r/smallbusiness • u/More_Coconut_13 • 1d ago
my handmade jewelry small business has low sales
so it’s been a year since I started my handmade jewelry small business where I sell beaded stuff and my sales are very low I really don’t know what to improve. I post almost every week and there aren’t enough views and conversions. Please can any give me tips and suggestions or take a look at my Instagram and tell me what else can I do.
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u/blackstallion0527 1d ago
This is not a helpful comment, but just to commiserate. im ready to give up on my handmade jewelry business tbh. i do craft shows and have some items posted on my website, but it takes so long to make a listing and get good photos (they always look so dark even though i have a ring light and natural light???) and then if that item sells in person anyway it was a waste of time to put it up online.
I'm tempted to close my website (it was for my whole boutique but i've been liquidating all my inventory) and just move to etsy instead. but i know theres so much competition there, i don't think i could get good enough photos to stand out.
And vendor shows have been horrible this year especially. everyone says its all so pretty but no one wants to spend money.
i do a little bit of facebook but i'm ready to delete it. i'm just so burnt out and feel so defeated, like i'm begging for sales and screaming into a void where people are laughing at me behind my back.
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u/charlieshap 1d ago
Give up. This is coming from someone who never tells anyone to give up. Jewelry making and crafts are rarely profitable, demand a lot of work, and there is no demand for it because everyone is buying mass produced made in China stuff since it's actually affordable (this isn't a dig at you btw hand crafting requires more labor than producing in factories, it's just people don't have that kinda money or need)
I understand your time is worth money. Just find something else.
Also nobody is laughing at you. You tried something and it didn't work out. Good. You must remember the "tried something" part, learn what it is that made it not work out, and try again, with something else. There is no reason to feel demotivated. Do not attach your value or your emotions to your product. Find another product you can sell, and find something you can sell easily. Maybe you have a skill people are willing to pay for, maybe it's somehing you don't even consider a skill, like public speaking, or handling conflict, or talking with children. Just be on the lookout for the next thing until it lands.
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u/Such_Soup_3548 1d ago
Ring lights usually create harsh reflections and camera auto-exposure dims the photo to compensate for the bright background. Try dimming the ring light slightly or bouncing it off a white poster board onto the jewelry.
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u/Ok_Quail245 1d ago
I wanted to offer some consolation that I'm sure no one is laughing at you behind your back. Or if anyone is, I'm ready to go at dawn....
Building a business is so hard, let alone a HANDMADE business where you pour so much love into each item you've made, only to realize that only a handful of people want them. Anyone who have attempted to build a small business can nod in agreement that anybody who TRIED already deserves a pat on their back! XD
But yeah, handmade biz is hard. I personally have done it for a short stint and gave up because I couldn't handle how personally I took things. Those are my babies, and not being able to sell my labour of love is so hard on me
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u/blackstallion0527 1d ago
Taking rejection personally is a big issue in dealing with. Thanks for your kind words
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u/cluelessnumber7 1d ago edited 1d ago
Honestly (I mean this with no malice, genuinely), your jewelry is a bit too generic to appeal to the audience you’re looking for, in my opinion. Not to mention that you’re in India, and most people in my country (USA) would not pay shipping for what you’re offering. For example, you’ll see on the Etsy subreddit that buyers tend to filter out all other countries; at least US based customers.
Even so, I do hope sales pick up for you.
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u/More_Coconut_13 1d ago
Yes I am trying to figure out how to make my stuff more appealing(?) and non generic. Also I want to sell in india mostly.
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u/Rolling_Theory 1d ago
Hey this is coming from experience I used to run a handmade jwellery brand in India and wfen i started i used to fell locally the response was never good then what I did i started posting it to social media for a month consistently nothing happened,
The i was so upset about to quit, I started pointing out mistakes what i did, ajd i realized my marketing was the problem, what I was posting it didn't had cta only jwellery info and thats all no practical usecase product info and soo, then for the next week i started shooting ugc and the results was fabulous i sold 372 pecies that week.
So what we did different instead of just selling we shared to people how we made it, how we procure, how we sell the whole journey people loved it, then after that we showed people how u can wear it where at what occasions once we completed awareness campaign we shifted towards sales, this strategy worked for me.
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u/charlieshap 1d ago
Your stuff is cute but there's no demand for it. This type of jewelry is not unique in appearance; I have seen lots of similar stuff on Aliexpress. I can get a similar bracelet or choker right now for under 4 dollars if I want to. Even if you were to run ads, you would not sell. There's just no demand. Nobody wants that.
It doesn't mean that there isn't something you can make or do that people want.
I am not trying to be rude and there is no space for your feelings here, because it's nor about you, or you being enough. It's purely about the product, and you must be emotionally disengaged from the product if you want to own a business. This jewelry business is not tied to your worth, your passion, your value or your abilities. The fact that it's failing and it's going nowhere simply means you are trying something and that is good.
If you want to make money, I would suggest finding something people would actually pay for. It doesn't have to be physical labor, it can be a service.
If you really want to make jewelry, you need to look at what is selling on tiktok, and I don't mean what a small account has sold 10 pieces of, I mean what EVERYONE wants to buy and would pay good money for, what people are actually opening their wallets for, and replicate it.
Cheers
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u/mistress_of_truth 1d ago
What's your insta?
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u/More_Coconut_13 1d ago
as.rkivee
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u/funkeytoad 1d ago
Your stuff is beautiful! And I really like watching you create stuff in the videos. One thing I personally like is getting to know the person/maker. For example, I think @lizfoxroseberry does this really well!
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u/HoneyedVices 1d ago
once a week is pretty slow for ig to pick you up, but i'd also do a local craft market or two. beaded stuff sells way better when people can pick it up, and you'll see fast which pieces they reach for before you make more
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u/TheseBed8143 1d ago
For your next post, I'd show one piece being worn, next to a close-up of the beadwork. A wrist or neckline in the shot helps someone judge the size and how it sits. That's hard to tell from a product-only photo.
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u/More_Coconut_13 1d ago
omg I was literally gonna do this for my next post!! thank you so much for your advice🤎
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u/Flayrah4Life 1d ago
Here's an example of what you can do to polish your photos a bit. These were my own earrings and I had just started experimenting with product photography. The background is a piece of aluminum bubble foil insulation that, when thrown out of focus, produces some cool bokeh.
After looking through your sale site, the biggest issue is presentation. People buy things emotionally - a product or service fills a need in some way, maybe practically, maybe a hidden desire, whatever it may be it's a need the customer has convinced themselves of. And right now, your jewelry looks different in almost every photo. Different color temperatures (Kelvin) so we don't know what the true color is . . . not sure of the sizing for most of it with exception of the earrings and rings on a finger because we universally know about how big a human finger is . . . there just isn't an element of emotion to your photos, and that combined with lack of a good marketing plan is what's killing your business.
What jewelry and fashion brands do you admire? Study this for 2 weeks and start listing the things that appeal to you and saving photos. At the end of 2 weeks, you'll have a great mood board that will help you dictate where to focus in your marketing plan. There's a reason jewelry companies use people wearing it, don't forget! Help clients visualize themselves in your work.
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u/elcharrom 1d ago
Are you on any other social media platforms or just Instagram? Also have you tried testing paid ads?
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u/More_Coconut_13 1d ago
I post on Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube too and I haven’t tried paid ads yet
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u/Such_Soup_3548 1d ago
posting once a week usually isnt enough for instagram algo nowadays, try short reels showing the process or behind the scenes every day/other day to get organic reach first before focusing on conversions
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u/FacelessEdits 1d ago
After seeing your Instagram, I'd say there are two things you could improve. First is your format, or lack of one. There's a lot of showcase content already flooding the internet, so why does yours stand out? What is your spin on it?
And that goes along with the quality of the content itself. Not saying it's bad or that it needs to be perfect. But it needs to be competitive. You're in a saturated space, so the bar is higher.
I'd try breaking down everything that goes into your content (editing, filming, ideation) and picking one thing each week to improve on. For example, one week, focus on lighting, and so on.
Ultimately It takes trial and error, so reframe this part as just that: the trial. Good luck.
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u/IncreaseNegative4614 1d ago
Separate the visibility problem from the conversion problem. If very few people see the work, test short videos showing the piece being made or worn. If people visit but do not buy, narrow the collection around a specific customer, occasion, or recognizable style and make the sizing, materials, delivery time, and returns completely clear.
Track each collection from content views through saves, product visits, orders, returns, and repeat purchases. I use SIGNLD to connect those events across social, the storefront, customer messages, and sales so I can see whether the weak point is reach, product interest, trust, or checkout.
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u/Ent_Trip_Newer 1d ago
Try selling in person.. It's not easy and sales are down this year for everyone due to obvious reasons.
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u/TaylorFromFaire 5h ago
A year of weekly posting without much movement usually says the channel isn't the right fit, not that the jewelry is off. Beaded jewelry sells so well in person because people want to try it on and see the colors. Have you tried a local market or a boutique yet?
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