Many people seek products that stand out from those their neighbors and friends own, and that aren’t mass-produced by big-box retailers. Handcrafted items are cherished for their uniqueness, making them not only enjoyable to own but also excellent gift choices. Let’s see 8 Simple Steps to Start Selling Your Crafts Online.
To ensure your crafts keep selling like hotcakes online, effective marketing is key. This detailed guide will walk you through everything you need to know about selling crafts online, divided into eight simple steps.
This creates numerous opportunities for creative individuals, whether they have a lifelong passion for crafting, are just starting out, or are business owners with a keen eye for discovering and curating handmade products.
Consumers often associate the following attributes and values with crafts:
- Crafts are unique, personalized, innovative, and creative, standing in stark contrast to the uniform, “cookie-cutter” products produced by corporations.
- They support the community.
- They are environmentally friendly.
Moreover, research on eCommerce growth shows that craft sales have increased by 133% since the pandemic.
Over the past two decades, the internet has rapidly become the most successful retail channel, surpassing traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
Here are some benefits of selling crafts online:
- Lower costs compared to in-person sales.
- Higher profit margins than consignment sales at brick-and-mortar stores.
- Greater flexibility with working hours.
- Access to a large customer base—you can reach consumers worldwide, 24/7, who might not have discovered your product otherwise.
- Ability to quickly respond to market changes by dynamically adjusting prices.
Therefore, now is the perfect time to start selling crafts online, given the new opportunities for success in the online handmade goods market.
However, to avoid potential pitfalls and maximize the benefits of eCommerce, it’s crucial to do your research and prepare thoroughly. The following steps will help you set yourself up for success and ideally build a thriving business.
8 Simple Steps to Start Selling Your Crafts Online
Let’s dive into how you can start selling your crafts online, while systematically breaking down each step of the process.
1. Find a Niche and Source Your Crafts
It’s a common misconception that offering a wide variety of products will attract more customers, especially when you’re just starting out. In reality, trying to please everyone can make your store and social media channels feel cluttered and unfocused.
Focusing on a specific niche makes it easier to identify your target market, streamline your marketing efforts, hone your craft, and establish yourself as the go-to artist for that particular product or style. Choosing a niche and sticking to it will provide clear direction for your business.
Before finalizing your niche, consider your personal interest in it, the expertise required, and its demand in the market. This thoughtful approach will help ensure your business is well-positioned for success.
Here is a list of popular types of crafts to make and sell online:
- Jewelry and Accessories: Bracelets, earrings, scrunchies, and resin jewelry.
- Clothing: Caps, sweaters, totes, and enameled pins.
- Home Furnishings: Tablecloths, candles, carpets, artwork, and dream catchers.
- Food Items: Jams, pickles, desserts, and spices.
- Personalized Items: Invitation cards, gift baskets, and photo boxes.
- Embroidery: Clothing, curtains, and pillowcases.
- Paper Crafts: Cards, origami flowers, and scrapbooks.
- Stationery: Bookmarks, diaries, and postcards.
- Eco-Friendly Items.
- Traditional Crafts.
- Phone Accessories.
- Pottery.
- Digital Products: Downloadable artwork, templates, stock photos, and plugins.
Once you’ve chosen a niche, the next step is to decide how you’ll source your crafts.
You have two main options: you can either make the crafts yourself or source them from other retailers, both online and offline. If you choose to make them yourself, you can either use your existing skills or learn new ones.
It’s important to conduct thorough research at this stage to understand your competitors, what they offer, and how you can differentiate yourself to attract customers.
Crafting is a skill that can be easily learned, especially with the abundance of YouTube tutorials available today.
2. Create a Brand
Successful brands invest time and resources into developing a unique identity. Even as a small business, having a strong brand will benefit you, as it helps customers connect with you more easily.
It’s wise to think about branding from the start so that your product photos and promotions maintain a consistent tone as you grow.
When building a brand, consider the following factors:
- Understand what sets your brand apart from competitors.
- Know your target audience.
- Choose a unique, relevant, and catchy brand name.
- Design a distinctive logo.
- Select a suitable theme for your online store.
A strong brand identity goes far beyond just having a name and a logo. It involves understanding who you are, what makes your craft products unique, and what your story is.
This identity should be reflected in everything you do, from the photos you post on Facebook, to the voice you use in your descriptions and on social media, and the way you design your web store.
Maintaining a consistent tone, voice, and style will help customers understand your brand better and speed up the process of building a loyal following.
3. Price Your Crafts
Pricing concerns are common when starting any business. To sell your products and make a profit, you need to find the perfect balance. While it may take time to get your pricing right initially, it’s crucial for the success of your business. Without proper pricing, your business could fail even if you generate a lot of sales.
Make sure to account for all costs, including manufacturing, labor, packaging, and shipping. Additionally, include profit margins to ensure you earn money from your sales.
Consider the potential rewards you might offer your customers. If your profit margins are too thin, it will be challenging to provide attractive discounts, which customers love. For example, you’ll need some flexibility in your pricing to offer special incentives for repeat sales, free or discounted shipping, or holiday promotions.
Think about your position in the marketplace. Is your product a premium item, or do you want to offer accessible art for everyone?
It’s also wise to research the prices of similar crafts sold by other artists. Ensure your pricing aligns with industry standards.
4. Product Photos and Listings
You’ve crafted your products and set fair prices, but there’s one more crucial step before you start selling online.
To attract online customers, you need to present your handmade goods in the best possible light on your online store. This requires three key elements: attractive photos, intriguing titles, and concise descriptions. These are essential when selling online, as customers can’t physically inspect the products and rely entirely on the information and imagery you provide.
Let’s explore how you can use these tactics to effectively showcase your crafts to potential buyers.
A. Product Photos
If you plan to sell your handcrafted goods online, taking professional-looking photographs is crucial. These images are what potential customers will see as they browse through a long list of items, so they need to be distinct, appealing, and engaging.
Photograph your item against a plain white background from the best angle. This ensures that nothing distracts customers from the product. A bright, uncluttered background also yields excellent results.
Include images of your product being used or styled with props to add an extra dimension to your photos.
Consider adding videos that provide a 360° view of your product to give customers a comprehensive look.
B. Listings
Product listings include both the name and description of your items. Paying close attention to the language and tone you use in these listings is another effective way to boost sales.
C. Product Name
When naming your products, aim for something catchy, appealing to customers, and easy to remember.
It’s also a good idea to include search phrases that your target audience might use in your product descriptions. This can help improve visibility and attract more customers.
D. Product Description
A product description serves as both a marketing and sales tool. Its purpose is to accurately convey the product’s purpose, quality, and why it is a worthwhile purchase to your customers.
Therefore, your product descriptions should be clear and precise. Include all relevant information that your customers might find beneficial, and always ensure the information is truthful.
5. Decide Where to Sell Crafts Online
Choosing where to sell your crafts is just as important as deciding what to sell and how to sell it. At this stage, you need to select the best platforms for selling your handmade goods online. There are countless options available, but we’ve created a quick guide to help you choose the best places to sell your crafts online.
A. Online Marketplaces
Using an established online marketplace is a straightforward way to sell your crafts online.
For example, Etsy is very popular among crafters, but you can also sell your goods on broader platforms like eBay or Amazon. These marketplaces provide access to a large customer base ready to purchase your products, though they typically charge fees for each sale. Online marketplaces are a good option if you’re testing new products or diversifying your sales channels.
However, there are challenges associated with selling on these platforms. Your business will compete with many other sellers, making brand recognition difficult. Additionally, you have no control over the site’s functionality, and fees can change suddenly and without warning.
B. Social Media
Social commerce is a recent addition to the eCommerce sector, with platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest now allowing retailers to sell directly to customers without them ever needing to leave the platform.
The benefits of selling on social media include direct interaction with customers and selling on a platform they are already comfortable with. It’s also easier to build buyer trust through social media, as you can repurpose user-generated content on your social media handle.
However, there are some downsides. While social media may have fewer additional expenses compared to other marketplaces, one major drawback is that you have no control over the platform’s functionality.
C. Online Store
While many platforms have their advantages, your own online store is likely the best way to sell your crafts. Not only do you have total control over your store’s aesthetics and functions, but you also get to build brand recognition and scale your business. Here are some significant advantages of owning and running a web store:
- Total control over your business.
- Lower costs.
- Complete access to the full customer journey, ensuring the best user experience and funnel retention.
- Opportunity to increase sales and expand your business with a ton of integrated business features.
Setting up an online store to sell crafts is a straightforward process. Anyone can quickly create an online store on the Grocito platform in under a minute, even without coding expertise. Grocito is an easy-to-use, mobile-responsive software solution that makes selling products online simple and convenient.
With Grocito, you can fully customize your store from aesthetics to functionality. If you’re transitioning from selling goods offline to online, Grocito is a great platform to start with.
6. Mention Your Policies
When managing an online store, it’s important to ensure that customers are aware of your business policies before making a purchase.
For example, if you sell digital gift cards, make it clear that customers should not expect to receive a physical card in the mail. Also, specify how gift cards can be used in your store—whether they apply to all items or only certain ones.
When selling crafts, some customers might not immediately appreciate each item’s unique characteristics. Therefore, it’s wise to make your policies and commitments easily accessible on your website.
By managing customer expectations, you allow them to fully appreciate the special features of each product and be excited to own a one-of-a-kind piece. Be sure to clearly state your return policy, including the return period and the conditions under which you will or will not accept returns or exchanges.
7. Packaging and Shipping
Ensuring your products are delivered swiftly and in excellent condition is crucial when selling crafts online. Your packaging must protect the item so it reaches the customer in the same state as when it left your possession. The quality of your packaging reflects how much you care about your customers.
Customers expect beautiful and distinctive packaging from a crafts business. Attractive packaging greatly enhances customer satisfaction and contributes to business growth.
If you use something other than a plain brown box, customers will appreciate it and remember your brand. Using bright-colored papers, adding personalized messages, and including small freebies can provide a special touch that encourages repeat business.
Additionally, packaging is a great way to utilize extra materials like scraps of yarn or burnt beads. These small extras can keep your packaging consistent without incurring additional costs.
Next, consider your shipping process. Ensure your shipping and order tracking procedures protect your products.
Finding a reliable delivery partner for your online business can be challenging. Consider factors such as the availability of COD, delivery costs, and overall efficiency. Visit your local post office to learn more about available packaging supplies, boxes, and shipping insurance.
8. Market Your Business
Selling crafts online is highly competitive, so effective marketing is essential to make sales. Marketing your online store ensures that people can discover your amazing artwork—after all, no one can buy your goods if they don’t know they exist.
Here are a few digital marketing tactics you can implement:
A. Search engine optimization
You can use search engine optimization (SEO) to increase traffic to your online store. When people search for crafts online, your store should be easy to find.
To achieve this, make sure your website is search engine-friendly. Additionally, it’s crucial that your online store is mobile-responsive and optimized for speed, as these factors greatly enhance user experience and search rankings.
Here’s a helpful SEO marketing starter guide for your online store.
B. Social Media
Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are ideal for launching your crafts business’s marketing campaign. Begin by sharing high-quality photos accompanied by engaging text. Use relevant hashtags to ensure your posts appear in feed and search suggestions within your niche. Additionally, consider leveraging influencer marketing to expand your reach.
C. Content Marketing
Spending time generating content is probably among the best decisions you can make for your business.
The easiest way to improve your brand’s search engine presence and ensure a steady flow of store visitors is to add blogs to your website and keep them updated regularly.
Share your blog entries on social media to increase the return on investment of your content creation efforts. You can also look into securing backlinks to further boost traffic to your blog.
D. Paid Ads
Paid advertising is an effective strategy for promoting your online craft business. Consider trying out affordable Facebook and Instagram ads to quickly reach a highly targeted audience.
Additionally, you can use search engine ads to appear in search results for specific keywords related to your business.
Conclusion
It’s time to launch your crafts business online! We hope this post helps guide your creative business in the right direction.
Remember, making mistakes is a natural part of starting to sell your goods online. These mistakes are valuable learning opportunities that will help you improve your skills. Don’t let setbacks discourage you; instead, use them to grow.
In our opinion, the best way to sell your crafts online is to start your own store and gradually scale it into the brand you’ve always envisioned.
FAQs
1. What is the best way to sell crafts online?
You can sell handmade crafts through your own store created using platforms like Grocito, or by signing up on niche websites like Etsy and eBay. Additionally, third-party marketplaces like Amazon and social media sites are great options. You can also sell your handmade items wholesale to other sellers.
2. How do I turn my crafting into a business?
If you already have a product that sells well, the quickest way to turn your crafting into a business is by starting your own online store. Having your own store helps build credibility, establish a loyal customer base, and create brand awareness. You can start your online business using Grocito.
3. What is the most profitable craft to sell?
Some of the most profitable crafts to sell include handmade jewelry, art, photography, signs, art prints, DIY bath bombs, and crocheted items.
4. Can you make a living selling crafts online?
Yes, you can make a living selling crafts online. It becomes especially profitable if you sell through your own online store, as you have greater control over your profits and marketing. To supplement your income, you can also list your business on other marketplaces like Etsy and Bonanza.
5. How do I price my crafts?
When pricing your crafts, consider the costs of manufacturing, shipping, fulfillment, and marketing, along with the profit margin you aim to achieve per sale. It’s advisable to compare your pricing to the market average and adjust as market prices fluctuate.
