Will a Blog Help Me Sell Crafts?

There are a million and one reasons for writing a blog – and many of them are irrelevant to craft makers/sellers.

The key question is: will the blog help me promote and/or sell my goods? The answer of course is: it depends.

I believe strongly in the power of blogging – it definitely works for me in promoting my own online shop. My Blog www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog promotes my website http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/ Whether it will work for you depends on a few things:

1. Do you enjoy writing? If you do, blogging will come naturally to you after a while. Enjoying writing is possibly key to blogging regularly, which in turn is key to Google giving you a good rank in its search results.

2. Can you write fairly well? If you can, then you can make it look professional. People are often more willing to forgive spelling mistakes and typos in a blog than they are a website (but don’t bet on it!) however, you can make it easier to spell-check by typing your posts in Word first and copying it into your blog post when you’re ready. Make sure you proof-read all your posts: do they make sense, is all the info there, are spellings and grammar ok? Make it easy to read - use lots of white space, lists, frequent new paragraphs, short sentences, etc.

3. Are you prepared to put a small amount of work into blogging – could you fit it in at least once a week?

There’s nothing much sadder than a blog which consists of posts saying sorry for not blogging for 3 months but... and then nothing else for another three months or so. And the all-important Google wants you to blog regularly!

4. Can you take photographs and upload them to your computer? Good blogs should have good pictures.

5. Does your personality shine through in your writing? This helps enormously. If your blog is interesting to read, people will read it. Simple as that.

Now think about the following. This is why blogging is powerful stuff:

1. Google loves fresh, original content. It places it high in the search engines. Consider this - which is most likely to have fresh, new content: a blog you update daily/weekly or a website you update quarterly? Even if you update your website weekly, the fresh content is likely to be fairly similar to the old content already there. The blog can be sparkly new content (writing) every day. Google likes words – it’s not so bothered about pictures. Don’t leave them out though, because people like pictures. And pictures will get picked up in Google Images of course. Google likes links too. Don’t be mean with them – but do place them in context. You can, of course, link to your own website as often as you choose.

2. Each time you blog about a product, that actual post stays listed in Google’s archives for a long time. It will pull out that post and list it in search queries for all to see. When you blog about a product, place a link (in the text) to your webpage where that item is listed for sale – and people will follow the link. Make it as easy as possible for them. Make sure your links work – frustrated readers are not what you need. It’s easy for them to go elsewhere.

3. People like to buy from human beings - so try to show a bit of your personality in your blog posts. Your humour, your personal snippets and your human aspect really will help you find sales, customers and even fans!

4. You can make your blog suit your business quite easily. Make it funky, cosy, businesslike, pretty, child-like – whatever you please, really. All of that helps in getting a customer on-side and can help in building your brand.

5. You can get involved in a whole community of bloggers online. You can swop links, swop artwork, tag each other in games – or not. It’s really up to you. Links are great as they may find you new readers. Being a part of a community though can really help promote you too.

Hopefully you can now see a bit more clearly why blogging works – and more importantly, whether it will work for you.

Next steps? Start a blog! Go to http://www.blogger.com/ or http://www.wordpress.com/. What are you waiting for?

SEO from Creative Boom

http://www.creativeboom.co.uk/ is an online creative news magazine. If you are in the business of creativity in any way then you should have a look at it. Loads of resources, snippets of useful info and interesting stuff.

This piece on SEO is particularly useful if you want to be noticed by search engines. And if you're selling online, can you afford to go unnoticed? Have a read now or bookmark it for later:

http://www.creativeboom.co.uk/boom-101/seo-top-tips-for-your-website-or-online-portfolio/?utm_source=Creative+Boom+magazine

Top tips for starting a craft business

A link for you to check out. Written from a business perspective, lots of great advice:

http://craftbusiness.com/site/index.php/content/news/top_ten_tips_on_starting_a_craft_business/

Selling your Crafts - first steps for beginners

So you’ve decided to sell some of your home-made wares. Either you want to make your hobby self-funding, you’ve got a pile of stuff you keep falling over and which is threatening your family relationships - or perhaps you’d just like to earn your money in a way you enjoy.

So where do you begin?

Here’s my top tips:

1. Research – and plenty of it. Are people selling similar items to the ones you make? Be objective – could you compete? Where and how are they selling it? And how successful do they seem to be? (Be aware: they probably won't give you all their secrets!)

2. Keep a diary and a to-do list. Maybe both in the same book. The diary keeps a note of what you’ve done, and the to-do list keeps you on track. Keeping your to-do list in a book is a great reminder of how far you’ve come as well as what’s still to do.

3. Start a blog. Yes, early on. It could be one of the first things you do. Blog about anything you like to start with. It gives you a history with Google – which counts for a lot: Google likes longevity. Go to http://www.blogger.com/ or http://www.wordpress.com/ - it's free, it's very easy and you can be set up and online in minutes. What are you waiting for?

You can also buy a domain name for your website if you like at this stage. You get a whole year for less than it might cost for lunch in Macdonalds. You don’t need to do anything with the domain name yet. Have a look at www.123-reg.co.uk/ or www.heartinternet.co.uk/

4. Look at websites or selling sites. You could open up shop on one of these sites:

www.etsy.com/

en.dawanda.com/

http://www.folksy.com/

www.coriandr.com/

or even good old eBay (personally, this wouldn't be my choice, but it does score well in Google searches).

A web presence makes you look more professional in the eyes of Joe Public and gives them a reference point for future buying.

5. Look up the craft fairs and other relevant events. Fun Days, Pamper Evenings, Wedding Fairs, Baby Fairs and Mediaeval Fairs are all events which you could hire a stall at. Depending on your product, of course. Find them here: http://www.stallfinder.com/. Visit as many as you can, compare them, make notes, check out the advertising and signposting. If in any doubt whether your products would be suitable, ask the organiser.

6. Talking of organisers, check out events first if you’re in any way unsure of them. Any reputable organiser will be able to give you ideas of visitor numbers, advertising campaigns, security for goods left overnight, etc. Talk to other stallholders. Look around. Is it busy? Is money changing hands? Do stallholders appear bored? (Or, worse, are they excited at the sight of a person entering the room??!) Check up organisers on Google. Disreputable organisers are, fortunately, few and far between but those who are will have been discussed on forums – comments about them will appear in abundance in a simple Google search.

7. Is your product saleable? Can you achieve a reasonable price for the amount of work/cost of materials? Sit down and do a little bit of basic maths. Nobody really wants to work for 50p an hour, no matter how enjoyable the work. However, there are times in the first few months when you are putting a lot of hours in for little or no return.

8. Keep it legal – you’ve got 3 months from starting up before you need to inform the Inland Revenue (these are UK rules – please check your own country’s laws). If you’re unsure – ask them. More here: www.hmrc.gov.uk/index.htm

9. Don’t forget the marketing. It isn’t just about gaining a sale. Getting your name out there to people who may buy from you next month or next year is also key to building your business. Get professional-looking business cards or fliers made up. Put them in with all purchases, hand them to interested-looking browsers, give them out at any opportunity.

10. Start selling! Book a craft fair, sell to friends at your workplace, have a sales party at home, list things on eBay, sign up to folksy – the choice is yours. To be successful, do as many as you can! Within reason, of course. If you spread yourself too thinly, you won't be able to give each one the time it needs and deserves.

You'll need to think about tax, insurance, book-keeping, etc., too. One step at a time, though. We'll look at these soon.

NOTE: These tips are intended as guidelines to help you get started. Please don't hesitate to get legal advice or professional business support if you think it may help you. Useful link: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/

Hello Artists and Crafters

Hello and welcome to this brand new blog.

This blog is being written especially for those people who want to start making money from their art and craft - or want to up their game a little bit.

If you're new to the whole thing, we hope you'll gain the confidence to sell your wares. And if you're more experienced, or already sell, we hope you'll gain tips to help you become more successful.

Back soon!