Selling your Work OnlineBrittni Mehlhoff

4 Things you need to Create an Online Shop

4 Things you need to Create an Online Shop

•internet access

•digital camera

•photo editing software

•paypal account

Creating a PayPal Account

•easy to set up

•free to create an account

•fees are charged once a sale is made

•1.9 - 2.9% + $0.30 USD

What are my Options?

•etsy: www.etsy.com

•big cartel: www.bigcartel.com

•art fire: www.artfire.com

•shopify: www.shopify.com

•zibbet: www.zibbet.com

Etsy vs Big Cartel

•why would you choose one over another?

•what’s right for you?

Benefits of Etsy•easy shop creation

•unlimited products

•up to 5 photos per product

•built in community and support

•basic stats available

•looking for a site with built in viewership and a community of buyers & sellers?

•etsy is for you.

Benefits of Big Cartel

•easy shop creation

•options for customization

•flat (per month) fee. no commission charge

•basic stats all the way up to advanced stats & inventory tracking depending on the plan

•already established a viewership online, through your website for example?

•big cartel is for you.

Aside from Price, What are the Two most Important

Areas to Focus on when Selling your

Work Online?

Top Two Areas to Focus

•product shots (photographs). this is number one in my book.

•product description

A Note about Product Shots

•this is your first sales pitch area.

•online shoppers cannot pick up your item and hold it or examine the details as they would at a real life store. so you must show them what your work looks like in as great detail as possible.

•if you don’t have the skills or equipment to take quality photos, find someone who does.

Product Shot Tips

•take photos in natural light during the day

•don’t forget to make use of your photo editing software

How to Make use of All Five Product

Photos•cropped image of painting (just the

image)

•zoomed out (shows piece as a whole)

•style / environmental shot (this will also show the scale of the piece, ideally)

•show its compliment (add on to the sale)

•detail shot

Product Description

•this is your second sales pitch area.

•again, online shoppers are not able to see your work in person before they buy, so the details really matter when it comes to describing your work.

What to Include in Your Product Descriptions•title of work

•list dimensions and materials

•make it interesting!

•include a short story about each piece if you have one (1-3 sentences)

•share your process (if it is unique)

A Few More Things

•creating policies

•setting prices

Shop Policies

•make this section as clear and concise as possible.•how long will it take for an item to ship after it sells?•are returns or exchanges allowed? and if so, how many days does a customer have to do so?•who pays for shipping with a return or exchange?

Pricing•everyone has their own strategy

for pricing, so there is no right answer here.

•be consistent.

•if you want to price competitively, do your research.

•check out your competition

•and then make an informed decision

Start Selling Your Work Online Today

•create a paypal account

•decide what online venue is right for you

•take high quality photos of your work

•write interesting product descriptions

•set your prices and store policies

Resources of Note

•the handmade marketplace: how to sell your crafts locally, globally, and online

•by kari chapin

•www.papernstitch.com

•www.papernstitchblog.com

•category: advice + tips as well as crafty business