Caronavirus and Crafters

The caronavirus has impacted me as a crafter.  The dilemna is whether to register for craft shows that will be held during the rest of the year,  I will not be selling at Spring shows.  But more importantly, what about shows in the Fall and the holiday season when we crafters, like brick-and-mortar retailers, make most of our annual sales?   What are other crafters doing during this time of public health crisis? 

I have decided to devote more time to my online sales where the public, and potential customers are sheltering in place and social distancing is not a factor. Of course, the risk is that everything will be back to normal by the Fall and I have not registered for my usual craft shows.

Catonsville Arts & Crafts Festival, 2019

This year's Catonsville Arts and Crafts Festival, on Sept 8, was held at a new location-- the Catonsville Community College.The parking lot where the festival was held provided overhead protection from the weather,  which was great.  The campus provided more, closer, and easier parking which the customers liked.  There seemed to be more people who came to shop and my sales for the day were better than the last couple of years.  With the new location, the sponsors were able to schedule a rain date for the following Sunday in case of really bad inclement weather.  A rain date is not possible for the long time Frederick Rd location because it is actually a state highway which cannot be closed down to traffic for 2 dates.
The only downside for the day, was the loss of the Catonsville street and community ambience-- particularly the restaurants along Frederick Rd which have participated in the festival for years.  The festival might have also lost a turnout of neighbors.

Free Shipping

Good news!! 

Enjoy free shipping on my two Etsy websites:

www.eldersburgembroidery.etsy.com and www.sparetimebyyvette.etsy.com. 

Crafter vs Retailer

As 2019 approached, I contemplated business goals for my two Etsy websites.  I even contemplated  getting out of e-commerce due to slow sales.  Then, I changed my mindset. 

I am a crafter at heart.  The two Etsy sites are another avenue for selling my creations; but I am learning to think like a retailer, not a crafter when it comes to selling on Etsy.  Thinking like a retailer, I now plan ahead- creating inventory for holidays well in advance and featuring inventory at least a month ahead of the holiday much like brick-and-mortar stores.  This gives shoppers time to browse my sites and allows time for shipment of purchases in time for arrival before the holiday. As a result, sales are beginning to increase.

Perhaps the most significant change has been how I list inventory available for sale.  Before, thinking like a crafter, I would list a single quantity of an item for sale when I actually had two or three of that item on hand.  When the one item sold, I listed another for sale- one at a time.  Now I list my actual inventory on hand for sale.  Shoppers now purchase two, three or more of the same item.  That of course has meant larger sales.   The number of special orders for quantities has also increased.

I still devote time and care creating each quality item for sale on my sites which has led to repeat customers.  With the improvement in sales, I'm beginning to feel better about e-commerce.

Embroidered Golf Towels with Grommet

I'm always experimenting with something new to improve products and sales on my websites.  My embroidered hand towels with golf designs now have a grommet so that golfers can hang the towel from their golf bag

 
     

Coupons and Discounts to Increase Online Sales

Sales on my two Etsy sites have increased each year; but progress has been slow.  This year, my goal is to not only increase the number of sales, but also to increase the number of repeat customers.  So, I'm offering a discount targeted to browsers who leave items in their shopping carts and a different discount to people who browse the sites and favor items.  In both cases, browsers visit the sites but do not purchase.  I am still offering a "thank you" discount to people who do shop in an effort to develop repeat customers. In the meantime, I'm closely monitoring statistics to track the number of sales and use of discount offers.

Custom Order Machine Embroidery

I do a fair amount of custom embroidery work- not monogramming- but embroidery designs that have special meaning for customers or the people who will receive their personalized gift.  It was scary at first; but I quickly developed a process to deliver completed projects that meet customer expectations.  Here's my process.

I do prep work before accepting a custom order.   First is to understand what the customer wants.   Then, find an appropriate machine embroidery design.  Sometimes, it may be necessary to research the subject-- what is it, what does it look like, etc.  At this point, I decide if I can produce what the customer wants.  If I find an appropriate design, then my creativity comes into play-- determining thread colors for authenticity, recommending thread colors and placement of names or text, and necessary computer work.  It may be necessary to speak with the customer, provide photos of available designs for customer selection, or provide photo of the computer set-up work.  I usually summarize everything for customer agreement.  Then all agreed upon specifications are included on the order form for payment.  After prepayment, I begin stitching and provide a photo of the finished project to the customer before shipment or delivery.  Roughly a quarter of my embroidery sales have been custom orders of 1-48 pieces each.  So far, I've had good results with this process.