5 Ways to Know if People will Buy your Handmade Product
Parts of this article are from my ebook HOW TO SELL HANDMADE BEYOND FRIENDS & FAMILY There’s no way to guarantee your business will succeed or your products will sell, no matter how much research you do. But you can get a good idea of whether you’re…
50 Prop Ideas for your Craft Show Display
These ideas are in my ebook MAKE MORE MONEY AT CRAFT FAIRS. If you already own the ebook, you’ll find a few NEW ideas, examples, and sketches in this article. Although there are many photos out there that are great examples of the techniques I share, it can often be difficult to find the…
Why I Quit Craft Shows & What I’d do Differently
A lot of people feel like throwing in the towel when it comes to craft shows. If you don’t find the right ones, with the right organizers, bring the right product and create an amazing display, they can be anything but profitable. Although a handmade business can be successful selling only online and…
5 Things Crafters Waste their Time (& Money) On
I made this list based on areas I wasted my time when starting my handmade business. I was able to see positive changes when I corrected them so I think the changes can be beneficial to your business too. I also based it on the mistakes I commonly see other handmade businesses make. I wish…
How to Prune your Business for Maximum Growth
In gardening, to keep plants healthy, you have to regularly trim away dead and living parts of it. The same must be done to keep a business healthy. If you’re not sure it makes sense to cut off perfectly healthy areas of your business or which areas to prune to promote growth, this…
2 Key Points Your Craft Show Display Must Convey
Craft shows have been levelling up since I sold at my first one in 2005. They’re in bigger venues, attracting bigger crowds, and are better organized, branded, and marketed. Craft show vendors are no longer crafters making random items and seeing if they can earn a few extra bucks. They’re business owners focused on profits…
How to Start a Successful Handmade Jewelry Business
Starting a handmade jewelry business is a good way to make money on the side. And it’s a business that can easily grow into a full-time business. I come across a lot of handmade businesses and love to challenge my ideas and theories to see if they match up with how handmade businesses,…
5 Steps to Viral Social Media Posts for your Handmade Business
Going viral on social media is all about getting people to care about what you’re posting. There are several factors that must be in place such as using the correct platform for your business and audience, attracting the right audience for your products, posting at appropriate times, etc. But those are fairly easy to…
How to Attract More Customers to your Handmade Business (Part 3)
As you can tell by the title, this is the third article explaining how to attract more customers to your handmade business. If you missed article one or two, which cover 2 other factors that are essential to make more sales, you can read them here: HOW TO ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS TO YOUR HANDMADE BUSINESS…
How to Attract More Customers to your Handmade Business (Part 2)
This is part 2 of a 3-part article series to get you attracting more customers. If you haven’t read part one, please check out the first article here. You’ll need to read it to have an understanding of the points explained in this article. Article one covers why most handmade business owners turn to…
How to Attract More Customers to your Handmade Business (Part 1)
There isn’t a business owner out there who doesn’t want to reach more people; either online or at craft shows. And marketing is the way to do it. Marketing is also the step between creating a product and getting paid for it. It’s the step I think most handmade business owners get frustrated with….
Can you Make a Living Selling at Craft Shows?
I’ve met many people through the craft show circuit who sell at craft shows full-time. Especially when they’re selling items on the craft show bestsellers list. I remember chatting with a jewelry vendor who spent her entire year traveling to different shows. I had a table beside her at a 3-day event so…
365+ Newsletter Ideas (for your handmade business)
If you’ve started a newsletter for your handmade business but aren’t sure what to send each week or month, have I got a download for you! Before you jump in, I want to explain the purpose of it first. You’ve probably landed here because you know you should be making better use of…
What to Send to your Email List
If you have a newsletter set up for your handmade business, congratulations! You’re using the most effective form of marketing and are ahead of most of your competitors. But let’s make sure you’re putting that list to use and sending content that will help boost sales. If you don’t have a newsletter set up for…
How To Start a Newsletter for your Handmade Business
Your small handmade business NEEDS email marketing in its life. It’s 4x more effective than social media is and it’s a guaranteed way to stay in touch with your followers. Facebook, Instagram or Twitter can change their algorithm at any time to limit how many people you reach, or even shut down your account without warning. …
5 Ways You’re Using Craft Shows Wrong
Here’s how I used to treat craft shows. I’d go into crazy-woman sewing mode in the weeks leading up to a craft show. All other marketing and updating of sales channels would stop so I could give my full attention to production. I’d stay up late the last couple of nights before the…
Why Too Many Products will Harm your Craft Business’s Sales
When I started my handmade business, I thought more was more. The more options of handbags I offered, the more sales I could make because I’d be appealing to a wider variety of customers. I had: No clear customer I was targeting. No clear style I was known for. No product…
3 Tips to Avoid Awkward Shopper Silence at a Craft Show
The very first craft show I sold at was in a small community league hall with less than 20 vendors. Craft fairs were fairly new and indie at that time. Although people showed up, it wasn’t exactly a buzzing scene. So it made my lack of conversation/selling skills even more apparent and awkward….
The Best Kept Craft Fair Secret for More Sales
I have a confession… I love reading YELP and GOOGLE reviews. Especially the bad ones. I’m not really sure why. I’ll spend several minutes scrolling through strangers’ opinions of a business, even if I never plan on being a customer of theirs. At the risk of sounding like an online lurker, let’s say it’s…
How to Attract Wholesale Orders at Craft Shows (or on Etsy)
Selling your products wholesale to retailers can be a great revenue stream…if you’ve priced your products properly. Selling wholesale often means bigger orders with less effort. Instead of having to sell 50 items to 50 different customers, you can sell 50 items to a retailer in one transaction. Of course, profit margins are…