Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Appearance Critique: Lavender Greetings



Our critique this week is for Lavender Greetings. The theme is appearance. Please post your feedback in the comments!

15 comments:

  1. Karen,
    You know I love your work, so I had to dig deep to find any critique! :)

    My only suggestion is to use all 5 photo slots they give you. I've been told that the buyer wants to see the inside even if it's blank and the backside of our cards. Someone told me you can use photoshop to place both the inside shot and the backside shot side-by-side so it only takes up one picture.

    Good luck and happy selling :)
    Shannen
    www.HappyElephantDesigns.etsy.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Karen, your cards are just great! I especially love the invitation sets. I also like the way you've sectioned your shop, very effective.

    A couple suggestions that I have: try brightening up your photos-some of them seem a bit dark. I also prefer the main photo to be angled in a way so as to see nearly the whole thing (like this listing: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16644399), rather than see a flat close-up of the item (like this one: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30760046). With cards it is hard to tell what it is in thumbnail versions anyway, this helps I think.

    I also think your banner might not do your work justice! Maybe it's the black background? Good luck with the shop!

    elana
    Squeeze Card Co.
    www.squeezecardco.etsy.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Karen,

    My comments pretty much pertain to photos.

    The first things I noticed right off the bat are how many items have "hero" shots for the main photo and then how many photos have different angles of hero shots for their alternate photos.

    Don't be afraid to use the macro setting on your camera and zoom in on the little interesting details that make each card special. Using a textured cardstock? Is that floral embellishment paper or fabric? Is the ribbon grosgrain, woven, sheer, or satin? What about a neat, embossed pattern? Zoom in and show it off!

    Experiment with taking photos of the little things, and take photos of the little things at different angles. This will give you a pretty big library of photos to choose from and, hopefully, using all 5 photos will be a cinch!

    Jen
    SimplyInvitingCards.etsy.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great comments - please keep them coming!

    photos, photos, photos - uggh :)

    I get lazy about changing the lens to take macro shots. And I read in the forums what a great idea is was to zoom in with your photo editor.

    I will definitely experiment more with the macro lens! thank you!

    And Elena you are right - the angled look is better :) thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi!
    Your cards are adorable.
    My only suggestion is the same as Jen with Simply Inviting is to do a few close up shots of at least one detail on your card. It will allow the buyer to get a real sense of the texture and technique you used.

    Jen
    Lilly Pea Designs

    ReplyDelete
  6. Karen

    I know photos are a pain, but I also agree with the others on the macro image. I also think the brightness may need to be adjusted on various ones.
    I think that if you find an angle or way that you really like you should try to stick with that throughout the whole shop for the photos. As I look at the list or gallery view it seems a bit busy with the photos being in different directions, especially since you have so much texture and color in your product to begin with. I usually view my shop in list style but every once in awhile I switch to gallery just to see if the photos of the product POP. This photo for scaredy cat http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30650926 I think has that POP and draws you in to click for more looks. That first image is really the hook for the customer and what draws them into the shop.

    I find the font type on your banner to be a little difficut to read. Again with all that great texture and color in your product I think that simplier may be better. You don't want your banner competeing with your product. I like the banner on your blog, it seems to tie into your shop name a bit better as well.

    Thanks for being the first guiena pig and I hope this helps.

    Anne
    www.aplusastudio.etsy.com
    www.aplusastudio.100markets.com
    www.aplusastudio.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Karen

    I love your cards, too! I agree that the banner is difficult to read. Also, I don't think you need the web address in your banner since it is in your shop announcement (which is short and sweet).

    Your shop tag line reads "Invitations*Personalized Stationery*Handmade Greetings", I would add spaces instead of asterisks because Google search engines will read it as one long word. If you separate the words, you are more likely to show up when people search "personalized invitations", etc.

    Thanks! Angie
    www.jumpingjackdesigns.etsy.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I would also suggest you change your main photos so they are all angled like the Thanksgiving and Hanukkah ones. Cropping them so you only see a part of them helps to get the buyer to click on the rest of the listing too. I also noticed that some of your photos were a bit blurry when I clicked on them. Using the macro setting should fix that.
    Another thing I would suggest is taking the payment information out of your intro and put it in your policies.
    Other than that I think your cards are great and I wish you continued success!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Karen,
    I have to agree with all comments that have already been made. Some of your photos are blurry, but I am sure you will work on that. Your product descriptions seem to be the right length (I tend to get a little wordy), and very well written. Your policies read fine. Your profile reads great but needs a little bit more about YOU. Your banner...have you thought about making the background lavender, the www.lavendergreetings.com in white (reverse), and the copy underneath in white or green with a bigger font? Just a suggestion.
    I do like your style and I hope you have continued success! Good luck!
    Aletha
    AJ's Designs
    http://ajsdesigns.etsy.com
    http://ajsdesigns.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Continued thank yous for the great comments. I actually ordered a new website template with all accessories yesterday - it will look awesome! Website, Blog and Etsy will all match!

    Keep the comments coming - learning lots :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. The only things I can see that aren't as good as they could be is the banner. I think it's the black - there seems to be a lot of it.

    Photographs look great.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your cards are adorable. There's so much detail in them! And it's fantastic how much inventory you have - way to go!

    My 2 points of critique:
    1. Update your banner to something a little brighter and more professional. Your outside website looks great; I'd just do a banner that mirrors what you already have going there.

    2. Some of your pictures look great, but others are a little dark. A little photoshop would brighten them right up (I use Picasa - click "I'm feeling lucky" and it does most of the work for you).

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you again everyone for the great and inspiring comments! and for the kind words about my work.

    karen

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Karen,

    Thanks for volunteering! Your cards are beautiful!
    Photos - pretty well covered already! One tip to share w/ everyone: if you don't have a macro lens or setting on your camera, you may find that getting too close to the card for detail shots results in fuzzy photos because your camera cannot focus at such a short distance. That's a very good time to use your photo editor to crop in on that detail.

    Banner - I can't wait to see the new one! ;)

    Profile - I agree, a little more personal info would be great. It doesn't have to be really personal, maybe how long you've been making cards, how you got into it, etc...

    Policies, Sections - all good!

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Karen, You have a lovely shop; I love your creativity! I think a few of the photos could be better. The whites don't look true white on some (not all) but I have the same problems. Makes me nuts :o)
    Best!
    www.CarasScrapNStampArt.etsy.com

    ReplyDelete