Are you missing this HUGE segment of the RIGHT buyers for your crafts this season?

Are you counting strictly on Etsy, Artfire or other online platforms to sell your crafts for the holiday season? If so, you are missing a huge chunk of the market and a ton of revenue.  Here’s why:

There are a lot of web-savvy buyers who just don’t like to shop online. Even those of us who do purchase manufactured products, books or music  online, want to see and touch art in real-life. For many shoppers, meeting the craftsperson face-to-face is part of the attraction of buying hand made pieces.

It’s mid October and definitely time to be getting your work out there for early holiday shoppers. So, how can you get your work in front of the people who value made-by-hand? If you shy away from the large seasonal craft fairs like Harvest Festival, I don’t blame you. The booth fees are hefty and the whole experience is exhausting. Many artists who previously exhibited at the big festivals report more sales and a better bottom line when they exhibit at smaller venues such as school, church or community craft fairs. If there aren’t any small festivals in your area, you can approach schools, churches or clubs and offer to set up an exhibit of your work and give a percentage to the organization. (Think of it in place of a booth fee.)

House parties are another good way to sell your work. Ask friends, relatives or co-workers to host a party where you can display your work for their friends. Maybe partner with a caterer who is willing to make appetizers just for exposure to new clients.

Retirement homes are often happy to let you set up a display at no charge. It gives their residents an activity and chance to do their shopping independently. Look for upscale independent living communities, not nursing homes. Many of these residents have good disposable income, are educated in the arts and thrilled to have unique gift options without having to depend on anyone to take them shopping.

Corporations and hospitals are open to people setting up a lunch time or after work sale for their employees. It cuts down on personal days or “sick days” which are commonly used as shopping days around the holidays.

Ask gallery owners or boutique retailers to host a trunk show of your work for a percentage of the sales. Particularly if you make jewelry or smaller gift items, it benefits them as well. Galleries sell fewer large pieces of artwork before the holidays so this is a way for them to offer something to their clients that they may not show the rest of the year. If it ‘s a success and your pieces sell well for them, they may agree to carry your work year round.

For more ideas on how to sell your craft, download a free copy of “13 Easy Low-Cost or NO Cost Tips to Turn Your Crafts into CASH NOW” on the right side of this page.

How are you making it hard for your customers to give you money?

Today’s post is by guest blogger Tara Swiger a yarn-obsessed, pink-haired, crafty-business-loving, wonky-embracing teacher + helper. Tara blogs about yearn and the business of craft at http://www.taraswiger.com/

One issue that keeps coming up in my one-on-one work with crafters is that it’s not crystal-clear how someone will give them money.

If your site visitors don’t know HOW to give you money, than they probably won’t!

Here’s a quick list of ways you are making it hard for me (or anyone!) to give you money:

It’s not clear what you do, or that you take money to do that thing
You have an Etsy or Artfire shop, but I can’t find it on your website (or your blogger blog). If I have to scroll down to find it, it’s too hard to find.
You sell in ways other than Etsy, but I can’t find that information.
I’m not sure WHY I would buy from you. What are the benefits? What makes your thing different than Joe’s thing?
I don’t know who you are. If your About page describes a faceless business, I’m not going to get that thrill of buying from a real, live person.
You only have an Etsy or Artfire shop, so I don’t know how to find more about you. I can’t get to know you via Twitter or a blog or an About page.
You list your prices in your country’s currency. What is it going to cost me, a self-involved American?
This is only a partial list!

Do you have examples of what businesses do that makes it hard to buy from?

Share it in the comments!

Crafting for a cause; your art can make a difference

For decades superstar entertainers have done benefit concerts to raise funds for causes they believed in.  I will always remember the 1971 Concert For Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar for the relief of refugees from East Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities and Bangladesh Liberation War.  The event drew 40,000 people and was the first benefit concert of this magnitude in world history.  It featured Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Badfinger, and Ringo Starr.
The popular summer music festival, Bonnaroo donated $50,000 to Music City flood relief efforts and of course Nashville’s elite songwriters made enormous donations to the flood victims but you don’t have to be a rock-star or billionaire to make a difference.
I’ve heard from artists and crafters who feel called to make a contribution to aid recent disaster victims but think they must have name recognition like sea-life artist and environmental educator Wyland to be taken seriously.  Not so.
Local musicians and indi crafters at the Chattanooga Market are sending proceeds from their art to Nashville flood aid and you can make a difference with your craft too.  While the magnitude of these issues may feel overwhelming, every little bit helps.
Craft Hope for Haiti has an Etsy store where artist donate the profits to Doctor’s without Borders. Crafting a Green World and Etsy list artists and groups who are using their craft to raise funds for Earthquake victims.

Needleworkers and fiber artists making wash cloths for wiping the fragile birds and sea turtles in the gulf.  Yarn shops are donating wool to clean up the oil.
And if you think any effort you make is too small to make a difference, consider eleven year old Olivia Bouler of New York who has raised $70,000 from donations for her bird drawings for the audubon society to help birds in the gulf oil spill. She said, “I want to help, and I want to make a difference and show that the birds are important, and we need to preserve them.” Olivia’s mother, a teacher, says her daughter has proved what she’s always told students: “you can make a difference, and I pretty much believed it,” she says. “But now I know it is truly possible.”
What can you do with your art, your music or other talent that can make a difference?
As always, you are invited to share here. We’d all love to know how you are using your gifts to benefit the world.