People love stories. The best presenters and marketers agree that stories captivate your audience and keep them engaged. Whenever or wherever you sell crafts, consider adding a card or description with your story to each piece.
Your story has the potential to pull heartstrings. Mass-manufactured things rarely connect us to actual people behind the products. The buy-handmade and sustainable-fashion trends reveal that shoppers are rejecting factory-made products in favor of individual creativity.
The longer time someone spends examining your craft item either at a craft show or online at etsy, the higher the probability the person is going to buy. Your story draws shoppers into your world and your art, enticing them to linger.
In my gallery, I asked all the craft artisans to create a 1-page “artist’s story” so we could place them near the artisan’s work. Time and time again, customers would linger over a display reading the creator’s story.
First impressions are often lasting ones, including business names and logos. Here are other parts that go into building your brand’s message.
- Your Business Name. After you’ve settled on the name you intend to use, place it throughout your promotional material. Give thought to the name you choose as it will be time-consuming and probably costly to change it later.
- Images. Images tell stories. They deliver visuals when you are marketing online and for your display when you are at art or craft shows. You need: product-only images with a white background for online store listings, how-it’s-made images, how-it’s-used images if needed, lifestyle images showing people enjoying your item, jury images when applying to arts and crafts fairs, and pictures of you to accompany your artist’s story. See Chapter 3 for more on photos.
- Your Logo. A logo is a small visual that expresses a feeling you want to convey to shoppers. Later in this chapter, you will find where you can design your logo or hire it out to professional graphic designers.
- Your Elevator Pitch. In a few short sentences (30 seconds or less to say) what does your product promise customers? For example, a handbag maker promises buyers a “fashion accessory that’s practical and stylish.”
- Fonts and Colors. Consistency is part of good branding. Choose fonts and colors and use those same ones on all your printed materials and website content.
- Your Contact Information. Every message you send or promote through should contain information on how people can easily reach you, including your website, phone number, e-mail, and address.
Read more about branding and marketing your handmade products on Etsy and elsewhere online in the book: Sell Your Crafts Online; The Handmakers Guide to Selling from Etsy, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Shopify, Influencers and More by James Dillehay. It’s the one-of-a-kind blueprint for finding success and generating profitable returns in the highly lucrative world of e-commerce. Between helpful how-to’s and checklists, Dillehay’s proven strategies will speed your landing your passion projects in every buyer’s shopping cart. By following his user-friendly approach, your hard work will reach wider audiences ready to invest in your talent. Buy now…..