What an I doing wrong?

[Former_Member]

Hello Ladies,
I know you are all bored with this question - but still, I have to ask because I'm out of ideas and strenght/time to try to make it on etsy.

I've opened the shop in October and since then I've had 1 SALE, I repeat, 1 SALE directly from Etsy!
All other sales come from my FB page.
Here in my hometown I get purchases almost daily, new orders, pieces in magazines, interview or two in the newspapers etc. Things are rolling but it's a very small market hence I want to make my items be "out there" for international buyers for the following years.

But the problem is that I'm only listing, relisting, delisting items to and from my Etsy shop and have a big monthly bill I pay for - (currently) NOTHING. I even paid for promotion of my items to get more visibility and - zero.

What's wrong with my Etsy shop? Please be honest

Thank you very much for your time and good will in trying to help out!

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

Your photos need a lot of work.

The heads are cut off on the main photos of your art dolls. If I was searching for that item I wouldn't be enticed to click on it because all I see is the torso. The listing with a photo of a woman holding a pillow makes it difficult to tell what's being sold.

On this particular item the photo is so busy that I had no idea what I was looking at, even when I clicked on it to get a better view.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/122116698/harem-pants-baggy-trousers-toddler?

I suggest, while you still don't have a lot of items in your shop, that you find a neutral background without clutter to retake all your photos. It's fine to use children as your models but the photos must focus on the item being sold. If the item is a hanging mobile, show it hanging.

The top right image on this main photo is actually not bad, but because you've got four separate photos in the main image, half of it is cut off and everything is too small to see what it the item looks like.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/114380683/striped-whiteblue-cloud-mobile-cotton?

[Former_Member]

Thanks Judy, I'll take it into account
All of the photos are already re-done 3 times.. I have and old camera and since I bought two sewing machines lately I just cannot afford to get a better camera. Or a big light-box.

I wish someone could just drop by at my housewith a super camera and a super eye for photos LOL

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

It's not your camera. You just need to eliminate the busy backgrounds and crop your images better.

[PIXELGRINphotography]

I don't think you're doing anything really "wrong" per se the problem is when I search for "Art Doll" I get 60k results. First off, I've never heard of the term Art Doll and really have no idea what is use or purpose it. Maybe you can incorporate that into your description or tags? It could be that I am just uncultured but I don't think so.

Also, your dolls are kind of abstract so tagging them specifically is going to be tough, IMO, but not impossible. I see you have cat, and rabbit which is pretty descriptive but if you're trying to reach a certain type of person I would try and target them here with your categories too.

[Former_Member]

Like crop which one better? Seriously, I don't know which one.
Busy background on one item or more? I get it for the one with the pants!

If I have a macro of a detail than that's that's the detail.

But seriously - it cannot be all just down to photos (which I've seen much worse and shops are selling like crazy).....right?

I'm invisible here on etsy.
I work hard on my tags, on teams, on renewing but still I'm invisible.

I post the same photo on FB and I sell instantly. I don't get it!

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

This is one of the listings that's hard to tell what the item is.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/115619442/soft-toy-plushie-monster-ooak-natural?

He's really cute and I like the second & third pics in the listing. The main photo has sun glare and is cropped so close that I can't tell what he is.

[Former_Member]

Yes, I already had his other photos as a front photo and had no views at all.
I'm experimenting, u see LOOL

No, seriously, I just posted on FB my newest striped baggies and they are sold!
Here they will not even be looked at for days... I don't know if I should just let go of etsy..

Thanks for your comments Ladies!

If there's anyone here who is a softie maker I would so much appreciate their experience!

[Former_Member]

I really don't think you are doing anything wrong, so I would just share some of what I have learned about selling here:

I once owned a shop on Etsy selling my hand knitted hats. The listing picture is the most important feature of your listing. I found a white background and a clear picture of the item worked best.

With the items I currently sell, I learned that my keywords were really important to be found in the search results.

And finally, I do subscribe to the Etsy search ads. I don't know if this helps get sales, but as long as I do get enough sales to support my budget I will continue.

I wish you much success with your Etsy business. I will add your shop to my favorites.

[1AEON]

nothing is wrong, but it takes time. im in my 7th year still trying to figure things out. probably could do many things better, but I'm still patient, still learning.
I would post more items, like up to 3-4 pages to start with...
just an idea.

[Former_Member]

Thanks guys

I'll try to re-do the photos again

As for the quantity of items: this is the max I can do. I always have a couple of custom orders etc. and am almost always out of stock (offline).
I would be fantastic to be able to offer 30 items but that's not realistic for handmade dolls I guess!

Thanks again and good luck to you all too :))

[Former_Member]

Go buy a white sheet. Hang it as a backdrop... Maybe 10 bucks or just buy bleached white muslim for a fabric store. Muslim is cheap and works pretty well. (I actually use a 12x10 backdrop from my photos)

For you dolls. Drape the muslim so it comes up behind and over the table or chair where the doll is placed. Take your photo. Different angles are good since you have 5 photo slots on Etsy. You don't what other background items in your photos, unless they are there to give a sense of size.

Download Picassa from google, it's free.

Load your photo's in and Crop your pictures so they are 8 x 10 landscape. You can also do some color/brightness/straightening corrections here if you have to.

When the photo is cropped to this diminsion, my experience is that it does pretty well in the thumbnail view, which is your buyers first look at your item.

If you can't afford a lightbox for now. (This is from someone who has spent over 1500 in lighting and still working on it) Take your pictures outdoors. I suggest on a light cloudy day, Direct sunlight can bleach your photo's out and give you strange articfacts in the image.

My 2cents,

Suzanne

[CindersJewelryDesign]

Here are a few tips:

• Use neutral un-cluttered backgrounds to photograph against. Use stock paper or some other hard background instead of material. Wrinkles in background material doesn't look professional.

• Get some editing software and try and make your pictures pop. Good photo's are everything and you don't need a super camera. Just make sure they aren't over edited, they still need to represent the product accurately.

• Go through all of your tags. Tweak them to see what works best in your category.

• Use back-links in your descriptions to keep people in your shop. This will increase your views a lot.

• Market outside of Etsy. Hand out cards to everyone, post on blogs, advertise on craft websites, etc.

• Most importantly, make more products. The more you have in your shop, the more exposure you will get.

I hope this helps a bit. I started initially selling on Facebook before I opened my Etsy shop, so I already had a good client base.
Network everywhere you go.
Good luck, I hope you sell heaps!♥

[Former_Member]

I dont know the magic cure to increase Etsy sales. I offered 1/4 pound of fudge free with a purchase to anyone that fav my items. I was given a sharp warning from Etsy that it was prohibitted. OMG I thought it was a nice gesture and it really added to my sales. Now I only get a few sales. :(
I like the Etsy discussions I get encouragement and some great ideas.

[RockNBeads]

You may want to change the pictures around on this listing:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/112111863/tree-pillow-mobilehanging-tree-designer

The second pictures shows more of what the item is rather than the 1st picture. The first picture is too busy to see what exactly the item is.

Hope this helps!

[Former_Member]

Don't settle on photos just to get an item up in your shop. Every one of your listings ~ the backgrounds are busy. You are seeing trees, there are children in them (cute, but not necessary), on sheets (on a bed? maybe people won't want to buy it then), etc. Streamline your photos so you are really seeing the item, giving your shop ONE look.

Also, I would avoid using instagram/picframe programs for your photos. They are altering them in a way that isn't necessary.

Good luck!!