By Marie Pugh
Now that you know what craft you are going to center your business on, it is time to start getting your product out there on the market for the world to see.
There are many ways that you can market your product, both offline and online. Here are just a few:
Offline
- Attend any craft shows in your area. This is a great way to network with other crafters, and to get your product in front of your market. Hand out business cards, and make sure you set up a giveaway – even if it is just something small – to get names and contact information from people. You can keep this information in a book, or even better, set up an email newsletter through your website.
- Ask local businesses if they would be interested in having some of your products in their stores to sell, either on a consignment basis, or some kind of rental agreement that you can come up with. You would be surprised how many might be looking for something extra to offer their customers – and you won’t know unless you ask!
- Get custom decals on your vehicle – with your contact information, and website address if you have one.
- Don’t forget to advertise in your local paper. People won’t know that you are selling your product if you don’t let them know about it.
Online
- The best thing you can do, is get your own website. I know this sounds daunting, but it really doesn’t have to be. If you don’t know of anyone who can help you get a site up, you can set up a free blog through sites such as Blogger.com, WordPress.com. This is an easy way to start getting a following for your product, and can “get your feet wet” online while you build up your business. Eventually, having your own site, with your own branding, is a must – but for now, it is a great way to get started. Post to it regularly, put up pictures of your products and you will start to see people coming around. Put the site address on your business cards, and anywhere else you are advertising. You won’t be able to actually sell anything from your site, but it is still a good method of getting people’s attention.
- Etsy is an online craft sellers market – and you can set up a shop there completely free! This is where you will set up your products to sell. You will need a Paypal account, so you may as well sign up for a business account now, (you are going to need it for a lot of the selling you will be doing online anyway). You can do that at Paypal.com. Then, you simply list your products in your shop, and start selling! You pay a small listing fee for each item, which is good for 4 months. There are other places too, such as ArtFire, 1000Markets, and Zibbet .
- If you can afford it, you should definitely get your own site set up with your own shopping cart system. You can get a hosting account for around $10 a month, and it really does give your business a more professional feel.
- Facebook fan pages. These pages are becoming a very important tool in any business’ arsenal. You can get people following you, and they will invite their friends, and so on until you have built a nice little fan base. Any time you have something new, you can update and everyone will see it.
- Ebay is another option, although should be approached with a bit more caution. They have higher listing fees, and there is a bit of a learning curve as to selling on the auction site. But, if you can get your product noticed, Ebay offers you a very good market for people to buy from you.
The possibilities of growing a business selling your craft are endless – and now, thanks to the internet, it is possible for anyone to reach a much larger market than they ever could have from craft sales alone. And, making money from a hobby that you truly enjoy is so rewarding – you are creating something yourself, that people can enjoy for years to come. There are still so many people out there who are searching for handmade items, so there is no better time than right now to get started on your own craft business!
About Marie Pugh
Marie is a work at home mom, www.MomsDotComDream.com , who has successfully started her own craft business. She has been fortunate to have been able to work from home while here children are still young, and been able to enjoy the freedom of being her own boss. Her daughters are now 6 and 4, and they are both very excited to be involved in mommy’s business. You can see her website that she has set up for her craft business at www.InspiredByYouTreasures.com
