Done My Homework, Overhauled, Please Critique

[MariasWorkshop]

Hi everybody,

I have been working hard on my shop for the past two or three weeks! I gathered all the great advice on tags, relevancy, photos, etc., received, directly or indirectly, in this Forum and applied it to my shop.

My special thanks to DaintyChain for the great and generous advice I received from her regarding photography.

I started with macrame items, but I have many other styles to list. I have about 40 items pending. But, before I continue I would really appreciate it if you check me out and critique my shop. I changed my titles, my tags and my photos. Please help me out.

Thanks again for all the advice and incredibly good information the members of this Team provide. You guys rock!

[Former_Member]

Your products are nice, priced fairly and photograph well. The ONLY issue I potentially see is your titles. I have never in my life heard of micro macrame and would never search for those exact terms. Maybe change it to 'Leather knotted bracelet with macrame and glass beads' or something more commonly known. Know what I mean?

[MariasWorkshop]

Hi Tarren!

Thanks a lot for your comments. I thought nobody else was awake at this time!

Micro Macrame is becoming extremely popular - I just discovered it about three months ago. I used to do macrame in the good old days (plant pot holders, belts, etc.), but micro macrame is a little different in that it is done with much finer cords, including silk, leather, and C-Lon - hence the "micro" name. There are several books on micro macrame jewelry out and a lot of people are familiar with it. I do not usually get many views, but I would say that my shop stats show that about 50% of my very scanty views are searches for micro macrame.

That said, you gave me a great idea. I was a little stumped regarding the tags for those bracelets. I will now, in addition to micro macrame, include "leather knotted", and "knots" in my tags. Great idea. Thanks!

[Former_Member]

Welcome!

[Former_Member]

Yay! I'm so glad you're getting up and running! It's a little late for me right now (it's 1:56 California time) but I would love to give your shop a good look tomorrow! I can't wait!

EDIT well I couldn't wait and I had a quick look... Wonderful! I'm so happy for you! I agree with tarren that all of your items look great, and are priced well. I'll still take another look around tomorrow. Have a great night!

[MariasWorkshop]

DaintyChain

Thank you so much for everything. You have made a world of difference. I do not know if you can do it, but check my new photos v. the photos in my "sold" items section.

Thanks again.

[Former_Member]

Your shop looks great! I can really see the difference all your hard work has made. Tags and titles stump me too.

I do have a couple suggestions you might want to consider. Quite a few beaded bracelets similar to yours have tags or titles including cuff bracelets. While this isn't what I think of when I think of a cuff bracelet it might not hurt to go with the flow and throw that in if you're stumped.

I would look for alternate search terms especially in terms of color descriptions. Your lilac bracelet, which I like very much, btw, might also be called lavender or purple.

The last suggestion would be to go ahead and list what you've got ready with the best tags and titles you can think of, remembering that you can tweak them later if they're not working out. Since recency isn't as much of an issue as it used to be, better to have a nice selection than a lot of listings (and inventory) you're sitting on while waiting for inspiration.

Hope this helps.

--Carol

[MariasWorkshop]

Thank you so much Carol. Yes, your comments definitely help.

Maria

[Former_Member]

Your hard work has definitely paid off! Your photos are nice and crisp and they're good and bright too :) I was able to look at your new listings vs your sold listings and I can really see the difference!

You're doing a great job. Keep it up! :)

[MariasWorkshop]

Thank you so much DaintyChain!

Maria

[Former_Member]

This is what I see:

You have 7 bracelets that all start with "Micro Macrame Bracelet".

While you have the idea that the first three words are the most important, naming all your bracelets in this way is going to hurt your search results because Etsy search is going to think they're all the same thing. Switch it up a bit. Start one title with "Micro Macrame Bracelet" then try out "Knotted Violet Bracelet" "Turquoise Beaded Bracelet", etc etc.

And your two listings with "Message Beads", one says "Hope" the other is an awareness ribbon. I would call the one with the ribbon an Awareness Ribbon Bead, and the other one as a Hope Message Bead. If someone were looking for an Awareness ribbon or a Hope bracelet, they would never find your jewelry.

Make sure you're describing the colors used in each item in the title. Not just "red", but "firetruck red" or "brick red" etc. People search for specific colors for items, too! By excluding colors in titles, you're missing grabbing those people.

Also, don't forget the trick of making the first line in your description the exact same as your title. And follow it up by making sure your first three words are mirrored exactly in your tags (Like your Micro Macrame Bracelet should also be a tag as a phrase, along with "micro macrame" "macrame bracelet" and so on)

Your pics are lovely, keep up the good work there!

Hope I helped a bit! You have a good start.

Re-link back to your shop in each listing. This helps with Google SEO.

[MariasWorkshop]

To OrionOctober

"Also, don't forget the trick of making the first line in your description the exact same as your title. And follow it up by making sure your first three words are mirrored exactly in your tags (Like your Micro Macrame Bracelet should also be a tag as a phrase, along with "micro macrame" "macrame bracelet" and so on)"

=======================================================

Where could I find more information like the above? I have searched, and searched and in a short space you have provided so much more information than I have been able to find, and in a very clear way.

I really appreciate your comments.

Based on what I have learned, I thought I had a pretty good idea of how tagging and relevancy worked, but, obviously, I do not.

Again, thank you so much. Please come back and post if you think of something else. Your comments are invaluable.

Good night,

Maria

[Former_Member]

Hi Maria,
I would consider working on getting a more professional looking banner to help your shop stand out. There are many designers on etsy that do them very inexpensively.
All the bracelets look really great! The doll is the only random item in there that throws me off. Perhaps you are adding more when you add the 40 new items? If not I would consider just keeping the cool macrame jewelery the focus of your shop. Just my opinions, but I wish you the best of luck!!!

-Heather

[Former_Member]

Your shop looks very nice and inviting. For me the description is too long. I would suggest to give the important information about the item in the beginning
And the story follow after. Many buyers are browsing and they wan to know the facts first.

Good luck. You did a good job.

[MariasWorkshop]

ThePapyrusStalk

and

pachamamalove8

Thank you so much. I appreciate your comments and ideas. Yes, I was thinking about including a section for dolls. I am still having many doubts about mixing dolls, embroidered and knitted items, etc., (which is what I was going to, eventually, include in my shop), with jewelry. I have another shop in the making and I intended to sell supplies there (such as vintage Lucite beads, vintage doll related items, etc.). Maybe the dolls and other items will fit better there than in the jewelry shop.

Thanks again to both of you. I will put information about the items first and, if the viewer wants to read further, the reminder of the text will be available below.

Maria

[Former_Member]

I know about micro macrame too! In fact, I've made some very similar bracelets to yours, and a variety of other items too. There are none in my shop right now, because they didn't sell and I took them off... however, it's probably not the fault of the micro macrame because I'm having huge trouble getting my shop off the ground no matter what I sell or how much I ask. :(

I love your bracelets, and your shop looks great to me, but with my record, that might not be very helpful!

[Former_Member]

Actually I tell a lie, there are a couple of micro macrame bracelets in my shop!

[Shannybeebo]

I've been trying to read as many blogs, posts...anything that I can find as often as possible. I actually met a lady at a fabric store in my area who has a shop on Etsy. We have had lunch and shared ideas.

She made several suggestions....which I took to heart and changed several things. I changed pictures, tags, titles. I have a lot of people who favorite and put items in their Treasury list, but I would like to make more sales.

If anyone has a few minutes to cruise through my shop, please feel free and let me know what you think. I'm open for constructive criticism.

Thanks!
Shannon

[Former_Member]

Shannybeebo - someone told me once that it's a good idea to shuffle things around (using the 'rearrange my shop' option) so that similar items are grouped together. Your shop is full of interesting stuff, but it's all over the place. Maybe this would help you?

[MariasWorkshop]

JaySilver

Hi,

I lost track of this thread and just found it again. I checked your shop. You have really nice things. I saw your two macrame or micro macrame bracelets. Nice.

I sometimes get waves of inspiration and I just went through my micro macrame "wave". I made several bracelets - I have not finished entering them in my shop. When people see them in person, they like them very much. I have made several sales already. However, I am not having too much luck with them through my Etsy shop. I will just leave them there any way until the end of the Holiday season. I still have hopes.

Thanks for your comments on my shop.