Creative Ideas for Selling Your DIY Projects Online

If you’re a crafter at heart and love to create just for the fun of it, you may or may not have considered turning your hobby into a money-maker. Sure, launching a full-fledged business is an undertaking, but there are easier ways to sell your products online; a few in particular rise above the rest. Here are some tips for making the most of your entrepreneurial venture.

Evergreen Etsy

Etsy has been on the scene for some time and is recognized as the place to go for unique, handmade treasures. If you create original items like pieces of jewelry or custom coffee mugs, selling on Etsy is the best route. Your first step is to search the site to see what your competition is like. Use search terms you would expect your own potential customers to use, and see what shows up. If you can see what others in the same space are offering, you can quickly figure out how to differentiate yourself.

Sellers on Etsy are referred to as shops, so you have to come up with a name for yours. Before making your final decision, search Etsy to confirm the shop name is available. Etsy walks you through how to properly set up your shop and showcase your merchandise for customers.

If you're serious about selling your products, build a website as well. Etsy is a great start, but the shop setup leaves some things to be desired. Look into resources like Wix or Weebly, both of which come highly recommended by Top10BestWebsiteBuilders.com. These sites offer easy ways to create a custom website, which will only help increase traffic to your Etsy site and give your customers one more place to go to view your products and read your story.

The Potential of Pinterest

The worldwide popularity and broad demographic of Pinterest makes it the ideal resource for free advertising. It's actually surprising that more independent sellers don't capitalize on its power. Let’s say you make sweaters. Start by creating boards of your sweaters, organized by a theme. The gist of Pinterest is to make people fall in love with the visual, so the more aesthetics the better.

Once you have a few boards, make it easy for customers to buy. Include the price and a link to where it’s available for sale, so they’re only a click away from a buy. Retail Gazette reports that both Facebook and Pinterest will soon implement "Buy" features, allowing users to make purchases directly within the platform. The feature is expected to put Pinterest on the map as a successful e-commerce business.

Simple Shopify

If neither Etsy nor Pinterest seem like a good fit, or if you’d like an additional way to get your products out there, consider Shopify. Think of this service as a one-stop shop for building and managing an online store. An online store on Shopify comes enabled with numerous e-commerce capabilities, a good option for someone who takes selling their products more seriously and who is ready to invest time and resources in perfecting an online sales portal. If you’re a casual dabbler, you don’t need all the functions Shopify offers. But if you want to get really serious, it’s a great all-in-one solution that can be used on its own or in addition to other avenues like Etsy and Pinterest.

If you’re ready to get your products into the hands of eager customers, you’re only limited by your imagination. Give Etsy or Pinterest a try, and don’t forget to build a separate website to complement these platforms, then when you’re ready to expand, consider signing up with Shopify. You’ll continue to have fun making your special items, and your customers will be excited to get a chance to have some for themselves.

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