# Etsy shop



## elmtree (Mar 7, 2014)

Hey guys. I'm not sure if other people give out their page info for critique, but I have been getting a lot of traffic to my site and not many sales. I have some paid advertising through Pinterest and etsy so a lot of my traffic comes from there. I also get a bit of traffic through Facebook. So I'm getting about 350 views a week and maybe 15-20 favorites but only maybe one or two sales. A couple weeks ago I had four sales that week but it's been quiet since then. Is this typical, or is something driving them away or not grabbing them? My shop name is www.etsy.com/shop/elmtreesuds. Thanks ahead of time!!


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## FGOriold (Mar 7, 2014)

The only thing that I see right off the bat is your titles.  They sound more like descriptions and make it difficult to decipher what the listing is for.  If it were me, I would shorten the title making it more specific to what the product is (soap, lotion, body butter) instead of that information getting lost in your current titles and put the rest of the info into the description.  Don't make people work to buy your product - you have to grab them quickly before they move on.

Also, not sure if you can call your product organic without certification.  You can say what ingredients are organic, but I don't think you can call your product organic.


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## hmlove1218 (Mar 7, 2014)

I second shortening your titles. I can't tell from the title what I'm looking at so if it was in the search id probably keep moving


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## paillo (Mar 7, 2014)

At just a quick glance, totally agree that your titles need to be just titles, save the descriptions for description.

Also agree that you shouldn't call them organic. They include organic ingredients, but the product is not certified organic with all organic materials.

Also, there are some medical claims in there. I would absolutely avoid references to curing eczema, etc., that is a very very big no-no with regulations.

I think I would also try to standardize your sizes and prices more. Settle on a good average size and try to stick to it. I do various soaps that naturally weight differently, e.g. salt soaps weigh more. But I like a degree of predictability for my customers.

Also, is this true that Dead Sea Mud is the only liquid? When I use a lot of DSM it definitely discolors the soap, and I know I couldn't achieve these colors with just DSM. What is your other liquid? Are you listing ingredients in order of quantity? https://www.etsy.com/listing/174098667/peppermint-forest-dead-sea-mud?ref=shop_home_active_17. Truth and complete disclosure in advertising is critical.

Sorry, you asked for feedback, we're giving it. I'll probably add more edits as I have time to look more.

All this, of course, just my two pennies.


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## Seawolfe (Mar 7, 2014)

I'm pretty ignorant to the world of soap sales, but I an speak as a consumer. Yes to titles rather than descriptions.  Looking at the main page I really can't tell what anything is until I scroll down to double butter soap. Aha! It is soap there!

I like your pictures. If I knew what the products were I might click though to them. I don't see soap in the menu on the left except for liquid soap?

I don't know if this is true, but I suspect that online sales tend to be supplemental to sales at a shop or market?  For instance I would never buy LUSH or Aveda or whatever products if I had not already seen or used the products and developed some sort of affinity. People with experience in sales can tell me if I'm wrong there. 

I quite like your banner, it's very pretty. As are your labels.


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## Lin (Mar 7, 2014)

I happen to purchase stuff mainly from online, without stores. What I've seen of LUSH online doesn't interest me and I wouldn't want to step foot in their store personally. 

I also find the long titles confusing. And the ingredient lists seem to be strange? For example on a lotion I saw in the ingredients "paraben free preservative, formaldehyde free preservative." That doesn't seem to be part of an ingredients list to me but rather a description. I doubt the names of the preservatives are "paraben free preservative" and "formaldehyde free preservative"? Personally I would run far, far away from that and not trust your products or their ingredients list to be truthful.


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## elmtree (Mar 8, 2014)

Paillo,

So I used activated charcoal and Dead Sea mud to get that black color. I did double check my ingredients list to be sure I listed it and I did. I do list EVERY ingredient. I don't leave anything out. 

Also, when I wrote paraben free preservative, etc that was just to say the preservative was paraben free, not to hide anything though I see where that could have been misleading. I have since changed it. I have also taken out obscure categories like 'fresh and clean' and added 'lotions, bar soaps' etc so things are easier to find. 

I have also shortened my descriptions and made it more clear what each items is right away. I have also taken out a lot of comments about eczema and the like. Though I would like to point out that this claim is pervasive on even on the very popular bath and body etsy shops. Not saying it's right or legal but it's there. What else should I do?


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## paillo (Mar 8, 2014)

This looks much better to me. Carefully check your punctuation, especially apostrophes, there are a number of incorrect ones. Pharoahs is correct, not pharoah's. Check for a number of it's when they should be its. It's means it is. Its is possessive. Make sure you list your ingredients in descending order of quantity/weight.

Your photography is very nicely done, and your products sound wonderful. Good job on the changes!


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## hmlove1218 (Mar 8, 2014)

You have shortened your titles but most still sound like a description to me. Here is one that I think is good https://www.etsy.com/listing/174090...ery_8&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

This one could be shortened to just cedar and bay men's soap IMO https://www.etsy.com/listing/179316...ery_7&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

This one is still more descriptive and doesn't yell me that I want to know at a glance. It says from the earth. Why not change the title to clay soap or blank, blank, and blank clay soap? https://www.etsy.com/listing/170817...ry_18&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

Also, as a personal preference to me, I like to see the ingredients listed out like "Ingredients:  coconut oil, palm oil, rice bran oil, lye..." It is easier to me than trying to read through he descriptions and see if there is something that I do not want or could be allergic to. If you make me have to work to buy your product then I'm going to go to a different shop.

You state that you changed your section title now you need to go back and look through your listings and make sure that you've changed them there as well. I noticed a few listings that were said to be available in the "clean and fresh" section.


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## Saponista (Mar 8, 2014)

I still think your titles are way too long, if they don't fit under the picture then they need to be shorter. If I can't even see what an item is just by looking at the thumbnail, I'm not going to click any further to read what it is. You've lost me as a customer before you've even got me interested. You only need two or three words to describe the item, then go into all the great details you want when the person has actually clicked the post as they are looking for 'hand lotion' etc.


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## elmtree (Mar 8, 2014)

I have shortened up everything even more and tried to make everything very easy for customers. What else do you see? What about my photos? I worry if they are good enough. I think I would like to do some of them over.


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## hmlove1218 (Mar 8, 2014)

Your titles are much more attractive now. I can tell exactly what I'm looking at in a glance. And I actually really like your pictures and they all seem to coordinate nicely with each other.


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## elmtree (Mar 9, 2014)

hmlove1218 said:


> Your titles are much more attractive now. I can tell exactly what I'm looking at in a glance. And I actually really like your pictures and they all seem to coordinate nicely with each other.




Thank you hmlove. You know, etsy says to write descriptive titles so that's what I did initially. Oh well I'm glad they are better now.


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## Saponista (Mar 9, 2014)

I think your pictures are good, the bar soap ones are great. There are a couple of bottled lotion ones that need the label to be facing forwards and a bit more visible though. The improvement to the product labels is much better now too. I'm sure you will get more people actually clicking through to read about your it's now, and hopefully get more sales!!


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Mar 11, 2014)

Looks a lot better.

I will go back to the titles and suggest some level of consistancy - you state that one is hand crafted, but then not the others.  That suggests that the others are not hand crafted.  Anything that you put in a title or description must be specific to this soap or also in the titles of all of the others.  

Same with Artisan - it is specified on some soaps, but not others.  Are these other soaps not Artisan, or are all Artisan?  If all are, why do only some say so?


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## soapballs (Mar 11, 2014)

I would have to agree with the titles. They do not do anything to grasp my attention and want me to click on it...for one I really am lazy and do not want to read titles and decipher what they are...what I do on there type in whatever my keyword is for whatever I am looking for in the search bar...then when it populates with the matches I basically just keep scrolling page after page while I look at the pictures then glance at a title only usually if the picture captures my attention and then if the title as well holds my attention or wants me find out more further I will at that moment click on the item and then read all the information (given its not a lot) to see what is all this that captured my attention. I like energetic ads or ones that amuse me in someway...those probably do get the most sells as they hold the consumers attention the best and longest. Yours need so spunk and life to the titles to make me want to find out more. I think you have good pictures and I really loved this one: https://www.etsy.com/listing/175634900/creamy-2-in-1-body-scrubs?ref=shop_home_active_8 That picture was unique and told me okay that is different than the rest, and it is just because how you shown the body scrubs. My mind works differently and so take it as my honestly and hope it helps someway.


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## elmtree (Mar 11, 2014)

I really appreciate your input. This is all good to know. I will spruce things up again. I have a friend coming to help me with organizing my shop and she is pretty awesome with words so I'll see if she can help with some copy. Thanks!


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## soapballs (Mar 12, 2014)

I am not good with words or grammar myself so I always ask people to help me by reading over things I write. If you have Facebook ask your friends and family on there to give you some input too. My husband is my usual proof reader for letters I write before mailing them off etc.  It always amazes me the little things I overlook even after reading it over numerous times.  Your mind reads it as it should be or what your meant to say...for me a lot of things I mean to say or have it worded as never comes across as I intend though lol. Your shop looks god though I wanted to also say I think after you get some more feedback it will help sales.  You have awesome ratings but maybe people are nervous to try from the lack of feedback,,,always follow up with your customers to remind them to leave feedback.  It also helps them remember your business and also they may express good and bad things they otherwise would not have troubled with contacting you about.  Plus reminds them to throw up that feedback to help you!   Good luck your on the right path!


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## bombus (Mar 19, 2014)

Your photos are great! You still have medical claims in your descriptions, which will get you a big fine from the FDA. If you say that an ingredient "helps" a certain condition, it is considered an over the counter drug, and that equals trouble. You can say that a product "improves the appearance of..." That statement makes it a cosmetic, which is ok. As long as you list all ingredients on your label in descending order, which is required for cosmetics.

You can't call a product "organic". In order to do that, you have to be certified by the government, and that is a huge project. I would suggest that you use the word in your tags. And description. Then if a customer is searching for organic soap, yours will come up in the results.

Also, add to your circle (friends). Follow and favorite as many shops as you can.
 When you like a shop, the shop owner gets a message. Lots of times they will visit your shop to see who you are. Often, they will favorite your shop or an item. Then, every one of their friends hear about it. You need to grow your network. Then, every time you add a new listing, they ALL hear about it. This makes more traffic. Good luck!


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## njb (Mar 22, 2014)

*Re: Etsy*

I've been lurking on this forum for a couple years--absorbing all the advice and stories. It was the question about ETSY that made me decide to jump in~ 

I sold on ETSY for a couple years and have recently closed my shop, it just was not worth the trouble anymore. If you are selling bath or beauty products the 1st thing you have to know about ETSY is that it is a saturated market. Very saturated. 

Also, read the ETSY message boards, there has recently been lots of uproar over a change in policies that allow people to have items manufactured for them elsewhere and dropshipped to the customer. 

Good luck to you!


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## Alvacado (Mar 24, 2014)

Hi elmtree, I think you need to increase the quantity of your products, more products get more exposures and customers also have more options to choose from.


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## kyliecoast (Apr 3, 2014)

Just curious, have your sales increased since you implemented the suggestions? 
I have not started selling my soaps and I'm wondering if an etsy listing is a good idea/waste of time. 

I agree with hmlove regarding ingredients lists.
I prefer:
"Ingredients: coconut oil, palm oil, rice bran oil, etc."
or "Organic Ingredients:  coconut oil, palm oil, rice bran oil, etc."
This sounds too pushy/salesy: "organic coconut oil, organic palm oil, organic rice bran oil, etc"


If I were you I'd try a few different types of descriptions.
Some people might like succinct factual descriptions with no-nonsense.
Others may like to hear the benefits of the soap on the skin.
Others may want to hear about the organic ingredients.
Others may think organic = pricey = avoid. 
Choose a listing that gets a lot of traffic but minimal sales and make 3 different styles of descriptions and test them out for a week or two each and see if any one description makes a difference to sales volume.


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## ZoeNoelle (Apr 8, 2014)

I disagree with the comments about the titles being too long. That is commonly done on Etsy because it greatly improves your SEO. The more info you include in the title, the easier someone will find you in the search. That's the thinking anyway. I suggest asking on the Etsy forums!


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## elmtree (Apr 11, 2014)

ZoeNoelle said:


> I disagree with the comments about the titles being too long. That is commonly done on Etsy because it greatly improves your SEO. The more info you include in the title, the easier someone will find you in the search. That's the thinking anyway. I suggest asking on the Etsy forums!




Thank you Zoe. It's interesting what people are saying I shouldn't do and then I go look at etsy sellers who seem very successful and they use similar terms like I was like organic, long descriptions, what issues it helps such as 'eczema cream'... As far as not listing every 'organic' ingredient as 'organic' I can't just say organic oils because often there is an oil or two that isn't organic.  I don't want to make false claims. In my research on seo I saw that you should have long descriptions. I'm going to go back and fix a few and see what happens. Thanks!


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## FGOriold (Apr 11, 2014)

Just because other Etsy sellers do certain things does not mean that is what works to get them sales or it is within the Etsy (of FDA) rules.  Long descriptions are find - your descriptions should give all the pertinent details regarding your products, long titles key-word packed titles are a turnoff.  Even if your listing comes up in a search, a long title in which someone cannot easily figure out what you are selling will NOT get them to click through to the listing.  Successful sellers rely on many things to get buyers to their shop, not just one approach.

Also, making medical claims about a product is not allowed on Etsy (no matter how many other sellers may be doing it) and is strictly regulated by the FDA.  If you make a medical claim you are selling a drug and you must have actual proof (not just stating what the ingredients are supposed to do or treat) to support your claims.


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