>Home>Craft Business>Do You Need a Website?

Do You Need a Website?

Should You Sell Your Crafts on a Co-op Website?

I am a designer, and have had a pattern published by Simplicity Pattern Co. This has encouraged me to continue in this medium, as well as designing greeting cards, books, book marks etc.

I am in the midst of trade marking my business name.

I don't have a website yet, as I don't have enough different products finished but I want to start selling what I have published, to raise the necessary capital to finance the other areas of my business.

I have heard of a co-op website that helps crafters get started even if they don't have their own web site yet. All they need is an email address, and Pay Pal, and they do the rest for a monthly fee. This company is called CROW SOUP.COM... I found them in the Crafters Market Place magazine.

Do you know anything about this company?

I would like to know if there are other such web businesses available to help in this manner.

I am looking for as much information as possible, to help me get this thing going!... I've been working at it a long time, and my thinking is, ' go big or go home...' that's why I want to go on the web, to get my designs to as many areas as possible.

So, now that I've gotten the trademark rolling, I'd better make this work and I need all the advice and direction I can get! :)

Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanking you in advance for your speedy reply,

Catherine

---

I never heard of Crow Soup.com, but I looked at the website. It has a decent Google ranking of 5 (out of ten). Its Alexa rank is 280,000, which puts the site in the top 1 or 2% of all websites. It had a reach of 3.5 per million Internet viewers last week. By comparison, Yahoo has a reach of 310,000 per million, The Artful Crafter 5 per million.

The problem with Internet marketing, no matter what the product, is to attract receptive customers to your site in a mood to buy. This is much harder than you think.

I don’t know how much time you spent on my website, but in the For Profit section there are over 50 articles pertaining to the craft business – 8 of those articles are grouped together in Your Guide to Selling on the Internet. Everything I’ve learned about Internet marketing to this point (admittedly not enough) are contained in those articles and I would recommend you read them.

I personally followed the Site Build It program. The philosophy of Site Build It is to first create an attractive website that “pre-sells” the visitor on the uniqueness, value, beauty, utility, etc. of your product in a friendly soft sell way.

Then you attract visitors through advertising, directory listings, writing articles published on other websites, exchanging links, etc. Only then do you try to monetize your site by selling your product.

I would like to say that it works every time, but it doesn’t. You need 6 to 12 months to build up traffic and even then crafts are a tough sell online.

Personally, I would not rely on other websites to promote my product. Too many bad things can happen (like the site disappearing overnight – it has been known to happen - since this article was originally written, Crow Soup is apparently out of business) to ruin the effort you put into trying to promote your product on someone else’s site. Furthermore, Internet promotion is hard enough without placing your product on a website where it has to compete with other works.

It sounds like you’re interested in creating a major presence online. Site registration and hosting are cheap enough to consider from the very start. You can hire designers or use templates.

The Site Build It process more or less holds your hand as you get up and running and is excellent for people just starting out. In addition to top rate technical support, the forum of other website owners, which also includes the president of SBI, offers invaluable help as you get started.

If you are too busy with your design and crafting work and feel overwhelmed at the idea of starting, marketing and maintaining a website on top of everything else you have to take care of, I suggest you look into Sitesell Services.

A professional webmaster will design your site, write your content, market it and maintain it without your need to do anything more than consult on want you want your website to do for you.

I hope I’ve answered your questions. If not, feel free to write again. I wish you luck: no matter what route you take, it will take a lot of work and dedication.

Your Guide to Selling on the Internet

• Are Free Websites Worth It?
  I do not believe so. I think the little extra time, cost and effort will pay for itself over the long run.
• Build Your Own Website?
  While not for everyone, your own website, if done right, can set you on the road to success.
• eBay Selling Tips
  How to maximize your profits when selling crafts on eBay.
• Four Mistakes Online Sellers Make Every Day
  Maximize your profits by avoiding these common errors.
• Marketing Your Website
  Some tips on getting visitors to your website or virtual store.
• Online Auctions
  What better way to get involved selling online than using these resources. Learn how to get started.
• Simple Steps to Promote Your Crafts Website
  Simple steps you can take to promote your craft website, to draw more visitors and to increase your sales.
• Site Build It
  Why you should choose Site Build It as your website development program.
• Virtual Stores
  More ways to get your crafts in front of millions of potential buyers.

  |Top | Craft Business Articles | Home |