Questions!?

[#1]

Who has questions!? Feel free to ask them here, and I will do my best to get back to you all!

If anyone else knows the answer, feel free to chime in!

[Former_Member]

I try to post things on my Facebook page at least once a week. For whatever reason I've designated Monday as Facebook update day. I try to add fun stuff and photos of things I'm working on. It hasn't resulted in any sales yet, but maybe it will someday

[Former_Member]

That's a wonderful ideas Jeana! I know that our customers love to see our processes. I should try to do that more too,

[Quagorsky]

Thanks for all the responses! I think for now, I'm going to hold off on FB. But maybe I'll try to build up my pinterest page!

[DapperCatDesigns]

Michelle, if you look at the book review page, I read a really great book on how to make Pinterest work for your etsy shop....

[Quagorsky]

Thanks, Nicole! I will check it out.

[Former_Member]

If you want to check out what I've been doing on my Facebook page here is the link:https://www.facebook.com/TwinRocksDesigns

Like I've said, it hasn't helped me in the sales department yet. Maybe someday it will. I was thinking about having a contest on my Facebook page next month. Ask people to like my page and have them send me a message to enter them in the contest. Then at the end of the month I'll randomly choose a winner. The prize will be something small that I can put together quickly.

I did have a question: does everyone else feel like they have a "cohesive" shop? I never intended to just sell scarves or even just sell things made with yarn. I've seen some Etsy Blog posts that say how your shop needs to be cohesive to be successful. Obviously I want to be successful. I guess I'd intended to use the philosophy of one of my favorite shops which is to fill your shop with things you love. Any thoughts?

[DapperCatDesigns]

Jeana - I agree with your philosophy - sell what you love!! That's what sections are for :o). As we talked about in another thread, people search for the item they are interested in most often, not the name of the shop :o). As you list more items, you can rearrange your shop to make things look more cohesive, but I'm not always sure it's necessary.... Think about the vintage shops!! There are other ways to make a cohesive shop, such as using the same background or even using your "sell what you love" philosophy as your selling point!! My whole reason for opening an etsy shop was to share what I love to do with others. Anything you are passionate about, you will put the work in to be successful :o)

[Former_Member]

Thanks Nicole! : )

[Quagorsky]

First, to make a long story short, I caved and went and signed up for Facebook...haha. Jeana, I'm going to like your page right after I post this!

Second, I personally like having a "cohesive" shop and am the sort of person who is slightly anxious about the fact that I can't get all the lighting in my photos to be exactly the same (still working on it). That said, I think a good happy medium between selling whatever you love and having a cohesive shop is Nicole's suggestion--making the shop visually cohesive rather than necessarily having all the items be related.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for the Facebook Like Michelle! If you post a link to your Facebook page I will like your page as well.

I guess my shop is a pretty accurate reflection of my personality....kinda all over the place. Maybe once I figure out what sells then I'll specialize a little more..until then I guess the sky is the limit. I've been trying to figure out if there are more views for my handmade stuff or my vintage stuff. It's a draw at this point. Some days are more heavily weighted on the vintage side and others are more heavily weighted on the handmade side.

I am still working on the photography thing myself. I know I need to get a better camera, just hoping to earn enough through my shop in order to go buy one. My camera takes okay photos, but I have a really hard time getting close up photos. I could also use a dress form or something similar...something that could model scarves for me. I tried using my bear cookie jar last week when I took photos of the cowls I made. Wonder what people will think of that. : )
https://www.etsy.com/listing/163364979/bulky-crochet-cowlscarfneck-warmer-off

The sun kept disappearing on me...might need to retake the photo.

Getting everything working the way you want it to is certainly a process. I know I've learned a lot since I opened my shop but I know I have a LOT more to learn.

Did anyone else sign up for the Etsy Holiday Boot Camp?

[CheckerboardFaire]

Okay, still waiting to make my first sale. Have loaded up on my pin-back buttons in the shop -- but still no luck (although my shop views have sky-rocketed - compared to what they were.).
That being said, I haven't given up, and have taken to watching my Shop Dashboard and Views religiously.
Anyone else watch their stats a lot?
The "page" that drives me nuts is "Your Shop -- 'Views of pages in your shop other than listings or sections.' "
Does anyone know what these pages are?

[DapperCatDesigns]

Jeana, try amazon for a dress form... I got mine for $16 :o). My "photo box" for my scarves includes some grow lights and a sheet set up in my shower :o). I also take my photos with an iPhone and use editing software to get the close ups... I like your bear, though... He's cute!!

Agnes - I'm a shop stats addict.... I need a 12 step program :o). The views that come from "your shop" are good... They mean someone is "browsing" through your shop.... In other words, they clicked on one item from search, and then when that listing popped up, they saw other things in your shop they wanted to take a peek at too, so they went from one listing to the next within your shop! Hope that helps!

[CheckerboardFaire]

Well, that would make me happy except it seems, with a description like, ''Views of pages in your shop other than listings or sections" it makes me think that it's the shipping policies or something.
If they were hopping from page to page it would show up as views of items, wouldn't it?
The way I read it is, it is not "listings" (individual listings or pages of listings,) or, "sections" (listings in groups created by the shop owner.)

[Former_Member]

Hang in there Agnes. It'll happen. One of these days you'll hear that fabulous Cha-Ching sound too.

I check my Shop Dashboard and Views a ton as well. My views seem to be up overall (which is good) though that hasn't necessarily translated into sales (which stinks). Not sure if that means I don't have what people are looking for or my prices aren't right or not. It's so hard to set prices. Figure I'll stay the course for now. I plan on doing some advertising closer to the holidays. Hopefully that'll help.

I'll check out Amazon, thanks Nicole. I never would have guessed that your photos were taken in the shower! I'll try using my iPhone and see if that works any better.
Thanks. I've been trying out different photo props and on a whim I thought I'd use the bear. I think he might become a regular model. : )

[Quagorsky]

Jeana, here is my facebook page if you're interested: https://www.facebook.com/euclidstreetshop

I've found that most of my interaction there comes from people I know, so sales from there yet, but the moral support can be nice in its own way!

I'm also addicted to checking my stats. It's kind of bad that I have the Etsy app on my phone because it has become SUCH a habit. Nicole, I think I need a 12 step program too...haha.

As for iPhone photos, here are a few things I wanted to share: first, I recently learned that iPhones don't have an optical zoom. That means that the more you zoom in while taking a photo, the more degraded it becomes. This is because you're not actually zooming in--you're in fact essentially cropping the photo before taking it. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this problem for their own photos, but I definitely did and couldn't understand why until I googled this. I still use my iPhone for photos, but I no longer use the zoom.

Second, if anyone is interested in building a lightbox to improve their photos, this is a good, inexpensive tutorial: http://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Inexpensive-Photography-Lightbox I'm still experimenting with mine, but it seems promising.

[Former_Member]

Michelle-
I liked your page. : )

I did learn something about photography in the past few days. This applies to digital cameras, not iPhones. I've been having trouble taking close up photos. If you have a setting on your camera with an icon that is a flower that is supposed to be the setting you should use for close up photos. I haven't tried it out yet to make sure it's true. I saw it in a Etsy blog post about photography.

I'll have to check out the light box tutorial...thanks!

[Former_Member]

Yes Jeana - that's called the macro setting. Mine turns on automatically and I use it ALL the time. It's especially good for showing texture and details like stitching. :)
For example, the first two photos on this listing...
https://www.etsy.com/listing/163385824/old-fashioned-bicycle-baby-lovey-yellow?ref=shop_home_active

[Former_Member]

Ah ha. Learn something new every day. Shows you how much I know about photography huh? It's pathetic really.
I found the macro setting on my camera, need to figure out how to make it work. I'll have to find the instructions. An auto setting would be a lot more convenient,
What kind of camera do you have Mama Berry? Your photos look great! Love the bicycle lovey by the way. : )

[Former_Member]

I use my old dependable Canon PowerShot point & shoot. It's on auto all the time and does a great job! The key for me is great afternoon light. :)

I love the old fashioned lovey too. I only have two made and when someone buys them I have only scraps of the fabric left..kind of sad. :(

[Quagorsky]

Thanks, Jeana! And don't be too hard on yourself about photography--I think we're all struggling and learning together. =)

[Former_Member]

Mama Berry - That's about what I've got. A Canon Power Shot point and shoot camera. Now that I know the term "macro setting" I have something to look up online. I'm assuming that will be more effective than trying to Google "flower icon, photography." : ) Guess it's time for more research.

I try for afternoon light as well. Problem is that the light isn't always available when I have time to take photos or need to take photos. That is where a light box would come in I suppose.

Thanks Michelle. I'm so glad to be a part of a group where everyone else is trying to figure things out just like I am. : )

[DapperCatDesigns]

Have you guys found that in some cases the color does not photograph true? I've had a lot of issues getting some of my colors to truly reflect the actual color, even in natural light.... I'm trying to find a way to photograph without natural light too, because in the winter here we often don't get much...

[Quagorsky]

Nicole, I have definitely had that problem with color. I learned the hard way that even natural light at different times of day produce different effects on your colors! Mostly I try to just fix it in Photoshop (to varying degrees of success). I haven't tried using the lightbox with artificial light yet, but I think there are lamps you can buy to recreate natural light.

[DapperCatDesigns]

I've been using grow lights and "curly bulbs" to try to cover as much of the spectrum as I can, but I've noticed the same thing... I took pictures outside once and everything came out blue! I guess my concern is that even with Photoshop someone is going to purchase something and it won't be the color they thought it was.... Oh well.... I guess we cross that bridge when we get there....

[CafeOhana]

Hi I was invite to join a team which I did, it ask that everyone favourite another members items on their first page, all 24 items. I didn't want to do that, I don't mind going to a page and choosing to favourite a couple of things, but a whole page seems a bit dishonest, am I just being silly as the team is just trying to help each other? does anyone else feel the same?