Well, have been posting on etsy for over a month. I followed different peoples advice and only posted every so often instead of all at once so as to keep my shop on the front page when I could (I would have posted more at first but I made myself promise that I wouldn't post unless I had the money to pay the etsy bill). I have posted on the forums, gotten treasuries, and even advertised to try and get my name out and sell something. Still have no sales. So I am asking for advice. What do YOU suggest so I can get a sale? or just do better? I am not begging for a sale, just advice.
Aunt Kathy: Thanks, I guess I kinda expected to have a sale by the end of the first month with all the advertising and such I was doing.
Anon.: I know what you mean.
Ashpags: Ok, I kinda agree that scrolling down is frustrating, so I moved the etsy link tot he top of the page (also note that I advertise the other blog in banners all over while I do not do so for this blog). I was going to do a donation with my first sale... If it doesn't happen in another few months (the first 6 of my shop) then i will donate. The dishcloths are more because I won't be teaching anymore once the baby comes in May and though I could use them, I would rather sell them. Knitter or no.
Dotty: Thanks for commenting! I do love PW so much. And thanks for the convos!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
A little sad about etsy...
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6 comments:
Our Etsy store was up and running for a couple months before we had our first sale, and I know of others that didn't have a sale for almost a year. Hang in there, continue to let crafters and non-crafters know about the shop as well. I have a link in every email I send out, and I made up little cards to give to family and friends. We started out small like you, only about 10 items, we figure even if we paid $50.00 a year to Etsy it was worth the try at the store. There's a lot of stuff out there people will find you. Oh and put in as many tags as you can think no matter how silly it seems, that increases views if you ask me.
i spent a whole night to create a better banner, and now the system is DOWN. I wonder why Esty always has this problem.... so frustrating.
One thing that might help would be a direct link from this blog to your Etsy shop. The link below the pictures above goes to your other blog, and then I have to scroll down to find the actual Etsy link. It's kind of frustrating.
You might think about donating some yarn to get your name out there. Julie at Fricknits is doing a fund raiser for Ravelry and accepting prize donations. If you and your shop were listed as a donor, that would probably help up your traffic.
Personally, I'm hesitant to buy yarn that I haven't (a) touched in a LYS, or (b) heard many good things about (e.g. Socks That Rock or Scout's Swag). For that reason, I'll probably never buy recycled yarn over the internet. I don't know if that's a common feeling, but it is mine. Also, I don't think you'll find many knitters who'll pay for a dishcloth. Yours are nice, but we can all make our own, so you'd want to advertise those to non-fiber-crafters.
Hope that helps! And I hope you get some sales soon! =)
Hi Mamamay. Thanks for the PW ad! I might have some etsy tips for you. Feel free to convo me - dottyral. :)
It can be quite discouraging to begin with. It took me a couple months to get my first non-family sale. You have lovely yarns and I think it'll be a huge draw that they are mostly recycled.
Have you tried promoting off-etsy? Online social networking sites(Myspace, Flickr, other yarn sites)? How about off-line promoting? Maybe teaching a class a local craft store? Donating to art auctions, etc.
Take a look at etsywiki.com for tons of great articles and links of marketing. Also, if you haven't already, you can ask for a shop critique in the etsy forums and maybe get some more tips to improve your shop.
Good luck! Its a lot of work, but its really worth it! :)
It was slow for me at first on Etsy, so try not to get discouraged. I've now made 67 sales in 9 months and I feel like that is great for being a part timer at Etsy. You've done a nice job on your blog.
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