SELLING HANDMADE JEWELRY ONLINE
If you’re selling handmade jewelry online, you’re feeling the impact of how important it is to get traffic to your website, now that in-person selling has come to a halt. Even if you’re getting some traffic, moving visitors from browsing to actually buying is at the top of your list.
One of the most common problems I see website owners make, is not getting enough information on their visitors and potential buyers. Making assumptions about why people don’t make purchases is neck-and-neck with not understanding why they do. Assumptions are the sales killer of any business, and even more so with online business because we can’t directly converse with our visitors.
In this post about selling handmade jewelry online, we’re going to talk about why unqualified projections AKA... the guessing game, is costing you time, money, and potential sales, but first, I want to tell you a little story about assumptions.
“When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me”
~ Oscar Wilde ~
We all make assumptions every single day, and most times we’re not even aware of it. Assumptions have a way of coming back to humble us and they’re a wake up call to going in with your eyes open, at all times. Why are assumptions so costly in business? Because when we don’t ask the pertinent questions, we don’t learn about our customers, or how to make sound decisions... doing more of what’s working and less of what isn’t.
When I was in my twenties, my sister and I rented a house together. For two years it seemed that, almost every day, there was this creepy guy across the street whistling at us. It made us so mad. I’m not talking about a “hello taxi, I’m over here” kind of whistle. I’m talking about the cringe-worthy 1980’s construction site worker whistle.
How could he do that?... that CREEP?!!!
Then, one bright and sunny afternoon, as I was preparing to move out of the house to my very first apartment, I noticed the house across the street had a window open on the second story. With the window wide open, I could see that inside the house was a cage... Oh.
The CREEP was a BIRD!
The family who lived in the house across the street had trained their bird to whistle like a guy checking out the ladies.
For two years I was angry at this creepy guy. I was young and it was one of my first lessons about making assumptions, and it was a big one. No matter how much it seems that you have all the “facts”, verify your research and don’t fill in the blanks with what you think is really happening.
Another quick example from when I was a teenager. On the way to a friends cottage, my friends and I picked up our friend Andrew from his cottage. There were four of us girls, and Andrew. Just as he was getting in the car, his father called out “Andrew, make sure you get some ass.”
We were all shocked to say the least. This coming from someone we saw as a staunch, religious man? The four of us looked at each other in disbelieve, asking Andrew “what did your father say?” He said “Andrew, make sure you get to mass.” Ahh... that makes more sense.
Even when the people around you see and hear things the same way, it doesn’t make the perception accurate. I don’t have to tell you that there are plenty of times when we think we know what people are are feeling towards us, only to learn we’re dead wrong.
When selling handmade jewelry online, this is especially true where customers are concerned. Loyal customers come in all shapes and sizes with different buying habits. Some have lots of money at their disposal, some budget their spending, planning and researching before they buy, and others compulsively buy, racking up credit cards, then refinancing their homes to pay down debt.
Without engaging your online visitors, how can you learn what their needs are, what they love, what confuses them, or the important questions they have? The following are three top reasons you need to stop playing the guessing game and start finding ways to engage your website visitors when selling handmade jewelry online:
selling handmade jewelry online
3 REASONS WHY assumptions
are HURTING YOUR WEBSITE SALES
Your Guess is as Good as Mine
Selling handmade jewelry online, and moving visitors from browsing to buying, requires great photos, and great sales copy. You can’t craft your copy to reach your ideal customers in a way that resonates with who they are if you don’t have an inkling of what makes them tick. Guesswork only ensures that your marketing efforts will be hit or miss, leaving you with little-to-no sales, and zero information.
Building Relationships
Without being able to make a real connection with your online visitors, you won’t have a way to measure what’s working and what isn’t. If your not implementing a way to build those relationships, you can’t effectively ask the important questions that will move the needle in your business.
One and Done
If you do manage to make some sales, how will you know exactly why? How will you get those buyers to buy again? Again, relying on assumptions is costly when you let buyers go on their merry way without throwing in some incentive to buy again. Selling handmade jewelry online, and growing your website sales, doesn’t have to be a mysterious journey when you strategically implement ways to engage your visitors. The following are six simple tips:
Email Capture Form - Make your email sign up form prominent on your home page. Place your form above the fold (at the top, before a visitor scrolls down) and offer a good incentive for signing up. A percentage off the first order is much more effective than “sign up to my newsletter.”
Email Welcome Sequence - Create a series of emails that will automatically go out to new subscribers, and don’t forget to include a reminder for the first-order coupon offer. The first email should include a warm welcome that makes your new subscriber feel cozy, like a guest in your stunning cottage by the lake. Include the coupon code to save on their first purchase (I like to offer 15 percent off). In a few days send them a reminder email, then follow up with weekly emails.
Measure, Adapt, Connect - Once you have an email sequence running, measure the results and keep on measuring. When you start to see a pattern, you can tweak and improve your email subject lines, and content, for better results.
Survey Your Subscribers - Even if your list is small, send out an easy-to-do survey and ask your subscribers meaty questions. Keep your survey short, fun, and easy. When selling handmade jewelry online, the best way for you to learn about your email subscribers is to ask great questions. Offer an incentive for your subscribers to take the survey. You can enter their names to win a piece of jewelry in return for their participation. Making an offer such as this means you can ask more in depth questions, but remember to keep your survey fun and engaging.
After-Purchase Sign-ups - Some website owners will automatically subscribe first-time buyers to their email list, but this actually goes against anti-spam laws. I personally hate it when I order from a new source and my email address is automatically added to the list. If I feel that way, there are plenty of other people that do too.
A great way to turn your new buyer into a subscriber is to offer a gift with purchase during checkout. It can be as simple as saying “would you like a gift with your purchase?” You'll have to create a link to a special sign up form that is your "gift with purchase" list so you can be sure to send out the gift! Also, be certain you let your buyer know that you won’t clog up their inbox with nonsense, and that you respect their privacy. Keep the invitation fun and enticing.
Follow Up - While you can’t automatically add new customers to your email list, you can get away with one follow-up-to-transaction email. Sending a quick thank you note, along with a warm inquiry as to whether your customer was satisfied with their order, will give you some valuable insight. You can learn how your customer perceives your business, and maybe even get some juicy insights into how they like your products. This is a great way to measure what’s working, and what’s not working, so you can tweak both your products, and your customer journey experience.
These are all simple ways you can open the communication between you and your visitors when you're selling handmade jewelry online. Asking the right questions will help you write copy that will meet your visitors at a heart level, while enticing them to buy. Don’t keep yourself guessing why visitors don’t buy, and why buyers don’t return, when you can start asking the questions that will give you the right answers. Give visitors a reason to be on your list, and give buyers incentive to come back.
If you’ve been selling jewelry online for a while, and have already implemented some of these strategies, you can keep improving your sales by exploring all the ways in which you may be making assumptions. Replace those with the right questions and you have the makings of success!
Ask.
Measure.
Tweak.
Repeat.
Return from Selling Handmade Jewelry Online to How to Sell Jewelry Online
New! Comments
Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.