Help everyone :)

[#1]

Hey guys and gals!

I've noticed alot of new shops joining the team...this is awesome!
With that said, most of them have not yet had a sale.

Let's help everyone! The more shops that participate, the more helpful this thread will be.

Post one thing that has helped your shop's sales/views.

Thanks in advance!

[CreoFineJewellery]

Thank you for all the advice.

[BeachHouseTreasures]

I learned that putting my store name in tags was helping friends and family find me.

[TheSandbar]

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Ecosostenibilita?ref=teams_post
"Hi everyone, I'm Scarlett, I am a singer, I'm new and still I had no sales, you can help me?, thanks everyone. A courteous greeting"

Unfortunately I don't speak any Spanish...but I put Rossella's original post in a translator program if anyone from our team could reply to her please :)
(I'll try to see fi I can figure out how to translate my feedback into Spanish for her as well)

[Former_Member]

Listing pre-made items vs custom items is more efficient ..at least for me.

[Former_Member]

Well, even if figure out Google Translate, which I have, your reply will often not be able to be understood much of the message beyond the general idea. I was working with a buyer in Germany and could tell her to send pictures to me. But it's hard to communicate the finer points of SEO through Google translate.

[Former_Member]

Pinterest! Put your listings on Pinterest - it is a great way to bring traffic to your shop!

[Former_Member]

I find it is somewhat helpful to join pinterest and pin all of your items, have friends pin your items as well! https://www.etsy.com/listing/183806868/white-coral-specimen?ref=shop_home_active_5

[Former_Member]

My photos. And, I still do it......when I can't get a good photo, I make the mistake of listing it anyway because I'm in a hurry. I rely on the sun for good photos, so most days it's a challenge. When I have good photos, I have good views and sales. With that, gotta go retake photos! Good luck!

[Former_Member]

Since I started re-taking my photos all on the same grey background, I have had like 5 sales this week already. I find that shops with professional studio photos, and cohesiveness, have more sales! I use strobe lights and a light grey paper backdrop. Lights cost me $800 but I also use them for portraits and weddings so it has paid off. Look at my shop, you will the top half of pictures are nicer and more cohesive than the bottom half.

[Former_Member]

I just took a minute (or a few.. lol) to read through this and so glad that I did!! Lots of great advice and I've got some work to do! (now..) Thanks! :)

[Former_Member]

I posted a Pinterest thread a few days ago if anyone is interested. I haven't had many sales but a few of them did come from my followers re-pinning my item on Pinterest.

[tiposcreations]

I agree, List as many items as you can to look like a real store. Imagine walking into a new brick and mortar gift store to buy a gift for a friend and in the whole store there were only 4 items on the shelves. It wouldn't leave a very good impression on you as a customer. Not to mention the fact that you appealed to a very small audience. After you have built the best selection you can, then become very active with helping your fellow Etsy'ns with favoriting their items and shops. They will in turn do the same for you. Join a number of teams and promote your items in the team threads. Be active every day, within 30 days you should notice really good results.

[Former_Member]

I've been open a few weeks , but no sales...this is a great thread for newbies, thanks!

[TheSandbar]

Hang in there Cindy, you have adorable whales! Make sure you participate in discussion boards, so you can show off your cute creations ;)

[SusanSorrentino]

Hi... I am pretty new with putting 100% effort into my etsy shop. I became disabled with a pinched nerve in my back 7 weeks ago and must rely on ETSy for my support.. UGG... I have figured out that belonging to teams help me to get seen by playing their favorites games. I also figured out that building your following with people who have big followings can be key to expanding my web.... Can you guys tell me anything else I should be doing? Thanks! Susan

[Former_Member]

list a new item every day instead of listing 20 items on the same day. This way your shop will pop up more in searches and on the recently listed items at the bottom of etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/183806868/white-ocean-coral?ref=shop_home_active_10

[Former_Member]

@Susan, You need to put more time into your description. The description you have for this listing is all of four words:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/187430308/two-tiny-moon-face-earrings-golden-and?ref=shop_home_active_6

Since you're selling similar pieces of jewelry, take some time and come up with a boiler plate description that you can substitute in a few words her to there to customize it to the specific piece.

Here, take a look at the description I wrote for this beach sign and you can see how easy it is to customize to different listings:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/116577933/lifes-a-beach-sign-16-inch-wooden-sandal

[Former_Member]

Participating in the forums so that your shop name is out there and other shops are favoriting and viewing it.

[Former_Member]

Hello All . . . I just joined this team today and I need a LOT of help!!! I have read through some of these posts and they are already giving me ideas, so thanks to everyone for their input. I will read through more tonight and start doing some work on my shop! Advice from any of you will be greatly appreciated!

[TheSandbar]

Patty,

Your shop looks like it's off to a great start! Good titles and tags. Only thing I would recommend...on your cube paperweights, the first photo is a little busy. (with the newspaper print in the background) Besides that, everything looks great!

[Former_Member]

Thanks, Jess . . . I know what you are saying and had a hard time picking which photo to feature. I am having such a hard time getting photos of those little, shiny cubes and the white background seems to make them worse. They reflect so much, even in a lightbox with no direct lighting and no flash. They are pretty cool in person and they sell in galleries/shows, but I may not be able to photograph them well enough to sell any in my shop.

I am very new to this so I don't really know what I am doing re: posting, getting followers, etc. Most of my friends are oldish (like me!) in our mid-50's and 60's so we are kind of out of the loop - I asked some peeps to "follow" me or "favorite" some things or Pin them and they keep saying "I tried but couldn't figure it out", hahaha! It's probably going to be a SLOOOOWWWWW road to sales for Sapphire Island :)

[TheSandbar]

Patty,

Sometimes I have a hard time with capturing exactly what I need to...I end up posting cluttered pictures, then go back and change them. Some things are just really hard to capture. My best advise would be...try using natural lighting. I always have the best of luck with cloudy day or dusk lighting for my photo's. Also try different angles.

And lol!! Too funny. Don't be discouraged...it took close to 2 years for my shop to take off. I do notice spikes in my own views/likes the more I participate in team discussions...especially the games and new items boards.
PS: didn't have my first sale until a few months in.

Good luck!! :)

[Former_Member]

Jess,

I took your advice and changed the cube paperweights' 1st photo to the white background . . . I will probably re-shoot soon as I have learned a thing or two since that shoot (like natural lighting, as you mentioned!)

I look forward to participating on the team - thanks again for your help and encouragement!

[Former_Member]

Create treasuries. Here is one I created today from the postings for white items.

https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MjA2NDAxODZ8MjcyMzgwMDI5OQ/treasures-in-the-sand?index=0&atr_uid=

It would help the team if you wouild look at it and promote. Thanks.

[TheSandbar]

Beautiful treasury Elaine!