Do you have amazing handmade gifts that are not selling as well as you hoped? No matter how unique your products are, they will not sell unless you utilise as many platforms as possible to promote your items. With 76% of UK consumers buying nearly half of their Christmas present online, there has never been a better time to market your gifts online 

There are various methods for selling products, ranging from selling on social media platforms, through a built in ecommerce service in your website builder, or using other platforms such as Etsy.

In this blog we will take you through the different ways to make money by selling handmade items. Read on to find out more! 

Have a Unique Product

When there is so much competition for selling the best handmade gifts on the market, having a unique product that you believe in can really help sales. The product you make should be easy to market and you must ensure you know everything there is to know regarding your gift. 

When devising a way to sell your product you should think through the following questions to devise the best marketing strategy:

• What price should I sell my product at?
• Who is the target audience?
• Can my product be sold as part of a set? (for example a hat, scarf and gloves)
• Can my product be personalised to increase sales and price?

Sell Direct

In order to show your amazing handmade gifts in the best light it is important to have a website where you can promote and sell your products. You can use your web design skills using website builders, creating a visually stunning and useful website for selling your gifts. Selling directly through your website also allows you to take 100% of the profits, which you can reinvest into making more handmade gifts.

However, when choosing a website builder, make sure to choose one that has an ecommerce service. This means it has a way to market and sell products on your website, using online payment. Features to look out for are:

• Pricing of individual products and collections
• Capacity to upload high quality product photographs
• Ability to take payment
• A way to take reviews of your products and display them 
• A way to sort your products in different ways (e.g. by popularity or price)

If designed and marketed correctly this can be a highly effective way of increasing awareness about your products and creating a loyal customer base. 

Use a Third Party Site

Many businesses that sell homemade gifts use a third party site to showcase their products. Sites such as Etsy and Not on the High Street allow businesses to showcase their products on their sites. The benefits of these platforms is the reach they have. More visitors means there is a higher likelihood of sales and increased exposure of your website. 

The site you choose will depend on your product and how you want it marketed as both sights are visually different. Generally Not on the High Street is a little more expensive and often personalised, whereas Etsy has a larger selection of gifts at all prices. Often these sites take a small percentage of each sale you make, so although it’s easy to set up, it can be more expensive than setting up your own site in the long run. 

Utilise Social Media

Social media is a great way to market your handmade items, there are low costs and a large audience. With so many businesses using social media for these reasons it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. However, there are certain ways to use social media to your advantage and stay ahead of the competition. 

Having a presence across all platforms is essential in gaining followers. The most important sites for marketing goods are Instagram and Facebook. But other sites such as tumblr may also help. A persistent presence across social media platforms allows more people to interact with your business and your products. Ensure you are:

• Posting regularly with relevant content 
• Using high quality images 
• Using hashtags (these should be relevant to your post and content)
• Collaborating with others (this may include creating something together for a collection, or tagging high profile craft businesses in your photographs)
•  A public account (so that everyone can see your photos)
• Utilising the sale features on sites such as Instagram to promote your products 
• Linking to your website 

So if you are ready to start promoting and selling your products online then then look no further than Go Sitebuilder, an easy and professional website builder. We have an ecommerce platform built into our website builder for no extra cost, making us the cheapest website builder in the UK with this feature. Our simple ready to go website templates mean you can have a professional looking website up and running in minutes. Try our 14-day free trial today!