The most useful things you have learned ...so far.....

[TheHeatherWells]

I hope this thread can be a place where everyone can ask for and receive advice from any one here.. If it is inappropriate, you can feel free to remove it.

Thanks,
Heather

[TheHeatherWells]

My am currently on my second Etsy shop My first shop was open several months, and I did manage to sell 104 items but wasn't able to repuchase my supplies in bulk and remain cometitve in pricing.


I reopened in October selling a different kind of product. in the past several months I have managed to sell 656 more items. I am by no means an expert, and I am still learning everyday.. but I wanted toshare some of the things that have helped me immensely.

[Former_Member]

I think this is a good idea :)

One general comment that I would like to give as advice to others, because I'm sure someone out there would agree... I am much much much more likely to check out someone's shop if their profile picture acts as an advertisement for their products. This could just be my own personal opinion, but it's just another way to advertise your shop, I think!

[TheHeatherWells]

That is great advice!! I can definately second that. I usually don't click the avatars that contain a photo of someone's face, but I am likely to click on an avatar with a pretty product

[TheHeatherWells]

My personal roadmap so far.......

I started with a notebook to organize your thoughts and answer your important questions. In tough times reading it can help remind you what goal is and perhaps inspire you to continue

**Decide what you want from your business. Do you want it to support your craft, or do you want it to be your sole income? This makes a huge difference in how you want to proceed with any business plan.

**Ask yourself what is special or different about your product, why should people buy it?

**Who is your target audience, how do you reach them?

Based on those questions you can start to develop a business plan. For me it is to have this as my sole income in 2 years. assuming that this is your ultimate goal there are certain things you need to address.

**How do you want your customers to feel when they open your products, do you want a hand more handmade craft feel and very personalized, or a packaging that is professional and could be sold in stores.

**What will you do to inspire your customers to come back, and be excited about returning? Sales, coupons, contests, free gifts with additional purchases, free shipping, new products on a consistant basis?

**How do even get people to know your shop exists.. and develop name recognition?
I personally send business cards with each order, one that has a photo of one of my products so it is instantly recognizable. I also have a blog that has a running monthly contest, and involve my followers in choosing the products I make each month
MOST of my views are from within etsy, renewing and listing new items are how most people find my shop. according to google analytics every month I get between 19%-23% new viewers.

Use tools available to you such as google analytics, and craftopolis.

Create a blog! Not only does it give you a chance to show your new products, and promotions, but the more related links you have the better your chances of showing up in google searches.

*** This is related to checking out competitors, if you do keep track of the current market here on etsy for your genre, you will quickly discover who the big boys and girls are in your category. Look at those successful shops... see what tags they use, see what type of prices they charge, see if they have a blog, or face book page etc...

I never copy any competitors but it can help you shape your approach, or even give you ideas for tags you never thought of.

**Dont miss out on Holidaqy sales. In many genres you can take advantage of holiday sales. 20% of my sales in late Jan to mid Feb were Valentines day related.

For now I have rambeled too much. I am happy to answer any questions. whtether it is what any answers were for any of the questions I presented here.. to what I am doing to accomplsh the goals I set.. Or even ideas for growing your business beased on your own personal answers.

I am open, and will even tell you how much I spend in renewing, how many page views I get etc... Feel free to ask anything here.

I would love to hear all of your experiences and advice. I can help you find the big girls and boys in your own category if you haven't done it yet, and aren't sure how

good luck, I wish you all success!!!


P.S. I did start getting much better sales after having 100 items listed in my shop

[Former_Member]

This is a great post and I shall be following it closely! Thanks for all advice so far.

I'm super new so about the only thing I've learned is you must PROMOTE!

I have sooooo much to learn.

[Former_Member]

i envy the shops that sell smaller items/ smaller priced things...they generate more sales and repeat customers b/c they aren't hard on the pocket...the # of listings are huge b/c it's easy to make and stock 1,000 bracelets...but no way i can make that investment and no space for that storage...hence my item list must remain fairly small...i think what i make is really nice, but am frustrated b/c it seems a lot easier for some than others...
i hear things like relist relist every day...not possible for me.
or increase your inventory...possible only up to a point...
be in BNR/BNS's...i'm still digging out of the red of startup costs...and so can't spend unwisely...and who is going to keep letting me in for free?
frustrating...
guess i really just need to be patient and wait for the small trickle to tlk to others, huh?

[Former_Member]

ok i have had 7 sales total however i have not sold anything in over a month. i promote like crazy but not to the point of being annoying with it. and still have not had any sales in the last month. help!!!! i will take an advice you can give me

[TheHeatherWells]

MidnitePineCreations says

i envy the shops that sell smaller items/ smaller priced things...they generate more sales and repeat customers b/c they aren't hard on the pocket...the # of listings are huge b/c it's easy to make and stock 1,000 bracelets...but no way i can make that investment and no space for that storage...hence my item list must remain fairly small...i think what i make is really nice, but am frustrated b/c it seems a lot easier for some than others...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are defintely right about it being easier to sell lower priced items than items that are more expensive.

Espeacially in tough economic times. It almost eliminates your chances of international orders as well.

I also understand about the cost of starting your business, and working your wayt out of the re, to have supplies dwindle, and not be able to afford re-buying in bulk.

It can be very hard. Your items do look very nice, and I think they look like a quality items as well. And it does take more more of a leap of faith for customers to take that leap of faith and give you a try.

It is also hard making sales without a handful of positive feed back in your shop. Starting out is definately and uphill battle. It does take paitience and perseverance.

I couldn't make it with gemstones and sterling silver.. I had to close my first shop ultimately barely breaking even.

Are there smaller items that you can make as well, to help supplement the growth of your business through the beginning?

I know that for me.. First time buyers in my store will usually buy 1 item, that is very inexpensive. Repeat buyers in my store are usually more llikely to purchase larger dollar items, or custom orders..

I know that for me personally I see a sale as my chance to endear the buyer in some way to my shop. Your products are by nature purchases that are fewer and farther between. I can also see how storing them till they are sold can create a problem, with how much inventory you can create.

For me getting people to know that your shop exists is the hardest part of starting a business. even in the best of the successful posts that I have read here on etsy, shops have said that it can take a couple of years to get established, and have a good following.

You do have great products, and they definately should be the pride of your shop, but is there a way you can incorporate smaller items that would help get the customer to take that first chance on your shop?

[TheHeatherWells]

BeckysVisions says

ok i have had 7 sales total however i have not sold anything in over a month. i promote like crazy but not to the point of being annoying with it. and still have not had any sales in the last month. help!!!! i will take an advice you can give me

Posted at 1:32 pm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi, I peeked over at your shop and noticed a couple of things.

*** A note to all first*** Many buyers dont read through the item description!

First, I think you have really great potential. But I think you already have the makings to promote yourself better.

I thought at first your playdough with eyes was almost a pet rock sort of thing. When reading through your decsription, I actually understood that you are selling the playdough, and that the eyes are so they can make their own cute little creature.

Seeing this listing actually gave me an idea for you. Do you have a blog or you tube channel. Make fun tutorials! show examples of what can be made. For example one week makethe little guy you have shown, maybe the following week you can show viewers how to make a little alien or monster.

Play with your play dough, and show others what they can do... If you have children you can ask them if they want to lead the tutorial.

It can also be presented as a fun thing to do at parties.. put together a party pack, meant for children's play dates... or rainy day projects.

Obviously these are only my opinnions, and you may not like them.
You can even make tiny bundles like a little sampler ... but sell them as party favors too.

I think that if you are able to offer a way for people to see a variety of things they can do with the play dough... they will be able to more easily visualize using it with their children.

Are there any other special things about your clay? What makes it better than what they buy from the store... (maybe colors that you can't find in the store)? Let people know that it took time to perfect your playdough... otherwise people may wonder if it is the salt and flour playdough their mothers made them as kids.

I think an ongoing blog with the fun things you can make with your playdough can really be a fun thing parents can do with their children. You tube videos are great and you can link them to your blog.

[TheHeatherWells]

I personally don't have any tutorials yet, but often blogs with tutorials get a great following!

[DecoratingYourself]

here is a great advice for newbies...
http://decoratingyourself.blogspot.com/2011/05/confess-one-lesson-learned-spare-newbie.html

[Former_Member]

I love this. I wish I had some awesome advice, but I'm pretty new and have yet to make a sale...okay...I've made one sale to someone in my family. Lots of views and some hearts, but I wish I knew what was keeping people from actually buying! Decoratingyourself, that blog post was great!!! I will be following this thread for sure!!!

[Former_Member]

Thank you for this very informative thread. I'm very very new to Etsy, and only have three items in my shop so I'm reading all I can on improving sales etc. It really does seem like you need to "catch a break" and be featured somewhere prominent, like, for instance, the Etsy blog or some place similar so that people can see you. There are so many amazingly creative people out there, that it does feel a bit daunting. I agree with SimpaticaDesigns - this is one thread I will definitely be following!

[Former_Member]

Great info., ideas and super support!
Strength in numbers, eh, folks?:))
It's apparent we all have the same goal and desire - operating a successful and profitable shop!
Like some have mentioned before me, slow sales have been very frustrating, however, some of the ideas mentioned here have inspired me to take a different approach.
Many thanks, luck to all and I'll be back to gleen future ideas!
Cheers!

[TheHeatherWells]

SimpaticaDesigns says

I love this. I wish I had some awesome advice, but I'm pretty new and have yet to make a sale...okay...I've made one sale to someone in my family. Lots of views and some hearts, but I wish I knew what was keeping people from actually buying!
__________________________________________________________
crocheTime says

Thank you for this very informative thread. I'm very very new to Etsy, and only have three items in my shop so I'm reading all I can on improving sales etc. It really does seem like you need to "catch a break"
___________________________________________________________

Hello again, I am way tooo chatty in this thread!

Any how... I noticed that both of you offer chrocheted work, and both of you also are newer shops.

My sales did not start really getting any consistancy until I had 75 items in my shop. I also noticed that my shop made more sales once I hit around 125 items.

I know that crochet does take quite sometime, and that it isn't easy to make items up super quickly. That being said I think that both of your shops can use more items.

The more you have listed the more likely you are to be popping up in searches. I know of a couple shops on Etsy that sell knit and crocheted items, that have consistant business.

An other thing you can do is locate the big boys and girls in the crochet genre. An easy way to do that is to join a crochet team or two.
Something I personally do keep track of how many items are sold each month in my genre.

This is how. I joined Miniature Food Jewelry on Esty (a group) we have 120 members. once a month around the first, I go member by member and record the number of sales they had for the previous month. I don't keep track of what items sold, or even who sold how many items. I actually post my findings in our group too so everyone can benifit from the information.

Here is an example
January 1381 items sold/ / Daily Av. 44.54
February 1304 items sold // Daily Av. 46.57
March 1372 items sold// Daily Av. 44.25
Aprils 1253 items sold / Daily Av. 41.76

We also have 120 members ... so right now there are enough sales for everyone in our group to get 10 items sold per month. Of course that isn't how it works, sometimes you wont get a single item sold in a month..

but keeping count in this way will show you who is successful in your genre too. I never copy (ever).. but I don't see anything wrong in studying their approach. mybe they use tags you never thought of. maybe they make a lot of seasonal items and you dont? Maybe they have interesting descriptions, or have a unique photography method. Like I said, I never ever copy.. but because I do this I can improve my own approach to selling on etsy.

Don't be afraid to check competitor prices/ materials... Know if you are pricing competitively.

I think this kind of research should be done, It is VERY time consuming (once per month)
but it could really serve you in a number of ways.

First you can try to find trends if you record it.

You can actually see how many items were sold each month on Etsy... giving you an accurate view of how many items that month were sold in your genre. I consider this marketing research. It is key for you to know how competitive you need to be within your own genre.. .

Personally in your case when counting them up I would probably only count what is related to your genre... If you don't make crocheted blankets to sell, you may not want to count them.

You can make your lists as detailed or basic as you want. You can do a simple count.. or break it down more.. How many patterns were sold (if you design your own). how many hats, clocks, animals, accessories, scarves. Breaking it down that far would give you a very clear number of what people buy each month.

P.S. If you have the time, you can go back as far as you want. Say you want to compare sale this month last year to sales this month this year.

It can also help you feel better, because you will see "lots" of shops in the same boat as you are, and even though you don't want anyone to fail, when it is slow in your shop.. it feels nice to know you are not alone.



uggh.. another long post... sorry people, hope you all got use out of the marketing research part, because this applies to every shop :)

[Former_Member]

I have also found it helpful to just ask other shop owners for advice. I've received some friendly replies...and even a handy success guide from Crafttasticparties ! Lots to learn!

[Former_Member]

LOVE all this advice!!!! Thank you so much for posting this thread!!
~I am definitely going to look into changing my avatar picture to a pic of something I make, that is a great point...
~I also totally agree with checking out similar shops, I have found tagging ideas that I didn't think of...plus it lets you know if you're over pricing your things or short changing yourself.
I've only had two sales so far ( a few more on a person to person basis with friends/family) and I know I need to promote more, but I'm okay with taking this slow and learning as I go...But I never turn down advice!!!
Thank you :-)