Posted by Cynthia Boris
You started creating jewelry pieces as a hobby. It was fun and creative and a great way to pass the time. People liked your work, so you starting giving pieces as gifts to your friends and relatives. Maybe a coworker asked if you could customize a bracelet in her favorite colors or create a special piece for her to give as a gift.
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That’s when it hit you; people want to buy what you’re making. It’s a wonderful feeling. Your mind starts spinning with the possibilities. You’ll sell off all of those piece you made that have been languishing in your craft room. A magazine editor will see your work and write an article about you. Then, a huge star will wear your necklace at the Oscars! Now, you’re not just covering expenses, you’re actually making a living as jewelry designer!
It could happen. It has happened to other handmade jewelry artisans. But there are a few steps between here and there that you have to take care of first.
The biggest one is opening your own handmade jewelry store online.
IndieMade vs Etsy
A lot of jewelry sellers get started by opening a store on Etsy. It’s an excellent marketplace for handmade goods, but there are three reasons why an IndieMade store is better.
Monthly fees
Etsy charges a listing fee and a commission on each and every sale. It doesn’t seem like much when you get started, but the more you sell, the more you have to hand over.
IndieMade charges only a flat monthly fee. If you sell 2 items or 20 items, your fee remains the same. That makes it easier to budget and to cover your costs in the price of your items.
Competition
Etsy is a marketplace where you display your jewelry alongside the creations of hundreds of other sellers. With IndieMade, your space is yours and yours alone. You don’t have to worry about losing a sale because the bracelet next to yours is $10 less.
Control and branding
The biggest difference between IndieMade and Etsy is control. When you have your own ecommerce site, you decide how it will look, what colors you’ll use, how you contact your visitors, how you display your items and more. When you sell your handmade jewelry on your own site, you can truly grow, not just your business, but your brand.
5 Components of a Great Online Handmade Jewelry Store
- Clear Images and Good Descriptions
You can make the best jewelry in town but no one will buy if you post tiny, blurry photos with bad descriptions. “Beaded Bracelet” is not enough. Describe your handmade goods in terms that help a customer see the item even without a photo.
- A Clean and Trustworthy Shopping Cart System
Before customers will buy from you, they have to trust you. That’s why a good ecommerce site must be clean and simple to use with secure payment options. With IndieMade, all you have to do is sign up for a Paypal or Stripe account, upload your products and we handle the rest.
- A Well-Written About Me Page
People like to buy from people, so use this page to introduce yourself and your business to potential buyers. Small details such as what part of the world you live in, your background, your kids or your pets, will help customers feel more inclined to buy from you. If you have poodles and I have poodles, there’s an instant attachment.
- A Frequently Updated Blog
A blog helps a handmade jewelry seller in three ways. First, like the about me page, it helps customers get to know you. If they know you, they’re more likely to buy from you. You can also use it to demonstrate your expertise. Second, it will help you rank higher on Google. (Google loves blog posts). Third, it will show shoppers that your site is active. That lovely bracelet in your store could have been uploaded six months ago. Am I going to take a chance and try to buy it? But if I see that your blog was updated yesterday, I know you’re going to get and respond to my order in a timely manner.
- Consistent Branding
Your site should reflect the overall feel and emotion behind your brand. Don’t confuse customers with conflicting images (no skulls on the front page if you’re selling romantic, Victorian jewelry) and colors. A customer should know what kinds of items you sell the minute they hit your site.
Tips for Selling Handmade Jewelry Online
Your number one job, after making the best jewelry you can make, is driving traffic to your new website. The easiest way to do this is to take advantage of social media. With one click, you can add social media sharing buttons to every product page. That way, buyers and browsers can easily help you spread the word by promoting your work on their own channels.
- Sign up for accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook, then link them to the social media buttons on your site.
- Use YouTube to make a personal connection with your audience. Share how-to videos and new product updates, even personal vlogs. You can embed these in your blog for even more views.
- Turn customers into repeat customers by adding them to a mailing list. Use a free program like Mailchimp, then send out regular updates with coupon codes and other bonus materials.
- Since most of your traffic will come from search engines, keep the engines well fed with regular text updates both on your blog and your product descriptions. Search engines like fresh info so update as often as you can.
Selling your handmade jewelry online from home is a super way to pay for your hobby or make some extra money for the niceties in life. But if you’re willing to put in the work, and you have the talent, you can turn a side hustle into a full-time job.
Either way, it all begins with the launch of your own, IndieMade jewelry website and ecommerce store. Click here to start your FREE 30 day trial.
