Brutal honesty, only, please

[Former_Member]

Hi Team Etsy Success

I absolutely LOVE the things I make and love that my co-workers will buy the pieces that I wear. I am quite down about the fact that I have only had one sale in my etsy shop in the (almost) year that I have had my shop.

My shop needs help. I will be starting my maternity leave with my second child in October and I want nothing more than to be able to stay home with my babies and creating and selling the pieces I love making and wearing.

So, fellow team members, please provide me with your honest feedback (don't hold back!).

Thank you in advance for your help!

Danielle

[Former_Member]

Hi! The first thing I checked was your circles....you don't have any! Start networking through adding people to your circle and see the results! You will get more people adding you to their circle, which others will see and they will add you....before you know it, others will favorite your items and your shop and you are on your way. Your activity button is something to check everyday and click away!

[aeliosdesign]

Hello!
Really cute stuff!
The first thing I would do is fix the grammar error in your shop announcement ( will added).
I would also try to get some better photos. You'll see people talking about light boxes often, and you can easily build one out of a cardboard box, but I take all of my photos outside in natural light.
I found it's worked for my photography, but I'm not far ahead of you with sales...
Good luck to both of us! :)
~Kat

[IslandPicnic]

You have nice things, I think you could be very successful. Here's what my advice would be - work on your photos. The backgrounds on some of the items, like the jewelry pices with leaves in the background, can be very distracting. Try using a more consistent background throughout for a better overall "look."

Also, make sure your lighting is good. Change the white balance on your camera to whatever light source you're using - daylight, incandescent, etc. The pics of bracelets on a wrist are very yellow, and white balance should correct that.

Finally, I'd say to add more items to your shop. I read yesterday a thread where someone got up to 25 items in their shop and their views and favorites really took off. Apparently 25 is the "magic" number!

Good luck, I know what it's like to want to stay home with the kiddos and make Etsy your full-time job. I'm trying to do that myself. You can do it! :)

[Former_Member]

Forgot to tell you that I like your things! Especially the postcard necklace! When I favorite it, others in my circle will see it and maybe check out your shop! Good luck!

[Former_Member]

I think you have a lot of potential! I'm suprised that you've only had one sale! But after reading the other posts I'd have to agree with all of them. I think a little better pictures and more items! Also for me I've noticed that relisting my items a few times a day has really helped in my views, favorites, and sales.

Good luck! :)

[Former_Member]

so i like your shop banner. it is lovely and sparse, allowing the customer to pay attention to your products. but your photos are not too good. i understand the frustrations of not owning a 6,000 dollar camera, i am with you in that boat. but good pictures are really important. natural lighting is best. using zooming in features makes worse quality pictures. just play around with your camera, and maybe invest in a new one (expensive, i know). sony slr cameras are good, as are canon rebels.

good luck! if you improve your pictures and study the art of tagging you will do well.

[EvesLittleEarthlings]

What you have in your shop is lovely. Adding more items will help. I think a plain backdrop would help you get into more treasuries. I renew or add 3 items daily to keep my shop in searches.

[Former_Member]

Thank you for the tips, everyone! Better pictures, more items, better tagging, network. Looks like my hubby has a wee construction project on his hands. A light box!

Awesome tips!

[Former_Member]

You do have lovely items! I agree- your photos of the items need to improve. The jewelry on the hands and wrists is taken with poor lighting and I can't see the product as well. A simpler background would help them : ) Go to etsy's home page, then click search and look at your fellow jewelry sellers for ideas on how you'd like your shop to look. : ) Best of luck to you!

[JewelrybyKathyMattes]

I am struggling with similar issues, and am happy to provide my thoughts, based on what I am doing with my shop:

I love the items you have listed, but there are not very many, and they are quite varied in type. Your shop does not seem to have a specialty, which I think helps in terms of gaining customer confidence. Most of your photos are good, but there are a few that you shoudl re-do (the red-toned ones in particular).

Hang in there - keep creating and hopefully your shop will catch on.

[Former_Member]

I agree with everyone about the photos. Your probably sick of hearing it but I thought I would put in my 2 cents. I really like the photo you used for your avatar. I think you should go more in that direction when redoing your pics. The greyish rock background is really good for showing off your most vibrant pieces.

Best of luck to you!

[Former_Member]

Definitely work on those photos, paying special attention to lighting, and background. One thing to keep in mind is that most people shop using the thumbnail sized pictures, and I noticed that with some of your items you can't tell what your selling because the background is so busy. Stick with simple and neutral, but experiment too. For example, with your white stitch markers vs your other stitch markers, the same background may not work. Play around, find what works for you and your style, and run with it.

Also, one more thing, with the new "about this item" section, be careful assigning a specific occasion to it (the postcard necklace for a birthday), as that may limit the search results (personally, I would love it for my anniversary, since it says "I love you").

Best of luck!

[WildWildernessPhotos]

HI there
I would agree with what others have said so far. Bright, clear, non-busy photos usually look the best. If you are selling jewelry for example, several photos is key, including a close up.

You definitely need to fill out your shop policies. People may not trust buying from you when they see a blank page.

Network! Add people to your circles, participate in forums, create treasuries etc. Create a Facebook page, twitter acct. blog etc if you are able to.

[WildWildernessPhotos]

Oh and make sure you use all of your tag words, I noticed you only had maybe 5 used. This helps people find your item.

[Former_Member]

I'll comment on a few things that the other responses have not covered. Please learn about SEO (search engine optimization) and work on putting key words into your shop description - the text under your banner and under your shop name. What makes you unique and why should someone buy from you and not one of the other thousands of other jewelry stores on Etsy? Once you figure out what you are best at and why your shop is different find those words and use them repeatedly in the first ten words of your shop description and all your item descriptions.

Regarding item descriptions - remember that customers cannot touch your items. You need to figure out how to describe each item so that a potential customer knows exactly what it is. What kind of bead to you use, is it real stone, how is it cut, what wire do you use, is it stainless steel - some people have allergic reactions to metals, what is your inspiration for your design, tell a personal story related to the design.

Look at some of the other successful jewelry sellers on Etsy and see how they do it.

There is so much to learn - I know I have just scratched the surface myself. You have to figure out how to get people to your shop and then get them to stay and buy. It isn't easy but you will only succeed if you work at it daily and promote within and outside of the Etsy site.

Best of luck, Babs

[Former_Member]

I just found this article/blog on another thread. It is full of great advice.

http://etsymentors.blogspot.com/p/critique-your-own-shop.html

[SherryKayDesigns]

Hi Danielle,

Your jewelry is lovely & to be honest, I don't know why it isn't selling. It's very reasonably priced. I've read some of the other comments and I have to agree with the ones about improving your photos. Believe me, I know this is easier said than done. I'm constantly trying to impove mine, but I feel it's the most important part of having a shop. I love this one and it really drew me in to take a closer look:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/78803618/postcard-for-jenn-necklace

Also, I agree about adding more shops to your circle and networking with other shops. I feel most of my sales have come from doing just that. Plus, you get to meet alot of wonderful people and they get to see what all you have to offer in your shop. Listing more items will definitely help bring more people to your shop, too. If you don't have any new items to list, relist an item every once in awhile. It will help keep your items up in front of the pack. I hope some of this helps & best of luck to you.

P.S. Congrats on your upcoming birth and what a blessing. Take care.

[Former_Member]

You have nice things but you don't have much of it. I also think the photography could use some help. They might not "pop" next to other people's pictures

[Former_Member]

Here's a bit about SEO that I've learned lately.

Titles:
Word 1: what is the item (bracelet, ring, necklace, etc)
Next phrase: other words describing the item (colours, other adjectives)
Last phrase: "by [your shop name]"

Tags:
-Use all of them!
-Some great tags: the colours of the item, the materials you used
-Think about what shoppers will type in the search box when they are browsing.

The first line of your shop announcement should be a description of what you create. Same with the phrase that is underneath your bold username on the top left of your shop. The phrase that is underneath your username is what will show up on the tab on the top of the internet window (for example, the title of this window is "Brutal honesty, only, please")

You also should put in shop policies. There are a lot of people who will see no policies, and walk out of the shop. Buyers need to know your policies on shipping, refunds, returns, customer service, etc.

Photos: Try to use all five photo slots. Since buyers can only see pictures of your items, and not hold them, they need to be able to see as much of your items as possible.

I would like to see a little more about you in your profile too. What makes you want to create? How did you start? People want to know more about you, and they look to your profile for that information.

Also try to add more inventory. I know that is very time consuming, but it's worth it in the end. The more items you have, the more chances that people have to click on your shop!

I hope these ideas help, and I hope I haven't babbled too much! :)

Good luck!
-Shirley

[Former_Member]

I got my shop policies from another shop who offered that I could cut/paste them to my shop. I did this and just changed the specific information to suit my needs. You may copy my policies to get you started! Also, I will add you to my circle and your items will be seen out and about. It can be a lot of work, but it's on your time and with a new baby - it will be your contact to the outside world! Sara

[Former_Member]

I will just use one example, your stitch markers are a really nice item that many of us could use, but you really can't see them in the pictures due to the busy background. Try using a white background and use all 5 pictures that you are allowed. Use one picture actually showing the marker being used in a project. Believe me I am still trying to improve my pictures, just be patient and put in the hard work it takes, I think you will do find. Join teams, make treasuries, basically socialize when you have time

[Former_Member]

I love your shop. Your banner is very clean and very representational of what you make. I would definitely try taking new photos and also change your categories. Instead of store just put "Baby"...etc.

Good luck to you. I'm in the same boat.

[MuseSilkPaintings]

Love your banner, but you can't tell what you sell just by looking at it
pictures need more light, and less distracting backgrounds
avi needs to change to be consistent with your banner

[BrideinBloomWeddings]

I agree with all of the above, I had my shop for about 8 month without a sale, but once I improved pictures, tags, titles and policies. things have picked up. Also re-list a couple times a day.

All the best :)