Sunday, January 17, 2010

Waiting for Your Next Sale? Don't!

It is a helpless feeling.....putting all your love into creating and posting your items, only to find slow traffic to your shop, low views and no sales. But don't pout! Turn a negative into a positive!

Now is the time to get creative and revamp your shop!


Photos
  • Have photos that don't seem to fit? Blurry? Dark? Now is the time to retake and experiment with new backgrounds and lighting! Even just adjusting them a little more in photo editing software can give it that something extra to encourage more views.
  • Maybe your photos aren't so hot to begin with? This does take a lot of time and practice, but with so many blogs dedicated to offering photo tips (including this one!), you can't go wrong! Try researching more in the forums on how to improve them. The better your photos, the more views you are likely to have. 
  • Keep your shop looking fresh by arranging it every so often and featuring different items.
  • If you have an item that seems to get low views, try switching the photo with another one in your set of five. This can sometimes work magic!
  • Head to the forums for some critiques. Etsians are kind and will really help you! 
Text
  • Why not try expanding on your descriptions? What makes the item special? Have you described the color, texture, size sufficiently? Who could use the item? Is there a story behind why you created it?
  • What about rechecking the spelling of your listings and shop announcement? Typos make your shop look less professional and are so easy to fix!
  • Are your policies clear? Maybe there is something else you would like to add to help your customer understand the checkout process? 
  • Always keep your shop announcement current. There is nothing worse than a sale announcement for last month there!
Avatars and Banners
  •  Try changing your avatar every so often. Choose your best photos of items that really stand out. You never know when a seller in the forums will get tempted to click!
  • What does your banner say about your shop? Are you using crisp photos and clear text? There is a great article on how to create your own banner on Etsy.  But if you don't have the time or the graphic design skills, don't worry. There are shops that sell branding packages with banners, avatars, and business cards rolled into one! Just do a search on Etsy!
Free Exposure
  • Search the forums for blogs looking to feature shops.
  • Have a Blog? Host a giveaway! Tweet about it, tell your friends, post a promo thread in the forums!
  • And I am sure you know all about social networking on Facebook. Myspace, and Twitter!
But most importantly......keep crafting! Keep adding new items to your shop and enjoying what you love to do!!

*What do you do while you wait for your next sale?

5 comments:

  1. I just keep making stuff and learning from my fellow etsians. Great post. Never get discouraged, even if that is easier said than done at times.

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  2. Thanks for all the tips! Some of them I have done, some not. I better get to work!!!!

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  3. Great post - great advice! I found that sales were very very slow - so I took a day out of my busy schedule and redone all the photos for all my items - added some lovely orchid and violet flowers from my garden in the photos - and WHAM - sales went through the roof - now I am really careful about the photos I take and how I present my jewellery - it worked!

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  4. Great post! thanks for sharing!

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  5. Thanks for your great advice. I love your blog and your posts. I also don't think that you should wait to get visitors to your etsy shop. Its possible to use the shop RSS feed to spread the content through RSS aggregator sites, such as feedage and feedagg. Also the tags are very important to select keywords that match the items and will rank on the search engines.

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