Jumpstart your craft business and start making money online selling crafts. Follow this quick guide to get you started. First you'll decide what it is you are going to sell, then we will discuss how and where you can learn to make the crafts be the best product possible.
You are Reading Chapter 2 of our DIY Crafts Guide: How to Sell What You Make.
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Chapter 2
Choose DIY Crafts For Selling
What are your crafting skills ?
So what are you going to craft? Where shall you begin? Start by brainstorming. Write down things you know you could make. Start your list with more, and then narrow it down to 3 to 5. Think about what could be profitable for you. You'll also want to choose something that you'll enjoy making, so that your job won't become tedious.
Next you'll have to think about how thee items are made, where you'll source your materials, and what the cost of these would be. Do you have a budget to make vegan goods? Should you use organic materials?
Also consider your own skillset. Do you want to make crafts that you already know how to make, or do you want to learn something new? There are many outlets for learning a few crafts. Here are a few:
Udemy
I have found that you to me is a really good resource to learn about a whole plethora different subjects . from marketing to learning how to put on makeup it's probably on you to me and there's a new course being added every day by different people. You can find different courses that can help you with whatever crafting projects you want to take up. Personally bought about five or six courses so far from you to me. check this website out and I'm sure you'll find something useful to use in your craft business.
Udemy.com provides excellent online classes for you to start learning how to craft! They also offer great tutorials for starting your own business, website, and the like. This site will be helpful for anyone who wants to make profit working from home. If you're using Udemy paid versions always look online for coupons for courses.
Here are some video courses I like, and skills you should have if you really want to make some money selling crafts.
Learn Photoshop in 1 Hour (No Experience Needed)
This course is great for learning how to style and edit your pictures of your products. Which leaves very beneficial to you and your crafting business. If you don't know Photoshop already, then this is perfect for you as it does not require any experience.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoCE1rUSLAkPJ1LU5HVBRWsxD6kkPvqZd
Go Viral on 7 Social Media Marketing Platforms: 2015 Edition
This course will help you with your branding marketing and social media. I highly recommend this. It has over 3000 students enrolled in the course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1XXUS2pdqM
Youtube
Youtube is full of excellent free crafting tutorials! The hardest part is probably sorting the bad from the good. Anything with a high view count and lots of thumbs ups is a sign that it's worth watching. Try using these keywords when searching google for some quality craft tutorials. (Please note, insert whatever craft you want to make in replace of “craft”)
- DIY [craft]
- How to Make [craft]
- Make your own [craft]
Local classes
Check out your local community flyers for crafting classes you could take. Often a community college or a town rec center is a great place to start. Many craft stores like Michael's and Home Depot also offer classes at night or on the weekends. Sign up so you can learn from an expert. Taking a class in person could be even more beneficial than an online class, because you'll have someone by your side to instruct and guide you. That way they can help you learn from mistakes, adjust for errors, and even give you some excellent tips and short cuts. I love having an instructor because I can ask them questions if I need help.
Quality vs. Quantity
When it comes to making your craft fit to sell, you must keep quality in mind. A craft must be top quality, especially if you plan on charging others for it. That means it must be everything it claims to be, and it must not fall apart. What type of materials are you going to use? Are these materials up to par?
If you plan on selling anything that people apply to their skin or consume, you must apply by the FDA rules and regulations. Their are rules for cosmetics, for drugs, for food, and for soap – which have their own unique category. This includes soap. Check out the FDA's small business guide for details.
Something else worth noting, make sure you are able to put the time, energy, and care into your products. You are not doing this to make a fortune, you are doing this because you love it. You are a crafter by heart and you want to put your project out into the world to share with others. Make sure you are able to produce a quality item that you are proud of selling to your clients.
Making your product unique
There are billions of products out there and more being made every day. In order to have an edge in the market you must make your product unique. Good thing for you, your product is already handmade! But what else separates it from others? Why should people buy your product vs. your competitions? Try to find a niche. Perhaps there is a certain style you love, examples of this are steampunk, mid century modern, or shabby chic. Fun names right? If you aren't familiar with these names I suggest looking them up and familiarizing yourself with different audiences to determine your own clientele.
At the end of the day remember, choose something that is enjoyable to make, that you won't mind making 100s of when orders start flooding in!
