BUSINESS: Preparing Your Business for Christmas - Part 2

Dan Goode at Seek & Adore continues to offer his Christmas pearls of wisdom for a successful festive season.

And we’re off! We have entered the hallowed gates of the ‘Golden Quarter’ and there is no stopping now until Christmas day when we can hit the brakes and sink as one into an enormous designer-maker heap! Hopefully you will now have your stock prepared so you can move effortlessly to the next stage.
So what should a maker concentrate on in October to maximise sales? This is the ideal time to:

• Increase your Tweets and Facebook posts
• Prepare your online selling space and your own site for Christmas

Set of 3 Pewter Decorations by Fleur Grenier
Photographer Ben Yacobi
 

Increasing your presence on Facebook and Twitter:

• You can never do enough promotion so ‘up your game’ on Twitter and Facebook, regularly reminding your friends and followers that Christmas is coming and your work is perfect for gifting!
• Use Facebook to reveal your new Christmas range, if you have one, or your new jazzed-up pieces for Christmas.
• If you are going to be showing at any Christmas markets or open studios tell your followers now! By doing this early, potential customers can get the dates in their diaries before the Christmas rush starts. Be certain to include links to any relevant websites. Sending clear dates and all the information the customer needs is a great way to engage them. Do the work for the customer and they will come (and they may send their friends!).
• If you sell through a site like Seek & Adore advertise the fact. Not everyone will be able to get to the fairs and open studios but they will want to know they can buy from you elsewhere. Send out links to your online shop.

Cowhide Metallic Tote by Toks Originals
Photoographer: Ben Yacobi

Preparing your online selling space and your own website:

• Take good photographs of your new work or work you have adapted for Christmas and upload the images onto your web presence. If you can’t take good images yourself get them taken for you, bad images are always a waste of time and money.
• Put a message on your homepage or selling page inviting people to look for Christmas presents.
• If you sell on your site write seasonal descriptions for your pieces, enticing customers to buy them as presents. If you are on a selling site like Seek & Adore do the same.
• On your own site post details of the fairs and open studios you will be attending with the relevant links. Make it easy for your customers to find you. 

Frost Silk Stars Lampshade and Frost Silk Star Cushion by Maya Wilson
Storm Grey Bottle & Lavender Bottle by Lucy Burley
Set of 3 Stamped Tealights (Love) by Helen Button
Photographer: Ben Yacobi
 

This is not the time to be shy or retiring, you want to sell and customers want to buy. Encourage people to buy from you by showing them your work is perfect for Christmas gifting and make it easy for customers to find you and buy from you.

Dan Goode is 'Chief Seeker' for http://seekandadore.com which brings together the work of designer makers with people looking to discover and buy unique and beautiful things.

Next Month: Keeping up the pressure!