I went through a lot of trial and error to eventually find a good mix of sales and promotions channels to reach customers.
Despite the handcrafted artisan design, I am primarily an online business, meaning I engage customers and offer my work through my own website, OctoberDesign.com. I rely on Google Ad Words and social media direct links to drive customers to my products. People have asked me if/when I will set up a brick and mortar location, but I honestly don’t have the time, energy, or desire to run a store on top of everything else that I do. Online marketing allows me to reach far more customers all over the country.
Additionally, I sell through Etsy. At one time, I sold across several other popular Marketplace platforms such as Houzz, Scoutmob, Amazon, and a few NY-based artisan collectives. But because of the nature of my products (unique, one-of-a-kind designs), I was constantly having to update my inventory across the board. If a particular item sold on one site, I would have to quickly pull it from all the other sites before someone else purchased it.
For now, Etsy is the best secondary platform for my handcrafted wares and is fairly easy to maintain at a low cost. I still keep a seller page on Houzz, simply as an online business card for its users to find me; I don’t currently sell any product through them. Scoutmob was a great concept, but poorly executed and terribly managed (unsurprisingly, they’re now defunct). As for the recently revamped Amazon Handmade, the verdict’s still out. I think the seller fees are still a bit high, and from what I’ve researched, there’s a reportedly high return rate from customers who like to try something, then ship it back for free via Prime. Great for them, but that can be problematic for a business owner like me.
Social Media
(free advertising):
Take advantage of social media like Instagram and Pinterest. Post everything you sell, anywhere you can. Use lots of hashtags, include a watermark on your images, and be sure to link everything back to yourself. You never know where it will end up.
My Barbicide light on the next page is a good example of this.
20 FEATURED SELLER | OCTOBER DESIGN
ONLINE MARKETING:
"I rely on Google AdWords and social media direct links to drive customers to my products."