Some people's image of an artisan or crafter is often of a
potter spinning his/her wheels in the garden shed turned
studio, and then going to the farmers market to sell their
wears. Or of a knitter sitting with a cup of tea, quietly
knitting as he/she gets ready for this year's Christmas Craft
Fair. But today's Artisans, Crafters, Artists and Designers do
not have to rely on farmer's markets and craft fairs alone. The
Internet provides the Artists of today access to a global
market 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Traditional craft fairs
will give the artists a small amount of exposure locally, but
this cannot compare with the global exposure they will get on
the internet.
Whatever your craft, (jewelry, stained glass, pottery,
painting, knitting) an online presence will be of great
benefit. It will give your craft business credibility as a
legitimate business and now your customers can easily buy your
handcrafted gifts all
year. They will also have access to your contact information,
in fact you may be considered less credible if you don't have a
website. You can advertise the address for your online store on
your flyers, business cards and signs. You can have a complete,
updateable inventory of your unique handcrafted products with
pictures and descriptions, making it easy for your potential
customers to go to your online store and shop. Your customers
no longer have to wait for craft fairs because they can now buy
from you year round, and you are no longer limited to a local
market because you can now sell your unique handcrafted work to
a global market.
The thought of building, promoting and managing an online store
can seem daunting for many small crafters and artisans, but you
can be sure if you don't your competitors will. Having a
presence online is no longer a question of "should I?" As a
small business person the thought of hiring a web designer to
build an online store with e-commerce capabilities can be
overwhelming, hosting, managing and promoting their online
store can be very expensive, and they also have to think about
security, merchant accounts etc. There is another option, sign
up with a craft mall. A
good craft mall will have made it easy for you to create and
manage an online store, the basic infrastructure will already
be there, all you have to do is upload your product pictures
and descriptions and you will be open for business on the
internet and ready to start selling to the world.
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