How To Keep Customers Coming Back For Your Handmade Crafts

Self employment is the ultimate objective for many people and the attraction is greatly increased when the business happens to be something you’re passionate about. For many artists who decide to take the next steps into selling crafts, it can be a struggle to deal with the business side of things such as marketing and promotions. Ultimately this can cause their craft businesses to fail.

As in any business, it’s the volume of sales and profit you make that will determine whether or not your craft business will be a success or a pipe dream. These days it is not good enough to attract customers to your products and forget about them. Once you’ve got a new customer you have to think about how you’ll keep them returning again and again.

So what are the best ways to keep your customers coming back?

1. Make more of what sells. What items do you already make that are the most popular? Let your customers tell you what they like and keep on improving/updating/making variations of what works. Customers are more likely to return if they know they’ll be getting more of what they like.

2. Quality Control. Making sure your crafts are of the highest quality will reassure your customers that they can trust your products. Making sure your crafts are well above that of your competitors, is a sure way of attracting a loyal following.

3. Give more value. Give your returning customers extra value by offering a discount on their next purchase. This can be a code they type into your website or a simple voucher attached to their receipt. Everyone loves a bargain, what else can you offer to repeat customers?

4. Build your list. When a new potential customer comes to your stall/shop/online market, get their details! Even if they don’t buy anything ask for their email address to join your mailing list or get them to ‘like’ your businesses Facebook page. This allows you to promote any new items or sales you have coming up.

5. Create relationships. If you have a twitter account or a Facebook page for your crafts business (which you should do!) remember it’s not all about sell! sell! sell! No one wants to read about what new crafts your trying to flog everyday. Instead it’s about being more ‘real’. Share your creative processes, add photos of your holidays where you were inspired. Of course keep it professional but let your customers feel like they know you better.

For more information on how to sell your crafts successfully visit www.sellcrafts.com.au

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6783995

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Etsy Shop

Etsy is one of the most popular places for crafters to start selling their handmade crafts online. It provides a market place for crafters and artists to sell their creations, vintage items and supplies.

But with over 300,000 different shops on Etsy how do you make your craft business stand out from the rest? How do you let your customers know your products are what they have always been looking for? How do you get found amongst all of the other stores? The following 10 tips will help you on your way to creating your best Etsy store.

1. Avatar and Banners – You only get one chance to make a first impression so they say, so make it count! Your shop banner is how your customer makes a judgement on your craft business and what you’re selling so make it as good as it can be. Use your banner picture to show what you sell by including one of your products. Banners need to be exactly 760 pixels wide by 100 pixels tall or the image will be blurry. If you can’t make one yourself on a programme like photoshop there are people on Etsy who’ll make one for you.

2. Profile – Make sure you fill it in. No one likes talking about yourself but this is really an important step in the Etsy process. Let people know what is special about you and why you love what you make!

3. Photos – When you have decided what crafts to sell you’ll need to get snapping! Make sure your photographs do your crafts justice. There are 5 spaces for your products on Etsy so use them ALL to show different angles and close ups of your items. Make sure your photos are well lit and in focus.

4. Create a Story- In your description, as well as giving the basic facts on size, measurements etc. create a story around your craft to draw your customer in. Let your customer know how much love you put into your cool craft creations and your reader will feel more of a connection to your product. Write as if there is no picture.

5. Communication – Make sure you answer all enquiries promptly and courteously and have your contact details available for your customers.

6. Keywords – Give as much detail as possible in the titles of your listings. Think about what your customer is searching for. You need keywords in your title, description and tags.

7. Ship Overseas – You just have to do this if you want to be successful on Etsy. We live in a global community and your customers are all across the world so you need to provide international shipping. Ask at your local post office for a list of shipping weights and costs to help make it easier to calculate.

8. Offer refunds – Nothing turns a customer off more than a ‘no refund’ policy. It makes you seem, well a little dodgy. You should fill your customer with a sense of confidence in your product. by offering a refund which can be easily sorted through pay-pal automatically.

9. Increase your inventory- You should aim to have around 100 items up for sale in order to be ranked better in search engines such as google. The more choice you have the more opportunity you give your customers to find something that they like.

10. Packaging- Your marketing doesn’t end once they’ve bought your product. Remember to be thoughtful in your packaging. Think of what you would like to receive yourself. Do you have a theme in your packaging? Use a cool craft paper to wrap your products up or add a small free gift. Include a business card and a thank you note. It’s the little touches that will make you memorable.

For more information on how to sell your crafts successfully visit http://www.sellcrafts.com.au

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6783986