help!!! I dont know what I am doing wrong!

[Former_Member]

I am so frustrated and overwhelmed I am ready to close my shop :( I just dont know what else to do or where im going wrong! I promote on facebook, twitter and pinterest, ive tried etsy apps, bannerads, ive adjusted keywords a dozen times, putzed around with search ads and ive managed to do nothing except drive myself to the brink of insanity and tears time and time again. Ive been open since jan 20, 2014 and have had 2 sales, one of which was my father (bless his heart!). Do I just have an undesirable product? I don't believe so...I get quite a few favorites ...
please help! Im just so frustrated and feel helpless, hopeless, and just plain depressed.
thank you, in advance, for your help and time!!!!!
i owe you big !!
Jessica Lea

[maydaylabels]

your photography is fine :)

Here are issues I see:
1. Your SEO is no good. Your titles and tags don't match, your titles are often things no one searches, and your tags are all single words. It's really bad. Try this thread: https://www.etsy.com/teams/10713/etsy-relevancy-seo-and-stats/discuss/12499020/page/36#

That issue is the most important one by *far*

2. There are other nitpicky things. You only have one photo (the digital photo itself, I imagine), and no image of how the thing looks printed out. People like an image of the actual physical item. You've got no policies. Your descriptions are just lists of keywords for the most part. Your banner is weird to me with the skulls but that is up to you.


Really though, your work is lovely, trendy, presented decently. You just have terrible terrible SEO, so no one who is actively looking for the kind of thing you sell is finding you. It is not a hard fix :)

[maydaylabels]

Also I'd get rid of the celebrity ones, I think those are probably copyright infringement (unless you took those photos yourself or have bought the right to reuse/reprint them)

The desert photos are lovely, and the flowers.

[SpangGangDesigns]

I'm not going to spend the time to repeat exactly what Matthew & Sara said - as I agree with EVERYTHING said. As for keywords, you've said you've revamped them dozens of times. Here's to one more time: Nobody is searching for 50% off. And tags of "best selling", most popular, and popular downloads aren't going to get you anywhere.

Another example, the tags and title with this one aren't getting you traffic...https://www.etsy.com/listing/176453367/hideaway?ref=shop_home_feat_3

If you need help with tags and titles, there are teams for this specific help. Also, show your prints to friends and family and ask them to describe it. Use those descriptors in your tags and titles.

For your prints, there are no details about how it's printed. Is it printed on computer paper? Matte? Glossy? Is it matted? How will I receive it? How do you mail it? What if I receive it damaged?

There are many stones left unturned that would help your shop take off.

[weekendjewelry1]

Jessica, I'm on the same page as the posts above - you've got good work, you just need to figure out how to help people find you. I just wanted to grab one example to give a specific. One of your featured items is a print titled "50% off silk stockings".

Somebody looking for an art print, a photo, or Pop Art, is not going to use "silk stockings" as a search term - you see what we mean? I'm not sure what the best tags are, and you might want to search Etsy yourself just to see what tags are popular (what shops are doing good business? look at their tags - to learn, not to copy). But the tags can be found, and learned, and you'll be getting a lot more views and sales! Good luck - you can do it :-)

[Former_Member]

I think you've stated the obvious in your OP. "" Ive been open since jan 20, 2014""
That amount of time is barely a blink of an eye unless you have a built in clientele.

It takes time to build a client base.

I have no idea what a 'truthful light', 'hidden' or 'dusk' are so there's very little chance I'd every search for one.

How often does your customer base shop for a 'dusk'?

If I'm looking for 'silk stockings' I'm probably not looking for a print but rather something to wear.

I would suggest that you read the Seller Handbook for a start and work on building a shop where things can be found.

[PiecesofMeCardsnMore]

I agree with everyone else's comments. This item:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/182172095/nature-photograph-instant-download?ref=shop_home_active_22

I would call it a cactus print. I only see the word cactus mentioned once (in your tags). It's not even in your title or description. Your description is not Etsy or Google friendly at all. It's a bunch of keyword phrases but it makes no sense to a buyer.

Your description should at the very least answer these questions:
Where was the photo taken?
What inspired you to take it?
What size is it set up to print?

I suggest you do a search of similar items to see how successful sellers set up their listings. You should also educate yourself on SEO (search engine optimization) because right now you're not getting found.

[Former_Member]

I echo the others. Especially the description. The Cactus print only has a list of tags. Not only do you want the buyer to find your work, you need to sell it. As the previous poster iterated - what's the story of the photo? Then you need to sell it. Imagine that you are face to face with the buyer - tell the buyer why they should buy it. What's the benefit to having it?

For example, with the cactus print - what feeling might the buyer get from having it? Can they feel the desert heat? Can they feel the prickles? Describe the cactus itself - how big is it?

Your About page is empty. Who are you? What inspires you? What are you trying to accomplish with your shop? Many people who shop on Etsy want to feel some sort of connection to the seller. If you were face to face with the buyer you'd probably be enthusiastic about your work.. you need to do that here - even more so since they can't see your eyes light up when you're talking about a cactus print.

And what's behind the name of your shop? I would have expected to find some sort of art with primates as the central character. To be honest, you might want to consider changing it- try to relate it to what you're actually doing

It's a lot of work but I'm sure you can do it.

[HiTeaShop]

Good shop, but "undesirable products" you should take more pictures for each item, and in different shapes. open international markets, tell a story for each and every product. higher your price by 50% for each one of them, in order to do this, you need to have 5 pictures per listing, 200 words description, have a better title.

[WintergreenDesign]

You dont have any policies in place... how will you be shipping (rigid mailer, postal tube), what happens if the product or lost or damaged, which service will you use, etc.

Currwntly you only ship within the USA... youve limited your client base substantially by doing that. Only people with in the USA eill see yout product unless they change their default to show everything.

Hope that helps. Best of luck.

[GoldenTwinClasps]

I agree with all of the previous postings

As for shipping outside the US, when I first opened I only shipped within the US. Now I ship world-wide and it's been great. I've gotten some of my biggest orders from other countries.

[Former_Member]

Please heed all the advice carefully offered to you in the above posts. My only comment is you sound so frantic and distressed - YOU HAVE ONLY BEEN OPEN 3 MONTHS!. I didn't get my first sale for six months after I opened and it took me at least two years of constantly promoting, evaluating, reworking my shop, adding content to get where I am today. I have now been open three years and finally feel as though I am achieving my sales goal. Please be patient ... If you believe in your product and you want to make this a success it takes hard work and patience and determination. Good luck.

[Mzcarley]

It took me about 3 months to get my first sale. I have been open 1 year and have only made 5 sales on etsy. Making sales takes a lot of time. The overnight etsy success is very rare. You need to gain the trust of buyers. To make sales can take a long time and a lot of work. It is something that you really have to want. Check out these links
https://www.etsy.com/community/online-labs
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artistshelpingartists

try joining a Buy and Sell Team or a Buy and Replace Team

[Former_Member]

I'm going to echo pretty much everything everyone else said above. But I'm also going to say that I checked out your other website and I LOVE your prints "Time Flies" and "Confusion". I would consider adding a few more of your items to your etsy shop. "Confusion" is kinda hilarious. :)

And keep your chin up. It can take a long time to make a sale. And sometimes sales are few and far between. I'm sure that once you tweak your tags and titles and add a little more info about how the prints are made, what kind of paper you use, etc, you'll start getting more views and more business. Best of luck.