There are endless avenues you can take to make your craft business better known and better received. Here are a number of ideas, including new innovative arts and crafts, that can help bring more attention to your work.
1. Write Articles for Craft Magazines
It's not as intimidating as it sounds. Craft magazines thrive on new ideas, and those often come directly from home-business crafters like you. An article need not be of Pulitzer prize winning style to be published. It simply needs to be written in a manner similar to the articles already published in your favorite crafting magazines. There are many subjects in which most crafting magazines take submission, such as tutorials, reports on crafting events and product reviews. And, if your idea is rejected by the first editor, move on to the next. Even if the article isn't about your business, by publishing your name (and likely your website) will make you available to thousands of craft lovers.
2. Packaging Matters, Be Distinctive
No matter how high the quality of your product, appealing packaging will cause it to soar even higher. The initial outward appearance of a product is highly influential in how people feel about what is inside. Visual beauty is part of what a crafter sells, and it should not begin and end with just the product. Distinctive packaging is also a chance to make your brand more instantly recognizable. It need not be an expensive venture. Even simple white boxes, stamped artistically with your business's logo, is a tasteful addition to the thrill of purchase for your clients. The more charming the container, the more anticipation the client feels while opening it.
3. Brush Up on Your Camera Skills
More than anything, a client will trust her own eyes to tell her about the quality of your product. In the case of selling from Etsy, or even your own website, it is really all she has to go on. No matter how beautifully constructed your jewelry or your knitwear might be, it won't matter if you've taken a bad photo of it. All a casual browser will see is amateur and tacky. Invest not only in a high quality camera, but take time to learn skill in presentation and marketing. It is of highest importance that the customer's eye is drawn to your product, and that they like what they see. It might even be prudent to price professional photography for your product line.
4. Start a Blog
Starting a blog about your home craft business is like building your own personal crafting magazine. It allows you to display yourself, your products and all things pertaining to them. Aside from that, it is a form of personal advertisement that costs nothing. It also makes chances of customers finding you inside the fathoms of a search engine greater. If you are an entertaining writer and willing to network, your blog stands a chance to attract a following in the Blogosphere, drawing more and more people to see the things you have to offer.
5. Introduce Fun, New Products
Take inspiration from your daily life or from other peoples' admirable products, and use it to craft brand new goods and expand your business. If you make earrings and necklaces, for example, you could branch out into chokers and bracelets. If you usually work with yarn, try introducing beads and gemstones into your creations. Take a chance and try making something brand new, or use materials you normally wouldn't. You can make special new goods for holidays, or just introduce new items whenever you please.
It is not enough to just sit at home and produce quality goods. You must be willing to promote yourself and your work in the best light possible. These extra steps might bring you a bit closer to freelance success in your crafting business.
