Quick Tips for Those Who are New to Owning an Online Business

- A Beginner Guide to Starting/Growing your online Creative Business -

The online world moves so fast and sometimes, just as we thought we had it all down, they change everything up again.

I come in contact with people everyday who are struggling to be noticed on social media. Plagued with thoughts of not being "unique" or "interesting" enough. That's NOT the reason you don't have followers/viewers. They just can't find you! If you are new to being an online maker, here's some tips I've picked up along my 6-year journey of selling online. 


*A general rule for ALL social media platforms. Post only 1-3x daily. Engagement tends to be non-existent when viewers have seen 34 other posts from you that day!

In my personal opinion, there are 4 major ways to grow online. Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, and YouTube/Live Streaming. Each plays it's own essential part in your growth.


Instagram:

Instagram is what I like to consider my "portfolio". For those that are unfamiliar, Instagram is simply a social platform to share photos with short descriptions that others can find using hashtags (#). Liking, commenting, sharing, and stories allow for tons of engagement and really helps you gain more perspective on the photos and content that people are interested in.

1. Your bio should have your name, your business name, a nice or fun photo of you, and a brief bio of what you do. If you have a website or online shop, you can paste the link there so that when people comment and ask about your shop, you can reference the "link in your bio".
2. Make sure your photos are clear, well lit, and not too busy. Product photos are best with a plain white background, but progress photos are where you can have fun and show your personality (feel free to browse my page @nikkignarlea to get some examples)
3. You can link your Instagram to Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr accounts so that when you post your photo on Instagram, the same photo and description will be posted to your Facebook and Twitter feed!
4. Hashtags will make or break you. Take some time to search for tags relevant to your business (plants, DIY, handmade, etc). Each hashtag will have others that are similar that you use in your posts. You can use up to 15 hashtags and I encourage you to write them down or store them in a note on your phone for easy copy+paste. *My personal advice is to give a brief description of the content, post it, and then comment on your post with the hashtags. This allows your post to still show up in the various #tagged places, but keeps your Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr post free of hashtags in the description when they might not be as effective as they are on Instagram
5. ENGAGE ENGAGE ENGAGE. Find other artists that do what you do and comment, like, share. While we sit and go "well why the F would I do that..?" That account that you commented on could have 20k+ followers and they might share one of your photos as well (cause that. BOOM. New views/followers.

Facebook:

Facebook is great because everyone you know and interact with is here AND you get the option to sell items at little to no extra cost to list. 

1. If you don't have a group/page set up for your business, get started now! Facebook is full of all the people who know you and want to support you. They can share your page, posts, photos, etc with their audience and that is the best and cheapest way they can help you grow.
2. My personal advice is to post 1-2x daily. One post being product or business related, the other being a more personal post regarding your process or something you're working on. 
3. Engagement is important here. You want to start a discussion and encourage people to comment. THAT is what will make your post show up in the feeds of those engaging with the post, thus, more viewers. Ask questions, create a poll for your next project or ask your viewers what they would like to see next. The more you engage with your viewers. the more you learn about what they like!
4. Facebook Marketplace. If you haven't been here.. WHY. IT'S AMAZING. This is somewhere that anyone can post anything for sale. You can list items privately or share them to your timeline. I would highly recommend this as a starting point to try and boost some online sales. (OFFER FREE SHIPPING TO AVOID CONTACT)
5. Facebook Live: I know so many of you who are busy bee's while at the market, working on inventory and such. Why not go live and show people what you're working on? You can go live right from you phone or ipad and your viewers can comment and ask questions!

Etsy:

Etsy is the largest handmade marketplace on the internet. You can sell online classes, PDF tutorials, made-to-order items and finished items.

1. You'll need a personal account with Etsy in order to create a Shop. You'll be able to upload your logo, a banner, share your journey in a bio, and list as many items as you'd like ($.20/listing) with 4 (of your choice) being highlighted at the top of your shop.
2. Make sure all photos are clear, well lit, and not too busy. Etsy Academy recommends a stock, white background for all photos, but that's super boring. My suggestion would be to find shops similar to your own and see how they have displayed their photos.
3. Be descriptive. The advantage that Amazon has over Etsy for new shops is reviews. I ALWAYS read a review before buying because sometimes the description isn't enough to convince me to make the purchase. If you can put enough information about your product in the description, it will give your buyer a better idea of what they are purchasing when you don't have any reviews to back it up. 
4. Your title needs the most attention. When someone types "handmade clay pot", if for any reason those 3 keywords are NOT in your title.. your listings will not show up in the search results. The titles don't have to make a ton of sense, just needs to include the important info of what it is. Most of my listing titles are the same item just worded in different ways (ex: Baby Alien Amigurumi PDF Pattern | Crochet Pattern | Beginner - Easy Crochet DIY | Baby Yoda | The Child | Digital Pattern Only)
5. Etsy unrolled the Free Shipping tag last year and it has honestly been effective. You're essentially lying to your customer but they don't see it that way. Basically, you create an item ($26 +$4 for shipping) and instead list it as ($30 + free shipping). You can choose to not do this, but items that are marked Free Shipping will show up first in the search results. 
6. Shipping is available through Etsy, which means it's a one stop shop. The buyer pays for the item + shipping, you make/package it up, you can get shipping labels through the customers order in your Orders and Shipping section, print it off and drop your completed order right in the box at the Post Office! No waiting in line.. no rushing to get there before 5. I have found that Etsy's shipping ($3-4 for under 1lb) is much more cost effective that USPS Click n Ship (average $7-8 for under 1lb). *These amounts are based off of my own personal experience shipping through Etsy

YouTube/Live Streaming:

​We all know youtube. There are many other streaming platforms for creators (twitch.tv, facebook live, instagram live, mixr.com) All in which are completely free to use. YouTube will compensate you base on total views/video. Twitch.tv is something I've used personally and there are lots of viewers for the Makers&Crafting channel.

1. You can use your phone for ALL of these. YouTube is a good start, as you can record a video and then upload it, vs the other platforms are all live streamed.
2. Twitch.tv is free to use and allows for viewers to subscribe to your channel ($4.99/month), donate bits ($.01/bit), and cash donations through paypal. I loved Twitch and the ability to interact with my viewers. Double win would be to record your live streams and upload them to YouTube!
3. Facebook and Instagram live is as easy as setting your phone against a wall, pointing it at you, pressing GO LIVE and boom. You're live streaming. This is great for engagement, sharing with your followers what you're making, and giving people a reason to blow that Stimulus Check in YOUR shop <3

​Blogging

I can't offer much insight here as I have just started this journey myself. Here's a few things I've learned but have yet to implement:

1. Start with a free website like Weebly, Wix, or Wordpress (just to name a few). It can take a lot of time and work to get traffic to your site.. no sense wasting money on monthly fees until then!
2. Write out at least 8-10 different topics you can write about. As a fiber artist, I could choose topics like: best yarn brands - beginner project list - stitch tutorial, etc. Having the content lined up will help you stay on track and give you more time to plan future content, rather than "winging it" and going day by day. 
3. Revenue:  I will only share what I've had experience with. Again, I have not yet implemented this on my own site, but I know many others that have successfully used this program. The Amazon affiliate program, also called "Amazon Associates" can be an easy way to monetize your website or blog. Simply sign up, receive immediate approval, and place Amazon affiliate links on your site today. When someone makes an Amazon purchase via one of your links, you get the commission -- it's that simple.
4. Now this part is my own personal opinion and should not affect how you choose to write your blog post. In my experience, bloggers will write a rather lengthy connection to the pattern or recipe. So on top of having a million different ads all over your post, you also have a 8 paragraph post when all I (the viewer) wanted was the recipe. Basically, just *know* when a lengthy connection is relevant to the content. No one wants to read about rants and ramblings when they are coming to your site for specific content.

I sincerely hope this collection of information helps you, even in the smallest way! Have anything to add or suggestions? Feel free to comment or find me on Instagram @nikkignarlea to chat with me! I will do my best to continue to add information to this post as I find it. 
If you would like to see other content highlighted like this, please comment below with a suggestion or email me at info@gnarlea.com

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