Lots of visits, only 3 sales - what gives?

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone. I am excited to have joined this lovely team.

I am looking for some constructive criticism or advice about how long it can take to get into a good sales groove.

I have had a few sales and prior to Etsy I was selling direct to customers. Everyone that has my products loves them. I completely believe in them and use mine every single day.

Please take a look at my store - Kangaroo Baby - and let me know what you think is holding me back.

Thank you all for any advice you can give.

Wendy

[Former_Member]

Wendy-
Your quality looks great. Very professional.

You might try taking some photos from further away. I had a hard time telling what the WHOLE item looked like.

Also, I am not a mom so I could not compare prices. Try comparing the prices of items look yours to your prices on etsy. I search for my item then sort highest to lowest or lowest to highest and find the middle page. Are you above or below that mark and why? You might be above for good reason or below but you want to be able to market yourself competatively.

Erin

[Former_Member]

Thank you Erin. Very helpful perspective both on images and pricing.
Thank you for taking the time!

Wendy

[KelleenKreations]

I have been on etsy for over a year & most of my sales have been from friends. I'm just getting other people to purchase my items. It just takes a while when there are so many people on here. Might also want to try joining a few more teams. Try joining this team- http://www.etsy.com/teams/13578/we-have-your-back.

[RadicalWorks]

You need lots of views before you get lots of sales.

I used to get a sale every 2,000 views. Now it's every 1,000 views. It's probably just the holiday season, but it will certainly pick up for those who take advantage of this time of year. :)

[LeLaStudio]

At least you're getting views, I got less views compare to summer. No views equal no sales. You have great products..Stay positive, I'm sure you will get a lot of sales by the end of this year. Good luck to you!

[Former_Member]

Thank you so much everyone. You are all very encouraging!
I will spruce up my photos!!

[Former_Member]

Stay positive! You just opened your shop and the success of a shop doesn't happen overnight... Sometimes even after 400+ I still get in ruts. You are doing great so far!

[Former_Member]

Three sales is not bad for just opening. It takes time and lots of listings and more time and lots of promoting and more time. I think you get the picture. But your items are great and eventually you will get the sales you want. You just have to promote outside of Etsy. Stay away from their ads. They cost you money you can't afford to lose without giving you much more than a few views if you are lucky.

[Former_Member]

I promote my Etsy shop on a number of social networking sites. I created a Facebook page, I'm on Twitter and my personal style blog I had before I started helped me a whole lot.

I also renew my items on a daily basis to push them to the top of the category since new items are listed daily. It does cost $.20 for each time you renew an item, but it helps generate traffic. If it results in just one person that favorites your item...then it was worth it. Try it out! You'll also pick up on what times are best to renew items (when people spend the most time online...whether it's in the morning, afternoon and evening). Every aspect matters.

[Former_Member]

Wendy, it does take a couple of months (usually) to get "established" and see your views steadily increase. You can move things faster by adding new items regularly, renewing items to keep them in the "recently listed" spots, promote through blogs,FB, Wanelo, Pinterest, Tumblr, twitter....plus constantly doing research on what tags and descriptions seem to be bringing you views. Always check your "Shop Stats" to see which keywords are working for you, and add them to other listings as appropriate.

For example, alot of your items seem to be perfect for dads....maybe you could uses tags like "new dad gift", "fathers day gift", "dad diaper set"...two-word tags are much better for matching what people are searching for , than one-word tags.

However, the items which have sold for you were not the "modern/sleek" look, they were more traditional....maybe you need to keep posting those styles as well. Many sellers say they are surprised by what sells, and end up changing their assortment from what they originally expected to sell the best.

[Former_Member]

You have success.. You've been here for about a month with 3 sales. That is pretty awesome.

As a person who has lots of views and few sales, I will say that you just have to keep on plugging away. Finding your audience is key. Personally, I do not have children and most of the gifts I need to get for mommies to be have been purchased already. Use Facebook, Twitter, pintrest or even visit message boards with mommies and stuff to try to tap into your audience!

[Former_Member]

Wendy, I just figured this out: your stuff does not have the word "diaper" in the titles or descriptions, and in the new Etsy "browse" system, DIAPERING is one of the categories under INFANTS AND TODDLERS.

Try changing a couple of items to use the word "diapering" in the titles/descriptions, see if they get more views (when experimenting like this, do NOT change all items at once or else you can't tell what's working/not working)

[Former_Member]

Thanks so much for all the great feedback. I can't believe I didnt have diaper in the title of the On the Go Kit. Thanks for that! I will change those all today.

I really appreciate everyone taking the time to look at my shop.

Wendy

[Former_Member]

I am also new to Etsy with only one sale. It is very frustrating, but it is comforting to know that I'm not alone and there is hope.

[Former_Member]

I do not know if someone would search butt pad would it not be changing pad I would market to young married people as those are the people having the babies.

[KondooWoolArt]

@@@Amelia ...and how you can get 2000 !!! views Is there a secret???

[Former_Member]

Charley, I agree...I will make changing pad up front in the titles.
Thanks everyone again for the feedback.