I am in this for the long haul and not looking to make a ton of money. I am looking at having a purpose for my hobby that will help me as I retire from a stressful job. So, setting this up pre-retirement to set up a base.
I am looking for critic of my shop to help me get that first sell in the shop.
*Interestingly, I have had a few sells because I have been advertising the shop for some bespoke pieces but not in the shop.
Thanks in advance.
Nothing wrong with your shop but takes time to build an audience. Think my first sale took about 3 months but so far this month 15 sales. Have been here for some years now.
Do you promote your shop on social media? Every day I join in the challenge which means listing and item then visit every shop and love the item they have posted.
I also promote on Facebook business page and Instagram daily. These are scheduled in advance through the FB business suite app and automatically posts to insta at the same time. Also joined other groups on fB and promote to those daily if allowed.
On Folksy all about increasing your reach through social media, know that some sellers pay for advertising on FB. You can often get free advertising or they will match what you spend. Not a bad idea for say November on the build up to Christmas,
I used to do fairs but now purely use Folksy as my platform, am on another selling site but got as a special offer for the year and will not renew next year as not a sniff so far. Could be because I do not use twitter and do not promote as I do my Folksy shop.
Thank you for the advice and experience. I do most of what you have suggested. So, feel as if I am on the right track.
I will do the things I am not doing and keep doing what I am.
As a casual browser i think i would be put off by your emphasis on imperfection. As a maker I get it entirely and love kintsugi items and the concept of wabi sabi. But the average buyer is likely to start to wonder what is wrong with the items and think they are all seconds. Then move quickly on to a shop selling ‘perfect’ items.
I think some more positive rewording in a couple of places would help a lot.
Thank you for the advice. I get what you are saying and will consider.
Everything is looking very good and you’ve made a positive start.
Many people find social media really key to sales so spending time on SEO and FB, Instagram and Pinterest is probably a good idea.
It’s always good to look at other shops to see how they present themselves - it is nice to have a full ‘About Section’ with some personal touches and I find the ‘Shop Announcement’ is a great place to put in a friendly welcoming message alongside all the important information.
‘Hello and welcome to my brand new shop!
With my first few orders I’m giving all my customers a little extra ‘bonus gift’.
Unfortunately I only deliver to UK based customers at the moment.
Hope you find some things you like here.’
You have a very realistic approach to sales which is very important - it can be slow to get established so patience is the key.
Good luck.