The MLP Arena
Creativity => Arts & Crafts Corral => Topic started by: Katelie on February 11, 2019, 12:22:56 PM
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I started making some leather belts for friends and family as Christmas presents, and I had so much fun with it that I started an etsy store so I could keep doing it! It's been over a month, and I haven't sold a single sparkly belt. It's starting to get really discouraging. I would really love any constructive criticism about how to make them better!
https://imgur.com/a/YmpAu85
Thank you for looking!
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I mean... What is your Etsy store? ;)
I was going to see there was anything that stuck out with the product photography. :) Maybe consider a model?
Like most business you'll wanna advertise and promote your merch to make sales.
Also that first image would be a pretty sweet cuff. Unless you are sloppy, I think it's about promoting yourself. Instagram, crafting places, etc.
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https://www.etsy.com/shop/kateles
I need to recruit a friend to be a model for me, I can't quite get pictures I'm happy with of the angles I get taking them myself. I hadn't really thought about that though lately, thank you so much for the suggestion!! There are so many ideas running through my head that it's hard to tell what's actually helpful.
I have pretty much shunned all social media because I find it so intimidating, but I've started to post a bit recently on instagram!
Thank you again for your help, I really appreciate it!!!
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Have you considered getting a booth at a local comic con or similar convention? I know it costs money to rent the space, but you never know how much your product will sell if people can see it in person. And of course you would want to have cards with your Etsy store info on them for people to take and order later. You could always try one convention and then if it doesn't seem to be worth the cost you could choose not to do any more.
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Wow, I had thought about it, but hadn't really looked into it! I checked and there's one in my area in September, but they said they return applications by JANUARY!? I didn't realize these things had to be done so far in advance!!
Thanks for the heads up, I'll see if it's too late for me to join!
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Those are really pretty! I think banditpony and Pokey gave some great tips, it's probably just about advertising. A comic con or similar event sounds like a good idea! Best of luck :hug:
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These are really pretty! I LOVE the hair stick! (I'm a hair stick person haha. WIll be looking into snatching one up after my upcoming move, for sure!)
You've gotten some good feedback on advenrtising I'd say :) Instagram is a great place to advertise your online shop, don't be afraid to hashtag it liberally for example with leathercrafts, hair toys,hair stick, etc. (I'd also advice a store only instagram, apart from your regular IG, and possibly also looking for promoterson IG! ). They also look like things that would sell well in larp and ren faire settings, so tag away with appropriate to those hashtags, and faerie/pixie etc :)
best of luck with your sales, your crafts are gorgeous!
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Hrmm, that's really helpful! I had tried to make a second separate instagram account so I wasn't spamming my family/friends with belt posts, but instagram denied it =( I'll have to try again and figure out why, I think!
You guys are all so helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to help me figure this out, it really means a lot to me!!
Katie
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If you were using the same email address, that would be why :) Thoy only allow one account per address, I think. Good thing that's an easy fix though ^^
Do link your IG here when you make it! :hug:
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Ta-da!!!!
https://www.instagram.com/mermaid_leather/
Apparently it didn't like the google voice number that I was trying to sign up with, but it liked my new e-mail!!!
I haven't figured out the hashtag thing yet, but one thing at a time!
Thank you again for your help!!
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yay! followed :)
On instagram it's really simple, you just put them in the caption, like #leathercraft and whatever else you may want to tag it with ^^ that's how people really find your stuff, as it'll come up in searches for those keywords. The same thing works on etsy but I believe there's a separate box to type them in. I haven't sold on etsy for years so I don't really know how it works these days ^^'
Just happy to be of help! Best of luck with your sales! :hug:
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So I ended up buying mermaid-leather.com which now redirects to my Etsy store, but I'm seriously considering modifying my business name! I love the name Kateles, my friend Bekki gave it to me as a nickname when I was in high school, and I've been using it in video games ever since then. But. Nobody can spell it! Or if people see it, they can't pronounce it. I'll tell them my website is kateles.com and they're like, wait, how do you spell that? And then most fonts make it difficult to tell that the lowercase L is a L at all!
Also I was thinking that if my business shows up on a vendor list, "Kateles" isn't going to be very descriptive, but if it was something like "Kateles Mermaid Leather" that could be more helpful. I actually got into it because I liked Dragon Leather more, but that name's already taken.
Any input?
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Your belts are beautiful!! I love the patterns, they're really lovely! I also suggest you get a pic of them on a model; even if you have a mannequin of some kind (or have a mannequin you can borrow), even just showing how they look cinched around a waist might give folks a better idea of scale! For me, I can have any number of numerical listings; but until I see it held in a hand or around a waist, it's hard for my brain to translate inches into how it'll fit me.
Have you considered getting business cards? I've really been meaning to, I know there's places you can get them super cheap or free! I think Kateles Mermaid Leather would be very descriptive, if you like the name! Just make sure it's a name you like, since you'll be hypothetically stuck with it for awhile! You could always do some other variation of dragon and leather - Dragon Stamped Leather Goods, or the like!
Heck, even if you just wear the belt every day and have business cards to hand out, it might help grow your brand! :heart:
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I actually like the mermaid & leather combo a lot, it's unusual and unexpected, and I think it fits your shimmering works beautifully. Dragon & leather is much more conventional, which in some cases can translate into boring (though I guess it depends on your target audience). :P Of course, you could also try a combination and mention both mermaid and dragon, to attract a wider audience? Just an idea! Something like "Kateles Mermaid and Dragon Leather Works/Goods", or "Mermaid & Dragon - Kateles Leather Shop"? I'm not sure if these are too long to be catchy, however.
The domain name mermaid-leather works nicely IMO, it's memorable and even if you have Kateles in your shop name, dropping it from the website address is probably a good idea for the reasons you mentioned. People will probably type 'mermaid' and 'leather' in Google to look for your shop! Business cards are also an excellent idea. :)
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I love these! They are so cool. Do you do custom size orders for the belts? I only ask because I’m quite small so I normally have to ping extra holes in belts!
For photos you can easily make DIY light boxes at home with a cardboard box, tissue and lamps - there are tons of tutorials on Google. I like how you styled one item with that iridescent shell on your Instagram (which I’ve just followed btw!).
Good luck with your new venture I think it will be a success. Your products are really lovely.
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I do make custom belts! I have about 25 different colors, and as I make them, I'm slowly building up pictures of all of them so people can see what each color looks like in each scale type! I'm also working on making thinner ones so I can have some more frugal options!
I will have to try making a light box! I feel like if I can get good enough shots, the pictures will speak for themselves! I wonder if I can do videos or something to show the way some of the colors change based on angle! I have a bay window with a nice shelf, but it's difficult to get the sunlight in the right place to show things properly!
I think I will stick with Kateles Mermaid Leather for now, it should work well, I hope!