Your Ideal Growing Conditions
So, you have an idea of a product that you love making and think other people will enjoy. You determine that you can produce it with your own hands at a reasonable cost and retail it at a price point that people can afford, with an appropriate profit added on to make it worth your efforts.
You do your research and find that the potential for competition is fairly low or non-existent. You make up a few samples, ones you can gift to family and friends to get their opinion on real-life use. Use them as your guinea pigs. That is what friends are for and is also an economical way to skate by on gift-giving holidays.
Before you give those items away, take bright, quality photos of them, posing them in various fashions and positions. Upload them to your computer and do any cropping or blemish* fixing on your photo editor. Locate them to easily remembered image files. You will need these later.
*By “Blemish” I do not mean defects in your work, but rather the ghostly dust motes, pixie tracks and cat hairs that magically appear after you have uploaded the photo. Do not fix and hide natural wood character like small knots and mineral streaks or slight tooling marks that give your piece its handmade uniqueness.
Now what? How do I get them to sprout and be viewed by actual people?
Testing the Weather
Let your products germinate for a short time. Take note of anyone that has been “gifted” your pieces and ask them, without seeming like you are fishing for additional compliments, how (or if) they use them and how they are holding up to use. In my case, I carved a name keychain for just about everyone I worked with at my real job at the paper mill.
During breaks, at safety meetings and shift changes, I took note of who was actually using them. When the opportunity arose during the day, I asked them how they were holding up. Were they too bulky? Any breakages? Was the finish turning colors? Half the time, they would ask me how much to carve some more for their kids and spouses.
Be sure not to discuss these during “company time”, as the upper gnomes of management might take offense that you are doing your business on their time. Wait until you are on break or off the clock, so there is no conflict of interests. I printed up some business cards with my email, phone and such, so they could contact me about them outside of work. If they asked about them in passing, I would just hand them a card and have them email me.
These cash sales were not only a great way to get lunch and gas money at the time, but they gave me the chance to build up my sample photo archives for future use in my eventual online listings.
Nourish the Tender Sprouts
You likely have a Facebook, X or other social media account. Over 70% of Americans do. Post your pictures here. This is the easiest and most economical way to get some exposure for your new idea. Ask your friends to share online with their friends.
Ask the ones who have received them as gifts how they can be improved. Honest critiques are the most valuable as they will help determine how your future audience will embrace them. A positive “word-of-mouth” campaign is the strongest medium for growing a business.
Once you start getting favorable responses you can create a business “Page”, linked to your personal account, to use as a proving ground for your new items. Use the name or alias of whom you intend to do business as (DBA). Something like “Pilar’s CBG Guitars” or “Gidget’s Widgets”.
Keep your business name personal, inviting and original. It can be changed down the road if you decide to get a registered domain and/or business license. Do some searches for it so that it won’t be confused with someone else or step on any trademarked toes. Stay away from names like “Disney Whimsies” or “Parrothead Graphics”. Here be dragons.
Share this business “Page” with your friends and family, asking them to occasionally share the posts you put up there. Your posts can include photos of your items, videos of your process, how your products are used, and eventually where they can be ordered or purchased. Even after 16 years, I photograph every item I make to send out “Sneak Peeks” and share online.
Your number of followers will organically grow as you progress in your craft. These are the followers you want. They have made the conscious choice to keep up with you and your work.
Followers that are purchased via some online “merchandising” scheme are falsely obtained, weak and hollow. They have no real interest in you and their cost is better spent on some spectacular new wood or material that will WOW people and draw a more natural interest to your craft.
The Growing Season
I started with offering my name keychains, carved in 4 domestic hardwoods (Cherry, Maple, Oak and Walnut). They were the easiest to obtain here in Central Florida. The selection grew as I discovered new woods, their sources and tested their viability for my work.
Plow your field by expanding your variety and by opening a few online shops. Research three or four venues that you have bought from in the past and had good results with. If they seem to be appropriate to your scheme, set up your online shops. You can always close down ones that do not provide the interest or traffic you need.
Read their rules and regulations (Terms of Service) for sellers and abide by them. Violations can result in an immediate and permanent shut-down. Understand their fees and use this knowledge to make sure your work is priced so that your target profit margin is at least 60% (see my blog “Pricing Your Product: Part 1”, here). If you think your prices are a bit on the high side, it is easier to lower them or run a “Sale” on them, than to raise them after a short exposure time.
Be sure to write a positive “About Me” page on whichever sites you select. People like buying from humans with stories as opposed to computerized robots . Tell them how you started and where you expect to go with your craft. Keep it light, airy and truthful. Avoid negative, sob stories about how your six kids need food and/or medical attention.
Create thorough and accurate descriptions about your items and briefly tell about how they are made. Photos should clearly and attractively represent your product. Relate your expected turn-around time and methods of shipping, domestically and internationally. Keep these expectations realistic.
To save time, you can copy and paste your “About Me” section, item descriptions, tags, etc., from one venue to the next with minor edits tailored to each.
Don’t be afraid to expand varieties. New ideas and materials that will arise through your own work progression or suggestions by others. At the request of a client, I added personalized chopsticks to my repertoire 6 years after starting my online business. They quickly became my biggest seller.
Pest Avoidance
There are a lot of scammers out there. Given the chance, they will stunt your growth or destroy your crop before your first harvest. Beware of anything that sounds too good to be true. It usually is.
You will get emails that claim to be from the venue you’ve selected, but in reality are just trying to steal information from you. Never click on links or attachments in emails or messages that you are not expecting. It is fairly easy for bad actors to appear official.
If it looks like it may be legitimate, log into your account yourself, in a new “Window”, and look for notification from your venue’s management team. Etsy has its own message board for genuine Etsy messages to sellers. Regularly check seller forums for the most recent scams that are infecting the crops.
There are also people out there that promise great returns on large wholesale orders. Know your limitations on production and be attentive to your costs. It is way too easy to underprice yourself into a blight. Get your money up front. Legitimate buyers are used to paying in advance for handmade and custom items. Err on the side of caution, even if they make you feel like you’ll be missing out by not doing business as they want.
Other invasive species will rear their heads and there will be mistakes made. Beware of people who want to get “friendly” too quickly. If you stay alert and vigilant, you will minimize your losses.
Hand Picking
You alone are in charge of how you want to sell. If you feel like you are being bullied or overly fee’d by your venue, you have the choice of either conforming to their policy and adjusting your prices or moving on to a seemingly greener field.
You can always switch venues. I have had success of varying degrees, on 5 or 6 platforms. Just as you choose the quality of your materials and process, you can pick the site that best fits your needs and future direction. You may even choose to create your own website so that you have complete control over how you do business, but be prepared to spend a lot of time nurturing it.
To simplify things, I have narrowed and concentrated my efforts on selling exclusively on Etsy. They offer the greatest traffic for my products and fees are fair, in my opinion. It has allowed me to spend the time I needed in the workshop creating. Now that I am established there, I am secretly creating a website of my own with Wix, where I hope to bring it all together, including this blog, trying to enlighten newbies and hopefully earn a passive income doing it in my declining years. Unless things at Etsy change dramatically, I will retain my listings there as my sales outlet.
For the last few years, there has been an infestation on Etsy forums of sellers complaining about fees or policies. These disgruntled sellers are mainly those that have NOT followed policy or have zero experience in crafting or retail business. They are usually not “makers”, but resellers.
This is mainly due to Etsy’s own lack of policing their own terms of service over the last 10+ years. They have allowed the crop of handmade to be overgrown with the weeds of mass produced crap, for profit sake.
Etsy has recently begun the elimination of these nefarious sellers, but not without leaving behind severe damage to the field of handmade. Weeding can seem to be a heartless, unfeeling task, but necessary for productive growth.
If you follow their rules, concentrate on your handmade work and stay away from infringing on another's intellectual property and trademarks, you will do fine. The fees they charge (15 to 20%, total) are well worth the traffic and services they provide. (see my “Pricing Your Product: Part 2” blog.
If you are enjoying what you see… I like it hot and black. 😉
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Excellent advice!