I haven’t had any sales yet, and I’m wondering if any experienced sellers could take a moment to look at my page and give me some advice if there is anything I could do better? I am trying to promote via Facebook, using sponsored posts etc. but although I get a few more views, still no purchases. It can be quite disheartening and brings thoughts of doubt such as whether my items are not good enough. I take pleasure in making things, but it would be nice to sell a few too! Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I’m just wondering when you opened your shop. There is another thread on the forums where other people are bemoaning their lack of sales, but since I’ve been on here it’s always been quiet in the summer. Your jewellery is lovely but there is a lot of beaded jewellery on Folksy (I’ve even made some myself recently to use up my bead stash!) Your products are good and your photographs are clear and bright so it’s just a matter of getting noticed. Keep plugging away and good luck!..
Hi as Eileen said it takes a while and promoting helps a lot. I love sea glass and made a pinboard on Pinterest for #folksyfriday last week and one of your lovely items was included. I promoted it on my Facebook page if you would like to tag your page in the post comments you are most welcome I tweeted it on twitter (Folksy retweeted) and promoted on Instagram here’s the link to it if you would like to look
I’ll back up what the others have said - it takes time and promotion to get your shop noticed especially if you are working in the very crowded jewellery market. Somethings that I have learnt along the way
include colours in the title/ description and tags - this way you get found by all those people who put eg blue bracelet in the search box.
when writing your description imagine that the person can’t see the photo so you need to include descriptors about the size (eg chunky or delicate) and overall feel of the piece (autumnal, vibrant, boho, geometric) as well as describing the materials used in it (you will feel like a thesaurus by the end of it)
if you have used a birthstone or stone relating to a wedding anniversary (eg coral for 35 years or pearls for 30) remember to mention that and put in that it would make a lovely gift for the birthday girl/ beloved wife
if they could put a pendant onto a different length chain or ribbon put that info in, ditto if a bracelet is on stretch elastic making it ideal for people who don’t like fiddly clasps or have dexterity issues
It will feel like an uphill slog for a while I’m afraid but you could try a few christmas markets to get the ball rolling making sure you have plenty of business cards available for people to take away for those follow up online purchases.
Good luck
Sasha
Hi Angela, welcome to Folksy. It does take a while to get noticed. Here are a couple of suggestions.
You haven’t completed the “Buying from me” section, this now seems to be the place where you tell about you and your work, and what customers can expect when they buy from you. This is found in your Dashboard under Shop Settings. Have a quick look at another shop and see what I mean.
Also there is a section “Meet the Maker” where again you can tell your story and promote yourself. This is found in your Dashboard under “Profile Settings”.
Hope this helps. I love Sea Glass and your items are lovely.
I think your jewellery is lovely and the coastal theme gives it an identity and helps it to stand out. Jewellery items have been particularly slow this month- I’m still waiting for a sale. Things usually pick up in September. If you are still waiting for that first sale after another week or two, you could try persuading a friend or relative to buy something from you. That way you will know if the system is working properly and if they register with Folksy they will be able to leave feedback, which should also help. Good luck!
Thank you all for your advice and support! It is so very gratefully received! I appear to have sold a few items (exciting!) Payments are pending so hopefully they complete! This has given me a boost and reassurance. I love creating things so will definitely stick at it and work hard
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but often if the payments haven’t come through in 24 hours then they aren’t going to come through… However paypal was having a major wobble on thursday (I know as I was trying to buy something on a different website and it took me multiple attempts over the space of 30mins) so it might be worth a) checking your payapl account to make sure that they money isn’t already there they just haven’t told you b) checking the order to make sure there isn’t a message asking if they can pay by cheque and c)dropping the customer(s) an email and asking them if they were experiencing problems with paypal and if they are still interested - if they are you can send them a paypal invoice and then just mark the item as paid on your dashboard.
@daizeymay I don’t have kids so I’m looking at this from the view point of someone buying a gift - I know nothing about buying kids clothes (I get put off by sizing as some babies/ toddlers are bigger than others so I don’t know what to get) so someone else can hopefully give you pointers on those. But if I was buying something that looked like a toy I would want to know that it had been CE tested even if it is meant as a keepsake and kids aren’t supposed to play with it (I don’t know which category yours are in, toy or keepsake) and you don’t state if they have been tested or not. I would also want to know the size of the toy, washing instructions (kids are messy I know that much and I doubt mums want to be hand washing) and the materials it is made from (especially stuffing, in case of allergies) which I haven’t spotted in your listings - you may want to include this info as I wouldn’t be prepared to buy something as a present for a child without it and I’m sure I can’t be the only one. I have seen ‘fur’ listed in the materials category for some of your listings, you may wish to change this to ‘faux fur’ which I suspect/ hope is more accurate.
@SashaGarrett I think it is something on the set up of my PayPal as I have been able to make payments using it. I had updated my email address on PayPal but not on folksy set up so I’m wondering if it is that. I’ve amended it now and will do a test buy to check it. I’m not very technical so wish me luck!
Yes if you had the wrong paypal email in your shop settings that would cause issues with payments not going through. Definately worth contacting the customers and apologising for any issues that they have had in paying you and asking if they wish to proceed with the purchase and if they do sending them a paypal invoice.
