If your Etsy shop has low views and low sales

Beaded detail on

one of the handbags

 in my Etsy shop

I just received my 1,111th feedback review on Etsy and I am honored that so many people felt compelled to say something nice about what I shipped them. They didn't have to. I appreciate that they did. I posted this in the Etsy forums along with the following insights.

Sometimes people come into the Etsy forums and ask, "How can I get customers to leave a review?" My answer to this is, "By providing a good product, shipped on time, with a friendly note of thanks." That's it. I know many of you are tempted to ask customers to leave you a review, but that's awkward, not necessary and could even backfire on you. Just do a good job, ship fast and be friendly. My customers know that I am a cheerful sort. (Okay, maybe more wacky than cheerful, but whatever...) And your customers will pick up the vibe you convey, too

I know many of you are discouraged by sagging views and decreasing sales. And you come to the forums seeking advice. Most of the advice you get will be to improve your SEO and photos or to add more merchandise. The sellers who generously take the time to study your shop and offer this advice are often giving you very good advice. Please listen to them. Don't tell them why you can't do it. They are often telling you what you need to know, even if you don't agree. But please also remember that with 53 million listings on Etsy, you may need to make more ruthless changes than simply modifying the SEO. I will never say the following to your face when you come to the forums begging for help, but getting good sales goes beyond tags and photos. (Deep breath.)

Many jewelry makers are creating a style of jewelry that is allllllll over the site; consider branching out into making lanyards and eyeglass holders and pieces less ubiquitous so that you can be found in more categories. Make jewelry for women, men, children. Branch out. If you want to make hand-stamped metalwork bracelets, make yours different from what is already out there. 


If you are addicted to crocheting scarves, try to make yours a little different from the many solid-color acrylic ones so you can compete with the HALF MILLION scarves that are listed in the fall/winter. I know it's comforting to make what you like, the way you like it, in the cheapest yarn you can find, using a solid color. But you do not stand out when you do this.

Be nice. Don't copy my work!

If you're going to make calligraphy farmhouse signs, try to come up with fresh quotes that other sellers are not using. Choose quotes that have a searchable word in them and aim for specific rather than vague. Target demographic groups: nurses, Capricorns, step-families, soccer moms, fishing enthusiasts. Make sure your sign is legible because many of them are not. (You think that they are. But they're not. I see them all day long and I can't read half of them.) Consider using a different font so that you will stand out.

If you make greeting cards and your sales are screeching to a halt, it might be because some demographics are buying fewer greeting cards than they used to, in part because they believe in sustainability and it feels wrong to them to buy cards when they can simply send an email instead and, in so doing, save a tree. Stop! I see that you want to argue with me. You are wasting your breath. I didn't single handedly change our culture. It is a trend and you must find a way to adapt and face reality. Try making greeting cards that are targeted to a much narrower niche. "Happy Birthday to my favorite teacher." People search on the word teacher. And rock climber. And football. And doctor. And Nevada. Incorporate searchable key words into your work and watch the rock climbers and doctors and people of Nevada flock to you. You may be thinking, "Those take forever to sell." But nobody wants a generic birthday card. Or if they do, you have too much competition already and you will not be found in search. Alternatively, consider making some other sort of paper products.

What was popular in 2010 may not be in demand any more. It isn't a condemnation of your skills. It's a matter of supply and demand.

Fail.

It was a sad but realistic day when I realized that few people want my clever hand-felted coasters. There's nothing wrong with the ones I make. There are just too many coasters on Etsy and the supply exceeds the demand. Coasters appeal to an older audience, eager to protect their valuable wood furniture, whereas Etsy shoppers are skewed towards the under 50. Please don't write to me and say, "Oh, yeah? Well, I'm over 50 and I shop on Etsy!" That may be, but the majority of Etsy shoppers apparently are less concerned about leaving latte rings on their Ikea coffee tables. I have other stories like this. Numerous stories. I tried something; it underperformed; I moved on. I don't just blindly continue making something that isn't selling well. I try to figure out why something isn't selling. But if I can't figure it out, that doesn't mean I stubbornly keep on making it.

Fail

This happens to all of us. Here is a cowl neckwarmer that can also be worn as a hood or dread wrap. What's wrong with that? I don't know. It sells, but slowly. Do I go into the Etsy forums and wail, "What am I doing wrongggggg? Why isn't this selling? Is it my tags?" No. I tried adding accents to them, such as felted leaves. I made them in a variety of colors for men and women. I used a male model for some of the listings. I changed photos. Finally, I faced reality and I quit making them. Do you like it? Go look in my shop. You can get one at a reduced price. You're welcome.


dj runnels

Visit my Etsy

Cheap background for your Etsy, Ebay, Artfire, Zibbet photos

If you sell online but aren't quite ready to invest in an elaborate photography backdrop and light box for your product shots, here's a solution that costs about $10.  You know those white fold-up displays that kids use for science fair projects?  They sell them at Target and similar stores near the school and office supplies.  Here's what the package looks like.

Be careful opening it, because although it is sturdy, the edges chip easily.  It's not a huge deal, since you will crop that part out of your photos.



Once out of the cellophane, the board opens up into a three-panel piece of foam board, about 1/4" thick that you can set up near a window in your home or apartment.  Choose the best window you can, because the light you get will make an enormous difference in your photos.  Natural light gives your product the most natural, accurate color and often alleviates the need for a flash, which can make your product look creepy strange if you don't use it right.  You'll have to experiment regarding the time of day and strength of light available, but soon you'll find the ideal window.  Often a slightly overcast day with a cloudy white sky works best.  Sometimes bright sunlight works if it's indirect, not streaming in directly onto the display board.  If you live in an urban apartment very close to another building or on an immense estate surrounded by trees (I hate you, by the way), you may not be able to find good natural light.  You might try taking the display board outdoors to use in light, overcast conditions.

So here is my closed, folded up display board on my dining table.  Doesn't look very bright in that room, does it?  But it will work fine.  I am laying the board horizontally and I will use the large middle panel for arranging the merchandise I want to photograph.  I will use one of the short panels to hide whatever garbage may be on my dining table.

 

Today I arranged to have an exceptional amount of junk on my table, just for you.  The curtain rod in my dining room fell and I haven't put it back up.  I can't open the other curtain until I do, because if I attempt it, the other rod could fall.  Meanwhile, my husband has a stack of bills he has to pay.  And there's a library book he is reading.  Plus I have a stack of photos in frames that I am going to do something creative with.




So now I open up one of the flaps of the board to hide the aforementioned junk.

I will place my product on the widest section of the board.  If I don't need the other short panel--which is now closest to me--I may simply tilt it up and let it reflect light onto the merchandise.  If the whole reflective thing is too confusing or doesn't work for you, don't worry about it. 

This is my product, a cowl neck scarf, photographed against the main part of the same board, on the same day, using only the light from a window to my right.  I cropped out all the debris and hoopla on the dining table and all we see is my hand knit cowl surrounded by lots of white.

If you sell on Etsy, you know having a white background is uber important.  Etsy.com is loaded with white, so having crisp photos with white backgrounds enhances the Etsy look.  Some people don't like the Etsy look, but I think those who embrace it tend to have better sales. There are exceptions.  But I digress.  Also, if you sell on other online sites, it is still a giant plus to use a stark white background, because it puts focus on your product and makes for a sophisticated photograph.  I truly believe that a photo can make or break a sale.  I have seen what is probably perfectly viable merchandise online that I nevertheless didn't purchase merely because the photo was so dark or blurry that I wasn't confident it was what I wanted.

When I am finished taking the photos I need--and I will take a lot, because another mistake that sellers sometimes make is showing only one photo when they could have shown 5 or 10.  Wait, where was I?  Oh, yes, when I'm through taking photos, I will fold up the board and put it to the side of a shelf in my dining room, where it is unobtrusive and less likely to get kicked or scratched.

Now I need to figure out how to get that pesky curtain rod back up.

Visit Life's an Expedition on Etsy.

dj runnels