What I Learned From a Product Launch With 0 Sales
After 3 weeks of promoting the Freshly Picked: Cute Fruit Wall Art collection with blog posts, Pinterest, landing page, and email newsletters, the final result? Zero sales.
In this post I’ll breakdown what I did, the numbers behind the scenes, and what I would do differently in the next go round.
The Launch Plan
I treated this campaign like a mini product launch to practice multi-channel content marketing. Over the course of three weeks, I published:
4 blog posts (including behind-the-scenes and lifestyle posts)
30 Pinterest pins
3 email newsletters to my Studio News list
1 mass Etsy shop update with SEO-optimized titles, tags, and descriptions
Landing page on Squarespace website to promote the full collection
The goal was to promote a 12-piece fruit-themed gouache wall art collection through organic content marketing.
The Results
Here’s what happened during the campaign period from April 24 - May 23:
Website traffic
Squarespace Analytics: 223 visits
Google Analytics: 139 Active users
Etsy shop visits: 28
Email open rates:
66.7%: New Art Drop: Freshly Picked Fruit Prints for Your Kitchen Walls
33.3%: Fruit Art for a Cheerful Kitchen: 4 Styling Tips
50%: From Sketch to Slice: How the Fruit Prints Were Made
Pinterest views:
1.65K impressions, (up 757%)
2 link clicks
Total Etsy shop sales: 0
What I learned
1. Audience Fit Matters
The inspiration for this collection came from trending cute fruit-themed decor and accessories I had been seeing everywhere. But I realized I was mostly promoting to cozy, slow-living decor enthusiasts who decorate gradually, not necessarily the trend-chasing home decorators who refresh their space seasonally.
Next time: Segment messaging more intentionally and consider dual-promotion strategies for different audience types.
2. Timing Is Crucial
I launched in late April, just as people were turning their focus to graduations, travel, and summer events. Looking back, fruit-themed prints may have resonated more during early spring refreshes.
Next time: Monitor seasonal timing more closely. If I want to join a trend, I could list 1–3 on-theme pieces instead of a full 12-piece collection to stay agile.
3. Light on the CTA
In my effort to keep the campaign casual and non-salesy, I didn’t include enough clear, persuasive calls to action. Visitors may have liked the content, but didn’t feel compelled to buy.
Next time: Weave in stronger CTAs across blog posts, emails, and pins. Explore what it could look like to be more persuasive without being overly salesy.
What Worked Well
Pinterest performance improved, and my account grew from under 100 monthly viewers to over 2,000.
Writing blog content around lifestyle felt natural and helped reinforce the brand voice without feeling like a sales pitch
Email marketing became easier with each send, I’ve officially gotten over my fear of newsletters!
Final Thoughts
Yes, it’s discouraging that the campaign resulted in zero sales. But truthfully, I enjoyed the process from beginning to end. I practiced campaign planning, content creation, SEO, and performance tracking in a real-world setting, and the overall execution felt smoother than my first product launch.
This fruit collection may not have converted, but it gave me invaluable practice as a self-taught digital marketer.