In this episode of The MakersTV, I talk about how I made over $600 in my first online market and how you can follow 4 simple tips to help you achieve the same success.

When Rafa was still a baby, I used to sell handmade goods in boutiques across Australia, Etsy, on my own website and on markets as well. I devised a system where I can run online markets and I ran  it on Facebook. So I earned over $600 dollars without having to leave the house! How? These 4 tips will help you sell your products on any platform whether it is Facebook, Instagram, or your own website. 

Build in scarcity to your online market

We have to create a sense of urgency to let customers realize that they need to make that purchase NOW! What I did was I had a 48-hour album and it will close up and the next one won’t be until another month. So customers would know that if they did not purchase then and there, they would have to wait for a month to get their hands on the products. 

In real life markets that run monthly or quarterly, there is also a sense of urgency and scarcity because people would have to wait for a long time if they decide not to get the thing they have been eyeing on. So this sense of urgency will help customers decide why they need to purchase the product before the online or real-life market ends. 

Have great photographs of your products

In real life, people would really inspect the thing they want to buy but obviously they can’t do that online. As sellers, you have to fill in the gap through your photographs. You have to show every angle of your thing and give them an idea what your product is, how it feels, and how it actually looks like. You don’t need a fancy camera to do this and a majority of online sellers use their phones to take great photos! Just make sure that the area you intend to have your little photo shoot in is well lit with natural lighting and that the set up is great. You can do some basic editing after and it would be amazing if you have a theme for your photos as well. 

Foster relationships with your customers before the market

Foster relationships with your customers and let them know that you have a market coming up! Remember that your product needs to solve a problem for your customers. They also need to know who you are, why you are doing what you are doing and how you are creating your products. People buy out of emotion and if they know more about you and what you do, then they will definitely buy from you because they want to support you. Also, don’t confine yourself within the limits of the internet, you have to talk to people in person too! 

You can also create an event and invite people through Facebook or email, post snippets of the products you will be selling, and do a countdown to build up the excitement. 

Have great products

This is definitely a must, don’t you think? Since your products are the main reason why people buy from you! Aside from providing a solution to your customer’s problems, your products need to work together. The cohesiveness of your products really matter because if you mix just about anything in there then you can actually lose some potential customers. You can see in the video that the woodland theme is what makes my collection cohesive. So work on a theme for your products and it can work like magic.

BONUS TIP! Shipping is a major factor when your customer reaches the check out page.  If you can make it really cheap or free then that will make people buy more stuff. No one wants to pay for shipping that costs more than the product. You can also organize a local drop-off to help your customers save from the shipping costs.

Basically just make shipping a non-issue so that they will not double guess whether they should purchase or not.

Want to learn more? Check out my blog on HOW I MADE $607 IN MY FIRST ONLINE MARKET, AND HOW YOU CAN TOO!

These 4 tips should be able to help you but what else is holding you back from selling your product online? Let me know and feel free to come over at The Makers Co community group on Facebook so we can brainstorm and help you move forward!