Selling your craft items online - 4 tips to wow your customers in 2016

11/6/2021

With websites like Etsy and Folksy becoming more popular than ever, there's plenty of opportunities for crafters to turn their hobbies into businesses and share their creations with fans across the world.The craft space can be very competitive though, and sometimes you'll find having an amazing product isn't enough to nab that sale and keep your customers coming back. Earlier this year, My Parcel Delivery collaborated with UK Craft Blog to find out how crafters wow their customers. Here's a look at what they had to say and 4 tips you can follow to wow your own customers!make it personalWhat sets you apart from the items bought “off the shelf“ in big retail shops and online stores is the fact that your items are handmade and crafted. Depending on the type of item you make, why not add a customisable elementDoes your product lend itself well to having initials, a personal message or a name added?If product personalisation isn't an option, then you can add a personal touch by including a handwritten note when you send the item. It's a small gesture but it's something that your customers will remember and could help keep them coming back to buy more!Pretty packaging and parcelsThink about the experience you want to create when your customers receive their item. You just have to look at the millions of videos on Youtube of people “unboxing“ items and opening packages they've just received to see just how important packaging is to customers in 2016.Your first priority should be to make sure your parcel is secure, follow our packaging guidelines for all the essential info on this. We'd advise you keep the outside of your parcel plain, and free from any ribbons, wrapping paper or other decoration, as these could cause problems whilst the parcel is being sorted and transported.However, you can (and should!) go all out with your internal packaging, from patterned and coloured tissue paper, to the scented elements, there are lots of creative ways to give your internal packaging lots of appeal!Build up your brandYou want your customers to remember you, and this doesn't just mean having a nice logo on your Etsy profile, and matching social media icons. Build up your brand offline too - business cards and flyers are the most obvious way to do this, be sure to include these when you send out your parcels. You could also get some branded stickers made up or perhaps get a branded stamp?Choose something that fits in with your brand and items that you create.Everybody loves a freebieTo really compete against the bigger shops and online, you should seriously consider whether you can offer free delivery. As a small independent business, this may seem like a radical change, but it could make all the difference when it comes to turning browsers into buyers.Is your craft item something people would want to buy more than one of? Why not trial offering free delivery for multiple purchases, or perhaps if they spend over a certain amount?To help you manage the cost of offering free delivery, you may have to consider a slight price increase on your full product range to cover this, and it's also worth making sure you shop around and compare the delivery services you currently use to make sure you're getting the lowest prices.If free delivery isn't something you can offer, then think about other added value items you can offer for free to your customers when they make an order. Maybe your items is something people often buy as gifts, so you can send some free gift wrap or gift boxes, or if your item is something sewn, can you make a token gift from the leftover material?Do you have any tips to add? Share your thoughts with us on the My Parcel Delivery Facebook page.

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