Following our highly admired post on how to sell cross stitch online and our massive ebook guide on how to sell cross stitch we’ve been asked for some more targeted advice on what to do if your cross stitch isn’t selling.
At first you might think you should give up, but don’t. It’s probably something simple you can fix without much issue.
You just opened your store
If you’ve just opened your store, you think sales will rush in, but sadly, they don’t. In fact, the rise to the top is a slow road. This doesn’t mean you should be disheartened though; you can quickly help yourself get the best footing by creating a killer store. You can find how to do this in our free guide on selling cross stitch on Etsy. Alternatively, check out the options below, to make sure you’re not also making other mistakes.
You only have a few items selling
If you have one item in your store, you have one chance to sell. If you have 2 you have double the chance to sell. Simply put, having more items in your store will help you sell more and on a more consistent basis. The numbers vary here based on your price points, however, if you have 50 items in your store, I would be very surprised if you didn’t get one sale a week. This means that if you only have one item, you’re likely to sell only one a year.
The fix: If the idea of making a load of patterns scares you, try making one new pattern a week. As you make more, you’ll sell more and get into a great habit of making patterns on a regular basis (see below).
You haven’t added new items in a while
Etsy is a strange beast, and one part that store owners have known for a long time (but Etsy refuses to comment on) is that you’ll rank higher in searches if your store has had new items added to it recently. This means that if you haven’t added anything to your store in the last month, you’re likely not getting as many views as you used to.
The fix: Set up a product calendar and stick to it. If there’s a new item every day, or every week, or every month, it doesn’t matter, so long as you keep adding new patterns over time.
You’re not testing
Having an Etsy store means work. It doesn’t just happen on its own, and you’ll find that the more time you spend on Etsy testing things out, the higher your sales will be. Your logo might look great, however, does it resonate with your customers? You don’t know unless you test an alternative. Testing everything on your site allows you to create the perfect store for your patterns and makes a real difference.
The fix: Test new titles, new images, new descriptions, new banners, our logo; everything.
Your SEO isn’t up to scratch
Connected to testing, is SEO. Playing with your tags, titles, descriptions, and categories all has an impact on SEO (how likely you are to appear when someone searches a term). If you don’t have all 13 tags used, you’re suffering. If you haven’t added material tags, color tags, and tags for who the pattern is for, you’re likely to rank less well than someone that has. Make sure everything is filled out, and then start to play to get the best combinations.
The fix: Have fun, play with your tags, titles and descriptions until you find a perfect combination. Just make sure you wait long enough after a change to get a good idea of if it’s worked (things like this don’t work overnight).
Your products are a bit random
A more substantial issue is your product line. Most people actually buy on Etsy by finding a style of pattern they like, then searching the store for a specific pattern. This means you have a captive market, however, if your patterns are all over the place, they’re likely to go to a different store. If you’re got flower cross stitch patterns mixed with heavy metal cross stitch patterns, it make a confusing list.
The fix: Make sure your patterns are all in keeping with your store, you can either put a different type of patterns into categories or open two different stores.
You’re trying to be professional
I’ll hold my hands up to this and say I made this mistake in a big way. I thought that if I had a shop, I should be super professional with everything I do. However, the reason people shop on Etsy is they want a human face. They want the personality. Changing my writing style, banner and logo increased my sales by 6 times. Making that human connection is what Etsy sellers love!
The fix: Make sure your profile is up to date and uses a photo of you. Add a story to your store, fill in the about section, and make sure you let your personality come through.
You forgot to include dimensions + details
A simple mistake, but one that can make all the difference. The pattern details. Adding the dimensions, colors, etc is information every buyer needs to know. A simple mistake I see a lot is people copying and pasting descriptions without checking them first. You might talk about a different pattern, confusing a buyer, or have a wrong measurement. This is small, I know, but will make the difference between a sale and no sale.
The fix: Check all of your descriptions to make sure they have all the information needed, and they aren’t talking about different patterns.
You aren’t thinking about your customer
You’ve probably heard this sales pitch before; it’s all about the customer. And it is. What this means is you need to think about what the customer wants. If you’re trying to sell a Game of Thrones cross stitch to a flower fan, it’s not going to happen. Think about what your customer is going to want, and supply that product.
The fix: Sit down and think about your customers and what they want, and if you’re supplying this. If not, you might need to rebrand to get different customers, or change your product line.
If you’re looking for a super detailed guide on selling cross stitch online, including trouble shooting, try out ultimate guide on selling cross stitch on Etsy.
