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Craft Business Tips: Grow Your Business! |
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Grow your craft / jewelry business! Rings & Things collects tidbits of advice here, from our own experience
and from some of our favorite sources. Share your tips, and we might feature them here with your name and a link to your site or store! Combine your crafts in jewelry cards: tuck a bauble you've made into a handmade card, for a gift-and-wrap all in one!
Quick holiday tip: jumbo kidney wires double nicely as ornament hangers!
Get your jewelry noticed in the blogs:
Quit your day job...some inspirations from Lara Lewis, a jewelry maker who did:
Send an individualized sales letter to grow your business:
Shipping to customers? Work postal wonders! Some things the US Postal Service will do for your business:
Protect against theft at shows:
Turn old tools into new ones! A worn-out file can become a:
Get creative with marketing, not just designing...
7 important lessons learned about beading!
If you do shows and need to have electricity for lights and other items in your booth, get a long power strip. (At least 4 feet long, longer if you can manage it.)
Save on shipping, learn the ropes: craft business e-books can be a bargain. Check out these...
7 ideas for displaying earrings:
Always wear your jewelry creations wherever you go!
Always carry your business cards with you!
3 quick tips for a rockin' jewelry business:
12 reasons why things don't get done...:
6 tips for wholesaling your craft jewelry:
Make a marketing calendar - do something to promote your craft business every day. You'll be amazed how many places you can sell online...you just need to budget your time to use all of them!
When you are having a craft show or want to create a positive image that lasts, it is important how you use color and arrangement. Some colors create a professional environment, particularly those that create a contrast like white and black, gold, silver and Royal blue for displays.
Add a digital photo frame for display at your table or booth. Its color & 'movement' really get customers' attention. Use it to add valuable information that's otherwise hard to feature: closeups of your products; your logo; action shots of your items being created...
Pair gold with warm complimentary earth-tones (amber, tigereye, etc.) — or cooler pastel colors (peridot, amethyst, etc.). Since the color of 'gold' jewelry ranges from plated yellow to 14k to a brass-ish yellow, some bright secondary colors can clash...
Start a blog. Stop debating it. Just start one.
Quality costs...but quality pays! Always invest in quality supplies. The same goes for sales venues: If you invest the time and money to attend a major trade show, you demonstrate that you're committed and serious about your business. Increase your craft sales by working like a professional.
Do you Twitter? Did you know...you don't have to hover at your computer all day. Tools like Twuffer let you post-date tweets for later release!
Displaying your work: 9 tips:
Make a little copper "stamp strip" & stamp it every time you get or make a new metal stamp. It's a portable reminder of which designs you have!
Create an oddity! Get some attention! Extreme art can draw visitors to your store...some of whom will buy other items from you.
Get into Google's "shopping" search results — use Google Base! (Read more by clicking the link.)
Booth setup checklist:
Make design stamps for copper & aluminum: Plain steel masonry nails: file the end flat, then file / bur / saw a design in it. Stamp your own designs in metal charms, tags and more!
Deadliest craft fair sin of them all: push your way over your boundaries and take over other people's space.
Make it a series! A great way to keep readers coming back to your blog or online shop. The tough part is making sure it runs smoothly from beginning to end, so planning ahead helps immensely. Tip: create a logo for your series, to create buzz.
The 7 cardinal craft-fair virtues:
Need inspiration for new color combinations, interesting shapes for bead patterns, or geometric design ideas? Look through a kaleidoscope! On a visit to Marcia de Coster's "Mad Designs" site, I saw two pictures she took from a large outdoor kaleidoscope art installation in San Diego, and got quite a few ideas from just two pictures!
10 things to take to art & craft shows [ideally!]:
The seven deadly craft-fair sins:
Taking photos of your creations? Add an element of pure black or white in the frame (paper works fine). Your photo editing software will be able to color-correct the image! Just edit out the black or white part.
Try not to leave your business card in a bathroom. #1, it's disgusting...and #2, you are not going to get business from having your card on the back end of a toilet.
Make your display table enticing & approachable. Don't display too much. Stuff to stash behind your table: calculator, cash box, packaging materials, etc.
Great marketing outlet: do jewelry parties. Advertise them in "women's spaces": nail parlors, shoe & bridal shops. Make them fun: have a raffle, hold games.
Keep your finger on the pulse of the crafts business: we recommend magazines like The Crafts Report for comprehensive tips, trends, and how-to's.
5 reasons to be cheerful:
Share a showcase of other sellers' stuff on your blog...then let them know. More viewers, more sales!
When you can, plan real projects before you buy supplies. This ensures you have everything you need from the start, and that the supplies in your stash coordinate well.
Fill a niche. You may notice certain styles are popular, but still find something that's "you". Your passion for a thing that you love creating will translate into better longterm results.
Don't just read bead/craft magazines/blogs for inspiration - check out photography sites, art gallery/museum sites. Don't forget science magazines or blogs -- some of the most incredible ideas are found in microscopic and telescopic pictures. National Geographic (both the magazine and online) is great for ideas, too.
Don't be afraid to reduce prices, within reason. Customers appreciate your response when the economy makes luxuries less affordable.
Do you get several craft magazines? Cut out favorite projects, illustrations, or articles & recycle the rest. Go green and make more work space for yourself!
Use social networking tools (Twitter, Facebook, Etsy...) to keep customers in the loop about your work.
Economy down? When people feel most stressed, what they want is to buy themselves a small gift...like jewelry. ;)
Attend more shows, closer to home: You'll save money you might have spent on booth fees at bigger shows outside your region -- And you'll get exposed to plenty of potential customers!
Get more exposure with less effort: try team-blogging
"Cut costs by sharing expenses...share studio space...save on rent and utilities...help generate enthusiasm for each other’s work and business...order together to receive bigger discounts...share booth space at craft shows."
Make sure you show a positive, cheerful face to the public (your customers). It really does affect your sales, especially at shows!
Two neat books to get you going & keep you going: Home Based Business for Dummies (Paul Edwards); The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting a Home Based Business (Barbara Weltman)
Keep exhibiting! Emphasize value. Stay positive...
You can find whole lists of articles of help to craft businesses!
Read Rena Klingenberg's advice in her books and blog, and subscribe to her newsletter.
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