Is my art not suitable for Etsy?

[Former_Member]

I recently celebrated 50 sales. That would have been impressive if I was on Etsy for a month or two while I have been around for 2 years.

Last March I completely changed the subject of my shop and started selling photography and my sales went up, so in the past 9 months I've had 34 sales.

Disappointing.

I have been working hard on improving my presence here:
- I have worked on my titles, descriptions and tags, I
- have blog,
- I tweet,
- I use Facebook and Google Plus.

By now I have 201 items in my shop in the price range $1,47 - $150.

I have been improving my titles, descriptions and tags and still sales are so low.

Are my prices to high? Is my art not good enough? Is it possible that my topic in photography is not suitable/attractive on Etsy?

What am I missing?

I feel so discouraged and disappointed with myself... Can anyone please let me know what they think, I really need a cold shower of truth.

Thank you.

[Former_Member]

I think it is hard to answer questions about why 'art" does or does not sale. Art is so personal so I really don't have an answer to that question. What I can say is that I LOVE your work. I think it is amazing!

Also I know you dont want to hear this but 34 sales is good in my eyes. There are a lot of people who would kill for that.;-) But I do know how you feel.

Have you tried getting exposure other way to improve sales, ex. art shows, your own website, blog, etc.

and I am not trying to be nice or spare your feelings...I really love your work

[Former_Member]

from one sonja to another, i too really love your work!!

there is soooo much on etsy, that its often hard to be found. and art is so subjective.
i like that you have incorporated your photos to necklaces.

maybe add cards? post cards / notecards.

keep trying. you create lovely images!

[PithAndRootStudio]

Hi Sonya. I've always loved your work and your blog. You and I are in the same boat, I think. I have been on Etsy for a little over a year and I've had 26 sales. At this rate, I will have about 50 at the two year mark - not nearly as good as I had hoped when I started. I've mulled this over and I've decided to try to raise my profile by submitting my work to more galleries and to network with more artists in the real world.

I'm realistic, though. Either way, it is very tough to make it as an artist. Most people don't even try or give up pretty early. The sad fact is that there is far more artwork out there than buyers. On Etsy, and everywhere else. I don't think you can take it personally, even though it's hard not to.

[NancyBags4U]

Hi Sonya,

I love your shop. I feel that I am still rather new to etsy, but if I may offer my opinion...I think your titles, although very detailed, may need a bit of clarity.

For example, the print for Jacob's Ladder...I am thinking that if I was looking for a print of this subject matter, I would probably look for Christian art rather than Jacob's Ladder. From what I understand, a search is found using the first three words of your title, so I would put a more general phrase at the beginning of your titles with the more descriptive details past that.

Your shop is beautiful!

[michellemach]

Are you getting enough views? In my experience, if something isn't getting views, I know I need to work on titles and tags (as well as outside marketing). If it is getting views, but not sales, then I know I need to look at something on the product page that may be stopping people--the photos, the description, price, etc.

I think your tags are pretty good, but they could be tweaked. For example, this listing:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/113231368/dandelion-picture-necklace-fine-art

The words that are in your title should also be in your tags. If you search the first three words of your title "dandelion picture necklace," you'll see 30+ listings (including yours), but if you search "dandelion necklace," you'll see 1,000+ items. You'll want to make sure that your item is in that second group to reach a larger audience. If it were my necklace, I would add "dandelion necklace," "dandelion pendant," and other specific terms to my tags.

Best of luck!

[Former_Member]

Your art is beautiful, I see alot of other sellers of picture art having a hard time selling I am not sure why if etsy just has alot of art sellers and not enough buyers but i would spread out sell not only just on etsy but other places and then keep at your marketing some times grass root marketing is the only way to get out there.

You are very talented it is not your shop/pictures

[Former_Member]

It is difficult to sell art on Etsy, but not impossible. There are many artists (including photographers) who are doing very well here, but for most of us it is an uphill climb. There is a great deal of competition, so in online venues like Etsy, art becomes much more a commodity than it is in the brick and mortar gallery world (which in turn affects the prices we can ask, and the amount of business we can expect).

There are lots of Etsy artists who would give their eyeteeth to make as many sales as you have, even though it doesn't seem like much. If you haven't reached your goals here, it is no reflection on the quality or appropriateness of your items (in fact, I think your work is lovely and very well suited to Etsy).

Continuing to work on your shop and continuing to promote it in any way possible is a good idea, and I would suggest branching out into other selling platforms, too, if you're not doing that already. The more venues you're using, the more people you will reach, and even if you only make a handful of sales through a given site, that may be plenty if you're selling in lots of different places. You might consider using a print-on-demand site like Fine Art America or RedBubble, for example.

Keep at it! Your work is beautiful, and Etsy is lucky to have you. :)

[Former_Member]

Suitable or not, your shop is one of best shops I've ever seen on Etsy up to date!

[Former_Member]

Your art is beautiful. Absolutely it is suitable for etsy.... or anywhere! I understand the discouragement... hang in there.

[Former_Member]

Your work is amazing.... work on your searchability. How many results do your keyword phrases in tags and titles get on Etsy? In Google? Where are you in the search results? How do you get your images to stand out? Test your keyword and see where you end up... try changing them and those in your titles to see if that changes where you are found.

Promote yourself as much as you can outside of Etsy... that helps too!