So, I have been thinking
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Original Post
I have been here for 3 years. When I started, of course the economy was better, and I had many more sales. I am still selling the same items. What has changed is that I now have twitter, myspace, flickr, facebook, blog...on and on and on. I also have shops on 3 other sites. My etsy sales have dropped dramatically! I am wondering if it is the economy...or if I am spreading myself too thin! I have noticed that there are sellers selling on a regular basis. I would love to hear your thoughts. I am thinking of giving up all of those other sites and sticking to one venue.
Posted at 12:15pm May 5, 2009 EDT
Responses
I have only been here about 6 months and I am doing all those things as well. I would love to here feedback about if it is to much and are your efforts best spent on fewer venues.
Posted at 12:20pm May 5, 2009 EDT
I don't sell ona regular basis, but maybe you are spreading yourself too thin. It's like a restaurant that makes mediocre tacos, hamburgers, fried chicken, hot dogs, enchilada's, deli sandwiches, and really they should just focus on making stellar hamburgers. Maybe if you focus your energy on selling at one venue you could see more of a return.
I hope what I said makes sense, as my head hurts and nothing makes sense to me. I would be interested to see what other more consistant sellers have to say.
Posted at 12:21pm May 5, 2009 EDT
Don't forget that 3 years ago, there were less than 1/4 the number of sellers there are now. The economy has changed, certainly, but so has the marketplace. Success here on Etsy is both defined differently and achieved differently today.
As for me, I don't have the patience to socially network my shop all day. It may be monetarily free, but it has a time and focus cost that, to me, far exceeds the $ value of paid advertising.
Posted at 12:22pm May 5, 2009 EDT
what people are into and what they buy comes and goes... one day it's leg warmers, the next it's knee highs.
really knowing your target audience and where to find them, helps... a lot!
Posted at 12:22pm May 5, 2009 EDT
etsy is gigantically crowded. The competition is FIERCE.
ditto to excely...
Posted at 12:24pm May 5, 2009 EDT
My sales ebb and flow...never really consistent, but I kind of expect that with selling fine art. That being said, I think we can spread ourselves too thin. Any marketing strategy we undertake has to be something we have time to invest in. I personally don't have the time to do it all, so I try to focus my attention on the little I can do. I've had a couple of sales from my blog and from my facebook account. I'm new to Twitter, so I don't know how that will pan out just yet. I try to get my name and shop out there, but always try to keep people coming back to my etsy shop in the end rather than sending them a million other places...
Maybe that helps, I don't know. I'm interested in what others have to say, as well:)
Posted at 12:26pm May 5, 2009 EDT
I'm thinking there's more competition now so people need to work to make their stuff stand out more.
I started my other shop baby clothes about 2 years ago and things are better even in the economy but I think it's cause my stuff is just a little different so that helps. Finding a gap or tastes to appeal to which aren't well represented helps. Just my quick thoughts.
Posted at 12:30pm May 5, 2009 EDT