How to Grow Your Handmade Business in this Digital Age
By Latisha S. | latisha@pancakedigitalsolutions.com
Have you been wondering how to grow your handmade business in this digital age?
Years ago, most handmade business owners grew their business by word of mouth, local craft shows, fairs, etc. Now, these things are still beneficial and will definitely grow your business to an extent. However, if you are only focused on your local audience, you are missing out on a huge online market.
Stick around for some great marketing and business tips that every creative entrepreneur should know in order to grow their handmade, product-based, or creative business!
Create a Plan
Ok, I know this sounds really simple. Right? But don’t underestimate the power of a well laid plan!
What should your plan include?
- Your target audience
- What social media platform you will use
- Your revenue goal for the year
- Actions you need to take to reach those goals
- Break these actions down (Yearly->Quarterly->Monthly->Weekly->Daily)
This will set the foundation for your online marketing, give you a reference for how your plan is working and what changes may need to be edited.
Create An Online Shop
I’m sure you’ve heard of Etsy and Shopify. These are both great ways to get your handmade products online.
However, keep in mind that having an Etsy and/or Shopify store on it’s own is still probably not going to get you the sales that you want.
This is why you need to have your business on at least one social media platform. Which platform you choose is completely dependent on your audience and where you want to market (for more info about how to choose a platform for your business, click here).
People Buy Results
Did you know that people really don’t buy products? Yes, they may be purchasing a physical object…but what they are really buying is the experience, the results, or the emotion that this product promises to deliver.
A great way to help capture the results and emotions that your product delivers is to share behind the scenes with your audience. This can be in video form (think YouTube, Instagram Stories, Facebook lives, etc) or even just snapshots.
On the Table…
Times are constantly changing and with them, the ways that we market our businesses. While we were once able to focus on word of mouth and local vendors to meet our revenue goals that is no longer the case. We must learn to adapt to this ever changing digital age to expand our audience and increase our revenue.
Do you need support in growing your social media? Schedule a call with us to see how we can help you grow your social media!
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For more resources, checkout our FREE checklists for growing your social media: