We all get this problem, our mojo has gone awol. This is an interesting read and may help.
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Thanks Caroline - interesting read and good advice.
Best thing to give us all some Mojo would be if Folksy did what they say on their tin and put some of their profits into a few proper paid site wide adverts… I expect to see a two day teeny weeny ad round about the 24th and 25th for the first of the ‘events’…
Advertising for Christmas selling though needs to start NOW
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I have just been having a conversation with my better half. We got to talking about lack of sales, hence lack of mojo. I mentioned that unless things improve by Christmas, have to think do I really want to continue.
I love making but tbh have far too much stock and as sales are now dire thinking of stopping making for the foreseeable future. Have a project on my desk to photograph and another few to make up then that could be it until the New Year, if then. Something has got to happen and yes things are tough but notice whereas always appeared on the first page of Google searches now lucky if on any of them. Something has changed just not sure what.
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Well about 9 months ago I think it was I messaged Folksy to say we seem to have gone Google blind and eventually somebody else noticed and raised a forum topic and eventually somebody believed us and found yes it was true and they ‘did’ something to put us back but it took several (a lot of) weeks for Google to ‘index’ us again. Let’s hope that is not the same again !
It is worth noting that Google will find things within the Folksy categories but it does not use our tags.
PS https://talk.folksy.com/t/getting-views
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I can recommend getting your own website. I had a lot of doubts about if it would work for me, but it has and I now get more sales on there than I ever have on here. I don’t even know why I’m here to be honest, as sales are never brilliant. Habit? A kind of nostalgia? I’ve been on Folksy since the get go on and off, so perhaps it’s just a kind of misplaced sentimentality. I’ve been moaning about Folksy’s lack of advertising for years. Now it’s really starting to impact on most of us, and it’s just not on really
It’s also proven that sales can be increased by 80 percent if a site has video facilities for each seller to showcase for 15 seconds. I’ve asked and asked about this and Folksy just drags its feet.
It’s tedious and totally disheartening.
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Just had a quick google and my listings seems to be coming up OK (both Etsy and Folksy). You have to be fairly specific but it does come up.
Google will always find via a specific search. That’s what it does but sadly most customers won’t know the exact phrases to search … they are going to be using generic terms to find what they are looking for
If I search
deaths head hawk moth painting
It will indeed find yours but I doubt a customer would search using such a specific term.
It will only find yours with a search for
Moth Painting
If I also include the word Folksy.
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People have got to know about Folksy in the first place to search for them, as never heard of them cannot search.
I have printed some logo labels to go on the outside of my parcels but customers have got to buy from me to see them. I doubt the posties are interested!
As mentioned on the daily thread John Lewis and Waitrose are now advertising on You Tube. Think not going to be cheap though.
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I seem to have lost mine too. Sales has definitely taken a nose dive. I had my first sale today on here since 8th September! So not covering even my plus account fees.
When I search incognito on google. I do come up. E first usually then Folksy and BuyI. So I’m there. But my personal thoughts are the amount of stuff from Temu and Shein are probably affecting a lot of our sales across the board.
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Last year I saw a fabulous animated mouse Christmas thing on SM. Wonder what it would cost to get that on tv advertising folksy? Bet media is way less than it was in the past. Anyone else see it?
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The prices for TV advertising are on the internet.
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Am I just weird in finding slow sales periods really good for my creative mojo? If I don’t feel I have to keep re-stocking sold items it frees up my imagination to think up new ideas. Not all of which make it as far as the shop by any means, but it’s good to feel I can just go off at a tangent rather than thinking ‘I should be making more Xmas pudding spoons right now’… Slow times are also good for checking out other people’s shops, finding new favourites, doing a bit of social media and cross-promotion and who knows, maybe buying the odd gift here and there and perhaps even connecting with a new customer or two. You have to be an optimist in this game I always think 
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I’ve always found sales hard to come by so not much change really (I’m poor at SM) but I would like to see just the name FOLKSY being more recognized generally as I do think this is a real problem. I know that the cost of advertising is eyewatering though and so I’m not holding my breath on this one.
I paid £20 for a week’s FB and IG promotion and was in best sellers list for several days. Coincidence ?
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Just read this for the first time!
Glad I’m not the only one disillusioned!
If I’m right, it seems to me that unless one joins in and does all the Folksy ‘extras’ theres no advantage to trying to sell on Folksy. I am not on social media, and don’t intend to be. I have tried using Folksy plus but that did nothing but take my money. When I cancelled I suddenly found some of my items were featured. Nobody, but one person, I have spoken to had ever heard of Folksy so have tried spreading the word. It seems to me that us makers are doing all the hard work here. Am i being unfair? I havent made a single sale and am seriously thinking of giving up.
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I’m afraid you do have to do your own promotion and that means joining in the forum threads and getting on social media. How else will buyers find out about you?
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I agree with Helen, unless you promote yourself nobody will find you, selling online is like being a needle in a haystack, if you don’t put your shop and goods out there your chances of being seen are almost zero. There are thousands of people like us selling through online platforms but without social media I doubt many of us would sell anything, I never wanted social media, always said I would never have a Facebook account but when I started selling there was no option but to open one. Then a few years later when i joined Folksy I started on instagram. Could you choose one and just concentrate on tbat, I find instagram the easiest as fb always seem to be changing things, you don’t have to use it for personal use. My facebook acc attracts local customers and friends more than anything else, 95% of my instagram followers are other small businesses and people who follow me as they like what I do.
By having social media and sharing the Folksy name it means more people will see it and hopefully remember it.
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I agree. I liken having a shop to it being down a little back street in a little town. How will anyone know you are there and with open doors if you don’t have a big welcome sign on the door, a super enticing window display and the lights on. If I opened a shop like that on a back street I would at the very least advertise it on all the social media for the area and would stand on the street corner handing out flyers to anyone who passed by.
So the Social media posts that those of us who sell well here do are just like those flyers etc but as we have no B&M building to shout from we have to do it all digitally.
If you want people to find your shop you really do need to tell them you are here.
Folksy do not help with that.
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Very true Joy…oh how I would like a little back street shop full of handmade goodies
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