Fellow sign makers please help...

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone,

I opened my shop two weeks ago. I haven't had any sales yet. I have over 400 views and 300 likes.

Just wondering on average how long it took until you got your first sale and how many views/likes you were getting in the beginning.

I advertise a little on facebook and pinterest but don't think i get much traffic from that. I have joined several teams and have been fairly active on those and I think that's where I get the most of my traffic.

I know most of my signs are Christmas related so I'm working on adding non holiday signs.

Just hoping some of you can share your experiences and maybe give me a little feedback on why I'm not selling.

Thanks so much! I love that there is a forum where we can find support on here!

[MyThoughtsExactly6]

Hi Allison, I have had my shop for about 1 month. I do not have half as many views or likes that you do. I have sold 2 signs, but that's it. I also could use some feedback on how to get some more traffic and what to do to make more sales:) Maybe it has something to do with things being slow after Christmas.

[MainelyMae]

Hi Allison, I haven't been on for a full year yet but have learned a few things along the way that I will share with you. One reason could be that a lot of your signs are Christmas related but I found the more listing I put on the better each month got for me for sales. I am up to 137 and now have pretty consistent sales and Christmas was almost overwhelming to keep up with.

Another thing I would look at are your tags. I have been told and have read in the forums numerous times about not having one word tags. I have tried to follow that and it seems it has helped in my signs getting found. For instance: think like a buyer... what would you type into the search bar to find a hand painted sign such as yours? I noticed you have the size as a tag.. I am not sure buyers would start with that in their search.. I would suggest you try tags that may read: hand painted sign instead of a single word sign... primitive sign. and so on... I am NO expert by any means and I am sure there are others that have been selling much longer than I have that would have valuable advice but just wanted to share a few tips that helped me along the way. Your signs look wonderful!!! Keep at it and it will come! I am finding January to be a slower month as well also.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for the feedback, Donnie and Lottie!

Donnie, good luck with your new shop! It's a bit overwhelming, isn't it?

Lottie, thanks so much about the tag insight. I will go through and change all my tags to reflect what a buyer might search and hopefully that will help. And I will be slowly adding more non-Christmas signs so hopefully that will help too. How long did it take until you were getting regular sales? I feel like my views are pretty good but no one's buying. I know part of it is January but hopefully things will improve.

[MainelyMae]

It took me about 5 months to begin getting regular sales. Summer was good for me right into the Christmas season. I have been reading that January has been slow for many so far.

[Former_Member]

Lottie, thanks. It's nice to get an actual idea of how long things might take so that I don't get too discouraged!

[Former_Member]

Hi Allison! I just opened shop earlier this month and got my first sale yesterday so it took about 2 weeks for me, but I also had to look at my inventory and make a few smaller items that I feel people may be more comfortable with buying price-wise, since I didn't have any feedback or sales yet. Looking at your shop, it looks great and you definitely have a lot of items! I would just focus on your tags maybe, I read a thread somewhere that said your tags should match your product title exactly word for word, just spacing it out and doing the different combinations. At least that's supposed to help you get found more. The sign market is so saturated, it's hard to break in apparently... Also advertise your shop on facebook or wherever you can to help get "likes". Until we get feedback, I feel like "likes" are the only thing that will give us some credibility to potential buyers.

[Former_Member]

I'm new to Etsy and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who posted here because it's helped me learn a lot! It may be a tough road, but I'm in it for the long haul! :) Thanks again everyone!

[SignCreation]

To; Allison Brown from BrownEyedSignDesign

Hi allison
If you would like I could give you a gentle critique of your store. I always ask as it can be a little jarring to be told to shape up your baby:) but they do help. convo me and let me know. I didnt see a "gentle critique" discussion here. maybe we should start one:)

Linda

[SignReads]

This is to only the sign makers. I would like to see a gentle critique from sign makers. I am not making many sales. My sign shop has been opened over a year. Something is wrong. I am not doing the promotions. I tried it before and it changed nothing. I promote a little on face book and twitter. I have changed my tags many times. When I first opened, I started with the smaller signs. Now I am hand painting larger signs. I am beginning stained wood. I don't have a stencil cutting machine. I currently do things the old fashioned way. A lot of my stuff is from some manual stencils, tracing computer fonts, and free hand. Maybe my signs are not what is wanted. Everything is hand painted. If a sign maker can lead me in right direction I would greatly appreciate it. You all have nice signs.

[SignReads]

Allison,
You have some beautiful signs. I am sure it will pick up. I am having the same problem not having many sales. I posted this post above yours. While being tired I just realized that this is someone else's post, sorry about that. Love your signs.