Craft Blogs – Blogs Can Set Your Shop Scene

The Etsy seller behind Etsy’s Haptree shop and informative blog recently shared her ideas about handmade craft sellers starting blogs for their marketing efforts online.

“If you have just opened your first online shop then you’ve probably already heard that you need a blog… Why?” writes Hilary in her “Why Do I Need a Blog To Sell Craft?” article.

“When you go into a real shop you are surrounded by real sights and aromas, you can touch and feel,” the Etsy seller writes.  If you are an online handmade seller, Hilary said she would definitely recommend a blog, as it helps connect you to your handmade product.  “For the handmade market, this is key,” she said.

She paints several scenes for the readers to help illustrate why a blog can help market your Etsy, ArtFire, 1000 Markets, or other online handmade shop.

“After a sunny walk along the river you may stop for a latte and a slice of the most delicious home-made cake in an arty coffee shop , you’re feeling bright and cultural as you walk through the city, breathing in the sights, receptive to new ideas and happy to take a few random detours as you wonder along – and then you spy an intriguing little shop full of original and unique pieces and you just have to have that bracelet, it is your birthday next week,” she writes.

“Or maybe you’ve had a morning on the veg plot breaking your back pulling carrots, rewarded by a hearty lunch at the local pub and a quick nose around the village fete. You see the most adorable stall run by one of the mums on the PTA, so you buy a cute little pencil case which has a bead kit inside, a perfect gift for Jemima’s first day of school next term,” she continues.

Hilary explains that these scenarios lead us to see that the blog sets the scene.  “It not only helps people to get a feeling of who you are and why they may want to browse around.  But, it can be a way of putting people in the mood to buy as they sit at their dining table lap top trying to ignore the screams of children arguing over the T.V. remote. And of course your scene need not be pretentious or poncy,” she writes.

“In a real shop or at a craft fair, you have an instant impression of the ethos and kudos of the seller,” Hilary writes in her blog post.  “Fairly quickly you know if you’re likely to be getting your wallet out or stopping to browse – and even if you don’t buy today you’ll be sure to tell your friends about your find or come back when you need a gift.”

However, Hilary mentions in the blog that this doesn’t mean handmade sellers should aim to be something they are not.  In the same way, sellers don’t have to have claim to have an amazingly unique life on their blog.

“Just talk about what interests or pleases you. Be careful not to put people off,” she writes.  “For example, if I’m buying knitted baby blankets, I don’t want to hear about the 5 dogs that keep you company while you knit in bed.”

When writing a blog, Hilary has recommendations for those selling handmade.  “Don’t just have a tirade of I listed this and this and this, because it’s so boring even if your product is not,” she suggested.  “I would advise that someone considering writing a blog does a bit of research, read blogs (on any topic) and critique them, pencil and paper in hand.  Imagine you are the Simon Cowell of Blog Factor!  You’ll soon come up with your own list of blogging do’s and don’ts, which will really help you be selective about your own posts.”

“I started my blog before I listed my first handmade item on Etsy at the end of April 2009.  My first sale on Etsy was definitely down to my blog,” she told HandmadeMarketing.org.

“The buyer wrote “Thanks so much!! I love your blog.” We had a few emails back and forth before the sale where I posted her the link to my blog, which wasn’t on my Etsy profile at that early stage,” Hilary continued.  “I remember feeling really elated and chuffed that I had gone to the effort of writing a great blog that day, as it seemed to really swing the sale.  I’m sure that a blog personalizes a fairly faceless online shop, a lot of my other sales have mentioned my blog too.”

Hilary uses Blogger as her blog’s platform.  “I get an address like this http://www.haptreeandme.blogspot.com.  At first, I was gutted that “Haptree” was taken, but now I love my blog name as it’s used for more than just my Etsy shops and advertising.  It’s a little bit of me too,” she wrote.

The seller writes that she hope her view offers a different perspective to the purely advertising and marketing blog setup.

“Hit, hit, hit articles that are around,” she tells us.  “However, that stuff is really important too because you need traffic. Try not get disheartened if you think no one is reading your posts.  Those posts will be there for all your future readers and followers to browse through when you’re rich and famous!” she writes.

Hilary started selling handmade on Etsy.com in May of 2009.  “I really wanted somewhere I could sell a few of my handmade items in a hassle-free way,” she told HandmadeMarketing.org.

“It’s difficult to find time to make things, let alone try and book stalls and attend shows (if I had the confidence or enough stock to do that!), so I thought Etsy seemed like a great solution,” she said. “I first saw the site a few years ago and it’s such a great website visually.  My favorite part is putting the new listings on full screen and just watching them pop up, it’s like being in front of a live portal to all the worlds crafters, you can just imagine their happy faces staring into their laptops!”

Hilary also recently began selling on ArtFire and she currently only has two listings so far.  “I haven’t properly investigated ArtFire, but it does seem really easy to list things and the searches seem much better organized somehow,” Hilary tells us.

“I’ve been tweeting @artfirejohn and he’s already got back to me – looks like Etsy is in for some serious competition to me,” Hilary said.  “It’s free to list and no fees if you have the basic shop, which helps.  However, it does mean my shop doesn’t look as pretty as on Etsy.  I wasn’t too keen on the way the ArtFire forums are laid out either, but that’s probably just a case of getting used to it.”  You can follow Hilary on Twitter http://twitter.com/haptree.

Hilary’s blog readers have responded with excitement to her post about why blogging helps sell handmade.  One reader commented, “I hadn’t really thought of it like that, setting the scene/atmosphere/personality that you would get in a physical environment. I have been trying to put a bit of me in to my posts, but I will try harder now. Thank you for this insight.”

Interested in Hilary’s work?  Her handmade items can be found at Folksy, Etsy, and ArtFire!

What do you think of Hilary’s view on blogs?  Do you have a blog that you use to market your handmade items?  What would you tell a new seller wondering if creating a blog is worth their time?

Share your ideas with HandmadeMarketing.org!  Comment on this post, or tell us more details by writing your sales, marketing, and social media ideas on our form found under the “Join” tab.  If we publish your tips, we’ll link to your shop, website, or blog!