Feeling disheartened!

[Former_Member]

Hello everyone,

I am feeling rather disheartened!

My shop doesn't seem to be getting many views or generally sales. I have had a couple from friends/family/collegues.

I am trying to do what I can but its difficult whilst working full time too and I have also spent a lot on materials. I am just starting to feel that perhaps I am overpriced or there just isnt a market for what I am selling....or perhaps it's just not good enough to compete with some people on here.

Has anyone found it worth paying for the shop critique?

I am trying to add items but when I have to keep paying for more supplies and time it takes. Plus all my actual orders (from people I know) have been for custom items so I am still having to lay out money and then feel obliged to give people a discount!

Can anyone provide me with any advice?

Sorry for the rant!

Kindest regards, Rebecca x

[SugarAndPaint]

Hi Rebecca,
I don't think I have any great words of wisdom for you....

I went to your shop and your pillows are great! I would say your prices seem right to me too.

I think that items that have specific writing on them narrows down your target customer and you may have to wait a bit longer for that customer to come around. In the meantime, do whatever you can to get that item seen. I will try to include something of your in a treasury sometime soon.
Most of all though, you have only been open for a very short time. It takes time here for people to find you. The more items you have, the more chances you have of having that item that people are looking for.

Don't give up! Your items are really good!!!

[SnarkFactory]

I get a bunch of views, so I can help you with that!
Here's what I do:
1. follow all 1080 people on etsy
2. be active in promotion teams
3. be active on facebook
4. post everything to tumblr and set a click through link

I think your store is super cute! I know how you feel about friends and family wanting your stuff, I feel guilty that I want to make money from them so I practically give it away for free. I'm gonna stop doing that, it's not fair to me.

Your pictures could use a little work. I think many of them just need to be edited. On this picture, I brightened it, punched up the contrast a little, and then highlighted the background so it's a brighter white. All of this can be done at picmonkey.com and it took me only a few minutes! My example is a bit messy.
http://tinypic.com/r/25qsxkx/5

[Former_Member]

If you're not getting views you need look at your tags and titles first. The rule of thumb (which isn't 100% true, but it's still a good rule to follow) - is the first three words of your title are what people should be searching to find your product.

So I looked at this item :
http://www.etsy.com/listing/155837463/smile-vintage-camera-fabric-decorative?ref=shop_home_active

"Smile Vintage Camera" - that search is NOT what people looking for a cute pillow are going to be searching for! You need to rework all of your titles to be more effective. The thing to keep in mind though, is you don't want all of your titles to start out the same because google considers that spam. So vary the wording but make them more effectively searchable!

Next, your tags need to repeat whats in the title, plus some. And you should never have single word tags (not that I found any, I'm just saying) - and make sure that the tags are extrememly relevant to your item, and SEARCHABLE. Don't use cute or creative tags, stick to what people are searching for.

Finally - photos. I don't think your photos are bad. I do think a couple could be lightened up, but the thing that sticks out to me, is the inconsistent backgrounds. Some are on white - which is nice and clean, some are on white with a wood floor (which are my favorite) and some are on brick with a white floor (which seems too heavy and dark too me, but thats my opinion!) Figure out which you prefer and stick to it!

Make those changes and wait about 3 weeks - if you still aren't getting views or sales, try a price critique (there are lots of groups that do that). But don't pay for a shop critique - there are too many helpful and knowledgeable etsy sellers who are willing to give you the exact same advice for free. :)

Another tip - I like to search 'critiques' in the teams, and read them - they will all have the same advice in them, so just pretend people are saying those things about your shop and then apply their recommendations! It helped me amazingly! Goodluck!

[Former_Member]

Thank you all so much for the advice, I'll work on this and hopefully I will get some results. I really appreciate you all taking the time to have a look at my shop and reply to me! I feel better already with a little more direction!

Rebecca x

[ArtbySuzanneLaPierre]

Hi Rebecca,

Your shop looks great so don't be discouraged - you have only been open two months! It takes a long time to get established on Etsy. Take the good advice above but also have patience and let things bloom with time. I have been on Etsy over two years and consider my first year my "starter year."

Good luck & best wishes,
Suzanne

[Former_Member]

Rebecca,

I'd suggest that you work on your titles and your tags.

I've found that titles that are easily readable by a human are the ones that work the best.

When I'm writing titles, tags and descriptions I'll use the Shop Critique Check List at
etsymentors.blogspot.com/p/critique-your-own-shop.html

I also use it when I'm renewing.

Marketing plays a big part in getting found so it really helps to do your marketing outside of Etsy.

Adding people to your circle only shows them your favourites and not your shop so that's really not a viable marketing strategy at all.

If you are going to join promotions teams you can monitor in your stats just how many views come from them. I've found that I get about 1% of my views from promos within Etsy so its not really a great way to spend my time.

Just remember that Rome wasn't built in a day. It takes hard work to make your shop a success!

[PrairiePrimitives]

Rebecca, sorry you're feeling disheartened.

My suggestion would be to work on your SEO, starting with your Shop Title. 99.9% of what you have in your shop is PILLOWS, so use that word in your Shop Title rather than "home decor." Shop titles are important for SEO!

Then pay attention to the first 150 characters of your Shop Announcement. This is what shows up in Google and other search engines. Use those 150 characters to tell shoppers what you're selling! You don't even have the word "pillows" (or "home decor") in your Shop Announcement!

Work on your item titles. Are shoppers looking for a "beautiful blue" brooch ... or a "felt brooch?" Start typing these phrases into the Etsy search box. If they come up as suggested searches, Etsy says those are things that shoppers are currently looking for. And they're not currently looking for "beautiful blue" anything, sorry. What this means is that the most important search words should be at the beginning of your item title. :-)

And there's more. CrochetGal has some good suggestions!