On the 29th March the Mafia held our very first Trade Secrets event where some crafty types got together and shared information and tips about running our craft businesses.  It was a resounding success and we hope to do it again soon, but for those of you who didn’t make it along on the night and for those of you who did but need a reminder – here are the notes from the evening, enjoy! x

How many websites do you sell on?  Is it better to sell on many or few?

The general consensus was that fewer were easier to keep track of and those which you can control yourself like Folksy and Etsy are more flexible as far as stock control and new products are concerned.  If you have your own online shop this is the easiest to control, but you need to advertise it much more.  If you want to use lots of online selling places then you need to be very organised with your stock control, this may not work so well with one-off pieces.

How do you drive traffic to your website?

Google Analytics is a very important tool and easy to set up, it’s already built into Etsy and Folksy in the tags and titles, so it’s vital that you give your products correct titles and tags and descriptions – think about how potential customers might describe your work, often simple obvious titles will come to the top of Google searches.

Have a blog, link to other blogs on your Blogroll list, advertise on blogs – think about which blogs your customers are reading and target them, don’t always target the crafty/design blogs not all your customers will be reading those.  Tutorials on your blog can be very effective to keep people coming back, and giveaways and swaps have been very useful for some in building up interest and gaining followers.  Google Stats is a very useful piece of code to add to your website or blog to see who’s looking at the site and what they are looking at, and where they are linking from – it’s always helpful to know how people are finding your site.

How do you work out what your turnover is in relation to the VAT allowance?

Turnover is all the money that you take in for your business, at the moment you only have to register for VAT when your ‘taxable turnover’ is more than £68,000 a year.  The VAT you would then charge is known as the output tax, there is also the input tax which is the VAT you pay on goods and services purchased for your business.  It’s the difference between the two (output minus input) that you pay to HM Revenue and Customs.  (via HMRC guide ‘Working for Yourself’)

How long does it take to become a member of the Craft Mafia and when can you take part in markets?

If you meet all the requirements for joining then it would only really take a few weeks to process your application – as long as you give us all your details for the website and payment etc.  You don’t have to be a member to take part in our craft markets though, we always have spaces for non-members.
- How to join the GCM

I’d like to take credit and debit card payments via my website – how do I do this without sacrificing my profits?

The easiest way to take payments via your own website is by using Paypal, they do have a minimal fee, but if you don’t want to pay for it all with your profits then build it into your prices.

How do you approach shops or galleries?

Everyone seemed to have tried different approaches to this, although it was generally agreed that when contacting galleries in particular it was always best to either write, email or phone first to make an appointment.  Shops may not be quite so formal, and people have had success when just turning up and asking to see the manager to show them some of their work.  Having some sort of ‘portfolio’ of your work (handmade or off the shelf, photos or drawings will all work well if they show your personality and style) is a great way to show people what you do without having to take half of your stock with you!  (you may also find this useful)

Marketing – how do you get your name out there?

By blogging, business cards with pictures of your work, leave public computers with your website on, flyers left in pubs and venues around the city.

As crafters, are there any pots of money we can apply to for funding?

The Craftscotland website has a good list of funding options for crafters and designers, there is also the Scottish Arts Council.  It was suggested that we should also think about social and re-generation funds in the community.  The Scottish Government has a Community Education Fund, the Re-generation Agency gives out funding according to your postcode.  Women Into Business has Training Funds.  Some Universities have graduate endowment schemes.  Learning Teaching Scotland occasionally have funding available also.

Where is the best place to get business cards, greetings cards etc printed?

Vistaprint have low prices – always use Paypal though.  Moo.com are a bit more expensive, but you can have a different picture/design on each individual card so they are very flexible and great quality.
Printcarrier.com – fairly cheap and good quality.

It was also suggested that the Print Department at the Art School were very helpful and willing to print stuff up for people.
Glasgow Print Shop?
Goodprint.com

DIY ideas – Use a custom made stamp and print your own on old odd bits of card, great way to be unique and unusual (get stamps made at Bagnboxman.co.uk or Etsy or Ebay).  You can also use labels on one side of a printed business card so you can offer discount codes or advertise sales etc.  Using codes unique to a particular venue would help you keep track of where people found you.

Best Blogs to advertise on or get editorial?

www.craftyblogs.co.uk is a great directory of the most popular UK craft blogs.  Ask on Twitter and other social networking sites you use.  Think about what your customers are reading – it’s not always going to be the craft and design blogs that you are reading!  Find out which blogs get most traffic – they often have a site counter.  Indiefixx, Neet magazine, Indiequarter, Bugs and Fishes.

Is it worth hanging up clothes for sale on a rail?

It was generally agreed that having clothes hanging up is a much better way for customers to see and interact with the stock – people are much more comfortable handling clothes in this way.  Coat stands were also suggested and clothes driers!

General Discussion:

Do you need Public Liability Insurance? – some venues and organisers insist that you do, but not all.  It’s worth getting if you are going to do a lot of markets and fairs though.  The Scottish Artist’s Union offers it free to all members (as long as you qualify to be a member).

Some useful links:

- www.hmrc.gov.uk
- www.bgateway.com
- www.culturalenterpriseoffice.co.uk
- www.glasgowcraftmafia.com
- www.craftscotland.org.uk
- www.vistaprint.com
- www.goodprint.com
- www.bagnboxman.co.uk
- www.etsy.com
- www.folksy.com
- www.craftyblogs.co.uk
- www.neetmagazine.com
- www.indiefixx.com
- www.indiequarter.com/blog
- bugsandfishes.blogspot.com
- www.sau.org.uk
- www.moo.com
- www.printcarrier.com
- www.paypal.com

(artwork by Showpony)

This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010 at 10:00 am and is filed under Guides and Tutorials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.