Hi all,
My name’s Jennie. I’ve very recently signed up to Folksy and started crafting about a year ago. I love crafting and would really like it to become my main source of income so I can give up my job and craft full time. I’ve never sold something I’ve made to anyone who isn’t family as I haven’t put myself out there but I really want to start the ball rolling now.
Can anyone provide some tips on raising a profile for such a new starter?
Thanks!
Hi Jennie, welcome to Folksy!
Just been having a browse in your shop, I love your choice of fabrics and colours 
It looks like you have your shop set up nicely and well stocked already. Here’s a few things I learnt along the way when I first started:
Pricing - Do research pricing formulas as many business startups make the mistake of pricing too low. Remember you are not competing with ‘mass produced in China’ prices, you are an independent designer maker. If your prices are too cheap, customer might assume your materials are cheap or you don’t value the quality of your own work. If you want this to become a full time income then you need to price for wholesale as well as retail. Then you can sell your work to B&M (Brick & Mortar shops) at wholesale prices.
Photography - I think this is an ongoing learning process for most of us! Use all 5 photo slots and try and show a close up, different angles to show the depth and feel of your item. Remember the customer can’t physically handle your product so you need to let them ‘handle’ it with their eyes. Good, natural light is a must, if you are able to adjust the white balance, ISO and aperture on your camera it is well worth doing. And use a photo editing program (I use Photoshop but there are plenty of others) to tweak them.
Persistence & Patience - This is about regular listing (if you have several products to list, don’t list them all at once, spread them out), regularly updating, promoting, changing your banner with the seasons, checking your prices, accounts, suppliers etc. If sales are quiet you need to always be looking for something you can improve or try.
Hope that helps a bit!
Hi Wendy (Happywrap),
That’s really helpful and great advice. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply
Jennie
All the best with your new shop Jennie 
I’ve found having patience and enjoying what you make really important.
Just keep promoting and nurturing your shop and hopefully sales will come.
This past month or so I think have been very quiet for a lot of us.
Let’s hope we get lots of sales in the run up to Christmas 
Love your fabric Xmas decorations by the way 
Karen 
Think about how you will promote your business. Might be worth thinking about a marketing plan for example. Just having a Folksy shop isn’t enough, you need to shout it out to everybody that you have an online shop and where to find you.
And welcome to Folksy!