I shared this article at the Facebook group, Smart Marketing Strategies for Handmade Businesses. As a handmade entrepreneur with multiple sales platforms experience as well as being the creator of my own websites and selling in person at events, I feel that this sort of information is invaluable to crafters/ hobbyists that are starting to consider transitioning to sales. There are lots of things to research and think about before beginning any sort of sales approach for your handmade goods.
In my opinion, opening an online shop with an established marketplace such as Etsy (new shops get 40 free listings here with my referral link) is the easiest and best option for those getting their feet wet in selling online. Yes, there are fees. The old saying "you get what you pay for" is accurate and something to consider when you think about exposure to your target market. The fact is, part of the fees to list and sell are because you are also buying the privilege of Etsy's own marketing strategies, sales training and web traffic. As you become more advanced in your selling, you realize there is a cost of doing business and the quality of that cost usually equates to how many eyeballs will see your goods. Etsy is great for this, although you will read many complaints in forums about tags, SEO {search engine optimization}, non-handmade items, etc. My advice for the negative aspects are to keep in mind when you first begin, your goal is to LEARN and EARN. A great way is to take advantage of the training while you are building your shop at a marketplace such as Etsy. Expand to other marketplaces and create your own website later on when you've got some experience and more confidence.
I've always had sales marketplace options such as Etsy, inSelly, YardSellr (no longer available), and Amazon Handmade. The beauty of these options is that they have far more traffic than any website I've created, although they each have their issues and some charge fees. These options are something I will always keep open IN ADDITION TO having my own website with eCommerce functionality. After people find me through the marketplace traffic, many of them are so pleased that they become repeat sparkly shoppers of mine. Since I always send my business cards with every shipped order, I am alerting them to the fact that I have a website they can reach me at in the future. Since Etsy and Amazon both have policies prohibiting sellers from actively encouraging shoppers to order from outside the marketplace, this is an indirect way to refer repeat buyers to my website without breaking any rules and losing my shop.
Hope these tips can help some of you out! If this is useful, please feel free to share with your other handmade crafty creators. Thanks!
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