There is a large and growing market for crafters of all types. Yet there is no real trick for monetizing your crafting hobby.
Instead, there is merely the necessity to treat your hobby as a job because it can turn into something as lucrative as a part time and even a full time pursuit. The following tips can help you begin to sell your crafts online as you determine what online platforms might be right for you.
Setting up accounts
To begin selling your crafts online, you’ll need to decide where to sell them. Many crafters simply begin by setting up a PayPal account (to receive online payments) and then accounts on selling sites like Etsy or eBay.
These sites are ideal for both novices and hard-core sellers like. In time you can set up your own website, but chances are you will always want to have accounts on these sites open and used to sell as well as market the crafts you make.
Begin by reading their terms and understanding their platforms. As these are two major names for artisans and crafters, they are good avenues to begin. However, you might also explore other options too.
Marketing materials
Once you begin to sell, you will want to ship your crafts with some flyers or business cards so that happy customers can purchase from you again or recommend you to others.
Even though you will be conducting your business online, you can still rely on grass roots, word-of-mouth marketing techniques to build your customer base. You will also want to spend time on creating a profile or brand information (i.e. a short biography) to include in each sale listing. Talk about the type of crafts you make and whether or not you do custom work, for instance.
The home office
While you might have an area of your home dedicated to crafting or even a studio, you will also need to set up a small area for managing your online sales. You will also need some space for packaging and storing your packaging items.
You can run your business, of course, from a laptop along with a small printer (for printing sales receipts) so a lot of space isn’t needed. You will want to keep track of your sales, however, for tax purposes as income can add up once you begin to do a lot of selling. Tracking your sales is also an important way to keep tabs on the best-selling items.
You may like to make one type of item, but it may actually be another that is your hot seller.
Set aside time to craft
Some sellers prefer to create samples to list with the understanding that a week to two weeks will be needed as a sale condition to actually make the item.
Others prefer to wait to list an item for sale until the item is actually made.
This is entirely at the discretion of the crafter, of course, but in either case, you’ll need to set aside time to produce your merchandise.
Try to create a work schedule for yourself. Be sure to include computer time for the management of your business each day as you check for messages or sales.
Some crafters will craft in the morning while others will set aside a couple days each week to craft. This is up to the seller, but the key is to commit to those crafting sessions.
Promote
Facebook and Pinterest are a couple of places where you can promote your craft items. You can include links that lead potential customers right back to your eBay or Etsy listing. Pinterest is ideal for marketing because the pictures of your craft aren’t limited to your friends network. You’d be surprised how fast a great item can be spread around.
Be sure to explore the marketing potential Pinterest affords to crafters. In fact, it’s a great place to keep an online gallery of your past creations. Social media, on the whole, is simply a strong tool for spreading the word about your crafting business or even your new items. Take time to explore these options and all of these tips so you can begin selling the items you love to make.