Selling Handmade Online – 3 Tips to Success

HandmadeMarketing.org reader Melissa Hamel-Smith shared why she sells handmade on ArtFire in a previous HandmadeMarketing.org article, and is back to tell sellers her 3 tips to success.  Melissa sells handmade at the ArtFire studio KaoticEkkosCuriosities and has wonderful ideas for new and seasoned handmade sellers alike.

1. Establish Your Brand.  Melissa’s first time is to establish your brand for your handmade business.  “Decide on a business name and logo that you love and won’t want to change,” she tells our HandmadeMarketing.org team. “Consistency is very important. Remember your ‘brand’ will be on everything: business cards, banners, online shops, etc. You really want people to be able to recognize your product. And the first thing you should invest in is business cards. They’re inexpensive, effective and versatile. But remember, make sure you love your ‘brand’ first. Otherwise you’ll end up with 250+ cards you can’t use and lots of trees crying.”
2. Start Small. She recommends sellers don’t invest too much in advertising at first.  “Don’t go crazy with the advertising just yet. Start with free directories such as Shop Indie Online, Indie Collective, and Handmade Directory. Advertise on your social networks. There are some awesome sites that have cheap ad spots such as Blockhead Radio. Don’t overspend. There’s no point in spending $100 per month on a site that doesn’t reach your target audience. That’s a very expensive lesson to learn!” she tells us.
3. Team Up.  Most online selling platforms have some way for sellers to connect.  Melissa sells on ArtFire, so she recommends finding an ArtFire Guild that works for you.  “A Guild is a group of artists whose art is along the same theme, same medium, etc. You’ll be promoting other artists, but remember they’ll be promoting you too!” she said.  “You can learn a lot from your fellow Guild members, especially those who have been selling longer than you. Guilds also set up promotion opportunities such as samplers, giveaways, sales, etc. What’s better than a group of like-minded people promoting each other?!“

Finally, Melissa tells handmade sellers to remember their passion when the work gets overwhelming.  “Never give up!” Melissa tells sellers. “It is a lot of work, but if you love what you do it’ll be worth it!”  Need more inspiration when promoting and marketing become time-consuming?  Handmade seller Amy Vander Vorste shared her advice on how to market your online handmade shop effectively without losing your life.

Thank you for sharing your 3 tips to success Melissa!  You can learn more about Melissa’s ArtFire studio by checking out her recent post, titled “Why Artfire is Awesome”, found on her blog.  You can also connect with her on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Plurk, her blog, and Flickr.

Share you thoughts with HandmadeMarketing.org!  If we feature your tips in a future article, we’ll link to your shop, blog, or social media as a source of the information.  Simply tell us what advice you have for selling handmade online under our “Join” tab!