How to Sell Your Crafts Online
How to Sell Your Crafts Online
Selling your handmade work online can be a confusing process. What do you need to get started? Where can you sell your work? How do you get your work seen? When your first start out it seems like you have a hundred questions and no answers. While there are manytips and tricks you'll pick up as you gain experience selling; there are only a few key things you'll need to have or decide on in order to start selling your work online.
1. Determine Your Product - If you want to sell something online, you'll first need to have or make something people want to buy. While this sounds simple, it is a step that many people overlook. Is there a market for what you do? If the market for what you do is saturated, how can you differentiate yourself and your work? Spend some time looking atsuccessful sellers and try to analyze what makes them different. If you already have a successful product line in mind, make sure you keep your mind open to new ideas as you go along. Even seasoned offline sellers need to learn and adapt to be successful online sellers.
2. Determine Your Venue - The basic things you need to sell online are some kind of website that hosts your items, and some way to accept payment for those items. Beyond these two requirements the options are almost endless. We can break the most popular options down into two distinct categories; personal websites, and marketplace websites.
Personal Website - A personal e-commercewebsite is a very attractive option for experienced sellers, especially those with technical know-how. You have the most control over the layout andappearance, and you aren'tcompetingagainst any other sellers in this space. On the downside, this is typically the most costly option. The less you know about programming and coding, the more expensive this option will be as well. You will not only be in charge of your own promoting, but also your own research and development into e-commercetrends and best practices. This is notrecommended for sellers with no previousinternetsales experience.
Marketplace Website - A marketplace website isrecommendedfor sellers with little previous online experience, as well as for sellers who do not have a robust technical understanding of e-commercemechanics. To get started on most marketplace venues all you'll need is a PayPal account. Marketplace venues are also differentiated by the markets they serve and their cost structure. Venues such as Ebay and Etsy charge listing and final valuation fees for you to sell your products. Venues such as ArtFire or Ecrater operate "freemium" models where listing and selling items is free but paid accounts offer more exposure and management features. While venues such as Amazon stores mix the two and charge both a monthly static fee and a final valuation fee. Each solution has it's own pros and cons.
3. Determine your shipping costs - One of the most significant differences between selling a product to someone in person and selling it to them online is that you will have to factor in the cost to ship your product to your customer. Determine shipping rates and policies that are fair. Shoppers typically dislike sellers who try and make extra money on the shipping costs, however youshouldn'thave to eat the cost of shipping either. Keep in mind that on top of simply postage, you will need appropriate packagingmaterialsto ensure your products make it to your customers without damage.
4. Photograph your Product - The one major business purchase you'll need to make before you can start selling online is a digital camera. Do your best not to skimp on this one. Your cell phone camera will not cut it. Your five year old digital camera, unless it was a top of the line purchase to begin with, will not cut it. Your photos are the only opportunity your customers will have to interact with your products. Blurry product photos online would be akin to a slime covered product in real life; not many customers will get past it. Expect to spend between two and three hundred dollars for a solid entry level camera for productphotography. Search around a bit or ask sellers with particularly good photos for advice if you are lost at the camera store. You will also want to purchase a tri-pod.
5. Promote your Products - Now that you've got your store setup and your products photographed, it's time to promote your products. Promotion can typically be broken down into costing you either time, or money. There arenumerousfree ways to promote your work and bring buyers into your store. You can also spend money on advertising to bring traffic to your items. Successfulstrategies will often involve a mix of both.
Getting set up to sell your handmade crafts online can seem a little daunting at first. But if you seek out information, ask questions, and learn from mistakes, you'll be up and running in no time. Few Ways To Make Money Online Watch Champions League Online Looking For A Real Way To Make Money Online Fast? Online Casino Future Graduates Discover Methods to Get Accredited Online Degrees Fast Three essential reasons for you buying chanel purses online Watch The Twilight Saga Eclipse Online For Free Megavideo Stream or Watch IUPU-Indianapolis Jaguars vs San Francisco Dons Online Live Feed Watch Spartacus Online Defining The Online Needs Of Website Design Surrey And Seo Surrey Free Online Readings For Tarot Information Media Converter trial online Watch Utah Valley St. Wolverines vs Portland St. Vikings on PC Live Online