Shop in a slump

[CaseyHPerez]

The last couple of months have been super slow for us. With both views and sales drastically down. I haven't been adding new paintings as frequently in the past but could that really be the cause for such a huge decrease in traffic and sales?

[CaseyHPerez]

And to match the drop in views and sales, my inspiration to create has dropped too. Trying to find new ways to stay charged and feed my creativity... How do you do it?

[Former_Member]

I stay creative by not creating. I often take breaks to do other things, even walk away from the shop at least once a week. My problem tends to be I get super creative and start writing a to do list of projects I want to work on, and suddenly I have 200 items on the list and get so overwhelmed I don't feel like creating any of it. I usually store that list out of sight and work on marketing instead, and take the next day off from the shop!

I do find that I if I don't list something often my views drop, and usually sales as well. Many people renew items daily or at least weekly to keep the shop relevant. If the shop isn't active, etsy doesn't find it 'relevant' and therefore it drops in searches.

[Former_Member]

I'm so sorry you are in a slump, it happens to me too. I'll have so much to do I can't do anything, or I just don't feel inspired. Try and do something else for a day. I can't believe that your views and sales have dropped because of your art, it is wonderful! From what I have been reading in the forums lots of shops are slow (me too!) , summer is slow. best wishes to you!

[SnarkFactory]

My shop is in a slump right now also. It was doing really well the first week of july and then slowed down to a crawl again. I'm just going to continue tweaking and improving my shop while learning about the market and trends of etsy! Also, put your artwork on tumblr. Tumblr is an excellent place to display your art because it's filled with art enthusiasts.

[xoxocrocheted]

My shop has been sooo slow lately, too! But I have noticed that on the days that I list/renew listings, my views and favorites go up, too. So I would say the key to getting business is to keep listing new stuff!

But you could also work on your tags. For the giraffe one (which i love, by the way ;), you should add some more tags like
giraffe print
giraffe painting
giraffe decoration
giraffe art
etc.
If you improve your tags, you should have some more views :)

As for inspiration, sometimes it's okay to just take a break from your shop for a day, then come back to it. Or, what I do is create lists of ideas (whether or not they are good :) and just run with it! Also, if you've ever had any custom orders/requests in the past, work on making those staples in your shop! If customers are asking for it, it must not be out there elsewhere!

Hope this helps! Good luck :)

[Former_Member]

i know what you mean! it's been dead on etsy in general lately! maybe it's vacation time. it's discouraging. i've read that this is a good time to make improvements and stock up for the holidays.

[DeerGirlDesigns]

Great to hear others are slow- meaning it's great to know we can all give each other a boost when we feel down!

Cassi and Casey, your art is beautiful! I say take this time as a blessing and stock up because the holidays will be upon us so soon and we will be wishing we had the time we have now to make stuff. :) Let's stay positive!

[PithAndRootStudio]

I'm in a terrible slump myself. I've worked on some tags and relisted things, but my views just keep going down. I used to be in treasuries a lot more often, too, and that has dropped off. I can't figure it out other than to say that Etsy is becoming a tougher place to sell in.

Recently I sat down and worked out a strategy for the holidays. I've known for a long time I need to include more price points and more "giftable" items in my shop. I am also going to take the time right now to look at the overall direction of my shop and my work. Just know you aren't alone!!!

[MothandFlameJewelry]

I keep seeing the topic of convo in a few teams is it being so slow. The stores that have been open awhile say it happens every summer, makes sense, people are outside doing stuff instead of surfing etsy. Excited to see what happens in the fall...

[Mippoos]

Although we haven't been open for that long, I do also notice a drop in views and favorites now. And as others already said, summers are apparently very slow. Let's hope it's true and that it'll pick up again soon :)

[MothandFlameJewelry]

Could I ask what everyone's views are, maybe an average? I have no idea whether mine are low or not.

[Former_Member]

mine average between 60 and 70 for the last 30 days

[WhiteCrossDesigns]

Views are not the goal. Sales are.

Number of views is not so important as the results of them -- i.e. sales per view conversion rate. I would rather have a 1-to-10 conversion rate (1 sale per 10 views) than a 1-to 4999 conversion rate (lots of views for only 1 sale).

I'm blessed to have a low conversion rate (sadly, NOT 1/10), and so I don't get so bothered if the number of views are down; only if sales are down.

Sales conversion rate will tell you if you're actually doing well, and then you take it from there.

[Former_Member]

do you calculate your rate with the number of customers or with the number of sold items??

[PithAndRootStudio]

Barbara - you divide your views by how many sales you have. For example, 300 views to 10 sales means you are getting a sale every 30 views, on average.

Just keep in mind a good conversion rate will be different for people selling different things. Shops that sell high-priced items like coffee tables, art, and wedding dresses are not going to have a very low conversion rate because people tend to think about it for a long time before they order. But then, when a store like that does make a sale, it's a big deal, perhaps equal to a hundred sales in a different kind of shop.

I say this only because I think a lot of sellers make the mistake of comparing apples to oranges. If you sell art, don't compare your sales to someone selling accessories!

[Former_Member]

yeah i know that, the question was a different one because i have a lot more sales than customers because more than half of my customers buy "in bulk" from me so i can generate two different values.

[PithAndRootStudio]

Oh, okay. That actually illustrates my point perfectly, though - different wares, different rules. :)

[TerraRhapsody]

I'm putting my slump down to the time of year, but it's acutally quite good.
I've been concentrating my time into making, photographing and listing new products ready for the holiday buying season. I've also taken time to get my work into a local gallery to sell. Although it is a downtime for me, I'm taking advantage on it. It also allows me to spend some time in the sun as well- just like all those prospective buyers must be doing at the moment too!
Just take some time to work on your shop- are your tags, titles and descriptions all accurate? Could you share your work around a little and market outside of etsy?

[Former_Member]

I guess its the dog days of summer for everyone. I just had my first sale returned to me...talk about feeling down. After I finish here I'll go back to my studio and make something else. That's just how it is...

[CaseyHPerez]

Thanks for all the responses! Glad to hear (and not glad to hear!) that I am not the only one that is experiencing the slow down.

Jordan- I agree that sales are more important than views, however for my shop when I seem to get a lot of views, I am also getting more sales... So for me they go hand in hand. No one can buy you work if it isn't being viewed by someone.

I usually average between 150-300 views a day, but the last couple of months it has been closer to 30-40 a day. When I renew an item, they go up slightly. Yesterday however, I created a new listing (which I advertise on Twitter, Facebook, Tumbler and Pinterest) and my views were over 100... (however a decent amount came from this post..)

You're all right... I should be taking this time to repair for when things start picking up because that is right around the corner. I think I just need to paint despite not feeling inspired to paint.. hoping it gets me through the lack of inspiration.

Heather- I love your artwork, I've always wanted to do a desert still life series... I just think I would probably eat it before I could finish painting it!

[Dogdohr]

Things have been quiet around my shop as well. Took a week vacation and left the shop open, with a note saying orders won't be filled till the day after I got back. Still no orders, but that leaves more time to work on new items. I finished 3 baskets on vacation.

[ProjectPinup]

I've been selling on etsy for several years now and each year around this time is sooooo slow. To make up for it I make sure I have a savings account with some of the money of sales from Christmas to help the shop get by. Don't worry we are almost out of the summer funk!! Just start making a bunch of new stuff for the Christmas season! That's when sales boost almost 6x the normal sales rates!