How to Sell Crafts 1-2-3
Tips for advertising and selling your crafts.
The key to your business's survival is being able to sell your crafts. You want to have a plan for selling
your crafts up front, so that you don't end up losing money and wasting a lot of time on ineffective marketing
techniques.
Many times, people see to actually see craft products to appreciate their value. Placing ads in the yellow
pages or in the newspaper may not do the trick.
Fortunately, there are many opportunities for artisans to get their crafts seen. You don't have to spend a
lot of money, either. A little creativity can get you lots of exposure at minimal cost, and if you can stand
out from other artisans or craft-type products, even better.
Keep in mind that marketing your crafts is an ongoing process, but you want to focus much of your effort
during start-up so that you can establish a client base who can refer other customer to you and spread the word
about your crafts.
Business Cards,
Free
Yes, you can hand out business cards so that people have your contact information, but you can include much
more information on them to essentially market your crafts like an ad would. You can design your own business cards online - and get
simple tips for increasing your sales.
See also: 30-50% off postcards
and brochures. Design your own marketing materials online using professional templates. Designs provided,
printing done for you.
Get Free Publicity
Write a short and simple press release or "letter" to your local paper announcing the grand opening of your new
craft products - or (if your business is not new) an event that you will be hosting (like a workshop you are hosting). Your
press release can be short and simple, and you can find press release samples you can follow on this page:
How to Get Free Publicity.
By the way, free workshops are a great way to reach a highly-qualified group of customers, and this can work
especially well for craft-type products. How to host a workshop.
Advertise with Coupons
Customers love saving money with coupons, so it can be a very effective way to market your craft business. This
technique works well for products where the customer needs to experience the product to understand the value
(for instance, the fragrance of a candle or a skin-softening feature of a soap). More information: Advertise with Coupons
100
Postcards from $1.99
| Postcard Marketing
You can send a more targeted or specific message to prospective clients by using postcards. You can save money
by using online services for qualified customer leads, postcard design and printing.
First, decide on a special introductory offer or discount. Second, design your postcards online using
professional postcard templates with VistaPrint (you can get 50% off here). And third,
get targeted leads through a lead generation network (where you can compare several lead providers to get the
best price) like Resource Nation.
Set up a Website
You can set up an online store and sell your crafts via the web, or a website can be informational, letting
potential clients learn about you, your crafts and where they can purchase them. You can save money by creating
your own website with simple online design programs, or outsource the job to others. Build a Website
Local
Search
These days, there is a move to support local artisans. More and more people are looking for local businesses
online (instead of the traditional yellow pages) - and you don't want to miss out on this market. Local Search
sources that are affordable and receive substantial traffic include: Google Local, Yelp and Super Pages.
The Handmade Marketplace:
Up-to-date information on how to sell your crafts locally, globally and online. Includes how to prepare
items to sell online quickly and for the most money plus how to establish relationships with retailers who can
sell your crafts for you.
Etsy.com
High-traffic website for craftspeople who want to sell their crafts online - create a storefront within their
site. See also: ArtFire.com
You can also get free quotes from multiple providers in the marketing service that you
want:
Online Marketing | Telemarketing | Lead Generation | Search Engine Optimization
