How do you get so many views?

[Former_Member]

I have heard about so many Etsy sellers who have an average of hundreds of views each day. We opened our shop on June 27 and so far have had 979 views (combining listing views and shop views). Our highest views was our 4th day with 155 shop views and 107 listing views. Some times there are days we have more than 30 views and other days we barely past 15 views. So I'm asking the question I'm sure a lot of others are wondering......

How do you get so many views?


-- Thanks,
Zita

[Former_Member]

I would also like to know this! I opened up around June 30 and the most views I've gotten on a good day was around 83.

From what I've heard, the more items you list, the more chance you have of someone coming across your stuff. I'm trying to follow that logic and see what happens.

[Former_Member]

I'm pretty much in the same boat!
Yesterday I had a whole 2 views, which I think it's the worst I've ever done. This is my worst month yet! I haven't had a single sale.
I don't know what to do.

[MacGregorArt]

I'd love to hear more responses - I've never had anywhere near the numbers of views you mention

[Former_Member]

I've been here for a year and a week, and my usual views are about 30. I guess I have some work to do, just don't know what. :/

[Former_Member]

I have found that Twitter has brought in a few views (only when I am proactive) I Tweet a listing and because I like to RT others listings, people RT when I tweet an item. Learning to find people to follow and gain followers has been a challenge, find bloggers and other Etsy artists.

I was listed in the Etsy Success article yesterday and my views SOARED. I received more views in 4 hours than I had received for the entire year of 2012. So put yourself out there, post at every opportunity that is available.

For a long time I relyed on Etsy bringing in my traffic. Now I know that if I want views and sales I need to put my name out there and be proactive.

[Former_Member]

If I furiously promote my stuff on other sites, like facebook, twitter and deviant art, I get much more views. If I get lazy and don't do any promotion, I get like 15 views.

I haven't gotten any sales, though :/

[Former_Member]

Filling your shop will help entice people to stay and browse your shop also.

[Former_Member]

I think my record for views in one day is like 49. Lacking sales too. Not sure what to do.

[MorganRalstonArt]

To get views it takes a lot of external social media and Etsy driven communication. VIEWS are a totally different animal from SALES... which is what we all should be really focusing on.

For views you need to have a Twitter account, a Facebook page, post on Wanelo, Pinterest, Tumblr, StumbleUpon, there's literally dozens of external sites that offer this sort of support. You'll see some of the shop owners on here talking about having 400 views+ this is why. Check out their circle numbers, twitter and facebook... one of those numbers is bound to be around the same as the number they mention they get for views.

Internally you need to get into as many circle on Etsy as possible. Find other shop owners who sell similar products and add them to your circle. Don't be shy! Involve yourself in as many discussions as possible. Don't just ask for advice/help, offer some! Even if you have little to no experience (I've been on here for maybe a month longer May 22nd) Get the internal people talking about and looking at you and your product!

It also helps to read as much as you can about shop improvements. It's the little things like... In 'Your Shop' under 'Info and Appearance' you have two things; one called 'Shop Name' and the other 'Shop Title'. For your 'Shop Title' don't just repeat your 'Shop Name'. This is to use key words (but not keywords) to describe what it is you offer in your shop.

Example; My 'Shop Name' is 'MorganRalstonArt', but my 'Shop Title' is 'Original, Acrylic Fine Art Paintings and Giclee Prints'. It's little things like knowing this that make all the difference. Also... tweak those tags words! Don't use single words, use phrases that you know people will be using during a search. Example; if you're selling a summer dress don't use one tag word for each of the two words, one tag is "summer dress", even "red summer dress" if it fits (I think there's a max character limit of 20).

All of this seems like a lot of work and it is! But you're running a business and you can't expect it not to be a lot of work. Try all this and keep at it and you'll start to see things paying off in no time.

[Davs]

Good advice Morgan! :)

[MorganRalstonArt]

Love your paintings, Sarah! :)

[Former_Member]

i have found it all depends on how much time you put into your shop. When I spend time posting on all of my different team threads I get more views. I particiapte in the various games...
"Fave the five items above yours"
"pick your favorite item above"
"like the facebook page above yours"
There are alot of games out there in alot of teams. A few weeks ago I spent about an hour and day for 3 days playing all these games and I had 4 sales. It seems like you get out what you put in.
Also it's been said 100 items is the "magic" number to have in your shop. Last year I got to 78 and had a bunch of sales.
Good Luck Everyone!

[Former_Member]

Concentrate on sales and not views. The large number of views will make you FEEL like you are doing something. (it is a nice feeling) But, sales means you ARE doing something. (an even better feeling)

My views are low compared to the ones you are all talking about too. Yet, I do fine.

[Former_Member]

Morgan your the best.

[MorganRalstonArt]

Hehe, thanks *blushing*.

[Former_Member]

Really helpful advice Morgan,thanks!

[ArtifactsEtCetera]

It's probably a good idea to remember that views are not the same as sales. I get a spike in my views on days when I am active in the forums, but they don't really "count" because it's mostly other sellers in here that just took a peek in my shop because they were curious (or wanted to see if they had any suggestions for me... or wanted to see if I was someone whose advice was worth taking, etc).

The real key is to get the RIGHT views... views from someone who might want to buy what you have to offer. I've been getting an average of about 300 views a day... mostly from "my shop" and "my listings" (as opposed to search etc) so that means that once someone finds my shop, they tend to stick around for awhile. This indicates that they might actually be interested in my work.

To do this, make sure that you have enough items that they have something to look at once they're in your shop. More items also increases the chance that someone will discover you as they browse through the categories or search results.

Then, include a link to somewhere else in your shop (a coordinating item, a shop section, or your shop home) in every listing. This makes it easy for customers to see that you have other things they might like and makes it convenient for them to get there without any effort.

Best of luck!

[Former_Member]

First and foremost, have a lot of items. If you only have a dozen items, it stands to reason that you'll have a lot fewer views than someone with a hundred listings.

Other than that, Morgan's advice is all really good. Be present with your shop. Use the social media sites, but don't just relentlessly tweet/fb/pin your items. Interact with your customer base. Engage people on a personal level. Join some teams. They'll help you promote, casting a wider net than you could alone.

Make treasuries. Each treasury you make exposes you to, at a minimum, 16 other shops and often, they'll return the favor.

Blog. Post in forums. Find the ways you're most comfortable promoting and use them relentlessly.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for all the advice!

I agree with Karen on getting the RIGHT kind of views because I know for a fact, I haven't been getting those. Even when playing games like "fav the item above yours" in the forums, people are only faving your item because they want other people to fav THEIR items.

It makes me sad when I look through the teams section and see that all of the discussions are full of "PROMOTE YOUR ITEMS" and it just involves people spamming their items over and over with no intention of looking at other people's items.

But I digress..

[Former_Member]

Although I continue to have insufficient views to reach the sales level I would like, these are some of things I have done to increase views:

+improved my titles, tags and item descriptions based upon Etsy relevancy and Google SEO (search engine optimization)
+made sure that the info under my shop name states what I sell (this is picked up by Google)
+focused (and continue to do so) on adding items to my shop (Let's face it if you went into a store and there were a few items, you wouldn't stay long) This has been one of the most effective steps I took.
+once I had several sales, I requested that Etsy syndicate my shop. As best I can describe it, Etsy sends a data feed to various shopping sites, such as Google Shopping. But you really need to make sure that you meet Google's seo. (All of my items didn't load and so now I need to figure out what is wrong with the ones that didn't load.)
+I have a neglected blog but still I get a little traffic from it.
+I use to have a FB business page but am happily liberated from it (closed it); I continue to twitter but not so much. Social networking works well for a lot of people, just not me. So my goal is to find other avenues.

Get your shop critiqued or you can do it your self http://etsymentors.blogspot.com/p/critique-your-own-shop.html (This team was a great help for me. I started making changes in January and finally started getting sales.)

Check out other shops both in your area and other areas. I think you will find that those who are doing well have 1) been on Etsy for 2+ years and 2) have a large inventory.

Get use to tweaking your shop to, making improvements as you learn more about selling on Etsy and the internet in general.

Here's a link to a list of possible places to list: http://www.etsy.com/teams/8819/make-my-etsy-techy/discuss/9164044/

This is just a few things that can be done.

Good luck

[Former_Member]

Thanks for all the great advice, you guys are just so great to take time to do this for someone else!

[Former_Member]

fabulous advice from everyone above! thank you everyone for contributing to this thread!

[Former_Member]

@Annliee

"+once I had several sales, I requested that Etsy syndicate my shop. As best I can describe it, Etsy sends a data feed to various shopping sites, such as Google Shopping. But you really need to make sure that you meet Google's seo. (All of my items didn't load and so now I need to figure out what is wrong with the ones that didn't load.)"

How did you do this?

[LisasCottage]

Getting more business reminds me of the advice I got from a dear friend when I was single and pouting that I wasn't meeting anyone. He said, "Lisa, you're a great catch but all the nice guys out there aren't going to come knock on your door and say Hey, I heard you're a great catch! You have to get OUT THERE and PROMOTE yourself!" Ha Ha!

So, I'm happily married now in case you were wondering if that worked or not!

You took the first step in increasing your sales by asking for help and from the posts above, you've gotten some great tips (thanks Morgan and Ansliee for your comprehensive tips!). I will add to that, find a particular seller you like and watch them closely to see what they do. Great sellers usually don't like to give out their secrets but just pick one who is similar to your shop and google them. See where they are posting and blogging and tweeting and facebooking, etc. You don't have to reinvent the wheel, just figure out how the others did!

I don't have a lot of views but I have consistent sales. And as soon as I close one of my "real" shops, I'll have more time to sell here and promote, etc.

But also remember to also CREATE TREASURIES! Not only does that expose you to the 16 people who (hopefully) will reciprocate, but it also gives you the chance to get on the front page which will also grant you exposure like crazy.

It doesn't happen if you don't work at it.