I know how it is, you have this freakin great awesome idea, you love it, you want to sell it, you rush all around, take some pics and throw it on Etsy, and nothing. You think it is cute, who else makes sculptures out of cotton swabs, right? What isn't to love? Well, before you go making all those little projects, you need to do a lot more work before you set up that shop, a whole lot more. I am going to give you some advice from all the crap I did wrong, and trust me, I have done a lot wrong, and I still am doing things wrong I am sure. But, maybe you can learn a little along the way. First, you need to decide who your target market is, who is going to buy that adorable cotton swab sculpture. Ok, let's make it real and decide you are going to sell jewelry ( a very saturated market). Target markets can be tricky to figure out, I am still struggling with it myself. There are some great resources out there, here is one of my favorites, she has a whole wealth of information out there to help with branding and your target market. I also love Brit & Co., you can sign up for free and get all kinds of awesome free classes sent right to your email. Now, decide how you want to represent your brand. Your brand is not just what you look like in your shop, but an extension of you. Again, head on over to the resources above and you will find a wealth of information on how to build a brand identity. Think of a famous business and the feelings that that company evokes. I like to think of Whole Foods. It is not just a grocery store, it is selling a shopping experience with their smells and food displays. You can see where your meat is coming from, what local suppliers are providing the cheese. You feel something when you shop there, it is not just another generic grocery store. You want to provide that unique experience in your shop. I am energetic, passionate, and fun loving, I love happy hours and having a good time. My brand should reflect those emotions in it. Those emotions can be expressed through your colors and fonts and your cover photo in your shop. I recommend that you go to Pinterest and create a secret board and fill it up with colors and fonts and photos that express who you are and how you want to show that off to the world. Take your time and go back and narrow it down to 4 or 5 colors and a few fonts. I saved those fonts and colors with my logo so I can refer back to them when I am creating posts. The color font on this blog is the pink that you see below. You should have a neutral color and complementary colors. My brand is fun, bright bold and whimsical. These colors and fonts reflect that feeling ( at least I hope so). Canva, which I mentioned in my previous post, has an awesome blog on designs and branding as well. You can find a wealth of free information here.
So, there are your first steps, decide who you are selling to, what you want to sell, and how you want to represent yourself to those folks to get them to buy from you. If you are not sure what is selling on Etsy, I suggest you go to the search bar and type in your idea, if it comes up, it has been recently searched for. I would also go to Pinterest and see what has been saved.
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AuthorHello! I am Dawn and I am the owner and designer of Kool Cat Designs. I love to travel and the outdoors and of course making cool printable items for you! Archives
April 2017
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