How to Earn More Money from your Craft Business: 5 Ideas for a Successful 2012
Categories: Marketing
With all this talk of the Eurozone debt crisis and an ailing UK economy, you’d be forgiven for not feeling too optimistic about the year ahead! But if you’re already started to earn more money on the side by selling your crafts online, rest assured you’re better prepared than 99% of the population for whatever the future brings.
You may not be rich (yet…) – but you’ve been proactive and given you and your family the added security of an additional income stream. So seriously – regardless of where you are with your business, you deserve a pat on the back!
That said (you knew there had to be a “but” in there somewhere….right?!) – you may well be wondering how you can earn more money from your craft business. Perhaps you’re not yet meeting the financial goals you set for yourself, or you simply want to build up a bigger buffer against potential hard times ahead.
So if you’d like to know how to earn more money from your craft business, here are five ideas to kick-start your planning for a successful 2012:
1. New products and services
- Could you launch a new product range? And give it the promotion it deserves?
- If you don’t already offer a bespoke service – could you start inviting commissions?
2. Sell more, to existing customers
- Do you have a mailing list to let existing customers know about promotions and news? If not, could you start one?
- Could you implement loyalty programs to get customers coming back, like a repeat order discount or refer-a-friend?
3. Sell more, to new customers
- Could you test out new marketing channels that you haven’t tried yet? Are you up-to-date on where your current target audience hang out?
- Could you target different customer groups by changing your messaging and the way you promote your products?
4. Pricing
- Could you raise your prices? What difference would it make to your bottom line?
5. Additional Income Streams
- Could you teach others a valuable skill (and charge for it)? Craft lessons and workshops can be a good source of income
- Publish a book: could you self-publish a book (for example of patterns or craft projects), and sell it online?
Let us know if you think any of these might work for your business by leaving a comment below! And if really want to give your business a kick-start in 2012 – make sure you’re on the mailing list for the Handmade Horizons marketing e-course. We’ll be publishing loads of free pre-course training and content in the run-up to launch, so sign-up now to make sure you don’t miss out.