Selling handmade items

If you have decided to start a business selling your handmade jewelry or any other handmade items, here are some tips to help you get started:

Open a shop on websites like:

www.etsy.com
www.zahoomi.com
www.madeitmyself.com
www.silkfair.com
www.artfire.com
www.craftisart.com
www.zibbet.com
http://yardsellr.com
http://freecraftfair.com
http://en.dawanda.com
/www.notmassproduced.com

These websites are already bringing in traffic with people looking to buy handmade items. They usually charge a small fee for listing your items and/or a percentage fee from the total sale once and item is sold.

Tip: You can choose to list your items on one or more of these sites but be sure to update your inventory on all of the websites you list on if your items if you only have a limited number of each item to sell. If the item is something you can re-make easily as many times as you need to, the more websites your item is on, the better!

Make your own website to sell from. Here are some suggestions for websites with quick and easy tools to get you selling online with your own online shop:

www.bigcartel.com
www.ecrater.com
www.wix.com

Taking good pictures of your items is very important. You may even way to hire someone who knows product photography to photograph your items. This is especially helpful if your items are very reflective or just seem to come out looking over or under exposed with a regular camera. If you can't afford a photog, try taking pictures outdoors in the evening right before the sun goes down for the best lighting.

Your profile is very important when your selling handmade items because people who buy handmade tend to be interested in the artists story or background. You can use this to your advantage. Maybe your a mother who is making jewelry as a hobby, or you went to college for art and your passion was to go into business for yourself by selling your creations. No matter what the story is, it can't hurt to get a little personal.

There are many books out there that can give you suggestions on how to sell online, but the truth is that the people who have the most knowledge about selling online, are the ones who are blogging about how to sell online. Google searching for tips is a great way to learn everything you need to know without having to buy a book on the subject. Try visiting websites like http://handmademarketing.org/ to get more suggestions on the topic of selling handmade items online, and always keep researching because there will always be new websites to sell on, new tips on the best selling practices, and how to market your handmade items.