I was just wondering if anyone would be willing to give me some advice when it comes to my shop.
I would really love for my shop to take off, how long did it take for you to start making sales ?
I have been here only for a short while, around 4 months was when I first opened and I have recently refreshed my shop. Was wondering if I could do anything to help get that first sale, as there is always room for improvement.
Also would love to hear anyone’s folksy journey if willing to share.
I started my shop at the end of April this year and had my first sale just under 6 weeks later. In order to make a sale you need to be found and with just 5 items in your shop your items will struggle to be seen amongst all the other items listed.
So you will need to add more stock, fill in the about you page on your shop as people like to know who they are buying from. advertise and interact on social media, also join in the forum posts.
Thank you sue, this is very helpful and much appreciated.
How many items would you roughly recommend in your shop when first starting out?
Thanks again
To be honest I don’t know how many items or if there is a recommended amount, maybe someone else can answer this. I personally started with a few hundred so I guess it’s a matter of choice?
I started earlier this year, March I think, and had my first sale just a couple of weeks ago. It was to a fellow Folksy-ite I had “met” through the forum.
Not sure about number of items, I could never make hundreds, nor justify the listing cost, unless I had regular sales! Wishing you all the best .
As Sue has said with only 5 items in your shop you are going to be rather lost in the plethora of brooches available on Folksy (there are over 2000, there are over 500 textile brooches). This blog article will help with fine tuning your titles and descriptions to get yourself found in the search algorithm.
I think having the brooches shown on a lapel would help people understand the size and detail of them.
You need to finish off your shop - you are missing a privacy policy and about section.
I got my first sale on the day I opened my shop but that was because I had been teasing the opening on social media and one of my friends decided to support my new venture on it’s first day. I opted for a plus account so I opened my shop with about 100 items.
Thank you for your response, it is much appreciated. I’m going to have a look at adding some more stock but as I am a had embroider hundreds of stock is a bit much for me like you said.
Thanks again
Thanks for your response, I’m going to have a look at adding more items I am concerned about cost as I’m not earning through the shop at the minute.
I will also have a look at finishing of my shop like you mentioned.
Thanks again,
Cerys
I listed my first item by mistake as Mr Bagworks was looking at my draft listing and somehow managed to list it!!! I probably would have taken ages to do it otherwise as I was very self critical (still am!!). It did take a few weeks to get my first sale and I definitely limped along for the first year. Once I got better at photos and SEO (read an awful lot of stuff including Folksy blogs etc) it slowly but steadily picked up. I was definitely behind the curve when it came to social media and getting better at this has really helped.
As a customer I’d love to see your brooches as they would worn…I’d also love to see a social media presence as I think this adds real value to who you are as a maker…and also brings in customers
Thank you for your response.
I will have a look at taking some more photographs as I do think this is a good idea, I have recently started a instagram and a Pinterest I am in the process of adding the links to my shop.
Thanks again,
Cerys
Making ceramics is a slow process (well it is the way I make them!) and I can only justify a firing when I have made enough to fill my kiln. I think I have only ever put about 30 items max in my Folksy shop, and I am happy to jog along like that. It depends what you expect or need in terms of sales, and I sell through galleries too, so Folksy is not my only outlet. But I do think you need a few more than five to create an interesting shopfront as others have suggested. Good luck with your work!
Thank you, I am going to have a look at adding more to my shop around 30 seems like a more realistic amount for me as my work is a slower and time consuming process due to the intricate work which I hand embroider.
Thanks again, it is much appreciated
Cerys
A long time ago - I can’t remember who said it, whether it was official research or not but someone on the forums, said the minimum numbers of items you need in your shop to start getting seen is 66. For some reason that’s stuck in my head and the rule I try to go by.
Again, I’ve no idea if it’s true…lol!
Hi Cerys, I’m not sure of the date I started on Folksy, I think it may have been late August 2018, I made my first sale at the end of the October so it took a couple of months.
I think a few more items would be beneficial if possible, the more you have the more chances you have of being seen. I usually only have less than one page of listings in my shop as they take a lot of time to make, it’s the first time I’ve gone onto a second page this week.
I usually do ok on Folksy, I have some lovely return customers, most were from instagram so it’s definitely worth being present on social media. The past few weeks have been quieter but I’ve had 2 holidays this month so had to close my shop for some if it, I’ve also been making smaller items and my return customers tend to buy my bears.
I don’t think there’s anything else I can add that hasn’t already been mentioned by others. Good luck with your shop I’m sure you will get your first sale soon, lovely brooches.
Me too, I am very guilty of putting far more effort into instagram, it just feels so much nicer somehow even though my local customers who have probably bought 300 or so bears buy on fb. I really do need to try and use it more as it’s always an after thought but the switching between accounts drives me mad especially as Instagram no longer shares my posts to my page so i have to repost from my personal acc and I don’t like using my Debby acc. FB always seem to be changing things to make it more awkward obviously I would recommend using as many social sites as possible I just need to take note of my own advice
I’m coming up to my 2 year anniversary on Folksy, it took me a long while to get going on here and it’s really only in the past few months that I’ve felt I’m really starting to generate some traction. I have 200-odd listings now and I find I get more traffic if I list something new more or less every day (or at least a couple of times a week). Interacting on the forums definitely helps, as does taking part in Folksy Friday where you cross-promote other people’s work. I am trying to be more interactive on Instagram and actually take time to like and comment on posts (not a huge amount of time it has to be said, but all interactions definitely help with visibility) and although I don’t put a lot of effort into Pinterest it does bring me a bit of traffic so it’s worth pinning the odd new listing if and when I remember.
Seems like a lot of effort compared with my shop on that big orange American platform that starts with E, where I have maybe 20 listings and half a dozen of them sell regularly even though I do barely any promotion at all, but after 16 years of endless ‘improvements’ and zero functional customer support, it is a joy to be on a platform where the community and the Support staff are so, well, supportive! So I plan to keep on keeping on
. It did take a few weeks to get my first sale and I definitely limped along for the first year. Once I got better at photos and SEO (read an awful lot of stuff including Folksy blogs etc) it slowly but steadily picked up. I was definitely behind the curve when it came to social media and getting better at this has really helped.
obviously I would recommend using as many social sites as possible I just need to take note of my own advice 