Craft Business Marketing: How to Sell Your Crafts 

So, how do you find people to buy your crafts?

Few craftspeople enjoy selling, and they would rather spend their time designing their craft rather than writing ads or developing a marketing campaign. However, if you want to earn a living from your crafts, you want to attract lots of customers without paying a lot of money to find them.

You can't avoid marketing. The good news is that marketing can actually be a fun, comfortable activity that you don't mind doing. You can select marketing methods that you like, and you will tend to do them more often, and in turn bring in more customers.

Perhaps you enjoy working in your studio and want to avoid more social activities. Depending of the craft products that you are creating, you can many times partner with a company in a similar but noncompeting field. They can display or promote your products to their clients for a portion of your profits. For example, natural soaps or candles might sell well in a salon or spa. Jewelry or clothing accessories could fit in well in a boutique or gift shop. A greeting card designer could work with wedding planners or florists.

Some artisans enjoy demonstrating their craft and being around people. This can be done in a relaxed environment, where craftspeople can be themselves and do not have to feel like sales people. Displaying their creations at local craft shows, hosting free workshops or participating in community events can all be effective ways to spread the word about your crafts.

You can sell outright or through consignment to retail shops where salespeople can work to promote your products for you. They get a cut of the profits, but you don't have to do the selling. Alternatively, you can promote your crafts on the web, creating your own website or selling through artisan networks like Ruby Lane. Selling online generally takes more effort than having a salesperson do the advertising for you, but you can end up keeping more of your profits.

For a business owner, a big (but sometimes overlooked) part of advertising is being prepared at all times with information on your crafts. You never know who you will run into, and having business cards and brochures can be a simple way of increasing your business exposure.

If you are a decent writer, you can write a press release to your local newspaper and gain free publicity simply by sharing the story of how your craft business came about. Press release software and templates are available online, so you do not have to fire a professional writer, unless you can not stand writing. Is your craft an item that could be donated to a charity group? Could you give out free samples to a local organization thereby establishing goodwill and giving people the opportunity to try your product? If you select a group that closely matches your target market, this can be a very effective marketing method - and you do not have to feel like you are selling.

Home Business Center, Inc lists a variety of do-it-yourself tools and resources that entrepreneurs can use to sell their crafts. Find out more How to Sell Your Crafts