Putting it Together - Selling your Craft Part One

I've been going through a Journey of Discovering who I am and what I need to do to earn a decent living. Should I continue with my online/craft business, which is in the black, but not enough to live on. Should I go back to product design, which earns me a very decent living, but has major problems, or should I just get a meaningless 9-5 job, just to earn money and be satisfied with being a drone with health insurance and food in my mouth.

I've made a lot of discoveries, and I am sure I will make more along the road. I want to share some of them with you, because if you are selling with blinders on, like I was, you need to see the whole picture. If you want to read a long blog and try to catch up, there is a tab over there ---> Four Months

I haven't been posting here lately, because I've been busy with my own business, but I made this blog to share, so share I will. Here is part one of my discovery, because I've learned so much that it needs to be fed to you in parts.

First and foremost, you are not selling your crafts at a High School Bazaar, you are running a business and from today on think of yourself that way. If you do not have that mindset you will not succeed. It doesn't have to be a major corporation, it just has to be a professional business. Run your business as though you are the competition to your product department of your local department store or gift shop. That's who you have to take your customers away from.

Get out your newspaper and your magazines and look at the ads. Does your product look as hot at that? Does your photography look that good? How about your ad copy? Is it descriptive or pedantic or so hot you just have to have it.

I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Photography! Photography! Photography!

I'll be talking to you about Press and Press kits, Wholesale Price sheets and and who to turn to for advice.

Now this week's assignment is to imagine who will use your product. Visualize your customer using it. When you see your customer clearly, think of how you are going to reach them.

More Ramblings on Why we Create

I've been writing about how we can create better art, but more importantly I think I have to write about why we would create a craft or art. Through the years art has been primarily an expression of religious beliefs. There was a period in European history that even a noble-person's self portrait had to be incorporated in a religious painting. It's only been in the past few hundred years that Art has been used for self expression. We are very lucky to be living in this age.

As many of you know, I've lost my most lucrative selling venue recently. I was crushed at first, but it allowed me to look at you all and myself from a different perspective. I realized that what I was doing was spending a lot of my time promoting the venue I was selling on and not spending time, honing my craft, creating, or exploring the world outside of the venue.

I see what that venue has done to me and others. It has taken nice people and made rivals of them. It has created petty infighting, jealous rages, animosity and more importantly social (or anti-social) cliques. If you step back from what you are doing, you can see that it is the venue and your fight for exposure that has led to an unreasonable amount of stress in your life.

I, for one, am taking it easy. I plan to make money, not from my art, but other sources. I will go back to painting for creative release and maybe one day list them on Big Cartel.

Many of you are successful selling on Etsy, but if you aren't making minimum wage, after you factor in your time on your craft, photography, editing, listing, shipping, promotion, and constantly running to the Front Page or craftcult to see if you've made it. Is it really worth the stress?

I guess more than anything I would suggest that you look at your fellow artists as resources, not enemies. Relax and enjoy your craft and worry about the sales lastly. Do your craft because you love it, not because you can make money from it. You will be happier and your blood pressure and stomach pain will both reduce a bit. Say to yourself, today, I'm going to do something really different. Today I'm going to say a kind thing to someone who made me angry. I have, and it feels good.

If you choose to continue to sell on line, you do have to promote, you do have to try to get on the FP, but don't make your life revolve around it. There is a bigger world out there to live in. Success is not always counted, by the money in your bank account.