Jewelry Site But No Sales?
Now, because I have never claimed to be a web site expert, I make it a policy not to review other people's web sites. However, without even looking at a site from someone like this, I can tell you what is wrong. In fact, here is the answer I recently sent in answer to just such an email:
Hi,
I make it a policy not to critique people's site because I am no expert on web design. However, without even looking at it, I can tell you just by the information you included in your email that it has nothing to do with the site design or the jewelry design. A few weeks on the Internet is like the blink of an eye. I wouldn't expect to get much traffic for at least 3 to 6 months and nothing significant for a year. This is true with any web site but even more so with jewelry because there are so many people selling jewelry on line.
If you still want to continue to try selling on line, I would suggest trying a few things that will slowly help you build traffic. First, consider getting an etsy store and connecting it to the site. Etsy is full too, but the more links in the better. Plus, it is a good place to get to know other artists and learn from them. Another thing to consider is starting a weblog as part of the site and updating regularly. This way you can have regular site updates that search engines may notice, and at the same time, you can build a customer base and educate them about your jewelry. There are lots of other things to do like search engine optimization, but like I said, I'm no web design expert. I've been writing on-line for 10 years, so that's why I say it takes awhile. I've never heard of anyone being an overnight success on-line. It just doesn’t happen unless you are someone famous or have some connection to someone famous. Just like a real store off-line, it takes a long time to establish yourself. Selling jewelry is very tough. There is a huge amount of competition. So, you should not feel discouraged or take any of it personally if it takes time to sell your jewelry on-line.
So, do you have a web site where you sell your jewelry? If so, have you found that it takes time to build a following?
Comments
Yes! I have had my site up for almost a year. I update regularly, I am always adding my work. I have only had 1 sale ON LINE in all that time. I have had better luck selling from my home then on line, but I will not give up. There is an old saying. “Be careful what you wish for”. Hang in there.. we are just one of 1000’s out there on line.
I totally agree. My site has been up for almost a year. I’ve had about 10 sales BUT they have all been from a cancer fundraiser and they went there for that not because they found me on the web! It has brought more lookers as time goes by. I also agree the blog is a good idea.
Yes it does take some time building an online jewelry shop, I use etsy as my store checkout and I am in the process of getting ready for an open house which is a great way to invite alot of people and let them know you are out there. I also have several blogs etc. Its hard work but when you get those first few sales the wait was well worth it.
One more way to get your name out there I will bead at a starbucks and lay my business cards on the table and people will take them or If I am out and about I will leave a business card on a table , by the register etc.
Thanks for this information, I’m about to start a website and knowing that I may not get any hits for a while will help me have patience until I do.
I’ve been on etsy five months now with lots of hits but no sales. Having been making and selling jewelry for twenty years I am comfortable with the quality of my work. Photos were taken by a woman who worked at HSN so those are good as well. As you said, Tammy, it’s still a matter of marketing. You can have the best shop in the world and it does no good if no one visits.
Laura C’s ideas are great. Anything you can do to get a person to go to your site–do it. I think that etsy is a terrific bargain. Nowhere else can you get a website with hosting and paypal for less than $5.
Could you say more about the blogging aspect of marketing? Where to set up a blogspot, how to select a spot that reaches your target market (I design for mature women with a high discretionary income), how to select an overall theme for your blog?
Of course, I am grateful to anyone who would like to visit my store (fabulousamulets.etsy.com) and give me constructive criticism. (I already know that my descriptions are too wordy; I am working on that.)
Prosperity to us all as our very fortunate future customers find us–wherever we are.
I’m just researching considering an online jewelry store. All because i have had way too much interest in my work from different states. At least i know not to feel as a failure if and when i start it it does pick up quickly. thanks!!!!
I cannot say enough good things about Etsy. I’ve been on it since Sept. of 07 and have had over 50 sales. It does take time and effort. I’ve learned a lot about promoting my work on the site. Another advantage is that you can have business cards made w/ your etsy store web-site on them.
Many sales to all!
Good day! My grandmother recently passed and left behind hundreds and hundreds of rings, earrings, bracelets, pendants and loose stones all purchased from Jewelry Television just last year. All the jewelry pieces are brand new, never worn, still in their original boxes, with the tags attached and receipts wrapped around them. (She had definitely become a compulsive shopaholic as she would purchase 3 of the same rings sometimes!) Because I wanted to sell the jewelry as fast as possible, I created a store on eBay and within one week have had over 10 sales!!! I would definitely go with an Ebay store. I also use Google Adwords to promote my store.
All the advice above is excellent. I have set up my own website and it has been live for about 3 months. I had one sale through the site in the first 3 weeks and then nothing since. I am currently trying to do a leaflet campaign, leaving flyers in my gym, hairdressers etc. I’m also considering a blog. I’ve blogged about my website on Facebook too. A couple of friends with websites have also put a link to my site on theirs. Hopefully all of this will make a difference but it is harder than I thought to get your name out there. Good luck to everyone, never give up. Jenny
There are 5 million people trying to sell the jewelry that they create.
I have said this many times; many people can create beautiful jewelry but they lack the skills to market their jewelry.
Since there are so many people trying to compete with each other to sell their jewelry it is important to have a well designed web site. It also needs to be optimized for the search engines.
You can have the greatest web site in the world but if nobody knows that it exists then nobody will ever visit it and that means that you will not make any sales.
I have encouraged people to put useful and free information on their web site in order to attract people to their site.
I have had two web sites that sell products online. My first web site was a soap making site and I started making sales about a month or so after it went live. I do not have that web site up any longer.
I used that web site to learn how to market my products and to learn how to have my web site ranked at the top of the major search engines.
I spent a ton of money for an education on marketing my web site and learning SEO but it is paying off now with my ebook web site.
My education consisted mainly of purchasing ebooks and courses and a belonging to a membership site devoted to helping people with marketing and promoting products on the internet.
My jewelry photography web site had sales very quickly also thanks to what I said above.
Both of these sites use plenty of useful information to attract people to my sites and that resulted in sales.
I also have a blog and I recommend that people set one up and contribute to it on a regular basis.
I’ve had an eBay store (www.sonomagemstones.com) since about March 2007. I sell my own handcrafted pieces, plus manufactured jewelry and gemstones. I’ve had about 60+ sales in that time, including sales from the UK, Australia and Canada.
EBay has its own reputation as one of the largest auction sites out there, which pulls millions of shoppers, and I feel that narrows down a little of the competition when compared to the ENTIRE internet of jewelry websites.
I have the smallest store at $15/mo which allows you to put items in your ’store’ inventory (after the auction) for pennies a month. I try to include new auction items every week, which draws shoppers to your store in general. They can shop your entire store once they find you.
Re FabulousAmulets question about blogging: I just recently purchased a GREAT e-book from Rena Klingenberg which gives step-by-step instructions for setting up free blogspots (Social Networking: Sell Your Jewelry Online the New Way). You can find her website at: http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/index.html. She covers just about EVERY aspect of marketing jewelry you can think of and is great at explaining all the details. Check it out, you’ll be glad you did.
I agree with all that’s been said. An online store is a tool but not the only tool. Having a bit of a niche is always a good thing – something that sets you apart from the many other sites online. Constantly marketing yourself is helpful too. For sure it’s a lot of hard work.
Thanks Fran for the great info.
I have an Etsy shop and have had 10 (online sales) in about a year. My fine silver jewelry is a little high end. I’m very happy about my Etsy shop and the people there. I’m happy to hear about other shops sales, I wish I had read about sooner. Sometimes not having steady sales can be discouraging. I do have a blog on blogspot.com and any blurb written seems to go to the top of search engines very quickly.
Hi, I have learned with my website to make sure your website address is easy to remember and not a weird spelling. I went ahead and renamed my site, and I do lots of link exchanging, and updating. Also using better materials is another lesson I have learned. Don’t underprice yourself either, I see other websites, and see they are only charging 15 dollars for a necklace, and I can say I would have charged at least 25 or 30. 15 dollars barely covers the time so wheres the profit? I will say I need to spend more time updating my site, and such but I am moving soon and want to wait to get into my new house before making business cards, flyers and such. anyways, good luck to us all!
I agree with many of the comments made.
I think it is very difficult to make a substantial number of jewelry sales online, UNLESS you offer something very original and unique. When you look at the top selling jewelry sites on etsy, they all offer designs that just can’t be found elsewhere.
I agree that etsy or ebay are the way to start. Use them as a test platform to see if the market thinks your designs are unique. Then if you find the secret sauce for success, roll it out onto your own website. If you can’t get sales on ebay or etsy, I think it will be hard to do very well on your own site.
I also think jewelry in general does not lend itself as well to website sales compared to some other products simply because jewelry is high touch, meaning that people prefer to touch it, feel it, try it on before the make a purchase decision.
Great advice Tammy. Getting traffic to your website takes time, after 6 years I still have to work on it.
I have been selling on ebay since August of 2007. I have had a good amount of sales, but I do have to pay for the store front and listing my inventory. I have no idea how to create my own web page so I took the easy way out. I wish all creators out there, the very best of luck and just remember to enjoy what you do.
You are absolutely correct! It takes a minimum of a year to even gain a presence on the internet.
Working within communities of the industry you’re in helps. Making contacts and giving feedback not only is an inspiration to you but it also offers the opportunity to make friends who are in the same situation. I’ve found joining groups related to jewelry or jewelry making can gain exposure.
Sponsoring giveaways and contributing to charities is also beneficial, not only for you as a designer but it gives back to the world at large. There are always foundations looking for donors to help raise money.
Lastly, having a tool such as Google Analytics is a great help when you have a website. It’s a free tool you can use to track your visitors progress through your site. It gives generic information about the visitors such as how many people visit your site, what pages they view and how they travel through your site. It can help you to see if you need to make improvements or change the layout of your website. Heck it helps just to know you’re getting visitors.
Thanks for your posting Tammy!
Hello,
Very, very interesting article. I implemented your remarks about the site. Especially I created my own blog. Sales are stil weak but at least my viistors number is still increasing. I started from about 50 per day now it is around 400 visitors per day. I dont know if it is good or bad but the traffic grows and thats is optimistic.
I will follow your publications.
Good luck.
Darek from Poland
Hi there, I started my site in February of this year and have been somewhat successful, but not tremendously. I often have people look at my designs online, and then the contact me through email or phone to see pieces. So most are local. But I have worked with many sites to link in to my site and have also worked with local sites on feature articles, and just recently started advertising in online magazines. Not easy, but so worth it!!
Shannon Culmo
http://www.kkpwdesigns.com
I think that networking is important, just like it is in the “real” world. Having friends or other artists post your link on their site can be very valuable. It also helps to visit online forums such as this one and post comments with your web address listed under your name like #20 above. Whenever I’m reading people’s comments, I love to be able to go to their site if they have one. Just make sure (as the person above did) that any comments you leave are relevant to what’s being discussed and not just a blatant ad — otherwise you’ll turn people off and maybe even get blocked form further comments.
Another thing you have to keep in mind is who your audience is. I’m an internet junkie and prefer to shop this way, but for certain groups this is not the best way to reach them. If your audience is mature women with high disposable income, the internet may not be the best way to get new business. This is the age group that tends to be the most suspicious of being scammed or having personal info stolen on the internet. They are also the least likely to be computer savvy. 10-15 years from now it probably won’t be the case so much because people who are 50+ by then will have had computers most of their lives, but for now, face-to-face interaction is the best way to reach that demographic.
I have also been running my site for just over a year and the progress I have made in the last couple of months has been great. The one thing I would recomend to the new website owner is find a mentor, I found a forum for website owners and have recieved some wonderful help, tweeking my site, blogs you name it they have been wonderful. Just a few months ago you couldn’t find us on yahoo now we are on page one for handcrafted bracelets, earrings and necklaces, it’s not google but it is progress and it lets me know that my mentor knows what she’s talking about. Oh to the power of blogs we are on google page 3 for handcrafted bracelets, well our blog is. our site is linked to the blog so it will all help. But the fact that the blog is placing very well says that blogging is a very important part of getting good placement for your keywords. And getting your site and info about it and you out there. Happy creating to all
I too have a website. It’s been live since November last year, and I have made several sales, small ones for the beading side of things, and more for the handcrafted jewellery.
I must say that I’ve found all of your remarks spot on regarding the amount of time needed, and the hard work entailed.
Sadly, my business partner and I have split up, so I am having to re-start the website (which I am keeping). This entails deleting half of the stuff, and adding new, so it’s a backward step in one way, but I will carry on with it, and take all of your ideas on board.
Many, many thanks, to you all, and to Tammy in particular, for all her gard work with this website and blog.
Regards,
Sue
Diane, would you mind sharing the name and link to that forum for website owners that you referenced? I think that might be helpful for a lot of us.
Thx.
I sell beach glass jewelry on Etsy. I decided my name had to be something customers would remember. If someone asks you where to buy beach glass jewelry, my guess is that you will remember the name Beach Glass Gone Wild!! I also blog as much as I can. I’m still learning the ropes.
We’ve been with etsy for 3 months with no sales and have only aggressively marketing our products and other local artists this month. Exposure at etsy is hard but only time will tell. We created some small items and also sells premium items such as beaded table placemats, necklace, mini purse and other borneo items at our site. One thing for sure, you will have more exposure spending money on adwords than on etsy internal ads.
Hello it is me again after some time. If anyone would like to exchange some experiences with jewelry sites based on Joomla and Virtuemart component I invite to my site with Swarovski Jewelrypiekloniebo.pl.
Maybe we can exchange some links. My page has google rank 4. Good luck to all jewelry makers around the world.
I think any site online takes patience. Jewelry is just another. But their are many other ways to market your jewelry. Try Salons where women are wanting to leave more beautiful than they came in. If you get a sale at a salon give 40% of the retail sale to the owner. Pass those business cards out all the time and wear your jewelry. Get the excitement going with brochures or flyers. Have an open house party thrown by you or a friend with no pressure to buy and no pressure to play games. Just ponder on the many marketing ideas and write them all down…one by one…you can do it!