How to sell crafts online? With these 6 easy tips!

I don’t know about you, but August has been a very long month. I amn’t sure if it’s because of the high temperature, the uncertainty of the current situation or that many people are on vacation, but it has become more tedious than January. That’s why I decided to dedicate myself to one of my biggest dreams which is to write; write content for the website while I enjoy an afternoon of sunshine or when I’m at the beach (not literally because the computer would surely end up full of sand). The million dollar question was: what do I write about? and although many things came to mind, I decided to write about what I know and what I do: how to sell crafts online.

Now, those who know me know that I’m not an artisan, but during the last year and a half I’ve met many people who are; and unfortunately almost all of them have the same problem: how to sell their products, no matter if it’s online or not. This is not a problem that appeared along with COVID-19, it’s a problem that many people face but that the health crisis has made evident. It has also made clear the urgency to sell online. So if you are a artisan, artist or designer relax and have a glass of wine because this post is just what you were looking for; if you’re not, also have some wine because it can be useful to know a few tips to be able to sell online, whether you have a product, service or if it is your personal brand.

How to sell crafts online? (or any other product)

I will start by being super honest and telling you that there’s no magic formula; there’s no button you can push that will make you sell all your handmade products overnight. What I can tell you is that it takes time, effort and a lot of patience (believe me). At first glance, selling online seems pretty simple, but did you know that there are currently more than 1,794 million web sites (as of August 21, 2020) and that number is still growing? That makes the amount of information available quite impressive; and although not all of these websites are dedicated to selling online, achieving a certain level of positioning takes a lot of work behind it.

Are you still there? I don’t want to discourage you, on the contrary! I want you to see the great potential you have and the possibilities that exist for you to sell crafts online to people who really want to buy crafts online. So … let’s get to it.

What to do to start selling online

• First of all, know your product

  I know you already know what your product is (that part is a little obvious) it can be jewelry, accessories, fashion, home decoration, illustration, organic coffee or eco products; but what you should pay attention to is your product value, what makes it different from the competition. Let’s put ourselves in the place of the online buyer. What does your product have that a similar one doesn’t and what will make the customer choose your brand? You have your product and you do it beautifully, what other features add value to it? When talking about handicrafts, the fact that it is handmade is a great advantage in the market; if you use sustainable materials you have another point in your favor; you must think about all the positive characteristics that your product has that make it special, unique and original. When you find them you will be able to communicate to your target audience all the good things it has and why they should buy it from you.

• Know your audience. 

  I have news for you, the whole world is NOT your target audience. Not everyone will want to buy from you and that’s okay; there is a target audience for your product, you just have to define it. When I was in college (for those who didn’t know I studied marketing) they taught us that we should start with the demographic information; are they women, men or both? How old are they, where do they live and what do they do? What do they like or don’t like, what do they do with their free time? As the years have passed and we have become more modern with the use of social media, we must ask ourselves other questions such as: does my target audience have any concerns about a social or environmental issue? is it someone who already buys online or prefers to do so in the traditional way? is it a person who wants close contact with me or won’t ask me any questions? And finally, one of the most important questions is: what need does my product fulfill for my target audience?

• Take advantage of social media. Surely someone has made this recommendation to you more than once: you must have a social media profile; and that’s very true. Nowadays, in a world that’ s handled almost completely digitally, you have to know how to use and take advantage of these types of channels to be able to reach more people. Here is where I will tell you something different, you have to use social media in an intelligent way so that they can become a tool for contact, interaction and even sales. In order to use social media in your favor and in favor of your brand, you must start by choosing the right social network, because -surprisingly- your target audience is not in all of them. Once you have identified your target audience by answering the questions above, you must know which social network they are on and focus your publishing efforts on them (as a side note, not everyone is on Instagram or Tik Tok). The other question I get asked a lot is when to publish, and that really depends on how active your networks are and how your followers interact with your publications. But to get you started, I think this infographic can help you a lot.

• Your own online store or marketplace

  Since you”ve already mastered the previous point, the next step is where to sell crafts online. Unlike what you may think that social media is more than enough as an online presence, I am sorry to say that it’ s not enough; and not because it’ s not worth the effort, but I was once told on a workshop “Just using social media as your main online contact is like building your house on borrowed land, the day they take the land you’ll be left without a house” and that happens when you only have your products published on social media. So the question to answer is, do you create your own online store or do you sell through a marketplace like Etsy, Amazon Handmade, ebay or Valexico? The answer depends on your budget; an online store can be a bit expensive for someone who is just starting out and getting a good search engine positioning takes time and effort (or money if you want to pay someone); while using an online store like Valexico you can upload your products, leave the sale to them and only pay a commission for the platform’s services. No matter which option you choose -or even which marketplace- the important thing is that you don’t depend only on social networks to sell your products.

• Communicate and care for your customers. 

  An essential part is to keep your followers, current and potential customers informed. Remember to be consistent with your messages, but also it’s very important to maintain coherence and consistency between them.The message should be clear and preferably close in tone – people respond best to this type of message these days. Don’t forget to answer questions, either as a comment or in a private message; online shoppers respond positively to quick attention and it’s something they value so much that they are able to recommend your brand to others just for this – big – detail.

• Online and Offline.

  The unexpected arrival of the pandemic has shown us that having an online presence is just as important as having an offline presence. Just as I just told you the importance of having an online presence, having your products handmade in a physical store is not only important but also beneficial. Having some of your products in a traditional retail store can help you make your brand and products known faster; you will be getting closer to the part of your target audience that doesn’t buy online; you can refer your customers from the traditional store to see your entire catalog online, thus boosting visits and sales in your store; and finally it’s an additional sales channel, even if you have to give a percentage to the store owner, in short, having an offline presence is one of the best strategies to increase your online visibility.

Getting down to business

Now that you know these tips for selling online, get on with it! It may be overwhelming at first, but as you go along it will get easier. The best strategy to start selling crafts online is to do something; it doesn’t have to be perfect, but it must be functional; focus on pampering your brand and your customers, on creating quality content, and let the cool products you have do the rest.

If you have any questions or want to know more about some of the points I just told you, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me an email at hola@valexicostore.com.

If you want to know more about how to sell your products in Valexico, leave a comment or send me an email.

All the best and lots of future sales!
Mariana