Blogging and Social Media

[HerbalEarthling]

So I have yet to get a single sale on Etsy yet and I have been open since September. I understand that is not that long really and I'm not super worried yet. I think I really need to get some criticism for one so if you feel like swinging over to my Etsy shop, takin a look and letting me know what you like and don't like, that would be great! Also, from doing research on how to get sales on Etsy and the do's and don'ts, I've come across the idea of blogging and social media. I am on Facebook and have a page for my business which I only have 102 likes which they are all people that my husband and I know. Do you blog? If so, what do you talk about? Do you just rant about your soap and all of the love and goodness that goes into it? Or do you do tutorials? My business isn't really that booming so there honestly is nothing really to talk about. I also haven't done any craft shows so I can't update about that. I'm so confused... help!

 

[hellogorgeous]

Send me your etsy link and I'd be happy to do a critique. I've been running my one shop on there since 2007. I have 4 shops total. Just opened one a month ago and got sales my first week so I like to think I know a bit of what I'm doing. Lol

 

[HerbalEarthling]

Send me your etsy link and I'd be happy to do a critique. I've been running my one shop on there since 2007. I have 4 shops total. Just opened one a month ago and got sales my first week so I like to think I know a bit of what I'm doing. Lol

Awesome thank you! Congrats on all of your success. I can only imagine how hard you work. Thanks again for your willingness to help!
Herbalearthling.etsy.com

 

[Obsidian]

I seen a few things that would make me hesitant to buy. The main thing with your soaps is the round shape, they are pretty but are difficult for me to use. I can't really hold onto wide rounds and they don't fit on my shower soap ledge so its not a shape I would ever buy. Also many bars are around 4.5 - 5 oz and often priced at $5 so I get a bigger bar for just a little bit more then yours.

Your descriptions are pretty good, I always like extra info about scents. Your pics show a nice bar but you could improve on them. Place some flowers, fruit, etc in the background. Anything to give some color and flair.

I also have to ask, why are the lotion sticks so high priced? $6 for a chapstick sized tube seems really expensive, is it due to the EO's you use?

 

[My Mountain Soaps]

to me the pictures were fine, but too small. I also would appreciate seeing more info about each item, without having to click to another page. And i agree with obsidian about the 6$ lotion sticks?

 

[TVivian]

If you're not into blogging, but you don't mind posting pictures.. Instagram is a great way to get people your site. You add your website or etsy to your bio then you faithfully post good quality pictures and/or short video tutorials to your site. Make sure to use a large amount of hashtags (#soapmaking #artisansoap #naturalsoap ..etc..) follow Brambleberry. She's a good example of how and what to post on Instagram.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

In addition to the above, I would also see if it's possible to have a different starting screen - for me, I had a mix of products that then makes me a) confused and b) wary about how good the products might be when it's a mix like that.

Might sound a bit petty, but with online shopping being what it is, people need very little encouragement to go elsewhere.

One very important point though - are you getting visits but no purchases, or just not getting visits? If lots of people are coming but not buying, then you have an issue there. If people aren't actually getting to your site, then that is an area to look at

 

[shunt2011]

I would also enhance your photos some to make them pop. I agree with the price of your lotion sticks, seem really high for the small amount. I wouldn't purchase them. I make and see 2 oz. lotion bars for $6.50.

 

[lisamaliga]

Jennifer,
You have some beautiful looking natural soaps. Are you on Pinterest? If not, I'd recommend it as it's another [free!] outlet where you can get people to see your soap and other products. I pinned your lovely looking Cinnamon Orange Oatmilk soap here: http://www.pinterest.com/lisamaliga/talented-soapmakers/
If you feel like you should blog, then do so. It helps drive customers your way, especially if you have the type of blog where you share information about your soap and how you got involved in soaping and if you want to share tips on how to make soap and other bath & body products, etc.
Also, sales don't pour in overnight, or even a month or two after we open our soap shops, much as we wish they would! It takes time to build up a customer base. Be patient, be persistent.

 

[HerbalEarthling]

Okay folks. Sorry I haven't been able to reply to you guys until now. It's been a super busy few days! Thank you so much for all of your great suggestions.

 

[HerbalEarthling]

I seen a few things that would make me hesitant to buy. The main thing with your soaps is the round shape, they are pretty but are difficult for me to use. I can't really hold onto wide rounds and they don't fit on my shower soap ledge so its not a shape I would ever buy. Also many bars are around 4.5 - 5 oz and often priced at $5 so I get a bigger bar for just a little bit more then yours.

Your descriptions are pretty good, I always like extra info about scents. Your pics show a nice bar but you could improve on them. Place some flowers, fruit, etc in the background. Anything to give some color and flair.

I also have to ask, why are the lotion sticks so high priced? $6 for a chapstick sized tube seems really expensive, is it due to the EO's you use?

So my husband and I did some talking about realized not everyone uses washcloths like us so the shape of the bar doesn't really matter to us. We do have 2 RED silicone log molds so I think from now on, I am going to do both round and rectangular bars.

I will get around to taking new photographs- I just took a bunch of new ones the other days (the ones without burlap behind them and the soaps that are standing up). I thought I did awesome :-? But ya I def get what you mean about sprucing up the photos with some pretty bits around the product.

As for the lotion sticks, I brought them down by $0.25 but I really can't go any lower as according to Soapmaker3, with the price averaged up on my lotion sticks, I'm not making a huge profit on them to begin with (a few of the essential oils do make the prices go up as well as the cost of the tube and label itself). As the description says, they are .5 oz lotion sticks, which are not Chapstick sized.

 

[HerbalEarthling]

to me the pictures were fine, but too small. I also would appreciate seeing more info about each item, without having to click to another page. And i agree with obsidian about the 6$ lotion sticks?

You can zoom on the picture otherwise, Etsy resizes them automatically to fit into the window. What more info would you like to see in my descriptions? I don't really know what else to say. About the lotion sticks, see reply to obsidian.

 

[HerbalEarthling]

If you're not into blogging, but you don't mind posting pictures.. Instagram is a great way to get people your site. You add your website or etsy to your bio then you faithfully post good quality pictures and/or short video tutorials to your site. Make sure to use a large amount of hashtags (#soapmaking #artisansoap #naturalsoap ..etc..) follow Brambleberry. She's a good example of how and what to post on Instagram.

Thanks so much! I downloaded Instagram last night and will try to work on it today.

 

[HerbalEarthling]

In addition to the above, I would also see if it's possible to have a different starting screen - for me, I had a mix of products that then makes me a) confused and b) wary about how good the products might be when it's a mix like that.

Might sound a bit petty, but with online shopping being what it is, people need very little encouragement to go elsewhere.

One very important point though - are you getting visits but no purchases, or just not getting visits? If lots of people are coming but not buying, then you have an issue there. If people aren't actually getting to your site, then that is an area to look at

I hate the look of the front page! I haven't been able to find anything that allows you to change the way the front page looks in terms of listings. I agree with you that it looks cluttered and a bit overwhelming. Not petty at all!

I am getting visits, most of them coming from Facebook which are all people that I know. Some directly through Etsy. So yeah, I guess there's a problem. Chipping away at what I believe are problems, thanks to everyone here! It's so hard to get critique from people that know you personally.

 

[Lin]

Your description for the lotion sticks say "Notes: This listing is for one .15 ounce lotion stick."

So if they are .5 oz and not the chapstick sized .15 that really needs fixed.

 

[HerbalEarthling]

Jennifer,
You have some beautiful looking natural soaps. Are you on Pinterest? If not, I'd recommend it as it's another [free!] outlet where you can get people to see your soap and other products. I pinned your lovely looking Cinnamon Orange Oatmilk soap here: http://www.pinterest.com/lisamaliga/talented-soapmakers/
If you feel like you should blog, then do so. It helps drive customers your way, especially if you have the type of blog where you share information about your soap and how you got involved in soaping and if you want to share tips on how to make soap and other bath & body products, etc.
Also, sales don't pour in overnight, or even a month or two after we open our soap shops, much as we wish they would! It takes time to build up a customer base. Be patient, be persistent.

Thank you so much for your ideas and also pinning me! I created 2 boards this morning, one for my own products, and one like you have with my favorite soaps from around the internet. :mrgreen:

And yes, I feel like a should blog. Seems like a huge step. I'm just worried that I won't have good content. I need to figure out how to take pictures when making soap. Maybe have a camera set up on a tripod that takes pictures every 2 mins or something? I don't know haha. Just brainstorming thanks

 

[HerbalEarthling]

Your description for the lotion sticks say "Notes: This listing is for one .15 ounce lotion stick."

So if they are .5 oz and not the chapstick sized .15 that really needs fixed.

OMG thank you so much!!! Wow how did I not ever catch that? :crazy: I'm such a noob.

 

[JaimeM]

As a blogger (just not soap exclusive) I wouldn't worry about putting in "mid-process" soap pictures. Take great pictures of your finished soap and write about all the things that make your soap awesome. That's what I like to read about (and my followers do too!). The best advice I can give you is write like you're talking to your customers. They want to know about the special EO blend you created to get that amazing scent, and about the luxury oils you used to make it special. Then add a link to the etsy sale page for that soap, and put the link for your blog post on your FB page so all of your friends will clamor to buy out your latest batch! Only other soap makers want to know HOW you made it, and they're unlikely to click through and buy the soap you lovingly described. Or at least that's been my experience... ;D

 

[peepla]

Behold....the share button! Hit that thing often....click your item....share it on fb, twitter, insta....and click the share to fb and twit buttons on them, share everywhere. sharing on pinterest via etsy causes problems so click share sms....cut...paste manualy to pinterest from a pic or different site. Point is....get it out there. Also blog it. It gathers interest...even if you don't get a sale right off....you get folks going "hhmmmm"

 

[Cococamila]

I don't make or sell soap yet just lip balms and lotion bars for fun but I do have an Esty in which I sell my hair bows. I do have another advice not told before. It is been said around fb pages and such that Your shop's content would be better visible in search if you have 100+ items. Also make sure you have more then one picture. Even better if you have a close up picture of your product. A bare bar close up shot. IMO anything that distracts from the product is well too distracting. Because it is soap I think unless you will show a stick or two of cinnamon for a cinnamon soap anything extra will be confusing. And about the price point if you keep it all uniform and crisp looking and your product is great quality then the price is not a problem. You have to create a brand for your product. Oh one more thing there is a way of moving around your listings to your liking. His you would want them to appear on your shop. I will have to go do it and come back with an answer. I can't remember at the top of my head.

One more thing any business no matter the industry usually takes time to build. I would say no less then two years for your Etsy shop. Hard work and dedication and believe it or not word of mouth is your best advertisement.
Good luck!!