Cheshire Puss,’ she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. ‘Come, it’s pleased so far,’ thought Alice, and she went on. ‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’...

“Oh look, a brand new solution to all of my problems that will mean I can make tons of sales while I get on with painting/looking after the kids/drinking sangria on the beach”

OR

“Oh great! A new tool I have to learn because that lady I met last week said everyone is making a ton of money from it and I’m totally missing out”

As part of The Maker’s Yearbook, I run a private Facebook community which helps artists work in more effective ways and get help and support from their peers. One of the questions which gets asked a lot in that group (and every other maker community I’m part of) is…“Does anybody know about [some marketplace] or sell with them? They have contacted me and I’m not sure whether to say yes.”

Makers often spend a lot of time worrying about how we are perceived by other people. Our customers, our suppliers, our stockists and even passers-by. Many of us start out without any kind of business training, working on the kitchen table, on the living room floor, in a spare bedroom or while the kids are napping. A hefty dose of imposter syndrome can make us ashamed of our smallness, and we carry that feeling of not-good-enoughness around with us.

Everyone says it takes time to build a business. And actually that’s one of the more terrifying things about starting your handmade or art business. Because what does that really mean? Six weeks, Six months? Six years? How long until your marketing plan works? How...

Unless you’ve got an enormous following already, it’s unlikely that simply marketing to your current customers will provide you with enough sales each month, so all makers need to be constantly on the hunt for new customers. Not everyone who sees our work is a potential customer. Not everyone who is a potential customer becomes a buyer. Not everyone who is a buyer becomes a repeat buyer. And not everyone who is a repeat buyer becomes a raving fan.