How are sales going?

Hi there, your post is really interesting! Can I please ask a couple of questions? When you say you put your link in the first comment am I right in thinking you post your post and then add a comment with the link to your shop - sorry, that sounds pretty stupid when I write it down but I just wanted to double check!! Also, do you have any tips for effectively using Pinterest - I dabble but don’t seem to get much reaction. Thank you :blush:

Hi there, I agree with @JOYSofGLASS.
SM, as much as I don’t always enjoy it, is a necessity but I just can’t get to grips with Twitter! We mainly use Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. I occasionally do some Live videos which also help although can feel like you are talking to yourself :slight_smile: not necessarily a bad thing sometimes.
Orders have been good on Folksy for us, a steady trickle. I do a lot of self promotion of the Folksy platform across all our SM and #folksyseller etc as much as possible.
Like Joy, I mix up selling posts with other things to get interaction and build a community.
A good place to get seen is Hike Those Likes Marketplace on FB, lots of engagement and a good supportive community along with free events.

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I’ve been on Folksy for 10 years now and have always found it an excellent place to sell. It’s a bright and welcoming platform with some excellent handmade products and the community are really friendly and helpful. I’ve found that my things sell really well and, like Joy, I promote on social media - I post one or two of my items every single day in several different places. I quite enjoy fiddling around with photos to create an advert and then I put the same thing on Facebook, Instagram, in craft groups etc. If you get yourself into a routine, it only takes a few minutes. I generally do it while I’m eating my breakfast - bowl of cereal in one hand and iPad in the other :rofl:
Love your embroidered products by the way.

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Sales are usually pretty good but I have found that sales have increased during lockdown, not sure why that is, probably more people online, I think its important to showcase your work on social media as much as possible and the occasional facebook/ insta ad. That should help your sales xx

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It took me about 3 months until my first sale last year. Trickles atm this is mainly due to the current situation in the country.

Hi, not sure what I should have expected, sales wise, but 11 months in, I am quite happy with my sales. Took 3 months to sell 10 items but by then I had realised the need for social media. Business was good leading up to Christmas but has slowed, inevitably. So my first year as a hobby will have created the need to become self employed. I needed to sell my mainly jewellery items so that I could buy more fixings, as I couldn’t fund the hobby from my pension. So I guess my feelings are that this year has been positive with sales, but I look forward to selling at markets this year and meeting people. Good luck.

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Hello everyone, just thought to share my opinion too.

I think it depends on what you are selling and how many people you can reach through social media to get your shop known and “visible” to others.

My personal experience on Folksy is not great, sales wise. I use Twitter to promote my listings and about a month ago I’ve started using also Pinterest. I try to post a comment on Folksy Forum almost daily, I’ve started to do Folksy Fridays, but I don’t get many views per day. None from Twitter, in fact.

As people have said before in other posts and topics too, it is quite difficult for your shop items to get views unless you are “out there” promoting it constantly. So it’s up really to you, how much time you want to spend promoting.

I thought often to leave Folksy as it’s not taking me anywhere really, but I do like the community and I love it as a concept. It’s the true handmade, creative shopping website and I haven’t found one as friendly and as good as it yet. Mine is also a hobby, still improving and not a very expensive one either, so if I don’t sell a lot, I still enjoy creating and being part of this community.

My final and personal comment to you and everyone else is Give it a go. As you have seen and read, we all have different experiences, the fact that it doesn’t work for some doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t work for you, and the other way round. Try it for a few months, if it doesn’t get you anywhere well, at least you’ve tried. :blush:

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@HecatesHouse The chances are if you really want to make a go of selling your craft, you’re going to have to spend money on it at some point, whether that’s as listing fees online or a stall fee for a craft fair, there’s very little you can get for free (except social media).
I think it’d be very lucky for a shop with only 3 items to get sales, because people like choice. Think of how many times you go in to a shop and want to buy one of the first 3 things you see. Normally it might be “I like this, but I’d want it in another colour”, or “I like this colour, but I’d prefer a different design”.
Plus the more items you have, the more times you’re going to come up in searches.

If you want to give your shop a fair chance, think about how much you’d be happy to spend. It might just be the price of a cup of coffee, or the equivalent of a table fee at a local craft fair. Once you’ve got that number in your head, work out how many listings you can have (for a £2 coffee that’s 11 listings, for a £5 table fee that’s 28 listings, or one month of unlimited listings with a Plus account). Give it a real go for that amount in your head, list your items, promote them however you want… and if you still don’t get sales after those 4 months, you know you gave it a good try.

The first time I joined Folksy I was similarly cautious about listing, didn’t really push it and I didn’t get sales. The second time I decided to sign up to a Plus account to force myself to list as much as I could and really push it. I gave myself a time limit and decided if I wasn’t getting sales after that I’d close my shop, but luckily the extra effort helped me get the sales I wanted.

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Thank you for your advice. That’s very kind of you to take the time.

Hi, sorry I’m one of those negative people. I’ve been on Folksy since it first started, on and off, and in all that time I have only had a couple of sales. I’ve tried social media etc to promote my shop but it’s never picked up. I keep plodding along because I keep telling myself things will pick up and I prefer the community on here but sadly sales are very poor. I also like the fact that it is genuinely all handmade but I’m now going to realistic and probably close my shop. I’ve also had a shop on the other ‘unmentionable selling platform’ where things are better. I hate myself for doing this but I’m fed up with the site looking so dated. Some sellers do really well on here but I’m not one of them, unfortunately.

Hello Donna, you are not alone, it takes time to set targets and accomplish them but, are these achievable for all, it takes courage to admit no sales and like me, l am with you. Sallyc

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