~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Great Craft Article
brought to you free by
Crafts To Make And Sell.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whatever item you decide to make and sell, be sure you take pictures of each different item and variation of it. Use these pictures to build an album or portfolio.

If you're selling items made by other crafters, have pictures of their products in your album, too. These pictures are what you would show or send to your future customers to give them an idea of the type of work you do.

You can use your photo album as your first brochure. Later, if you decide to have a brochure printed or to put pictures on the Internet, these are the pictures you'll pick from. Be certain to keep the negatives of your pictures in case your portfolio comes up missing.

A note about the photo album: You can't always cart your creations around with you. Sometimes, like at a friend's get-together, it would be inappropriate to display items you'd like to sell. But when sitting with new people in a social setting, it would be fine to produce your little album from your handbag, especially if the subject of careers or hobbies pops up.

People often ask what another person does for a living. When this happens to you, show them rather than tell them. You'll be amazed to discover how much they'll love flipping through your album, examining your work! They immediately feel like they know you better and new topics of conversation flow easily from your pictures.

A retail price list tucked into the back page of the album would be handy if your new acquaintance asks about the prices of your handcrafted items.

Tuck duplicate pictures in the album, too. When a person says, "My wife might like to buy one of these", hand him one of the duplicates after writing your name, phone number and price of the item on the back. Add a cheery greeting like, "Looking forward to hearing from you!!!"

An added benefit is that people who are looking at your photo album are often eager to give you new ideas for creations. Not every idea will see itself manifested in your workroom. But once in a while a golden nugget will drop in your path. So, listen carefully to what people tell you about their likes and dislikes as they're looking over your pictures.

How a Scrapbook Can Lead To Sales

In addition to your photo album, build a scrapbook (often called an Idea Book) of possible future projects. These ideas can be cut out of catalogs, magazines or drawings you scribble on a napkin. When you become aware of a new outlet in your area, flip through your scrapbook for possible items that could be sold there.

Furthermore, your scrapbook can come in very handy when someone wants you to do a commission piece. For example, there was a woman who wanted a large bear made for her daughter's birthday, but she wasn't exactly sure what style she wanted. The crafter had several clipping of bears in her scrapbook and the two women were able to quickly come to an agreement on how the end product should look.

Instead of this project dragging on for weeks while the two women searched for ideas, the order was placed and the deposit given while the customer's interest was still high.

There's no question that little photo albums (portfolios) and scrapbooks (idea books) produce sales. Often when someone is flipping through your photos they will say, "Oh, you can make this? Can you do one with my grandson's name on it?" Or they will want some other little change that they can't find in any of the stores.

So, start with your very next handmade creations. Take pictures of them from several angles and begin a little photo album. Then when you're with a group of people, show it around - and you're in business!

This is an excerpt from Crafts To Make And Sell by Dusty Foster.

As you can see, you don't have to be at a craft show to sell your handmade items!

This imaginative ebook lists dozens of profitable crafts - some with patterns and instructions. It also describes numerous outlets where an average crafter can sell his or her creations.

Let Dusty help you discover the perfect handmade item to devote your time to.