Selling Online --- Top 10 Ways To Promote Your Business on a Shoestring Budget

One of the main things to remember when you are selling online is you need to promote your shop/items. Adding things to your etsy or artfire shop does not equal sales, you have to get  the items out there for others to see.

You don't have to have a huge budget to get yourself noticed. There are a lot of ways to market your items that are absolutely free.

I've compiled my top 10 list of places that I use to promote my things on a regular basis.

1. Facebook/Twitter... Show off your stuff to your friends by using social networks. There are others besides facebook and twitter, but those are the two I use most. (hint: don't post your links only... be social and talk about other things too)

2. Banner/Link Exchanges... Trade links or banners with others that sell online. Most are happy to exchange.

3. Forums... If you are a member of a forum, and the forum allows for it, show off your things once in a while. As with social networking, you can't use a forum for solely showing off your things... you have to be social and talk about other things too.

4. Topsites... Topsites are FREE to join and they get seen by many. There are many many topsites out there, choose one that is in your market.  We have several topsites for different venues and sellers, I will list those at the bottom of this post.

5. Groups... Join an Etsy group or an ArtFire guild and connect with others that sell things too. Most groups are set up to help promote each other.

6. Blogs... Blogging is a great way to feature your items so others can get to know you and see your items. Set up a blog and make friends with other bloggers in your area of expertise. You can exchange links with them.

7. Online Marketplaces... there are many many online marketplaces. Most will be themed to a certain genre such as primitive crafting, or boutique clothing. Most of these marketplaces are very inexpensive to advertise on.

8. Online Magazines... Craft magazines have popped up all over the internet and are a perfect place for crafters to advertise. You can purchase ad spots in the magazine or sometimes even on the magazine's website. www.creativetimesmagazine.com is one of the original online craft magazines. They have many readers too!

9. Business Card/Flyer Exchange... Ask your crafty friends to do a business card exchange or a flyer with you. When they sell something, they include your flyer or business card in their outgoing package and you do the same for them. Bette and I have been exchanging flyers for quite some time now.

10. Advertise Locally... Hang up a flyer or packet of business cards on community bulletin boards. I've seen this type of advertising at the grocery store, post office and laundry mats.

As I mentioned before, Bette and I have several topsites that are free to join. They also have some paid spots that are very low cost. Here is a list of our topsites...
Top 100 Etsy Shops
Top Printables and Graphics Sites
Top 100 Pattern Sites
Top 100 Handcrafter Blogs
Top 100 Artfire Shops (this one is BRAND NEW)

And finally,  here are three busy websites that are free to advertise on.
http://primitivecrossroads.com/
http://www.theprimitivehandmadedirectory.com/
http://www.craftsitedirectory.com/


If you have other ideas for promoting on a budget, please post a comment. We'd love to hear from you.

Thank you for joining us!
Deena Davis
www.byyourhands.com

Selling Online --- Part Three

Today we're featuring part 3 of our Selling Online series and we're going to talk about selling on Zibbet.com

Zibbet is a global marketplace, connecting buyers and sellers of Handmade Goods, Fine Art, Vintage Items and Crafting Supplies.

It's FREE to list your items on Zibbet, and when they sell, Zibbet doesn't take a cut of your sales. You get to keep every penny... That's the way it should be!

YOU HAVE THE CHOICE BETWEEN EITHER A BASIC OR PREMIUM ACCOUNT...

Basic accounts are totally FREE. They give you your own shop, web address, promotional tools and customer support, all for FREE. With a Basic account you can have up to 25 items in your shop at a time. When an item sells, you can replace it by listing another one. You can sell as many items as you want and you won't pay.

Premium accounts are $9.95/month. You can upgrade to a full-featured Premium account at any time, and enjoy the freedom of listing as many items as you want, plus the flexibility of having full control over the customization of your shop's color theme, and layout. 

SPECIAL OFFER: If you would like to try out a Premium Account you can do so for free for 7 days,use the coupon code: FREETRIAL


Over the past few weeks, we have talked about selling on Etsy, Artfire and now Zibbet. These are not the only places to sell online. We found many others so be sure to check some of them out. It doesn't hurt to have your things on several venues as long as you feel you can keep up with them.


Some of the other places we found were...
www.rubylane.com
www.lollishops.com
www.handmadecatalog.com
www.artsefest.com
www.craftmall.com
www.fuzzb.com
www.dewanda.com
www.silkfair.com
www.madeitmyself.com
www.lov.li
www.winkelf.com


Stay tuned next week for another post about selling online. We're going to discuss selling blogs.


Deena Davis
www.byyourhandsblogspot.com

Selling Online --- Part Two

Today we're featuring part 2 of our Selling Online series and we're going to talk about selling on ArtFire.com

ArtFire.com is the home of many handmade sellers from around the globe. Sellers can sell handmade, vintage items or supplies. It's fairly simple to set up a studio and start selling on ArtFire. They have two options. Their Basic Account and a Pro or verified seller accounts.

A basic account is FREE! Yes, FREE!! You can list an unlimited amount of items. A Pro account is $15.95 per month but has a lot more features than the Basic account. You can compare the two accounts here. 

Unlike etsy, there is no individual listing fee for each item. If you are a pro seller, you simply pay a monthly fee of $15.95/month or if you are a basic seller, you pay NOTHING. Now, keep in mind, you will need a PayPal account and they charge a fee for every transaction. You also have the option of  using Google Checkout and Amazon for collecting payments on ArtFire.com

ArtFire.com has quite a few help guides for any question you may have about selling and setting up your shop. You can find them here. 

The forums on ArtFire are a great place to find answers and most members are happy and eager to help answer your questions.

Do you have questions concerning setting up an account? You can find the answers here. 

The key to successful selling online with any venue is promotion. Once you set up your shop, be sure to promote it. You can find many places online to promote your shop for nearly no cost and some that are paid. We will cover promoting your shop in another post in this series.

Thanks for joining us!

Deena Davis

www.byyourhands.com

Selling Online --- Part One

Today we are starting a series of posts on places to sell online.

We had quite a few people answer our survey stating they did not sell online but would like to so maybe we will be able to help them get started.

I am starting with what I feel is one of the best places to sell online at a reasonable cost.   http://www.etsy.com

What is Etsy?   Etsy is a marketplace started in 2005 to give handcrafters a place to make a living selling their handmades and to connect the makers with the buyers.

Etsy sellers number in the hundreds of thousands today and the buyers and sellers come from more than 150 countries.

What can you sell on Etsy?   Pretty much anything that is handmade by you,  crafting supplies, and vintage items that are 20 years old or older.

It is free to open your shop on Etsy but you will pay a 20 cent listing fee for each item you list.   Your item lists for four months.
When you sell your listing you will pay a transaction fee to etsy that is 3.5% of the selling price of your item.

You will receive a bill each month on the 1st for your previous month's activity.

The first thing you will need to do is register on Etsy. This entitles you to be a buyer.
https://www.etsy.com/register.php

 Choose your name carefully because you won't be able to change it.

Once you are registered,  you will then  have to upgrade your account to seller.  You will find that option when you login to your account.

The majority of buyers pay with Paypal so if you don't already have an account with them,  you need to think about getting one.  http://www.paypal.com    You can accept money orders or checks but it is a slow way to do business and most buyers prefer paypal.

Click here for the help guide to setting up your shop.
http://help.etsy.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/246/

Once you have your shop setup you will want to start listing your items.  You will need a good description,  good pictures (you are allowed 5 of them),  price for the item,  shipping cost and decide what countries you will ship to,  and tags.

Tags help people find items they are searching for.   Learn all about how to use tags here. http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/seller-how-to-tag-o-rama-with-descriptive-keywords-5474/

So you have your shop all set up and your products listed so now what?   A lot of people think they are done and get upset when the sales don't start rolling in.  lol    Unfortunately,  that doesn't often happen.   It is like anything else in life,  you reap what you put into it.

Here are some ways to promote your shop:

Start a blog to:
Keep customers updated on new listings.
Share your skills by doing tutorials.
Have a giveaway of one of your handmade items.
Add one of the gadgets that is a portable version of your shop.  Customers can shop right from your blog.  http://www.craftcult.com/shop_widget.php
Go to the community forum on Etsy and post about your new listings.

Add your banner to relevant topsites.  They are free.

Look for low cost advertising on busy sites if you have advertising money.

Join an Etsy Team. There is nothing like being able to chat with other like-minded sellers. And it is a great way to learn from ones that have been on Etsy for a long time. http://team.etsy.com/teams.html

Here is a free pdf download, Secrets of Savvy Etsy Sellers,  that I just came across on the internet.   You can download it here:
http://onthedotcreations.typepad.com/onthedotcreations/secrets-of-savvy-etsy-sellers.html

And lastly,  there is a lot of help from Etsy here. 
http://help.etsy.com/app/home

Next week we will be talking about another marketplace,   Artfire.

Thanks for visiting today.
Bette
www.byyourhands.com 

Would you like to sponsor a giveaway?  Do you have a special skill you would like to share with our readers?  Would you like to share a trash to treasure makover?

Are you interested in promoting your store or blog at a very reasonable cost?   If so, just email us. 

We would be happy to send you the details. byyourhandsblog@gmail.com

Selling Online

You've probably seen that Bette and I both talk about selling on www.Etsy.com and www.ArtFire.com. While those two websites are probably the most popular selling venues for handmades right now, they're not the only ones.

I ran across this awesome list of 84 places to sell your crafts online.
www.craftazaar.com/84-places-sell-crafts-online
What a great resource! Some of them are even FREE.

If you have the time to list your things on several websites, it certainly wouldn't hurt to try it, especially if it's FREE to add your listings. The more you get your name out there, the better.

A few tips for selling handmades.

1. Keep yourself branded by using the same logo design on all sites.

2. If you have a full website and can link to it from the other selling venue, do it. Just make sure it's allowed.

3. List items frequently. No one wants to visit a shop they visited 2 months ago and see the same things. Keep things fresh and current.

4. Keep your prices and shipping priced fairly, but don't sell yourself short. Your items have worth so make sure you get what you deserve without being over priced.

5. Use great photos. Blurry, dark and out of focus photos are unappealing. If they can't see how great your stuff is, they won't want to buy it. Use several pictures from various angles.

6. Use clear and concise descriptions. Explain exactly what it is they'll receive if they buy your item. Tell them when and how it will be shipped. You have to explain IT ALL.

7. Watch for trends that are selling. If you're making pink polka dot hand knit socks because YOU like them, it doesn't mean they'll sell. Make what the consumer likes.

8. Be prompt in answering questions about your items. If the buyer is ready to buy, they'll want the info quickly.

9. Be patient (my biggest obstacle). It takes a while to get noticed.

10. Promote yourself without going overboard. Use the social networking sites to your advantage. You'll have to interact with others about other things, but throw your link out there every once in a while. After all it is a part of who you are.


Thanks for visiting today.
Deena Davis
www.byyourhands.com