Instagram is a great, FREE way to sell your handmade products online. If you're a beginner or an expert at Instagram, we have some tips for making sales via your profile. With more than 800 MILLION users, Instagram is the third most-used social media platform in the world. So take advantage of it!

A STRONG IMAGE

The very first step is to make sure you have a strong image. After all, Instagram IS all about photos. Read about how to take stellar product photos with your smart phone here. The photo of your product is what is going to draw your buyers and future clients in, so make sure they are good ones. Bright, minimal images with lots of background space and a single color background are shown to capture more likes.

DIRECT LINK IN BIO

Instagram only allows users to have one link on their profile, so make sure you use it wisely. Make things easy for buyers with a direct link to your website, Etsy site, Shopify site, whatever you use for e-commerce. Alternately, you can get a...

It is so easy to let creativity fall to the bottom of our list of priorities. But it is oh so important to nurture your creativity! Even if you are a creative person, it can require a bit of effort and planning to make it happen. Here are some simple ways to add more creativity to your daily routine:

The Strawberry Swing's Holiday Swing

TAKE PHOTOS

It's much easier now that we constantly have a camera in our pocket! Photos can be a great way to look at things a bit differently and see the beauty around you. It's a simple way to observe beauty and will inspire your creative work in other ways, no matter what creative medium is your favorite. 

PLAN CREATIVE TIME

Creative entrepreneurs have so much on their plate. They often wear ALL of the hats in their small business, and creative play time gets pushed aside.

If we wait to "feel inspired", your creative work just might not come to fruition. Instead, work on creative projects every day, even when you don't necessarily...

It's the BIGGEST shopping week of the year: Black Friday, followed by Small Business Saturday, and then Cyber Monday!

SALE IDEAS FOR CREATIVE BIZ OWNERS:

• Offer a substantial discount (15% or more) on certain items both in person (at a Holiday Craft Show) AND in your online shop.
• Give a gift certificate with a minimum purchase, which is a great way to get customers to return to your shop at a later date.
• Advertise a free product with a purchase. For example: offer a free ornament with a purchase of $50 or more.

You can schedule your sales ahead of time and share on your social media. If you have an Etsy account, you can create a sale and change your banner to reflect your sale.  Here is a great example from Craft Show CEO co-founder Carly Rae of how she published her sales on her social media:

You can see she mixed in sales both at her in-person events and also online and she encouraged her followers to screenshot the graphic (it was posted to her Instagram stories). This...

'Tis the season to be... going 100% into Holiday Craft Fair Mode!

It's that time! The most wonderful time of the year when we come together at in-home showings, wine & shops, craft shows, and school holiday fairs.  It Holiday Craft Show time. We have compiled a few tips on how to give your booth a lil seasonal cheer while you're selling your handmades:

ARTIFICIAL TREES

Fake trees can add some holiday cheer to your booth AND serve as a display. We love these 'trees' and the possibilities are endless with how you can decorate them. If you're a jeweler, you can hang your jewelry on them. If you make note cards, you can clip them to the tree. Ornaments? Hang them just like would a real tree!

We love how Arched used a holiday tree in their booth to hang her merch: ornaments!

Photo by Arched

TWINKLING  LIGHTS

Let your light shine! A simple thing like some extra lighting can give your booth a holiday feel.  You can find strands of LED lights...