101 Ways to Market Your Handcrafted Jewelry or Other Goods

Do you make jewelry, or other crafts and want to make some extra money on the side or even become a full time crafter, here are the results of a recent brainstorming session.

1. Set up a lemonade stand for your kids and get in on the action!

2. Carry cards with you everywhere and leave them for others to see

3. As soon as someone compliments you on that necklace you made and are wearing , whip out your card and hand it to 'em!

4. Get in craft shows

5 Start your own craft shows

6. Do a craft trade with other crafters

7. Seek a rep by going to tradeshows

8. Look for stores in your area that carry items that your crafts or jewelry would fit in well with and ask to make an appointment with the buyer for the store, what do u have to lose?

9. Join craft websites

10. POst pics of your goodies on Facebook

11. Post pics of your loot on myspace

12. tweet about your artsy fabrications ( and where to buy them)

13. Design a email blast announcing a special sale

14. Print postcards featuring your best jewelry designs

15. Build your own website ( or hire me )

16. Make a print catalog of all of your designs

17. Wear a t-shirt featuring your url everywhere you go!

18. Put stickers on your car or magnets advertising your website!

19. Print stickers w your website and pic of your designs and stick em absolutely everywhere you go, like toll booths and potty stalls LOL ( unless this is illegal, then do not do it PLEASE)

20. Trade links with me

21.Buy print advertsing

22. Buy Web advertising

23. Every forum you join, make sure your signature has your url in it!

24. Post ads on craigslist

25. Blabber about your handmade jewelry everywhere you go! ( you might get less invites tho, so be careful...)

26. Print candy wrappers advertising your website and wrap em around hershey bars ( yumm) and pass em out to co-workers, friends, etc etc etc

27. Make pads of custom paper with your logo and url

28. Make sure you are branded, get a unique logo design and identity

29. If you make earrings make sure you use that new logo on custom earring cards too!

30. Make cute displays that match the spirit of your hand crafted jewelry. Is there anything more dreadful and unimaginative than black fabric tablecloths for jewelry?

blech

31. Find an angle: meaning if you sell gemstones either know birthstones or metaphysical meanings for ea gem for example but get more outside the box than that!

32. Packaging is everything! You know what they say, "you can sell sh-t if it is packaged properly..."

33. Send out gratitude to the universe, it will come back to you in beautiful ways

34. You must be original. Just because you have strings and beads and can combine them does not mean you should, unless u are just doing it for therapy...

35. Donate some of your goodies to needy organizations. Like at Christmas give a bunch to the Salvation Army Xmas Angels to distribute, ( just for the good karma)

36. Write your url in cake frosting for the cake u are donating to your next bake sale (yummy)

37. Do jewelry parties, offer 10% of the take to the hostess in cash or jewels!

38. Rent a plane with a streamer and fly over the beach advertsing your url

39. Or just get a hot air ballon with your name on it!

40. Shameless self promotion therapy is good isn't it?

41. heck just get custom printed M&Ms to advertise your site

42. Cannot get into stores wholesaling? Offer to do consignment ( but that can be tricky, u really have to watch as u can get ripped off big time)

43. missalaniejewelry says: I invited all my friends and family to a house party as a start up/kick off party for my jewelry business. I booked parties from there and took custom orders as well.

44. Meditate on prosperity daily, it does really work!

45. HiGirls says: How about teach classes, give workshops in your craft. ...

46. Start a co-op, invite all your crafty friends

47. Do a trunk show wherever they will let u, in front of the post office, at the movie theater, wherever there is a crowd

48. Start a perfume and jewelry concession at a popular dance club in the bathroom where your captive audiece MUST attend LOL

49.use the lucky blue dot

get lucky!

50. DrumChickSupplies says: Do a giveaway on a blog, yours or someone else's.

51. Set up at the side of the road, I have not tried this but have considered it.

52. I no longer pay for craft fair spaces in advance.

InsteadI offer a percentage of the sales. That way I am not laying out money for greedy persons or orgs that just feel artists should be an endless source of revenue without actually supplying venues with actual customer attendance.

I recommend everyone follow suit, I detest the nonsense that craft and art shows have become incuding these "jurying" fees. I was once at a show where I overheard a promoter saying they are getting as many apps as possible to procure all the jurying fees even tho all the spaces were already filled -so word to the wise, do as I do and pay nothing until and unless you make sales-keep em honest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

53.

TO BE CONTINUED...