Getting very Discouraged

[MyCreativeTable]

I totally feel I am doing all the right things but can't get even one sale! I am reading and watching all the etsy tutorals, doing treasuries and circles, joining and participating in teams, facebook, adding items nearly daily, search ads, etc. What else can I do? My husband is getting upset that I am spending all this money on supplies but getting nothing in return. What else can I do?

[Former_Member]

I'm by no means an expert but you might want to get a banner it helps give your shop a professional look. Some of you pictures are a little dark and out of focus. Photography is the hardest part of selling jewelry online and I have spent hours reading everything I could get and retaking hundred of pictures. I also have found that it seems when your starting out you really need some low end items, $3.50 to $5.00 to get people interested. I have a lot of inexpensive earrings and that's seems to be what sells the best. I use left over beads to make them so they really dont cost much to make. It's hard to get the first sale I know of where I speak but once it happens more will follow. You might want to try out participating in BNR or BNS those are buy and replace and buy and stay treasuries. I can send you details on how those work if need it.

[MyCreativeTable]

Sue, Thank you for your advice. I will definitely take your advice and do some more work on my photos. If you do have more info on the BNR and BNS would be great.

[NutmegNaturalsCT]

I'm also no expert, but my advice would be to join some more teams and be active in them. Perhaps join an Etsy team from your home state, and/or join some Etsy promotional groups. I have found those to be helpful for me. The more you participate, the more others will see you and check out your shop.

Also, your shop is very new. It does take some time to get the ball rolling. Like Sue said, once you get your first sale, others will follow.

Best of luck to you!

[MyCreativeTable]

Thanks Jennifer

[Ear2There]

Don't get discouraged! Hang tight. We're all in this together. :)

I agree with Sue on retaking a couple of the darker photos. One thing I wanted to add was make sure your tags and titles are more relevant!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/83780333/beautiful-blue-silver-clear-crystal

Try changing your titles so the first couple words (I think of first 3 words), are the words people search for. For example, in the above listing, instead of "Beautiful Blue Silver Clear...", try Blue Beaded Necklace, Seeded Blue Necklace, unique blue necklace, etcetc

Really try making your titles more relevant. As for tags, looking at the same listing, I would do the same thing. Make your tags a little more specific because with broad terms like "comfort" or "hook", people who are looking for blue necklaces, won't be able to find you!

Above all, don't get discouraged. This is a learning process and will get better the more you edit/add and advertise. Hang in there. :)

[MyCreativeTable]

Thank You Pegah...The tags have always confused me a bit. I will give it a whirl and try not to get discouraged.

[Former_Member]

Searches are based on titles and tags, and words such as "sparkling" and "beautiful" at the beginning of your title are not really helping you. You might also want to get rid of the hypens in your titles, or put a space before and after them so the search engine doesn't think they are part of a word.

Title your items the way a buyer would search for them. For instance, if I wanted a blue beaded necklace, I would search blue bead necklace, beaded necklace, crystal necklace, etc. I would NOT search autumn colors, beautiful blue or sparkling. I'd keep the keyword phrase intact (birthday card, greeting card) and not broken down into a single phrase (brithday greeting card) since search words based off of exact word matches. I'd put these keyword phrases in your tags.

For more hints, start typing into the search bar to see what popular search terms for jewelry are. For more advice, I'd read the excellent articles in the Etsy Seller Handbook. There is a full section on titles, tags and SEO. No matter how "relevant" you think you are, you are not. There's no such thing as a perfect shop. There's always one photo or one title that can be changed.

As for your photos, you've gotten some good advice above. As for you beaded foot accessories, I'd try different angles instead of straight on. I've seen some shops where they have the feet bent or mid-step which looks very elegant.

It's normal to feel frustrated adn discouraged. We all feel that way and we all struggle. It took me 3 months to figure this thing out and start getting a few sales. Good luck!

[Former_Member]

Having a picture of the item by itself (not a person half-smiling with some trees and a wheres-waldo for the item) as the first image might help too.

Also: jewelry is a very competitive field on Etsy. You might want to bring in your own customers by advertising off of Etsy as well.

[MyCreativeTable]

Thank you everyone for your input...I have a lot of work to do (and redo)...I will keep trucking along.

[Former_Member]

Hi Karen,
This is advice I was given about my shop but I think it applies to yours too, so I thought it may be of help

'Elaborate your shop announcement! Think keywords, tags etc. Its what google picks up on so u need to make it a priority'

Please don't get disheartened the sales will come, all new businesses take time and I don't think Etsy is any different. x

[Former_Member]

It takes a lot of patience and diligence, like Mackenzie said, jewelry is a very saturated market. Make sure you're doing off Etsy advertising and I agree having your first item (most of the time) as a picture of the item itself not on a person helps too.

I also heard not to put the word free in your shop announcement or in your titles and descriptions, somehow google kicks it in searches. Maybe use "complimentary shipping" or some different wording.

Also I recommend joining SASsy Critiques Team, they have a blog with step by step improvements for your shop to help drive your way to more sales and being found. Lots of really helpful info. And I have yet to have to ask a question about anything because their critique checklist is so thorough. Still working through it actually. :) And things are always changing, there's always some improvement that can be made.

Add a link back to your shop for sure, so people that don't know where that tiny little shop button is on the right can find their way back without any trouble.

Lastly I would just keep working on making more jewelry. More listings=more chances of being found and higher chance of making a sale. I think they say the magic number is around 100, you really are going to want to stock up before the holidays.

Best of luck to you Karen!

[MerkabaWarrior]

Im pretty new but have had sales. I think branding of your shop is needed. You need a logo (the name will do in a good font that suits you style) for your banner. Think of it as your shop sign.

Facebook and Twitter if new to you will take time to build a following and have an affect on sales.

I personally havent and will not be paying for ads as I dont think its needed for a new shop here. I think its best to see how you do first and later consider paid advertising.

I dont think your photos are to dark myself, id experiment with close ups as your main photo and see if they get more views/sales. What making changes you need to wait a few weeks to even see what the difference is if any.

Try some tags which describe the style or the person who would wear the items. Look at others who sell similar jewellery and do well and see what tags they use.

[Former_Member]

http://www.etsy.com/teams/7702/sassy-critiques

Sorry forgot to add the link to the critique team. :)

[Former_Member]

Doing a few BNR/BNSs is a good way to get a couple of sales against your store. These are Buy and Replace or Buy and Stay treasuries that people run as a social event. To find some just try searching for 'BNR' in the treasury search, and look for some that were created within the last few hours.

You usually 'get in' to a BNR by buying an item from a shop currently displayed. Once you verify that you bought something, an item from your store replaces the item from their store in the treasury. Usually lots of people try to promote a BNR, so being listed gives you exposure and a chance of being bought out yourself. Having an item for around $3 is usually a very good way of being bought out - getting you a sale for your store and hopefully some positive feedback! If you don't have the money to buy something to get in to a BNR, often the curator will give away free spots to people who bring the most visitors. BNRs are very soocial, and rather addictive if you have the time.
A BNS is exactly the same except it goes by rounds - once 16 people have bought something, a new round begins featuring those 16 shops. It means you can get multiple sales from buying in just once.

Hope that helps!

[Former_Member]

I would say be patient and don't overthink everything. It looks like to me you have been on for only a month so you should try not be discouraged. I also dont think there are any miracle answers to not getting sales. They will come eventually.

[LBlackbournJewelry]

Very good advice above. I think the most important is the titles and description advice though. Make sure the first 3 words of your title are what people would search for and therefore relevant, then repeat them in the beginning of your description. Good luck! Beautiful work!

[CatherinePicone]

Hi, You've gotten some really good advice. Plus, you've only had your shop open for a month! It takes time. I went for almost two months with only one sale, and it was depressing, but you really have to do what everyone else has already told you and just hang in there.

I love, love your bridal beach sandals. I got married on the beach and would have loved to have had them--where were you two years ago?? LOL. Hang in there!

[Former_Member]

Jewelry does seem to take some time. There are millions of pieces on Etsy. Take your time, work on your store appearance, tags and gAnalytics (to see where your viewers are finding you), and just keep promoting yourself. Etsy is fueled by self-promotion. Whether you take out Search Ads, or ads in other places, you've got to find your audience and pull them in.

Good luck to you! Your pieces are very good! ♥

[Former_Member]

Im the same, been here since April and had a mere 7 sales, I promote promote
promote and take part in discussions and treasuries?

[MyCreativeTable]

Oh wow everyone! Thank you so much for such encourageing words and more great advice. I was gone for about 1 1/2 hours to get an estimate on my car and come back to a lot of help. I spent my time waitng for my car editing (on paper) my listings so now I need to finalize them on my shop. You all are great!

[CutenCraftyDesigns]

Karen,

Don't be discouraged. Nobody said having a business was easy. It takes money to make money. You both just have to be patient. It takes a lot of time for anyone to make their business grow. I have had only four sales since when I opened my shop, but it doesn't mean I won't get more. I know that one day things will pick up for me, but I keep a positive mind and hope that my sales will be consistent one day. I'm not looking to sell my whole shop in one day, but a few sales a week would be satisfying. Anyway, keep your head up high and have faith in yourself and in your business and sooner or later, you will get a sale and then another and so on. In the meantime, aren't you making friends. Now that's more important than any sale. Don't you think? :)

Good Luck to you!