Hi can anyone help me, I must be doing something wrong. I have had my shop on Folksy for years and no sales, however I also have my shop on another site and it is doing ok. Any suggestions extremely grateful…
Hi there,
I am by no means an expert and am also frustrated with my lack of sales (1 in 3 months!!) but you seem to have had some sales and good reviews? You have lovely items in your shop but I noticed in a few photos that they are very close up - you can’t see the whole item or what it is without clicking on it. One of the few things I do know is that clear and good photos are key to selling online. In your first photo you have to try and grab attention right away. So maybe try some new photos moving further back and showing the whole item with a bit of space around it would be good. You can always use the close ups in your other photos. The advice I have been given repeatedly is to promote as much as possible on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest) so I don’t know if you’re doing that? Other sites seem to promote their seller’s products more (i.e. Etsy) but Folksy seems to leave that side of things with more onus on the shop owners (ooh, that rhymes!). Also using the forums on here for mutual support and promotion. I’m finding that social media part really hard but I think it is definitely worth a good try. You have a lovely shop, keep going and wishing you visits from the sales fairy very soon! Becca😊
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Hi @Poppyknitwear . I second what @Bimblebird says. Your items are gorgeous. Photographing my stuff is the bane of my life but I know that good photos and descriptions are the only way to get sales as people can’t touch or pick up your items so need to have a good view. I feel the same regarding sales but have found that being active on the forums has helped. Everyone is very supportive and half my sales (3/6) have come from other folksy sellers, which is lovely.
If you are on Instagram, you can pop over to the New sellers, leave your Instagram link here which will put you in touch with fellow Folksy peeps on Instagram, and I have just started a thread this morning for Pinterest too Share your Pinterest link here!.
I sometimes feel that I spend more time on the forums and Instagram than I do actually making, but I am determined to keep going as I love making and believe that my perfect customers are out there.
Keep the faith - we’ll get there!
The otherside has a much larger browsing population and a shop there can achieve sales without doing any promotion for it. Folksy has less of a browsing population so promotion and SEO is key. The clickable link on your instagram page takes people to etsy not folksy (I know there is a link for folksy but it would need to be copied and pasted into a browser which is putting a barrier in the way) - ditch the etsy link and make the folksy one clickable. There are no links in your pinterest bio.
Your description and tags aren’t particularly search algorithm friendly. Tags need to be relevant phrases that people would put in the search box to find your item - things like ‘handknitted baby cardigan’, ‘new baby gift’, ‘lilac baby cardigan’ - if the search bots aren’t finding your items to put them in searches then people won’t see your items. Search bots also read the descriptions to find out if an item should go in the results, since they can’t see the images you need to fully describe the item. I was given the tip of writing your descriptions as if describing the item to a blind person including colours, textures and overall feel of the item. It is also your chance to up sell features to customers eg a yarn isn’t just a yarn its a ‘super soft yarn for wearing next to baby’s delicate skin’. I’d also include flat measurements of items as babies can vary somewhat in their sizes.
Finally, as someone else mentioned above, your photos need improving. Zoom out a bit so that the entire item is visible in the main shot and brighten them up (that can easily be done using free software like picasa). The search bots get your items into search results but its your photos that get people to click on the item to read the description and hopefully buy.
Fingerscrossed that helps even if it is perhaps not what you wanted to hear.
Sasha
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Hi @Poppyknitwear would agree with the above re
photos and social media. also it does look like you have had sales…? maybe increase the number of items in your shop too.
not a criticism of crochet and knitting but there is an awful lot of people selling (perfectly nice) stuff and i do wonder how much of a market there is for it?
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Hi, I’m the same. I know I haven’t got too much, I seem to get ‘impressions’ and views, but no one is buying 
Michaela
you say no sales but I looked in your shop and it shows quite a few sales???..so have you had sales or not?
Your pics of the cardigans need to show the WHOLE garment…people want to see what they are buying. You cannot see the bottom of a lot of them you can take up to 5 photos…so take one of the whole garment, then a close up of the neck, the sleeves, the hem and if you like, one of the back of the it.
here is a picture of one of mine showing the complete item so that everyone can see what they are buying…
Hope that helps
.
