I think maybe it’s because the handmade market is so strong in the US at the moment, maybe it’s just because woodland animal as a theme is still quite strong, but when I look at the data on Etsy, many people land on my shop just by typing in ‘‘fox’’
’‘fox pillow’’ etc, which is quite specific, but probably much, much harder when selling jewellery.
I do have to actively promote my Folksy shop much more, and as for Facebook, that seems to have died a slow death for me, although other people have very successful pages!
I too have a shop on each platform, I like Folksy for its plus listing and the really nice people who are only to willing to answer questions and give support. I hope you find what your looking for on here and get your mojo back. Rachel
Janie, You haven’t filled in your “meet the maker” section in your shop, which is where you can tell your customers all about yourself and your craft. Good luck with your shop.
As well as having brilliant photos and descriptive titles to snag the on line browsers attention you must also provide them with the vital information that helps them make a buying decision. You have no dimensions , sizing information for rings, postage information. You don’t say if the pearls are real,plastic or glass etc. As the customer can’t pick the item up you need to provide this kind of information first and foremost.
My shops are fairly successfull both here and on E…y , but I wouldn’t stop doing occaisional/ seasonal craft fairs - the feedback and market research are invaluable , not to mention the income. Lots of my online customers are people who initially bought from me or met me at fairs.
I’ve had a look at both your Folksy and Etsy stores, and, like others, I feel your photos and lack of useful description (sizes, materials, etc) are letting you down. Close-ups shots and a light background would definitely help your jewellery to pop.
Regarding Etsy in particular, you need to work on your titles and tags. Put more information into your titles, such as colour and materials, and use phrases (not single words) from those titles as your tags. Etsy’s Search loves repetition, and is not so keen on single-word tags.
Another reason your Etsy views aren’t converting to sales is because you don’t sell internationally. On Etsy, this is imperative. I do quite well on Etsy, but almost all my sales are international, and mainly to the US. So if you don’t fancy going worldwide, do consider opening up your store to the US market at least.
Your items are lovely (I’m not on “The Dark Side” so I can’t see what’s in your E*** shop so don’t know what you’ve listed there) but I would not say they were too unique. The best way to find out if anyone else makes similar designs (and look for inspiration too) is to look at a site called Pinterest. Put a description of your piece in the browser and anything that has been posted there worldwide that is similar to your item will come up. I’ve not seen huge numbers in the style of your pieces, but I have seen some. Looking at Pinterest will give you an idea of how to differentiate yourself from other designers who have a similar style or outlook. Hopefully this will help you develop your niche.
I also had to wait a long time for my first sale on Folksy and a long time after that for my second and third sales. Be patient and don’t panic. If you work on building up fans of your work, eventually the sales will follow.
Hi Janie.
I’ve looked at both shops and echo most of the comments already made above. I think your biggest problem is the photography - at the moment, your photos are a bit dull, they need brightening a lot to make the jewellery look more appealing. There are many photo editing options out there, so pick one and practice with it until you can create great photos. I’m still learning on mine - I use Photoshop Elements - but a simple adjustment to the brightness/shadows and a bit of cropping works wonders!
I don’t think the plain white background works particularly well with your work - maybe think about finding a new style. Look at some of the best-selling jewellers on here and see how they have developed their own unique style with regards to showcasing their work - a few simple props, such as pebbles or driftwood, make a big difference and help to draw the eye in. Perhaps you could incorporate some vintage props - maybe use a vintage glass to hang your earrings, for example.
Some of your titles could be improved - think about how people would search for jewellery and use those words and phrases as much as possible. Clever names are very nice, but no-one will search using those words, so it’s better to keep them to the description.
I personally found some of your descriptions (over on the other site anyway) a bit too long - they were interesting, but not many buyers will trawl through that much writing to get to the details they need. I would suggest condensing it down to just a couple of short paragraphs, and include more details about the item itself.
Sorry if this is too much criticism - it’s hopefully constructive! - but I do think your work deserves to be presented well, so good luck with it.
