Struggling to figure out why your Etsy store is not bringing you the amount of sales you should be getting?

Here are 14 possible reasons for that – and solutions, too!

1. It is only the beginning.

If your Etsy store is less than a month old, and you have already started to wonder if it is going to work at all, you are ahead of yourself.

Patience is key.

Getting an Etsy shop up and running is a slow and laborious process, and it can take months before your store has a good reputation and you gain faithful customers and admirers of your work.

You should focus on staying patient and starting small. You will get there.

A good way to know what to do and what you are doing wrong is to find an example among the more successful Etsy stores.

Visit some of the Top 10 Etsy Sellers and try to learn from them.

Look at how their page looks, how they make use of banners, how their items are named, and what the descriptions are like.

There is plenty you can learn from the seasoned Etsians.

2. You don’t have enough listings in your shop.

If you only have a couple of items in your store, chances are that you are not getting noticed in this huge crowd.

On top of that, think of how walking into a store with only one shelf full would make you feel?

Yes, that is exactly how potential customers feel when they go to your store and only see a few items listed.

It is a general rule, with some exceptions of course, that shops with at least two pages of items make your customer feel as if your stocks and products are always up-to-date and your store is not abandoned.

3. Your photos don’t exhibit your product very well.

In order to market your items well, you need to present them well.

So, forget about blurry images, inappropriate backgrounds, and low-quality photography.

The visual factor is very important on Etsy, and so is Pinterest, where your content often ends up.

Make sure to present your products in the best way possible by using flattering images and compelling compositions.

If you notice that a listing has expired without bringing any sales, try changing its visual appearance.

You may want to capture it in a context – if it is a necklace, you can put it on a model.

If it is an ornament, display it arranged within a living space.

Also, don’t worry if you don’t have a super nice camera.

You can use your smartphone to take beautiful photos just the same.

We put together a smartphone photography guide that you can download.

Click Here to access the Smartphone Photography Guide

4. You don’t list out your product size.

Most potential customers will be discouraged if they do not know how large or small the item you are selling is.

Even if your photo features a standard-size ruler, many people will find it difficult to tell the item’s size without the dimensions.

Make sure to let your customer know the item’s dimensions in the description.

If you want to go the extra mile, you can even include both metric and imperial units (cm and inch).

Remember, the less effort your customers need to put in figuring things out, the more likely they are to buy your product.

5. Your item descriptions are bland.

Instead of simply stating the obvious, create a story around your item and make sure to include plenty of helpful advice and ideas.

• Will it be a great birthday present for a teenager?
• What is special about the material is made of?
• Does it have any special characteristics or benefits?
• What are your item’s main features?

Your descriptions need to convince the customer that your item is what they have been looking for.

Creating a story around it will make the convincing part much easier.

6. You lack reviews.

Before they buy your product, potential customers are looking for some real-life satisfied buyers.

This makes them trust your product much more than your own words.

So, how to make sure your reviews are good?

Go over and above!

Think about what would make your customers appreciate you more.

It can be an authentic thank-you note, or express shipping, or willingness to entertain plenty of requests.

A great way to make sure your customers notice and remember you is to provide a free gift.

It can be inexpensive and simple, but it will show them your appreciation.

In return, they will appreciate you, too, and will probably come back to share their experience with you through a review.

7. You do not add items regularly.

The new default setting of the Etsy search is relevancy.

However, your search rankings still do depend on how recent your newest item was posted.

In addition, many customers choose to search by recency.

If you do not list regularly, you may just end up on the last page of the search.

A great way of avoiding the loss of recency is to spread your listings over a period of a couple of days.

Instead of listing a huge amount of items at once, try and do it, for instance, five a day.

This will also help you prolong your items’ expiration date.

You will always have a few items that are marked recent in the platform’s general search.

8. You do not appreciate existing customers.

Of course, all of us want to get as many new customers as possible.

However, it may be even more important to take care of those that are already on your customer list.

By doing this, you will not only make sure they return to your shop but will motivate them to do the promotion for you!

They will tell their friends and family all about you, and this travels much farther than your self-promotion!

Great customer service is also bound to improve your reviews and help you in the long run.

Your reputation will probably take longer to build, but it will have a much firmer ground and you will be known as a great seller with fantastic items.

9. You have not updated your listings for too long.

Apart from the importance of listing regularly mentioned above, there are always existing customers who cannot wait for a new line or collection to come out.

Updating your item list constantly and including new (and possibly different) items means your fans have something to look forward to and buy in the future.

10. Your buyers cannot make custom orders.

Plenty of times, there will be something a potential buyer loves but wants to be altered slightly.

They may be looking for a different material, or need a different size, or want the color to be changed.

So, what are you going to do?

Surely, you will not ignore their request!

They quickly change to another seller, as there must be someone out there willing to do it for them.

Accepting custom orders can make a huge difference.

And if this process involves more costs or materials, you can charge your customers an additional amount for it.

11. Your items are overpriced.

When it comes to this, we need to clarify something.

Items cannot be overpriced as such.

However, it is more than possible that your prices are too steep for your target buyers.

So – if you do not want to lower your prices, your target audience needs to be more affluent.

If your marketing is targeted towards those looking to buy cheap items, you either need to lower your prices or change your advertising campaign.

12. Your items are underpriced.

What do most of us think when we see something really good, but too cheap?

We think something must be wrong with it.

Or, we suspect some kind of scam, for instance, that the materials are not as stated, or that there will be additional costs for shipping and the like.

This will, inevitably, make us stay away from the product.

So, it is important to investigate if your prices are so low that your potential buyers do not trust you.

Of course, since your prices are this low, you need to think about your profits: are you actually gaining something from the sale?

Look at the prices for similar goods, revisit your pricing strategy, and figure out if this is the problem.

13. Your shipping time is way too long.

Unless they have been informed otherwise from your shop policies and item descriptions, your buyers will assume that their order will be shipped out immediately.

And who is to blame them?

With plenty of websites (and sellers) offering next-day shipping, they do not want to wait for weeks for your product to arrive.

Lowering your shipping time is a great way of improving customer service, and will make your customers trust you more.

If they have to spend an anxious three weeks wondering if their order will arrive or not, it is unlikely they will ever return to your shop again.

14. Your social media presence is too low.

Social media is an extremely powerful tool for attracting new customers to your store and keeping existing ones engaged.

Do not overdo it, though!

Your social media strategy is important, but so are other aspects of your business.

If you do not have plenty of time on your hands, try to focus on the more visual networks, such as Pinterest and Instagram.

Social media is especially important for bringing off-site potential customers to your shop.

There are many people out there who do not browse Etsy, and a good social media strategy has the power to land them right on your page, and potentially bring you a whole load of sales.