Is something like Yahoo business a good way to start up a small crafting business?
Or is it better to use a site where many people are selling their items? I would like to launch a small craft selling business online and was curious if my best bet would be something like yahoo small business to put my things out there or if I should instead go onto one of those online marketplaces? Does anyone have any input or info. on this?
Personally, for someone just starting out, I would recommend going with a free blog and a marketplace like Etsy or ArtFire.
If you join a marketplace, you have the chance that someone will find your crafts just by browsing and searching the main site. You can also find support in their forums. If you need something free, ArtFire does offer a limited basic membership.
The free blog is where you will do some of your marketing for your shops at the bigger marketplaces. I do recommend getting your own domain name for use with your blog. It gives your customers something easy to remember; and, it establishes a better identity for your new business. As you grow, you already have the domain and can build on it, eventually opening your own storefront if desired.
Keep in mind that even though you are using an online marketplace, you still need to market yourself just as much. The marketplaces help to speed things up a little, since they make it easier to get listed with Google Shopping, for instance. But, they are not a miracle solution. You will still need to find ways of advertising yourself both online and off.
Suz on December 9th 2009 in crafting
Kenneth Q responded on 09 Dec 2009 at 8:53 am #
Well i think you can use Yahoo as promoting your business
and as well as you can make your site where you an tell
the visitors of what exactly you are dealing in and what are the benefits that they will get out of it……
For more details you can check out this site which i had gone through the other day is might be useful to you,……..
http://smallbusinessbible.org/
References :
Hazelnut Cove responded on 09 Dec 2009 at 9:39 am #
Personally, for someone just starting out, I would recommend going with a free blog and a marketplace like Etsy or ArtFire.
If you join a marketplace, you have the chance that someone will find your crafts just by browsing and searching the main site. You can also find support in their forums. If you need something free, ArtFire does offer a limited basic membership.
The free blog is where you will do some of your marketing for your shops at the bigger marketplaces. I do recommend getting your own domain name for use with your blog. It gives your customers something easy to remember; and, it establishes a better identity for your new business. As you grow, you already have the domain and can build on it, eventually opening your own storefront if desired.
Keep in mind that even though you are using an online marketplace, you still need to market yourself just as much. The marketplaces help to speed things up a little, since they make it easier to get listed with Google Shopping, for instance. But, they are not a miracle solution. You will still need to find ways of advertising yourself both online and off.
References :
I own a craft business that sells products online. You can see how I’ve set things up at http://www.hazelnutcove.com
For ArtFire, visit http://www.artfire.com
For Etsy, visit http://www.etsy.com
The Crafted Webmaster is also a great resource for those looking to market their crafts: http://www.craftedweb.com/