Selling Your Crafts Online: With Etsy, eBay, and Pinterest

Description

• Copyright 2013
• Edition: 1st

• Book
• ISBN-10: 0-7897-5032-5
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-5032-7

SELLING YOUR CRAFTS ONLINE

Sell your handmade crafts and artwork worldwide on the Web!

Do you sell your own handmade crafts or artwork? There’s a whole world of customers beyond what you find at crafts shows and malls. For the first time in history, there’s a great way to reach them: the Internet! In Selling Your Crafts Online, Michael Miller guides you step by step through succeeding in the world’s biggest online crafts marketplaces and attracting new customers where millions of them already hang out. Miller offers crafts-specific tips and advice on everything from creating listings to getting a fair price, processing payments to providing outstanding service. No matter what you make or where you already sell it, you can earn a better living if you also sell online. This guide will help you get started, get successful, and stay successful!

--       Create a quick “mini” business plan that improves your chances of success

--       Discover what sells best online–and what doesn’t

--       Predict your costs, see what competitors are doing, and set your best price

--       Write compelling listings and take great photos, even if you’re not a professional writer or photographer

--       Create an attractive online presence on Etsy, eBay, and other sites

--       Discover and compare growing online marketplaces you never knew existed

--       Decide whether it makes sense to create your own craft-selling website

--       Set yourself up to accept credit cards, PayPal, or other payment services

--       Pack, seal, and ship your merchandise safely without overspending

--       Answer questions, handle complaints, and offer guarantees

--       Track your inventory

--       Promote your business on Pinterest and beyond

--       Measure your success and learn from experience

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Sample Content

Online Sample Chapter

Taking Powerful Pictures to Sell Your Arts and Crafts Online

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I: Getting Ready to Sell

Chapter 1 Planning for Success

So You Want to Sell Your Crafts Online

What Sells Online–and What Doesn’t

    Crafts You Probably Shouldn’t Sell Online

    What Types of Crafts Do Sell Well Online?

Why Planning Is a Good Idea

    What a Business Plan Does for You

    Things You Need to Plan

How Much Planning Do You Need to Do?

    The Occasional Seller

    The Growing Seller

    The Full-Time Seller

Putting Together a No-Frills Business Plan

    Before You Plan: Think Things Through

    Parts of a Successful Business Plan

    Talking Through Your Plan

    Writing the Plan

You’ve Planned the Plan: Now What?

Chapter 2 Setting the Right Price

Researching the Market

Calculating Your Costs

    Calculating Materials Costs

    Calculating Labor Costs

    Calculating Selling Fees

    Calculating Packaging Costs

Calculating the Selling Price

    Why 4 x Costs Works

    Fine-Tuning Your Selling Price

Calculating Profit

    Understanding Gross and Net

    Are You Making Money?

Considering Wholesale Pricing

Chapter 3 Putting Together a Successful Listing

Writing an Attention-Grabbing Title

    Creating a Searchable Title

    Making Your Title POP

    Watch the Length

Creating a Descriptive Description

    Include All the Details

    Prioritize Your Information

    Stress Benefits, Not Features

    Use Power Words–But Avoid Superlatives

Add Your Personal Style

Don’t Forget the Pictures!

Chapter 4 Taking Powerful Pictures

What You Need to Take Effective Product Photos

    Choosing the Right Digital Camera

    Going Steady with a Tripod

    Enhancing Your Photos with Auxiliary Lighting

    Keeping It Plain with Photo Backgrounds

    Considering a Light Tent for Smaller Items

    Fixing the Flaws with Photo Editing Software

How to Take Great Product Photos

Working with Lighting

Tips for Improving Your Product Photos

    Center the Item

    Make It Large

    Shoot at an Angle

    Shoot Multiple Photos

    Avoid Glare

    Accessorize Your Photos

Shooting Different Types of Crafts

    Shooting Clear or Translucent Glass

    Shooting Opaque Glass and Jewelry

    Shooting Wood Items

    Shooting Clothing

    Scanning Flat and Small Items

Editing Your Photos–Digitally

Part II: Selling Online

Chapter 5 Deciding Where to Sell Online

Selling on Dedicated Online Craft Marketplaces

    Etsy

    Artbreak

    ArtFire

    Artful Home

    Artist Rising

    Artspan

    Bonanza

    Craft Is Art

    Crobbies

    Funky Finds

    Handmade Artists Shop

    Handmade Catalog

    Hyena Cart

    Made It Myself

    ShopHandmade

    Yessy

    Zibbet

Selling on General Online Marketplaces

    eBay

    Craigslist

    eCRATER

    Ruby Lane

    SilkFair

Comparing the Top Online Marketplaces

Examining Important Factors

    Type of Site

    Size and Traffic

    Fees

Comparing the Big Two: Etsy vs. eBay

Selling on Your Own Website

Settling on a Site–Or Two

Chapter 6 Selling on Etsy

Getting to Know Etsy

    What Can You Sell on Etsy?

    How Does Etsy Work?

What It Costs to Sell on Etsy

    Etsy Shop Fees

    Listing Fees

    Transaction Fees

    Payment Processing Fees

    Paying Etsy

Signing Up for an Etsy Account

Setting Up Your Etsy Shop

    Creating Your Shop

    Customizing Your Shop

Creating a New Item Listing

    Starting a New Listing

    Editing an Item Listing

    Renewing a Listing

    Deactivating a Listing

Getting Paid

    Etsy Direct Checkout

    PayPal

    Other Payment Methods

Managing Your Etsy Sales

Tips for Making More Money on Etsy

    Spruce Up Your Shop

    Create a Powerful Cover Image

    List More to Sell More

    List or Renew Daily

    Make Sure You Tag Your Items

    Pack Promotionally

    Increase Your Feedback by Buying on Etsy

Chapter 7 Selling on eBay

Understanding eBay

    Size Matters

    Who Sells on eBay?

    eBay for Crafters

How to Sell on eBay

    Auction Listings

    Auctions with the Buy It Now Option

    Fixed Price Listings

    eBay Store Listings

    Which Type of Listing Is Best for You?

Understanding eBay’s Fees

Signing Up for eBay

Listing an Item for Sale

    Creating an Auction Listing

    Adding the Buy It Now Option

    Creating a Fixed-Price Listing

Opening an eBay Store

    What Is an eBay Store?

    Benefits of Opening Your Own eBay Store

    The Costs of Running an eBay Store

    Choosing the Right Subscription Level

    Setting Up Your Store

    Listing Merchandise for Sale

    Customizing and Managing Your Store

Getting Paid

Managing Your eBay Activity

Tips for Maximizing Your eBay Sales

    Pick the Right Category

    Enhance Your Listing Descriptions

    Choose a Longer Listing

    Don’t Forget the Pictures

    Avoid Deadbeats

Chapter 8 Selling On Your Own Website

Building an Online Store–What’s Involved?

    The Components of an Ecommerce Website

    Different Ways to Build a Store

    How Much Does It Cost?

Pros and Cons of Running Your Own Website

    Pros of Running Your Own Online Store

    Cons of Running Your Own Online Store

Does an Online Store Make Sense for Your Crafts?

Choosing a Hosting Service

    Features to Look For

    Comparing Prices

Part III: Running a Successful Crafts Business

Chapter 9 Handling Online Payments

Examining Your Options

Accepting Cash, Checks, and Money Orders

    Cash

    C.O.D.

    Personal Checks

    Money Orders and Cashier’s Checks

    Credit Cards

Examining the Big Payment Processing Services

    PayPal

    Google Checkout

    Checkout by Amazon

Chapter 10 Shipping Your Merchandise

Choosing a Shipping Method

    U.S. Postal Service

    FedEx

    UPS

    Other Shipping Companies

Calculating Shipping and Handling Fees

    Working with Flat Fees

    Determining the Handling Charge

Packing Your Items

    Picking the Right Shipping Container

    How to Pack

    One Size Doesn’t Fit All

    How to Seal the Package

    Creating the Shipping Label

    To Insure or Not Insure?

Shipping Internationally

Chapter 11 Servicing Your Customers

Answering Customer Questions

Managing Post-Sale Correspondence

Handling Customer Complaints

    Listing Your Terms of Service

    Guaranteeing Your Merchandise

Chapter 12 Managing Your Inventory

How to Manage Your Craft Inventory

    Build in Advance or Build to Order?

    Maintaining Adequate Inventory Levels

    Tracking Inventory

Managing Inventory Across Multiple Marketplaces

    Benefits of Offering Items on Multiple Sites

    Drawbacks of Offering Items Across Multiple Sites

    Multi-Site Inventory Management Solutions

Chapter 13 Promoting Your Business with Pinterest

Getting to Know Pinterest

Using Pinterest

    Signing Up for a Pinterest Account

    How Pins Work

    What Happens When You Click a Pin

    Understanding Pinboards

    Following Other Users

Pinning Your Item Listings to Pinterest

    Pinning an Etsy Listing

    Pinning an eBay Listing

Making Your Pin a Gift Item

Using Pinterest to Promote Your Crafts

    Pin Those Listings–Regularly

    Create Customer-Focused Pinboards

    Think Visually–But Don’t Forget the Description

    Link Pinterest to Your Website or Shop

    Link Pinterest to Other Social Networks

Chapter 14 Other Ways to Promote Your Business

Promoting via Facebook

    Promoting in Your Facebook News Feed

    Creating a Facebook Business Page

Promoting via Twitter

Promoting on Etsy

    Etsy Coupon Codes

    Etsy Search Ads

    Etsy on Sale

Promoting in an Online Crafts Mall

Promoting with Google AdWords

Chapter 15 Measuring Your Success

Measuring Traffic

    Understanding Web Analytics

    Tracking Etsy Traffic

    Tracking eBay Traffic

    Tracking Traffic on Your Own Site

Measuring Sales

    Understanding Sales and Revenues

    Tracking Etsy Sales

    Tracking eBay Sales

Measuring Profits

    Calculating Gross Profit per Item

    Calculating Net Profit for Your Business

How Do You Define Success?

9780789750327    TOC    9/14/2012

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