How to increase my sales at Easter: 5+1 tips

Handmade products article for easter feature image

Increasing Easter sales: feasible or not?

For all of us creators, Easter, apart from being a great celebration, is also a huge business opportunity that should not be missed.

But are we ready?

The Easter shopping season is what we simply call a “double-edged sword”, whether we are new sellers or more experienced.

On the one hand, the occasion is ideal to strengthen our brand, increase our audience and maximize our sales.

On the other hand, it can easily become a source of frustration and waste of resources, materials, money and energy.

The good news is that we ourselves determine how this will play out!

In this article, we will go step by step through what we need to do to prepare ourselves as best as possible.

Correct Product Selection

The first question that plagues every creator at this time of year is… “WHAT am I going to sell?”

Factors such as lack of inspiration, available budget, competition, time required to create, stress, fear of failure, current obligations, etc. make the answer even more difficult.

How to make the product selection process easy:
Objectively assess your capabilities:

Take paper and pencil and make two lists. Preferably on the same sheet of paper.

  • In the first list, write down the practical difficulties you are facing at the moment. E.g. limited time, limited finances, difficulty in finding specific materials, etc.
  • In the second list, write down what you consider to be the ideal solution to each of these problems. Don’t just think about it, write it down!

By going through the process of writing all this down instead of just thinking about it, we force our brain to concentrate and work. Don’t leave any problem without an ideal solution.

After you have completed both lists, take a short break and return. Now read the two lists horizontally instead of vertically.

So don’t read all the problems together and then the solutions. Instead, read each problem separately and immediately afterwards the corresponding solution.

When you have finished, take a new piece of paper and write down now, not the ideal but a realistic solution to each problem.

I give you some examples:

Problem 1: I don’t have money to buy new materials.

Ideal solution: to have more money/materials.

Realistic solution: find out what products I can make with what I already have or look at alternative sources of materials.

_____________________

Problem 2: I don’t have time to make new products.

Ideal solution: I should have started earlier. I would have had fewer obligations.

Realistic solution: use the products I’ve already made. Freshen up the products I’ve already made.

Once you are done, throw away the first two lists.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You have just compiled a thorough and objective list of all the practical criteria to consider when choosing the products you will promote this year.

Don't let the competition drag you down

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Replace in your mind and consciousness competition with fair play.

Find out what’s happening in your part of the market, note the price range of products similar to yours, get inspired and stop there.

Contrary to what you may think, trying to find out what your competitors have done and succeeded in doing, so that you can do it in turn, will only result in a waste of time. And your time is valuable.

What you see from your competitors is only their end result. And not all of it.

You can’t know their strategy, their finances, their infrastructure, the support they have or don’t have, their partners, their costs. And all of that information is necessary for a successful sales strategy.

Moreover, copying someone else can only result in damage to you – even legally several times.

Devote your time, energy and efforts to how to make yourself better.

After all, your goal is to win sales, not to beat the opponent.

Confirm that you know exactly which audience you are targeting

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If you haven’t already done so, you need to realize that you are not addressing the general public.

And you should NOT be addressing the general public.

A handmade product is not a retail product. And it should never be treated as such!

Similarly, your audience is special. They are not looking to buy the cheapest. Clearly they are interested in the price of the product. Let’s not forget that times are tough for all of us. But they also realize that they’re buying something special and unique. And that this is reflected in the price.

So, a prospective customer whose main concern is the lowest price they can find is not your customer!

This, of course, does not automatically give you the right to sell at high prices. But we’ll talk about this in more detail below, in the pricing section.

You must also realise that you do not own this particular audience.

Just because someone prefers to buy handmade products, does not mean by definition that they will buy yours just because it is handmade.

That’s why you need to define exactly who you are targeting and adapt your products and strategy accordingly.

Key criteria to consider in determining your ideal customer are:

  • Sex
  • Age
  • Interesting
  • Financial situation
  • What specific need your product satisfies

Secondary criteria depending on the type of your product may be:

  • Family situation
  • Occupation
  • Professional status
  • Professional experience
  • Place of residence
  • Health condition
  • Educational level

Don't let negative emotions stop you

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Lack of inspiration, insecurity, lack of confidence in ourselves, fear that our creations are not good enough, anxiety that we are too late to start, doubt that we will succeed.

I have news for you…
ALL of us at some point – and more than once to be honest – have felt this way!

Don’t forget… we are essentially artists too. And like all artists, we are a little more sensitive and vulnerable than the average person. That’s why we chose to do handmade.

Don’t panic, don’t get frustrated and especially don’t think about “leaving it for next year”.

Even 5% is much better than 0%!!!!

Look for alternative sources of inspiration. Talk to people who could be your customers.
Ask them what they would like. Think about what you would like if you were them. Find out what is popular at the moment. Think about products for children and/or pets that are always popular. The same goes for sports teams.

Instead of stressing about lack of time, adjust your existing schedule temporarily. Ask your family and friends for help. Combine jobs with each other.

And finally…
Don’t forget that everything was impossible until it happened for the first time!

Ideas for products

In fact, you have more choices than you think. And even for those cases where your inspiration has left you at the moment, or your time is still cramped no matter what you do.

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Let’s look at them, one by one in detail…

1. Existing products:

We are of course talking about the products you have made in previous years. The first main advantage is that we already have ready-made material for promotion. The second is that we know their performance.

2. Renewal of existing products:

Already knowing which of our old Easter products are popular, it’s easy to create new ones, just by freshening them up.

A new colour scheme, extra sizes, a slightly different design, are some of the things we can do to get new products quickly and easily.

Similarly, we can improve those that were not so popular. By comparing them with those that were the most popular, and by studying the comments from previous years, we can modify them accordingly.

3. Easter editions:

We already know which of our products are popular whatever the occasion.

An easy and also quick solution is to turn them into “Easter”.

This applies even to creations that seemingly have nothing to do with Easter.

All you need is to use Easter-themed materials and elements.

For example, if we make dog bowls, we paint Easter eggs on one of them and immediately have a new product ready.

Similarly, we can quickly have a whole new range of products by adding simple expressions such as “my first Easter”, “our first Easter married”, “our first Easter in our own home”, “my first student Easter”, “first godmother/ godfather”, etc.

4. Candles:

Undoubtedly the king of products at this time of year!

Even if our creations have nothing to do with wax, it is extremely easy to make candles.

I give you an example…

Suppose we make herbal cosmetics.

We choose our most popular soap. Let’s say that its main ingredient is olive. We put it in a nice Easter pouch. We take a candle in a neutral or matching green color. We decorate it with an olive-related item. We fasten them together in a pretty package and we’re done!

5. Gift vouchers:

The easiest product you will ever make!

You make a nice Easter-themed graphic, add your logo and amount and you’re done!

You send them electronically and make sure you have a well-informed record of which customer bought which voucher.

Don’t forget to make gift vouchers in various amounts.

6. Digital Products:

Patterns, coloring pages, recipes, recipes, fairy tales, cards, logos, social media graphics, cardboard crafts, crafting instructions… and the list is endless!

As long as in this case they are tailored appropriately for Easter.

Admittedly, it is not easy for everyone to create digital products. But for those of you who make it, there’s a big sales pitch out there.

Correct Selection of Materials - Pricing

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A critical stage, not only for our finances, but for our entire brand.

It directly affects our sustainability, as it determines not only the selling price but also the quality of our products.

Choosing the right materials can be a very difficult task. Times are difficult for all of us and at the same time our raw materials are an area where there is no room for discounts.

Moreover, raw materials are not the only cost we have. In fact, often the collateral costs are more than the materials themselves.

And of course, in the price of the products we have to take into account our profit, since we make our living from it.

Fortunately for us, there are ways to reduce our costs while offering high quality products.

Let’s look at some of them…

Ways to reduce the costs of raw materials:

1. New/additional suppliers:

Often, either out of habit, lack of time, or because we are satisfied, we get attached to certain suppliers.

However, especially in the case of branded materials, it is extremely likely to find exactly the same material at a better price from another supplier, where we may even find several equivalent – and sometimes even better – alternatives to the non-branded materials we use.

A market survey, often frequent, is therefore extremely useful.
All the more so in periods before the holidays, when suppliers want to sell with the same eagerness as we do.

2. Supply of materials from individuals:

Of course it is an occasional thing, but it is still a lifesaver sometimes.

Many of our colleagues sell materials that are no longer needed, and there are many who started experimenting with construction and for some reason ended up not doing it.

Add to this category also those who close their business, e.g. due to retirement, and sell their goods at cost prices.

Finally, there are also people who have nothing to do with space but sell their personal items unused or in perfect condition, and from these items we can use them in our constructions.

Personally, I have taken advantage of such opportunities many times, either by selling what I didn’t use in the end, or by buying.

And to be honest, some of the people I bought from have become regular customers.

The best way to take advantage of such opportunities is to register on classifieds sites, search for what you need and save your searches so that you can be notified when there is a new ad.

You can also “follow” sellers you are interested in.

In addition, you can join social media buying and selling groups.

In addition to monitoring the posts in these groups – which admittedly are too many and usually irrelevant to what we’re looking for – you can also post a search post with what you’re looking for.

One post at a time, so you can easily check it.

And of course, ask your friends and family to let you know when something like this comes to their attention.

Don’t forget, if you are buying from a private individual at a distance, before you make any decision to ask to see a video of the item.

Also ask the seller to write something specific on a piece of paper (say the word good morning) and put the piece of paper next to the item.

In this way, you ensure as much as possible that the object actually exists, what condition it is in and usually its dimensions and other details (e.g. the texture of a fabric) that cannot be seen in photographs.

3. Discounts – Offers – Cheap Packages:

Try as much as possible to buy your ingredients together. Apart from avoiding shipping costs in most cases, there are many times when a discount is offered on orders over a certain amount.

Similarly, it’s a good idea to combine your purchases with those of a friend so that you both benefit more.

Also, some eshops offer additional discounts by choosing a specific payment and/or shipping method.

Similarly, the opposite is also true. Often, some payment methods have an extra charge.

Finally, choose the packaging you buy wisely. Large packs for materials you use a lot, small packs for materials you are buying for the first time or don’t use often.

4. Recycling – Reuse:

A solution particularly useful for sample cases.

Many of us – if not all of us – have made samples that are just lying forgotten in a cupboard. Either they didn’t turn out as we planned, or we modified the design so much that they are no longer useful, or they weren’t good enough to sell, or we made them in the first place just for photography.

By disassembling them, we can quickly make new samples, reducing our costs.

It is a particularly good practice in the case of new products, which we are still experimenting on.

5. Time is Money:

Usually what we look at when choosing materials is its quality and price.

But there is an additional criterion that can prove to be extremely costly depending on what we make. And that is the application of the material.

I give you an example…

Let’s say the final product is a coaster and we need to choose a varnish. We choose a polish that is cheaper but takes 24 hours to dry.

In practice, this means that for a minimum of 24 hours we cannot process the object. Instead, we should be particularly careful until it is completely dry.

Similarly, we tie up the space in which we dry the coaster.

At times like the Easter shopping season, when the aim is to handle as many orders as possible at the same time, all this significantly limits the number of orders we can handle at the same time.

Consequently, this varnish, although cheaper, actually costs us money.

Ways to reduce collateral costs

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These are the costs that we don’t calculate at first glance, but become a real pain in the ass when we get to the point of setting a price for our products.

Note: I do not include in this list costs such as taxes, insurance contributions, etc. as for these it is best and safest to consult an accountant.

1. Packaging:

The first of our sufferings. In addition to being attractive, it also needs to be safe to protect our creations during transport. It’s a piece that’s worth putting thought and time into. With a very good market research you can find economical and reliable packaging.

What you should watch out for are:

  • Dimensions: 2-3 basic sizes are enough. No need to buy separate packaging for each product.
  • Durability: make sure they can keep your creations protected.
  • Multipacks: Packaging materials are something we cannot avoid. Therefore, they are never wasted. The more pieces per package, the more profit.
  • Quality: Always remember that we are looking for cheap packaging but not cheap.

Finally, one way to save money and make the packaging even more special is to make it yourself.

Personally, that’s exactly what I do. I knit most of the pouches I need and make my own cans and sachets, and the feedback is always very flattering!

In addition, I can offer gift wrapping without changing the cost of my packaging!

2. Transportation:

Although it is a cost that is actually borne by the customer, it directly affects our own costs as it plays an extremely important role in costing and sometimes we need to absorb this cost (or part of it) in the price of the product.

Choose carefully the ways of shipping your products and aim for stable partnerships. Most courier companies offer significant discounts even to individuals when there is a significant number of shipments per month.

BoxNow offers discount codes very often, while General Postal has the D2SP service at a very competitive cost.

And of course, let’s not forget the marketplaces that take care of the entire shipment. Although I believe you already know it, I remind you that market.sxediomodas.gr is one of them.

3. Promotion:

Vital piece for sales and can end up being an extremely large expense.

Fortunately, there are plenty of things we can do at low cost or even for free.

Although we will discuss this issue in detail in another article, there is a separate chapter later in this article dedicated to the promotion of our creations.

4. Sales commissions:

In case we make our creations available through marketplaces or a seller, we have to take into account the commission.

Our aim in this particular case is not to reduce the amount of the commission, but to ensure that we actually get a significant benefit from the cooperation.

So we should carefully consider the terms of any partnership, what is needed from our side to make it work and what it offers us.

Pricing:

One of the biggest challenges for any entrepreneur is determining the right selling price for their products.

Making our creations available at the lowest possible price may sound like the easy solution, but it’s not.

It’s not just about being the cheapest but, whatever the price of our product, it has to be 100% justified by what the customer gets in their hands.

Let’s see how we do that…

How to determine the selling price

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1. Determining Cost:

The first thing to do is to calculate the total cost of the product accurately. So we add up all our costs. Materials, collateral costs, taxes, commissions, advertising, etc.

2. Determining Profit Margin:

At this point, we determine the minimum and maximum profit we would like to have. We add them to the costs calculated above and thus we have two base values. The lowest and highest selling price. We write them down on a piece of paper.

3. Wholesale – Quantity Discounts:

Now we have to decide whether or not to sell our products wholesale. And if so, what that wholesale price will be.

Also very important are the discounts we will offer to our customers.

The reasons why we should offer discounts will be discussed below, in the chapter on promoting our products.

Here we will only determine the amount/percentage of these discounts.

Once we have arrived at the wholesale price and the ones that will include a discount, we note them down under the base prices we wrote before.

4. Market Price Control:

At this point we note on our paper the price range of our competitors. We found this in the product selection stage, remember?

5. The Customer’s Vision:

This may be a bit difficult, but believe me it’s very useful. Forget for a moment that this product is yours. So treat it as a customer and not as a creator. Be realistic and objective. Neither deify your creation, but neither be too strict with yourself (which is the most common…).

So look at your product as a customer and think about how much you would personally spend to buy it. Write that price down on your paper too.

Now you have all the prices collected on one paper. Study them carefully and decide which are the most advantageous selling prices.

How do we add value to our products?

1. Gift Surprise:

A practice that is gaining ground. Nowadays, it is relatively rare to receive any product and not have something extra inside. You can either put in a sample or a small gift. In either case, make sure it’s something you’ve made yourself.

2. Thank you note:

It’s always nice to say “thank you”. A handwritten note can really make a difference. Our customer feels special and will definitely remember us the next time they need a product they can find with us.

3. Careful Packing:

One phenomenon that I often observe with regret as a customer is packaging. Although very careful in terms of my purchases arriving intact, their appearance is sloppy.

Yes, it is true that the customer will find a more sketchy packaging of a product justified when it is handmade.

But let’s not hide behind our finger!

This is both sloppy and an attempt to reduce our costs. And you can see both. As justified as both are, they are still disrespectful to both the product and the customer.

4. Care instructions:

Personally I used to put an extra tag, now I put QR code on my thank you tags. It’s one of the “extra steps” that make a professional stand out.

5. Extras:

By this I mean anything else you as a customer would want the package you receive to contain. E.g. a product catalogue, a tip sheet, a mini brochure with complementary products, etc.

This really depends on the type of product.

Products - Preparation

Now that we have decided what to sell and at what price, it’s time to roll up our sleeves!

Samples – Products

The first thing we need is material for the customer to see what they are going to buy.

Whether we make samples or products ready for sale essentially depends on the type of products we have.

Let’s see what works for us on a case-by-case basis.

1. Samples:

It is the only option we have when it comes to personalised creations or perishable products with a short expiry date.

It’s also a good choice when making something for the first time or when using ingredients you’re not familiar with.

2. Finished Products:

When our creations are Easter products without personalization, it is better to make products directly for sale.

So we have the promotional material we need and ready-to-deliver products for our customers.

3. Edible:

Particular products of this period are chocolates, Easter cookies, etc.

In this case it is better to make a few samples at the beginning of the Easter shopping period and a small stock towards the middle to the end.

Product photography

Female designer shotting clothes on mannequin by cell phone

Our most important tool is the photos of our creations, especially if we don’t have a physical store.

Through them, the customer knows our product and 70% of the time decides whether to buy it or not.

Although in the future we will dedicate a whole article to product photography, let’s look at some key points for those of us who still can’t afford to hire a professional photographer.

1. High Resolution:

If you photograph your creations with your mobile phone like I do, don’t forget to always have HDR mode turned on, thanks to which even the smallest details are captured in the photos.

2. Dimensions:

Make sure that the smallest dimension of each photo is at least 1920 px, so that it can be displayed clearly on all devices.

3. Type:

The type of photo directly affects the sharpness and size of the photo.

The safest choice is JPG because of the small size of the photos and the fact that it is accepted by every – but every – website.

However, if there are slides in your photos, they will only be preserved if you save them in PNG format.

The PNG format preserves the transparent parts of the photos and has a much higher resolution.

However, it dramatically increases the size of the photos, to the point that it sometimes makes them unusable.

Personally, to deal with this problem, I use two free tools.

First, after editing my photos so that the brightness and colors are correct, I save them in PNG.

If there are slides, then I use https://imagecompressor.com/ to reduce their size without losing the slides, but not their sharpness.

If there is no transparency, I convert them to JPG using this: https://png2jpg.com/

Both are free, we can edit up to 20 photos at a time, with no limit on how many photos we can edit in total.

The quality of the final photos is impeccable in both cases and their size is as small as possible.

4. Download Angle:

You photograph your creations from all sides and in all possible ways.

Our aim is to ensure that there is no part of the product that is not photographed.

NOT all the photos will be beautiful, nor will we use all of them in the presentation.

We will keep the extra photos in our files so that when a customer wants to see a particular spot, we can send them a photo of that spot.

5. Background:

Our very familiar “background”!

Make sure it is monochrome and light in colour.

It is better to shoot your products directly on a white background than to remove the background later. To do this use a wall, a sheet or even plain white paper.

In general, make sure that there are no other objects around the product. On the one hand, because it distracts the customer and on the other hand, because the customer is often confused about what exactly is for sale.

Exceptions to this rule are:

  • Photos of the product in use. E.g. a multi-purpose bag filled with stuff.
  • Seasonal photos. E.g. put some painted eggs next to your Easter creations, etc.
  • Objects that help the customer understand the size of your creation. E.g. I photograph anything pendant (from earrings to ornaments or key chains) using a standard coffee mug.
6. Accuracy:

Make sure your photos are as close as possible to the actual object.

If there is a significant variation in colours or any other feature, make sure to clearly indicate this in the product description.

This way you avoid misunderstandings, unhappy customers, returns and bad reviews as much as possible.

Branding

And now that you have your photos ready, it’s time to present your creations to the world!

This is the time to prepare your online store and/or your website accordingly. The “channel” in a nutshell through which you market your products and they can find you to buy them.

Unfortunately, most creators somehow neglect this part.
But what are the things we need to look out for? Let’s look at them together…

1. Introduce yourselves!

In addition to showing your creations, it’s good to have a section where your visitors can learn a little more about you. It makes them feel more intimate and secure.

2. Communication:

Make sure there is a way for your prospective customers to easily ask questions.

3. Personal Style:

Although this is a whole piece in itself, I will briefly say this… Form a personal style and stay consistent with it. Our goal is for our visitors to be able to recognize us by our style before they even see our name or logo.

4. Product descriptions:

It is the part that most creators find difficult and the one with the most shortcomings.

Don’t be lazy and don’t hide behind the excuse “but no one reads them”! And yet they do!

Being asked about things you’ve already mentioned has more to do with the insecurity of shopping without face-to-face contact.

Being as analytical as possible is first and foremost to safeguard ourselves.

Moreover, it shows professionalism and how seriously we take our own work.

Finally, it’s really beneficial for our ranking in search results. The more detailed a description is, the more keywords it contains and the more often we are “read” by search engines.

Describe your creation in detail.

Indicate colours and dimensions and if available in other sizes and colour combinations.

The required construction time and whether it is ready for delivery or not.

Whether it can be personalised, and if so how.

Payment and shipping methods and delivery times. Special conditions of sale.

Possible uses. Whether it is suitable for a gift, and if so for whom.

Anything else you would want to know if you were in the customer’s shoes.

5. Reviews:

Always but always give the customer the opportunity to leave a review.

Answer all of them, positive or negative. Negative ones even more so, explaining your side of the story calmly and politely.

And when the customer is right, acknowledge it and apologize. Bad luck and bad moments happen to everyone.

6. Renewal – Seasonality:

Refresh your shop regularly and make sure you follow the trends of the season as long as it suits your style.

Keep seasonal products at the forefront and the rest of the time replace them with the ones you want to promote at the moment.

Product promotion - The big moment!!!!

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I often hear and see creators getting upset because they are not selling. In 90% of the cases the reason is one. And it’s very simple. Either they aren’t promoting their creations, or they aren’t doing it right.

Unfortunately there is no magic formula, and having a site (either a website, social media page, or online store) is not enough on its own.

The creations will not arrive on their own in front of the eyes of our potential customers. Someone has to do this.

And that someone is us!

I know most of you are thinking… “I don’t have it in me to sell”… And yet… you do! You just haven’t yet found the promotion that works for you!

Let’s look at some things that can help you…

1. What kind of salesman am I?

Without exception, we are all “salespeople” in our lives, even if we don’t practice this professionally.

Think about every time you want to convince someone of something. Whatever it is, whoever that someone is, your child, your partner or your pet.

Essentially, that’s exactly what selling is. You want to convince “someone” of “something”. Specifically, you want to convince your prospective customer to buy.

It is SO simple! Don’t make it hard in your head and don’t be afraid of it!

Study yourself a little and find the pattern of behaviour that you follow whenever you want to persuade the other person to do what you ask. Which of the things you do always works? Find it and adapt it to your promotional technique.

Other people are more discreet, more shy. Others are more direct, more open.

Determine what type you are, how you already function in the rest of your life and simply apply it here!

And to make it clearer I give you an example again… My boss!

I’m not the kind of person who will pressure someone else to buy. I am easily embarrassed and don’t want to bother others. I don’t make chit-chat, I can’t sugarcoat situations, nor do I give compliments (I’m a bargain, damn it!!!). I can’t stand for anything I don’t believe myself, nor can I make it sound better than it is. I overanalyze everything and if I disagree with something I will say so even if I lose favor with the person across from me.

On the other hand, I am self-deprecating, have a good sense of humour, am incredibly patient and stubborn and can be polite even if I don’t like the person I am talking to.

Objectively speaking, for what we have in mind when we say “salesman” I don’t!

But I have adapted all my good and bad to the way I promote my creations and guess what… it works!

I’m always honest, and if what the client is looking for I don’t have or can’t do, I say so from the start.

I also present the negatives of my products along with their positives and analyse everything about them.

I break the ice with a joke – usually self-deprecating so as not to embarrass anyone – I answer all questions no matter how trivial, no matter how many times they are asked.

I look for what it is that could satisfy my prospective client and if I don’t have it I suggest someone – if I know someone – who can do it.

I may lose the sale at that moment but I gain that the next time my contact will want something that is in my subject matter if nothing else they will remember me and contact me.

So if I can sell… believe me… you ALL can!

2. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes.

I’ve already told you and you’ll get tired of hearing me repeat it.

What bothers you as a potential buyer, bothers the rest of us.

Do not implement tactics you do not approve of.

Even in the few cases that might work, you will not be one of them.

Because you will simply not be able to implement them properly and therefore they will not work.

Instead, think about what you would react positively to as a customer and apply it.

3. Choose the right social media for you:

Don’t get caught up in every social network there is.

Choose how many networks you want to deal with depending on the time you have available.

Then think about which one you can handle best, which one you have the most experience with, which one expresses you the most and which one already has the most impact.

Based on all of the above, choose which social media are suitable for you and focus on them alone!

In the future as you begin to grow, you are reconsidering whether to expand into others.

Offers - Discounts - Gifts

Our basic tactic to promote our creations is to offer discounts and gifts.

The two things to watch out for are the type and the timing.

We will choose the type based primarily on our costs.

There are several options, such as:

  • Discount on the price
  • Discount to one of our partners
  • Participation in a prize draw
  • Product gift
  • Free shipping
  • Free gift wrapping
  • Free additional services (depending on the type of products)

We can offer any of the above or combine them together.

We can also offer them directly or on the basis of specific conditions (e.g. minimum order, specific quantity of products, etc.)

Benefits such as gift wrapping or free shipping can be offered on a permanent basis or for a longer period of time.

It is advisable to offer discounts on the price, etc. periodically and for a limited period of time, in order to motivate the customer to “act” more quickly.

Competitions - Giveaways

giveaway

Although we could have included the competitions in the previous section, I am dedicating a separate section to them because they are much more than just an offer.

If a competition is run properly it can dramatically increase our visibility and audience.

And this is something I want to draw your attention to.

A SPANISH contest will bring you direct sales.

It is a form of advertising that acts mainly in the long term and indirectly in terms of sales.

But it has a direct effect on gaining new followers, on our popularity and on our being seen more and more often by people who, based on search engine predictions, are interested in products like ours.

So it is important that when you decide to run a tender you know exactly why you are doing it and what to expect.

If you want us to dedicate an article specifically to the contests and giveaways, don’t forget to write it in the comments – as well as any other topic you would like to see a specific article on.

Advertisement

The good thing is that there are various ways to advertise our creations for free or at a low cost.

Competitions are the first of these.

Also very effective can be our stories and posts on social networks.

A great source of advertising is our customers’ posts with photos of what they received and even better an unboxing video.
To motivate them to do this we can provide them with some of the offers mentioned above, e.g. a discount or participation in a draw for a gift.

Also posts that get our audience to interact with us are very effective.

For example, we can upload two of our creations and ask them to choose the one that best suits a particular purpose. Or we could ask them to choose colours or generally tell us what they think.

Posts from our “backstages” act similarly. A photo from the manufacturing process where the product will be seen quite clearly or where another of our already completed creations will be “accidentally” shown on the side.

With a nice humorous post it can go viral before we even know it.

We can do exactly the same by showing one of our products in use in our daily lives.

Don’t forget to use popular – and preferably relevant – tags in every post.

Another very effective type of advertising is short videos, especially if you can make them humorous. Our pets and friends – if we’re too embarrassed to get “on the glass” ourselves – can be a great help in this regard.

And finally, don’t forget the thank you cards in our packages.

We mentioned them when we talked about how to add more value to your product but don’t forget how effective a form of advertising it is.

Similarly, some utilitarian small items with our branding can be very effective.

A coaster, a keychain or a pen that we add as a surprise gift to our packages is a constant reminder of our presence and can spark conversations about us and our creations.

Strategic Plan

my-business-plan

Once we have settled on which of the above we will use, we will again grab a pencil and paper to make our plan. When to do what.

It will help us not only to stay committed to our goal but also to evaluate the results of our strategy at the end of each promotion.

This way we can easily see what works and what doesn’t, what needs improvement and what to avoid next time.

Don’t stop experimenting and check the effectiveness of your promotions often.

Bonus – Self-care & Targeting

In conclusion, I want to remind you that for something to work well, we must first be well ourselves!

Take care of yourself.

Make sure you get plenty of rest.

When you are rested, 4 hours of work is much more efficient than 8 hours of exhaustion.

Take short breaks every hour.

Open the window, even for 5 minutes, even if it’s cold. Fresh air helps the brain to oxygenate better.

Perfume the room with citrus scents.

These smells activate specific neurons in the brain and help concentration.

Focus your thoughts and attention on what you are doing at the moment.

Step by step and one thing at a time.

Stay focused on your goal and keep your cool when something doesn’t go exactly as planned or expected.

Don’t be disappointed and above all don’t give up!

All that is needed is to review and redefine the points that did not work so well.

I hope I didn’t bore you too much and I wish you all good and sweet sales!

I look forward to your comments, your ideas and observations and what topic you would like us to talk about in future articles.

Picture of Nena

Nena

Until next time... creatively yours... 💋💋💋

Every week Nena from Giggles & Smiles ღ answers our questions and gives us tips on how to improve our sales and more! A creator herself, and with 15 years of experience in creating, building and promoting online stores and websites, she knows "from the inside" everything we want to know! *** Its articles do not include affiliate links, indirect advertising, or paid promotion in any way of specific services and products.
14/03/2025

Τέλειο άρθρο, πολύ κατατοπιστικό και συγκεκριμένο!!! Ευχαριστούμε πολύ!!!

Avatar for Ελένη Τουφεξή
Ελένη Τουφεξή
14/03/2025

Καλή Αρχή με τα άρθρα σου Νένα! Σε ευχαριστούμε πολύ για τις πολύτιμες συμβουλές σου και για τον χρόνο που αφιερώνεις στην πλατφόρμα μας.

Avatar for Sxedio Modas
Sxedio Modas