Congrats! You’ve completed the first week of the Shop Owner Challenge! Today, Kate, a fabulous product manager here shares the nitty gritty on how to help users find your brilliant models.

Tip 1: Title- The Best Product on Earth… Ever!

This might seem obvious, but the title of your model can make or break its success on Shapeways! Make sure your title is catchy and descriptive to someone outside of your niche. Before publishing, think to yourself, “What is the model at it’s simplest form?” A great example of this is our interlocked cube.

The title we chose? Shapeways Interlocked Cubes. It’s descriptive and to the point.

2. Tags – If you tag it, they will come.

Tags are the place to catch any other information you might not be able to get in the title. Does your model have any special characteristics? Is it for drones, or a scale model, or for a particular hobby that we don’t have a category for? Think of this process as word association — anything a user might search for to link the model name and search term together. For example, our Shapeways Interlocked Cube is tagged #desk toys, #3x3x3, #cube, #interlocking, #promo, #shapeways, and #toy.

3. Description – We give you space, so use it to sell your product… and your brand.

Even if you didn’t major in English, you can still use words to your advantage, and your product descriptions are the perfect place to do that. The description is a place for you to explain what your item is in more words, add context, explain it’s purpose, or tell a story about how it came to be. This is also a great place to add in any additional assembly instructions or links to similar models in different sizes that you may have. For our Shapeways Interlocked Cube, we’ve written:

“Shapeways Interlocked Cubes are designed to show off how cool selective laser sintering is and how you can make sweet products with interlocking parts all in one model. Come visit us at an event to get your hands on one!”

4. Photos – People heart photos. Don’t believe me? Just go on Instagram.

Photos are very important to help people visualize how your product is essential to making their life better. Your photos should be:

  • Clear. Use either a neutral background or a shot of your product in action.
  • Focused.  Make sure the product clearly the center of attention.<
  • Well-lit. Natural light is the best, and make sure the light shines in front of your product. 
  • Variety. If you can show images of your products printed in multiple materials, this is an excellent way to help potential customers visualize how their products will look. 
  • High Quality. If you have access to an SLR camera or another camera that can create high resolution photos, use it! High quality photos tend to sell more products.

Pro Tip from Savannah: Even if you don’t have an SLR, you can still take great photos with your photo or pocket digital camera. In a tip yet to come, we share with you secrets to great photography on the go.

5. Category – Don’t let your product get misplaced or lost in the ether.

Pick a category for your product after you upload it, and think hard about which one is the best fit. We let you pick two categories, but we find that your product will do best if you pick one top-level category and then a related subcategory for the product. For example, while you may think that all of your model as art, but it might actually sell better if you list it as a mechanical part since people will be looking for it there! For our Shapeways Interlocked Cube, we’ve categorized it as a desk toy, even though it could also have been classified as art!

Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to Shapeways success!