Selling crafts online: Make money with your hobby

If you enjoy making crafts, creating jewellery, or doing nee­dle­work, you might have wished that you could share your work with the world. Classic sales channels like flea markets and boutiques can be a good option for selling your crafts. But selling your crafts online comes with a variety of options for present­ing your products: from special platforms for handmade items like Etsy to online mar­ket­places like Amazon Handmade to social media and your very own website, the options are plenty.

Keep reading to learn about the best ways for beginners to sell crafts online.

If you want to sell your crafts, you should put some thought into which channels – online and offline – best suit you and your products. Here are some of the most important questions to ask:

• How many people can I reach with the channel in question?
• How much does this channel cost (in terms of effort, listing fees, and com­mis­sion)?
• How much time do I need to spend on selling?
• How much do I want to earn?
• And finally, will my hobby still be fun once I turn it into a business?

The Internet offers many op­por­tun­it­ies to reach customers worldwide. But it’s not always necessary to sell your products online. When it comes to selling crafts, ‘real world’ locations have plenty to offer. Flea markets, farmer’s markets, the small boutique around the corner, or even a whole­saler are good options for getting your goods to the consumer. So, what are the pros and cons of selling crafts online and offline?

Both, tra­di­tion­al sales in shops and flea markets and online sales, require resources, mostly in the form of time and money. If you’re selling in person, you’ll need cash to rent a stall and commit the time to talk to customers or shop owners. If you opt for online selling, you should expect to spend a lot of time setting up your chosen platform and filling it in with in­form­a­tion and products; and of course, it does cost money to sell online too – most online sales channels ask for com­mis­sions or a monthly fee. Both forms require knowledge of your customers and the com­pet­i­tion. But aside from these basic sim­il­ar­it­ies, there are sig­ni­fic­ant dif­fer­ences:

There are several good reasons for why online sales have grown rapidly in recent years re­gard­less of external factors like political or economic shifts. Selling crafts online is an af­ford­able, fast, and re­l­at­ively easy way to reach many potential customers. If you already own a steady business selling your crafts in person, taking things online will open up whole new groups of buyers. Just keep in mind that knowledge of how purchase decisions are made online is vital and then use that un­der­stand­ing to offer your customers the in­form­a­tion they need to make that decision.

Take note of the following ten points:

• The clearer and more concrete the product in­form­a­tion is, the more trust a customer will have – leading to higher sales.
• The more personal in­form­a­tion you share, the easier it is for customers to trust you improving customer loyalty.
• Big, re­cog­nis­able brands stand for safety and re­li­ab­il­ity. That’s why many people shop at online giants such as Amazon, despite wide­spread criticism of them.
• Advising customers is of the utmost im­port­ance online: Show your customers that you’re available and offer them the chance to ask questions about your products. Reply as fast as possible.
• Build a fan base, invite your offline customers to follow you online.
• Broadcast your success: The more people trust your products, the more trust you’ll be met with. Just make sure to maintain a certain air of ex­clus­iv­ity around your crafts.
• Pay attention to your reviews in online forums and ensure you get good reviews. A generous dose of goodwill and flex­ib­il­ity will take you further in the long run than insisting you’re right.
• Get to know your online customers using analytics tools like Google Analytics.
• Try to get your customers to recommend you to their networks.
• Try to manage your sales channels yourself. You can set up your own website or online store and gain some in­de­pend­ence from online mar­ket­places and their con­di­tions.

You can find more detailed in­form­a­tion in our article on online sales.

Online platforms are the easiest way to sell your crafts online with little effort. The best-known online mar­ket­place for arts and crafts, jewellery, and other creative products is Etsy. For a symbolic listing fee of 20 cents and com­mis­sion on each item sold, you gain access to millions of shoppers. However, the downside of big online mar­ket­places is that the com­pet­i­tion can be stiff in certain branches. This is one reason to consider testing various platforms when you’re getting started and then sticking with the one where you see the highest success. If you’re looking to sell crafts, the following platforms are must-knows:

• Etsy – Probably the biggest platform worldwide for creators and their crafts.
• Amazon Handmade – The section of Amazon for handmade products and crafts.
• Not on the high street – An online mar­ket­place with plenty of creative items and curation.
• Folksy – Folksy is an online craft fair for handmade gifts and items.
• NuMonday – Online sales platform that lists high quality handmade goods to support in­de­pend­ent sellers.

You can find detailed in­form­a­tion about other online mar­ket­places for crafts and handmade products in our article on Etsy al­tern­at­ives. To find out more general in­form­a­tion about online sales platforms, look at our article on the best online mar­ket­places.

Social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest ori­gin­ally weren’t meant to be sales channels, but they actually work very well in this capacity. So, well that Facebook, for example, set up its own Mar­ket­place for private sales. Users can also set up their own shops for present­ing their products on Facebook and Instagram. Purchases can even be completed on outside websites.

You should see social media primarily as a com­mu­nic­a­tions channel. It can be a great way to develop your business – from gaining exposure and keeping in touch with regular customers to building a fan base and keeping your customers up to date.

When using social media for sales, it’s of the utmost im­port­ance that you don’t violate the rules of platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. You should learn how to use their features and mech­an­isms to your advantage. The number of people who set eyes on your posts depends largely on the algorithm. Good content and a large follower base are key elements in making sure you reach as large an audience as possible. When it comes to selling products directly on social media, you likely won’t get around paid ads. Luckily, they tend to be re­l­at­ively af­ford­able and give you the chance to select a target group based on their areas of interest.

Ideally, a sale begins on social media but ends on your own website. That way you maintain control of your customers’ data and can also reach out to them on other channels (depending on the relevant data privacy terms).

If you’re still testing the waters, online mar­ket­places and social media will likely satisfy your needs. But if you’re ready to regularly sell your crafts online, you won’t get around having a website, prefer­ably with its own online store. Here are some of the reasons that it’s important to have your own online presence:

• Your website serves as a business card, a catalogue, and a sales platform all at once.
• You alone are in charge of its design and content.
• You can act autonom­ously and aren’t subject to the changing terms and con­di­tions of larger platforms.
• Your website is the base from which you can conduct all of your online business.
• If you have your own online store, you end up with 100% of the profits. You won’t pay any com­mis­sions or listing fees.
• You can link directly to your website and online store on social media.

Creating your own website with an online store is easier than ever. With a good website builder, you can design your web presence quickly, af­ford­ably, and without any special technical knowledge. You’ll be able to choose your own domain name and find a design template that suits you and your products. Good website builders also offer com­pre­hens­ive online store templates and e-commerce features.

When starting any business, you should get the legal side sorted straight away and selling crafts online is no different. First, it makes sense to choose which legal structure you want. Many craft busi­nesses in the UK are run by sole traders, but a limited company is also an option. There are ad­vant­ages and dis­ad­vant­ages to all types of legal structure, so make sure you do your research and determine whether a sole trader or a limited company option is best for you.

As a new business owner, you’ll have a lot to do with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) so it makes sense to

register your business. However, if you are self-employed and simply using your legal name, it isn’t necessary for you to register. Although, it is worth bearing in mind that if you don’t register your small business, it could mean not being able to access personal liability pro­tec­tion or legal ad­vant­ages, as well as having fewer benefits when it comes to taxation.

If your business has fewer than 500 employees and has an annual turnover of less than £100 million, it is classed as a

small business. Luckily, it’s re­l­at­ively straight­for­ward to register your small business as it’s just a case of re­gis­ter­ing the name of the business with Companies House and HMRC. Depending on how you register, you can also protect your business name by applying to register a trademark so that no one else can operate under the same name.

It’s crucial that you keep up with all tax deadlines for your business and pay your taxes correctly. All self-employed people must submit yearly self-as­sess­ment tax returns to ensure that their National Insurance and income taxes are being paid. To do this, you are required to submit an SA100 form.

In addition to these legal steps, there are a couple of other things you can do to set yourself up for success. You should consider opening a separate bank account for your business. That way you can build credit history and will protect yourself better against liability. It will also lend you a more pro­fes­sion­al ap­pear­ance with clients and customers.

Getting insurance for your business is not only a good idea but actually a re­quire­ment in some cases. However, even if it’s not required, insurance can protect you from accidents and un­fore­seen events. Public liability insurance, product liability insurance, and stock insurance are just three useful in­sur­ances that those that sell crafts could take out.

Please note the legal dis­claim­er relating to this article.