Tips for the Question, "What am I doing wrong?/New Shop Here/Advice."

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

Hey!

It seems like there's a lot of newbies here that are asking the same question.

I thought creating a new thread with advice for all newbies to help them as a point of reference.

Here are some blogs that can you read up on:

New seller tips:
blog.etsy.com/en/2013/top-10-tips-for-starting-an-etsy-business/

The Etsy Seller Handbook Archive (mentioned above, but hard to find):
blog.etsy.com/en/2013/the-seller-handbook-archive/

Shop makeover:
https://blog.etsy.com/en/2011/shop-makeover-titles-descriptions-and-tags/

Improve your SEO:
https://blog.etsy.com/en/2013/4-ways-to-improve-your-seo/

Shop Critique Worksheet:
https://blog.etsy.com/en/files/2013/03/ShopCritiqueWorksheet_DigitalDownload1.pdf

Photography:
https://blog.etsy.com/en/2009/shop-makeover-series-feature-friendly-photos/

Here are, what I think, the four main things when you are new you need to focus on:

1. Be Patient
2. Create High-Quality Photography
3. Network and Promote Yourself
4. Read up on SEO.

Please share any other tips you want to share for the newbies!

[fishcouple]

Wow! This will be so useful! Thanks so much!

[HildaLea]

This is great -- I feel for the folks asking for help, but at the same time it can get tedious answering the same questions over and over. Props for taking the time to put this together!

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

I feel ya, @Bee.

I do feel for the newbies, that's why I created this. Their threads we're either getting basic, rehashed info, or just getting ignored since its the same question being asked again.

Figured it would be easier to put a list together like this to help them at least start at researching for their shops.

[Former_Member]

Thank you a lot! Truly needful info.

[SpangGangDesigns]

Agree with OP and might I add...You can't *make* people like or want your products (no matter how neat, functional, cute, stylish, etc YOU *think* they are). Not trying to be harsh, just realistic. There have been *many* items that I've created that I've *loved*, but my market said otherwise, they didn't sell after a valiant effort, so I quit making them and moved on until I found something my market accepted (and purchased).

Sometimes I think we (yes, me included) need to take a look at our products and decipher whether they truly are something people want, need, etc rather than spending countless hours trying to find a way to *make* someone buy our things.

[Anthropologeek]

But Nikki... what am I doing wrong??? LOL... Just kidding... I hear you Erica, if something stays at a brick and mortar store for too long, they put it on clearance and they don't bring it back. One of the reasons people are attracted to Etsy are the shop owners and their passion for their products, but that could be a detriment to us shop owners because we get too personal with our items. We care and love for them and we expect people to feel the same way. I believe we have to have a business head and a passionate heart to make it at all.

[RonitPeterArt]

Thanks so much!

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

I so agree with you, Erica!

I had to take down a few of my own items after either they didn't sell, or I just looked at them nice and long and thought, "Um. . . this isn't really a great product."

Honestly about if your items would actually be sellable is key.

[Former_Member]

I'm technically not a newbie, as I had another Etsy shop for two years before this that did quite well. But it has been a year since then and this will make a great refresher. So thank you!

[Former_Member]

Thank you very much for the useful information! I will be reading into those.

[WilliamsGiftshop]

Best forum thread of the year, Nikki!

[Former_Member]

Thank you Nikki, that´s really helpful. :D

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

Glad you guys liked it. :) Hope all this info really helps!

[BoudoirInTheAir]

Thank you very much Nikki, I read through all the information and it helps me a lot. You are great!

[weekendjewelry1]

Nikki, it was great that you took the time to post these. And sometimes we can all benefit from a read-through. There's always new stuff to learn and you just helped!

[BilgeMonkeysBaubles]

Nikki,
we had already read/consumed most of the threads You linked to and they are ALL excellent. We're going to be gobbling up the rest that we haven't formerly saved.

You asked for additional suggestions.
Believe it or don't, we 'lurked' all over etsy like little sponges reading everything we could find on how to be successful, secrets to success, and we found an absolute windfall in the 'questions' forum. Just read in there for a week....think there's a question unasked? not likely, use the search engine and pick a word ANY WORD...I think there have been at least 10 threads on every word in the English language! The secret to success here is to voraciously READ, remember, and save as bookmarks, all the best threads (like this one) for later review.
HTH at least another newbie or two,
Respectfully,
-Michael

[WilliamsGiftshop]

Michael (and others), one warning: a lot of 'advice' on the Etsy forums is given by sellers who don't have a clue (often very inexperienced/new sellers). They mean well and it is very nice of them to try and help, but it doesn't always work out well.
So, it is not a matter of absorbing ALL information you find, but finding the RIGHT information. You want to collect advice from knowledgeable and experienced sellers.

(Unfortunately a lot of experienced sellers have been banned from the public forums by Etsy. The main reason seems to be that any form of critique or different opinions are considered 'rude' or 'impolite' by Etsy's young and inexperienced forum moderators.)

[KnottinghamDesigns]

Thank You Nikki! This is a gold mine of information!

[QuietUnrest]

Nikki, thank you for taking the time to put this together. Very helpful indeed.

[HildaLea]

Bumping this up so everyone asking for advice can see.

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

Thanks for bumping, Bee!

Also, I wanted to recommend to books I recently bought that might be of some help to you guys.

"Etsy Empire: Proven Tactics for Your Etsy Business Success." By Eric Michael was pretty informative. If your just starting your shop, this book might help!

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

Also, heres a blog on self-critiquing your shop:

https://blog.etsy.com/en/2012/etsy-success-critique-your-shop/

[WilliamsGiftshop]

Also, did you know there are lots of teams on Etsy dedicated to shop critiques?
You might want to join one or two of them and get in depth shop critiques.
www.etsy.com/teams/search/?search_query=critique&sort=relevancy&sea...

[AlisonHiggins]

Thanks, Nikki. Good stuff!

Another possible resource for newbies and others is a book highly recommended to me this week by a fellow Estian: Etsy-Preneurship: Everything You Need to Know to Turn Your Handmade Hobby into a Thriving Business, by Jason Malinak. It's available on Amazon. I bought it in the Kindle version but haven't had a chance to dig in yet.