| Nearly every crafter in the world has considered a | | | | your hand crafted gifts online is to open a shop in an |
| website in order to market their craft products online. | | | | already existing online mall. This alone will not |
| The opportunities for selling your crafts are virtually | | | | guarantee you instant sales, but it will give you a |
| limitless. You have access to an audience that you | | | | better start. Promoting your business is hard work. |
| may never have otherwise been privy to. | | | | No one will tell you otherwise, but it can be done and |
| Crafter's today can sell their hand-crafted gifts in | | | | it can be done more quickly than you might imagine. |
| states across the country, or in countries around the | | | | Ask yourself the question--Is my crafting a hobby, or |
| world. There is someone who wants to buy your | | | | a business? If you treat your craft business as a |
| unique and hand crafted gifts in every corner of the | | | | hobby, others will follow suit. If you treat it as the |
| globe. | | | | business that it is, promote it, plan for it, and work |
| How can the average craftsman or craftswoman | | | | toward a good flow of traffic to the website that |
| begin to sell their crafted items online? With just a | | | | you have, you will be a success. |
| little internet know-how and a lot of tenacity, you | | | | Treat your online store as you would treat a brick |
| are going to find a market for your hand crafted | | | | and mortar store. If you opened a brick and mortar |
| gifts in literally no time at all. | | | | store in a mall would you stock it, walk away and |
| Registering a domain name costs very little. You can | | | | forget about it? Your online store needs to be |
| register a domain name for just $12.00 per year, and | | | | tended, you need to add new products on a regular |
| hosting for your site costs about $16.00 per month. | | | | basis, your descriptions detailed and lots of crystal |
| Free traffic can be found from many means, such as | | | | clear pictures. |
| social networking sites, article marketing, directory | | | | What an online craft mall will do is give you a site |
| inclusion and in many other ways. While these are | | | | that looks professional, where you will be up and |
| effective up to a point, they may take weeks or | | | | running and ready to instantly start selling your |
| even months to be effective enough to get your | | | | handmade crafts, you will also have traffic from all |
| site noticed and the beautiful hand crafted items that | | | | over the world coming to the online store you have |
| you made noticed. Lets face it, if they can't find it, | | | | just opened, and checking out the products you |
| they can't buy it. Getting noticed online is the big | | | | have to offer. |
| issue. | | | | Your online shop gives you a place where you can |
| The average crafter can't afford to hire a | | | | start directing the customers you already have to |
| webmaster to design, build, advertise and SEO their | | | | view the new products you are offering. When you |
| site. The building alone, as well as the pay per click | | | | meet new prospective customers at your craft |
| advertising could cost you thousands of dollars a | | | | shows etc., you can tell them they now can buy |
| month. | | | | from you year round at your online shop. |
| Generally the easiest way for you to begin selling | | | | |