• With Fiona Wilson, course leader at the University of Stafford
• Fiona Wilson prints started in 2012
• After completing textiles degree she began to sell work through art events and indie shops. Then made a web shop and shop on notonthehighstreet. Also does pop-up events and is a business mentor to 12 start-up businesses. Worked in sales and marketing for 10 years
• @fionacw1
• Why an online shop? Everything is online today. As a professional, having an online presence gives a visibility and credibility. It builds trust, shows your profile, testimonials of assurance. The main reason is clients want to see what you do and perhaps invest in it.
• Lockdown is a perfect time. Not many can go out safely and will be purchasing online. The past year has been just as busy for me as pre-Covid times!
• There are lots of different options for an online shop and it depends on what you are selling. Craft, music, fashion. Sell directly through social media now
• Crowdfunding sites to make products
• Which is the right one for you?
• When you design your own WordPress or Wix website you can implement an online shop as a feature
• Also Big cartel, Shopify, Squarespace...
• What are the pros and cons of making your own shop? Or another company making it for you?
• Think of time and budget available to you
• E-commerce sites such as Big Cartel is good for money and Shopify is seen as the best on the market
• Research Big Cartel vs, Shopify and which is the easiest to use
• Big Cartel is easy to use, set up a simple and fast, great themes to choose from and it's affordable. $19 or £17 a month but there are limited features
• Squarespace originally a portfolio platform, easy to use, stylish themes, unlimited products
• Online marketplaces to consider: Etsy, notonthehighstreet, Wolf and Badger, ASOS, market space
• There are pros and cons to all of them
• Allows you to sound good without setting up your own online store
• Low start-up costs
• Another channel to sell products
• Well established with customer base. Trusted and secure.
They do the marketing. Often good support, often charge commission on every sale plus fees
• NOTHS: Curated platform. Application process and approval. Joining fee is £199 and 25% of commission goes to them. Look at what is already being sold. Make sure you have good quality photos and product descriptions. Support and training is offered through regular webinars. They are good with postage companies. Big customer base is already there. I push people to go to my website and shop but NOTHS reaches a different audience. If you are using both consider that you may need different packaging without your website as part of the terms and conditions is that you cannot promote yourself
• Etsy: There isn't an application process, it isn't curated, and so there is a mix of quality in terms of items and products. Etsy is a great way to get started and to see if you have an audience and demand. It will take some time to understand how to use it. There are guides and support like Etsy Leeds or Etsy Sheffield on Facebook. You could have an Etsy, Folksy, and an online shop if it works for you.
• Pic Fair for photography
• ASOS marketplace and Wolf and Badger: Fashion and homeware. Account manager to help you get started. There are fees and commission prices so check the terms and conditions. ASOS is a high traffic website so consider if it's good for your products
• Social Media: it's not just about marketing a brand anymore, it's about social selling. You can directly sell goods. 67% customer buying journey is digital and more than 50% of people shop on their phone. Social media marketplace include Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest. Make sure you have a business account as it enables you to have insights and shopping tools.
• Instagram is massive. 1 billion people a month visit Instagram. Highest audience engagement rates. As a way to sell. Slightly younger audience 18–29. But not always. Instagram business profile required. It allows you to have a plethora of business tools to access to demographics and analytics which are very useful to gauge your audience. Not just about marketing anymore but also selling.
• Pinterest features something called rich pins or look pins. Used primarily for fashion or home decor products. It's not an online shop per se but it's another type of shopping experience that links to other websites.
• Online Portfolio Sites: creates a good online presence, visible and flexible, way of sharing your projects and portfolio, good for networking, easy to set up. Great for freelancers. Useful guidelines and advice, opportunities and competitions.
• Axis, Behance, Artsthread
• Online Membership Sites:
• Crafts Council Maker Directory - £5 a week.
• Design Nation - £120 + VAT a year includes social media training, trade fair opportunities and many other benefits
• AOI (Association of Illustrators) - £210 a year. Folio Membership with 1:1 portfolio consultation, pricing calculator, insurance and copyright info
• Other Shops and Retail Outlets: Brick and mortar shops have their own customer bases you can capitalise on. Ask if they are looking for new people to sell.
• Online events and markets:
• The Hepworth - Christmas Market, Print Fair, Ceramics
• Digital Craft Festival
• Great Northern Craft Fair
• Paper Dolls
• Pros and Cons: Cheaper to attend (£500 for real life stall at an event). Don't have to travel great ways to reach broader range of customers. Craft Festival have a mailing list, directing traffic to your site. Networking and meeting of the smaller businesses. Some events are better organised than others. Doing videos, lives and reels. Being present online during event times if people have questions
• Print on demand websites:
• Thortful
• Society6
• Redbubble
• Spoonflower
• Teemill
• They print and ship the item off for you
• Pros and cons:You can create products quickly and put it up for sale fast. Shipping is taken care of. Low investment.
• Teemill: you only make a few pounds per shirt
• Thortful: Free to set up an account. You keep a copyright and your name and bio is printed on the reverse of every item.
• Redbubble: They take 20% - 30% of money made from each product. A design that works on a face mask won't work on a flask
• Crowdfunding: Rewards-based crowdfunding. Give money to an illustrator for a pin, for example. May have a target of wanting to make 100 pins for £12.50 each. There has to be a demand for the product. Promote product and idea.
• Online shopping and marketing and LinkedIn.
• How to research what is best for you: Research. Look at your competitors who make work similarly to you. Analyse what they do, where do they sell? How do they host their website? What could they do better?
• Online shop through your own site: Has to look professional. Easy to navigate. Good quality imagery and photos. Try to get testimonials and reviews. Have a section about you. People buy from who they trust!
• You can start claiming costs back only after you start paying income tax
• Etsy has a listing fee for each item
• Sell with a consistent price across all platforms. What is the lowest you are prepared to take where you will still make a profit
• Artists newsletters
• £12,500 is your personal allowance before you start paying tax
• Be clear if something is made to order and there is a period of waiting time to make the product and send out. Ceramicists have a sense of urgency in selling products to clear stock and make next batch.
• Register as self employed in the gov.uk website. Don't have any kind of scammer do it!
• Redbubble have a rule where they only make payouts when your royalties reach £20 that month
Reflection: This was so incredibly helpful as there are so many shops on offer. Sometimes it can feel impossible to start. This webinar helped to give me a clearer picture of everything that is available with all of the pros and cons. There were also some very important points about how to set up as a freelancer on the gov.uk website and when to start paying income tax which I had no idea about.
No comments:
Post a Comment