I'm looking for some constructive criticism/suggestions!

[Former_Member]

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesertOfRoses?ref=pr_shop_more

I'd really love to get some advice on getting more traffic through my shop. I feel like I've followed every tip I've heard (better pictures, using a variety of tags, and so on), but I'm still not getting very many hits and definitely no sales. If you were running my shop, what changes would you make?

[Former_Member]

I should probably add that I can already think of a few things that I want to change. Number 1 I know that I need a lot more listings and I'm aiming to add at least 5 a week until I get to 100 but I have limited money to get all of the products that I need. Also I want to change my profile picture to one of myself to make it more personal.

[Former_Member]

I know what you mean. I just completely redesigned my shop. I changed my pictures, my tags, my item titles, but I'm still not getting hardly any views. I've tried to follow every piece of advice I've been given.

I looked at your shop and it looks fine to me. I love the makeup you offer. It's really pretty! Your pictures are clear and show your products well, and your prices are good.

The only thing I would suggest is that you maybe add more information to you Shop Polices. When I buy something I like to know how it's going to be shipped, what service it usually used, when it might ship out, etc...

Other than that I love your shop. I love mineral makeup.

I hope things pick up for!

[Former_Member]

Thank you Sarah! I totally see what you mean about policies and I'm for sure going to work on that tomorrow morning! I'm also glad that you like the makeup! I'm a bit obsessed with it myself as well (I guess every seller should be obsessed with the product that they have created!).

[PaperFlora]

Hello Nicolette,
I went to your shop and this is what I noticed.

When listing an item think about it as a customer would. If I were looking for eye shadow or mineral make up, those are the words I would search for first, not the color.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/101076907/sapphire-natural-mineral-eye-shadow

I'd switch up some of your titles so they don't all start with a color.
Start some titles with the words
makeup
eyeshadow
vegan makeup
all natural makeup

that way you'll increase the search options.
How often or do you ever relist? I have found that if you don't add new items to your shop you should relist those that you already have listed.
I know it is a subject that people are either all for or all against. It has really worked for me.

[Former_Member]

Natalie,
Wow! Awesome advice with the switching up the titles! I hadn't thought of that. As far as relisting, I've been posting new pieces every couple of days and I regularly relist my items (especially if I have changed the photos). It's something that I am definitely all for! :)

[AllThingsAngelas]

Hey Nicolette,

I totally agree with Natalie, Your demographic is going to be the total vegan, Naturalist, Holistic, earth child, naturalist, purist, etc. type person.

More good examples for your title might also be, Pure, 100% Natural, Eco Green, etc. All of those pow words that wow that purist...I don't even wear makeup but for what your selling, there is a huge demographic group. You just have to find their niche words they use and then they'll pay top dollar as soon as you figure out how to market this...

Blessings,
Angie

[Former_Member]

Awesome! I actually need to check all of the micas and oxides that I use before I list them as vegan though because not all mineral makeup is actually vegan friendly (Which is unfortunate, because a lot of vegans buy mineral makeup that is not actually vegan and don't even know it). I think that all of my mineral's are, but I'm going to have to do some research first in order to ensure that I am not leading customers into something that they are ethically against. But you are 100% right about my demographic audience. I like a lot of your key words and I think that I can definitely use them. I've actually even thought about making some of my color names fall into that earthy sounding category.

[Former_Member]

P.S. Your lace envelopes are to die for!

[Former_Member]

Hi Nicolette!

I noticed that, except for the first one or two sentences, your descriptions are exactly the same- copy and paste is a no no for SEO in the first few sentences. I don't know exactly how many words it is, but if search engines like google find repeats in listings, it will ignore the info. Making your descriptions as different as possible should help. Use those first couple sentences to include lots of those POW words that Angela mentions.

Good luck to you! Your colors are fabulous!

[Former_Member]

As a buyer I would want to know what the actual ingredients are that are in each product. I have allergies and chemical sensitivities and would need to know that information. Just because something is natural or organic does not mean it could not cause allergies. Also, do you do any type of testing on your products? That would be helpful to know. Pictures are very good I think more detailed product information would help out with sales Barb. If anyone would look at my shop and critique I Would beso grateful, I am in a sales slump and do not know why except my pics seem dark. Thans

[Former_Member]

OH! I didn't realize that. The copy and paste thing was actually not something that I wanted to do, but when I first started listing I was overwhelmed. Thank you for that advice and I will change them up!

[Former_Member]

Barb, Thank you for mentioning that I need to add my ingredients. It was something that I remembered a couple of days ago but didn't write down so I never did it!

[AllThingsAngelas]

Hey,
Thanks Nicolette, I wish I could actually sell them..I have so many favorites but I need to sell,,,no what i mean....Thanks for the compliment though...I will actually be listing a few more.
Blessings,
Angie

[Former_Member]

They're gorgeous. I would buy a million of them if I was getting married this July instead of last!

[Former_Member]

Hi Barb,
I looked at your site & loved it. If I were to want eye shadow I would need to see it on someone. I'd want to see some simple face images showing how the colours wear. Using different models would help & it gives an opportunity to present styles of wearing make-up. This may be too difficult, but just a thought.
Good luck.

[Former_Member]

Allison, that is something I've given a lot of thought. One problem that I have is that most colors just shouldn't be worn alone. Would it work if I had more than one color on the lid of a model?

[DebbiesBusyBee]

As to cut and paste. I do that for the shipment, where the product comes from, etc.,anything that is the same on everything. It does save lots of time and not forgetting someting important you want to include. I make a document and copy then paste on the description part at the end. But I do agree with the others as to the first few sentences that would describe more specifically what you are offering, color, texture, size, or anything that makes it different from the others.

[Former_Member]

Thanks Debbie!

[Former_Member]

Would someone mind possibly looking at my shop and give me their opinion? I've recently redesigned the entire thing, but I'm still not getting many views.

[Former_Member]

Sarah,
In case anyone hasn't noticed, I'm a bit of a freak about good photography. What I can say about your pictures in your shop is that they are beautiful artistically, but when I look at them as something I would potentially buy I worry about the authenticity of the colors. If I was looking at a row of similar jewelry I may skip over yours. I wouldn't do so because I like it any less, I would just be a little worried about what the color actually looks like. Does that make sense? Your items are beautiful by the way!

[Former_Member]

I see what you mean. I did my best to represent the true colors of them, but I'm still trying to figure this whole photography thing out.

Thanks for taking a look!

[Former_Member]

Sarah,
What type of camera are you using? If you are using any sort of SLR camera I would suggest the books "Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Box Set" the books teach you everything you need to know about taking high quality photos!

[Former_Member]

Nicolette- I think it's absolutely fine to include a picture of your eyeshadow on a model even if she's wearing more than one color. As long as it's obvious there's more than one color at work! Also- maybe a smudge of the shadow on skin would suffice?

[Former_Member]

A lot of other sellers do the swatch on the skin. I think that I'm going to do that and also see if I can get some ladies together for makeovers using the shadows and then use them as models.