Thursday, October 16, 2008
When you launch your own internet artisan business, you get all the advantages of being your own boss while earning revenue from your talent. But this isn’t as simple as it sounds. Many crafters work hard to be profitable in their home businesses, and listed below is some pointers to help you in setting up a rewarding internet store.
Selling Your Handmade Crafts, Where to Begin
There are a few ways you can go about selling your artwork online. Your first option is to buy a URL and publish your own webpage. However, there are a few drawbacks to this choice. If you don’t know much about graphic design or webpage layout, setting up your own webpage can be challenging. Furthermore, when you open your own URL, you have a Google page rank of 0, making it rather hard for craft buyers to find your webpage. Lastly, your new craft store is completely unknown to the public, so shoppers have no reason to trust your items or services. Internet scams are everywhere, and customers have become wary of unfamiliar businesses.
If you don’t want to go through the trouble of crafting your own website, you can always sign up on an internet trading webpage, like as eBay or Esty. These sites have a high page rank and are generally trusted by buyers. Sadly, both of these sites charge a listing fee and take a part of your profits, so there’s risk in using them. Most artists who are just getting started in internet sales have a hard time selling right at first, and you still have to pay site fees at both of these webpages regardless of if your business is successful.
However, there are free listing sites which allow artists to sell their handmade crafts completely cost free. At ArtFire.com, basic members pay no fees to list or sell their handmade items, and receive 100% of sales revenue. This is probably the most risk-free choice to sell your handmade items online, and serious artisan business owners should look into this site. Although it is still in Beta form, it is already gaining tremendous popularity on the web, and promising to become the next big thing in internet transactions.
How Much Should You Charge for Your Handmade Goods?
Since you’re selling your own artwork, the pricing of your products is completely up to you. Realistically, low priced goods sell faster, but don’t price your goods too low—they’re your handmade crafts, after all. When pricing, think about the time you invested on that item, the cost of the materials used, and how the product would appear to an everyday internet costumer. If you’re having trouble picking the right price, try browsing similar goods listed online. If you’re having problems selling your crafts, you can always lower the price or put your products on sale.
Last But Not Least: Promotion
One of the most crucial elements to online sales is getting internet users to take notice of your handmade products. There’s quite a bit of competition on the internet, and you want your artwork to stand apart from all the rest. This is why you must work diligently to get your items out there and let shoppers know what you’re selling. Try posting your website address on any blogs you management, or try linking to your store in your email signature to bring in more traffic. The Handmade Revolution is quickly growing, and this is your opportunity to be a part of it!
Good luck artisans, and happy crafting!
-Sara
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