If you are a work-at-home mom who wants to make money cooking, you're in luck! People all over the world are willing to pay for your tasty treats--all you need to do is know how to market them.
Step 1: Perfect Your Recipes
As a cook, it's important to always keep your recipes consistent. When you have some "regulars" established, they may be disappointed if a favorite treat of theirs suddenly changes. So, avoid making changes in the future by perfecting your recipes now. Make sure that every recipe is written down accurately so there's no room for error.
Step 2: Make Business Cards
Business cards will help you promote your baking by giving potential customers the means to get in contact. Business cards should be simple, but at the same time representative of who you are and what you're selling. It should have your name, your website URL (if you have one), and your email address and phone number.
Step 3: Take Photos
When you have a list of recipes, you'll need to make a sample of everything. This batch will be the photo batch: the "models," if you will. Make sure you choose the very best looking of each item, and ensure it looks as appealing as possible. Borrow or rent a high quality camera if you don't have one, and take photos for each recipe. Presentation is key, so arrange the items nicely, make sure the background is appropriate, and even add some garnish if you're so inclined. Natural light is ideal, but bright white indoor light will work as well. Take wide pictures to show the overall feel, and closeups to show texture.
Step 4: Make Use of the Samples
No use letting your samples go to waste, so why not use them to promote your cooking locally? You can hold a small bake sale outside your house, or donate them to a local school or club. Make sure your business card is included with the goods!
Step 5: Build a Following
If you only intend to sell locally, you can promote your cooking by occasionally giving items away, advertising in the local section of CraigsList or in the community newspaper, or simply going door-to-door and letting word of mouth spread. For a much wider potential client base, take your business online, as explained in step 6:
Step 6: Use the Internet
Using the photos you took in step 3, open an online store. You don't need any kind of coding knowledge to build a website if you join a site like eBay or Etsy. These sites allow you to conveniently list your items with photos, prices, descriptions and shipping charges. For each item, make sure you provide a full list of ingredients and a disclaimer so you won't be held responsible for any allergic reactions. Looking at the listings of other successful sellers--this can give you good cues to follow.
Step 7: Shipping Tips
When you make an online sale, always ship promptly and make sure your items are packaged nicely. They should be freshly made immediately prior to being shipped, and wrapped in such a way that there will be no or minimal breakage.
By following these steps to market your cooking, it's very possible to have fun and make great money cooking from home.
