Former_Member
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How to Generate Sales

Hi everyone,

I started my shop in December, and still have only made one sale (to my sister). I was wondering if there are any tips and tricks for getting my prints out there?

Also - is it important to place watermarks on my photos on etsy? I haven't been doing it so far, but some people have recommended it and some have discounted it. I'm not quite sure what is necessary on that.

Thanks,
Kimmie
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Former_Member
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Re: How to Generate Sales

My shop is new, too, and I haven't had any sales. Right now, I'm very interested in how to get exposure outside of Etsy. I search Google for some of my photos and never come up with anything. I've tried all sorts of tag words and phrases, but can't seem to find any of my photos and don't know why. Does anyone? The Seller's Handbook is a good read.

I also got the same advice regarding watermarks. Since I only have 16 photos listed, I decided to replace all of my images with those with a watermark before I add any more. It's pretty time consuming. I've done 10 out of 16 and hope to finish tonight.
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Re: How to Generate Sales

My shop has been opened since Sept 2012, I've only sold one item and it was to a friend...bless her heart. My shop has had a ton of views, a ton of treasuries, but no sales. I think my biggest mistake has been, not having a watermark across the photo, I did add one after a few months to the lower right hand corner, that anyone could "crop out". Still learning, but not giving up!
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Former_Member
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Re: How to Generate Sales

I too just opened my shop and have not sold a single item. I too am wondering about putting a watermark or something on my photo's so no one can copy them and use them themselves.
Not sure how to get my name out there......any suggestions would be great!
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Re: How to Generate Sales

I would strongly advise against watermarked photos. Nothing is more annoying than trying to check out your art and there's a big obnoxious watermark across it blocking the view.

Think about it, your shop photos are only approx. 5x7 images at 72dpi. The few people who would copy them can't really do much at all with them. The kinds of people who buy art, buy it because they see value in it. The ones who steal it aren't going to decide it's worth something once you've watermarked it.

I think that you guys should consider reworking your titles and tags. Sure, maybe you're already getting a lot of traffic. But you're not getting sales because the right kind of traffic isn't finding you. You need to find the people that are your target market.

I know this is tough, I'm struggling a bit with it myself at the moment. Don't be discouraged, it takes time. And keep in mind, Jan - April is the slowest retail sales period of the year. There are less people buying now, but it will likely pick up over the next few months.

Getting back to reworking titles and tags, I would really recommend reading these articles:

https://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/putting-your-shop-on-top-etsy%E2%80%99s-most-relevant-search/

http://ohmyhandmade.com/2011/contributors/etsy-relevancy-search-101/

They've been a huge help to me. You all have great photos, so I hope the right buyers start finding you. One thing I would recommend is try adding dimensions of the work to your titles. Kimmie, a few of your listings don't have dimensions even in the description.

I would also recommend keeping them a little different from each other. That way you'll throw a bigger net and it's more likely your shop will be visited.

It's also worth noting that I had an exponential increase in traffic once I had more than 50 listings and I add more all the time. The more listings you have, again the better chance you have of being found.

A couple of you only have shipping options within the US as well. This is limiting the number of customers that can buy from you. Consider adding shipping options globally.

I hope this has been helpful. If you want any help with reworking titles/tags or anything else, please let me know. Tags can be tough sometimes because you're not sure what the customer would search for. One of the other teams I participate in has a thread where you would post a listing and the other people on the team come up with tags for it. It's a good way of getting a fresh perspective on your work. If you'd like that, just post a listing here and I'll try to come up with some tags for you.
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Former_Member
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Re: How to Generate Sales

Put the watermark somewhere where the image won't look good if that part is cropped out, like the middle. Mine is lower left. I should move it, too.
Last week, I tried buying an ad for up to $7 a month. I have a lot more views, but not outside of Etsy! I think I'm going to cancel it. There has to be a way. This is too much work if it isn't working very well. It's like trying to find the secret.
I really do love Etsy, so I'll keep trying. I did notice that if I don't add a new listing for awhile, my views decrease. Changing it doesn't let it get stagnant.
Some people are getting sales, though, because I've been buying some things. And, I love everything I bought. They're in my favorites if you want to take a look.
Good look to all of us. And, don't forget to keep sharing.
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Former_Member
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Re: How to Generate Sales

Wow, Casey. It was so nice of you to take the time to share all of those really good tips. There are definitely some things I can think of now that I have to do since I have that information. Thanks.
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Former_Member
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Re: How to Generate Sales

Thanks Casey! Those were really good tips!!! And you too Maria! We shouldn't give up, not yet!!! WE will grow together! :)
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Former_Member
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Re: How to Generate Sales

I'm totally baffled because of all the photos in my shop, the one that gets favorited the most is the Garden Gnome. Probably close to 80% of my favorites are for that photo! The gnome is cute, and so many people like it, but no one buys it. Either the size is too large or it's priced too high, or it's just too cute. Maybe it's taking attention away from my other photos? Should I make it inactive for awhile and see what happens? Can I do that if it's been favorited many times? I'm asking for some advice, please.
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Re: How to Generate Sales

Hi My name is Andy. I own a website called www.allhandicraft.com and if it helps any of the team members you are all very welcome to drop in and advertise for free... also I have some very interesting blog posts that will help members get their works seen outside Etsy...
https://www.etsy.com/listing/129745060/wild-purple-and-white-flowers-fine-art?ref=shop_home_active
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Former_Member
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Re: How to Generate Sales

Thank you so much, Andy. I'll definitely visit your website.

Maria
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Re: How to Generate Sales

Thanks Casey for the information, looks like I have a lot of work to do. I just gave each shop some "hearts", hopefully that will help a bit. Wishing each of you Happy Sales!
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Re: How to Generate Sales

Considering all of the pros & cons for watermarking I decided to watermark smack dab in the center of my photos. That is just my personal preference. I had a lot of my photos on my blog for years with no watermarks so I guess they are floating around somewhere in Russia which is my 2nd largest visiting country. I would probably be hurt if they didn’t think they were worth copying.

I only have a few photos for sale here at Etsy, but I am listed at 4 other sites. There are hundreds of views every month but no sales anywhere. I post to Pinterest and Twitter. I have a new fan page at Facebook. The bottom line is that photography is a hard sell. I plan to keep my online venues but someday give craft and art shows a try.

Wishing everyone great sales.
Mike
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Former_Member
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Re: How to Generate Sales

Hey guys :)

I am pretty new here and very thankfull for every advice! I read your tips about the titles and tags..I titled my articles like I named my photos on other sites (I am very active on deviantArt and flickr) - do you think this is self defeating?
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Former_Member
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Re: How to Generate Sales

I use watermarks because I don't want my work stolen.
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Former_Member
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Re: How to Generate Sales

Thanks much Casey for the information and great tips!
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Re: How to Generate Sales

Wow, I'm glad to read this thread, glad to know Im not alone, though wishing the common factor was we were all selling like crazy. I just opened my shop a few weeks ago. I have a jewelry shop as well that didnt get as many hits, but i sold more somehow. Thanks for all the tips here, Casey excited to look thru those links and Maria, I think people just love garden gnomes, yours is cute, I would not remove it, it's obviously bringing people to your store and something else is sure to catch their eye.
I try hard to keep my online presence consistent by posting daily and meeting as many other people as I can, I pin...alot, blog, and fb. Years and years ago (prior to internet) I had shows in galleries and hung my work in coffeeshops and other businesses. I got several sales that way and a small following. Im considering it again, would be interesting to see how that works with social media. I didnt find it difficult at all to find places that would show my work, the most difficult thing was getting it all printed, mounted, matted and framed. Thought I'd throw out there as a possibility...
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Former_Member
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Re: How to Generate Sales

Hi all,

I too am new to etsy and this team but I've found the information on here very useful (will be spending the evening changing my titles).

I've had quite a lot of views already but alas no sales. Incessant plugging through Facebook has gone OK and my page has double the number of likes it had at the beginning of the week.

I know I'm never going to make my first million from photography but if I can pi offer any advice to people wanting to make a little money that would be to sign up for local arts and crafts fairs. I make a lot of sales of local images to local people and I hand out business cards getting me a bit of return business.

Matt

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Re: How to Generate Sales

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