Cold November Numbers

The slaughter continues. I didn't think it was possible for Christmas to disappear completely, but here we are. Behold the first money-losing November ever:

November

Total income: -54%
Total COGS: -54.9%
Payroll: -50.9%

Marketing: -45.2%
Net Income (Profit) vs LY: -197.1% (-$632)

Actual Profit/Loss: -$312

YTD

Total income: -18.7%
Total COGS: -19.5%
Payroll: -18.2%

Marketing: -19.4%
Net Income (Profit) vs LY: -11.2% (-$269)

Actual Profit/Loss: -$2,659

Wow, that's just stunning. I had planned to come in 25% below LY based on YTD results and my parsimonious advertising plans. I was wholly unprepared for falling off a cliff. Last year this week averaged $500 per day; this year I expected $400 per day. At the rate it's going, the whole week won't break $1,000. (It's possible, if highly unlikely, that the next day and a half could still push fiscal November just barely into the black; another $460 would make it only the second-worst ever.) 

There are no technical problems. My analytics are within normal parameters. But the orders are all tiny, and people aren't buying what I want to sell them -- everything on this page, for example, has a solid track record and seasonal appeal; there's nothing speculative there, and yet nothing is selling. Where are all of the nice juicy $50 or $100 sales that should be rolling in? Tuesday brought seven sales worth just $135 (and I spent $38 on advertising). The packages were so small I could hold them all with one hand. Yesterday -- the busiest of the season so far -- landed nine sales worth just $285, with one healthy Metal Earth order saving it from mediocrity.

What's wrong, America? Is it me or is it you? 'Cuz I don't think it's me.

I don't mean to disparage small orders, btw. All business is welcome. I just can't make it on those alone.

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The app that was autoposting my blog posts to Facebook stopped working last week and its successor wants money, so I had to move on; without that link, my last post only had six readers, and one of them was probably me. Linking Blogger to Facebook is harder than you might think. I'm trying IFTTT (If This Then That), but it wouldn't let me specify my Curio City sub-page so I'm afraid it might just post this to the unused (personal) parent page, in which case I'll have to look for a different solution. We'll see in a few minutes, I hope.