Anyone producing handmade products should blog
Blogging can drive great strides in hand-makers' visibility and appeal on the web. Find out why every artisan producing handmade products should have a blog.
Why read this?
Or, why you should care what I think
I started speciality gift retailer pressies4princesses from my spare room 6 years ago. Now it receives over a million visits a year. I know how to build a successful web presence.Lately, I've started blogging. I don't claim to be an expert. But, I've learned enough to realise that a blog should be every hand-maker's first priority on web.
Why is blogging better than a regular website?
Blogging fits so well with working a niche, it could have been made for it. Starting a blog could be the single most important step you take to promote your business this year. To understand why, think about what's wrong with plain old websites.
Is your website up-to-date?
Are your latest handmade products on it?
For any small business that doesn't have a blog, the answer is probably "No". All the time, designers refer me to websites that are 6 to 18-months out-of-date. Some are beautiful examples of graphic design, but they don't contain their latest work. Last month's website won't help you sell next month's products.
Are you wasting money on a 'traditional' website?
'Static' websites are a lost opportunity and cost good money. Ever wondered who wants to read your brochure anyway? You could produce something more interesting for less. Break the cycle - don't commission another static website.
Have a current website that people want to read
Swap your website for a blog!
Imagine if your website did have your latest designs on it. Perhaps even your latest ideas?
Imagine if you could add and edit at will.
Imagine if you didn't feel obliged to produce a brochure. What if instead you could represent yourself and your work personally?
Dare to imagine that your website could even become 'useful' to some people. This is the power of blogging.
Imagine if you could add and edit at will.
Imagine if you didn't feel obliged to produce a brochure. What if instead you could represent yourself and your work personally?
Dare to imagine that your website could even become 'useful' to some people. This is the power of blogging.
Blogs sell handmade better
Because people want to 'buy you' as well
Why do people buy handmade? Two main perceptions spring to mind:1) It is more exclusive and individual
2) It has been conceived and crafted by someone who cares, because this is their passion
So, customers want to know who's behind your products. This is what makes blogging so apt for hand-makers. Your customers want to know your passion and skill for producing your products.
Blogging can bring you - your passion, personality, enthusiasm and love of your work - to the fore. It can be the starting point of your personal (or personality) brand and that's what sells products - lots of them.
Blogging puts personality into your online brand
Jade Jagger, Jimmy Choo, Nicky Clarke (even!) - all brands built on the personality of the people behind them. They are attractive because of their real life namesakes. Those folks made a name for themselves, spread their identity. OK, so Jade Jagger had a head-start. But, now people buy her and Nicky's and Jimmy's products because of that name, even if they no longer make/ do everything themselves.
Putting the person into hand-making increases sales
Don't aspire to be the next Jade Jagger? You still need to put yourself forward. Often consumers want to know the story behind handmade products. There's an emotional involvement they do not necessarily seek with mass-produced stuff. Maybe they seek reassurance that your work is 'authentic' and you're the real deal.
Blogging puts you in charge of your image
The power to tell your own story your way
A beautiful online brochure may look elegant, but it's also bland and impersonal brochure. A blog breathes life into your business. Suddenly you have the power to tell your own story. In your own way. And, while a website may stretch to a couple of paragraphs about you, now you have unlimited editorial. You can cover all the angles - from how you design, your ideas, inspirations and passions to how things are made. There's nothing more convincing for the prospective customer than the full story - and one that doesn't read like a brochure!
Proof that blogging works in niches
Check out English Cut by Thomas Mahon - a bespoke Savile Row tailor. It's given him a way to reach out to discerning gentlemen the world over. The results have been staggeringly successful, in terms of generating new custom, repeat custom and media coverage. Blogs get links and PR
Journalists love blogs. They tell them so much about the person behind the products. Almost always that's what journalists are looking for - a human interest angle in any story. And, people love linking to blogs, because there's value for their visitors. Who really wants to direct their visitors to an online brochure? Unless for a link in return?
Blogging is a powerful tool, not a panacea
OK, so reality check time. Don't forget that the blog is just a tool - albeit a very powerful one. How you use it matters. That will decide what it delivers for your business. Check these resources for advice about how to best use your blog
- Hand-makers: how to blog your way to more sales, more PR and higher web visibility
- You're a handmaker. You've got a blog. Question now is how to best use it to promote your hand-making business? This article helps you get the most out of blogging
About this lens
The lens is an extract from hand-making business blog www.pretty-somethings.co.ukFind more Squidoo lenses on handmaking business by me.
The latest hand-making business advice
Direct from my blog, www.pretty-somethings.co.uk
Make money from your handicraft. Turn your passion into a profitable business with advice from me - the managing partner of handmade jewellery and women's gift retailer , pressies4princesses.co.uk.
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