5 Strategies for Selling Handmade Items Online
Selling handmade items online can be a challenging task for creators and artisans. The marketplace is crowded with competition, making it difficult to stand out and reach potential customers. While many creative and artistic individuals excel at designing and crafting handmade items, marketing, advertising, and sales require different skills and strategies.
With a solid plan in place, it can be easier to generate the visibility and sales needed to run a successful eCommerce operation. To truly thrive in the online marketplace, it’s essential to have an effective overall strategy that addresses the unique challenges of selling handmade items online.
Whether you’re just starting or looking to take your business to the next level, developing a comprehensive approach to marketing, advertising, and sales can make all the difference in reaching your goals and growing your business.
In the old days, craftspeople and artisans paid to rent stores or stalls to sell their merchandise. Now, it’s all about eCommerce and optimizing your online store for maximum traction with your target market. Today, we’ve got Etsy, Wix, Ecwid, Shopify, and Amazon Handmade, among others, to showcase products.
Buckle up; Payoneer is about to take you behind the scenes and introduce you to the top 5 most effective strategies for selling handmade items online. Implementing these groundbreaking strategies can set your online store apart from the competition. Let’s shift gears to unlock your online store’s potential.
Strategy #1: Search Engine Optimization is Essential
SEO, or search engine optimization, is a critical strategy for selling items online.
SEO is important because it helps your website and online store rank higher in search engine results pages (SERP).
This, in turn, helps increase visibility and drive more traffic to your website, leading to more sales.
When people search for products and services, they typically use search engines like Google to find what they’re looking for.
Optimizing your website and online store for search engines can increase the chances that your site will appear at the top of SERP, making it more likely that people will find and visit your site.
One of the key ways to optimize your website for search engines is through the use of keywords.
Keywords are the words and phrases people use to search for online products and services.
By including relevant keywords in your website’s content, meta tags, and URLs, you can make it more likely that search engines will understand what your site is about and rank it higher in SERP.
Long-tail, more specific, and less competitive keywords can effectively target niche audiences.
Optimizing your website for search engines also includes creating quality backlinks, making sure to use ‘follow’ and ‘no-follow’ links, creating valuable and informative blogs and actively promoting on social media, and crafting detailed descriptions of your products.
By focusing on these elements and ensuring that your website and online store are optimized for search engines, you can increase your visibility and drive more traffic to your site, leading to more sales of handmade items online.
Strategy #2: Research the Top Marketplaces for Selling Handmade Items Online
Etsy is the most popular marketplace for selling handmade items online, with a large customer base and built-in tools for marketing and analytics. However, the large number of sellers on the platform means fierce competition.
To increase reach and stand out from the crowd, it’s recommended to consider selling on other marketplaces in addition to Etsy. Other options include Shopify, ArtFire, Squarespace, Wix, Ecwid, IndieMade, Bonanza, Amazon Handmade, and Goimagine.
- Etsy – Known as the marketplace for handmade and vintage items, with a large and dedicated customer base.
- Wix – This all-in-one platform provides website-building tools and powerful eCommerce capabilities.
- Ecwid – A popular eCommerce platform that can be integrated into existing sites.
- Shopify – For many, the benchmark of excellence. This user-friendly platform allows creators to set up their online store.
- ArtFire – An online marketplace for handmade and vintage items, with various tools for sellers to promote and manage their online shop.
- Bonanza – This platform focuses on unique, one-of-a-kind items with a large selection of handmade goods, including art, collectibles, and fashion accouterments.
- Zibbet – This eCommerce platform allows craftspeople and artists to sell on multiple marketplaces, including their website and dedicated social media platforms.
- Big Cartel – This eCommerce platform is tailored to independent artists and makers to sell their work easily.
- Goimagine – This online marketplace is for unique and handmade items, focusing on sustainable and eco-friendly products.
- IndieMade – This online marketplace and website builder is geared toward artists, crafters, and designers.
- Squarespace – The ideal all-in-one platform allowing creators to design and launch a website and sell their handmade items.
- Shop Handmade – This online marketplace is for buying & selling handmade goods. Online sellers need to perform marketing and analytics.
- Amazon Handmade – A marketplace for artisans to sell their handmade items to Amazon’s large customer base.
Strategy #3: Boost Your Social Media Presence
Source: Sprout Social State of Social Media Report (Published in 2021)
A strong social media presence is essential for any business, but it’s especially important for those selling handmade items online.
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter provide a way for creators to connect with potential customers, build a community of fans, and showcase their work engagingly and interactively. By regularly posting high-quality images and videos of your products and behind-the-scenes content, you can create a sense of excitement and anticipation around your brand.
Source: InsiderIntelligenc.com US Social Network User Growth by Platform 2020 & 2021
A well-crafted social media strategy can be the key to reaching new audiences and driving sales.
By leveraging the power of hashtags, influencers, and user-generated content, you can expand your reach and connect with potential customers who may have yet to come across your shop.
Additionally, you can build trust and loyalty with your audience by actively engaging with your followers and responding to comments and messages.
Source The Pew Research Center – MarketingCharts.com October 2021
In summary, a strong social media presence is crucial for artisans, crafters, and creative people selling their handmade items online. It provides an opportunity to connect with potential customers, build a community of fans, and interactively showcase their work. Plus, a well-crafted social media strategy can drive sales, reach new audiences and create trust and loyalty with existing customers.
Strategy #4 – Beautify Your Products to Sell
When selling handmade items online, it’s crucial to present your products in the best possible light. This means ensuring they are beautiful and ready for sale, with optimized visuals, clear descriptions, and clean backdrops. Here are a few key things to remember:
- Optimize product visuals: Use high-quality images and videos to showcase your products in detail. Ensure the lighting is good and the background is clean and uncluttered. Consider using a professional photographer or videographer to capture the best possible images of your products.
- Present clear descriptions: Provide detailed information about your products, including dimensions, materials, and care instructions. Use keywords that will help potential customers find your products through search engines.
- Uncluttered backdrops: Make sure your image background is clean and uncluttered. This will help to draw attention to your product and make it look more appealing.
- Products ready to go: Check that they are QC checked and in good condition, with no visible defects or damage.
- Use different angles & close-ups: Different camera angles are great for showcasing your products and displaying their intricate details.
- Consider 360-degree images or video: These can help customers see every aspect of the product and make it easier for them to understand the product, thus increasing the chances of making a sale.
Follow these tips for presenting your products in the best possible light. These methods are designed to increase your chances of making a sale and growing your handmade items online business.
Strategy #5 – Create a Blog & Manage it Well
There are currently more than 600 million blogs on the internet out of 1.9 billion websites (Source: GrowthBadger, 2022)
Creating and managing your blog can be a powerful strategy for boosting online sales and optimizing your eCommerce business.
By providing valuable and relevant content that addresses the key areas of interest for your target audience, you can establish yourself as a trusted authority in your field and build a loyal following.
Additionally, by optimizing your blog for your eCommerce store and your audience, you can drive traffic and increase conversions.
One of the key benefits of having a blog is the ability to instill trust in your brand.
By providing helpful information, tips, and insights, you can demonstrate your expertise and build a relationship of trust with your audience. This can lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth recommendations.
Plus, by accounting for seasonal and related shopping trends and fostering a customer-centric approach, your blog can help you stay ahead of the competition and generate more sales.
Remember, creating and managing your blog is an effective strategy for boosting online sales and optimizing your eCommerce business.
It can help establish trust, drive traffic, account for seasonal and related shopping trends, foster a customer-centric approach, and generate repeat business.
Blogs are a great way to keep your audience engaged and create brand awareness and loyalty. You can increase conversions and boost your online sales by keeping your blog optimized for your eCommerce store and your audience.
Fascinating Blog Statistics:
- Companies who blog get 97% more links to their websites.
- Each month, 409 million people view over 20 billion pages.
- Blogs are widely read, with 77% of internet users reading them.
- Blogs are 5th most trustworthy source for gathering online information.
- About 70 million posts are published each month by WordPress users.
* Source: https://optinmonster.com/blogging-statistics
Conclusion
Selling handmade items online can be challenging, but with the right strategies in place, it is possible to increase sales and grow your business.
The top 5 strategies include using multiple marketplaces, such as Etsy, Shopify, and Big Cartel, to reach a larger audience and stand out from the competition.
It is also crucial to build a solid social media presence and use it to connect with potential customers, showcase your work, and drive traffic to your eCommerce store.
A well-crafted blog can be an effective tool for creating brand awareness, generating return business, and staying ahead of the competition.
Additionally, a comprehensive approach to SEO can help increase visibility, drive more traffic and boost online sales.
Each of these strategies is an essential piece of the puzzle, but when used together, they can create a powerful and practical approach to selling handmade items online.