Open to any and all Suggestions...

[ArtisticCreationsbyD]

Hello Everyone! Hope all of your holidays went well!

My shop has been open since September. I still have not made my first sale, and I have tweaked all of my photos (Except for one that I have to master since it is framed and I can't quite master there being no glare even without the flash) I have expanded my shop to include a few crochet items as well. All paintings in my shop are the originals.

I have not been able to get the amount of views that everyone else reports...100s 200s 300s. Not even close. My maximum has been fifty and that has been a one time only thing. I understand that the more items you have, the more sales and exposure but as other artists have expressed, this takes time. I am lucky if I add one item per week let alone per day. Even so, I added two yesterday and I only had 13 views for the whole day in my shop. I just don't know what I am doing wrong.

I was told that shipping turns people off, so I changed my prices so that they included shipping costs and offered "free shipping." Which still didn't help. Are my prices O.K.?

Any critiques, suggestions, tips, advice would be appreciated.

[shoptwoblooms]

I'm really new myself. Are you involved in the forums, teams, making treasuries? You could also try uploading items to Wanelo so people view your shop. There is a whole thead on it here:
http://www.etsy.com/teams/5002/etsy-success/discuss/9503143/

I've left my shipping separate because I can't include include in a bar of soap as no one would buy it.

Hopefully others that sell artwork can give you more advice.

[ArtisticCreationsbyD]

Thanks, I actually have never heard of Wanelo and I will definitely look into it. I had been frequent in teams and making treasuries, but slacked the last three weeks with holiday obligations. I also have a fb, twitter, and blog.
I had difficulties with the shipping because others had said it may be turning people off since some cases it was almost half the cost of the item. Yet I can't help that dimensions and weights of paintings made the cost as so..let alone packing materials.

Thanks Again! :)

[JoArtyJo]

Hi Deidre :-) your art is lovely, particularly your tree painting- my fav!

I know you know this but more items will really help. At the minute you have a few bits of lots of different things- I think if you want lots of variety in your shop you need to pack out each section. You need to try and create a brand identity, so that when someone sees your work they know it's yours, and they can remember your style etc. It really is a game of persistence- I don't start getting regular sales until around 75 items (I had an initial goal of 100 items, I got there by adding various size prints!)

Keep going, promote lots- facebook, twitter etc, and just keep going ;-)

Good Luck- you have a gorgeous shop!

PS- I sorted the glare problem by removing the glass from frames before takin my photos :-)

[shoptwoblooms]

Deidre,

I too have Facebook, Twitter, a blog, website and now Etsy. It is very time consuming. I sell bath and body and knitwear so have shipping separate. I don't know for artwork though, maybe it's better to include it with that category. Is there a team that has a lot of artwork etsy sellers in it? Maybe they can be helpful.

I've only been on here for 2 weeks and have read lots of threads that say it takes time to get sales but how long I don't know, think it's different for everyone and depends on what you sell. I'm going to try it for a year and then decide from there.

[Former_Member]

I think your work is wonderful. But I know nothing about art, pricing art or anything else for that matter. But I think your shop looks great when you first go in, very colorful. Maybe you could wok on your descriptions, they are very short, include a little more information. I''v been reading about SEO. I think you may need to tweak your titles to have more people find your store. Google only searches by the first 3 words of your title and description. So instead of SET OF 6 being the first 3. Maybe like HAND PAINTED COASTERS, SET OF 6, HAND PAINTED TROPICAL THEME. Right now Etsy only searches by your tags, not your title, so be sure your tags are informational too. Lots of work huh!!
Best of luck to you!!

[JoArtyJo]

I forgot to say- you are reducing your market substantially by not offering international shipping!

And re your prices- they seem on the low side to me for original work. Make sure you are paying yourself an hourly wage!

[Former_Member]

Hi Deirdre,

you shop looks great and your work is really lovely. Sometimes it takes forever to get going.

On the views issue - I have never had more than 50 and some days have had 5 views and made a sale - other days 30 views and no sales.

The only advice I can give you is promote as much as you can and expect great things to happen. Something wonderful is just around the corner and if you hold on tight to your self belief it will all work out.

Hazel

[Former_Member]

Hi Deirdre,
Love your work and your shop is beautiful! Believe in your work! I didn't make my first sale for almost four months! I found that the more active I became on Etsy, the more views/sales I got. Be very active! Try to list as often as you can, make treasuries, participate in team activities, participate in BNR/BNS treasuries and use your social media. I've just recently discovered Pinterest and Wanelo - they're lots of fun and bring in traffic. If you convo me with your email address I'll send you an invite for Pinterest.

Above all, hang in there, be persistent and tenacious and know that you're doing things right - it just takes a little time.

Hope this helps!
Blessings!
Lisa

[Former_Member]

Hi Deidre :)
I would suggest that some of your pictures need to be a bit lighter and brighter and cropped a bit more in order to really capture the eye of any potential buyers. :)

Make sure that you utilize all 14 of your tags as this is one of the most important ways that people can find your item AND if your on a Treasury Team (Ahem...I just checked and we share a certain team) make sure that you have that have your treasury teams tag in your listing and really get involved. It's great exposure and a lot of fun!
Best Wishes!
Li :)

[Former_Member]

Hi! Just jumping in here. Your paintings are fabulous. I agree with what everyone has said so far. Here are some more pointers.

Let's look at this item:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/89753620/7x14-mystic-dock-at-sunset-original

First off, your title needs to be rearranged. It's true that the first 3 words are the most important. I would do something like "Canvas Painting - 7x14 Mystic Dock at Sunset - Acrylic". You have to think what would some one type into the search box. They are more likely to search for canvas painting or painting than mystic dock.

Secondly, I think the second photo you have should be first. It's a close up and makes a statement. Also some of your photos could be a bit brighter. Use picnik or another free service to adjust the exposure and brightness.

Prices: I cannot comment on your prices, as I don't paint and have no idea what kind of effort you've put into them. Maybe look at some of your competitors and see what their prices are for similar items.

Tags: I think you have some strong ones, like canvas painting, acrylic painting, landscape. I would take out mystic, camping, eerie for starters and replace them with landscape painting, nature painting, sunset painting. Again, think about what some one would type into the search field. I've found craftopolis.com, they have a tag report on your shop. This has helped me fix some of my tags because it shows what people are actually typing in to get to your items. Oh, and it shows what page you came up on.

I started tweaking my tags, titles, and photos at the beginning of December and have had 3 sales. I agree it does take time to get going. Don't give up. I don't think you need to list everyday, but you do need to be active in your shop everyday. Whether that's participating in threads, teams, discussion, critiquing other's shops, posting items on twitter, facebook, etc. It's hard work, but I promise it will pay off soon.

Best of luck.

[ArtisticCreationsbyD]

Joanne- Why didn't I think of that? Duh, just remove the glass. I also didnt realized I was diminishing my market by not offering a set price. I was hoping someone would convo me if interested because with all the different countries being different distances etc how do I make a flat rate for international?

Carol- I will get right on that! I didn't realize the order mattered!

Lisa S- I will convo you very soon!

Lisa G- How do I balance tags that would bring buyers searching to etsy to my piece and using those tags for teams instead?

Natasha- Oh wow, thanks so much for all of the advice! A question though, I was told that I needed to make my pictures with a white background so people would choose them for treasuries...I used to have them with the other type of photo first. I will most definitely tweak my tags asap!

Thank you all for all of your gracious help :)

[Former_Member]

It seems that white backgrounds do get chosen more, and from all the other critique threads I read that's what everyone says. I just did a search for "paintings" and it looks like a lot of them are close ups of the work. You get 5 spots. Maybe make the first one a close up, the second one with a white background, the third with a frame to show buyers what it might look like framed, the fourth hanging on the wall, etc....

Can you tell I've been spending WAY TOO MUCH time on the critique threads?

[JoArtyJo]

You can put different prices for different countries. And there is also an everywhere else option. It's hard to work it out I know- but it may be worth it. I for one sometimes buy on impulse- if I have to convo a seller and wait for a response before I can add to cart (if you don't ship to the customers location, they literally are unable to buy it) then it takes away the impulse element, and I may not bother, or just find another item elsewhere! You want to make it easy peasy to buy from you :-)

[ArtisticCreationsbyD]

If I were to choose three countries, where should I choose? How do you calculate your everywhere else?

[Former_Member]

I would do US 9 (obviously), Canada, and everywhere else

[JoArtyJo]

Maybe take a look at some established shops and see what they do- my work is all on paper so my shipping is very low in comparison. Having said that, the shipping I charge doesn't cover what I pay, but I take that into account in the cost of my items.

I have heard other sellers discussing websites that calculate shipping estimates for you based on weight etc-- maybe give this a go?

[Former_Member]

I would only say that maybe your pictures could be closer. Make sure the painting fills the entire frame. That way more color and detail shows. I think your prices are fine. Art down't sell a lot in this economy so having some smaller products in your shop will bring people in and give people some other alternatives. I have had several sales since opening in November but not one of my paintings yet.

[Former_Member]

Also, have you joined any painting teams? They can be helpful. I belong to several

[Former_Member]

Deidre-

I think you have beautiful work. I think it may have been said, but I would suggest sticking to one area of work to help get your brand across. I just don't know what paintings of nature and baby hats have in common.

Also, I think most of your work is well priced, but the one framed piece I saw on the first page seems a little steep to me. It might do better to be sold without the frame at a lower price. With most of your work on that page under $100, the $125 price tag was a bit of a jump. You need to work out what a fare price is for yourself, but I might lower this one a bit.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/81975568/mountain-acrylic-painting-11x14

[Former_Member]

I really like your paintings, but I do think you need better photos. Is the paint on the wall behind them white? It looks very gray/blue and just doesn't make your paintings stand out. Try shooting outside against a white display board and edit using gimp or picnik. I use photoshop and it has a nifty 'pick the white area' tool where you can click on what's supposed to be white and it adjusts the entire photo for that. Not sure whether gimp or picnik has something similar.

For international shipping -- set for Canada, Mexico and Everywhere else. For everywhere else, use Australia as a setting point.

[RunkPockDesigns]

I love your paintings!!
My suggestion is, not everyone can afford to buy and ship an original painting. Have you thought about making prints of your paintings at different sizes and prices? This could help fill your shop out and give you more items. People are more likely to pick up a $10 print than they are an $80 painting. I know that's what I tend to do when I go to art shows... I just don't have the room on my walls for all those huge paintings, so I tend to find the smaller prints of the same paintings I like, that cost around $10-$30.

[Former_Member]

I know the feeling...I have had very few views and only once sale in Dec. Its true what everyone here is saying...the more you put into it, the more results you get. I am constantly working on my photos, tags, descriptions, free shipping, changing prices, sales...almost every day! I just changed my photos for the 5th time to have a white background because that seems to look more professional. My advice would be to keep reading up on all the great tips Etsy gives; network through teams and forums and create treasuries; constantly look for ways to improve your shop by changing photos, tags, descriptions; look at successful sellers and shops that make front page; stay positive and believe in yourself and your art, and never give up! These times are more challenging for us artists, but we must try all the advice that has been given to bring our art recognition and our shops success. Good luck to you, and keep up the good work!

[Former_Member]

Your shop looks very good but with thousands of new shops every day and millions of listings,It is getting harder and harder to be found on Etsy.

A few months ago, Etsy posted this announcement:
www.etsy.com/teams/7716/announcements/discuss/8755743/
which included this statement:
" Diversity is important! Our marketplace is made vibrant by the wide range of products, sellers and styles. In a search sorted by relevancy, we divide up multiple items from the same shop, and prevent your search results from being dominated by one shop."

It has become so important l to SEO for both Etsy Relevancy and for Google to get more views. There are differences between between Google and Etsy but it is possible to SEO for both.

Add SEO to every part of your shop, such as the shop title, section names as well as listings, so that your shop and listings can be found on Etsy's Relevancy search and on Google.

Don't guess on the wording for keyword phrases. Start with using keyword phrases that are often used on Google to search for similar products. The keyword phrases popular on Google are also popular on Etsy.

I suggest using Google's keyword research tool to find appropriate keyword phrases for your listings; https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal?forceLegacy=true

SEO for Google is a lot more than adding keyword phrases but this is the place to start.

[ArtisticCreationsbyD]

Kat L- The pieces are actually photographed on a white poster board. I'm not sure why it would appear blue...I do it inside near a window in the morning light, since that was what I read was the best timing, as I live in buffalo and it is winter and cannot photograph outside.

Thanks everyone for the continued advice :)