New venture help

[Former_Member]

I have been a buyer on etsy for years but only opened my own shop this past April as a creative outlet while on maternity leave with my first child. I am really enjoying the creative and business side of the shop. I have alot (I think it's alot) of enjoying the creative and business side of the shop. I have alot (I think it's alot) of views and some favorites but sales are slow. I do not know whether it is my site, my banner, my pictures or my items. I am looking or some help on starting this new venture!

[Former_Member]

there so much to learn. read threads and even read other shops critiques, it can help you with yours.

read about seo. this will help you set up your titles in a way to be found. your title and tags should be words and/or phrases the customer will use in the search box. I noticed on a necklace with charm you didn't have any tags with the words necklace, pendant, or charm. use multi word tags too.
your pictures are probably something you will have to do over and over until you get it just right for your shop. you might have to take them outside, use an editing tool, or light box. I use fotofuze.com

you can play around with banner ideas on this free site.
http://www.bannerfans.com/banner_maker.php

good luck!
giving this a good bump. I'm sure other out there can help you too. by the way, I only have 15 sales so......

[starflycreations]

Hi Heidi,

I love your shop! Love the fun approach to science. I could definitely see myself buying your items.

I believe you are doing well to have sales so soon after opening shop. You just need exposure. My recommendation would be to join a team that creates treasuries of fellow team members. Also FB, Twitter, Pin, Blog or any other web media tool that you can think of to help get the word out. Try to be featured on popular websites. The more your shop link appears on sites, especially popular ones, the better your PageRank on Google. This also holds true with the number of listings within your shop. The more listed, the more chances for the viewer to find exactly what they are searching for, and the more opportunities to vary tags.

Also remember when selecting tags, multiple words may be used to complete one thought. For example "Geekery gift" or "Math jewelry". Any one thought that someone may use in a search for your item. I feel "gift" is too broad of a term and you will likely be lost in the vast Etsy universe when searched by "gift". Tags are also assigned in order of importance with the first tag having the most dominance. This also applies to titles.

Good luck. I believe you will do well selling on Etsy. You have come a long way in a short period of time. It usually takes a shop longer to acquire their first sale and to have a professional and "full" shop.

Your newest fan,
Starla

[Former_Member]

I really like your products, but your banner doesn't reflect the products. It's too clinical, sterile and corporate. When you have time, why not have a play with new designs. Just thoughts. Good luck

[Former_Member]

Thanks I am going to look into changing my banner. I did it in word as I'm not very good at digital art. Thank you also for ideas on tagging.