{"id":387,"date":"2021-09-24T20:13:38","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T20:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/?p=387"},"modified":"2024-05-14T11:25:28","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T15:25:28","slug":"how-to-make-money-selling-your-finished-custom-pens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/09\/24\/how-to-make-money-selling-your-finished-custom-pens\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Money Selling Your Finished Custom Pens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The COVID-19 pandemic has led to cancellation of many of our favourite craft shows, fairs and exhibitions this fall – events many of you count on to sell the items you make in your workshops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although this is disappointing, all is not lost! There are still ways to reach customers and make a sale; we just have to do things a bit differently. And that\u2019s where we\u2019re here to help, with ideas and tips for getting through the holiday gift giving season without craft shows, while turning wood projects you never thought of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Think like a customer.
Focus your energy on platforms that you enjoy shopping on<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Look To Your Community<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many local communities, municipalities or even service clubs and organizations have launched their own tools to try to help small business weather the pandemic. Take a look around to see what might be available in your area. Think about renting a spot in a local shop looking to support small-time wood turners. This means you can still display your wood pens while complying to capacity requirements that may be cancelling our yearly craft shows, the best thing is, you don\u2019t even have to be in the shop to make sales!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take your Sales Online<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you haven\u2019t yet taken your work online, now might be the time. There are many different options, from Facebook Marketplace to Etsy to launching your own website. Many of these platforms have come up with easy-to-setup solutions designed with new users in mind to help make the transition to online selling easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TIP: Get Creative!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Matter what platform you choose to sell on, the way you present yourself is key. It\u2019s important to appeal to customers in a way that isn\u2019t just \u201csell, sell, sell!\u201d. Tell a story about who you are as a brand. Explain your process, how pen turning is an art, maybe how a <\/em>pen blank<\/a><\/u> starts out and the steps it takes to create your customer\u2019s new masterpiece!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Virtual Events<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many in-person events are going virtual this year. Hosts are coming up with innovative ways to create online shows or marketplaces. If there\u2019s an event where you\u2019ve exhibited in the past, get in touch with the organizers to see if they\u2019ve come up with some COVID-friendly alternatives for this year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook Marketplace<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The easiest way to connect with buyers online in seconds is to use \u201cMarketplace\u201d, available to all Facebook users. Like a glorified Kijiji, Marketplace will reach buyers in your region searching for related items. Marketplace is located on the left-side task bar of the main Facebook feed. Click \u201cSell Something\u201d, add in your product details, a quick photo of your fountain pen<\/a> or wood lathe project and you\u2019re done!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amidst COVID-19, people are more than happy to e-transfer payment and complete the transaction via contact-less pick-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TIP: Make sure your title includes key words customers may search for; For example, \u201cBirthday Gift\u201d, \u201cWedding Present\u201d or \u201cCustom pen\u201d will attract those who didn\u2019t know they needed a handmade pen!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Facebook Shop<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Set up your Facebook business page with the \u201cShop\u201d function and take advantage of their easy-to-use shop template! This will allow your customers to browse and view product details and prices in a more professional way and sets you apart from a traditional feed-style Facebook page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can set up payment processing, and Facebook will guide you through the set-up process with step-by-step tips as you go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Etsy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Etsy was created entirely for handmade products and makers, meaning those browsing your products on Etsy have an established appreciation for handmade art! Etsy has many easy-to-use customizable tools that take care of shipping costs and labels, posting fees and automatic renewals that will subtract directly from your incoming payments and directly deposit to your bank account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Etsy also makes promoting your business easy peasey. You can choose what you want to spend and run an automatically calculated marketing campaign to reach more customers and bring your product to the top of search results. Some go-to tags to make your product more seen are \u201cCraft kits\u201d, \u201cHandmade gift\u201d and \u201cWood pen\u201d, so don\u2019t forget to add those into your product tag section.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Shopify<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve got a knack for basic web design, sign up for Shopify to create your own live website. Shopify is a Canadian company that allows you to create a highly customizable website, with a URL that you own, and without any computer programming or coding involved. Their customizable designs allow you to present your branding with pre-made themes while the most important functions like shipping and payment are straightforward and reliable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While creating your website with Shopify, you\u2019re led through a step-by-step process so your shop looks as professional as possible at an affordable cost! WordPress is another option when it comes to creating your website. Check out some YouTube tutorials on both to decide which may be best for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pandemic or not, you can get just as creative as your passion for turning. Try more than one platform, and don’t forget that word of mouth is always a fantastic method for marketing. VistaPrint sells custom business cards for as low as $9.95, so give something physical to everyone you talk to when they inquire about the beautiful wood pen you\u2019re using.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> to get all the deals! We promise we won\u2019t bother you \u2013 only one email a week on Sundays to enjoy with your morning coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The COVID-19 pandemic has led to cancellation of many of our favourite craft shows, fairs and exhibitions this fall – events many of you count on to sell the items you make in your workshops. Although this is disappointing, all is not lost! There are still ways to reach customers and make a sale; we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8,10,7,25,2,11,13,6,12],"class_list":{"0":"post-387","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-ballpoint-pens","9":"tag-custom-pen","10":"tag-fountain-pen","11":"tag-handmade-gifts","12":"tag-pen-blanks","13":"tag-wood-lathe-projects","14":"tag-wood-turner","15":"tag-wood-turning","16":"tag-woodturnings","17":"czr-hentry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":421,"href":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387\/revisions\/421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penblanks.ca\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}