Going LIVE with Your Online Shop
Tips for getting your craft in front of the world.
So, you are ready to pull the trigger on your foray into ecommerce. You have your photos edited to the best of your ability and organized into files that are easily accessible. You have chosen the platform on which you wish to sell or created a website to handle your sales and you are ready to start raking it in.
I must restate that I am not an internet whiz. The words written here are not carved in stone. Everyone has a unique path to follow. I am a stay-at-home woodworker who has, over the last 16+ years, carved a niche for myself online. I make personalized chopsticks, keychains and desk names and ship from my home in Florida. For the last 11 years it has been my full-time job and main source of income. What I write works for me and I hope it will help you as well.
Signing Up to a Venue
Well, fix your coffee and get your left-brain in gear. This is NOT an immediate process. You will need to address the back-end stuff in your new shop first.
Terms of Service” (TOS) - Read and understand the rules your venue has for selling on their marketplace. Don’t just accept it as legal mumbo-jumbo. It is a shame to do all the work on your end, only to find out that what you want to sell is not allowed. Most will have the standard exclusions of racial discrimination, pornography, weaponry, trademark or copyright infringement, etc., but may include more subtle exclusions that may affect you. There are gray areas that you may need consultation on, through their “Help” forums, chat or social groups. It is best to understand the rules before you proceed.
Sign-up - Each marketplace will have its own particular requirements. Some will allow just about anyone with an email, home address and bank account, i.e., Ebay, Amazon, Alibaba etc. These are pretty much immediate acceptance. Others, particularly craft marketplaces, will want an application submitted to verify that you have the right to sell your works on their site and/or make your own products. You may have to wait a few days to get your acceptance. I have been on Etsy for 16+ years and things have changed dramatically in that time. I understand that they now charge a $15.00 start-up fee for new shops. Each venue is different. After about 8 years of selling exclusively on Etsy, I recently got accepted to GoImagine, as an alternative to my Etsy store, and am currently in the midst of populating it with my products. Sign up with this referral code, “34SZJX”, to get your first month free on GoImagine.
Financial information - In every case I can think of, you will need to submit your financial credentials, payment preferences and tax information. So, research your selected platform first to make sure that they are legitimate and without any major problems, like recent hacks, pending litigation or lack of future plans. Group forums on social sites can be very indicative of their problems moving forward.
Your “About” Page - Write a brief history about yourself and your journey into your craft/products. Use orderly sentence construction, spell check and correct punctuation. If you need to, have someone proof-read it for you. Misspelling and bad grammar are typical of scammers and you don’t want to give that impression. You’ll be dead in the water before you even begin. Include a photo of yourself. People who buy handmade want to know that they are dealing with a real person. (my sample “About” page)
Shop policies - Let your potential customers know what to expect when they buy from you. How you operate your business is crucial to would-be buyers. These should be upfront and clear. Include your stance on refunds, returns and order cancellations. Give time frames on how you do what you do. GoImagine puts my “Shop Policies” and “About” page at the bottom of every listing (see here).
Shipping - You can usually set up “Shipping profiles” beforehand in your shop's settings. Then in your listing description, let your prospective buyers know your shipping terms. Set your “production time” to something that you know you can honor. Don’t promise what you may not be able to deliver. I can only guarantee when I ship it. I never guarantee an arrival date because once I mail it, a multitude of things can happen that I have no control over. You can give an estimate, based on your selected carrier’s usual shipping time, but storms, work strikes, politics and USPS equipment failure commonly cause delays. I usually add 3 days to the carrier’s estimate, just to be safe and give the buyer reasonable expectations. When it does arrive early (on time) it makes you look better.
Links - Hook up with your social media accounts. Most sites allow you to provide links to your Facebook, X, Pinterest and other accounts. This gives your concern an air of legitimacy and respectability. These accounts are perfect for advertising your new store and you can offer special deals there and grow your following. You can post “Sneak Peeks”, new items, method videos, new materials and promote customer appreciation (get permission to use their photos, if they provide them). My Facebook Business Page.
Look professional off jump and create a shop banner, based on your site's recommended size. I used Canva to create it and my logo.
The Listing
Your photos are what grabs the customer first. Make sure they are of the best quality you are able to produce. The first image is the one that will be used for the search thumbnail. It should be square-ish and of the item being sold alone with a contrasting background. Other photos, with “staging” or other poses of them in groups, can come after. Try to use all the photos your platform allows.
If you do add “staged” photos, be sure to let buyers what is NOT included. Like, if I shoot a pair of my chopsticks with an antique rice bowl, be sure to mention “Bowl Not Included” in your description.
Write a completely accurate and informative description of your product and remember the rules of grammar and spelling (above). Use your product’s “keywords” in your listing title and the first sentence of the description. This is part of your SEO. Stick to facts and consider what words you would use to Google your product. Avoid descriptive phrases like “really cool”, “perfect for birthdays”, “just in time for Christmas”, etc. These can be used further down in the description if you feel the need.
Include your product’s intended use and limitations. How you intend to handle your sales and shipping should be worked out before you even list your products. In your description, include:
Your item's dimensions.
What it is used for.
For whom it is intended.
How long it will take to make and ship a completed product.
How many of the specific products you have raw materials to make.
Will it be “made to order” or is it ready to ship.
How you will ship it.
Use all the tags you are allowed, i.e., keywords, materials, keyword phrases, etc. They are use in your marketplace’s search engine to help people find you. Avoid trending, misleading terms that do not pertain to your product. That is “clickbaiting” and turns people off.
Select the appropriate shipping profile that you set up in your settings.
Most sites will let you see a preview of your listing before you make it active. So check it out and tweak it before going live.
Shop Promotion
If you are signing up on a marketplace, they will handle some (but not all) of the traffic gathering you will need to succeed. Be prepared to share your online shop everywhere you go online, perhaps to the annoyance of family and friends. Those that are true will understand and help spread the word to help you out.
This is even more true if you have a stand-alone website. All of the advertising burden is on you. You must search out ways to advertise and set out a budget to manage it. Research beforehand any entity that promises to handle this for you, for a fee.
There are many ways to promote your business for free, but it takes a lot of time and effort. Be relentless. If you have a family member that is proficient on the web (even if they are 12 years old) ask them for their input and suggestions.
I wish you the best of luck and would be interested to hear how you have succeeded and if you have any feedback (+/-) to what I have written above.
If you are enjoying what you see… I like it hot and black. 😉
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