Money & Promoting..

[Former_Member]

Hello Lovelies,

I have been doing wanelo, twitter, facebook, stumbleupon, etsysaver, etsylush, pinterest, etc. I am getting nowhere! It's ever so frustrating. I need the income bad. I'm spending more to support my etsy than I'm making.

On top of that, yesterday on twitter a woman cussed me and some other shops out saying our stuff was garbage and this is the exact words used "Keep your garbage in New York in Brooklyn where it belongs maybe as a wall hanging on Etsy's executive office door"

So I feel crummy, and the more I look at my items the more I feel she's right. Nothing's pulling through for me. I'm getting 10-25 views a day.. I don't feel anyone wants my stuff. They're all wonderful to me. It's something I would buy. I put full effort into everything I make.

Okay, I think I've ranted long enough. Sorry for making you guys read so much!

-Sarah

[TinTeddy]

I believe you need to have your parent/guardians details on your account because you are under 18.

http://www.etsy.com/help/article/127

I think this also means you can't post on the forums.. I may be reading that bit wrong though.

[Former_Member]

I'm 19. I turned 19 April 4th. Thanks for the info though!

[TinTeddy]

It said you were 17 on your profile - that is what i was going on.

[Former_Member]

Oh. I had copied that off one of my personal social sites, which hadn't been updated ever. Lol, thank you for bringing that to my attention!

[Former_Member]

Don't worry about about what that women said, maybe she had a bad day or somethimg.
Your shop looks lovely, just keep ading new things and don't lose hope :)

[Former_Member]

Definitely look at updating your profile. The person who wrote that seems so different than the person writing on here (obviously you're the same, just saying your writing style has changed... for the better).

Your items are all cute, bright and cheery! There are a few things you may want to work on that will help increase views. I really like these earrings, so I'll use this listing as an example...
http://www.etsy.com/listing/96815731/teardrop-earrings-studs-polymer-clay

Your photos here are okay, but they're not going to help you stand out in a search. Maybe iron the fabric you're using, or opt for a piece of poster board or something. It looks like you're shooting in natural light, so that's good. You might also want to take those photos into a basic image editor like picasa and brighten them up a bit. Also, you're only using a couple of your photo positions, you paid for 5, use them! Take a picture with them on a model or next to a familiar item for scale, or maybe a picture of how they're packaged for shipment.

The description is very short. How big are these? What type of metal do you use for the posts? How are the posts secured? What is your turnaround time like? These are all questions people have in their minds when going to buy. I would really suggest checking out some of the other jewelers' shops in this team for some good item description examples.

And finally, your tags look good, but your title is short. Add some of those descriptions in your tags up in your title. Fill that puppy up!! That is going to help you get in the first few pages of a "blue polymer clay earrings" search (assuming you use that phrase in both your tags and titles).

I hope all that helps. Keep your head up, let the naysayers worry about what's in the dirt.

[threestonebirds]

First of all, that woman sounds like a jerk and if that's all she has to say you can immediately disregard it. A comment like that doesn't deserve your time or worry.

You say you're looking at outside promotion. That's good. Have you tried your local community, getting any interest through friends or family, people with kids, perhaps putting up cards or flyers at your local post office for to generate interest?

My advice is to work on your photos. Your cloth background isn't doing you any favors right now, so maybe try investing in some nice cardstock. No wrinkles that way. Try to get good lighting as well - which can be troublesome, I know (it rains a lot here) - and if you can't get it naturally invest in a good lightbulb. I got a natural light one from a friend and it's just what I needed. Pictures almost always come out too dark so you'll have to lighten them up with something like GIMP by playing around with the levels.

You need to improve your SEO through your titles and keywords. Your yellow heart earrings, for example, could be titled [Heart Stud Earrings, Tie Dye Earrings, Polymer Clay Earrings] which works in the terms people are likely to search for. Your keywords would be things like "heart stud earrings," "heart earrings," "summer earrings," "summer jewelry," etc, and it couldn't hurt to clean up your descriptions so the sentences flow better. If you're going to offer other colors as well, it might be worth mention which ones you can do. Don't assume the buyer knows what you have available.

Hope some of this helps.

[Former_Member]

Thank you guys! :)

I wrote that one when I was 17. Lol!

So, check list:
Photos, titles, and pictures. Got it! :) Thank you again!

[Former_Member]

lol photos and pictures?

photos, titles, tags, descriptions, profile. In that order. =)

[FreshFromtheFlame]

Sorry to hear about the ugly remark you received. Just do what makes you happy and enjoy your creative process.

[Former_Member]

Lol Ashlee! Thank you. I logged off and took a nap right after that. I have had such a terrible head cold.

And thank you fresh! :)

[Former_Member]

Don't let criticism get you down. If one person doesn't like your work, there are many more people who would be willing to buy your work!

[Former_Member]

I love your crochet items. I hope I can be able to do that. Keep up with your work and good luck !!:)

[WoolWench]

You can do it! Ignore negativity, it will only hold you back and taint the way you view your lovely creations, you dont need that :) Its a pity more 19 year olds arent as entrepreneurial as you, your shop is great! Do what Ashlee suggests and work on your photos, they are totally the KEY to selling online, make them bright and fresh and your pretty items will look irresistible :) Keep up all the social media, and dont hesitate to instantly block anyone being negative, the internet is a big place and theres way more people out there, leave behind the ones who bring you down and never look back :)

[Former_Member]

Thank you Suzy!

Onvit- Your items are wonderful! I love handpainted items! :D

[AnneLondezGlass]

Keep at it. Managing an Etsy shop is a never ending search for what works. Start with your pics and look at them as you would at someone else's shop. Good luck !

[Former_Member]

Sarah, pay no attention to people like that. She was probably jealous that she could not open a shop and sell her handicrafts. People who like to cut others down, do so because they themselves have low self esteem and figure if they can bring others down to their level, they won't feel so bad about their own inadaquate self.

Your items are lovely!!

[Former_Member]

Keep pushing forward Sarah. You are off to a good start and everyone has given you great advice.

[Former_Member]

You have a great shop sarah! do not listen to that woman! she obviously has some kind of issues with herself!

Another tip that i dont think i seen anyone mention here, be wary of where in your title you put the - (dash)
i was watching an online lab today, and it dosent really matter where the dash is with etsy search... but it matters to google.

if you put the dash in your titles, which i do aswell, put a space before and after the dash.

instead of

Earrings- Stars- Polymer Clay

make it;

Earrings - Stars - Polymer Clay

Apparently google gets confused and cant read it if any types of punctuation are right next to a letter/word.

[Former_Member]

Hi,
I am new to the group. Thought I pitch in the issue.
It is sad when people think they could judge you, so I want to share this with you:
"Judging a person doesn't define who they are...It defines who you are"
So, don't worry about negative comments thrown at you, just keep going!

[Former_Member]

Thank you everyone. I really needed the boost. :)