Profile Picture

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone! I've been debating with myself for ages and I just can't make up my mind! Do you think I should have a picture of myself or a picture of my work as my profile picture? I get complements by other etsy people on the picture I have now. I've always had this as my profile picture. It might have become an icon of my shop, and people might recognize my shop because of this picture. But on the other hand, new shoppers will see this picture and not understand that I sell jewelry until they click on my shop. Moreover, if I have a picture of one of my jewelry pieces as a profile picture, will I get more views? ARGH! Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks!

Oh, and if you think I should change my picture, which jewely picture do you think I should use instead?

[Former_Member]

I think you can change back and forth from your personal photo and your jewelry photos for variety, and to cover all the bases.

I used to have a pair of earrings as my avatar but changed to this magenta logo yesterday. An etsy graphic designer created it (and my shop banner) for me and I'm thrilled to show it off.

I plan on alternating between the logo and my jewelry to keep things interesting.

Your Rosalinda headband would make a beautiful avatar:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/57276434/rosalinda-bouquet-a-la-tete

And this celadon necklace is lovely too:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/70086935/celedon-droplet-necklace

[DanasPaperFlowers]

I used to have my profile pic/avatar as a picture of myself and while i liked it it really didnt help me expand so i switched it to something simple that states what i do. i think your picture is darling but, youre right, it doesnt say much about what you do (other than being darling, of course!) i LOVE your wild heart sapphire necklace photo- give it a try and track your views, maybe youll notice a difference!

[Former_Member]

Ok, so here's my opinion on this...

If you pick something from your shop as an avatar it's not guaranteed to get more clicks. For example, it may not be someone's personal taste... not something they would buy (although there might be something else in your shop they would like) so they might not click on it. If it's your face ANYONE might click, just because seeing you is interesting and makes people curious about your shop. I think having an avatar with your face is the best choice, a product is second best, and a logo would be last (which doesn't always clearly communicate what you're selling OR give the personal touch a portrait does).

My avatar is my son holding my product. But The robots are not the entire scope of what I sell. So, I'm changing it to a pic of myself today!

[Former_Member]

I think an avatar that says something about your work and people can identify you with. I think of it as my Etsy logo.

[FreenaDesign]

i chose a picture with me wearing the earrings i sell :) i guess i covered both?

[BespokeKnitsbyCinzia]

I have a tendency to click on an abscure avatar just because i become very curious as to what the shop has to offer.
That's just something I DO. Some people might not want to take the time to do that. (personal preference)
I clicked on your shop avatar, for example, because I wanted to know what you specialized in.
(very pretty things BTW:) )

[FalconandFinch]

I almost never click on avatars that feature the seller. They just don't usually grab my attention. So I chose an imageof a really a really popular product. One of my mainstays is vintage cameras, and even though I sold this particular model a long time ago, I think that people who also love cameras see it and want to check me out.

However, as we've seen from this thread, everyone is different. Maybe you should experiment and try out each one for a week and keep an eye on the GA?

[Former_Member]

Wow! This is all very good advice! Thank you for all your different opinions. I've posted this question on several different team threads and have gotten a good variety of responses there too. It seems slightly more than half of the responses were in favor of this photo (or another photo of me). A little less than half were in favor of a photo of my jewelry as my profile. And the remainder suggested a logo. All of this helped give me an idea of what people look for!

I really like Fr33na's picture. She has a picture of herself with the jewelry. I'd say her picture covers about 85% of what the other responses suggested. I think I'm leaning more towards her idea.

Then again, I am a fine artist also. So, maybe I can do an illustration of me (that looks similar to Fr33na's). This way, the profile picture is more of a business identity/logo and covers even more of the suggestions. (check out the profile pictures of GlazedOver, Elly MacKay or marisolspoon) What do you think of that idea?

[Former_Member]

I like the idea of a photo of you wearing the jewellery. From your picture I assumed that you sell fans as that's what it looks like. I have mine as jewellery but if I could get a good small photo of me with jewellery I would. I just find that at that size it is hard to show a lot.