Selling Your Crafts Online: With Etsy, eBay, and Pinterest Book

Introduction

Part I: Getting Ready to Sell

Chapter 1 Planning for Success

So You Want to Sell Your Crafts Online

What Sells Online–and What Doesn’t

Crafts You Probably Shouldn’t Sell Online

What Types of Crafts Do Sell Well Online?

Why Planning Is a Good Idea

What a Business Plan Does for You

Things You Need to Plan

How Much Planning Do You Need to Do?

The Occasional Seller

The Growing Seller

The Full-Time Seller

Putting Together a No-Frills Business Plan

Before You Plan: Think Things Through

Parts of a Successful Business Plan

Talking Through Your Plan

Writing the Plan

You’ve Planned the Plan: Now What?

Chapter 2 Setting the Right Price

Researching the Market

Calculating Your Costs

Calculating Materials Costs

Calculating Labor Costs

Calculating Selling Fees

Calculating Packaging Costs

Calculating the Selling Price

Why 4 x Costs Works

Fine-Tuning Your Selling Price

Calculating Profit

Understanding Gross and Net

Are You Making Money?

Considering Wholesale Pricing

Chapter 3 Putting Together a Successful Listing

Writing an Attention-Grabbing Title

Creating a Searchable Title

Making Your Title POP

Watch the Length

Creating a Descriptive Description

Include All the Details

Prioritize Your Information

Stress Benefits, Not Features

Use Power Words–But Avoid Superlatives

Add Your Personal Style

Don’t Forget the Pictures!

Chapter 4 Taking Powerful Pictures

What You Need to Take Effective Product Photos

Choosing the Right Digital Camera

Going Steady with a Tripod

Enhancing Your Photos with Auxiliary Lighting

Keeping It Plain with Photo Backgrounds

Considering a Light Tent for Smaller Items

Fixing the Flaws with Photo Editing Software

How to Take Great Product Photos

Working with Lighting

Tips for Improving Your Product Photos

Center the Item

Make It Large

Shoot at an Angle

Shoot Multiple Photos

Avoid Glare

Accessorize Your Photos

Shooting Different Types of Crafts

Shooting Clear or Translucent Glass

Shooting Opaque Glass and Jewelry

Shooting Wood Items

Shooting Clothing

Scanning Flat and Small Items

Editing Your Photos–Digitally

Part II: Selling Online

Chapter 5 Deciding Where to Sell Online

Selling on Dedicated Online Craft Marketplaces

Etsy

Artbreak

ArtFire

Artful Home

Artist Rising

Artspan

Bonanza

Craft Is Art

Crobbies

Funky Finds

Handmade Artists Shop

Handmade Catalog

Hyena Cart

Made It Myself

ShopHandmade

Yessy

Zibbet

Selling on General Online Marketplaces

eBay

Craigslist

eCRATER

Ruby Lane

SilkFair

Comparing the Top Online Marketplaces

Examining Important Factors

Type of Site

Size and Traffic

Fees

Comparing the Big Two: Etsy vs. eBay

Selling on Your Own Website

Settling on a Site–Or Two

Chapter 6 Selling on Etsy

Getting to Know Etsy

What Can You Sell on Etsy?

How Does Etsy Work?

What It Costs to Sell on Etsy

Etsy Shop Fees

Listing Fees

Transaction Fees

Payment Processing Fees

Paying Etsy

Signing Up for an Etsy Account

Setting Up Your Etsy Shop

Creating Your Shop

Customizing Your Shop

Creating a New Item Listing

Starting a New Listing

Editing an Item Listing

Renewing a Listing

Deactivating a Listing

Getting Paid

Etsy Direct Checkout

PayPal

Other Payment Methods

Managing Your Etsy Sales

Tips for Making More Money on Etsy

Spruce Up Your Shop

Create a Powerful Cover Image

List More to Sell More

List or Renew Daily

Make Sure You Tag Your Items

Pack Promotionally

Increase Your Feedback by Buying on Etsy

Chapter 7 Selling on eBay

Understanding eBay

Size Matters

Who Sells on eBay?

eBay for Crafters

How to Sell on eBay

Auction Listings

Auctions with the Buy It Now Option

Fixed Price Listings

eBay Store Listings

Which Type of Listing Is Best for You?

Understanding eBay’s Fees

Signing Up for eBay

Listing an Item for Sale

Creating an Auction Listing

Adding the Buy It Now Option

Creating a Fixed-Price Listing

Opening an eBay Store

What Is an eBay Store?

Benefits of Opening Your Own eBay Store

The Costs of Running an eBay Store

Choosing the Right Subscription Level

Setting Up Your Store

Listing Merchandise for Sale

Customizing and Managing Your Store

Getting Paid

Managing Your eBay Activity

Tips for Maximizing Your eBay Sales

Pick the Right Category

Enhance Your Listing Descriptions

Choose a Longer Listing

Don’t Forget the Pictures

Avoid Deadbeats

Chapter 8 Selling On Your Own Website

Building an Online Store–What’s Involved?

The Components of an Ecommerce Website

Different Ways to Build a Store

How Much Does It Cost?

Pros and Cons of Running Your Own Website

Pros of Running Your Own Online Store

Cons of Running Your Own Online Store

Does an Online Store Make Sense for Your Crafts?

Choosing a Hosting Service

Features to Look For

Comparing Prices

Part III: Running a Successful Crafts Business

Chapter 9 Handling Online Payments

Examining Your Options

Accepting Cash, Checks, and Money Orders

Cash

C.O.D.

Personal Checks

Money Orders and Cashier’s Checks

Credit Cards

Examining the Big Payment Processing Services

PayPal

Google Checkout

Checkout by Amazon

Chapter 10 Shipping Your Merchandise

Choosing a Shipping Method

U.S. Postal Service

FedEx

UPS

Other Shipping Companies

Calculating Shipping and Handling Fees

Working with Flat Fees

Determining the Handling Charge

Packing Your Items

Picking the Right Shipping Container

How to Pack

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

How to Seal the Package

Creating the Shipping Label

To Insure or Not Insure?

Shipping Internationally

Chapter 11 Servicing Your Customers

Answering Customer Questions

Managing Post-Sale Correspondence

Handling Customer Complaints

Listing Your Terms of Service

Guaranteeing Your Merchandise

Chapter 12 Managing Your Inventory

How to Manage Your Craft Inventory

Build in Advance or Build to Order?

Maintaining Adequate Inventory Levels

Tracking Inventory

Managing Inventory Across Multiple Marketplaces

Benefits of Offering Items on Multiple Sites

Drawbacks of Offering Items Across Multiple Sites

Multi-Site Inventory Management Solutions

Chapter 13 Promoting Your Business with Pinterest

Getting to Know Pinterest

Using Pinterest

Signing Up for a Pinterest Account

How Pins Work

What Happens When You Click a Pin

Understanding Pinboards

Following Other Users

Pinning Your Item Listings to Pinterest

Pinning an Etsy Listing

Pinning an eBay Listing

Making Your Pin a Gift Item

Using Pinterest to Promote Your Crafts

Pin Those Listings–Regularly

Create Customer-Focused Pinboards

Think Visually–But Don’t Forget the Description

Link Pinterest to Your Website or Shop

Link Pinterest to Other Social Networks

Chapter 14 Other Ways to Promote Your Business

Promoting via Facebook

Promoting in Your Facebook News Feed

Creating a Facebook Business Page

Promoting via Twitter

Promoting on Etsy

Etsy Coupon Codes

Etsy Search Ads

Etsy on Sale

Promoting in an Online Crafts Mall

Promoting with Google AdWords

Chapter 15 Measuring Your Success

Measuring Traffic

Understanding Web Analytics

Tracking Etsy Traffic

Tracking eBay Traffic

Tracking Traffic on Your Own Site

Measuring Sales

Understanding Sales and Revenues

Tracking Etsy Sales

Tracking eBay Sales

Measuring Profits

Calculating Gross Profit per Item

Calculating Net Profit for Your Business

How Do You Define Success?

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