the right customer an easy way to find you.

On the other hand, patience is fine but it has to be tempered with near-continuous action. It's likely that I moved slow items because kept increasing the number of items in the shop and constantly try to make my descriptions better.

[Former_Member]

Hi Jessica!

Your wreaths are very pretty and your pictures look great.

I'd think now would be a good time of year for people to buy wreaths.

Are you getting a lot of views for your wreaths?

I'm definitely not an expert - but I'd think the problem may be with your SEO rather than the wreaths themselves:

The first words you have on your wreath listings are "20% off coupon". If I'm looking for a wreath to purchase - I'm not going to search "20% off coupon". I'm going to search for "burlap wreath" or "spring wreath", or "front door wreath" or a specific holiday wreath...etc.


This wreath is gorgeous....but I'm not sure how I'd ever find it. "20% off coupon - Peach, White, and Green Peonies with Tulips - Ready to Ship" I don't think it would come up in any of the searches I would do.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/225819500/20-off-coupon-peach-white-and-green?ref=shop_home_active_14

Have you looked at Google AdWords? It will tell you what keywords do well for searches and will give you ideas of what to put on your titles. It's free. There are also groups on here that can help with SEO searches.

Like I said - you have beautiful items and your pictures are great. I think if you adjust the listing titles you'd probably see a big difference - and you may find you do well without having to discount your wreaths.

I hope that helps :D
Deanna

[JessicaR1017]

Thanks so much for the advice.

Richard - I was having better sales when I was adding more items. My problem is that I really don't want to add anymore wreaths at this point because they are expensive to make. But that is a great point.

Deanna - that is a GREAT tip. I just added the 20% off coupon last week as a way to get people to purchase, BUT my traffic has significantly declined and I'm pretty sure that's why. I will also check GoogleAdWords.

[BrushStrokeOrnaments]

Time and patience is NOT the answer. Your sales are low because you do not have a sufficient number of items in your store. I get that you may not want to invest in making pricey items....but you do need to find inventive ways of doing business.

First, how to get more listings. You sell just as many sign-related items as you do wreaths. Well, branch out and list more of signs/frames (which are likely easier to make and less costly). And find additional ways to list the items you do have. Could you take several of your pictures/wall hangings/frames and create a NEW listing with multiple items included in the listing (and offer a small discount since the customer will now be buying several of your items...upselling, in a sense). I've seen you do a bit of this with one of your picture frames. Maybe you can do even more. You also have a number of color variations for some of your frames. You might create more listings by offering a separate listing for each color. And what about more frame sizes? more color options? multiple sized frames in one listing? Your clip frames (which I love, by the way!) are to be set on a table...can you make an option (or a 2nd listing) to offer them as a wall hanging? Your nursery listings are great ideas...but expand the category.

And what about those burlap pumpkins? Don't just offer one listing (with multiple size offerings). Make 4 listings (small, med, large and one for the set). And then use slightly different titles and tags for each of the 4 listings. Make more pumpkins with a second color of burlap...or stamp/paint your burlap with polka dots...change out some ribbon... now you have a new look for the pumpkins. And more listings. Can you expand your burlap line? Pillows? Bags? What about the burlap home accent pack listing (a picture frame, a set of pumpkins, and a pillow, as just as example)? Ok, maybe I'm getting a bit carried away. :) But I'm just trying to get you to brainstorm a bit.
My ideas may not appeal....but I just want to start you thinking more about how you can have a larger presence - a larger store, in a sense, without a huge investment.

Your titles and tags need work; you are missing out on ways to be found. Check out similar successful sellers to see how they title and tag their items and modify accordingly!

Don't bother with the sales. They are typically are more trouble that they are worth. You've already indicated you haven't seen a sales OR traffic increase...so you've proven, at least at this point in time, they really aren't helping. I also wouldn't bother with the pay to promote/advertise thru etsy. I think your "advertisement" budget would be better spent on additional product and listing fees!

Good luck.

[JessicaR1017]

Thanks, Kelly. It's funny you...I actually had multiple listings for my frames and just decided to edit them down and remove some listings because some were being found way more than others. So I added multiple color options in one listing instead. I had nursery sets and individual listings...but the individual listings were getting much traffic, so I removed them. LOL Maybe I"m harming myself more than I realized!
I'm really at a loss with my titles and tags. I know my wreaths need work...but I felt like my other stuff was pretty good. Wow! You guys have certainly given me some food for thought. THANK YOU!

[StuckOnSilver]

Hi Jessica--you have had great sales since you launched your shop. Definitely lighten your photos so the colors pop!

Bev

[JessicaR1017]

I just wanted to thank everyone again for their feedback. I'm taking everyone's advice and have a lot of ideas for new listings...some already posted....and I've been working on my titles, tags, and descriptions. I've seen an improvement already in my SEO. Enjoy your weekend!

[michellemach]

When you look at your sales last year, were you selling a wreath steadily every week or did your sales clump together at certain times of the year? I've found that my own shop definitely has highs and lows depending upon the season. I still sell all year round, but the traffic and sales patterns definitely vary.

I think you've gotten some terrific advice from the team that should help your shop.

Love your "lost socks" laundry sign!

Michelle

[JessicaR1017]

Hi Michelle - I was definitely had my highs and my lows with my wreath sales last year...they were not steady at all. But I'm pretty sure now should be a "high sales" point. I'm thankful for the advice I got and am already seeing my stuff show up in searches more. :)