I'm trying out the same thing. Not selling crafts, but more like p.r. I am using Wordpress.com, it's free, for now. I started about a month ago. I think I'm still trying to find my *voice*. Do people really want another "how I painted this" blog? I don't know.
There is also etsy.com. It's also free to set up a *shop* and fairly simple to do. An easy site to navigate.
I'd be interested to hear what suggestions others have!

We were on Etsy.com for about a year and didn't sell even one thing. :( So doubt I'll try that again. I think the site is just tooo big with too many sellers and not enough buyers. I will look into wordpress.com. Thanks for the suggestion!

I created a blog using www.blogspot.com. It was fairly simple to create and I think it's fun and cute. However, I think I'm the only one reading it! How do you get your name out there without going through friends and family. I'd like to keep my blog a secret from friends and family as well as my identity. They are all very critical and I would be embarrassed if they ranked on my blog.

I can't remember why I chose wordpress over blogspot. Maybe I'll try blogspot, too. But I was wondering the same thing as you, sameboat.
I attached my blog link to my business e-mails but then chicken out before I send the e-mail and delete the link.
Which leads me back to my original thought of does anyone really want another decorative painting blog anyway!? I've been mixing it up with other stuff...like being a working mom. But I know what ya mean about family and friends reading it.

I can't help with info on starting a blog, but just wanted to chime in and say that I love visiting blogs where they create items that they are selling from the blog or on Etsy. I like it best if they show the item included in their own decor so it gives an idea of just how cute it can be in a home/porch/yard setting.

You might also consider do "at home" parties where you charge a fee and supply the items for the participants to make. I'm attaching a link to a blog that does that sort of thing, there are others as well. I have no connection to the blog at all and am not trying to sell anything. Just hoping to help you find a good outlet for your crafts.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Luvs

Here is a link that might be useful: Girls craft night

Thanks so much, Luvs!! I will for sure check into that blog. Sounds like alot of fun too! I haven't decided one way or the other what I'm going to do. But your suggestions, all of you, have helped tremendously! Thanks so much!!!

i have had good success with my website..i go thru freewebs.com we have a horse site with them since 2003 and now i have my online craft hobby.. check it out www.couleecreations.com also i reccomend facebook... if you need any help please send me a email....good luck

I have just recently decided to blog also - and I am usually tight lipped so this will be a huge experiment for me!
http://the-merry-fox.blogspot.com/

I also have my art on fine art america and artfire. Not knowing exactly what you have in mind, but artfire is free or pro, and offers a variety of hand crafted items. I also like their forums. You might check out the kind of craft you want to sell and see how well others are doing.

I agree about facebook. Invite all your friends and friends' friends.

I have sold very little on line, but most of my sales have been through friends or their friends. Art is a very specialized item and there are thousands of artists out there.

I wish you well!

Calirose, you suggested checking out a couple of web sites to see how others are doing with similar crafts.
I just checked out Artfire, but how in the world can you tell how others are doing?
Is there somewhere that tells how many were sold, or some such?

Thanks,

Rusty

Rusty, I've wondered the same thing about etsy. I'm a member but haven't listed anything yet. I would like to know what's selling and what isn't.

All I can say about etsy is that i had my denim clothing and other items on for over a year and I didn't sell one dang thing!! i think it's waaaay over populated and not with buyers!

I don't know about other sites, but artfire.com lists the number of items sold in a person's shop; but not the items. It is located on the left hand side of that person's page near the avatar (or image)mine is a landscape right now.

In my shop (rhomy), I have greeting cards that are reproductions of my paintings, some decorative painted items, etc. The item number sold is 3; but you don't know 3 what. But you have an idea - something painted or reproduced of original work.

A jewelry shop might be expensive or costume. A shop might be for children's toys or clothes. The clothes might be new or recycled or handknitted.

Try to look only at the shops that have limited variety of items to compare.

Another thing is that it states I have been a pro member since 2009. That isn't accurate, I joined in 2009 but didn't publish anything to sell. In oct, 2010 I decided to take the discount price to sell "pro". So my sales are only since the end of Oct.

Ebay would be another way to check what is selling, but I would be careful of only 1 bidder items. Go to the type of item you would want to sell; then on the right upper corner of the listings select (ending soonest). That way you will have an idea of how many listings are about to expire and how many bids an item got.

This is the same kind of research you would want to do if you decided to open any business in your town. How many retailers offer my product, what is the quality of the items they sell, their price, etc.

Now, in my case, I love to paint. I want to expose my paintings; maybe sell one or 2. I am going to paint whether one sells or not. I have sold on commission but not through my shop.

If you have facebook (FB), you might invite your friends to your blog, or you might open a FB fan page (ads & pages)instead of spamming your friends on your FB page.

I do believe there are many more sellers than buyers. It all depends on what you want to sell and how committed you are to selling it.

cali

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but will give it a shot. Lost my job seven months ago, so I've been trying to make extra money selling my crafts. In order to round out my inventory, I asked a friend if she might want me to sell some of her craft items also. She has expressed an interest, but in the meantime I'm wondering how to handle this. Should I buy her items and mark them up to sell in my webshop? Sell them at her suggested price and split the proceeds...60/40? 70/30? 80/20? Of course, AFTER I opened my big mouth I realized I have no clue. :o) All help and/or advice appreciated!

It's strictly up to you how you want to handle it. If you buy the items make sure you can mark them up enough to make a profit. Does she have a preference? If you sell them on consignment you you won't have any money out of pocket until the item sells.

RE: ETSY- I started selling on etsy in Feb. 2011. Only sold one so far. Disappointing, but I know my shop needs to be advertised just like any other business. I'm working on a blog with my shop link. Going to open a FB fan page, hopefully this week. Recently got business cards with my shop URL on it. I pass them out to everybody that I think might be interested. I have included numerous sellers into my etsy circle and have started listing treasuries. Also, I try to list at least one item per day. That way it's not way down the list when buyers do a search. When a potential buyer clicks on it my whole shop comes up. Some sellers relist some of their items frequently in order to stay near the top. I've only done that with a few items when I didn't have a new one to list. It costs another .20 to relist. Good photos are important. After picking the brain of another etsy member I changed some of my photos. I began to look at them from a buyers standpoint.

As per number of items sold, that shows for each seller on the left side of the page, but doesn't show what items sold. It's easier to compare if the seller is only selling one type of item.

If you're a member of ebay you can go into advanced search to see how many of a particular item have actually sold.

Hope this helps. Good luck with whatever you decide. The main thing is to get the word out to as many people as possible.

Regardless on how good of a craft er or what you are selling or how, there is one big thing to be aware of. Homecrafts are just not selling as they did just a few years ago. I have seen it where I live (midwest) and our state has an excellent economy. I have noticed there is a increasing amount of pre made items, just decorated and overpriced. The price of food and gasoline is hitting people big time. And with so many people working, they just don't want the ""clutter"" around to take care of. Also the crafts don't mean as much as they did years ago.
People are looking for more practical items.
This is just what I have observed and we do have a ton of craft shows and boutique in this area.