Goodness. February is flying by. I feel like it needs to slow down so I can have a second to think! I’ve posted on photography resources + writing product descriptions, but it’s the new year and not everyone is to that point yet. Selling your products online can be fun and laidback, but if you want to take it seriously and make a profit, there’s a lot to know. Hopefully this series helps!
I haven’t been selling handmade or vintage for over a month now, but I definitely haven’t stopped being a buyer on Etsy. It’s made me think that everyone who wants to open a shop should be a buyer at some point too. (Believe it or not, that’s not the case.) But having an online biz has just as much to do with the customer as if you owned a b&m shop, so it’s always good to get that perspective! Selling your product online is only possible because of such a strong community of likeminded individuals. Especially with a small biz, shoppers are making a conscious effort to choose you over the department store down the street, even though you may cost more. (This community is a big reason we created the forums. If you have any business topics you want to bring up, post them there to start the discussion!)
Anyway! One of the most common questions you’ll hear when considering selling is “is there a market for your product?”. Honestly, when it comes to Etsy, I skip this question. If Etsy has taught me anything it’s that if you can make it, you can make a market for it. You do have to put in the work to find your audience, but once that’s done, it will sell. People go to Etsy to find things that aren’t sold everywhere else, so it’s not necessarily that you need to think about the latest trend. That said, Etsy is a different world than it was a few years ago and competition is higher than ever. I think there are two main ways to be successful (though all rules can be broken): make something everyone wants—like a trending item—or make something no one has, yet. With the latter, you won’t exactly know there’s a market but you’ll definitely find out!
Okay, so say you have this product. How do you know if you’re ready to create a whole business around it, specifically Etsy? Well, do you want to make it? Serious question. Do you want to make this one time or 100 times? I think we’ve all had the thought or at least heard other people (especially when talking about Pinterest, eeek) say “I could make that”. Sure, you could buy the materials and develop the skill to make a lot of things on Etsy. But do you want to? Do you really want to put in the time to do that? That’s the difference between someone who will make money on Etsy and someone who is better off buying ready-made products.
Have you done market research? You may not exactly know of the market yet, but have you at least investigated? Search your items. Are other people making it (or sourcing it, if supplies or vintage) and what are they doing? How are you similar and different? What kinds of marketing strategies will you need to employ to get this off the ground? Because if you haven’t at least looked into it, you’re in for a rude awakening when you finally do!
The next thing to consider is time. I’m all for people spending just a few hours a week on their shops and having a low-key, part-time income. But you at least need to do the legwork—if you don’t have photography skills, you need to learn them. If you don’t know how pricing works, you have to research. Etc. Etc.
I believe that if you want to do something you’ll make time. Hardly anyone just says they have the time. So the real question is whether you want to make time. If you have a product you’re passionate about and willing to take the time to not only market and sell, but continually improve, then go for it. It’s a teensy investment with a huge potential.
Don’t have a product? Send this post to that crafty friend of yours who is always making things! You never know, it could fuel their next career move! And be sure to head over to the forum for more chats like this.
~ Carmen ~ says
These are some awesome tips. I think market research can definitely help because you need to be able to know how saturated the market is, who is buying, etc.
:] // ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲
Alexandra says
Super interesting! I was just talking to an illustrator friend about her etsy and she hasn’t had much luck selling there and instead is having people purchase directly from her site. I’d love to get into e-commerce eventually.
Warm Regards,
Alexandra
http://www.littlewildheart.com
Angela says
Yeah it can be really tricky! I am going to give selling directly through my site a try sometime too, as too often your listings can get buried when all the competition is right there next to you.