Getting that first sale. . . .

competitionscafe

By the way if I add something to basket on Domestic goddess it whisks me off to paypal, but if I click on continue shopping (on the paypal page) nothing happens? So I can only checkout one item (if I was buying) - this might be something you need to look at?

The_doomed

Cleaning Bucket
Click on the picture for a better look


If you've got to do the jobs you might as well do it in style!
This cleaning bucket is of the highest quality and has enough space to keep all your cleaning essentials in, it even comes with a handy lift out tray.
It's not only about being stylish though this is all about being organised and making things easier on yourself.
RRP - £35.00

£24.95





OUCH

tru

The_doomed wrote: »

OUCH

LOL, it's OUCH to us brilliant MSErs but a lot of people will pay that price for this type of thing

COOLTRIKERCHICK

taken a look at your website......

i think the home page is really good..... so a VERY well done:T

when clicked to see the things you had for sale......

the first thing that struck me.. was the porduct pages did not grab my attention/inspire me to want to buy....

i found the product picture did not grab my attention....maybe tyhe product picture needs to be bigger...( without clicking on the picutre for bigger image etc)

you say that aprons seems to be the main item/word that is bringing people to your site....

even though you havent had any sales yet...... these few weeks would have been the most important....imo....

as the site has told you APRONS........ why dont you specialise in them.......could you find someone local who could do specially desinged aprons for you... especially with the logo type lady you have on your home page....

i sell vintage items..... and i have a thing about old aprons...( not in that way ) and even though they do seem to be uncool:cool: there is still a big demand for the right type......etc..... shabby chic.... is the in-word at the mo.........

old style country cottage feel.....so maybe old style cleaning household items....and natural cleaning stuff....

like good old .. little blue bags...... cant find them anywhere now..... and they bring my net curtains up a treat.....

good luck.......keep us updated......( yes i know i am nosey)

competitionscafe

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

as the site has told you APRONS........ why dont you specialise in them.......could you find someone local who could do specially desinged aprons for you... especially with the logo type lady you have on your home page....

Excellent idea - I think those could sell very well if they were nicely designed and priced right - a domestic goddess apron and maybe one for men too

The natural /eco-friendly cleaning stuff is a good idea too, also stuff like Badger balms (lip balm and body balms and butters) sells well. I think Grafton Ltd is the UK agent/distributor for badger or there are some good British alternatives like Akamuti and Balm Balm.

powerbase

Firstly congrats on getting up and doing something and good luck with it.

Now onto constructive criticism.

When I first clicked onto your site I thought it was a blog about cleaning tips. I had no idea you were actually selling something. While content is king to get up the search engines, if people find you and don’t think you sell anything they will click somewhere else. You have about 3 seconds to win someone over or to make them want to look further.

That said I did know you were selling something due to your post and it still took a moment to find out how to get to the items you were selling.

Your normal links such as home page contact us and your product category pages all blend into one on the right hand side. I cannot easily tell which are the products and which are waffle pages (I know I could read them but I’m your average surfer I want everything on a plate and yesterday).

What some people do is have the categories of products on the left (why is it people go for the left?) and the waffle pages down the right or further down the left, basically they are separated. Even consider putting a heading, product categories, above the product links. One other note that backs up this is that I when I looked at the links to the right I saw the first one was home page so I immediately thought these are the waffle pages (T&C, contact us, about us, home etc) I won’t find items for sale here and I went looking further down the page. You want things to be easily found and intuitive.

You may want some content on your homepage but if you are doing that have a picture of an item that you are selling or something on the first page that screams we are a shop, we sell things. Even have your best item on the home page with a buy it now.

There is also way too much text on the product pages for my liking. If I am browsing, I like lots of pictures i.e. as many items as possible displayed. I click the item I like for more detail and then I can have the waffle on one page dedicated to that item. I see a product listing page with 7 products (I’m already scrolling to get to the second item) and each has lots of details on that one page, I think this is going to be too much hassle. I’d rather go back to google search for the item again and find an easier to use site.

I think the aprons are the winners on the site. I think concentrating on aprons may be the best idea for now. I would not be a buyer of the items you sell but when I saw your aprons I wanted a closer look and would keep something like that in mind for a present. Everything else I can get somewhere else, easily and cheaper. Also the rest of the stuff while it’s home related just doesn’t seem to flow or sit together well it’s almost like a car boot of shops, a little bit of everything. It’s a mix of things which I think would be harder to get people to buy. If you concentrate on one thing it would be easier to target the people most likely to buy and then maybe build up other items (this would be when you ditch mr site and I don’t think it’s good if you start having lots of items).

As for getting your site seen by more people; there are many things you can do with SEO (see some of my previous posts and advice in this thread) to help you get your site out there. Remember there’s also a natural progression that has to build up over time. You don’t just submit to the search engines one day and the next day 1000s of people are coming to your site. Your site and domain need to mature (people argue there is the sandbox for new sites but I’m not here to debate that). My point is, do what you can now and the rest will build up over time. You cannot rush these things.

15 hits a day is nothing really but it will get more if you concentrate on SEO.

Summary is fix your site up so when people do find it they want to stay and buy something.
Optimise your site for search engines, there are many things you can do without spending a penny.
Bring in people who are most likely to buy. You could have 10000 visitors a day but the people who visit are not interested in your products then no one will buy.
Quality, not quantity

Sorry if the post seems harsh, but I think it’s best to get good honest feedback. I personally think this kind of feedback is best. You ask your mum or your best friend and they may not want to hurt your feelings etc.

If only I could do this for my own sites. Haha. It’s a lot easier being objective about someone else’s site than your own. Remember this is not personal.

Good luck and as I said before congrats on doing something. Hopefully with all the advice you get here you will have a successful business.

Regards

COOLTRIKERCHICK

competitionscafe wrote: »

Excellent idea - I think those could sell very well if they were nicely designed and priced right - a domestic goddess apron and maybe one for men too

The natural /eco-friendly cleaning stuff is a good idea too, also stuff like Badger balms (lip balm and body balms and butters) sells well. I think Grafton Ltd is the UK agent/distributor for badger or there are some good British alternatives like Akamuti and Balm Balm.

glad someone thinks so..too.. the homepage reminded me of 'old style' so why not sell old style.....

i would say as i said earlier...even though you havent had any sales yet you have had valueble info.. by finding out that aprons is a key word....

also old fashioned feather dusters.....nice fancy marigold style gloves.... but the glammed up ones.... old fashioned clothes pegs etc......i could waffle on with loads of ideas.....

domestic_goddess

Thank you everyone, I have had some fantastic information and am goingto go away and have a good luck at it and the ideas everyone has given me...... I think its really important that people who aren't biased look at the site and give me their opinions. Thank you all I will be back when I have rethought a few things and had a bit of a rejig, the ideas there it just needs a bit of a tweak!:beer: