what else can i do.. need your help

[Former_Member]

I sold nothing. I changed my key words, i had my shop critiqued, i used free gift with purchase and reduced shipping. I ran searcg afs ans showcases. I love my work but i just don,t know what else to do. I twittered, facebooked my page and stumbled too. Should i quit?

[hooknsaw]

I noticed our sales increased when we switched our photographs to a white background, and when we listed over 100 items in our store.

[ChantelandMe]

I am FAR from an expert, but I think I agree with Lisa and Don. Some of your backgrounds are distracting from your beautiful creations. I'm with you, I think your items are nice, but maybe aren't shining since they are on a sometimes darker and busy backing.

I would not quit. You really do have a great talent. :-)

[ChantelandMe]

May I also suggest taking advantage of all five photo slots etsy gives us?

[sammysgrammy]

I would not quit. Your work is stunning. Not showcased to the best advantage. The last photo on your shop front is how your photos need to look to capture the eye of a shopper.

No chairs, fireplace mantles, etc., as backdrops. White - white - white. Take your pictures on a surface very close to a window but don't get the window in the pic. . Use a white cover on the surface. Use a white three sided presentation board (Michaels) as a backdrop. See if that helps. Give it time.

[Former_Member]

Thank you, thank you, thankyou. I know its late, or early in the year but iam going take all new pictures tomorrow. You guys are the bes

[Former_Member]

I would suggest taking your items outside to photograph them. Eliminate background clutter and it will make the items and colors pop.

[Former_Member]

Thank you also Natasha!

[KriyaDesign]

Patti, just wanted to tell you your bags are beautiful!! No you haven't done enough yet so don't quit. Trust me I know how you feel. I felt like howling (and I did) last week when orders drop to only 3 a day. A slap on my ego...eek

When you type "felted handbag" in search box, then go down to bottom "Related to felted handbag". Yes, those keywords. Did you use them in your titles, body description, tags?

I am still learning. I honestly not sure what works. But right keywords, the phrases folks are using to find stuffs are so essential. I would say, you gotta have the right keywords to be found. Keyword is king.

Those said above about photos. I got more hits on my clear and sharp photos than the one drab and dark. I have some of those in my store because I am too lazy to change 'em. Maybe next year. Put the tips here to test and see what happens

All the very best

[KriyaDesign]

Oh this one got lots of hits:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/58617826/free-gift-with-this-purchase-felted

Ask yourself why?

Traffic means more exposure which may lead to sales. So any of your listings that gets more views, study them. What are you doing right?

[Former_Member]

No Patti don't quit. If I can give an opinion as a fellow felter your work is really, really good and I think your pricing is fine. It's bedtime for me but I'll certainly look at your tags tomorrow if that's ok.
I do think it's your photos. Someone on Etsy when I first joined said to me people want items to look handmade rather than homemade so I changed my photos to a plain white background... they're still not great but getting there. please hang in there :)

[LouiseMead]

Your work is so cute! I agree with the other commenters about photos. I noticed a difference once I started posting photos that all had the same, neutral coloured background. Also (I'm not a photography expert by any means) the lighting in your photos seems a little cold/dark. Could you try taking them outdoors or somewhere in the house where lots of natural light is coming in and against a plain background? I know it sounds clichéd as everyone is saying it but it really helps. It also makes your shop look more uniform and pulls everything together in a nice theme. Customers seem to like to get a sense of everything fitting together when they visit.

Don't give up yet - you had sales in November & I'm sure you'll have more sales in the coming months. I'm still learning about Etsy myself but I have to say the guys on the teams & forums are really helpful and I'm sure between them they can help you have more success!

x

[Former_Member]

Don't give up ...I'm no expert but you seem to be using a lot of white background with white products. Try a darker background to make the white pop.. also on your tags try the 2 word tags.
.I'm new and everything I have read and studied says to do that

[MyriamPowellDesigns]

The same here. Your bags are gorgeous, but yes, you need a white background to make them pop. Use picnik.com to help you to edit those pics. It's free. Also try to add more items. I saw a difference in my shop when I added 50 items. Don't quit your work is beautiful.

[Former_Member]

Thank you also kriyadesign. Again good advice. I will check out those keys words. I keep several lists of keywords with different symbols for the mot popular ones. I'll work on that. Thanks again

[Former_Member]

I see what you all are saying. Use a uniform white background to pull the shop together. I like your shops. I took a peek and se what you are saying. This is tough but fun and i do like knitting and felting my purses

[GreenOrchidDS]

Hi Patti,, greetings from Bucks County,, they're all right..your stuff is wonderful (they wouldn't say it if not,, it can be a tough love kinda place,) Not only do you have to be great at what you do, you have to photo, market, edit, ect...I never dreamed so much would be involved when I started 3 months ago,, it certainly is alot harder then I imagined.

[Former_Member]

Accuracy in describing what it is you make might help also. I'm a feltmaker and must point out that knitting an item and then shrinking it is not felting. It is knit and fulled (fulling is one stage of the felt making process). Many people mistakenly refer to knitted and fulled items as felted when they really are not. You might be missing some potential customers by not using knitted and fulled or knit and fulled as descriptive keywords.
You have lovely items listed and I can tell you have a passion for the making, so please don't give up! I also need to redo my pictures and work on adding content to my shop...it's a good thing for me that my inventory is small since I sold much of it at fairs this fall but for success here at Etsy, I must felt like a madwoman...lol.
Good luck!

[Former_Member]

It is so great to hear from so many people I was so surprisd to have someone from bucks county comment! Thank you. We live very close to you. I hope to receive some of your creative vibes.
Also Andrea and Toccoa thank you for the education on felting. I will explore it and hopefully reach out to buyers. Wow. There is so much support here. You all are great.

[Former_Member]

Patti, I wish I could knit well enough to create the bags you've got listed! Take your time, step back and breathe when it becomes overwhelming and never give up! You do have talent and that will shine through!

[Former_Member]

Wow Andrea and Toccoa, thank you for the encouragement. I love what I do as we all do and it is wonderful to get such positive responses. I am very busy changing my wording and photos today. Come back later to see how it looks.

[Former_Member]

The photographs are definitely what needs improvement. I also have considered giving up since sales have been awful. The one thing I am going to try is to re-photograph the bags with a human model because that provides scale to the object. I also need help!

[MollyFinds]

http://www.etsy.com/listing/78301890/felted-ruffled-handbag-free-gift-with

This bag is lovely, I noticed it because of going in to :look: at your shop, but if I were searching bags and this came up on a page with a lot of other bags, I wouldnt have even noticed it.

Also, I dont think you need to do :gift with purchase; and I definitely would not waste a tag on that title. I am a seller and a buyer, when people have included a gift with purchase, it has always just been a little surprise.
Look towards February maybe give yourself time to rephotograph everything, luckily you dont have too many in there yet;)
If you do go outside maybe just find one piece of board or solid colored background, avoid putting the bag in grass etc if you go out and try every angle.
I also think these would look adorable with a model holding it.
The better your photographs get the more chance you will get in a treasury and get more exposure
For me I notice you use smoke free, this IS something I want to know when purchasing items, but again I wouldn't use it as a keyword just put it in the description.;
Dont give up, your work is adorable, you just need a makeover to show off your talent:)

[MollyFinds]

I just noticed you do have a model in the one shot with the bad I showed, but honestly I didn't notice her either because of the background:)

[Former_Member]

Thank you fMollyFinds. I am about to receive a light box another team member told me about . I have just finished my clutches with all white back ground. Just a question.Why again would you not have noticeed the ruffle bag above? Is it because of the busy background? If so. I am about to fix that too. thank you so much for your input. I was at wits end.