We’re changing things up this month and we’ll be critiquing an Etsy shop!  So a big congrats to Gema Lopez for winning our contest for a free shop critique for October.  Let’s jump right in and look at this gorgeous shop.

Things we loved about the shop:

• There’s no denying Gema has a great skill for photographing her artwork.  The colors are vibrant, there’s no sign of vignetting, and the perspective is true.
• She really understands how her customers shop for artwork and categorized her work to make it easier for them to find note cards or prints right away.
• We loved the story in your bio about your grandfather.  It’s a wonderful personal touch.  (We definitely want to see your WHY in there as well!  We want to jive with the reason behind your art.)

Things we would tweak:

• The picture in the shop banner is eye-catching but we would recommend making ‘Gema Lopez’ larger so that it’s also eye-catching.  After all, you want your customers to remember your name after they leave your shop.
• Pictures!  While Gema shows off great pictures of her work, we don’t get to see the work in someone’s hands.  We don’t know if the note cards have white borders, what size they are in relation to someone’s hand, or how they’d look in an envelope.  When selling original art especially, you’ll NEED to show the work in its entirety since it’s such an investment.  How is it mounted?  Can we just hang it on the wall or do we need to get it framed?
• Show the prints matted and on a wall.  Show the note cards in someone’s hands or poking out of an envelope.  By letting your customer see the work, you eliminate obstacles to buy because you’re answering the questions they may have.  In-use photographs are the best way to let your customer see your work in their life.
• Eliminate some of the options in the listings for note cards, prints, or paintings.  Too many options means too many choices for the customer and thus the easiest option is to buy none of them.  People will search through your shop if they want to find a certain image as a note card versus a painting.  We would recommend sharing just one link, preferably to the originals, in each listing.
• How are things shipped?  When it comes to artwork and original works of art, shipping is a critical and expensive part of the buying process.  Let people know how you’ll be sending their work and that will give them more confidence to buy.
• Make sure in your listings, you make it about the customer, not about you.  It’s fine to say that you think a certain piece is your favorite but your customers don’t need to know what colors you might use next time instead.  That’s more for a blog than a listing.  Instead, tell them how the piece will make them feel.  Show that you understand their love for nature, bright colors, eye-popping art.  Explain how a vibrant piece can brighten up a dull wall, making a total redecoration unnecessary.

We hope this critique helps not only Gema but that you get excited about cleaning up your site and ramping up your sales.  Please let us know below if this critique helped you with your site! 

Want more?  Check out our e-course Convert Your Creativity to learn how to increase your sales conversions and build a show that brings in the money you want.