Success on Etsy is noted by a few distinguishable things: Image and shop cohesiveness, consistency of product, incredible photos, keywords and descriptions. Over and over as an artist on the big sea of Etsy you hear that you must adhere to these ideals if you are to experience success and revel in the ever exciting “Cha-Ching” heard on your mobile device when someone makes a purchase from your shop.
For those who do not fully understand the above concepts, let me quickly elaborate for you. The image and shop cohesiveness comes down to having identical photos and products that are relative to each other. For me, a jewelry designer, that would mean that the photo angles are all the same, with the same backgrounds, and ideally, with the same style of product. For example, silver pendant necklaces that all are able to be found in a similar category. Consistency of product is modeled not just by having all jewelry in your shop, but all the same type of jewelry. Referencing from the above mentioned “silver pendant necklace,” simplicity, elegance, sameness, and imagery that reflects the sameness of each individual item you sell. Incredible photos in modern time equals your handcrafted item on a white background that will blend well with the sea of other items that it will be listed to in a search. Finally, keywords and descriptions must be search engine optimized (SEO) for best finding results. Below, you can find the style and epitome of what we are referring to. Little Glamour has done a beautiful job of characterizing the essence of what Etsy demands as a way to sell regularly and fruitfully.
While Little Glamour has done a magnificent job of encapsulating the demands that Etsy wants for their appearance, there seems to be something missing, at least from my eyes. Myself, being someone who has a love of color and uniqueness, I couldn’t bring myself to adhere to this style. I can’t help but think to myself, where’s the color? Where’s the pizazz? Where’s the uniqueness that sets it apart in the never ending millions of jewelry items? Obviously, there are many who love this style, because the overwhelming success that is demonstrated by this shop’s number of sales is noteworthy at least. By the same hand, I personally look at this and feel a sense of loss. Is this what I am to commit to in order to find my noteworthy success? Must I adhere to the simplicities that are displayed by this highly successful shop? I can see the differences in why Little Glamour might be doing much better than myself. Her shop is cohesive, it’s consistent in imagery, it possesses the simplicities that lie in having success.
I can’t help but think to myself that if I adhere to the simplicities that lie above, won’t I simply be betraying the very thing that makes me love creating jewelry? No, there’s no real cohesiveness in my shop; there’s different angles, there’s different images, there’s different imagery. But I don’t want to target the customer who is looking to have those simple designs; I am looking for the customer who loves the difference and uniqueness in herself and in her appearance. I suppose that if I were to adhere, I would indefinitely feel as though I were in fact murdering my artistic self.
Toad's Lily Pond Jewelry 